Simple week night meal

I know today is Valentine's Day and most people are going out for dinner or cooking a gourmet meal for their significant other. Well I made Brock's meal yesterday and we are headed to Dallas on Thursday for a long weekend and Brock will be taking me out to celebrate our love some time this weekend. So tonight I just planned a simple meal since this week is parent teacher conference week and I wanted to keep things simple.

Steak Sandwich, Sweet Potato Fries, and Brown Sugar Sauce

Steak Sandwich, Sweet Potato Fries, and Honey Dip Sacue

Caesar Salad Cube Steak Burger

(adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice)

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds of cube steak
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 shallots, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced

1 can of beef broth

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Sandwich you will need:

Romaine Lettuce

Fresh Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 or 2 piece of toasted bread (I used low carb)

1 teaspoon of Honey Dip Sauce (recipe to follow)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and marinate the meat for 2 hours (or all day...I put mine together this morning and had it ready when I got off work). Place the meat and marinade in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook about 7 minutes each side.  When the meat is finished start with toasted bread, cover with honey dip sauce, then lettuce, place your meat then smother with freshly shredded parmesan cheese.

Honey Dip Sauce

(adapted from Our Best Bites)

Ingredients:

8 ounces of Sour Cream

1 1/2 tablespoons of Mayo

1 tablespoon of Sugar Free Honey

a few sprinkles of cumin, parsley, oregano, salt, and onion powder (all to taste)

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together and refrigerate will use. You can also use this dip with the Sweet Potato Fries. It is a more savory option rather than the sweet brown sugar sauce. 

This sauce taste like a homemade french onion dip. Very savory and full of flavor. Taste great with sandwich and fries!!!

Sweet Potato Fries

(Our Best Bites)

Ingredients:

1 lb peeled sweet potatoes cut into 1/4" match-sticks

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t oregano

1/2 t coriander

1 t kosher salt

1 t parsley

1/8 tsp black pepper

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a small bowl combine cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, parsley, and pepper. 

Place sweet potatoes in a pile directly on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Use hands to toss until all pieces are well coated.  Sprinkle seasoning mixture on top and toss again with hands to coat. 

Arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer so that pieces are not touching each other.  Place pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Use a metal spatula to gently flip fries and then return pan to oven. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes or until fries are starting to lightly brown and crisp.

Brown Sugar Maple Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of butter melted

1/4 cup of sugar free maple syrup

1/8 cup of Splenda brown sugar

1 tablespoon of sugar free honey

 

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve with warm bake sweet potato fries! Yummo!

Dessert

Melt milk chocolate of choice in microwave with some shortening. Dip strawberries in them and let them set on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Melt white chocolate with some shortening then place in a ziplock bag and cut off the tip. Drizzle white chocolate over the strawberries. Super easy and always delicious!!! 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

Valentine's Day Dinner

I love Valentine's Day! It is such a fun little holiday...I guess you can call it a holiday. It a day that I love to do things for the man I love. This year Valentine's Day is on Monday...not just any Monday but the first day of Parent/Teacher Conferences! Which means I won't have time tomorrow to be in the kitchen and make dinner and dessert for my new hubby. So today I decided to spend some time and make a nice little romantic dinner for my amazing husband! On the menu....Rosemary Brown Sugar Marinated Pork Chops, Mock Loaded Mashed Potatoes (Cauliflower), Parmesan Asparagus, Salad, and for dessert.....Coconut Creme Brulee with fresh berries and fresh whipped topping!

The candle lit table

 Needless to say dinner was a success! Brock loved it and was surprised with Creme Brulee...which is his favorite! I had never made it but decided to try it and it was amazingly delicious! Here are the very simple recipes I used. The creme brulee took the longest but the meal itself can be done in less than an hour! :)

Pork Chops, Cauliflower Mash, Asparagus

Rosemary Brown Sugar Pork Chops
(Sweetpeas kitchen)
Ingredients:
4 boneless porkchops
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of water
3 tablespoons of Brown Sugar (I used the Spenda brown sugar)
1 tablespoon of dried rosemary (or 3 tablespoons of fresh rosemary)

Directions:
Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and rosemary together and marinate the porkchops in the mix for 3 hours or longer.
Preheat oven 350. Place meat and marinade in a baking dish. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes flipping them halfway through.

Mock Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen cauliflower
3 ounces of cream cheese
1 hand full of shredded cheddar cheese
1 hand full of crumbled bacon (2 to 3 slices)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil then add in the cauliflower. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 30 minutes. In the mean time in a medium sized bowl put the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, and bacon. When the cauliflower is done spoon it out with a slotted spoon into the bowl with the other ingredients. With a fork mash and mix till all the cheese is melted and the cauliflower is mashed to resemble mashed potatoes.

