Baby Announcement

I had an amazing water birth at home on Friday June 3rd with a midwife. A short 6 ½ hour labor and at 4:23AM my husband delivered our son, Quinton. He weighed 7 pounds and was 20 ¾ inches long. He has the most hair out of any of my babies and the darkest too. He has an olive complexion. He was so alert when he came out looking around at everything. Such a cute content baby boy. He has two older brothers and one sister. They love him a little too much. I feel awesome.

Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I got this from "The Girl Who Ate Everything" today. This slow cooker recipe was so easy-only 3 ingredients: pork, root beer, and barbecue sauce. Mmm...mmm...good.

Ingredients:

1 (2-3lb) pork tenderloin (pork shoulder or butt can also be used)

1 (12 oz) can of root beer

1 (18 oz) bottle of barbecue sauce

8 hamburger buns

Directions:

PLACE the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker and pour the can of root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until pork shreds easily with a fork.

REMOVE the pork when finished cooking, place in bowl, and shred.

DRAIN and discard the root beer then place shredded pork back into slow cooker.

POUR the barbecue sauce over the pork and stir to combine. Serve immediately or keep warm in slow cooker until ready to serve. Serve on hamburger buns.

Gina's Tips:

I used a 3 pound pork butt roast and simply removed the fat after it was done cooking. You could use a leaner pork tenderloin; it makes shredding easier because there's no need to separate the meat from the fat. The root beer acts as a tenderizer and after soaking in it all day, the pork practically melts in your mouth. I also added 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and sprinkled salt and pepper on it in the slow cooker. We served it with fresh cantaloupe, salt and cracked pepper chips, and root beer. Then for dessert—ice cream cones.

Star Swiss Enchiladas

These are known as Enchilada Suizas or Green Chile Enchiladas. It has a green (white) sauce instead of a red sauce. I think Swiss cheese is used in some recipes. I didn't take a picture, instead I looked for a similar one on the internet. This is my mom's recipe and she makes them casserole style in an 8x8 pan.

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked shredded chicken

1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles

1 tsp salt

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese

1 (10 oz ) can green chile enchilada sauce

1 (5 oz ) can evaporated milk or heavy cream

12 corn tortillas

Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Green onions, chopped

Cilantro

Directions:

MIX chicken, chiles, salt, and cream cheese.

COMBINE enchilada sauce and evaporated milk/heavy cream.

SPREAD chicken mixture in each tortilla and place in 9x13 pan. (It makes 8 enchiladas.)

POUR enchilada sauce mixture on top.

SPRINKLE cheese and green onions on top.

BAKE at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, refried beans, chips and salsa.

Gina's Tips:

I thought this might be too spicy for my kids but I think because I added the cream cheese to my mom's recipe it made it creamy and less spicy. They didn't even notice the green chiles in it either. I used heavy cream instead of evaporated milk. I had a 16 oz can of green chile enchilada sauce and 1 cup of heavy cream. I used flour tortillas too. You can add cilantro if you wish.

ALTERNATE METHOD:

Soften tortillas, place in microwave with wet paper towel, then place on bottom of 8x8 baking pan.

Spread chicken mixture and sprinkle some cheese on top.

Layer more tortillas, then pour enchilada sauce and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake as usual.

Santa Fe Enchiladas

I have been trying recipes from the new Philadelphia cooking cremes. They have recipes on the website http://cookphilly.com. The four different cooking cremes are: Italian Cheese & Herb, Original, Santa Fe Blend, and Savory Garlic. I have tried several recipes already; I will post them sometime. They are quick recipes which I like but I wish the flavors were bolder.

Prep Time: 15 min

Total Time: 35 min

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp oil

3 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts

1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained

1 (10 oz) tub PHILADELPHIA Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme, divided

1/2 cup Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese

8 flour tortillas (6 inch)

Directions:

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COOK and stir onions in hot oil in large skillet on medium heat 4 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Stir in chicken, tomatoes, 3/4 cup cooking creme and shredded cheese.

SPOON about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining cooking creme. Cover.

BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until heated through.

Gina's Tips:

I baked the enchiladas uncovered. I spread red enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas along with the remaining cooking creme. Then I topped them off with more shredded cheese. I thought it could use more salt-FLAVOR. You might want to use diced tomatoes with salt.

My own chicken enchilada recipe is similar but has a bold flavor. I use an 8 oz package of cream cheese that I mix in with the chicken, along with some red enchilada sauce. I mix in a small can of sliced black olives too. Top with red enchilada sauce and a blend of Mexican cheeses. Omit the onion, cooking creme, and diced tomatoes in the ingredients.

