Sweet-n-Spicy Salsa

Last week, I made this salsa recipe because I was craving avocados and was sure I would. just. die. if I didn't have something with avocado. All I had to do was sign onto my Gmail Chat, see that Cass was online, and said "I need something with avocado RIGHT NOW," and since we're exactly the same week in our respective pregnancies, she understood my urgency and sent me directly to this recipe and it was AWESOME.

But there's a catch. My husband, as wonderful as he is, doesn't like avocado. I know, right? Who IS this man I married? And he watched me make the salsa and kept saying how GOOD it looked and he sure would love some mango salsa. And I was all like "Do you see mangoes anywhere?" He was all like "Ewwww, fine." I digress. So this week at the supermarket, he bought a mango and asked if I'd help him concoct a sweet-n-spicy salsa. And so we did! Not to toot my own horn or anything but it is damn fine. Like Taye Diggs damn fine.

I'm going to put it over a pan-seared Mahi Mahi filet for dinner tonight, but it is also very yummy with chips, which I may or may not have had a whole bowl of this afternoon. Hey, I'm 8 months pregnant. I can eat a whole bowl of Tostitos if I want to and if you look at me funny while doing it, I'm liable to eat you too.

So, here it is.

What you need:

5-6 diced roma (plum) tomatoes
5-6 tomatillos
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 mango, diced
1 jalapeño, diced
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1/2 c. chopped red onion
3/4 c. diced canned (jarred) peaches
1/8 c. orange juice or 1/8 c. peach juice
juice of one lime
2 tsp. sugar

Few things of note:
1) Depending on the amount of spice you want, leave the ribs (the white part inside the pepper) or remove it from the jalapeno. All of the spice is in the ribs and seeds. Add/remove to your preference.
2) The reason I say to use the canned/jarred peaches is that I also used some of the juice in the jar. If you'd rather use fresh, use a splash or two of orange juice.
3) Feel free to add avocado in it. I set some aside and added avocado to my own stash and it's fantastic.
4) Cover and store for at least an hour. This is great to eat soon but is much better after the flavors marinate in a sealed container overnight.

Making the salsa:

-Mix all ingredients. That's it! How easy!


After it sits overnight, stir and serve on top of your choice. I think this would be best with light white meats - grilled chicken, pork loin, or grilled/pan-seared fish like swordfish, mahi-mahi, sea bass, etc.

Easy Wheat Bread

One of our contributions from our contest (Sorry it took me so long to post this. I, um, lost it)...

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This recipe doesn't do one big loaf, but each quarter of the small loaves is
very good sliced open and eaten with cheese. These were made for communion
in church while I was growing up - my sister's comment about the wafers at
communion - "Mom, I thought you said they couldn't recycle styrofoam!" -
convinced the church that freshly baked bread might be a better idea.

JANET WARD'S WHEAT BREAD RECIPE

7/8 cup of lukewarm water
1/4 cup honey
1/8 cup oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package dry yeast (1 1/2 tsp)

Measure the water into a mixing bowl and add the yeast, stirring until
dissolved; then stir in the honey, oil and salt.

Add the flour and with the hands mix it in completely. If the flour does not
completely dampen, add a tablespoon or more of water.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead thoroughly for 5
minutes. THIS KNEADING IS IMPORTANT. Replace the dough in the bowl, cover
with a damp cloth or towel and let it rise in a warm place until it has
doubled in bulk (1 - 1 1/2 hrs--less time if you use rapid rise yeast). Turn
the dough out onto a lightly floured board again and knead for 2-3 minutes.
Divide the dough into three loaves (divide in two for a larger loaf--easier
to feed a larger family. Do not try to cook it as one loaf). Press crossed
lines on each loaf with a knife, not cutting through, so that the baked
laves may be easily divided in quarters. Place the loaves on a lightly oiled
baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes, if you
cook in three loaves. If you cook in two loaves or make multiple batches,
cook until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Cool the loaves. These store well in the fridge so you can make them on the
weekend when you have more time and enjoy them throughout the week.

Refrigerator Muffin Mix

Recipe contributed by Multi-Tasking Mommy

In our family, we LOVE muffins. Well, the bunny more than my hubby and myself, but still--we love them!

We also need more fiber in our diet, so what better muffin to make than a bran muffin, right?!

Well, the problem with muffins is that although we love them, I find that they go stale too quickly and then they don't all get eaten up. I know we can freeze them, but there is something about FRESH homemade muffins that is just so yummy!