Parmesan Asparagus
Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus
a drizzle of oil
salt and pepper (to taste)
sprinkle of shredded parmesan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with foil (for easy clean up). Take  your asparagus and chop off the bottom inch or so. Spread them out on the cookie sheet. Toss with a little oil. Make sure they are all coated (not drenched) with oil. Salt and pepper to taste...just a few sprinkles. Bake for 15 minutes. Pull the tray out and sprinkle with some shredded Parmesan. Bake for 3 to 5 more minutes. Just enough for the cheese to melt.

Salad....fresh spinach leaves, feta cheese, bacon crumbles, almonds, and dried cranberries drizzled with sugar free Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.

Coconut Creme Brulee

(Get off your butt and Bake)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of sugar (I used real sugar since it was my first time making it...next time I will try Splenda)

1 teaspoon of cornstarch

8 large egg yokes

1/2 cup of heavy cream

14 ounces of coconut milk

4 teaspoons of sugar in the raw (for sprinkling on top)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300. Sift sugar and cornstarch together in a medium sized bowl. Whisk in the egg yokes. Whisk in the coconut milk and heavy cream. Set four 6 oz ramekins in a deep baking dish. Divide the custard evenly among the ramekins. Carefully pour hot water in the baking pan till it comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes and then loosely tent the pan with foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes. It the foil is too tight it will make the custard curdle so be careful. Remove the pan from the oven and take the ramekins out of the baking pan with water and let them cool on the counter about 10 to 15 minutes. Then refrigerate several hours or overnight. Before serving sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar in the raw on top of each ramekin. Then use a torch to caramelize the sugar.

I served mine with fresh berries and fresh whipped topping. For the whipped topping take heavy whipping cream, a little vanilla, and a sprinkle of splenda and use a mixer and beat it until it becomes thick and whipped cream. :)
So yummy! This meal was a success. The only thing I would like to do different next time is to try making the creme brulee with splenda.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day with the one they love...and if you are single do something for yourself! Take a long bubble bath, bake a dessert, hang out with friends, pamper yourself...but have a great day! :)

Stuffed Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

One of Brock's favorite dishes that his mom makes is Chicken Cordon Bleu.  So I thought I might just give it a low carb whirl...and it turn out great! He loved it! Yay...cooking success!!!! It is very tasty and doesn't have a thick batter on it. It was covered with little sauce...yummo! I paired it with a broccoli cheese casserole but you could serve it with pasta, or any other veggie you want! This is a super easy and hardy meal. It will definitely be a week night special in our house!

Stuffed Chicken
(adapted from Get Off Your Butt and Bake)

Ingredients:

3 Chicken Breast

3 pieces of Swiss Cheese

3 pieces of Deli Ham

1 1/2 tablespoons of Flour

1/2 teaspoon of Paprika

1/4 teaspoon of Salt

1/8 teaspoon of Garlic Powder

1/8 teaspoon of Pepper

3 tablespoons of Butter

1/4 cup of Chicken Broth

1/2 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream

1/2 tablespoon of Cornstarch 

toothpicks

Directions:

Either pound chicken to about 1/4 inch thick or butterfly it (cut it in half horizontally). Place one piece of ham and one piece of swiss cheese in the middle of each chicken breast. Roll it up and secure it with toothpicks. In a small bowl mix together flour, paprika, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Roll chicken lightly in mixture.

In a medium sized skillet melt butter over medium/high heat. Place chicken breast in skillet. Brown all sides of the chicken breast. Add in chicken broth to skillet and reduce heat to medium/low and finish cooking...about 25 to 30 minutes. When chicken is cooked remove the chicken from the skillet and keep it warm in the oven or microwave. In a small bowl whisk together heavy whipping cream and cornstarch. Pour it in the skillet and keep stirring until mixture thickens. Take out the toothpicks from the chicken breast and pour sauce over the top right before serving. Enjoy!  This can easily be doubled to make 6 servings instead of 3...well 2 because Brock will eat two pieces of chicken! :)

Super Easy Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen broccoli florets

4 slices of bacon (cooked and crumbled)

3 ounces of cream cheese (room temp)

a handful of Cheddar Cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese plus a little extra to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Preheat oven 425. Spray a square baking pan with non-stick spray. Set aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add Broccoli and let boil for 15 minutes. In a small bowl put your cream cheese, bacon crumbles, and handful of cheese. When broccoli is done strain it then add it to the bowl with cheeses and bacon. Mix well. Pour broccoli mix into prepared pan. Spread it out to cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with some extra cheese and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. 

