There's nothing better than enjoying a delicious meal then adjourning to the recliner to sip a cup of good coffee. Pull up a chair, grab a good cup of coffee, and join me as I share wonderful recipes from frugal meals to comfort food to the quick and easy dinner.
BLT's
Beans and Cornbreads
Roast, Red Potatoes, Carrots and Homemade Bread
Beef Manhattans
Beef Stew
Beef-N-Noodles
Dinner with My Parents One Night
We'll probably have one night of leftovers.
For any of you who come to check out new recipe posts, I apologize I haven't posted any recently. I have been pretty busy the last week or two with school work and planning and just haven't had much time for a lot of blogging. I hope to have some new recipes posted this week.
With this week's menu, as you can see we're having a lot of beef dishes. I bought a pretty good size roast and am making several meals from that. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!
For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.
Homemade Veggie Soup
Herb-crusted Tilapia, Garlic & Herb Red Potatoes, Fried Corn
Homemade Chicken and Rice Soup
Dinner with My Parents One Night
We'll probably have one night of leftovers.
For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.
Aug. 12, 2008~ Looking for a Healthier Sandwich? ~
Do you really love sandwiches but would like them to be a little healthier? Try this one out. These sandwiches have been delicious!!!
Ingredients
Your choice of bread - We used an Artisan French Ring Bread
Lean Turkey Ham
Turkey Bacon
Romaine Lettuce
Broccoli Slaw Mix
Cucumber, sliced
Tomato, sliced
Green onions, chopped
Condiments of your choice
This sandwich is packed with fresh veggies! But let me warn you: it is one tall sandwich and very messy! I actually took a piece of lunch meat, put the green onions and broccoli slaw mix down the middle of the lunch meat, and then rolled it up. Doing it like that helped contain the slaw and green onions more. Something else I do when cooking turkey bacon is I cut the bacon strips in half before cooking them. It seems that the bacon goes further and it makes the slices a perfect size for bread.
On my menu plan, I actually had planned on having croissant sandwiches. However, I went with the Artisan French Ring bread instead.
Yesterday, I made an Asian style broccoli salad that turned out absolutely delicious. Just to let you know how good it is, my older daughter has not liked any of the chinese style broccoli salads that she's tasted so far. However, one bit of this broccoli salad I made and she declared it was really good!
Asian Style Broccoli Salad
1 bag broccoli slaw mix found in the produce department at the store
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 small bag slivered almonds
1 pkg. ramen noodles (any flavor will work because we won't use the seasoning packet)
Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing and Marinade found with the salad dressings at the store
I washed the bag of broccoli slaw mix and drained it in a strainer. I also washed the green onions before chopping. Crush the ramen noodles. Combine the broccoli slaw mix, green onions, crushed ramen noodles, and slivered almonds in a bowl. Toss with about 3 tbsps. of the Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing and Marinade. Taste test and then add more dressing if desired.
Toasted Sesame Chicken with Stir Fry Veggies over Pasta
Croissant Sandwiches with Asian Style Broccoli Salad
Spaghetti made with Turkey Sausage served over Garden Rotini, Corn
Homemade Veggie Soup
Dinner with My Parents One Night
We'll probably have one night of leftovers.
Dessert: We have cake leftovers from our family get-together this weekend.
Come back this week to see recipes from this menu.
For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.
My Mom's homemade chili has got to be one of my favorite chili recipes! Well....yesterday I made some homemade chili that ranked right up there with good ole' Ma's.