My Mom has been making this Bran Muffin recipe for years and what makes it great is that the batter keeps and lasts in the fridge for up to 6-8 weeks. Yes, you read that right! So, you make the batter, bake up as many muffins as you like and leave the rest of the batter in the fridge. You can make as few or as many muffins as you like and enjoy them fresh for as long as the batter lasts you--which for us definitely isn't 6-8 weeks, let me tell you!

Refrigerator Bran Muffin Mix
5 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups natural wheat bran
2 cups All Bran cereal
3 tbsp baking soda
1 qt buttermilk
1 1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups raisins

Add liquid to dry ingredients and add raisins.
Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
Mix keeps 6-8 weeks in a sealed container (best to use glass).

Cheesy Chicken Shells with Spinach

This recipe is another from the Lisa arsenal (I only have TWO left - so for the love of god Lease - I need more of the good stuff!). Let's be honest, I've been living in a magical world for the last 31+ weeks where food is plentiful and nothing is off limits. This mentality has given me some great experiences with food, truly moving moments between me, french bread and a jar of nutella (okay jars, details, whatever). I do recognize that this food haze phase will have to come to a conclusion when Lexi makes her appearance and I have thoughts of fitting into pre-Lexi clothing....this recipe with it's WW points will be making an appearance for sure. I may even make it to have in the freezer for the weeks after Lexi is born....or to eat the entire pan for dinner on Saturday ,whichever comes first.

Cheesy Chicken Shells with Spinach

I received this recipe from a friend who cannot recall where she found it - Possibly a recipe posted on weight watchers.com?! 10 WW points for 3 shells and it serves 4 people (very filling!!)

What you need:

• 4 oz. uncooked jumbo pasta shells (about 12)
• 1 ½ c. canned tomato sauce
• 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
• 16 oz part skim ricotta cheese
• 4 oz. diced chicken (small dice; could also shred)
• ¾ c. chopped frozen spinach cooked and drained
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. oregano
• ¾ c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese

What you do:

1. Cook shells, drain, and rinse with cold water
2. Coat 13x9 pan with ½ c. sauce
3. Stir together in a bowl – egg, ricotta, diced chicken, garlic powder, oregano, drained spinach. Stir in ¼ c. mozzarella, and all parmesan
4. Spoon mixture into shells
5. Cover with remaining sauce
6. Cook 30 minutes at 350 (whoops- totally put 3 minutes in here - it's 30 sorry for confusion!)

AndreAnna's Could-You-Possibly-Be-Lazier Cinnamon rolls

The other day, I found myself staring in the refrigerator, as us ginormously pregnant women often do. I wanted something but wasn't sure what. And then I figured it out! Mike makes Alton Brown's cinnamon rolls from scratch (and you would punch a puppy for these), rolls out his own dough, lets it rise overnight, etc. etc. I didn't have time for that. I decided I wanted cinnamon rolls Right. This. Minute. Or. I Would. Just. Die.

So, I concocted these. They were as tasty as they were ugly. Though I could have arranged them nicer on a plate, I couldn't wait that long and ate them right off the rack.

Here's what you need:



ROLLS:
1/2 stick softened butter
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. brown sugar (not necessary but oh-so-yummy)
1 pkg. crescent rolls

FROSTING:
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. softened cream cheese
2 tbsp. softened butter
2 tsp. vanilla

For the rolls:
1) Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Use microwave if need help softening or stirring, but make sure you don't melt it too much.

2) Lay out your crescent rolls and spread the mixture down the center.

3) Roll up.

4) Bake according to instructions on your crescent roll package. (Note: I did not use non-stick foil (or parchment), though I should have because the butter leaked out, and some burned causing the fire alarm to go off. During naptime. Gah-reat. SO yes, some butter will leak out, but don't worry. There's still plenty inside)
5) Make the frosting by beating all ingredients together in your KitchenAid (seriously, how do people LIVE without these) or a hand mixer.

6) Spoon about a tablespoon on each roll while they are still hot. This will allow the frosting to melt a little, just like on a cinnabon!

7) Try not to eat the frosting by the spoonful. Seriously, you will start thinking what other things you can put this frosting on. I'm not kidding.
8) Let cool for a few minutes, if you can resist, and then enjoy!

