Saturday, March 28, 2009

Gettin' Saucy in The Kitchen

For Guinea Pig Thursday we made breaded pan fried chicken fingers - which turned out more like chicken nuggets - little bread crumbs, olive oil, and lemon pepper - yum.

Then we went crazy making sauces to dip them in! I've really wanted to learn more about basic sauces - you can get so creative once you have the simple stuff down.

So I made a marinara sauce and a cheese sauce for dipping. We also had ranch & bbq for fun. Ry & I were just the guinea pigs this time - but we both approved.

Basic Sauce Recipes

Oh & the next night I added a little water to the marinara to thin it out & we had it on spaghetti for leftovers.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Stuffed Zucchini

Tonight we had Stuffed Zucchini - yum! It definitely passed with flying colors. I only changed the recipe a little by adding cheese (asiago & parmesan) to the top & it was super good.

There was enough filling leftover that I even made a small meatloaf for leftovers tomorrow.

Two dinners in one - it doesn't get any better than that! The guinea pigs - us, & Ry's sister & her husband. Served with mashed potatoes, very filling.

I give this one an A++ & I'm excited to have another way to use our zucchini this summer! Forgot to take pictures - so I stole this one from the recipe site. Enjoy!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Lucky Lime Pie

Ry wanted to try a new dessert. The guinea pigs - us, Ry's parents, and sister. Everyone enjoyed it. Ry & Teresa gave a thumbs up.

I think it's the best lime pie recipe I've ever tried - light and fluffy, and super easy. I'll definitely be making it again.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Ingredients:
  • 1 package (3 oz) lime flavored Jello
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (2-3 fresh limes)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime zest
  • 1 can (14 oz) fat-free sweetened cond. milk (not evaporated)
  • 1 package (8 oz) fat-free cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1 9-inch graham cracker crust*
Method:

Dissolve Jello in 1/2 cup boiling water; stir until sugar is completely dissolved in Jello. Add 1/2 cup cold water to Jello, then remove 3/4 cup and set aside. Stir lime juice and zest into remaining Jello and set aside to cool and thicken, but do not allow it to set.

Pour the 3/4 cup reserved Jello into a flat, non-stick 9-inch cake pan, cover and refrigerate. This Jello may be used as a garnish later.

Beat softened cream cheese until smooth; add sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) and stir to blend.

Whip cream until stiff peaks form.

Beat together cream cheese mixture and Jello-lime-juice-zest mixture (product should be thick and light - but not setup). Fold in whipped cream; spoon filling into prepared graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until set (2-3 hours).

Cut pie into 10 pieces. To garnish, use a small cookie cutter to cut shamrock or other fun shapes from set Jello and carefully place shapes on each slice of pie. If desired, add curls of lime zest or thin slices of lime.

Notes: This is a delicious lime dessert to help bring the luck of the Irish to St. Patrick's Day. Makes 10 rich servings

Optional garnish: whip additional cream and pipe swirls of cream on each slice, add thin slices of lime.

Optional crust variation: (not included in nutrition analysis)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread approximately 2 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut out in a shallow baking pan. Toast coconut in oven, stirring every 30 seconds, until lightly browned (about 2-4 minutes). Cool coconut and mix with 1/3 cup softened butter. Press coconut into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate until crust is firm.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Spicy Baked Macaroni

I saw this recipe on the food network, because I'm a nerd and sometimes (always) watch it. Don't judge me. =)

We had Ryan's sister Teresa over. As I was serving up the dish I realized I had the two pickiest people to be my guinea pigs for something with...uh-hum...spinach and mushrooms in it!!!! What was I thinking?!

To my surprise they ate it and didn't even complain much. They even both admitted they thought it was pretty good and of course pointed out that they weren't even picking things out.

Teresa even said she wasn't having to wash it down with her drink like she would most things with vegetables in them.

If I were to make it again I would cut back on the mushrooms to about half and add some bite-size chicken. The recipe says 8-10 servings...you could easily feed 15-20 people from it, especially as a side dish at a potluck. Served with garlic bread. Yum.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Baby's First Steps

Little Miss has been walking all over the place for awhile now, but she's always holding onto something - furniture, her walker, our hands...yesterday she took her first solo steps. Then we pulled out the camera and made her do it again. Such a big girl!

And yes, she still doesn't crawl...we tried to have a crawling session a few days ago and it ended in tears. She just does things on her own time & hates to be forced into things. So, oh well with the crawling! At least she's a happy walker.



*Update (1/19/10): People kept telling us walking before crawling would inhibit proper development...not true!! Little Miss is a very smart little girl, who knows how to crawl, gets around great, and is right on track with her motor skills and her language development is off the charts.

So don't worry if you have a walker who doesn't crawl - it'll come.
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