Peachy-Keen Crisp!

It’s 84 degrees here in Duluth, not an overly common occurrence. So naturally I was craving fruit crisp. . . haha. And seeing as I had just purchased a gigantic can of peaches (to freeze for smoothies and such) it made sense that I make peach crisp! MMMmmmmm. However, it is in the 80’s today so turning on the oven wasn’t really something I was looking forward to. So, you may be wondering what the next best thing to the oven is?? The Toaster Oven! This recipe is just something I cooked up hoping it would turn into a crisp . . . which it did!

Peachy-Keen Crisp

12-16 oz can of Peaches
2 TBSP Orange juice
2 TBSP Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
¼ tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Nutmeg

Crisp:
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup old fashioned oats
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
A pinch of teaspoon salt
¼ butter or margarine

1. Preheat an oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees F and grease an 6x6x2 inch square baking dish (small pyrex) OR 4 Ramekins.
2. Place the peaches (mostly drained) in the bottom of the baking dish, and sprinkle them with orange juice, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Stir and coat all peaches. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture resembles crumbs.
4. Sprinkle the flour mixture in an even layer over the top of the peaches, and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until the peaches are bubbling and the topping is browned.

This was very very good, but it was also pretty sweet. I enjoyed it with a small scoop of ice cream, but you could also top with whipped cream! Because this was designed to be baked in the toaster oven it is a small portion- enough for 3-4 servings but could easily be doubled for a larger gathering!

Marisha's Favorite Smoothie!

Last week was my 25th Birthday. Where did the time go!? I am finally 25 and haven't really decided how I feel about it yet . . . Though; all of my friends are going on 26 or 27 now so it does make me feel a little better :) The benefit of birthdays at any age is that they usually mean a gift or two and this year I received one of the best inventions ever made- A Ninja 1100. Truly it is AMAZING! Yes, it’s a blender and an awesome one, but it really is a multi-use tool. So far I’ve perfected my smoothie making, but I am now planning on venturing out into bread doughs, sauces, cookies-the options are endless – So excited! On that note I did start this post to share my favorite Smoothie Recipe . . .

Banana Pineapple Smoothie – From the Ninja Cookbook

2 Cups Pineapple Juice
1 Cup Pineapple Chunks
1 Ripe Banana
¼ Cup unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 TBSP Honey
3 Cups Ice Cubes

Pour all ingredients into a 72 oz Blender; I advise starting with the ice or it may not all blend! Blend until very smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.


So Tasty!! Enjoy!


Because I started using the Ninja daily (yes daily) and I quickly realized it would be expensive to continuously buy fresh ingredients. I decided to buy the giant containers of fruit instead. I brought them home then separated them into freezer baggies and now I have enough fruit to last me quite awhile! Today while I was separating the canned peaches I decided to make a quick peach crisp. I mean who doesn’t love a fruit crisp really!? That recipe is coming up soon so watch out!

Delicious, Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches!

I spent the day care-taking for two elementary aged children and one of our adventures included making our very own ice cream sandwiches! The children enjoyed mixing the ingredients together for the sandwich part and loved the end result: Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches! Next time we're even going to make our own ice cream to go in them, but we'll save that for a later recipe...


Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted *(I used half a stick of low fat butter and half a stick of regular)
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups (about 2 pints) of ice cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Then grease a 10" x 15" baking sheet with edges.
First, melt the butter. Whisk the butter and sugar together until smooth. Then whisk in the egg and vanilla extract. Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and stir until combined and smooth.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. It will be about 1/4" thick.
Bake for about 5 minutes, turn the pan around, and bake for 5 more minutes. The cake is done when it is dry to the touch and the edges just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Gently lift the cake onto a cutting board and cut in half.
Get out a medium piece of wax paper and a large piece of plastic wrap. Put the wax paper on the plastic wrap. Then place one half of the cake, top side down, on the wax paper.
Spread with the softened ice cream of your choice, smoothing with a spatula. Top with the remaining half of cake, top side up. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in the freezer until firm (30 minutes will be soft set; 2 hours will be firm).