Again, they may not look that pretty, but they sure do taste good. If serving to anyone other than a pregnant woman and her husband, I recommend putting them on a nice platter, rather than scarfing them down off the cookie sheet. But, that wasted too much time for us. :)

What you got here is a delish Chimichanga

Again, many thanks to Lisa for a delicious recipe with Weight Watcher Points attached to it. There are times in life where only a Chimichanga will do...and let me tell you this Chimichanga does and does and does.

Baked Turkey & Jack Cheese Chimichangas

I received this recipe from a friend who cannot recall where she found it - Possibly a recipe posted on weight watchers.com?! This recipe serves up to 8 and each chimichanga is 5 WW points

What you need:

• ½ pound uncooked ground turkey (it adds a few points, but my fiancé prefers 1pnd of turkey)
• 16 oz fat-free canned refried beans
• 8 oz salsa
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3 tbsp scallions thinly sliced
• 1 c. shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese
• Green chilies optional - to taste
• 8 large burrito size wheat flour tortillas

What you do:

1. Coat large skillet with cooking spray
2. Coat 13x9x2 baking dish with spray
3. Add turkey to skillet and cook – drain liquid and add beans, salsa, chili powder, and scallions and green chilies to taste. Cook until heated through. Stir in cheese.
4. Warm tortillas in the oven in foil for 10 min
5. Fill tortillas with ½ c filling. Fold and Roll.
6. Bake 20 min at 350
7. Serve with salsa and sour cream (count points for sour cream as extra)

It's Picnic season!

Finally, Old Man Winter seems to have keeled over and died. Good riddance. Even though it is 55 and raining in Jersey today, I am in denial and am pretending it is 80 and sunny! The weather has been looking up and warmer each week, though. I made my mother's famous macaroni salad for my daughter's birthday party tomorrow, and figured I'd share her recipe with you all. Every time we go to a BBQ (or a cookout as some of you call it) or a picnic, I make this and every time people ask for the recipe. It is so simple, easy, and yummy. Even my toddler eats it, even if she does pick out the vegetables.


What you need:

(not all items pictured because I'm pregnant and blond and have a hard enough time remembering to wear pants)

1 lb of elbow macaroni
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
(or 1/4 c. each chopped celery and green pepper)
1 c. mayo
1/2 lb. cubed deli ham (get the good stuff)
1 packet dry ranch dressing
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp milk

What you do:
1. Boil the macaroni as directed. But when it is finished and you drain it, cool it immediately with cold water.



2) Add in all chopped onion (and/or celery), pepper, and cubed ham. (Note: when you go to the deli, ask for the 1/2 lb. in a block so you can cube it)








4) Add in mayo, vinegar, milk, and ranch dressing.







5) Taste it. It is unlikely if it needs salt because the dressing usually is salty enough, but if you use low-fat mayo, you might need a little more.


Notes: My mother also puts in sliced black olives, in which case you definitely don't need anymore salt, but I am not a fan and leave it out. Also, this is best made the night before (or at least a few hours) the event. Overtime, the macaroni absorbs the mayo and you may need to add more to your taste. Plus, it gives time for all the flavors to meld.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Chicken

This is what happens when you don't have a single creative outlet all day and then it's time for dinner. So I made this stuffed chicken and now it's a favorite.

Stuffed Chicken

What you need:

1 Box Spinach
4 Cloves of Garlic
1 Roasted Pepper (can be from the jar)
4oz of Goat Cheese
Chicken Tenders pounded or Chicken Breasts pounded
Salt & Pepper
Vegetable Oil

What you do:

1. Cook your spinach up with the garlic.
   
   
2. While it's cooking dice up your Roasted Pepper and crumble your Goat Cheese.
3. Pound your Chicken and salt and pepper generously.
4. Now put a little bit of Goat Cheese, Roasted Pepper and Spinach in the chicken and Roll up.
   
   
5. In a hot pan place your chicken rolled up seam side down - that will seem a little crazy but it will sear it all closed. Now brown and turn so that both sides get a nice color in additional to cooking.
   
   

And you get these fantastic Stuffed Chickens that are yummy with rice and extra spinach is fantastic too.

