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Fake It Till You Make It Cake

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Cake 2Sometimes you get called on to bring a cake somewhere and you just don’t have the time, the ingredients, or inclination to bake a scratch cake. So what do you do? Give up and just run to the store, even though you know you were asked because people know you bake? If you have a box of cake mix, a tub of frosting, and some mini chocolate chips on hand, you can make a cake mix cake into something a little more special and no one will notice it’s not made from scratch!

1 box yellow cake mix
Oil, eggs, and water per cake mix directions
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chocolate frosting

Prepare cake as directed. Stir 1 cup mini chocolate chips into prepared mix with spoon. Bake in Bundt cake pan as directed. Let cool completely.

Heat frosting in microwave-safe bowl for 20 seconds. Stir well and put in squeeze bottle. Drizzle top of cake with frosting.

Serve to your friends and hope no one asks for the recipe!

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Strawberry Lemonade Sangria!

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Strawberry Lemonade Sangria 3

So…tonight is a ladies’ event at my church, which I’ll be missing because I’m vacationing, but we had one a few months ago and as part of it we had raffles. Among other things, I won a massively huge bottle of Absolut Strawberry Lemonade Vodka. So of course I had to think of something to do with that, and I came up with Strawberry Lemonade Sangria. I’ve made it for two parties so far, and it’s been a hit every time. I know it may not seem like the most fall-like drink, but let me assure you, it’s delicious any time of year!

Strawberry Lemonade Sangria – makes one punch bowl full

1 cup Absolut Strawberry Lemonade vodka
2 bottles prosecco, refrigerated
2 64 oz. bottles lemonade
2 boxes (16 oz. each) strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 lemon

Wash and slice strawberries. Mix sugar, water, and 1 cup strawberries in saucepan and heat to boiling. Let boil for about 10 minutes – the sugar should be completely dissolved and the strawberries should be losing color. Cool completely.

Mix vodka, lemonade, strawberry syrup, remaining strawberry slices, and lemon slices.  If the strawberries in the syrup have lost too much color and look yucky, strain them out (sometimes they look ok and sometimes they just look awful). Keep in pitcher or covered container in fridge if possible until ready to serve. Just before serving, add prosecco and stir gently (you don’t want to break the bubbles! If you weren’t able to refrigerate your vodka/lemonade/strawberry mixture, add some ice before adding the prosecco.

Enjoy at your next ladies’ night or plan one as an excuse to make this!

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Chicken with Spinach and Tomatoes

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Chicken with Spinach and Tomatoes 1

This started as one of those “shop the sale” dinner ideas and included a happy accident! Grape tomatoes were on sale and so were individually packaged chicken breasts, so I was thinking of a way to use them both and this came to me. I meant to buy the plain ones, but I bought the Italian seasoned ones and they really worked for this recipe. After the stuffed zucchini, you may be worried that I’m going to start posting really complicated recipes, but this is back to the quick and easy!

Chicken with Spinach and Tomatoes – serves 2

2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 onion, diced
2 Italian seasoned chicken breasts (see note)
1 bag baby spinach
1 box (8 oz.) grape tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Mince garlic, dice onion, and cut chicken breasts into 1/2 inch squares. If you’re like me and you don’t like stems on your spinach, remove them.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons oil and swirl to coat pan. Add garlic and onion and saute about two minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. Add chicken pieces and cook for ten minutes.

Add spinach, tomatoes, garlic powder salt, pepper, and chicken stock. Cook for about five minutes or until spinach is wilted and the tomato skins are starting to pucker. Remove to serving platter and top with Parmesan cheese.

Note: if you can’t find or don’t want to use the Italian seasoned chicken breasts, marinate plain thin sliced chicken breasts in Italian salad dressing for 1/2 hour.

Here’s to happy accidents!

Chicken with Spinach and Tomatoes

 

Stuffed Zucchini

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Stuffed Zucchini

I don’t know if you’re still getting nice zucchini where you are, but we are! If you like this recipe, thank my sister – she gave me the recipe when I lived with her over 20 years ago, although I’ve tweaked it some over the years. Unlike most of my recipes, I can’t claim it’s quick and easy, but I can assure you it’s well worth it (there is a quicker option at the end). There is a lot of explanation (and in-progress pictures) in the recipe, but once you’ve made it once, the steps make sense.

