Turkey Meatloaf

We had a package of ground turkey we needed to cook, so I thought why not make a meatloaf?  I mean, who doesn't love a good meatloaf? 

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 tablespoon minced onion - I would normally opt for fresh, but we didn't have any on hand
garlic powder
pepper
seasoning salt
1 egg
8 saltine crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons ketchup

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
dash of garlic powder
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, mix the ground turkey, mince onion, garlic powder, pepper, seasoning salt, egg, crackers, and ketchup.  Once mixed, form into loaf in an 8x8 greased oven-safe dish.  In a separate bowl, mix sauce ingredients and pour on top of meatloaf.  Bake for 50 minutes or until meat is fully cooked.  Serve with sides of your choice.

You could definitely use regular ketchup or even a barbecue sauce if you choose.  Or bread crumbs in place of the crackers. 

T tells me this was a definite winner.  Althought next time, I think we may try buffalo meat!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

TGIF!  Since I'm traveling out of town tomorrow to meet with our florist to finalize details of our wedding flowers and T's been working late every night this week, I thought T and I could both use a relaxing evening at home.  We opted for a quick and easy dinner: Barbecue Chicken Pizza so we could settle in to watch movies and catch up on shows from our DVR. 

Ingredients:
Pita pockets
Barbecue sauce - We used Sweet Baby Ray's Vidalia Onion
Onion, chopped
Green pepper, chopped
Precooked sliced chicken, warmed - We like to keep Tyson's grilled chicken strips on hand for things like this. 
Mozzarella Cheese

Directions.
Preheat oven to 350.  Open pita pockets and separate into two pieces.  Spread barbecue sauce onto each piece of pita.  Add onion, green pepper, chicken and cheese to top.  Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

If you're like me and don't care for raw onions or peppers, sauteing them in a pan for a few minutes would be a great option before adding them to pizza. 

This recipe is super easy and takes almost no time at all.  Enjoy!

Mr & Mrs

So I previously mentioned that my mom and I am trying to DIY a few things for my upcoming wedding.  Well, I'm excited to show you my most recent project! 

Supplies:
Cardboard letter blocks
Paint and brush - I used Folk Art Plaid in a cream color and a foam brush
Flower embellishments - I used Reflections brand found at Michaels in ivory
Rhinestone and pearl embellishments
Glue gun and glue sticks

Directions:
Paint the letter blocks.  I thought spray painting would be the way to go.  Sadly, with Kansas wind and the position of my house, it was a terrible idea.  I ended up repainting them with Folk Art paint.  A couple coats was sufficient.

After the paint dries, lay the letters flat on your work surface.  Arrange the flowers on the letters and glue on when you are satisfied with the position.  Because the flower embellishments didn't have centers, I used the rhinestone and pearl embellishments to complete the flowers.

These will be on the sweetheart table at the reception with my bouquet in the middle instead of an & sign.  So pleased!  T advises he was quite impressed and is coming around to my crafting and DIYing tendencies. 

 

The great thing about cardboard block letters is that they are so versatile.  They could be painted green and red and embellished with Christmas items, customized to read your last name, etc.  The possibilities are endless!

Grilled Bananas

I often find that I take waaaaay too many pictures.  While organizing them, I ran across a photo of a fantastic grilling item: bananas.  Seriously, it's like a warm banana split.  Seeing the picture makes me wish summer was here (or maybe its the 30 degree weather). 

All you need are bananas, foil, your choice of toppings and a grill. Make a foil bowl to hold your banana. Cut the banana the long way and add your toppings. Transfer to your heated grill for 10-15 minutes (the banana peel will turn black). Once the banana has been cooked, remove from the grill and transfer to a dish.  Add ice cream, whipped topping, or whatever else you'd like and serve!  So delish!

 

 

Corn Flake Potato Casserole

Good evening, everyone!

Lately, I've been in the mood for corn flake potatoes that my mom and grandma have made on numerous occasions for family functions.  Such a delicious dish!  So I decided to make the corn flake potatoes, but with my own twist.

Ingredients:
1 lb Obrien hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chives
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 pint sour cream
10 ounces grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bacon bits
2 cans turkey in water

For topping - 1/4 cup melted butter and 3 cups crushed corn flakes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix main ingredients together in a bowl and pour into 9x13-inch dish.  Pour crusthed corn flakes on top followed by melted butter.  Bake for 45 minutes or until potatoes are done.