White Chocolate Fruit Tart

This is from Alexis over at Lex, Bri, & Jessie. And HOLYMOLY does it look yummy. I love the idea of fresh fruit, since I am so with her on the not liking cooked fruit thing. My husband thinks I am an alien because I am not a big fan of pies. But this? This I could eat. Most likely ALL of it. Hey, I'm eating for two here! :)

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This recipe comes to me from my mother-in-law. She made it for me for my birthday and I loved it. I'm a very picky eater and try to stay away from desserts for the sake of my waistline, so everyone was glad when I went for seconds on this. My husband loved it too! And I'm going to attempt to make it this weekend for a family celebration in NJ. The recipe was taken from some book where people from all over the US submit their recipes...so the White Chocolate Fruit Tart is actually from Claire Darby from New Castle, DE (just thought I should give her the credit)....Here it is, and I've added my own little notes of things that I will probably modify, just because I can NEVER truly follow a recipe...I always have to change something or give it my own little twist:

Ingredients:

CRUST:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

FILLING:

1 package (10 to 12 ounces) vanilla or white chocolate chips, melted and cooled. (My MIL used Ghiradelli)

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (when I make this, I will probably use light cream in an effort to reduce fat/calories)

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened (again, I'll probably use light/low fat cream cheese)

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, undrained...(pineapples are on sale this week at my grocery store, so I may just buy a few fresh pineapples to use instead...you also need the juice from the pineapple for this recipe, but in my experience, you can extract a good amount of "pineapple juice" just from cutting it up, so I intend to use that)

1 pint fresh strawberries sliced

1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges drained...(My MIL used mandarin oranges and it was good. However, I'm not a big fan of canned fruit so I will probably replace these with blueberries and blackberries)

2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced

GLAZE:

3 tablespoons sugar (again, I modify EVERYTHING, so I'll be trying the raw sugar)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

WHAT'S NEXT?

1). For Crust: Cream together the butter & confectioner's sugar until light & fluffy. Gradually add the flour & mix well. Press into an ungreased 11 - in tart pan with removable bottom or 12 - in pizza pan with sides (my MIL used the pizza pan). Bake at 300 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

2). For filling: Beat melted chips and cream (make sure cream is at room temp or slightly heated) in mixing bowl. Add cream cheese & beat until smooth. Spread over crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice, & set aside juice. Arrange all fruit over the filling on the crust (try to make it pretty).

3). For glaze: Combine sugar & cornstarch in a small saucepan. Stir in lemon juice and reserved pineapple juice until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook & stir for 2 minutes or until it thickens. Cool, and then brush over fruit. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

At my birthday "party" we were talking about how this can be made for 4th of July using the 12 - in. pizza pan to represent a US Flag, so that might be a cool idea too! Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

I mentioned on my blog a while ago my adventure in making Pulled Pork in the slow cooker. It was one of those shocking turn of events where it actually turned out REALLY delicious and it was SO easy that now I have to PRETEND like it's REALLY difficult and labor intensive or the FH would have me making Pulled Pork about twice a week and on Sunday too. Now it is very fantastic...and I would probably go along with this every other day Pulled Pork meal for about two weeks and then I would never eat it again so we're practicing a little restraint and it's a once a monther. Do you have those? Recipes that you only make once a month (or even less frequently?) tell me what they are - I'm VERY interested in the concept of once-a-monther recipes.

What you need:

• Pork Butt (or shoulder, but I can't resist talking about my Pig's Ass cooking so I ALWAYS use Butt)
• 1 Packet of that Chili seasoning mix (this is cheating, you could measure out all the ingredients that comes in this packet from Chili's or McCormicks or whoever....but you are BUSY and you don't need all those spices to take up space in your kitchen so just buy the packet).
• 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (Yup, that's it...only 3 ingredients)
  

What you do:

1. Line your slow cooker with those great slow cooker bags they make now.
2. Rub your Pork Butt with the Chili Seasoning. Now I try to do this the night before so it gets good and marinated - but I've forgotten and it still turned out fantastic.
3. Put your Pork Butt in the slow cooker on Low. Ignore for 6-8 hours (you could really ignore it for as long as you want).
4. 2 hours before you want to eat pull your Pork Butt out of the slow cooker - I buy one of those aluminum pans for this job and you just take a couple of forks and you pull apart - you will have to resist eating it from this pan, I'm just warning you, it's VERY difficult to resist so I chew Watermelon gum while I do this job.
   
5. Put the now Pulled Pork back in the slow cooker and pour your BBQ Sauce on top. Stir.
   
6. Ignore for 2 hours (or 1 hour if you're impatient like me) and ENJOY.
   

I usually like to make this with a big salad or the Asian Cole Slaw.

Were YOU the WINNER???