Karen's Homemade Chili
1 lb. ground hamburger
1 large onion, diced
3 large cloves garlic, finely diced
3 cans chili ready diced tomatoes (or regular diced tomatoes)
4 cans chili beans
1/2 small can tomato paste
1 mild chili seasoning pack
salt-n-pepper to taste
Ya'll - this is so easy! In a skillet, brown your hamburger along with the onion, garlic, about 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper. When the hamburger is thoroughly cooked, drain it and put it in a large pot. Add the diced tomatoes, chili beans, tomato paste, and chili seasoning. Stir and let simmer at least an hour. With many soups, it's good to let them simmer for a few hours to let the flavors really come out and blend well together. Because this has tomatoes in it, you will want to stir it frequently so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pot. After it has simmered awhile, taste test to see if you want to add any salt and pepper. That's it!!!! Serve up plain or with your favorite toppings (cheese, fresh onion, sour cream, etc.) In our house, we serve our chili over pasta. If you've never had your chili over pasta, you ought to give it a try sometime. It's great!
Jul. 30, 2008~ Three Grain Pancakes with Homemade Syrup ~
Three Grain Pancakes
With Homemade Syrup
Pancake Ingredients
¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup + 2 tbsp. spelt flour (or another whole grain)
¼ cup oats (you could even probably do ½ cup)
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ - ½ cup dried apples, diced (or another dried fruit)
About 2 cups milk
About ½ cup water (the water is only to thin it out to the consistency you like)
Syrup Ingredients
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
About 1/8 tsp. salt
About ¼ tsp. maple flavoring
About 1 tbsp. flour
About ¼ - ½ cup water
Pancakes
Mix all the dry ingredients together well.Add in the dried apples.Stir in 2 cups milk.You don’t have to get all the lumps of flour out.This will be a lumpy batter because of the apples and oats.Stir in enough water to make it not too thick but not too thin.When you fry these in your skillet, you will want to have a little oil in the pan.You also don’t want to fry pancakes on too high of a setting.I find that about halfway between low and medium usually works pretty well.It will vary depending on how hot your burners get.If the burner is set too high, the outsides of the pancakes will get too done before the insides are done.
Syrup
From the beginning of making this syrup, you will need to stir frequently.In a saucepan, combine the sugar and salt and water.Bring to a boil.While you are waiting for the mixture to come to a boil, grab a small bowl or cup and mix together 1 tbsp. flour with about ¼ - ½ cup water.Stir until it is a smooth consistency.It should not be too thick.If it is, simply add a little more water to it.Once your sugar/salt/water mixture comes to a boil, add in the maple flavoring.Finally, stir in the flour and water mixture slowly.Be sure to stir constantly while pouring the mixture in.Let it simmer until it begins to thicken a little.It may not thicken much.Once it begins to thicken a little, remove from the heat.Don’t worry if it is still pretty thin.It should thicken up once it’s been refrigerated.If you prefer for your syrup to be thick when you put it on your pancakes, consider making the syrup ahead of time and putting in the refrigerator.
Well, this week I don't have much of a menu yet. I'm not for sure when I'll be going to the store. For right now, I will be taking some leftovers and making some sort of soup or casserole. Most likely I will be making a thick soup. We also will be having the BBQ chicken wraps that I had for our menu last week. We haven't had that yet as we had a night or two where we ate some leftovers during the week. In addition, I hope to work in a salad for one of our meals. I might also be trying a new veggie salad. So don't forget to stop back by this week to check out any new recipes I may post. You might find something using carrots and cucumbers! Yum!
For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.
Jul. 26, 2008~ Southwest Chicken over Spanish Rice ~
Southwest Chicken over Spanish Rice
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
½ bag (regular size) frozen corn
1 yellow onion, diced
1/8 tsp. each paprika and chili powder
About ¼ tsp. salt
1 store bought package Spanish rice mix
1 cup regular white rice
1 pkg. taco seasoning
In a bowl, combine the black beans, Italian diced tomatoes, frozen corn, onion, paprika, chili powder, salt, and ½ of the taco seasoning pack. Stir together until well combined. Grab your crockpot and put just enough oil in it to coat the bottom of the pot. Put three boneless, skinless chicken breasts in your crockpot. Now pour the mixture that's in the bowl over the chicken and put the lid on. Set your crockpot on high and cook until the chicken is done. The time will probably vary depending on how your crockpot cooks.