You should use medium to medium-large zucchini for this (the “quicker” option works if you can’t find large enough zucchini). You can use either pork or turkey sausage, and I usually use sweet sausage, but if you prefer hot, you can use it or some of each. This is a great way to “stretch” sausage – you know when you buy the value pack of sausages and they don’t divide neatly, so you end up with two extra? This is a great way to make two small sausages feed at least two people, if not more (see Note 1 for serving size).

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini – serves 2-4

3 medium zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 sausages (I prefer 3, but you can use 2 if that’s what you have)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons parsley
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (you may need a little more depending on the size of the zucchini and how much you like cheese)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat about 2 inches water in a large pot over high heat.

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Wash zucchini, cut off stem ends, and cut lengthwise. Next comes the interesting part (I promise once you’ve done it, it makes sense). Take a smaller knife and cut about 1/4 inch from the edge of the zucchini on all sides (you should basically have cut a large rectangle). Try not to cut through the bottom of the zucchini (it’s not the end of the world if you do, but it’s better if you don’t). Make small cuts lengthwise in the middle part of the zucchini (see really bad picture below).

zucchini with cuts

That caption tells you the next step. Using a teaspoon, remove the middle pieces from the zucchini. Don’t throw the middles out – you’ll be using them soon! Cut the pieces removed from the zucchini into small cubes. Run your teaspoon over the bottom of each zucchini boat (you can discard whatever you pull out then or use it). You’ll end up with something that looks like the picture below.

zucchini boats

Hopefully by now, the water you put on will be boiling. Put the zucchini boats in the boiling water for one minute. Remove and drain.

Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add one tablespoon oil. Saute onion and garlic for about 1 minute. Squeeze sausage meat out of casing and add to pan. If you are feeling proactive, you can do that step in advance, and you probably should – if you don’t, you’ll have to keep the water running and wash your hands between squeezing each sausage so you can stir the onion and garlic and make sure it doesn’t burn. If squeezing sausage out of its casing squicks you out, you can cut the sausage into small pieces (halve the sausage lengthwise and then cut it into the smallest pieces possible). Saute sausage, breaking it into smaller pieces as it cooks. Add zucchini to pan, saute for two minutes, and add tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, parsley, onion powder, and oregano. Let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Most of the liquid should be boiled down.

Put zucchini boats on ungreased cookie sheet and fill with sausage/zucchini/tomato mixture. Here they are, ready for their next step.

stuffed zucchini ready for cheese

Top with shredded mozzarella. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until cheese melts (see Note 2).

NOTE 1: If you’re making pasta and/or garlic bread to go with this, it will definitely serve 4. We usually eat two pieces each, but I usually make an extra zucchini just in case. It reheats well in the microwave too!

NOTE 2:  If you’re cooking something else at the same time (when we ate bread regularly, I liked Texas Toast as a side for this), the zucchini can bake at a higher temperature – keep an eye on it, because it will take less time (usually around 15 minutes if the oven is at 400-425 degrees).

QUICKER/SMALL ZUCCHINI OPTION: If you’re craving these flavors but don’t have the time, the patience, or the large zucchini, make Stuffed Zucchini Pasta. Put a pot of water on to boil, cut the zucchini into small cubes, and saute onion, garlic, sausage, zucchini cubes, tomatoes and spices as shown above. Boil 1/2 box penne for 7 minutes and drain. Combine cooked pasta with sausage/zucchini/tomato mixture and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Eat and enjoy!stuffed zucchini 1.jpg

Tongue Twisting Dessert (inspired by Snickers)

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snickers pudding 1

Before I get to this dessert, prayers for everyone affected by Hurricane Florence.  We have family and friends in the Carolinas and I hope the hurricane passes quickly and without any lasting damage!

