Oven Roasted Brocolli

I thought this was delicious.  My 6-year old broccoli lover likes it better "unadulterated"-or just steamed; however, I need variety.  So...there.  I'm the mom.  My hubby needed it roasted a bit longer than it stated because he needs a big difference between raw and cooked. Weirdos.  They'll get it again some time whether they like it or not....because I'm the mom.

Recipe based off of: The Food Network

Ingredients
1 pound broccoli, rinsed and trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or sharp Cheddar
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces. Cut the stalk into 1/8-inch thick, round slices. Place the broccoli into a 9x13 pan and toss with the olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and pepper and set aside.

Spread the panko crumbs over the broccoli mixture. Place in the oven and roast just until the broccoli is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss in the cheese and serve immediately.

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie
recipe from:Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup (8 ounces) fat-free cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

• In a nonstick skillet, cook the beef, onion and green pepper over
• medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the
• tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, salt, garlic powder, sugar and
• pepper; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the spaghetti, butter, egg whites and
• Parmesan cheese. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a
  • deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray. Top with cottage
  • cheese and beef mixture.
  • Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella
  • cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and
  • filling is heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
  • Yield: 6 servings.
  Nutritional Facts: 1 piece equals 348 calories, 10 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 52 mg cholesterol, 690 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 29 g protein.Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 2 vegetable, 1-1/2 starch, 1 fat.

Lemon Chicken Piccata

Lemon Chicken Piccata
Adapted from allrecipes

This was a hit for the whole family!

INGREDIENTS:

3 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2-inch medallions salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed 1 clove garlic, minced 2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice from other half of lemon) 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed -(I would call this optional because my kids will freak out if they see them) 3 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons minced Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place a serving platter into the oven to warm.
2.	Season the chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour. Shake off excess flour. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet; pan-fry the chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Work in batches and do not crowd skillet, adding oil as needed . Place the chicken pieces onto the warmed platter in the oven. When finished with all the chicken, drain most of the oil from the skillet, leaving a thin coating on the surface of the pan.
3.	Cook and stir the minced garlic in the skillet until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth. Scrape and dissolve any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the lemon slices and bring the mixture to a boil. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces to about 2/3 cup, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the lemon juice and capers; simmer until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes more. Drop the butter into the skillet and swirl it into the sauce by tilting the skillet until the butter is melted and incorporated. Add the parsley; remove from heat and set aside.
4.	Arrange the chicken medallions on serving plates and spoon sauce over each portion to serve.

Chocolate Fruit Dip

I've been told I'm not allowed to come to neighborhood parties unless I bring this dip! It's always a big hit. I usually serve it with strawberries and pineapple, but it's good with other fruit, such as apples and melon.

16 ServingsPrep/Total Time: 10 min.

Ingredients

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups whipped topping
• Assorted fruit for dipping

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in
• cocoa and vanilla. Beat in whipped topping until smooth. Serve with
• fruit. Yield: 2 cups.

Nutritional Facts: 1 serving (2 tablespoons) equals 96 calories, 7 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 16 mg cholesterol, 42 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein.

No-sew rolled fabric flowers

No-Sew Rolled Fabric Flowers:

This is not food, but still something I "cooked up."

For Mother's Day, I was meaning to pick up a corsage for my MIL; however, time got away from me (as usual), so I needed to punt and use what I had at my house--google, scrap fabric & lace.  I found a tutorial here at: Pretty Prudent and went to work.  It turned out great.  I hope to have some neices born soon so that I can practice making some cute headbands with this technique.

Whole Wheat Bread

I have tried many different whole wheat bread recipes and this is absolutely the easiest!  As I was grinding the wheat, I added some quinoa to the grinder and even have some of that mixed in, which makes the bread even lighter and whiter--and healthier. It's good enough for the kids' sandwiches and absolutely delicious with honey butter.
Recipe Adapted from: Rate the Plate Utah

Whole Wheat Bread
1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. honey or 1/2 c. sugar
2 1/4 tsp. salt
2 3/4 c. steaming hot tap water
1/4 c. gluten flour*
1 1/2 T. dough enhancer*
1 1/4 T. instant yeast
7-8 c. whole wheat flour

1. Mix together first four ingredients in a mixer.  Add 1/2 of the flour & mix until well-mixed.
2. Put in 1-2 more cups of flour, gluten flour, dough enhancer, & yeast.  Mix again. (This is where I change from a flat beater to a dough hook).
3. With mixer on medium speed, add remaining flour just until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl.  Knead 6-10 minutes on medium-high speed.
4. Pre-heat oven for 1 minute to lukewarm (Turn it on at the lowest setting for a minute and then turn it off).  Spray or oil pans.  Put dough onto an oiled counter, divide, & shape into loaves and put in pans. Put an additional pan of water in oven on bottom rack.
5. Let loaves rise for 35 minutes in warmed oven.  Do not remove bread from oven.  Turn oven up to 350 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes.
6. Remove from pans immediately and let cool on racks.

Semi-homemade oreos

My darling daughter requested homemade oreos tonight.  This needed to happen as quickly as possible, so I turned to a recipe using a cake mix and voila!  Success!

 recipe from: your cup of cake
Semi-Homemade Oreos

Yield: 24 cookies, 12 sandwiches

Ingredients

Cookies:

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix Devil's Food Cake mix, eggs and oil in a bowl, the dough will be thick.

3. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and make dough balls smaller than the size of golf balls.

4. Place dough balls on cookie sheets, about 12 per sheet and pat down to make disks with fingers.

5. Bake for 7-10 minutes.

6. Let cool on cookie sheets for 3 minutes and then move to cooling racks.

7. !Filling: Beat cream cheese and butter for 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Thicken with more powdered sugar if needed.

8. Frost the bottoms of half the cookies (once cooled) and sandwich them!

Place cookies in a tupperware and chill for at least an hour. *I didn't do this.  I served them immediately and they were awesome!