When the chicken is done, it’s time to make the rice. In a saucepan, combine the Spanish rice mix (it should be about 1 cup of rice) and 1 cup of regular rice with 4 cups water, and ½ tsp. salt. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender. You will need to stir frequently. As the liquid begins to absorb, add in the remaining taco seasoning.
Plating
Put several good spoonfuls of rice in the center of your plate and spread it out a little. Place one chicken breast on top of the rice. Top with the sauce the chicken cooked in. You can even sprinkle with a little parsley for decoration.
Saturday morning, I decided to do something special for breakfast. Well, special for us anyway. I made a homemade breakfast pizza! It turned out very flavorful and filling.
Karen's Breakfast Pizza
1 can refrigerator pizza dough
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 dozen eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 small onion, diced
1 package turkey smoked sausage, diced
salt and pepper
First, crack your eggs and put them in a bowl along with the milk and onions as well as the salt and pepper to taste. Don't use too much salt as the turkey smoked sausage will be salty. Use a fork or whisk to mix the eggs, milk, onion, salt, and pepper until combined. Pour eggs into a skillet that has oil in it and has been preheated at medium heat.
Once the eggs are done, follow the directions on the can of refrigerator pizza dough. Basically, just roll the dough on to your cookie sheet. I used a pizza baking stone.
Simply assemble the pizza. Start by putting all of the scrambled eggs on first. Spread them out to cover all of the dough except for about a half inch on the outside for the crust. Next, top with the turkey smoked sausage. Finally, sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top.
Put in a preheated oven (follow the preheating guidelines on the refrigerator pizza dough can) and allow to cook until lightly browned on top and the crust is done. Here's a close-up of a slice of this yummy breakfast entree:
Jul. 23, 2008~ Fabulous Orange Cake with Light and Rich Icing ~
I was in charge of dessert for our weekly meal at my parent's house last week. I made a delicious orange cake with a light but rich icing. Yes, I know it may sound weird that an icing can be both light and rich at the same time. But that's exactly how I would describe the icing on this cake. To make it fun, I decorated it with mandarin oranges and kiwi.
Orange Cake with Light and Rich Icing
1 white cake mix
1 can frozen orange juice, thawed
1 regular size box orange jello
1 sm. can mandarin oranges
3 kiwi, peeled and sliced
1/2 large bag powdered sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1 regular size container whipped topping
Ingredients on cake mix box to make cake
Follow the instructions on the cake mix box with the following exception: Take the amount of water called for in the mix and cut it in half. Make up the other half with orange juice concentrate. For example, if the mix calls for 1 cup water, you will add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate. in addition, add 1/2 pack of orange jello mix. Mix the batter well and bake according to box instructions.
Take the remaining amount of orange juice concentrate and mix it with water to make regular orange juice to drink. (probably about 1 orange juice can of water plus about 1/2 more in the can - does that make sense??)
Icing
Pour about 1/2 of a large bag of powdered sugar in bowl. Melt 1 tbsp. butter and pour that into the sugar. Add just enough orange juice to make it a thick consistency. Mix in the whipped topping.
Once the cake has cooled, pour the icing on it. Use mandarin oranges to make little flowers on the cake. Take the slices of kiwi and cut them in half. Arrange some kiwi with each flower to make little leaves. Then line the cake with kiwi putting the flat sides up against the cake pan. That's how I decorated with the fruit. You can arrange the fruit however you'd like. Be creative!!
This week's menu is very frugal for us and fairly healthy as well. I am utilizing some things I already have in the pantry (shelves and refrigerator/freezer). I already had a bag of frozen chicken breasts, package of tortillas, regular rice, carrots, and a container of BBQ chicken on hand. I also already have the ingredients to make the homemade Italian Garlic Bread. I spent approximately $38 for the whole week. That includes a roll of paper towels, pack of toilet tissue, baby food and baby cereal, and a package of wet wipes. Here's the menu plan for now:
Spaghetti, Green Beans, and Italian Garlic Bread
BBQ Chicken Wraps with Fresh Veggies
Stuffed Green Peppers
Veggie Burgers, Oriental Rice (Store-bought rice mix)
Southwest Veggie Chicken over Rice
Dinner with My Parents One Night
Dessert: Chocolate Eclair Dessert (My Mom is making this for the meal I'm serving for our company that is coming this week. Thanks Mom!)