We only put ours in the freezer for 30 minutes, so it was soft set but we used spoons to eat it as the ice cream would squish out the sides. However, if you have more time, feel free to leave it in for the full two hours and you should get a nicely firmed ice cream bar! Either way, it tastes DELICIOUS! Enjoy! :)

As promised: Fried Rice!!!

I love love love fried rice! So I spent a day searching online comparing various recipes for fried rice and utilized this information to create my own, delicious fried rice!


It doesn't taste dry like the cheap stuff from Chinese restaurants and is made from brown rice (not the nutrient free white rice most restaurants use), so it will be different... but in a good way!

Check it out...


Ingredients
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 cups of brown rice, cooked & refrigerated (see below for microwave recipe for rice*)
1 cup of green onion, chopped (or 1 medium vidalia onion, diced)
1/4 soy sauce
2 cups of vegetable medley (carrots, beans, peas, & corn), fresh or frozen
2 large eggs

Directions
Heat the oil in the pan for 2-3 minutes. Then add the two cups of rice and "fry" it up for about 5 minutes. Add the green onion & soy sauce and cook for 3-5 minutes. Next, add the vegetable medley and cook until vegetables are warmed, but still crisp. Finally, add the two eggs on top and stir them into the fried rice.
If you like having egg pieces in your fried rice, make sure to allow the egg to cook some before stirring it in. Otherwise, just go ahead and stir it in. The eggs help make the fried rice sticky and add just a little flavor to the dish.

Hint: It's best to use cold rice for this dish as it will fry better. However, warm rice works too!

*Microwave Brown Rice
Start by washing 1 cup of rice in a small-holed strainer. Then put the rice in a large bowl (that has a lid) with 4 cups of water. Cover the bowl and microwave on high for 10 minutes or until the water boils. Carefully remove the cover and microwave uncovered for 20 minutes or until most of the water absorbs. Allow to cool for a few minutes before placing in the refrigerator.

And that's all there is to it!!! Now you too can have tasty fried rice with delicious homemade egg rolls. :)

Egg Rolls from Scratch; baked, not fried!

My mom always used to make egg rolls growing up and they were amazing! Nothing in the restaurants compared to mom's egg rolls. However, she would only make them for special occasions because they were so putzy. One day, she taught me how to make them and I've been experimenting with them ever since.

I discovered one day that egg rolls could be baked and made to taste almost as awesome as the fried ones but much healthier. Now, I will share that secret with you...


Ingredients
1 lb chicken (or pork), cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 14oz bag of cole slaw (aka shredded cabbage)
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/3 cup plum sauce
1/2 cup water
15 egg roll wrappers
2 eggs
duck sauce

Directions
Wash and cube your chicken into about 1/2" cubes. Then put into a large, deep frying pan with the olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Then cook until all chicken is just white. Hint: don't overcook the chicken as it will be cooked in with the cabbage mixture as well is baked in the oven.
Next, pour the cole slaw mixture in with the chicken. Add the hoisin sauce, plum sauce, and water. Bring the cabbage mixture to a boil and reduce to medium heat. Cook down for about 15 minutes.
Scramble the eggs with 2 tbsp of water in a bowl. Then prepare one egg roll wrapper at a time by brushing each corner with the egg mixture. Put about 2-3 tbsp of the cabbage mixture in the center of the wrapper. Pull one corner toward another corner, stopping just after you have covered the mixture. Then pull the two side corners into the middle. Finally, roll it toward the remaining egg brushed corner until you have an egg roll shape.


Spray a non-stick baking sheet. Then place each egg roll on it as you finish making them. Lightly spray the tops of each egg roll before placing in a 400 degree F oven for 8 minutes. Flip each egg roll over and bake for 3-5 more minutes. The tops should be a golden brown color.
Serve your egg rolls with duck sauce and some fried rice! It's an amazing combination and far healthier than most egg rolls served in restaurants!

Coming soon: how to make fried rice from scratch!!!

Egg's Benedict makes for a Stellar breakfast, albeit slightly messy in the blender...

