What's been up

Well, this week has been busy! I have been helping out with flu shot clinics and right now I am in an ACLS (advanced cardiovascular life support) class... which = lots of studying! :) I was quite worried about taking this class with my non eventful nursing history. Never worked in an ER or ICU which require ACLS, so I'm VERY unfamiliar and nervous with the information. But it's going very well and our instructors are quite breezy! So, what do you cook when you have nooooooo time? Lots of frozen meals... but I certainly don't want to advertise that because I love to cook! :) Haha. So there are a few things I've whipped up quickly this week, and a cookie recipe I'd like to share with you... because I like cookies!! :) And these are divine! Something different, unique, bursting with flavor...
Chewy Coconut Lime Cookies

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lime, finely minced
3 tbsp lime juice
½ cup unsweetened toasted coconut
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.
4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest.
5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and toasted coconut.
6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

I enjoyed these plain... but mom did say that frosting on top would be great too, and I agree. You could frost those puppies up with some vanilla frosting and they would be delicious! But make sure you try at least one plain warm one!

The next meal I will show you is Apricot Soy Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Broccoli & Cauliflower.

You remember the Apricot Soy Glazed Turkey Burgers a few days ago? It's the exact same marinade (which I rather enjoyed)... except on a pork tenderloin! It turned out pretty good, although we did put some BBQ on as well when we served it. But hey... can't be perfect when you're in a rush. :) Roasted broccoli & cauliflower is straight forward- Toss with olive oil and seasoning (s & p, garlic salt, onion salt) and roast in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Taa Daa!!

And lastly we have just a beautiful picture of a fresh, crisp, pure salad. I do love lettuce salads and am quite a ranch dressing enthusiast. This was just some fresh romaine lettuce, cheese, broccoli, portabella mushrooms (I heart), tomatoes, pre packaged chicken breast strips. I could not believe that after I had beautifully prepared this salad I noticed there was NO RANCH DRESSING! I settled for Creamy Ceasar which ended up tasting quite nice! I toasted some bread, spread with butter and sprinkled with garlic salt.

Hope you have a good night!! And weekend!!! Aaron and I are BOTH off!! A miracle... and we have not much planned! Movie night on Saturday. Ta ta!

A farewell to summer.... (one last time)

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks for myself. Fall season= flu shots!! The clinic I work for has lots of extra shifts I can pick up giving flu shots at various locations. And, of course, Wells Blue Bunny = 850 flu shots in 3 days! :) It's been fun though, lots of interaction with people.

Aaron has been busy with a few interviews. He recently interviewed in Minnehaha County, SD and has an upcoming interview in Seattle, WA. Yes... quite a stretch. But we are just checking out what happens. And whatever happens we shall follow God's plan. It will of course be bittersweet. LOTS of opportunities and diversity over there... but FAR FAR FAR away from home. Again, we're just taking it a day at a time, and the interview is Oct 29.

I LOVE fall, absolutely adore this time of year! I enjoy a chill to the air, the smell of falling leaves, and jeans/sweatshirts. But I do love a few things about summer... like burgers!! :) The next recipe is for a burger so rich and delicious.... it doesn't even require a bun. Actually, I wouldn't recommend a bun. Quite a few of my latest recipes are coming courtesy of Iowagirleats.com. She is such a cool girl and I LOVE her recipes.


APRICOT SOY GLAZED TURKEY BURGERS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- Salt & pepper
- Onion & Garlic powder
- Goat Cheese
Combine turkey, panko, s & p, onion and garlic powder to taste and divide into 8 portions. Cut apart 4 large gumball size pieces of goat cheese and top 4 portions of turkey with the cheese. Top with other portions of turkey, creating 4 burgers. Grill on outdoor grill or George Foreman.

- 1/4 cup apricot preserves
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Combine the glaze ingredients and divide into 2 portions. Use 1 portion to marinate burgers with while grilling, and the other portion to top burgers with when serving.

Lazy Saturday

Ahhh.... a Saturday off of work!! :) And nothing on the agenda but tidy up the house a bit! So, right now I'm being lazy on the couch, watchin' TV, and thought I'd post another recipe. Aaron & I had this yesterday and the day before! That's how yummy they are! :) And I had leftover ingredients, so I thought we should use them up!

