Fruity Monkey Bread (kid approved!)

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. Additionally, I took some of the comments that were made to the recipe and made some changes.

1 can of biscuits
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 apple (chopped small)
dried craisens
chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. nutmeg

Mix sugar and cinnamon in Ziploc bag. Tear biscuits into fourths. Place biscuits in bag and zip up. Shake -- not your hips -- the bag, until coated. Spray a bundt pan (tube pan with hole in the middle), or muffin tins, or bread pans with non-stick spray. Layer biscuits, apple, craisens, and pecans in pan. In a medium saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar. Add vanilla and nutmeg. Bring to boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour mixture over biscuits. Cook 350 degrees. If bundt pan is used, cook for 35 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil. If smaller pan is used, cook for less time - like 20 minutes. Keep checking to avoid burning the tops or boil overs.

I used muffin tins and mini bread pans and cooked for 20 minutes. I didn't cover with aluminum foil.  I put fruit and nuts on top. May want to put them on bottom of pan next time.

Winning breakfast casserole! (pic included)

This is my son's new favorite breakfast casserole recipe. I got it out of our local newspaper on the same page as an article about Charlie Sheen. So, that is why I called it the WINNING breakfast casserole. This is the recipe as written. I will add changes that I made at the bottom, if anyone is interested.

8 slices of bacon
1 med onion chopped (1 cup)
1 loaf (8 oz) Italian bread, cut into 1-in cubes (5 cups)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Reserve 2 TBS of the drippings. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble and set aside.  Add onion to drippings in skillet; cook and stir three min. or until softened. Spread 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 13 X 9 baking dish.  Layer with half each of onion, bacon, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.  Spread evenly with cottage cheese. Top with remaining bread cubes, onion, bacon, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Beat eggs in medium bowl until foamy. Add milk, mustard, nutmeg and pepper; beat until blended. Pour evenly over top.  Press bread cubes lightly into egg mixture until completely covered. Let stand 10 min. Bake 40-50 min or until center is set and top is golden brown. Makes 12 servings.  --recipe from McCormick


CHANGES I MADE: I substituted Jennie-O turkey ham for the bacon. Instead of Italian bread loaf, I used gourmet whole grain wheat loaf. I estimated on all measurements of cheese, as well as adding fresh parmesan cheese. I estimated on the cottage cheese, probably using more than one cup. Recipe calls for 5 eggs. I used 2 eggs and enough "egg whites" for 6 more eggs because it didn't look "eggy" enough. It says to bake 40-50 minutes. I cooked for a full 60 minutes, uncovered. Picture below:

This picture taken after cooking for 50 minutes.

Pressure Cooker

I have used my pressure cooker twice now. Both times to cook beans. The taste of beans that are not canned are AMAZING! Who would have thought beans would smell so good? Not to mention, they are very healthy and a great substitute for meat. If I don't cook anything else besides beans in my pressure cooker, it will still be worth it. A bag of beans (un-soaked) can be cooked in 30 minutes - with a quick steam release. My cooker is stainless steel. They are more expensive than the aluminum cookers, but I wanted a quality product that would last a long time. It is a 6-quart cooker, and sometimes I wonder if it will be big enough. You can cook whole meals in them; roasts, ribs, pork loins, etc. They are suppose to be just as tender, as if you slow-cooked them all day, but much much faster. It also promotes energy savings. Because it doesn't take as long to cook, the user saves electricity/gas to run the stove and also eliminates most of the heat from the kitchen when cooking during the summer. I cooked up some kidney beans today for some chili. I could have made the actual chili in the cooker (not just the beans), but there is something to be said for enjoying the aroma while it is cooking and leisurely "tending" to it. The weekend allows for more time to enjoy the joy of slow-cooking. But, for those busy times, get a pressure cooker!

Here is a link to a website for the cooker that I have. It has great ideas for meals and a time chart:

http://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cookers/cooking_times_pressure_cooker.php

Lasagna

Short Nathan story: Nathan was warming up some leftover lasagna for lunch. He says to me, "I think I'll become Italian." I said, "really? why is that?" He said, "They have the best food ever." Later, as he was eating, he asked if I put my lasagna recipe on my blog. I told him I couldn't remember. He said, "Check it." So, since I have not posted my recipe for my lasagna, I am posting now. Nathan recommends it.

