White Chocolate and Blackberry muffins

These are so yummy when they are warm, the Blackberry and white chocolate go so good together.

What you'll need:

2 cups Bisquick
1 cup of milk
1 egg
1 cup of white chocolate chips
1/4 cup sugar
12 spoonfuls of blackberry jam

Pre-heat oven to 420 degrees.

How it's done:

1. Mix in a large bowl the Bisquick, milk, egg, and sugar until smooth.

2. Add white chocolate chips and mix them in.

3. Pour batter into 12 greased muffin tins, about 2/3 of the way full.

4. Take a spoonful of jelly and drop it in the center of each uncooked muffin.

5. Place muffins into oven for 15 mins or until tops are golden brown.

So it wouldnt go bad, but so good pasta salad

Okay so this recipe is exactly what the title says....

We had a bunch of stuff that was going to be thrown away due to it going bad so I decided to throw it all together and hope that it turned out good. Tyler liked it and I liked it so that's a good sign that it tasted good :) we both agreed that maybe no Avocados. They were a little mushy and we couldn't keep it for leftovers because the Avocados turned brown after the first day... So that's the only thing I would choose to change, maybe I would have just cut one up and added it to just the serving we were eating at the time.

Okay here's the recipe....

Already cooked rigatoni noodles that where plain nothing on them at all.

Feta cheese

1 can of Italian diced tomatoes

2 avocados

1/2 sweet onion

Leftover can of sweet corn

A handful of croutons

Toss all ingredients together with 1/2 cup of coleslaw dressing, 1/4 cup Cesar dressing, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Chill for about 30 mins or longer to let everything mix together.

The Best Chicken parmagiana caserrole!

Here's what you will need:

• 3/8 (16 ounce) package uncooked rotini pasta
• 6 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3/4 cup and 2 teaspoons vegetable oil for frying
• 3/4 cup and 2 teaspoons flour
• 1-1/2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup and 2 teaspoons Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 2-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 3/8 (16 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 5/8 (32 ounce) jar marinara sauce (We got one Garlic and one garden vegetable)
• 3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon dry red wine (we didn't use any wine)
• 3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese

Here's how its done:

1.     Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the rotini, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

2.     Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3.     Place the flour, egg, and bread crumbs in 3 separate bowls. Mix the garlic powder into the bread crumbs. Working in batches, coat the chicken breast in the flour, then dip them in the egg, and finally coat with the bread crumbs. Carefully fry the coated chicken in the hot oil in small batches until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the fried chicken over paper towels.

4.     Combine cooked pasta, fried chicken, 1/2 package of mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Stir in the marinara sauce. Pour the red wine into the empty marinara sauce jar; cover and shake the jar, and empty the contents into the bowl of pasta. Stir to combine. Spread pasta mixture in a large casserole dish, and cover with aluminum foil.

5.     Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 package of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven, and continue baking until the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot.

Italian Crusted Pork Chops

Once again another extremly easy dinner, clean up was a brezze, which is always a plus!

 

I served these porkchops with homemade mashed potatoes and peas and corn as the veggie.

 

It's just a good all around comfort meal for that rainy day and it made the house smell great!

 

What you'll need: (once again you can adjust to how many you are cooking) Serves 2

• 2 de-thawed pork chops
• olive oil
• garlic
• Italian Bread crumbs
• Parmesian cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of milk

Pre-heat over to 325 degrees.

How it's done:

1. Heat up oil with garlic in an OVEN SAFE skillet.
2. Meanwhile crack 1 egg and combine with milk in a bowl, beat with fork until all blended.
3. In another bowl (I used a plate) pour bread crumbs and parmesean cheese mix together.
4. Once oil is hot and garlic is just getting brown you are ready to start coating pork chops.
5. Dip Pork Chop in egg/milk recipe and then roll and cover generiously with the bread crumb/cheese mixture.
6. Repeat for other 2 pork chops.
7. Now lay all 3 pork chops down into hot oil and browned garlic.
8. You are only going to cook on Med-High for about 5-8 mins on eachside depending on how big yours are. All you are doing at this point is browning the outsides of the pork chops.
9. Once both sides are browned, put whole entire skillet exactly as is right into pre-heated oven.
10. Cook for 25-35 mins @325 degrees.

This will be the way I cook my pork chops from now on. We love pork and eat quite a bit of it. It was getting old though because I cooken them the same everytime, but this was different, so flafourful and moist even after cooking in oven.

 

 

 

Cucumber and Avaodo Salad

This was just a quick last minute idea for lunch for Tyler. I just added some basic ingredients together that we had in the fridge, and it actually made an amazing cucumber salad, seriously probably my favorite. This would also work REALLY well as a chutney for a fish dish, I would just cut everything smaller and use less liquid. I think I just got tomorrow nights dinner figured out.