BAKED TURKEY EGG ROLLS & VEGETABLE FRIED RICE


EGG ROLLS: This will make 16 egg rolls (I'm giving you measurements so you won't have leftover turkey or coleslaw mix)

Ingredients:
- 1 package egg roll wrappers
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 4 cups coleslaw mix
- 2 stalks celery, chopped finely
- Mushrooms if desired (I love 'em!)
- Olive oil
- 1 small onion
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- Dash of ground ginger & red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- Sweet & sour sauce

Directions:

1. Place coleslaw mix and celery in a microwavable bowl. This is where I chopped a few mushrooms up and added them too. Microwave for 5 minutes.
   
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes. When onion is softened add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink.
   
3. Add coleslaw mix to skillet and soy sauce. Combine well. Remove from heat and let cool.
4. Lay egg roll wrappers out on counter. Top with 3 Tbsp turkey mixture and roll up. See picture.
   
5. Spray tops of egg rolls with Pam or brush with oil.
   
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden on top. Serve with sweet & sour sauce.

VEGETABLE FRIED RICE
Ingredients:

• Cooked brown rice (whatever quantity you need)
• Sesame oil
  
• Garlic salt
• Ginger
  
• Pepper
  
• Handful of coleslaw mix
• 1 cup steamed broccoli
• 1-2 eggs, beaten
  
• Red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Heat 1-2 tsp sesame oil in skillet. Sprinkle with garlic salt, pepper, and ginger.
2. Add rice, coleslaw, broccoli. Cook for 5 minutes or until veggies are hot and rice is browning.
   
3. In another skillet or on one side of the skillet with rice, cook eggs. Combine with rice mixture. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
   

Lasagna & Lighter Fare

Hi everyone! Sorry it took me awhile to post this lasagna... I know you were salivating! :) It does take a little extra work to make the homemade sauce, but Mmmm it's worth it!

LASAGNA

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 t easpoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Hmm, what's new with us? Aaron is under going some personal training at Snap Fitness, so we are trying to stick to healthy menus. Lasagna is off the list! :) Haha. I do try to stick with healthy recipes for meals, but we do splurge every now and then... but we're going to do our best on sticking with it and not allowing ourselves "cheats" or "splurges" too often. :) Your help, support, and encouragement for Aaron & me would be greatly appreciated! It's a tough world out there to lose weight! :)

So, for the lighter fare menu I will share with you some delicious roasted veggies. These are perfect for this time of year as everything is turning colors and we're adjusting to fall vegetables. I will have to admit, I was hesitant of this "all vegetable meal", but it was DELICIOUS! And it filled us up! And yes, I would consider it a meal, not a side dish. But it could work as a side dish if you did some persuading! :) Haha. Enjoy!

FALL ROASTED VEGETABLES

Ingredients:
- Acorn squash
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 large Idaho potato
- Olive oil
- Garlic salt
- Pepper
- 1 head of broccoli
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 package frozen brussels sprouts, thawed
- Brown rice
- Vegetable or chicken broth

Directions:
1. Cut top and bottom off of acorn squash. Slice entire squash in half and remove seeds. Slice squash into bite size squares (the peel can stay on, it softens up while roasting). Place in a sprayed glass pan.

2. Peel sweet potato, chop into bite size pieces. Your choice for the Idaho potato- peel or no peel. Chop and add to pan.

3. Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.

4. Roast in a 425 degree oven for approx 25-30 minutes. Finish them off by broiling for a minute or 2.

5. Chop broccoli and cauliflower into florets, place in a seperate pan. Remove cores from brussels sprouts and chop in half if large. Add to broccoli & cauliflower. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt & pepper.

6. Pop the broccoli mixture into the oven about halfway through roasting the other mixture (potatoes, squash). They take only about 10-15 minutes to roast.

7. Meanwhile, prepare desired amount of rice on stove using broth instead of water to cook. Serve together! DELICIOUS!!

What a great weekend!! I just had a great visit with my friend Bev from Kansas! She came up Friday and is going home tomorrow :( I got to cook her lots of great things, so it was a bunch of fun! Here we are together.... goofs! :)

Haha... just have to share these! Bev snapped some pictures of dad picking tomatoes in our "jungle" of a garden. She called him Mr. McGreggor (like from Peter Rabit)! :) Haha. He does look pretty intense! But it paid off... he left with a bucket full of tomatoes!


