Gotta Love Bisquick!

I am a big fan of Bisquick. Pancakes, waffles, biscuits, dumplings, baked items, you name it I love it!

I got the inspiration for this meal from the bisquick site and modified it a bit. So I'll post it as I made it. It was really hearty, filling and good.

Beef with Spinach Dumplings

1 lb. ground beef

1o oz. frozen spinach

1 small box of mushrooms sliced

1 small onion sliced thin

1 jar pasta sauce plus added water - about a cup to a cup and a half, enough to boil dumplings in.

2 recipes for bisquick dumplings per the side of the box but add in some pepper and parmesan cheese- I use bisquick healthy heart.

In large deep skillet or pot brown beef, onion, mushrooms. Once things sgtart to brown add the spinach to get it defrosting. When everything is done add the sauce and bring to a simmer. Drop the dumplings by tsp or T full into the pasta sauce mixture and cook according to directions on the box - 10 minutes uncovered and 10 minutes covered.

Very yummy and a great winter dish.

Seriously, this is so easy!

So often I tell people about our favorite quick and easy meal and realize for how often we make it I've never once blogged it.

This recipe comes from an old Weight Watchers cook book I own that's called Cooking for Two.

We've made this recipe with every type of Ramen Noodle and every type of meat -beef, pork, chicken, shrimp.

It's quick, easy and even better because it's low fat.

Easy Asian Beef and Noodles

1 8oz rib eye steak - lean, trimmed of fat and cut diagonally across grain into thin slices.

1 tsp. dark sesame oil, divided

1 cup in inch sliced green onion - if I forget to buy these I just use regular onion

2 cups packaged cabbage and carrot coleslaw - Dole's cooks down the best with this

2 packages beef flavored Ramen Noodle Soup

1 1/2 cups water

1 T low salt soy sauce

(sometimes I add sliced waterchestnuts and bamboo shoots as well)

1. Add steak and onion to nonstick skillet with 1/2 tsp. of the oil and cook until just done (adjust time for other meats) Usually a couple of minutes. Remove meat mixture to bowl and keep warm.

2. heat rest of oil in skillet and add the coleslaw mix and other veggies. stirfry until tender. Remove from pan in to bowl with meat mixture.

3. Remove noodles from package and place in skillet with water and 1 seasoning packet (reserve other packet). Let noodles cook until they are tender and water is gone. Stir in steak and veggies and add soy sauce and toss til combined.

10 points per serving - makes 2 servings- 2 REALLY big servings.

Pierogi A La Ruben!

Anytime I make Pierogi I like to search on the Mrs. T's site first to see what I can get some inspiration from for cooking them.

They had this recipe that was essentially Ruben style pierogi.

So since we love anything Ruben in our house - hence our Ruben Pizza we make - I had to try this.

Ruben Pierogi.

1 box of pierogi - potato and onion boiled

1/2 pound of a good one inch slice of deli corned beef

1 can sauerkraut

thousand island dressing to top.

While pierogi are cooking, dice the corned beef and drain and rinse the sauerkraut and sautee in a skillet with some pam. Once the pierogi are cooked and drained top with half of the corned beef and sauerkraut mixture (this is for a serving for 2). Top the goodness with thousand island and enjoy - trust me you surely will!

A fancy dinner in

Sometimes I like to make something that's not quick and easy. Sometimes I like to make something that is luxurious and fancy and makes me feel like I'm eating out.

The hubs and I were in the mood for scallops last weekend and they had some beautiful ones at the market. We got enough for 4 scallops each and then added about 6 shrimp each that we had in the freezer at home.

This took a little time but it came out so delicious and was so regal looking and restauant quality.

Let's call this Baked Scallops with Spinach.

Ingredients/Directions for each item

2 large pacakges of spinach, stems trimmed, cleaned.

3 cloves of garlic

1 tsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to season spinach.