I have learned a lot about contests like you should never put a Virgo, detail oriented, very fair person in charge of a contest because she will spend HOURS making sure that every single comment gets counted, that the random number generator is in fact random enough, she will ask her Mom to look over her spreadsheet and her random numbers and will insist on her husband clicking the random number generator button because it MUST be administered correctly for the love of grapefruit. THEN she'll freak out when the random number generator turns out the number 8 because it was LESS then 10 and that just doesn't seem LIKELY but it was in fact #8 and because I captured everyones names in a spreadsheet, tied a random number to each entry (many of you got the 3 entries), sorted them so that all 244 entries were now very very random. And soooo the winner in place #8 in the randomly sorted spreadsheet is......ImpostorMom

Hurray for the first contest! Now, get back to cooking!

Well, it DOES have fruit in it

Quite frankly, when you put the words "chocolate" and "fried" in the same recipe, I'm a happy woman. This is from Russ over at Dads Who Mock the World:

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Here is a dessert idea (I don't use it often, but it is good).

Chocolate Fried Bananas

Ingredient list:

Banana (1/2 per serving)
Wonton wrapper (2 per serving)
Dark Chocolate (1/4 cup melted, won't need that much but you can always do some fondue with the rest)
veggie oil

In a large pot (or fryer) bring oil to 350 degrees.

While oil is heating, seal two wontons together by wetting one edge with water making a rectangle. Smear the center with a tablespoon of melted chocolate.
Place a half of a banana on the chocolate. Fold one of the long sides over the banana. Moisten the other three sides of the wonton and seal up the banana.

Place in oil until golden brown and delicious. Serve with some ice cream.

If that don't taste good, I don't know what does.

Potato Pie

This recipe comes courtesy of CIA-Cooking in an Apron. It seems like it would be a great side to any dinner and I think I could even get my toddler to eat it! Check out her site. There are some things that make me drool. No wonder my husband says food blogs are like my porn!

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I've been making this recipe for years. I can't remember which message board I got it from off the internet years ago but whosever this recipe originated from...a HUGE THANK YOU! Its awesome and soo good. Potatoes are cooked, mashed and combined with cottage cheese, sour cream and a few other tasty ingredients. This unusual-but-delicious concoction is spooned into a prepared pie shell and baked until set. I usually serve it along side a main (meat) dish, but just liked the good ol' baked potato, it can stand on its own!!

Potato Pie

1 unbaked pie shell, deep dish
2 cups cottage cheese
2 eggs
2 cups mashed potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup scallions, sliced

Beat cottage cheese until smooth. Then beat in sour cream, potatoes, egges, salt and pepper. Stir in scallions. Pour into pie shell and sprinkle with cheese (optional). Bake @ 425*F for 50 minutes. Good hot or cold!

Can you ever have too many cucumber salad recipes?

Summer is a'coming, and even if that means that us pregnant rollypollies will be staying mostly indoors, I still plan to enjoy summer-time treats. And this sounds perfect for a hot day:

This recipe is courtesy of genkileslie.

Cut a cucumber or two into thin slices, and mix with about a teaspoon of salt.
After 10 - 15 minutes, the cucumber slices should be limp. Squeeze as much water from the cucumber slices as you can.
Chop finely 1 or 2 cloves of garlic and mix with a pinch of salt.
Add about 250cc to 500cc of plain yogurt
add chopped garlic
add chopped fresh parsley
add pepper and salt to taste

This salad can be eaten right away but usually tastes better after sitting in the fridge overnight.

Asian Cole Slaw

My mother in law went to a party or a lunch or a something one time and she brought home this Asian Cole Slaw from her friend Tracy. (Who I will get to meet at the upcoming baby shower - and you better believe that I will let this woman touch the belly because this slaw is SO good.) So I tweaked it slightly from the original recipe but it's pretty much intact.

Asian Cole Slaw

What you need:
1 bag shredded Cole Slaw Mix
1 package Chinese noodles (you can use Ramien Noodles)
1/2 c Toasted Almond pieces (you don't want the slivers you want something with a good crunch)
1 bunch green onions chopped
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Rice Wine Vinegar (seasoned)
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil (I use Cannola)
3 Tablespoons Agave Syrup (or you can use 5 Tablespoons of White Sugar - I try to stay away from the white sugar though)

What you do:

1. Put the noodles in a bowl and crunch up (you're not cooking them) so make sure there aren't big chunks of noodles
   
   
2. Layer the coleslaw, green onions and almonds on top.
   
   
3. Pour the liquids on top of that and cover with saran wrap.
   
4. Give it a little shake (make sure your saran wrap is secure - or better yet, use a bowl with a lid, something I never seem to remember). You want the noodles to be mostly at the bottom because they need to take in the most liquid so don't go to crazy.
   