I can't even write a recipe for this one, I channeled  my mom and really just added through taste and consistency of dressing.

Here is what I did:

1. Cubed a cucumber skin and all.
2. Diced 1/2 an onion.
3. Cubed an Avocado prob could have used 2
4. 1 can of Italian diced tomatoes drained and I also squeezed all liquid out of them. I liked these because they were already cut, seasoned, and I didn't have to deal with the guts inside a fresh tomato that always grosses me out.
5. 1/3 cup of coleslaw dressing.
6. Lime and Lemon juice to taste, I was more generous on the lime.
7. Drizzle just enough Olive oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette to keep things hydrated and more of a oil base and not a cream base.
8. Salt, Pepper, and garlic to taste.

Let sit for a few hours all mixed together covered in the fridge so everything can really soak up all those crazy flavors!

There you have it a quick Salsa,chutney,salad,anything you want it to be. That is what I am really finding out about cooking, it's so fun and you are in charge of how it turns out or how it tastes by changing different ingredients, or even using more or less of something.

I absolutely love going online and finding things I can substitute different items for. I am going to post a heart healthy article tomorrow and then I will do one on baking and cooking substitutes. :)

Pittsburgh Style Turkey Burger

So I was trying to think of a good way to spruce up the boring old Turkey burger so here goes mine and Tyler's version. :) Seriously I think it was the easiest recipe I have ever made!

Tip: So your patties don't fall apart you can form them ahead of time, put baking paper in between each patty and stick them in freezer for about 2 hrs. I just mixed mine up in a bowel and put that mixture in the fridge for a couple hours, and its allot easier to work with the meet.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1lb of ground Turkey
• 1/4 of a sweet onion
• 1/2 of a lightly beaten egg (healthier option which we did and it was good just use the white)
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parsley
• Hamburger Buns

Here's how it's done:

1. In a large bowl, mix ground turkey, seasoned bread crumbs, onion, egg whites, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form into 3-4 patties.
2. Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F
3. We then added french fries and coleslaw that was left over from our Pittsburgh sandwiches from the night before.

This is more of a fork and knife kinda sandwich, a little messy but very well worth it!

Pittsburgh Style Sandwhich

Okay so if your from Pittsburgh PA you absolutely know what a Pittsburgh Sandwich is all about, and even if your not from Pittsburgh chances are you know as well.

We are talking about the legendary © Primanti Bros, they've been around since the 1930's (WOW), Joe Primanti opened a cart in the Strip District selling sandwiches to truckers on the go. 

If you are ever in the Pittsburgh area there are now 15 locations make sure and hit one up, but if you can't get over to Pittsburgh, make some of your own they are a pretty close match to the real thing! There are even 3 Florida locations now!!

Here are all the different meats they offer:

• DOUBLE EGG
• CHEESE COMBO Swiss, American & Provolone 
• JUMBO (bologna)  
• KOLBASSI
• KNOCKWURST
• CHEESE STEAK
• HOT or SWEET SAUSAGE
• BACON & AMERICAN CHEESE
• HAM & AMERICAN CHEESE
• CAPICOLA
• TUNA FISH
• GENOA SALAMI
• TURKEY BREAST
• ROAST BEEF
• PASTRAMI
• CORNED BEEF
• CAJUN CHICKEN BREAST
• BLACK ANGUS TOP SIRLOIN STEAK
• FISH

Tip: It's all about the bread make sure and get good Italian bread, we got a loaf of Italian bread from the bakery and had them slice it for us.

Here's what you'll need:

• Whatever type of meat you choose (We used like a cheese steak)
• Sweet onion
• Coleslaw (I'll include my recipe for a homemade delicious Coleslaw)
• Provolone Cheese
• French fries (Longer and Skinny ones work best)
• Sliced Tomatoes
• Good Italian Bread

Here's how it's done:

1. Cook meat and chopped onions in a saute pan, seasoning to your liking.
2. Get 2 pieces of bread, lay them open faced.
3. Put a piece of cheese on one piece of bread.
4. Put meat on top of cheese.
5. Pile coleslaw on top of meat, it's OK to be generous you can never have to much.
6. Lay 7-10 fries on top of coleslaw and add a slice of tomato if you would like to.

There you have it a homemade "genuine" © Primanti Bros sandwich.

The HOMEMADE                                   VS                                              The REAL deal

What you'll need:

• 1 head green cabbage.
• 1 head of purple cabbage.
• 5 carrot's, cleaned, skinned and shredded.
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• Coleslaw dressing just enough to make it lightly cover the cabbage or more to your taste.

Well that's all there is too it, mix all ingredients together and let chill for 30 mins, before serving. Also make sure you don't throw out the left over coleslaw it's even better the next day and tomorrows recipe will show you another YUMMY way to use it with dinner.