My husband and I are big lovers of Egg's Benedict, in large part because of the tasty hollandaise sauce that smothers this breakfast delight.

This morning I was inspired to try my hand at making the sauce from scratch once more. I used the "blender method" this time and while it worked spendidly, my blender did manage to spew melted butter across the countertops and nearby appliances. I will have to perfect the use of the blender...

Ingredients for Sauce
3 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 dash hot sauce or taco sauce
1/2 cup light butter
dash of salt

Directions
Separate the yolks from the whites in a bowl. Put the three egg yolks in the blender along with the mustard, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and a dash of hot sauce. Blend for about 5 seconds.
Then, cut up the light butter into a microwavable liquid measuring cup and microwave on medium heat for one minute. It should be mostly melted by this point. Then microwave on high for 20-30 seconds or until bubbling.
Turn the blender onto a low mixing speed and slowly pour the melted butter and salt in. It should thicken immediately and will hopefully not spray all over your kitchen (as it did with mine at first). When the sauce is thick and well-combined, set the blender container in a bowl of hot water until you're ready to use it.

Egg's Benedict Ingredients (for one)
1 English muffin, split and toasted
2 slices of ham or Canadian bacon
2 eggs, poached
1 tbsp vinegar
1/4 cup Hollandaise sauce
paprika

Start by poaching (or frying in a pan with margarine) your eggs. In a medium pot, fill halfway with water and add 1 tbsp of white vinegar. Bring the water to a boil and carefully break two eggs into the boiling water without cracking the yolk. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 3 minutes or until whites are fully cooked.
While you wait for the eggs to cook, toast the English muffin and put a little bit of margarine on it. Then, cook the ham in a frying pan until slightly browned and warm.
Put the ham on the English muffin and the egg on top of the ham. Finally, drizzle 1/4 cup of the Hollandaise sauce across both of the English muffins and sprinkle on some paprika!

The sauce is incredible with the combined textures and flavors of the egg, ham, and English muffin! I recommend serving this meal with a side of fruit. Enjoy!

Fantastical Granola Bars

I’m all about on-the-go snacks but when you buy granola bars or packaged breakfast bars they always have strange chemicals added to allow a longer shelf life or add artificial colors and flavorings. I’m also allergic to peanuts and it would amaze you how many products are made in or on the same equipment as peanuts! That is what drove me to find a homemade alternative. Which ultimately brought me to this website; the author of this blog has a lot of great recipes which are easily changed or are already designed for people with allergies. The original recipe seen here was designed to be dairy and gluten free; I changed a couple things for my version below as I don’t have intolerances to dairy or gluten and the gluten-free products are spendy!

Fantastical Granola Bars
3 cups Oatmeal
1 ¾ cups chopped pecans
1 ¼ cup coconut
¼ cup sliced almonds
5 TBSP SmartBalance ( or butter)
1 cup honey
1/3 cup dark brown sugar packed
1 tbsp. vanilla
½ tsp. salt
6 oz Raisins/Craisins/any dried fruit
1 cup choc chips (Ghirardelli Semi-sweet are dairy free)

Preheat oven to 300. Line a pan (9x13 pan for 24 thicker bars; I use a large jelly roll pan and end up with 48 thinner bars.) with parchment paper- do not skip this step it makes it much easier later.

Sprinkle Chocolate Chips in the bottom of your pan.

Place butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan. Do not heat yet. It’s just easier to prep everything before.

Toss oatmeal, pecans, almonds and coconut together on a sheet pan and toast for 10 minutes@ 350. Until lightly browned. Or you can do this over a large center burner in a large saucepan. Either way works. Transfer to large bowl.

Heat butter honey mixture bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture.

Add the Raisins/ fruit of choice and stir to combine. Make sure all of the mixture is wet otherwise it will not hold together.

Quickly dump and press the oat mixture in the pan (I use a square of parchment so my hands don’t get sticky!) and bake for 25-30 for the 9x13 (16 minutes for the large jelly roll pan) until golden brown.

Cool for at least 2-3 hours before cutting into bars.

