Easter Recipes

How cute are these foods...

Betty Crocker Easter Basket Cupcakes

English Muffins

I made these years and years ago, before I moved out on my own for good.  I have no idea what I did with that recipe but I remember them being good. This one involves a couple more steps than I remember - although my memory ain't what it used to be:-)

When I saw that this makes 6, I went ahead and doubled the batch so we could freeze some. 

Recipe directly from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
3/4-1 cup milk, at room temperature
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix in the butter and 3/4 cup of milk. Add just enough of the remaining milk to form a dough and incorporate the dry ingredients. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed, about 7-8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and roll to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour.

Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape into balls. Lay parchment paper on a baking sheet and spray or coat lightly with oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Move the dough balls to the baking sheet, spacing them evenly with room to rise. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise another hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a skillet on medium heat on the stovetop. Brush the skillet lightly with oil and gently transfer the dough balls to the skillet a few at a time. Allow them to cook for 5-8 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Carefully flip and cook the other side for 5-8 minutes more. They should flatten as they cook.

Remove the muffins from the skillet and transfer them to a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 5-8 minutes. Do not wait until all the muffins have been browned in the skillet before moving them to the oven. As the first batch is baking, move the second batch to the skillet.

Transfer the baked muffins to a cooling rack and let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing or serving. Store in an airtight container.

Menu Plan - Week of 3-28-11

Been a while.  Sorry about that!  My husband is rocking at his diet (except this last week, don't ask!)  But as of last Monday, he is down 61.8 pounds. Can you believe it?  As of Friday, I'm back to my initial weight as of January 1, and I'm tracking calories and working out like it's my job. It's back on!  I need to fit into a black dress that I own but haven't been able to wear yet.  We have a wedding to attend May 7, I would love to wear it then!

So here we go:

Monday - Tortellini & spinach soup
Tuesday - Chicken fajitas
Wednesday - Pork and stir fry veggies over whole grain rice
Thursday - Tuscan Garlic Chicken
Friday - Cheese pizza with wheat flour

As I've been tracking my carlories, I've noticed that my big problem is with snacks. I try so hard not to eat much during my meals that I undercut those and end up eating more as snacks. So I need to come up with filling meals for lunches that satisfy me enough that I'm not heading to the vending machine at 2 PM!  So that is my goal this week. 

Recipes to Try

Since I rarely have time to cook anymore, and if I do it's just for me and Calvin (husband is down 58 pounds on the diet - woo-hoo!!!), I thought I would share through the internet what I wish I would be able to cook!

Here are some recipes I would like to try:

Meatlesss:
Tortellini and Spinach Soup (Annie's Eats, Christine's Cuisine)
Lower Carb Quiche Lorraine (I was Born to Cook)

Pasta:
Tuscan Garlic Chicken (Mel's Kitchen Cafe)
Rigatoni Di Grigorio (Pennies on a Platter)

Baked Goods:
Croissants (Annie's Eats)

Dessert:
Strawberry White Chocolate Mousse Crepes (Evil Shennanigans)

Menu Plan - Week of 3-14-11

Let's try this again.

Monday - Bourbon Chicken, rice, steamed broccoli
Tuesday - Tomato soup & grilled cheese
Wednesday - Shrimp, baked potato, roasted asparagus
Thursday - Baked cod, rice, roasted asparagus
Friday - Tortellini & broccoli salad

Robert Mondavi Pinot Grigio

Yum. Will definitely buy again.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I had to try this stuffed mushroom recipe.  It was easy and didn't involve too many ingredients that weren't on hand already. 

I did quite a bit of adjusting to the amounts here, I only needed enough for me.  I used six large "stuffing" mushrooms, 2 cloves garlic (which I promptly burnt and had to pick the dark pieces out!), 1 green onion, and guessed on everything else.

I don't have a food processor, so I had to mince everything by hand. Otherwise, everything was made per the recipe.  Oh yeah, I forgot to hold out the parsley for garnish as well and only had dried thyme.  With all of these changes, these were still pretty good!  So please try these:)



Recipe from Baked Bree

24 mushrooms
2 shallots
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup white wine
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley chopped

Wipe the mushrooms off with a damp paper towel. Remove the stems and save them. Put the mushroom stems, shallots, and garlic in the food processor.
Pulse until it is finely chopped.
Saute the mushroom and shallot mixture in a large saute pan over medium high heat with 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Cook until the shallots are transparent and the mushroom begin to caramelize, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the white wine and let the wine cook out. Set aside and let cool slightly.
In a bowl, add the cream cheese, parsley (save a bit for garnish), and thyme.
Add the mushroom mixture to the cream cheese and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Put the mushroom caps on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Fill the mushroom with the filling and sprinkle the top with the breadcrumbs.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. When the mushrooms are done, they will start to leak water and be hot all the way through.
Garnish the the remaining parsley.