Now…for those of us who like tongue twisters, sugar-free desserts, and/or chocolate, caramel and peanuts (and who doesn’t like at least one of those things), may I present…the Sugar Free Snickers Pudding Parfait! The other day, JP and I were discussing Snickers and he said he thought I didn’t like them. I said I like the mini ones because I don’t like the nougat that much, but in the minis, there’s not as much nougat, just the yummy caramel and peanuts. There was a coupon for them last week, but I didn’t get them…when I had a lot of people the office, they were usually in the candy dish because they were a big favorite, but we’re not eating sugar these days and the last thing I want to do is put temptation in our way.

That made me think, though – was there a way to get the goodness of a Mini Snickers in a sugar-free form. A little more thinking and voila – a tongue-twisting dessert was born! I guess I could have given it a shorter name, but I just think Sugar-Free Snickers Pudding Parfait is fun to say!

Sugar-Free Snickers Pudding Parfait – makes 4

1 box sugar-free chocolate pudding mix
2 cups milk
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
3/4 cup sugar-free caramel (I used the recipe from The Low-Carb Diet https://the-lowcarb-diet.com/sugar-free-caramel-recipe/)

Prepare pudding per package directions. Put 1/4 cup pudding in each bowl. Top each with 1/8 cup peanuts. Carefully spread caramel over peanuts (I used 3 tablespoons for each bowl, but you may need more or less depending on the size and shape of your dishes).  Top with 1/4 cup pudding. Chill until ready to serve and top with sugar-free whipped cream and additional chopped peanuts, if desired.

Stay tuned for more “inspired by” sugar-free dessert ideas!

snickers pudding

 

Zucchini and Tomato Salad

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Zucchini Salad

Do you have a spiralizer? I got one for Christmas two years ago and I’ve been having a good time making veggie spirals ever since! My favorite is zucchini, and I’ve used “zoodles” in a variety of hot dishes, but I don’t usually try them cold. I was wondering why not recently and came up with this really yummy zucchini and tomato salad with fresh mozzarella. I made grilled chicken on the side and didn’t even want to eat it – all I wanted was this salad!

Making the zucchini noodles as thin as possible and serving cold eliminates the need to dry the zucchini noodles – I didn’t need to dry the zucchini noodles and the dressing didn’t get thin or runny, even when it was sitting on the table, which seems to happen to zucchini noodles in hot sauces, especially if you cook immediately after spiralizing.

Zucchini and Tomato Salad with Fresh Mozzarella – serves 2-4

Two medium zucchini
1 box cherry tomatoes
4 oz. fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Spiralize zucchini with smallest blade. Wash and halve cherry tomatoes. Cube mozzarella.

Combine olive oil, vinegar, basil, garlic powder, pinch salt and pepper. Whisk well and pour over zucchini and tomatoes. Add mozzarella and toss together.

Serve immediately.

Beef Bourguignon in a Hurry!

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Skillet Bourguignon

Now that we’re starting to get into fall, I want comfort food and slow-cooked meals, but it’s still warm and I still don’t have that much time to cook! So I did a little experimenting and came up with a yummy beef, red wine and mushroom dish that can be made on the stove top in less than a half-hour! Not only that, but it takes just one cutting board, one knife, one pan and one bowl – and doing fewer dishes is always a good thing!

Now…the most important thing to know about this recipe is that you have to buy good beef. I tried it with some other (more economical) cuts and it did not come out well. They just need more time over low heat to get tender. Personally, I’m a big fan of saving money, but this is one of those times when it’s worth spending a little more. If your supermarket puts “petite sirloin steaks” on sale, this is a great use for them, and the sauce is so flavorful that you don’t need a lot of meat – I served two adults with one small (a little less than less than one pound) steak, and that was without a starchy side dish!

Beef with Red Wine and Mushrooms – serves 2

1 tablespoon oil
1 onion
1 lb. sirloin steak
8 oz. white mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean mushrooms (you can make this even easier if you buy pre-sliced mushrooms). Heat empty skillet over medium high heat while slicing onion (about 5 minutes). When onion is sliced, add vegetable oil to pan, swirl to coat, and add onion. Cut beef into cubes and add to pan. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Let beef and onion brown for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While beef is browning, slice mushrooms. Remove beef and onion from pan, add 2 tablespoons butter, and add mushrooms, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Once mushrooms are soft and browned, remove to bowl with beef and onions. Add red wine and beef broth. Scrape browned bits off bottom of pan, and bring wine and broth to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes (keep an eye on it and see note below). Add salt and pepper if necessary. Add 1 tablespoon butter. Once butter melts, add beef and vegetables to pan and heat over low heat for about 5 minutes.

