baked crab rangoon & sweet and sour sauce

P and I are working on meal planning a ton more than we ever have, so you will see a variety of different kinds of recipes on the blog. tonight was baked crab rangoon with sweet and sour sauce. with these new recipes will come super delicious things and a few blunders...this one i forgot to check the serving size and ended up making 52 crab rangoon. oh well. i'll do a follow up post letting all of my readers know how they hold up after freezing. ok..here you go.

Baked Crab Rangoon
*Recipe adapted from Food.com

• 16 ounces of low fat cream cheese 
• 1 (6 ounce) can crabmeat, drained and flaked
• 4 to 5 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 (48 count) package wonton skins
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup melted butter 

In medium bowl, combine all ingredients except wonton skins and butter. Mix until well blended. Place 1 teaspoon filling in center of each wonton skin. Moisten edges with water. Fold in half to form triangle, pressing edges to seal. Pull bottom corners down and overlap slight; moisten one corner and press to seal.  Arrange on baking sheet that has been coated with vegetable spray. Brush with melted butter. Bake in 425º oven for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. I've taken a few photos and posted them below. happy cooking!

you can use whatever size you want - i chose medium sized wrappers.

this is what the cream cheese mixture ends up looking like

just to give you perspective on the filling size

these are what my folds looked like - if you are a master folder - do your thing

out of the oven, bubbly and delicious

the final product. P and I loved this recipe. Nice crunch bite without frying. #winning

vanilla french toast

nothing exciting about this recipe, but simple recipes that aren't too shiny are still worth blogging about.

so here it is. simple and tasty.

i know - a boring photo but it's the only one i remember to take.

Vanilla French Toast
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk or fat free half and half
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
2 tablespoon sugar 
1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cinnamonPinch salt
6 slices day-old bread, (any bread you like will work)

Mix all ingredients except the bread in a shallow pie or casserole dish. place each slice of bread in the dish for 30 seconds. Cook on a greased hot griddle until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. I like to use a vanilla butter to enhance the vanilla flavor. recipe below.

My First Go with Chicken Spaghetti

Everyone I know in Texas has enjoyed the deliciousness of Chicken Spaghetti. The only problem is, I try my best not to eat canned soups at all and most recipes call for both cream of mushroom and cream of chicken. So I looked around and found a recipe without cream soups and tried it out for the first time tonight. It was a success in my house and because there are only two of us I was able to split the recipe in half and freeze enough for next week's meals. yay me! :)

Anyway..here's the recipe..Enjoy!

Chicken Spaghetti
*recipe adapted from The Meaning of Pie

1   pound cooked shredded chicken
¾  cup chopped onions
2   cups chopped vegetables (red, yellow, and green bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, celery)
1   garlic clove, chopped
4   Tablespoons butter
¼  cup all purpose flour
1-½ cans (14.5 ounce cans) of low sodium chicken broth
½  cup Half & Half
8   oz. of shredded cheddar cheese (about 6 in the dish, and 2 for the topping)
10 oz. spaghetti noodles, cooked al dente and drained
½  cup buttered Panko crumbs
4   oz. canned chopped green chiles
1   tomato, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

First, season and cook the chicken. I use Johnny’s Seasoning Salt, but a little salt and pepper is fine, instead. Pan grill the chicken (or cook in a non-stick skillet) until cooked through. Allow the chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes and then chop it up into small pieces.

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan - like major large. When the butter has melted, add all of the chopped vegetables, onion and garlic and sauté until tender. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly. Add the chicken broth and continue to stir until a thick sauce has formed. Add the half & half and stir until combined. Add the chopped tomatoes, green chiles and 6 ounces of the cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted. Add the chopped chicken and stir. Now, taste this sauce and add salt and pepper. It will need it. We have used low sodium broth and we are not using canned cream soups which typically add a lot of sodium. You will need to season at this point. Seriously, taste it.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in boiling water until al dente and then drain the spaghetti.If you have room in the sauté pan, add the noodles. I usually end up transferring the sauce to the emptied noodle pot and then add the noodles back in with the sauce. Regardless, add the noodles to the sauce and stir to incorporate the sauce and vegetables into the noodles. This takes a little doing, but keep stirring or re-arranging with tongs until the vegetables and chicken are well distributed. Transfer the Chicken Spaghetti to a casserole dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, combine 1 Tablespoon of melted butter and ½ cup of Panko crumbs. Season with seasoning salt, or regular salt. Distribute the remaining cheddar cheese on top of the chicken spaghetti and then sprinkle the Panko on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Allow the casserole to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

i used boneless skinless thighs and breasts for a little more flavor.

i picked a ton of different veggies and this was the size of the dice. it worked perfectly for the casserole.

this is after adding the flour, this is the thickness level before adding the half and half. should just coat the back of a spoon.

after adding the half and half and the cheese is melted in.

topped with cheese and panko.

the finished product. i ended up turning on the broiler for a nice golden finish. super crunchy on top! so delicious!

New Year, New Ressies..