   
5. Store overnight in the fridge to marinate.
   
   
6. Stir in the morning - it will have shrunken down in the bowl quite a bit. I find that I sometimes need to add another splash of vinegar and water depending on the noodle I use.
   

It's REALLY yummy, fresh and it's so fantastic really cold. I've taken this to a couple of picnics and everyone loves it - it's also great on pulled pork (which I think I'll post sometime soon) and throw in some grilled chicken and it's a meal.

Lazy Man's (or Busy Women's) Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

Posted by Catnip

Back when dh and I were living in Northern Virginia we would sometimes go to Red Hot and Blue, a bbq restaurant that was just down the street from us. One of the menu items we both loved was their chicken corn chowder, which had just a hint of smoke and heat. Now that we're back in New England I can't get no RH&B, so I had to come up with my own version of the chowder.

Now, mine certainly isn't the same, and it would NEVER be called gourmet, but the flavors are perfect, it's hearty, and it's one of the easiest meals I make. I could boil the potatoes myself and I could bake the chicken myself (and sometimes I do.) I could also milk a cow myself (hee hee), and heck I could grow the corn too (well, probably not) but some nights I just don't have time to do anything but open cans. Do you have those nights too?

The point is, I'm giving you my easiest version of this, and you change it up however you want, k? The only super duper important things here are the roasted corn and the spices.

Lazy Man's (or Busy Women's) Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

2 cans corn, one drained, one not!
2/3 bag frozen roasted corn (I had a 1 lb bag from Trader Joes)
1 package pre cooked diced chicken, or 1 cup diced baked chicken
1 can diced potatoes drained or 2-3 boiled potatoes diced
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 ½ - 2 cups milk
1 cup light cream (if using skim milk use more cream and less milk)
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper
chili powder
optional:
4-5 scallions or 1-2 small onions chopped fine
2 tbsp butter/margarine

(If using onions or scallions, start by lightly sautéing them in butter.)
Get a big pot and dump in all of your ingredients, all the corn, (including the can with the water), cream of potato soup, cream of chicken soup, potatoes, milk, cream. Slowly heat on Medium to a low boil (not roiling), then turn to low to simmer. If soup is too thick add extra milk or a little water, if too thin add extra cream or more corn. Add cayenne, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste, (remember the canned soup has salt already so go easy.)
Simmer for a few minutes to meld the flavors, and enjoy!

ps. Here's a printable pdf version if you want it! spicy-chicken-corn-chowder

The Contest

Do you win stuff? Does this happen to you? It never happens to me....I'm not sure why. Probably because I say things like "winning stuff never happens to me". Then I got to thinking that maybe it's not just me, maybe no one actually ever wins things. And everyone just thinks that they don't win anything. Not that I'm one to believe in conspiracy theories...obviously.

To counteract this negative string we've decided a Contest is exactly what this blog needs. Given this blogs focus on cooking we're giving away puppies....just kidding. We're giving a way some cooking stuff. Because really, you can never have too much cooking stuff.

Tell em what they win:
A beautiful set of 9 glass bowls, bamboo salad servers, and these FANTASTIC Silicone needs no paper liner muffin pans all from Crate & Barrel. Now there's a reason why you're getting this stuff...and it's because we want you to 1. Mix it up 2. Serve it up and finally 3. finish everything with a cupcake or a muffin because everyone likes one of those two things. It's the law. (or, if you didn't want to cook and you just wanted the C&B gift certificate we could work that out too)

So now to the effort part:
1. Leave a comment. Funny comments get two entires. Funny comments about food disasters get three entires. Non-funny comments get just one entry.
2. Pimp out Chop.Stir.Mix on your blog or e-mail it to people....you don't technically have to do this, but it would sure be nice. Because I'm a sucker for incentive, how about this? If you help this post get to over 50 comments we'll throw in a $50 gift card from American Express...so basically we'll give you $50 to buy groceries so you can make all of this stuff we're chatting up.
3. Have a recipe that you want to share...send us an e-mail...up there in the right hand side there's a link that says Email Us Here. Do that.