So good!

Banana Bread Muffins

I love bananas.  But I don't love bananas once they start to become too ripe.  While fixing dinner tonight, I knew I had to get rid of the overripe bananas sitting on the counter, but I couldn't bring myself to just throw them away.  I searched through my recipe list and found 8 Weeks to a Better You's recipe for Banana Bread and thought I'd give it a try.  So.  Good.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
3/4 cup honey
2 eggs, beaten
3 mashed overripe bananas

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together and fill greased muffin tins.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until inserted toothpick is clean.  Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.  Makes approximately 24 muffins.

The original recipe makes a loaf of bread, but I took the muffin route as we don't own a loaf pan.  I cut the cook time down quite a bit due to this.  I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.  After reading a few reader comments on the original post, I was afraid they would be more on the bland side.  The honey gives a perfect amount of sweetness for this delicious muffin.  T's suggestion for future batches is to add chocolate or butterscotch chips.  I think he might be on to something!

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Hello, everyone!  I hope everyone is having a great start to the week.  In observance of Martin Luther King Day, my office was closed yesterday.  I was fortunate to be able to spent the day with my mom shopping for wedding related items such as a veil, shoes, jewelry, mother of the bride outfit, etc.  We found a lot of great things while shopping around.  I get more excited for the wedding every day!  After a long day of shopping, my mom and I met T and my grandparents for dinner before I headed back home for the night.

Since we ate out last night, I wanted to have a quiet dinner in.  T had to work late, so I had an hour or so to prep and cook dinner.  I decided on Baked Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti and Garlic Bread.

Ingredients:
4 Chicken Breasts
1 Jar Pasta Sauce, brand and style of your choice
Onion, I used minced but should have used fresh
Garlic Powder
Pepper
Pepperoni, 15-20 pieces
Chives
Spaghetti Noodles or pasta of your choice
Bread
Butter
Oregano
Parmesan or Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake chicken for half hour or until done.  While chicken is baking, chop onion, chives and pepperoni and place in skillet. 

 

 

Sautee for 2-3 minutes.  Add pasta sauce and mix together.  Add garlic powder, oregano, and pepper to taste. 

 

Boil noodles according to package directions.

 

Once chicken is done, move chicken to alternate pan free of fat.  Cover chicken with pasta sauce.  Bake for 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese across the top.  Bake additional 2-3 minutes before removing from oven.

 

While chicken parmesan is baking, butter bread and sprinkle garlic powder on top.  Bake until bread is baked to desired crispness.

 

 

 

Remove chicken and bread from oven and drain pasta.  You're now ready to serve.

 

 

 

Next time, I will definitely use fresh onion.  The pasta sauce didn't taste much different with the added pepperoni, but it did add a different texture and a nice surprise in each bite.  Overall, pretty successful!

 

 

 

DIY Photo Pendants

I love DIY projects.  I enjoy the creative outlet and the ability to personalize all as many or as few details as I want.  After my grandma passed away last month, I knew I wanted to do something at my wedding to remember her.  I ran across these Crystal Pendants that I liked, but I found the crystal chandalier pieces to cause a slight distortion to the photo.  I spent some time browsing for alternatives online and found a great seller on Amazon called Beadaholique that sells a ton of jewelry related items.  I ordered a few different style tiles and other supplies and within just a few days had acquired all the supplied I needed for this project.  Just a side note, it took several days to complete due to dry time on the paints and glues.

Supplies:
Glass tiles of your choice (I chose a large 1 7/8 inch tile and 30x40mm glass piece from a pendant kit)
E6000 Industrial Strength Glue Adhesive
Small Plated Jewelry Bails
Jewely Wire, .18mm
Beads of your choice
Jewelry Wire Cutters
Jewelry Crimping Tool
Crimp Tube
Plaid's Folk Art Acrylic Paint (I chose silver)
Paint Brush
Printed Photos to fit the size of your tiles
Mod Podge 3D
Scissors

Directions:
First, apply E6000 to the back of the tile.  Slowly lay the tile onto the photo side and press gently to avoid air bubbles.  Allow 24 hours to dry.

Once the photo and pendant are adhered, cut excess paper from tile.  Then lay photo side down and cover with Modge Podge 3D.  Allow 24 hours to dry.

One Modge Podge is dry, paint one to two coats of silver paint on back of pendant. 

Next, attach a bail to your pendant using the E6000.  Let dry overnight.