Note: if your sauce reduces too quickly and you feel you need more, you can add up to 1/2 cup additional wine and 1/2 cup additional broth before adding butter. Bring back to a boil and simmer, watching carefully.

You can serve this on its own or over cauliflower rice, rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.

Hoping you feel inspired to try making a dinner that seems fancy and tastes oh-so-delicious without spending all day in the kitchen!

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Menu Planning – Guess Who’s Coming to Stay Over?

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WELCOME

We’ve covered day-to-day menu planning and party menu planning, but what about when you have house guests? It’s quite possible to play things by ear when you’re having guests, but a plan can help save your sanity and checkbook!

Here’s an example of a several-day menu plan for when I had houseguests last summer.

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I may be able to have an exhibition of Very Bad Menu Pictures after this! 🙂

The plan above was from last summer, when we had six members of JP’s family staying with or near us for his mom’s memorial service, plus some others joining us from time to time. We were also hosting the open house repast after the service at our house, so there was a lot to plan, but having everything organized helped immensely!

When you’re having people stay at your house, the first thing to think about is where are they coming from and what would they like to eat they don’t get at home? For the former New Yorkers visiting us, it was very important that they get pizza and bagels, and everyone wanted a traditional Irish breakfast at some point. Think about where you live – are there local or regional specialties you would want to share with your guests? Is there any place they’d like to go out to for a meal while they’re in your area? These don’t have to be fancy meals – personally, if I visit any town with a Waffle House, I’m thrilled with a trip there, because we don’t have them on Long Island!

Now, a lot of times when people come over, they’re coming for an event. If that’s the case, those are a few meals which either you don’t have to plan or which need a menu of their own.  In the example above, we had a big event after the service Saturday afternoon, which got its own menu, and a few people stayed through dinner Sunday night and we went out for dinner, so I didn’t have to write anything down for that.

The next thing, of course, is to plan meals everyone will like. If you aren’t sure of your guests’ tastes or dietary needs, I’d ask, and if for some reason you don’t feel comfortable asking, my best advice is to make sure there’s something for everyone (i.e., a meat dish for the gluten-free along with pasta for any vegetarians), and avoid common allergens such as peanuts, especially if kids are coming.

The other thing to think about is what’s easy and what can be made in advance. Looking at this menu, we bought the bagels, the deli meat and bread for lunch Thursday, and the pastries for Saturday morning. The ginger beef roast was made in the crockpot, and I made the quiche for Saturday morning, the salads for Friday’s dinner, and prepared the potatoes for Sunday’s breakfast during the day Friday while everyone was hanging out visiting. Saturday morning, we put the quiche out at room temperature (along with the pastries) and everyone helped themselves as we got ready for the service.

Outside of that, most of this followed the standard meal template – I planned menus that could hold for a while if people got in late (some folks were driving and didn’t have an exact ETA), bought as much as possible on sale, checked what I had on hand (I believe I had a roast beef in my freezer), and considered the fact that it was mid-August in New York and I didn’t want to have the oven on all day!

Hopefully the next time you’re having house guests it’s for a happy reason, but no matter the reason, planning in advance will let you have time to enjoy your company!

And now, a recipe. Here’s the “quiche” recipe, which is really a Bisquick Impossible Pie recipe going way back…someone (I think either my mom or a friend from work) gave me a booklet of Bisquick recipes simply because I liked this so much. I made some changes to the original recipe in that book and here it is, as I usually make it. This can be served hot or at room temperature and it’s always a hit in our house and anywhere I bring it. I hope you like it as much as we do!

Zucchini Quiche (Impossible Pie) – courtesy of Bisquick with a few Ally changes

2 cups sliced zucchini
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup Bisquick
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Dash cayenne pepper (it won’t make the food spicy, it just brings out the cheesiness)

Heat oven to 400. Spray or grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Steam zucchini slices for 5 minutes or until tender. Arrange zucchini, onion, and cheese in casserole dish – you should be able to basically cover most of the bottom of the dish with those ingredients. Combine milk, Bisquick, eggs, salt and pepper in blender or mix well with a hand mixer. Pour over veggies and cheese. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and “set”.