1 lb ground beef (or sausage or half and half)
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 small fresh mushrooms, chopped (I used canned)
olives, chopped (optional)
2 jars or cans of spaghetti sauce
1 (16 oz)cottage cheese
1 pint ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (fresh is best)
1 egg
1 (16 oz) pkg. lasagna noodles
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (separated)
oregano and/or basil

In a large skillet, cook hamburger (or sausage) until browned. Drain excess grease. Add mushrooms, onions, and olives until onions are transparent. Stir in one jar of pasta sauce, saving enough to cover noodles on top. Add oregano and/or basil. Heat through. In large bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated parmesan, one cup of mozzarella cheese, and one egg. Spread thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of a 13 X 9 greased pan. (I usually have enough to do two pans)Layer with uncooked noodles, cheese mixture, and meat sauce. Last layers should be noodles, remainder of spaghetti sauce, and remainder of mozzarella cheese. Spray aluminum foil and cover. Cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and cook 15 minutes more. Cheese should be lightly browned on top.

Easy and Quick Beef and Noodles

Wanted to share an easy and quick way to do beef and noodles. Buy Reames frozen egg noodles. These are the next best thing to homemade noodles, in my opinion. I also buy canned beef (two cans). Canned beef is not the healthiest choice, but we don't have it that often. The canned beef that I buy is from Aldi's. It is in a can similar to canned chicken or tuna (in the same area). It comes with a little bit of gravy in the can and is already cooked and tender. I cut/shred it into smaller pieces before using. Bring beef broth to a boil. You can use canned beef broth or leftover broth from a roast. You can also use beef bouillon cubes or granules and mix with water until dissolved, according to directions. Bring broth to a boil and then add noodles. Reduce heat and simmer until noodles are soft. Add canned beef with broth. To thicken broth for gravy, mix about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with JUST enough COLD water, (while stirring with spoon) until cornstarch is dissolved. Add to simmering pot of broth and noodles. Stir until desired consistency. If needed, repeat cornstarch and water process to thicken even more.

Our family usually eats this with mashed potatoes, but they are optional. Sometimes, I use instant potatoes (Idahoan only - not all stores have this brand. Walmart does.) Tonight I'm mashing some real potatoes.

BBQ pulled pork

Yesterday, we fixed BBQ pulled pork and it was excellent. Thought I'd share how we did it. Of course, there's not just one way to fix it.

I bought a whole pork loin at Sam's Club for around $17. We cut it into thirds and froze 2/3 of it (separately) and fixed the remaining third. Placed in a crockpot (we have a large crockpot) with some Rustic Rub that we had made a while back (Emeril Lagasse's recipe). Covered with water and cooked on high for about 7 hours. Removed and let cool. Pulled apart or shredded and placed into an aluminum disposable pan (from Sam's). Added KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce (a lot), 3/4 bottle (I took care of the rest) of Bud Lite with lime and about a cup of water. Added garlic salt, seasoning salt, and onion powder. Stir. Covered with aluminum foil and cooked on grill for about an hour. It is so easy, delicious, and relatively inexpensive. One third of the loin will feed the three of us for several days.

The BEST egg white scrambled eggs!

I had the most flavorful breakfast and I just had to blog about it! I've been learning to use seasonings and herbs to add flavor to food, instead of fat and calories.

Scrambled eggs this morning - egg whites (pre-packaged), artichokes (canned and chopped), chopped baby spinach, bleu cheese crumbles, one fresh basil leaf(chopped), garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (for garnish).

It's hard to believe that healthy eating can taste so good!

Romaine salad with rotisserie chicken, bleu cheese, walnuts, and tomatoes

I just wanted to share a wonderful salad that I had this evening (Kirk and Nathan had leftover enchiladas, beans, and rice). It started with romaine lettuce (iceberg lettuce has the least nutritional value of all the greens); rotisserie chicken; bleu cheese crumbles; chopped tomatoes; walnuts; light raspberry and walnut vinaigrette (and some salad seasoning from The Melting Pot Restaurant). Served it with Baked Pita chips. I will have to admit that I probably enjoyed that more than I would have the enchiladas.