Truly these are delicious! If you decide to make a large batch they freeze very well. If you like more of a chewy bar don't cook as long and add a few more oats. Another tid-bit I love love love chocolate- but as a granola bar there is quite a strong chocolate taste to these bars. I’ve made them twice and each time I’ve decreased the chocolate by a little bit - next time I will probably cut it completely in half!

The best Lasagna ever! (or at least, the best I've ever had...)

My mother has always made the BEST lasagna I've ever had. Whenever we went to a restaurant or over to someone else's house and they were serving lasagna, it just never compared to my mom's homemade lasagna. The sauce wouldn't be quite right or there wouldn't be enough cheese or, worst of all, there would be sausage in the lasagna! I mean, sausage?!
One day, my mother showed me the secret to her amazing lasagna and now I shall pass that secret on to you!

The first key is to make the sauce from scratch.

Sauce Ingredients
28 oz of canned tomatoes (they can be tomatoes you have canned or store bought)
6 oz can of tomato paste
Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper

Sauce Directions
Strain the canned tomatoes into a large bowl leaving only the juices. Tip: I like to throw the canned tomatoes in the blender for a few seconds then strain it in a basic wire strainer. It's a quick and efficient way to get all the juices.
Once you've finished straining your tomatoes, pour the juices in a large pot and add the tomato paste and seasoning. Stir until smooth. Then cook on low for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Lasagna Ingredients
Homemade sauce (see recipe above)
1 box of lasagna noodles
1 lb ground beef (extra lean)
12 oz mozzarella, sliced
2 eggs
1/3 cup grated parmesan
15 oz fat free ricotta
15 oz fat free cottage cheese
Parsley flakes

Lasagna Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
While you're making the homemade sauce, put water into a large pot and heat to a rolling boil.
Next, add some spices to your ground beef. I'm a fan of Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, but feel free to experiment!. Then, cook the ground beef and drain the extra juices. When the beef is done and the sauce is ready, pour the meat into the sauce and stir. Allow to simmer while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Slice 12oz of mozzarella thinly. You will need approximately 42 slices of cheese to cover a 9" x 13" pan adequately.
Next, combine the two eggs, parsley flakes, parmesan, ricotta, and cottage cheeses in a large bowl and mix with a blender.
When everything is done cooking, you are ready to assemble the layers. Get out a 9" x 13" baking pan, preferably glass. Start by adding a small amount (about 1/2 a cup) of the meat sauce to the bottom of the pan. Spread evenly. Then add a layer of noodles. You will want the noodles to overlap about one inch so that the dish will hold its shape when cut. It will usually take about 5-6 noodles to do so.
Add half of the cottage cheese mixture to the top of the noodles and spread evenly. Then carefully space out the mozzarella cheese to cover the dish (about seven slices by three slices). Add a second layer of meat sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, and mozzarella slices. Finish the dish with a small layer of sauce on the mozzarella cheese, a layer of noodles, and a final layer of sauce. Make sure the top is fully covered in sauce*, or the edges of the noodles will burn.
Place in the oven on a middle rack and cook for about one hour. Remove from oven and allow to set for about 5 minutes before serving.

*Tip: if you get to the top layer and you are running low on sauce, it is ok to open a can of whatever plain spaghetti sauce you have around and mix it to your homemade sauce. It will taste just fine and it's important to have enough sauce to cover the top layer. :)

I usually have a small, side salad and some garlic bread with this meal! It's a really incredible lasagna full of flavor from the homemade sauce to the seasoned meat to the cheeses. It also makes amazing leftovers that are almost better the second day!

If you're a fan of garlic bread, a quick and easy way to make some at home is to buy some Italian bread from your local bakery. Get out a piece of tin foil large enough to wrap around however many slices of bread you're using. Then butter one side of each slice you're going to make and add some garlic salt. Make sure that the end slices are buttered on both sides. Wrap the tin foil around the buttered bread and bake with the lasagna for the last 20 minutes. The bread will have toasty crusts and melted garlic butter centers. It's a really quick and easy way to make amazing garlic bread!