The winner will be selected with random number generator in ONE WEEK, that's Monday, the day after Mother's Day, May 12th . You must comment on this post before Sunday night.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

Posted by Multi-Tasking Mommy

Last time, I posted my marinade recipe for flank steak on the bbq.

I mentioned that one of the sides that often compliments that meal is a summer creamy cucumber salad. It's yet another comfort food that my Mom makes and now I do too. The ironic thing is that I am the only one in my immediate family that enjoys this salad, so I end up eating the whole thing!

There are many variations on this salad and I don't have a specific recipe either, there is a little bit of guess work taste testing involved!

Salad Ingredients:

english cucumber thinly sliced

Other ingredients you can add to the salad if you wish:
chopped chives (fresh from the summer garden is the best!)
thinly sliced sweet onions
grated carrot
chopped tomato
...the list goes on...use your imagination!

Dressing:
light mayo
light sour cream
1-2 tbsp white vinegar (depends how bitter you want it)
dash of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Notice I haven't put many measurements (I don't know them), you can just add, stir and taste until you feel it's right. YOu can't really go wrong, and the result is guaranteed to be delish!

This salad also accompanies bbq'd hamburgers and hotdogs well too.

Naughty like Lindsay Lohan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Earlier in the week, I posted a healthy banana muffin recipe. Good for WW, good for fiber and omegas, and they actually taste good. But, here and now, I am posting the incredibly naughty Otis Spunkmeyer-esque banana chocolate chip muffins for those of us that are pregnant, or otherwise eating from the Fuckit Bucket (a term coined by Linda at All & Sundry that I love and use frequently).

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They are the moistest, tastiest mofo muffins I've ever made. Wanna know the weirdest part? It's made with mayo. At first, I was weirded out by the whole thing, but it works! And I make it with whole wheat flour and low-fat mayo so they're not TOO bad. And you could always substitute the sugar for Splenda for Baking. And you could eliminate the chocolate chips (but, why in the name of all that is good in the world would you do that?) and add maybe some walnuts?

Anyway, it's super easy and a great way to get rid of those bananas sitting in your fruit bowl that are turning all sorts of funkadelic colors. And everyone will love them. Promise. Go make them and then tell me how much you love me. Seriously.

THE WORLD'S BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA MUFFINS

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (or whole w
1 c. sugar (or use equivalent Splenda product)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1/2 c. mayo
4 very ripe bananas
1/2 c. chocolate chips (the original recipe called for a whole cup but on my first try, it was too much, so I lowered it)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
2. In another bowl (I use my KitchenAid, which I swear I don't know how people live without), beat egg. Add in bananas and vanilla. Then mayo.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well. Add in chocolate chips last. The batter will appear slightly runny - this is okay!
4. Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes, depending on the size of your muffins. Just watch them until the edges turn a golden brown and they pass the toothpick test. Cool and store on a plate loosely covered to avoid stickiness. If you put them in a bag or tupperware, they get gooey.
5. Email me to tell me how awesome I am.

Stuffed Flank Steak

I can't actually believe it but it will be 10 years this summer that this fantastic lady came into my life. Lisa was my college dorm roommate for 3 fabulous and fun years....there were many good times and I am a very lucky person to have her in my life. She has given us permission to post five of her favorite recipes...this one sounded so good that Flank Steak is on the grocery list for this week. Enjoy!

Stuffed Flank Steak

I came across this recipe online. Although I cannot recall where! I have altered the recipe slightly. I butterfly my steak and stuff it, but you can pound the steak and roll it around the filling. This is the first meal I made for my dad when he came to visit my apartment in graduate school! He was very impressed! I also made this for my brother and sister in law when I visited them in San Francisco. It is now my signature!

What you need:

· Flank Steak – as many pieces as you need to serve your family or guests. Cut into desired serving sizes

· Fresh spinach

· Diced red and yellow peppers: ½ each for 4 steaks

· Crumbled Feta cheese

· Salt and Pepper

What you do:

· Butterfly each piece of the steak ¾ of the way through creating a “pocket”

· Salt and Pepper both sides of the steak

· Stuff steak: cover the bottom of the inside of the steak with fresh spinach pieces; stuff with mixture of peppers and feta to the edge…can even overflow a little

· Cover broil pan with foil and place steaks on top

· Broil steaks until juices run clear or desired ‘doneness’

· Approx 15-20 min