This is so yummy and super cheesy! :)

Crustless Italian style Quiche

Another snow day locked in the house and literally we can't go anywhere. We woke up starving and freezing! So off to the kitchen I went to try to make some sort of  breakfast dish with what I had left in the fridge. We desperately need to go to the store for groceries sometime today or tomorrow morning if we can ever get Brock's car unstuck in the snow. I drive a Mazda 3 and it is parked in the garage....and that is where it is staying since the snow in front of the garage door comes up about even with my trunk! On to the delicious Italian style quiche.....

Italian Crustless Quiche

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon

6 eggs

a few splashes of half and half (or milk)

Italian Seasoning (or basil, tyme, oregano)

1/4 cup of feta cheese

a handful of fresh spinach leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Spray a 9 inch pie pan with non stick spray and set aside. Fry bacon til crispy. Once it is cool enough to handle crumble into pieces. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil chop spinach into bite size pieces. Make sure you remove the stems before you chop the spinach. Once water is boiling place chopped spinach into the pot. Boil for only about 2 minutes. While you wait for those two minutes get a bowl of ice water ready to transfer the spinach into when it is finished. Scoop it out with a slotted spoon and place in ice water bowl. Scoop out of the ice bowl after about thirty seconds and place on a paper towel.  In a medium bowl crack 6 eggs and beat well. Add in half and half, Italian seasoning, feta cheese, spinach, and bacon crumbles. Mix well. Pour into prepared dish. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until middle of quiche is firm. Let it cool for about 3 to 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Thai Chicken and Mock Rice (Cauliflower)

This meal is super easy and so yummy! I found the Thai Chicken recipe on eatbetteramerica.com. Which is a great place to find low calorie and low fat recipes. I found this one and make a few adjustments to make it low carb. You can adjust the spices to your taste. We like it with a little kick. Of course everything I make has to have a little spicy kick to it! The mock rice recipe I found from www.gnaw.com. This lady had a website dedicated to low carb recipes. I have used a bunch of her fabulous recipes and tweaked them for out taste buds!

Thai Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breast

1 tablespoon of oil

3 garlic cloves minced

3 jalapenos (I left the seed in and added an extra jalapeno then what the original recipe calls for)

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 teaspoon of splenda

1/4 cup fresh chopped basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon of dried mint leaves (or 1 teaspoon of fresh mint leaves)

1 handful of chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts (or more if you want)

Directions:

Cut chicken breast into bite size pieces. 

On a stove over medium high heat put some oil in a skillet and mix jalapenos and garlic together and simmer for a few minutes. Add in chicken. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. If there is a lot of juice in the pan try to scoop it out with a spoon. Don't strain it or you will loose the garlic and some of the jalapenos. Stir in soy sauce, splenda, basil leaves, mint leaves, and peanuts. Cook for about 5 more minuets until soy sauce is bubbly and all the chicken is coated with sauce. 

Serves about 4 people. or 2 people with left overs! :)

Mock Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 medium head of cauliflower (grated-I used my food processor)

2 cloves of garlic

Cooking oil (about 2 to 3 tablespoons)

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1 egg (beaten)

3 green onions (I didn't have these so I used onion powder just to give it the onion flavor)

a dash of pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in wok over medium high heat. Add cauliflower and garlic, stir fry until cauliflower is nearly tender, don't over cook or it will be mushy. Stir in soy sauce. Push all the cauliflower to one side of the wok and pour in the beaten egg on the other side and lightly scramble it. Mix it into the cauliflower. Add the green onions and pepper. Toss together and serve! 

Thai Chicken and Fried "Rice"

Superbowl treats!

Sunday night we threw a Superbowl party for some friends of ours. I decided to make lots of treats for our company. One of my favorite places to eat is the Cheesecake Factory. We don't have one here in Arkansas and the closest one is in Tulsa (2 hours away). We obviously don't eat there a lot but every time we are in Tulsa I beg Brock to take me there. His favorite appetizer there are the Buffalo Blasts. They are a fried buffalo shredded chicken with cheese in a wanton wrap then deep fried and served with Ranch! They are amazing!!! So I decided to recreate these for him for a Superbowl treat. I also made strawberry cake balls, chocolate peanut butter cookies, bacon wrapped wienies with a brown sugar glaze, and extra spicy cheese dip. My friend Mendy made an amazing bean dip, meatballs, and guacamole! Blake (Brock's brother) made pizza dip and Beau (Brock's little brother) brought sugar cookies! We also had peanut butter M&M's, pretzel M&M's, cinnamon sugar pecans, and pizza! We had a massive feast and my Buffalo Blasts were a huge hit!!!! So I thought I'd share the delicious recipe with you all....now keep in mind these are by no means low carb or low calorie or low fat...but they are amazing!!!!