Now for some food!! :) This is called TOPSY-TURVY APPLE PIE because it is an upside down apple pie. It was delicious with a big scoop of ice cream!

Ingredients

• 2 (9 inch) pie shell
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 5 large apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Spread butter or margarine evenly on bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Press pecans, rounded side down, into butter layer. Pat brown sugar evenly over nuts, then lay one pastry shell over brown sugar layer.
3. Place apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice.
4. In a small bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well. Toss mixture with apples, coating thoroughly.
5. Spread apples into pie plate. Cover apples with second pastry shell. Crimp edges of pastry and make steam vents in top.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes. Cool 5 minutes then place serving plate over top of pie; invert pie onto plate. Carefully remove pie pan. Serve warm or cool.

Ooooohhhh boy! These are my absolute new favorite muffins! :) I love the "fall feeling" and nothing makes it more realistic than pumpkins! :) Next I will share my recipe for PUMPKIN APPLE STREUSEL MUFFINS. Now... just hold on before you run out to the grocery store for pumpkin. They apparently don't stock it until Thanksgiving. You wouldn't believe how the Wal- Mart lady treated me when I asked. I simply asked "do you have any canned pumpkin? I haven't seen any." "No, probably not, that's a seasonal item... usually here around Thanksgiving" Well thanks for clarifying dummy... I just thought you might keep CANNED PUMPKIN around year-round since it's stored in a can!! You keep cranberries year round don't ya??!?! Well, she proceeded to say "I have 5 cans at home, but that doesn't help you now, does it?" Thanks. Thanks for your assistance.
Oh, please try these muffins. They are a delight!!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apple
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 teaspoons butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 18 muffin cups or use paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

I also made a yummy lasagna, but this post has gotten pretty long, so I will share that another time!

Omelette & Guacamole Chicken

I have 2 of the most simple recipes to share with you today, and both of them quite tasty! :) First, my favorite omelette-


3 eggs, scrambled with a Tbsp or 2 of milk
Salt & Pepper
Spinach, torn
Mushrooms, chopped
Tomatoes, chopped
Swiss cheese

Heat oil over medium heat in a small non stick skillet. When hot pour in eggs and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Turn heat down to warm/low. Sprinkle mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach over half of the eggs. Cook until egg mostly set. Top veggies with Swiss cheese, flip "egg side" over the "veggie/cheese" side and cover skillet with lid or plate. Let set for 1-2 minutes. Enjoy!!


Next, I have Guacamole Chicken-


4 chicken breasts
4 -6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 avocado
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
Salt & pepper
Splash of lemon juice

Cook chicken breasts according to your tastes (George Foreman, skillet, grill, baked). While chicken is cooking, peel avocado and mash in a small bowl. Add sour cream, tomatoes, salt & pepper to taste and lemon juice.
When chicken is cooked top with bacon and guacamole.

Smoothie & Thai Coconut Chicken Curry

Well, let me start by saying I'm not a huge smoothie fan. I prefer my calories in the form of cake, cookies, or donuts... and smoothies usually add up to about that many. But I do love this recipe because it is light and doesn't have much dairy or sugar to weigh it down. But, it still has flavor! :)

Strawberry Pomegranate Smoothie

1 cup frozen strawberries
6 small ice cubes
1/3 cup Pomegranate juice
2 Tbsp plain yogurt
2 Tbsp honey

Blend it up and enjoy! I love this flavor, but I wanted one of these smoothies the other day and I didn't have any Pomegranate juice at home, so I improvised! I used grapefruit juice and strawberry-banana yogurt.... it was yummy too! More sweet-sour and refreshing!

Next, Thai Coconut Chicken Curry... not sure why it's called a curry because there isn't any curry in it, but that's what it's called! :)

3 chicken breasts
Canola or Olive oil
1 package white mushrooms
1 red pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 can cannellini beans
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup coconut milk (found in the asian section)
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp corn starch
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet. Cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces and cook in skillet until cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Heat more oil in skillet and add mushrooms, red pepper, garlic, and salt to taste. Heat for about 2 minutes. Meanwhile combine chicken broth, coconut milk, and fish sauce in a small bowl. Add cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Add coconut milk mixture to skillet and heat to a boil. Add chicken back to skillet. Heat until sauce thickens, about 5-10 minutes.