Heat oil in skillet and add garlic and sautee spinach until it is cooked down. Remove and drain for most moisture to be removed. Add the spinach to the bottom of each baking dish

4 large scallps per serving

6 shrimp peeled and cleaned per serving

Clean all of the seafood. Place on top of the spinach in each baking dish.

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper to season

garlic powder to season

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

In a saucepan add the whipping cream and seasoning and simmer to thicken. Then add the cheese and let it get melty.

Place the baking dishes on a cooking sheet and place in the oven on Hi broil until scallops are most of the way cooked. Then flip the scallops over - if they are HUGE - to get the other side. You may need to take your turkey baster and squeeze out some of the liquid from the spinach that comes out. when the scacllops are most tof the way cooked through add some of the sauce on top of each baking dish. Then top with some breadcrumbs, about 2-3T each dish.

In the last 30-60 seconds add a sprinkle of parmesan on top of the bread crumbs.

Plate the baking dishes and serve.

We served with a side of spaghetti squash.

DELICIOUS!!!

Hearty Fall Dinner

We had this last week for dinner - or maybe two weeks ago, I don't remember. It was so tasty, filling, and delicious!

Slow Cooked Harvest Beef and Vegetables

2 1/2 Pound(s) beef stew meat

1/2 Teaspoon(s) salt (I omitted this)

1/2 Teaspoon(s) garlic pepper

3 Cup(s) baby carrot

1 Pound(s) cut into chunks red potato

1 cut into wedges onion

15 Ounce(s) Italian style diced tomatoes

1 envelope beefy onion soup mix

1 Teaspoon(s) dried basil

1 1/2 Teaspoon(s) marjoram

1/4 Cup(s) flour

1/3 Cup(s) beef broth

Place beef in slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and garlic pepper, toss well. Add carrots, potatoes, onion, tomatoes, soup mix, basil and marjoram, mixing well. Cover and cook 8-10 hours on low setting until beef is very tender. If desired, thicken stew by blending 1/4 cup flour into 1/2 cup water. Stir into beef mixture. Cover, cook on high 10-20 minutes or until thickened.

Quack Quack

Tonight we had some duck for dinner. I bought two small duck breasts a while back and brought them out of the freezer for tonight.

I found a recipe on all recipes that sounded really good and really it truly did not disappoint.

It was nice to have the hubs help me in the kitchen on this one - it's a good two person meal because it goes fast in the preparation department.

Good raves for this recipe - don't doubt the sauce - once it simmers down it's a great mix of flavors.

I served with black rice that had some straw mushrooms steamed in with it and a mix of fresh sugar snap peas and broccoli slaw with some sesame ginger sauce. I also roasted some garlic today and we had that with some bread with supper.

Duck with Honey, Soy and Ginger
from Ollie Martin on All Recipes

2 duck breast halves
1 pinch salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch ground black pepper

1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 pinch chili powder
1 teaspoon lime juice

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Use a sharp knife to score across the duck breasts 4 times through the skin and fat but just barely to the meat. Rub the skin with salt, cayenne, and black pepper.

Preheat an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Lay the breasts in the skillet skin-side down and fry until the skin is brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Use a spoon to carefully discard any excess fat from the bottom of the skillet. Turn the breasts over and cook for 1 minute.
Place the skillet into the preheated oven and roast until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breasts reach 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for well done, or the breasts reach desired doneness.

Remove the duck breasts from the skillet and cover with foil. Set aside to rest. Pour off excess fat from the skillet. Place the stock, soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, tomato sauce, chili powder, and lime juice in the skillet. Whisk the sauce over high heat, bring to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Slice the duck breasts thinly, arrange on serving plates, and pour the sauce over the top.

Now this is finally the recipe I was seeking.

All fall I was searching for some really good pasta and butternut squash recipes and I think I finally found one.

This is from the Weight Watchers website and really was delicious - you sould serve this to company and you'd never know it was low fat and good for you. It came in at 5 points per serving and was so good I ate two servings!