Come back this week to see recipes from this menu. I'll be trying my own recipes. I'll also be posting some more recipes from this past week.
For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.
So...were you wondering what that yummy looking side dish was with the baked steak? It was a delicious Avocado Veggie Salad. Here's a closer look:
Avocado Veggie Salad
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 lg. red onion, diced (a little less if it's really strong)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 regular size bag frozen corn, fried in skillet (see below)
1-2 avocados, peeled and seeded then diced
1 lime or lemon
About 1/2 cup Italian Dressing
Grab your bag of frozen corn because you're going to fry that corn up. Heat about 1 tbsp. oil (I used extra virgin olive oil) in a skillet. Pour the whole bag of corn in the skillet. Add about 1/8 tsp. each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir. Fry the corn until it starts browning. Once you see some slight browning, remove the skillet from the heat and let the corn cool completely.
While the corn cools, go ahead and get your veggies chopped and your beans drained and rinsed well. If you aren't familiar with dealing with avocados, click HERE to read about how to prepare an avocado. Once you have your avocado chopped, squeeze just enough lemon or lime juice to coat the avocado. The lemon or lime juice will help keep the avocado from turning brown. Combine all the veggies and beans in a bowl and pour the Italian Dressing in. Mix well. If your corn is cool, go ahead and toss it in and stir. If the corn isn't cool, simply put the salad in the refrigerator until the corn is cool enough to add in. Your Avocado Veggie Salad is now finished. It's delicious served right after preparing it. But just as good if you let it sit for awhile. This salad needs to be stored in the refrigerator.
1. Make sure it's firm, but not hard. If it is hard and you don't need to use it immediately, you can let it ripen on your counter for a few days.
2. Make sure the black skin is taut across the avocado. Wrinkly, sunken spots pretty much guarantee something gross is inside (although I know some people who would argue that avocados ALWAYS have something gross inside...).
3. Most grocery stores have small and large avocados at different prices. If you're not getting good results with one size, try the other, as much as it may pain you to do so. It's better to spend more money on a good avocado than to spend less on one that you're going to throw away.
4. To keep your avocado from going brown after you've cut it, sprinkle a little lime or lemon juice on it. Also, if you're only planning on using part of it, cut only what you need away from the pit; the avocado around the pit should stay relatively un-brown.
Next, now that you have found some good avocados, how do you cut an avocado...
1 Grip the avocado gently on one side with one hand. With a large, sharp knife in the other hand, cut the avocado lengthwise around the seed. Open the two halves to expose the pit.
2 At this point there are a few ways you can proceed to remove the pit from the avocado half that has the pit. One way is to make another cut, lengthwise on the avocado half that has the pit, cutting around the pit, exposing it so that it is easier to remove. You can also use a spoon to scoop out the pit.
* Another method is a bit tricky, as you'll see. This method is very popular, but you must be careful lest you cut your hand. For safety, fold up a kitchen towel and use that to hold the avocado half with the pit. Gently tap the pit with a knife with enough force so that the knife edge wedges into the pit, but not so hard as to cut all the way through it. I generally just tap it very gently a few times, each with increasing pressure, until a cut is made in the pit sufficiently to twist the pit out. Getting the pressure just right takes a little practice.
With the edge of the knife, twist the pit out of the avocado and discard.
3 At this point, you can either scoop out the avocado flesh with a spoon (for making guacamole), or slice the avocado into segments. To make it more easy to scoop out the avocado flesh, take a small dinner knife and gently make cuts in the avocado flesh in a cross-hatch pattern, careful not to break through the avocado peel. Then use a spoon to easily scoop out the avocado pieces. If you are making guacamole, don't worry about slightly discolored or brownish sections. Scoop them up with the rest of the avocado to mash.