It's been so long since I've written a blog post; I really don't often have much to share. So I've decided to just blog about the things i like. using this as an outlet to just share what i enjoy - cooking, baking, my dog and my husband, P and with that..I'll start off with a new pinterest dessert i tried last night. it was so easy and super delicious!

Indoor S'mores for two
*recipe from Dessert For Two

Ingredients

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 10 large marshmallows
• graham crackers for dipping

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450.
2. In a small (6") cast iron skillet, add the chocolate chips. Snip the large marshmallows in half and top the chocolate chips with them. (You could also use a scoop of mini marshmallows alternatively.)
3. Once the oven is up to temperature, add the skillet to the oven. Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until the marshmallows turn golden brown.
4. Serve with graham crackers for scooping.

chocolate chip layer - i used semi-sweet, but next time would use dark chocolate. i needed it to be a little less sweet.

pretty marshmallows..

marshmallows are cut in half, just wanted to show you an up close shot

 

the reward. seriously delicious.

up close and melty...so yum. soooo easy!!

collard greens

this is a long overdue post, but i'm writing it now so here you go. my brother-in-law, N, and sister-in-law, R, are excellent cooks...N especially. Unfortunately they live in New Jersey so we very rarely get to break bread, but it's always delicious when we do. Which takes me back to Christmas...one of the side dishes he made while at my in-laws was this delicious and smoky collard green side. such a tough leaf vegetable needs a long while to cook and can't be rushed, but when it's done well it's amazeballs. Enjoy!

collard greens
makes 6 cups

2 tbsp peanut oil
1 ham hock (i like pancetta or bacon here too, just cut your salt)
2 medium onions diced
2 tbsp minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cups chicken stock
16 packed cups collard greens, washed and chopped (about 4 bunches)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, over medium heat, heat oil and brown ham hock on both sides. turn up to medium high, add onion and cook until edge of onion pieces start to turn brown. turn heat back to medium and add garlic and red pepper flake. Cook 3-4 minutes and add chicken stock. bring chicken stock to boil and add greens. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 3-4 hours or until meat starts to fall off of the bone. remove bone and add meat only back in the pot stir and serve!

farmers market haul

i love texas in the spring. my absolute favorite place, bright and early
on a saturday morning, has to be the cowtown farmers market.

i was so excited to get there this morning i almost forgot all of my bags. i'm a big proponent of eating locally for supporting our farmers and local economy, but even more so because i know where the food is coming from. knowing that these farms are within 30 minutes to a couple of hours from my house ensures the freshness of the food i'm putting in my recipes. Today's haul includes napa cabbage, kale, watermelon radishes, tomatoes, baby artichokes, two kinds of asparagus, strawberries, leaf lettuce, thyme, torpedo onions, bulb onion, ramps and beets! and baby carrots! i almost forgot them. i'll let the pictures do the talking. so yummy..get out to your farmers markets - it's a fun family outing and just as easy as the store..promise. happy spring!

march is here!

i started looking through my last several weeks and realized i didn't have much going on until mid march. P has been very busy. he had two conferences the first two weeks of march and was exhausted when it was all wrapped up. the 2nd conference was in Austin, TX so i went down for a day & hung out with him in his off time & shopped the rest of the time! got a couple of pairs of torys and a new ks bag. nothing too exciting, but still fun for me. if you've never been to the san marcos outlet mall, you must go. it is SO big. i could not get over the sheer size of this mall, much less the number of stores. there is no way i could have seen all i wanted to in just one day, so i hit the highlights.

the next day i drove back to fort worth early in the morning and by late afternoon i was across DFW at my very first pinterest party. my friend Steph, she has the most handsome baby boy, welcomed us to her beautiful home for the party. i had no idea how much i'd enjoy this, but it was really fun. three (Erin, Brit and I) of us made a nail and string art design of our native state, Brit also made a clock (like she literally made the clock work out of a blank canvas and a clock kit) and Steph made pillows for her house. Truth be told Stephanie did my nail art and i sewed her pillows. :) no matter - we all ended up with something fun from our craft day. check out the pictures below. yay for us!


Stephanie lives in a different part of DFW than I do (check out the post on her blog about the pinterest party too! she's a real deal blogger and does a much better job chronicling. the pillows are on that page) It's about 60 miles from my house, but so worth the trip to spend quality girl time with my friends. as the perfect hostess she showed us a great time and brought us to one of her favorite restaurants, Zanata in Rockwall. As a lover of simple but classicly prepared foods, i'm telling you right this very second if you are in this part of town, you must go. and do not look past the simple things like the hummus and pimento cheese board because you think - oh i've had hummus before. what appears simple is over the top delicious. hands down the best pimento cheese i've ever had. ever. this place is so unassuming, even with cassoulet and a pork belly app on the menu, and has such a relaxed atmosphere that you won't have a moment to feel like a stranger. just settle in and enjoy the experience. absolutely delicious. can't wait to get back.

finally february..