 

Once pendant is dry, you're ready to string the wire with beads.  It is completely up to you how to do this - you can make a necklace, an ornament, whatever you'd like.  I chose to make a short beaded strand.  Once you achieve the desired length, strand the wire in opposite directions through the crimp tube to create a loop.  Pinch the crimp tool in place.

 

 

That's all there is to it.  I made one for my late grandma and one for my late aunt.  I'll either be tying them to my bouquet or to a vase with flowers in their memory.  I'm beyond pleased with how they turned out and am looking forward to having them with me on our wedding day.

 



Pork Medallions with Stuffing

Tonight's dinner was a total winner!  My fiance advises that on a scale of one to ten, this recipe tops the charts!  I was slightly nervous about trying this recipe as I've never cooked pork except in a slow cooker.  But it turned out great!  Let's get to it!

Inspiration Recipe:
Kraft's Saucy Pork Medallion

Ingredients:
2 tsp oil
1 large pork tenderloine, cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
2 cups frozen peas
1 package turkey gravy, made as directed
1/4 cup zesty italian dressing
1 package stuffing, made as directed

Directions:
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.  Add meat and cook fives minutes or until  browned on both sides.  Meanwhile, prepare stuffing as directed.

In a separate sauce pan, make turkey gravy as directed.  Add peas and italian dressing.  Bring to boil and simmer for a minute or two.

Spoon stuffing over meat mixture and cover.  Simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until meat is done and stuffing is heated through.

Serve pork and stuffing mixture with gravy one top.  It might not look pretty, but it is delicious!

Anna Karenina - Movie Review

Plot: Set in 19th century Russia, an aristocrat enters into a whirlwind romance and life changing affair.

Thoughts: After seeing previews for this movie, I knew I would definitely want to see it.  We finally had the opportunity this evening and I must admit, I'm slightly disappointed. 

Not ten minutes in I was already experiencing concerns due to the sets.  I found out through the trivia section on IMDB that the majority of the movie was filmed in a run down theatre.  To move from one scene to the next, curtains would raise, backdrops would move, etc.  It was fascinating how the director was able to take so many places within a theatre and successfully use them to project different images such as the catwalk (an area above the stage often used for lighting) as a busy street, storage areas used as houses and ladders used as stairways leading from one room to the next.  By the end of the film, I was impressed by the continuity and flexibility present in filming and production even though this doesn't match my usual style expectations.

Keira Knightly played the main character Anna Karenina.  She did an excellent job of portraying the noble woman who finds herself in a love triangle.  The passion she displays for her new love interest is impressive as well as how believable she is in her role.  I've heard that her character is likable in the book, but all I felt was disappointment and anger with her character due to her choices and infidelity.  I was unable to be sympathetic to the pain her character experienced as a result of her choices. 

Jude Law plays Anna Karenina's husband Karenin.  Throughout the movie, you can't help but feel bad for Karenin due to his wife's infidelity and the shattering of his marriage.  Unfortunately, this character is not incredibly memorable.  I barely recognized Jude Law and once I realized it was him, I didn't find that his character did anything extraordinary.  This is really a scripting issue for me.  I feel like he's working with what was written, which simply wasn't great.

The third point of the love triangle is Vronsky played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson.  Prior to this movie, I'd never heard of him and honestly don't recognize very much of his previous work.  He's a good looking guy, but his mustache in this film was incredibly distracting.  Besides being handsome, I'm not sure what other attributes we're supposed to find attractive about him.  I guess maybe its the mystery that was supposed to draw me to like his character.  Unfortunately, it didn't work.

In addition to the three main characters, there were other aristocrats and nobles who played small roles.  For instance, there are many women in Anna Karenina's social circle and men who are seeking out said women for marriage.

Of the secondary characters, my favorite was Levin played by Domhnall Gleeson.  We're introduced to Levin when he discusses proposing to a woman who is in love with Vronsky.  Honestly, I found that I was more invested in Levin than any other character in the movie.  The way he spoke, the way he portrayed himself, his compassion for his family and the woman he loved, everything combined made me believe he was a good man deserving of good things.

Due to the lack of actual connection between me and the characters, and the misunderstanding as to why each character should be likable, I'm leaning more negatively on this movie than not.  The effects were impressive (although not my style), as was the costume and individual set designs, but unfortunately, the script/direction leaves much to be desired.

Garlic Parm Chicken with Mashed-Baked Potatoes

Good evening!  I hope everyone's week is going well! 

