the dish: Oatmeal Cookies

I made these yummy oatmeal cookies for St. Patty's Day.  They turned out to be a lot my favorite store bought oatmeal cookie by Mother's.  I found the recipes over at Bake-aholic.  Of course I didn't have all the proper ingredients, but I made it work.  I used Irish steel cut oats in place of the rolled oats. I'm pretty sure I'll stick to rolled oats next time.  The steel cut oat are really chewy and stick to your teeth.  I also used tangerine juice instead of lemon on the frosting.  I can't wait to make these again.

The Dish: Caprese on a Stick

My friend K made this for her awesome St. Paddy's party last year.  It's delish and easy to make.  We had some friends over for a last minute meal, and I remembered I had all the fixings to whip these little Caprese Trees up.   Actually, I had my guest whip these up for me while I made dinner.  Thanks C.

You'll need:
String cheese sticks
basil
grape tomatoes
salami optional
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Assemble on a tooth pick and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic.  Serve it UP!

The Dish: One Chicken 3 meals

image from Martha Stewart

I made 40 cloves garlic chicken in the crock-pot the other day. It was so good. I took the left over chicken and made two other great meals and thought I'd share these delicious recipes.

I've always wanted to make this dish, it's simple and easy to make in the crock-pot. I got the recipe over at crockpot365.

40 Clove Garlic Chicken
3-4 pounds whole chicken
1 large onion sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
20-40 garlic cloves, peeled, but intact

The Directions.

Place onion slices and garlic on the bottom of the stoneware insert of crock-pot. Rub whole chicken with oil, paprika, pepper, and salt.
Do not add water.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6. The longer you cook chicken-on-the-bone, the more tender it will be.

Super Easy
peeling the garlic took about 15 minutes- next time, I'll have the kids help with this task.

Save all extra chicken, garlic and onions you don't eat for another recipe.
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Meal #2

image via
Chicken Enchilada Stacked Casserole

I kinda made this recipe up as I went, so these are my best guesstimates.

9 corn tortillas
1 cup of mozzarella cheese shredded
1/2 cup mexi blend shredded cheese
1 jar of chile verde salsa
1 half onion finely chopped
1 cup chopped cooked chicken

This make 4 servings

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9" by 9" baking dish with nonstick spray. Place 3 tortillas on bottom of dish. I cut mine into quarters to cover the whole bottom. Next, spoon 2 tablespoons of salsa on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle 1/3 of onions and half of the chicken on top of salsa. Then cover this with half of the mozzarella cheese. Next, repeat these steps and make a whole new layer. Cover last layer with the remaining tortillas, salsa, onions and cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Yum, Yum!

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Meal #3


Confetti Quesadillas

image via Martha Stewart
I made this side dish at a dinner party a few nights before and had some left overs.
Spicy Corn and Peppers

Serves 6

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 small onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
* 1 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
* 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon coarse salt
* 2 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped (1 cup)
* 1 package frozen corn kernels (1 pound)
* 1/2 cup whole milk

Directions

1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, cayenne, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add corn and tomatoes; cook, stirring often, until corn is tender and tomatoes have softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in milk; remove from heat. Serve immediately.
2. heat. Serve immediately.

From Everyday Food, January/February 2005

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Spicy Corn and Peppers - Martha Stewart Recipes


To make the Confetti Quesadillas

4 10" whole wheat tortillas
garlic and onion left overs from chicken
1 cup spicy corn and peppers
1 cup diced chicken
1 cup of Monterrey jack cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 avocado

To make the quesadillas I preheated the oven to 425 degrees. I placed two whole wheat 10" tortillas on a baking sheet. I spread the leftover onion and garlic from the crock-pot recipe on top of the tortillas, then sprinkled on the spicy corn, chicken and cheese and covered with another tortilla. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Take out of oven and flip quesadillas over and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve with sour cream avocado and hot sauce.

The Dish: Black Bean coconut Bao

We spent the weekend at our friends in San Diego. I was so excited when my friend wanted to make Bao for dessert Saturday night. You see, I have a weird love for Chinese pork buns. Bao is a tasty filled Chinese bun, we made a dessert version of this yummy treat. I had a blast making these with my friend. She was taught to make them by her mom. We made a bean bean and coconut version. She said making the yummy paste for the filling takes hours. These little doughy delights were AWESOME!

The Dish: Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares

These are really good. I was a very good girl and only had a bit of these. Super easy to make. Martha made them recently on her show.

Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares

• 12 graham crackers
• 1 bag (8 ounces) toffee bits
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted natural almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place graham crackers in a single layer on sheet, edges touching. Sprinkle toffee bits and almonds over graham crackers.
2. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and cook at a rapid simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is syrupy, 2 minutes. Immediately pour over graham crackers. Bake until sugar topping is bubbling, 12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate and salt over graham crackers. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. (Store in an airtight container, up to 1 week.)

I think I'd change this up next time and make it much lighter/healthier by using less butter and less toffee.

The Dish: Mango and Cayenne Pepper

This is a simple snack. Cube a Mango, sprinkle with cayenne pepper. It's like a little yummy explosion in our mouth.

The Dish: Green Juice

We recently purchased the awesome Breville Juicer. It's so fun to use. Almost everyday I make some sort of crazy juice concoction. A little fruit mixed in with the veggies makes for a delicious beverage. I just randomly add stuff we have on hand. This machine rocks. You can add the whole vegetable and rarely even have to chop anything . I can throw in whole apples, too. We just juice organic. Thankfully, we belong to the best CSA from Tanaka Farms and they deliver a wonderful assortment every week to our school. I store all my veggies in these great FridgeSmart containers from Tupperware. I highly recommend these vented boxes which if used correctly can keep fruits and veggies 3x longer. So why are we juicing? The energy we get from this juice is incredible. And all the pulp from the machine goes right to feeding our worms in the compost.

The Dish: Blueberry Blackberry Pie

We had a play date Monday with our neighbors. I love these mommies and their kids. They lift me up. We always have so much fun, the kids all get along too. I whipped up this pie for them to enjoy. I got the recipe here. I got all the ingredient at Trader Joes. I even used a premade crust. Shocking I know, but so much easier and no clean up of the huge food processor required. It turned out great, but was a little soupy. I used frozen fruit and just mixed it all up frozen. My baking always comes out a little funky, but no one seams to care.

Thank You my dear friends for a wonderful rainy morning with us!

The Dish: Cranberry Walnut Meringues

When I got married, one of my showers was hosted by my mom's best friend AH. She has been like an aunt to me my whole life and she throw a beautiful tea for me. At the shower, she served homemade meringues. I've always wanted to make them. So finally after 13 years, I've finally made some. They turned out great and will diffinently make these again and again. BTW, I substituted the walnut and cranberries for the the cherries and pecans in the recipe. I used a recipe out of Everyday Food. I love this magazine.

The Dish: Eggplant Appetizer

I saw this recipe here and had to make it. I made it twice over the holidays. The second time, I substituted yogurt for the mayo. I highly recommend this yummy, healthy dish.

1 eggplant
olive oil spray
salt/pepper
2-3 tomatoes
4 tablespoons yogurt
3-4 garlic cloves crushed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
fresh basil

Slice eggplant into 1/2" slices, spray with olive oil spray, salt and pepper (both sides)
grill till cooked through, about 5 minuted per side
slice tomatoes
mix 1/2 cup parm with 4 tablespoons plain yogurt, 3-4 crushed garlic cloves.
stack eggplant, tomato, dollop yogurt mixture and added basil garnish.

quick and easy