* To make avocado slices, use a knife to slice the inside of the avocado halves into sections. Don't worry if you cut right through the peel.
4 Use your fingers to separate the avocado segments from the peel.
Now, you can either discard the pit or plant it and make an Avocado Tree...
1.Cut into the avocado carefully, so as not to injure the pit located in the fruit's center. Carefully remove the pit, and set it aside. Use the avocado meat to create the tasty dip/topping known as guacamole.
2.Wash the avocado pit gently, removing all avocado flesh.
3. Holding the pit "narrow" (pointed) side up, stick four toothpicks into the middle section of the pit at even intervals, to a depth of about 5 mm.
4.In a small, slender container (preferably glass), add water until it reaches the very top rim. Your container's opening should be wide enough to easily accommodate the full width of the avocado, but not too wide.
5. Set your avocado pit (with inserted toothpicks) on the top rim of the container. The toothpicks should sit on the rim of the container, while keeping the pit only half-submerged in the water. Make sure the pointed side is up while the rounder end is in the water or your avocado will not grow.
Set the avocado-topped container in a temperate, undisturbed place - near a window or other well-lit area - to begin the rooting and growth process.
Change the water every 1-2 days. Do this to ensure that contaminants (i.e. mold, bacteria, fermentation, etc.) do not hinder the avocado sprouting process. Ensure that the base of the avocado always remains moist and submerged in water.
Wait patiently. The avocado takes several weeks to begin to root. Over the next 2-3 weeks, the avocado's brown outer layer will begin to dry out and wrinkle, eventually sloughing off. Soon after, the pit should begin to split open at the top and bottom. After 3-4 weeks, a tap root should begin to emerge at the base of the pit.
9. Continue to water the plant accordingly. Take care not to disturb or injure the tap root. Continue to allow the avocado pit time to establish its roots. Soon, the avocado will sprout at the top, releasing an unfolding leaf-bud that will open and begin to grow a shoot bearing leaves.
10. Plant the baby tree. When the roots are substantial and the stem top has had a chance to re-grow leaves (after at least one pruning), your baby avocado tree is ready to be planted in soil. Remove the sprouted pit from the water container, and gently remove each of the toothpicks.
Use a 20-25 cm terracotta pot filled with enriched soil to 2 cm below the top. A 50/50 blend of topsoil and coir (coconut fibre) works best. Smooth and slightly pack the soil, adding more soil as needed. Once the soil is prepared, dig a narrow hole deep enough to accommodate your avocado's roots and pit.
Carefully bury the avocado pit in the soil such that the top-half of pit shows above the surface of the soil. Pack the soil lightly around the pit.
Water your plant daily or enough to keep the soil moist. Avoid over-watering to the point that the soil becomes muddy. If the leaves turn brown at the tips, the tree needs more water. If the leaves turn yellow, the tree is getting too much water and needs to be permitted to dry out for a day or two.
Continue to tend to your avocado plant regularly, and in a few years you will have an attractive and low-maintenance tree. Your family and friends will be impressed to know that from an avocado pit, salvaged from your guacamole recipe, you have cultivated and grown your very own avocado tree. (Note: The fruit you get from a tree grown in this manner will almost certainly not be edible.)
Alternatively, plant the pit in a pot, during the warmer months and wait for 3-4 months for the plant to sprout.
END OF POST FROM SIMPLY LIVING: HOMESPUN GRIT AND CALM BLOG
-----------------------------------------------------
Come back tomorrow for a recipe using Avocados. You won't want to miss this one!
Tonight, I want to share with you a quick and easy main dish meat.