Just some of our food! (Before Mendy came with her goodies.)

Buffalo Blasts

(a knock-off the the Cheesecake Factory)

Ingredients:

1 pack of wanton wrappers (which they were out of so I used egg roll wraps)

3 chicken breast cooked, cooled, and shredded

Buffalo Sauce (I used 1/3 cup...use more or less depending on taste)

Monterey Jack Shredded cheese (about 3/4 a cup....a pinch for each wrap)

1 egg with a splash of water (beat well)

Oil (for frying)

Ranch and extra Buffalo sauce for dipping

Directions:

Line a cookie sheet with lots of paper towels for after frying to help blot off the extra grease.

In a medium sized bowl mix shredded cooked chicken with buffalo sauce. Make sure all the chicken is covered in buffalo sauce.

Take a wanton or egg roll wrap and lay it like a diamond shape. Scoop a spoonful of the chicken mixture on the middle of the wrapper.

Sprinkle with cheese on top of the chicken.

Bring the bottom of the wrap up then fold in the sides. Brush some egg wash on the top to ensure that it stays sealed and none of the yumminess comes out.

Bring a large skillet 1/2 filled with oil to about 400 degrees (I used a candy thermometer...if you don't have one a way to make sure the oil is ready is to get your fingers wet with water and kinda splash the oil...if it sizzles then it is hot enough to start frying)

Fry each side about 2 to 3 minutes each. When both sides are browned transfer to cookie sheet to soak up the extra oil.

Serve with Ranch and Buffalo Sauce! ENJOY!!! I know we all did!!!

I'm done with Winter!!!!

 I can't tell you how over Winter I am!!!! I have never been one for cold weather in the first place but this weather is ridiculous! Can't wait for it to all go away!!!! While it is beautiful when it is coming down and fresh the after effects just plan stink! Brock had to work early this morning at the coffee shop...which seriously who in this weather gets coffee at 6:30 in the morning?!?! So he gets up and heads to the bathroom....like most people do first thing in the morning and he discovered we don't have water!!!! Apparently the pipes are frozen which means we are out of water until they defrost!!!! Which could be a long time considering the temp outside is 3 degrees! AHAHAH!!!!! This is a no bueno situation!
Since we had no water I got up and when Brock went to work I decided to venture to Wal-mart. Thank the Lord that Wal-mart was fully stocked with water and all the other things I needed. It was freezing outside and by the time I got home I couldn't feel my toes, my nose, or my fingers!!! My body was frozen!
So to cheer me up on this cold waterless day I decided to make a low carb cinnamon swirl loaf and a delicious cup of coffee!!!
This recipe is super easy and I got it off the Carbquik website. Which if you don't have any and you are living the low carb life style it is a must!!!! It is basically a low carb version of Bisquick.  I can make almost anything with it and it is only 2 carbs a serving! If you don't care about carbs at all I am pretty sure you could probably substitute the Carbquik with Bisquick.

Cinnamon Swirl Loaf

www.carbalose.com

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Swirl

1/3 cup of Splenda

1/8 cup of Splenda Brown Sugar

2 teaspoons of grounded cinnamon (I doubled this) :)

2 tbsp of unsalted butter

Batter:

1 1/2 cups of Carbquik

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of butter (unsalted..1 stick)

3/4 cup of Splenda

3 eggs

2 teaspoons of Vanilla extract

1 cup of sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven 350. Spray with non stick spray or butter a loaf pan. (9x5x3)

Cinnamon Swirl : 

Mix the two sugars together.

Batter:

1. Mix Carbquik, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl

2. Melt butter (1 stick) then with a mixer add splenda. Beat until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time and beating it in the mixture completely before adding the next. Then add vanilla.

3. Starting with the dry ingredients start alternating dry mix with sour cream. Starting with dry ingredients and ending with dry ingredients.

4 When it is all mixed together pour half the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with half the sugar mixture. Repeat with the rest of the batter and sprinkle the rest of the sugar mix. Take a knife and swirl it into the mixture. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle it on the top.

5. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle.

6. Let it cool for about 5 minutes on a cooling rack before taking it out of the pan and serving.

-Next time I make this I will probably add some chopped pecans.

cinnamon swirl bread with some butter

 

 

 

   

BREAKFAST!!! :)

 

Today's plan is go to the gym...more so to shower, then head home to watch movies and tv...it is Thursday so all my favorite shows are on tonight!!!!Chau!