Choosing Healthy(ier) When Eating Out. (It's hard)

I don't cook every night. Sometimes, my husband, son, and I enjoy a nice evening out. It is very tricky ordering out when you are trying to make healthy eating choices. I was really hungry for a tenderloin. It's been a very long time since I've had one. I'd heard that 54th Street Food and Drink had a good one. That's where we ate this evening. Did you know they have two kinds of tenderloins? The regular and the "Tenderloin on Steroids". I'm not joking. The tenderloin on steroids has ham, bacon, and cheese on top of the tenderloin. Wow. I did not order this one. I ordered the plain tenderloin with no cheese. It was beautiful. I tossed the bun (it looked so nicely buttered, browned, and crispy). I ate half the tenderloin. I remember thinking that this tenderloin is a LOT bigger than a deck of cards (recommended serving size for meat). I made sure that I ate the vegetable condiments that I liked - tomato, onion, pickle, and horseradish. Yum! I ate only half of my waffle fries and gringo cheese sauce. I brought the rest home to either let my husband eat tomorrow or take for lunch. For dessert (later), I had two Reese's dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I had been wanting some dark chocolate. By the way, dark chocolate is healthier for you than other kinds of chocolate.

Now, I'm headed to exercise my delicious dinner off!

P.S. My husband ordered a hamburger with BBQ pork on top with cheese. Nathan ordered a bacon cheeseburger.

Healing Herbs and Spices

1. Cayenne (red) pepper- helps pain, treats shingles pain and diabetes-related nerve pain. Shrinks blood vessels in your nose and throat, relieving congestion. Metabolism booster, speeds up for a couple of hours after eating. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, and antidiabetes properties.

2. Cinnamon - helps control blood sugar in diabetics; cuts triglycerides and total cholesterol; helps prevent blood clots; antibacterial, anti-inflammatory; shown to conquer E. coli, among other types of bacteria; high in fiber (comes from the bark of a tree); and can reduce heartburn in some people.

3. Cloves - anti-inflammatory; protects against heart disease and cancer; slows the cartilage and bone damage caused by arthritis; improves insulin function; clove oil has numbing effect in addition to bacteria-fighting powers (good use for toothaches); in test tubes, cloves also killed certain bacteria that were resistant to antibiotics.

4. Coriander seeds - digestive aid; helps with irritable bowel syndrome; antianxiety herb; Its essential oil fights bacteria, including E. coli and salmonella. Has been shown to lower cholesterol in animals and is being further studied in humans; antioxidant.

5. Garlic - when eaten daily, can help lower heart disease risk by as much as 76 percent; thins blood and reducing chances of blood clots; antioxidant; appears to ward off cancer, especially stomach and colorectal cancer. The compounds flush carcinogens before they damage DNA, and they force cancer cells that do develop to self-destruct. Antibacterial and antifungal - help with yeast infections, some sinus infections, and the common cold. Can even repel ticks.

6. Ginger - Reduces pain and swelling in people with arthritis. May help with migraines by blocking inflammatory substances called prostaglandins. Boosts digestive juices and neutralizes acids while reducing intestinal contractions. Effective against nausea. One study showed worked just as well as Dramamine, but without making you sleepy.

7. Mustard - made from seeds of a plant from the cabbage family - strong anticancer group of plants. May inhibit growth of cancer cells; can break up congestion; helps with pain if used externally; mustard powder added to a foot bath helps kill athlete's foot fungus. Too much though, can have a laxative effect or cause vomiting.

8. Nutmeg - kills a number of bacteria; inhibits an enzyme in the brain that contributes to Alzheimer's disease and  improves memory in mice. Researchers are currently studying it for an antidepressant.


9. Sage - memory enhancer; some lab studies show that it protects the brain against certain processes that lead to Alzheimer's disease. In at least one study, a sage-oil concoction improved mood, increasing alertness, calmness, and contentedness. In a British study, healthy young adults performed better on word recall tests after taking sage-oil capsules. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties; boosts the action of insulin to reduce blood sugar.

10. Turmeric - top anticancer agent; slows inflammation that contributes to tumor growth; works in the same way as broccoli and cauliflower to clear carcinogens away before they damage DNA and repairs already damaged DNA. Lab studies showed that Turmeric helps stop the growth and spread of cancer cells that do form. Research shows that it may protect against colon cancer as well as melanoma. In animal studies, curcumin (a chemical in turmeric), decreased the formation of amyloid, the stuff that makes up the brain deposits characteristic in people with Alzheimer's disease.


SOURCE:

Cleary, Allison, et al. Food Cures. New York: The Reader's Digest Association. 2009. Print.