Baked Steak
2 thin steaks of your choosing
3 cloves garlic
1 cup Italian Dressing
1 cup oil
Salt
Pepper
Soul Seasoning
Marinade In a container large enough to hold the steaks, combine 3 cloves of garlic (sliced, diced or minced), 1 cup Italian Dressing and 1 cup oil. Mix this together with a fork until well combined. Put your steaks in the mixture, coating both sides. Seal the container and put it in the refrigerator to marinade overnight.
Baking The next day, when you are ready to prepare dinner, preheat your oven to around 425 degrees. Simply take the steaks out of the marinade and place them on a broiler pan lined with aluminum foil. The foil helps keep the clean-up minimal. Bake for about an hour or until the steaks are done. Right before you take them out of the oven, sprinkle one side with salt, pepper, and soul seasoning then bake about 5-10 more minutes. Then do the same for the other side.
The steaks I made turned out so flavorful and tender. I'm sure you will find this to be very tasty! Here's a picture:
Want to know what that delicious looking side dish is? Come back tomorrow to find out right here on Cook-A-Latte Blog!
Last night, I served up a scrumptous, hearty pan of Lasagna Roll-Ups. This dish was inspired by a dish by Giada De Laurentis' Lasagna Rolls which you can find by clicking HERE. Her recipe called for a good bit of ricotta cheese which my husband does not like. So......I basically made my own recipe using the idea of rolling the sauce in the pasta. In the end, I had created a very hearty, filling dish.
Lasagna Roll-Ups
1 lb. ground beef
2 cans pasta sauce
1 box lasagna noodles
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 beef bouillon cube
a few pinches of sugar
1 16 oz. bag shredded mozzarella cheese
about 1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning blend
couple dashes of salt and pepper
9 x 13 pan, sprayed with cooking oil spray
Brown your ground beef in a skillet along with the chopped onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. For more flavorful ground beef, it's important to add in some seasonings while it's cooking in a skillet. Fresh onion and garlic just add the extra burst of flavor that makes the meat so tasty.
Once the meat is done, drain the fat. In a large saucepan, combine the cooked meat with the pasta sauce, beef bouillon cube and a few pinches of sugar. The sugar helps to take the tartness out. After adding a few pinches of sugar, let it cook a little and then taste test it to see if the tartness has been diminished to your liking. Allow the sauce to simmer for maybe about 20 minutes to let the flavors all settle in. Once it's finished cooking, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. This is VERY IMPORTANT as you will be touching the sauce with your hands. Therefore, it needs to be cool enough to touch.
While the sauce is cooling, get some water boiling in a large pot for your noodles. Add some salt to the water for flavoring (probably about 1/4-1/2 tsp. of regular table salt). Also add about 2 tbsp. oil. The oil will help keep the pasta from sticking together. Once the water has come to a full boil, begin by putting in 3-5 lasagna noodles (depending on the size of your pot). You want to cook the pasta al dente style. You don't want them to be completely soft because you will be baking them again in the oven. Al dente style is perfect as it allows the pasta to come to a perfect soft consistency once it's been baked in the oven.
When the pasta is done, remove each noodle from the water and place each one on a paper towel to drain and cool. Continue cooking batches of pasta until you have 15 lasagna noodles cooked. Once the pasta and the sauce are cool, you can begin assembling the roll-ups.
Assembling the Roll-Ups Place a noodle on either a good size cutting board or plate. This will get a little messy with the sauce. Spread some sauce on the noodle - just enough to give a thin layer of sauce. Then begin from one end and roll it gently to the other end. Place it in the pan. If you roll them small enough, you should be able to have three rows of five roll-ups.
Once you have finished rolling them all up and they are all in the pan, pour the remaining pasta sauce over the top making sure all the pasta is covered. Pour the entire bag of mozzarella cheese on top and spread it out to cover it entirely. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil tent-style (where the middle of the foil is popped up in the middle like a tent). Bake for about 30-45 minutes covered at 425 degrees. Then remove the foil and bake until the top has browned nicely. You don't want it too brown as that will make the cheese tougher. I find that it is great just lightly browned.