promise to keep this month to one post, but lots happened so it will be a long one.
one of my dear friends had her sweet baby girl, M on February 13 and i'm pretty sure she's the most beautiful M i've ever seen in the history of ever. she's so teeny tiny. mama and baby are well and at home getting to know each other. i'd post a picture of the cuteness, but i haven't asked Sarah so I can't do that yet. so instead i'll post a picture from her baby shower (and my friends happen to be gorg). needless to say a very exciting day before valentine's day!

at work i was hella busy with events, etc. P wasn't so much, but his march was set to be busy so I knew that we wouldn't see each other much the next couple of months. definitely a bummer, but it just made valentine's day more enjoyable. dinner at our favorite fort worth restaurant, Lambert's (just closed a few weeks ago. sad face.) with some close friends the weekend before and on the day of just hanging out at home together. The day started with valentines from my awesome colleagues, followed by beautiful tulips, my favorite, sent to me by P and i sent him a ding dong cake. :) his version of flowers..it was delicious! i lvoe valentine's day - i think celebrating love is awesome, but i think having a day to celebrate one of the greatest gifts in life is awesome!

next up was a visit to the Dallas Art Museum for the gaultier exhibit. i do not have words for how amazeballs this was...what a great exhibit. i really enjoyed this one. of course there were no photos inside, but i did shoot one so you can get a baby taste of it. he's an amazing designer and really his expression through design and fabric is truly incredible and so fun!

other than that, Feb was pretty boring. i'll end it with a biscuit recipe i made in Feb. these biscuits were the bomb and easy peasy. i really like cooking from a video because you can pause, rewind and really see the correct form to make sure you aren't over-mixing, kneading too much or just plain doing it wrong. so you will see videos pretty oftern from me. :)
http://www.joyofbaking.com/Biscuits.html
here is the result of my labor. i absolutely love the chunks of butter you can see in the biscuit dough and watching it translate into a flaky biscuit. seriously amazing the science that happens in cooking. and eventhough my mother is a chemist, i was/am terrible at science. yikes!

january again

this will be quick and short - i completely forgot to mention we bought a new car. i always enjoy new car feel. when you drive down the road and thinke veryone must be noticing my new car and how freaking awesome i look in my RB wayfarers, sun shining through my sunroof and the wind blowing through my hair - or not so much. but whatevs..still excited and even in march still loving it.

still in january, but at least the end

i started this year with a ton of cooking and baking. many many cookings and many many bakings. so i picked one cake that i made that got the most attention and people liked, my adaptation on oatmeal cake. it is for sure not healthy, but i liked it. the end. this cake took a lot of time and was no comparison to the deliciousness created at ellerbee's, but still tasty.

my adaptation of ellerbee's amazing oatmeal cookie cake






CAKE
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

GLAZE
1/2 cup butter; unsalted
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

ICING
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 pinch salt
1vanilla bean
1 ½ cups heavy whipped cream , unwhipped (33-35%)

Before starting this cake, throw a cup of golden raisins in a bowl with 1/4 cup of white rum and 1/2 a vanilla bean. if you don't like raisins - omit..obvi.

Put the oats in a mixing bowl, pour the boiling water over them, and set aside for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 350ºF. Combine the shortening, sugars, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat well with an electric mixer, adding the soaked oatmeal.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat them into the wet mixture until the batter is evenly mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. (i used 8 inch rounds - this recipe wanted a 9x13) Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the glaze. Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan and stir in the milk. Add the brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook for several minutes, until it coats the back of your mixing spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir for 20 more seconds
When you take out the cakes, leave in pan for 5 minutes and then plan on rack lined beneath with wax paper. After 20 minutes, with a toothpick, poke holes in each layer..several, but not a million and pour half the glaze over each cake. make sure to give the cakes enough time to soak in the mixture. slow is the idea here. then let sit for another 30 minutes before frosting the cakes. (adapted recipe from familyfun.go.com)

For Frosting: In a bowl whip the 1-1/2 cups whipping cream until stiff peaks form. In another large bowl beat together the cream cheese with sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth. Using a spatula fold in the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. (recipe from food.com)

Happy New Year!..in March..

as noted by many of my friends i have not been very good about updating my blog so I thought i would start now in March. The next few blog posts will be quick updates with a few pics of the last couple of months and then i will be all caught up and it will look like it never happened. whatevs..

well since we're on january now, my husband insists on black eyed peas on new years day. being from a south american family, i never had that tradition, but have embraced it being married to an oklahoma boy. over the years he's perfected his recipe to make it an actual meal and one that i look forward to.





1/2 quart of chicken stock
1 can of black eyed peas or fresh black eyed peas (fresh have a different cooking method - check googs for cooking method)
1 shallot
1 clove of minced garlic
1 tbsp of tabasco
pinch of salt and pepper
2 andouille sausages, scored (or any sausage of your choice)
2 cups of cooked rice (we used a quick cooking rice)

black eyed peas, chicken stock, tabasco, shallot, garlic, salt and pepper in a sauce pan. andouille in 10" frying pan scored side down until cooked. serve sausage over beans over rice. delish. thanks to P for introducing me to this good luck in the new year recipe.