Enjoy your lasagna! :)

Chicken fajitas with garden fresh green pepper!

My green bell pepper plants have finally produced large enough peppers for eating, so I came up with some tasty meals that could incorporate my garden fresh peppers. The first one was the steak sandwich. Then, considering my husband's inexplicable love of "Mexican" food and all things wrapped in a tortilla, I decided to make Chicken Fajitas!

Luck would have it that the boneless, skinless chicken breasts I always use were on super sale at my local grocery store. It was like fate telling me to cook something with chicken and peppers... and who I am to refuse fate? :)

The key to a really good fajita is having a good, sweet vidalia onion along with a crisp, green pepper. If my peppers had gone red at the time, I would have used green and red peppers. Alas, it was not quite there yet. In any event, another great addition to any fajita is of course steak! There is something incredible about a chicken and steak fajita with all the veggies.

Ingredients
2 tbsp oil (olive or vegetable)
1 medium green pepper, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced (about 1" x 3")
1 package McCormick's Fajita Seasoning
1/4 cup water
Large, flour tortillas
1 medium tomato, diced
Lettuce, washed and torn
Shredded cheddar
Sour cream
Guacamole (1 avocado, 1 tbsp sour cream, 4 tbsp salsa, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp lime juice blended until smooth)

Directions
Slice the chicken into 1" strips and place in 1 tbsp of oil. Cook for 3-5 minutes on medium-high until no longer pink on the outside. Then, slice the green pepper and onion into strips. Add to the chicken mixture. Cook until tender.
Add the McCormick seasoning and 1/4 cup of water. Cook until sauce thickens.
Put chicken mixture, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole on a large, flour tortilla. Wrap the tortilla around the fajita mixture and enjoy!
Tip: to help keep your tortilla from unrolling itself (as they are prone to do), gently spread the sour cream on at least one half of the flour tortilla and wrap that side over the top. The sour cream works like an edible glue and will hold the tortilla to itself.

Enjoy your tasty fajitas with chips and salsa!!! Don't forget to make some strawberry daiquiris!

Ham, Cheese, and Everything Egg Bake!

*Note: prepare the egg bake the night before you need it!

Growing up, I had never had egg bake. We made scrambled eggs, over easy eggs, deviled eggs, omelets, and used eggs for baking, but we never made egg bake. My mother-in-law, however, makes it on special occasions and it is probably one of my favorite breakfast foods!
It is relatively easy to put together, but it does require that you refrigerate it overnight and it takes about 1.5-2 hours to bake so it's not a last minute meal by any means!

Ingredients
3 cups seasoned croutons, small cut
2 cups grated cheddar (go for a sharp cheddar to get lots of flavor)
2 cups ham, diced
1 cup diced onion
1 cup chopped spinach
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup mushrooms, sliced and halved
2 cups egg beaters (or 8 medium eggs)
2 1/2 cups milk (skim)
1 can of cream of celery soup (Heart Healthy or 98% fat free)
1/2 can of evaporated milk (about 6 oz)

Directions
Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan (I like to use Pam spray or equivalent). Pour the croutons on the bottom. Then add the cheese layer. Next, add the diced ham. Finish off with a layer of onions, spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
In a large bowl, mix the egg beaters, skim milk, cream of celery soup, and evaporated milk until well blended. Pour the egg mixture evenly throughout the pan. Refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, allow yourself at least 2 hours to bake. Place the pan inside the cold oven and preheat to 300 degrees F. Bake for 1.5 hours. The egg bake is done when you insert a knife near the middle and it comes out clean.

When I made the egg bake, the edges were clearly done but the center was still wet. It took an extra 15 minutes before the center was solid enough to cut through, although it still didn't look fully cooked. After letting it cool for a bit, the egg bake seems to congeal and become more solid. In any case, it tasted incredible! And will make excellent breakfasts for this week.

I was happy to discover that using the low-fat and fat free ingredients did not compromise the taste at all. The vast majority of the flavor seems to come from the meat, cheese, and veggies, so using skim milk, egg beaters, and reduced fat cream of celery is a healthy bonus without losing the taste.