Tonight's dinner was delicious!  We made Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken following a recipe from Momswhothink.com and a take on The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes.

First up: Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 package Italian dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
chicken breasts - we actually ended up using frozen chicken tenderloins

Directions:
First, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix cheese, dressing mix and garlic powder into bowl.  Coat chicken breasts with mixture (The original recipe recommends using water to bind the mixture to the chicken.  Egg would also work).  Bake 20-25 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

Next up: Mashed-Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:
red potatoes, quantity is your choice
olive oil
garlic salt
pepper
fresh chives, chopped

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add in as many potatoes as you'd like and cook until they are tender.  Coat a sheet pan with olive oil.  Once potatoes are tender, place on sheet pan and mash.  Brush the tops of the potatoes with olive oil then sprinkle with garlic salt, pepper and chives.  Bake 20-25 minutes.

The original recipe called for rosemary, but also advises an herb can be used according to your tastes.  Next time we make this, we'll probably want to soften the chives by putting them into olive oil and microwaving them for 10 seconds or so.  This time round they became dried.  I didn't mind the text, but T said he prefers them more soft.  Also, instead of mashing each potato into individual potato cakes, we simply mashed them to cover the sheet pan.  Next time, we'll mash the potatoes more and mix the ingredients more to create a more flavorful side dish. 

Overall, our dinner was delicious! 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Good evening!  After enjoying dinner out with friends from work, I decided to come home and bake.  T's mom brought chocolate chip pumpkin bars to our Christmas celebration and I knew I wanted to make some as well.  My fiance will be home tomorrow night, and after being sick and on the road, I decided he'd enjoy a special dessert bread. 

We've made super simple pumpkin spice muffins before using 1 box of spice cake and 1 can of pumpkin.  This time I decided to add something sweet: chocolate!

Ingredients:
1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
2 cups chocolate chips
powdered sugar, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Combine cake mix and pumpkin in bowl.  Mix well, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add 1 cup chocolate chips and mix well.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Sprinkly additional chocolate chips over top.  Bake 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  After you've removed from the oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

 



Slow Cooker Lasagna

When my fiance leaves town I tend to spend a lot of time cleaning and going through closets and purging our house of things we don't need anymore.  This time was no different.  Since I made a list of several things I wanted to get done tonight, I decided a slow cooker dinner would be perfect.  I found a great looking recipe for Slow Cooker Lasagna from Taste of Home and it turned out to be delicious.  Below is my take on the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground sausage
1 pound ground buffalo
1 tablespoon minced onions
1 jar Ragu tomato sauce - I like Parmesan Oregano
1 can tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 package no-cook lasagna noodles
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
12 ounces ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Brown sausage and buffalo meat.  Mix meat, minced onions, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, oregano, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder together.  In a separate bowl, mix mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese together.  Spread a fourth of the meat in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Arrange a third of the noodles on top, breaking if necessary.  Spoon a third of the cheese mixture on top.  Repeat layers twice and top with remaining meat sauce. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours, or until noodles are tender. 

I browned the meat in advance and did the rest of the prep on my lunch hour today.  The lasagna was ready when I got home from work and was absolutely delicious! 

Chicken Pot Pie

After a weekend of wedding plan with my mom and with T being out of town, I decided to make a super easy recipe from Pillsbury: Chicken Pot Pie.  I love pot pie; all the vegetables, the chicken, the comfortable feeling - yum!  Unfortunately, chicken pot pie isn't one of the healthiest recipes available nor does T care much for it.  Since he's out, I knew it would be a perfect dinner option!

Ingredients
2 frozen pie shells
1 can Progresso Rich & Hearty Chicken Pot Pie soup
1 package frozen mixed vegetables
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425.  In saucepan, heat soup, vegetables, and flour until warm.  Spoon into one pie shell.  Top with second pie crust and seal edges.  Cut slits in several places in top crust.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.  Approximately 15 minutes into baking, cover edges of crust with foil to avoid excessive browning.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

I've made a few changes to the original recipe.  The original recipe uses refrigerated pie crusts, but I've found I prefer the frozen as they can be purchased and stored for an extended period.  Simply let them thaw while you preheat the oven and prepare the pot pie mixture.  The original recipe also calls for 2 cups of vegetables, but I've gone ahead and increased it to the whole bag.  This is a super easy recipe.  The leftovers taste delicious and also freeze well.  Yum!