Saturday, November 12, 2011

Alfredo Mashed Potatoes

1 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced
Water
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
Salt
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
2-3 Tbsp heavy cream

Cover the potatoes with water in a medium sized saucepan. Add italian seasoning and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook until the potatoes are tender.

Drain well, return the potatoes to the pan and add the cheese, butter, and Italian dressing. Mash potatoes with a potato masher (I like mine lumpy!) and add the heavy cream, whisking until mixed. Serve hot.

2 large (about 5-6" long) baking potatoes will make 3 normal servings (or 1 serving for me and a bunch for John!)

These are so good!

Chicken Marsala

This is supposed to be the recipe from Buca di Beppo's. Whatever...it's really good!!!

Olive oil
4 thin chicken breast cutlets, pounded to an even thickness
2 ounces low salt bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup flour
Coarse salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
4 tablespoons heavy cream
minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Coat a large skillet lightly with olive oil and set over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook just until crisp and lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon; set aside. Leave fat in pan.

Put flour on a plate. Pat cutlets dry. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour.

Heat pan with bacon fat over medium-high heat. Add a touch more olive oil if necessary to make approximately 2 tablespoons. When fat is hot, shake excess flour off cutlets and place in pan. Sauté, turning once until browned on both sides. Thin cutlets should only take a few minutes per side. Remove cutlets. Pour excess fat from pan. With pan over medium-high heat, add the Marsala and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook Marsala until it is reduced by one quarter.

Stir in cream and simmer until you get a nicely thickened sauce. Return the chicken and bacon to the pan and turn the cutlets to coat and reheat for a minute. Serve with the sauce over the top, with a sprinkling of parsley.

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

Snickerdoodle layer:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Layer:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

Topping
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Drizzle
• 1 oz white chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice


1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.

To make snickerdoodle layer:
1. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
2. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

To make pumpkin pie filling:
1. In a mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.
2. Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

3. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely. They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer. The bars that are closer to the edges of the pan will be more firm.

4. After the bars are completely cool, place the chopped white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on low power. When it's completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix (or knead if using a zip lock bag). Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.

5. Store in a covered container.

This was good...not great and a lot more "cakey" than I thought it would be.

OK, I'm going to amend my opinion of this recipe. It is EXCELLENT the NEXT DAY! So, imo, this should be made one day before you serve it. I would also reduce the amount of baking powder in the Snickerdoodle layer from 2 teaspoons to only 1 tsp!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Bonanza Beans

Bonanza Beans

2 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
1 lb dry pinto beans, washed
8 cups water
1 tbsp beef base
1 medium sized red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
15-oz can ranch-style beans
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp pickled diced jalapeno peppers
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp paprika
6 oz can tomato paste
8 oz smoked sausage, sliced into bite-sized rounds

Put everything into the crockpot except the tomato paste and the smoked sausage. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until beans are completely cooked. Stir in the tomato paste and the smoked sausage and cook another 1-2 hours.

This was delicious! Excellent flavor and I'll definitely make this again.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Beef Fried Rice

Beef Fried Rice

8 oz ground sirloin
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp crystallized ginger
1 tsp Five Spice Powder
16 oz pkg frozen mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, snap peas, water chestnuts are my favorite)
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce
2 tsp chili paste
2 cups cooked Rice

Brown and crumble the ground sirloin in a large skillet with the onion and garlic. Stir in the ground and crystallized ginger, five spice powder and the frozen vegetables. Add water, stir, cover and cook on medium high heat about 5-10 minutes or until veggies are nearly done (crisp tender). Stir in the soy sauce, hoisin sauce and chili paste and cook another minute or two, stirring. Mix in the hot cooked rice and serve. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Makes aboout 4 servings. 6 PointsPlus per serving. This was really tasty and John loved it! From the Weight Watchers website.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Hot and Chili Chicken

Hot and Chili Chicken

1⁄2 cup sweet or bitter orange marmalade
2 Tbsp chili powder (mild, hot or a mix of both)
6 chicken drumsticks
2 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick (Release) foil.

2. Mix marmalade, chili powder and 1⁄2 tsp salt in a large ziptop bag. Add chicken; seal bag. Turn and squeeze bag to coat drumsticks. Arrange on lined baking sheet, spooning on any excess marmalade mixture.

Good! Found in a Womans' Day magazine.


3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of meat, not touching bone, registers 180°F.

From Woman's Day magazine.

Sweet & Spicy Picante Chicken

Sweet & Spicy Picante Chicken

1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 jar (16 ounces) Pace Picante Sauce
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

Heat the oven to 400°F. Place the chicken into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Stir the picante sauce, brown sugar and mustard in a small bowl. Pour the picante sauce mixture over the chicken.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

This was delicious! I'll be making this one again and again and again! And only 5 PointsPlus!

I got this recipe from my sister, Donna and I think she found it on the Weight Watchers website, but I'm not sure.