There are two main things I really like about making lasagna this way. First, it is very hearty. Second, it serves up so much better because you have individual portions. When I make lasagna the usual way of layering the sauce, noodles and cheese, I find many times that the sauce runs not only in the pan when I remove a piece, but also on the plate. I did not find this to be the case with this roll-up recipe. Take a look at the pictures and you will see how nicely it transferred to the plate. I sprinkled the plate with a little paprika and Italian seasoning blend and then placed the lasagna roll-up on top.
My Red, White, and Blueberry Delight was such a hit that I decided to use the same idea but in a different way. Here's my dessert for this week with pictures:
Chocolate Brownie Dessert
1 family size box brownie mix
2 regular size boxes instant chocolate pudding mix
1 tub cool whip
about 1/3-1/2 small pk. slivered almonds
1. Prepare the brownie mix according to directions and bake.
2. Make the pudding according to directions and put in refrigerator.
3. Once the brownies have cooled and the pudding is thick, you will begin to assemble your layers.
First, crumble enough brownies in the bottom of your bowl to form a thin crust. Depending on the size of your brownies, probably around 6-8. Simply press the brownies into the bowl to make the crust.
Second, put 1/2 of the pudding to form the next layer.
Third, use about 1/3 of the cool whip to form the next layer.
Fourth, crumble some brownies and sprinkle them all over the top of the cool whip layer.
Now, simply repeat the pudding layer and then the cool whip layer using the remaining amounts of each that are left.
Finally, crumble some more brownies and sprinkle on top. Finish with sprinkling the top with some slivered almonds. Here's the finished dish:
This is so delicious. You could even drizzle some caramel over the top as well. I made this yesterday and as of tonight, there's only a small portion left (enough really for one person to have a good helping)!
This week I will be trying some new recipes. Here's the menu plan for now:
Lasagna Roll-ups
Black Bean Quesadillas
BBQ Chicken and Rice Soup
Steak and BBQ Chicken Wings with Avocado Veggie Salad
Taco Chicken over Rice
Dinner with My Parents One Night
Dessert: Chocolate Brownie Dessert
Come back this week to see recipes from this menu. I'll be trying recipes I've found as well as inventing my own.
For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.
Tonight for dinner, I made some chicken salad using a recipe I found from Tea Time Magazine. The following is the original recipe with the link to where you can find it online.
The Adolphus' Curried Chicken Salad Makes 3 1/2 cups
2 1/2 cups grilled chicken breast, finely diced
1/2 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely diced
1/2 stalk celery, finely diced
1 tablespoon finely diced yellow onion
2 tablespoons cashews, roasted and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1. Salt and ground black pepper, to taste.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, apple, celery, onion, and cashews. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and curry until well blended. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Add the curry mayonnaise to the chicken mixture, and gently fold in until thoroughly combined.
I did the recipe a little differently. I boiled one frozen chicken breast in water that I salted as well as added garlic powder to. I used half of a Granny Smith apple as the recipe called for. I did not put any celery in it because my husband generally does not like to eat raw celery. I probably added a little more onion and I used only 1/2 cup mayonnaise. I toasted slivered almonds instead of cashews. I also didn't add as much curry powder since my serving size was smaller. I also put in salt and pepper to taste like the recipe suggested. Finally, I just threw everything in a bowl and stirred it. I didn't make the curry mayonnaise separately. I served it up on some wonderful buns that I bought at a local grocery store for $0.99. Here's a picture:
It was really tasty. I think this recipe would be really good with grapes instead of apples and with the celery in it like the recipe calls for.
Remember those tangy tuna croquettes I told you I made a couple of nights ago? Well, last night we decided to have leftovers. And let me just say that these croquettes were even better as leftovers! All I did was take the croquettes out of the refrigerator. Spray both sides of each patty with cooking oil spray. Then I coated both sides with some flour and refried them in oil in a hot skillet. I served them up as a sandwich on the homemade Italian Garlic Bread. My one loaf of homemade Italian Garlic Bread that I made this week has really stretched a lot!