It's creamy, filling, tasty and was the perfect mix of everything. Adam did think it needed something else - perhaps a little nutmeg? I also added some breadcrumbs to the top of the casserole dish - just a couple of Ts to add some crunchiness and help with any grease from the parmesan on top.

Baked Pasta with Butternut Squash and Ricotta

2 spray(s) cooking spray
20 oz butternut squash, fresh, peeled and cubed*
1/8 tsp table salt, for cooking pasta
12 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, penne
1 1/4 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
2 tbsp white all-purpose flour
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
1 tbsp thyme, fresh, chopped, divided
1/2 cup(s) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/3 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano recommended
1/4 cup(s) chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Coat a 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

Place squash on prepared baking sheet; roast until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Place in a large bowl and mash.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. After squash has been roasting for about 10 minutes, cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, flour, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in mashed squash and 2 1/2 teaspoons of thyme. Add sauce to pasta; toss to mix and coat.

Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish; dot with spoonfuls of ricotta and then sprinkle with Parmesan and walnuts. Bake until top is lightly browned in a few spots, about 15 to 20 minutes; remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

I Scream, You Scream...

We all scream for a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker!

Cuisinart - you're free to use that!

For our anniversary, the hubs got me the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker that I've been wanting.

I decided for our first experience, I would go all out - no reduced fat stuff. Let's make it real and see how it really works.

We were also wanting a nice fall ice cream and I found a recipe on the Cuisinart web site for a Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream.

I followed the recipe as is aside from the addition of the gingersnaps or cookies.

Very good and perfect for fall - would be great with a piece of apple pie.

It is pretty unhealthy though so next time we will try it lower in fat. On WW it's 6 points for a half a cup. Worth it but I think a reduced fat would be just as good.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
Servings
Makes about fourteen 1/2-cup servings
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses or dark corn syrup
1-3/4 cups pumpkin purée (solid pack pumpkin)
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup crumbled ginger snaps, vanilla butter cookies, or graham crackers

Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk, brown sugar, and molasses until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin purée, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

Add heavy cream and vanilla. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add the crumbled cookies during the last 5 minutes of mixing. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours.

Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional information per serving:
Calories 310 (52% from fat) • carb. 35g • pro. 3g • fat 18g • sat. fat 11g • chol. 62mg • sod. 134mg • calc. 100mg • fiber 1g

For plain Pumpkin Ice Cream, omit cookies.

©2008 CuisinartCuisinart® is a registered trademark of Cuisinart, Stamford, CT 06902.

Another Recipe Rave for My Friend Robin

Robin, whom I met through the Nest RI Board and who is the author of Made With Love cooking blog - came up with this and it's so good.

So good actually I didn't even stop to get a picture!

Baked Greek Chicken for 2

2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 lemon cut in half
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 diced red bell pepper (I omitted this and used tomato instead fresh on top)

Preheat oven to 350

Arrange chicken in baking dish and drizzle with juice from half the lemon. Season with herbs. Top with cheese and peppers. Drizzle with remaining lemon juice. Bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is done.

I didn't bake with the cheese but instead topped with it on top and the raw tomato.

Served with some roasted eggplant diced up and seasoned with the same herbs and olive oil and some mixed grains.

YUMMY!!!

Warm, Satisfying, Filling and Delicious

My Weight Watchers instructor gave us this recipe a few weeks ago and I finally had all of the ingredients around to make it. I had it for lunch today and it was incredibly good and filling.

Super quick and easy to make and delicious.

It's 1 pt. per cup or core

Taco Soup

In a large dutch oven saute one onion in pam until just tender. I also added some garlic.

Once tender add the following items:

1 packet taco seasoning - I used a low sodium one, everything else has enough sodium that you don't need any more salt.

2 cups corn kernels - i used frozen

1 can black beans undrained

1 can great northern beans undrained

1 can fat free refried beans

1 can diced tomato

1 can tomato with chiles

Let all ingredients simmer for about 30 minutes and serve.

I also added two frozen cubes of cilantro.

Fabulously delicious!