This can be served at room temperature or reheated in the oven whole or in individual pieces in the microwave.

Bacon Cheeseburger…Salad!

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Who doesn’t like bacon cheeseburgers? Beef, cheese, bacon (isn’t everything better with bacon) and all your favorite toppings – lettuce, tomato, maybe some onion, ketchup, and personally I like some ranch dressing on there too! But if you’re watching your carb intake, just want to avoid rolls, or forgot to buy them and everyone wants burgers, you end up with a sad burger on a plate! Here’s an easy and delicious way to avoid Sad Burger Syndrome – bacon cheeseburger salad!

I made this a while ago and had all kinds of kitchen drama – first, I somehow splattered bacon grease on my wrist, not while actually cooking the bacon, but while removing it to the plate to drain. I dropped the plate, which shattered on my kitchen floor, but thinking quickly, grabbed the paper towel on the way down before I lost my bacon. Then I was making the dressing and got splattered with hot sauce in the middle of my chest, which created an interesting dramatic effect when we sat down to eat – I felt like I needed a disclaimer that no one was actually hurt in the making of this salad. That being said, I’ve made it plenty of times without incident, but I just had to share that story, because it was too funny!

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Bacon Cheeseburger Salad – serves 4

1 lb. ground beef or turkey, browned
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 slices bacon
4 cups lettuce, cut or torn into small pieces
1 tomato, diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup ranch dressing
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Brown ground meat in saucepan with salt and pepper. In another pan, cook bacon until crispy and drain on paper-towel lined plate. While the meats are cooking, cut or tear the lettuce, dice tomato, and dice red onion. In a separate bowl, mix ketchup, ranch dressing, and hot sauce (if you like mustard, you can add some, but I am not a big mustard person, so I don’t – I’d recommend about 1/4 teaspoon).

When ground meat is cooked, drain and combine in bowl with lettuce, tomato, onion, cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon. Add ketchup/ranch dressing and toss well to completely coat.

Enjoy!

Teriyaki Chicken Wraps!

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Hope everyone’s having a great Labor Day Weekend! Tomorrow we’re all back to reality – work, school, it’s all starting again! If you need something quick, easy, and delicious to make for dinner this week, these teriyaki chicken wraps fill the bill. Chicken is quickly glazed with a pineapple-soy sauce and served in lettuce leaves with whatever mix-ins your family likes!

Teriyaki Chicken Wraps – Serves 4

2 chicken cutlets, split in half (or four thin sliced cutlets)
1 cup pineapple juice (from can of pineapple chunks)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons hot chili paste (can use less if desired)
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 cup diced snow peas
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
16 oz pineapple chunks, drained and juice saved, cut in half
1 head romaine, butter, or red leaf lettuce, washed and dried

Wash lettuce. If you’re not using thin-sliced cutlets, cut chicken cutlets in half to make them thin-sliced cutlets.

Drain pineapple, saving juice. You should end up with about a cup of pineapple juice. Add soy sauce, hot chili paste (if using), ground ginger, garlic powder, and toasted sesame oil. Whisk until well combined. Put about 1/4 cup mixture in separate bowl for basting.

Dice snow peas, cut pineapple chunks in half, and chop peanuts. Depending on what your family likes, you could also add cooked rice or cauliflower rice, pre-fried wonton strips, edamame, and/or drained and rinsed canned water chestnuts.

Grill chicken (I used a grill pan, but you could do this outside or in any saucepan) for ten  minutes, turning often and basting with pineapple-soy sauce. While this is cooking, heat remaining sauce over medium-low heat – you want it to reduce a little but not get too syrupy. When chicken is done, take off heat and slice into small strips (see below).

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Here’s the chicken and sauce – if I say so myself, it’s pretty! Set out all ingredients in small bowls/plates and let everyone assemble their own lettuce wraps!

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Enjoy the lettuce wraps and knowing that you’ve made an amazing meal!