Mexican Food

Mexican food is my FAVORITE! Chimichangas and enchiladas are at the top of my list. I love tortilla chips and fresh salsa, refried beans, guacamole, all the cheeses and sauces. There are so many bold flavors. I judge a Mexican restaurant by the taste of their guacamole first. If that's bland then how can anything else be good on the menu? Lately I have been into cooking enchiladas so I will have several different enchilada recipes posted. I want to learn more chimichanga recipes next.

Spacing

For some reason blogger is spacing out my writing and it's really annoying. I try to fix it and nothing works.

French Toast Bake

Yet another recipe I saw on "The Girl Who Ate Everything." It looked irresistible so I had to try it. This recipe can is made the night before, then in the morning—pop it in the oven. The original recipe is called Overnight French Toast Casserole but it turned me off seeing the word "casserole" with "French Toast" so I changed it to appeal to me. I think this would be a great breakfast tradition for a holiday like Easter coming up, or Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. It was gourmet French Toast. Yum.

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/02/overnight-french-toast-casserole.html

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 4 hours

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (4 TBSP) butter, melted

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 loaf Challah, braided bread (French toast can also be sliced 1 1/2 inches thick)

8 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup whole milk

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup pecans, measured then chopped

1/8 tsp salt

(optional) maple syrup and powdered sugar for topping

Directions:

MIX brown sugar and melted butter in small bowl and pour on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

ARRANGE slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping if necessary.

COMBINE milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices.

SPRINKLE chopped pecans over bread slices.

WRAP tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours.

In the morning…

REMOVE the casserole from the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you are preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

BAKE casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don't dry it out completely.

REMOVE casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Grasshopper Parfaits

So young "grasshopper"...you are craving dessert. I couldn't resist saying that. I love easy desserts that look so decadent as if you spent the day preparing it.

Prep Time: 25 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients:

15 OREO Cookies, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

10 chocolate-covered mint patties, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

1 qt. (4 cups) cold milk

2 to 4 drops green food coloring

2 cups cool whip, thawed

Directions:

CRUSH cookies using a rolling pin for finer crumbs. Chop mint patties.

COMBINE chopped cookies and mint patties.

BEAT pudding mixes and milk with whisk 2 mins. Let stand 5 mins. Meanwhile, stir food coloring into cool whip until well blended.

LAYER half each of the pudding, cool whip and cookie mixture evenly in 12 parfait glasses or dessert glasses. Repeat layers. Refrigerate 30 mins.

Watergate Salad

Prep Time: 15 min

Total Time: 1 hr 15 min

Makes: 8 servings, about 1/2 cup each

Ingredients:

1 can (20 oz.) Crushed Pineapple, in juice, undrained

1 pkg (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup Miniature Marshmallows

1/2 cup chopped Pecans

1-1/2 cups cool whip, thawed

Directions:

MIX first 4 ingredients in large bowl until well blended.

STIR in cool whip.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour.

Cream Cheese ‘n Herb Cucumber Bites

These appetizers are ridiculously simple and cucumbers always taste good to me. You can slice them either into donut circles or semi-circles as the pictures show.

Prep Time: 10 min

Total Time: 10 min

Makes: 12 servings (2 slices each)

Ingredients:

1 carrot, shredded (about 1/2 cup), divided

1/2 cup Chive & Onion Cream Cheese

2 cucumbers, cut lengthwise in half, peeled and seeded

Directions:

PEEL then cut each cucumber in half lengthwise then cut each half into 6 pieces to serve.

USE melon baller to scoop out indentation in center of each.

FILL with cream cheese spread; top with salmon and dill.

SHRED carrot and reserve 2 TBSP. Mix remaining carrots with cream cheese; spoon into cucumber shells. Top with reserved carrots.

Gina's Tips: Let the kids make cucumber "boats". Just fill the cucumber shells with the cream cheese mixture as directed. Then, add snow peas for the sails. Decorate with other cut-up fresh vegetables as desired to resemble colorful sailboats.

Variations: Top with 1 oz crab meat, shrimp, or smoked salmon, thinly sliced, cut into 12 pieces. Top with olives or slices of red pepper. Drizzle with 1 TBSP KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing.

St. Patrick's Day

Since St. Patrick's Day is approaching I thought I would post some fun green food to make for that day: Cream Cheese 'n Herb Cucumber Bites, Watergate Salad, and Grasshopper parfaits. They are all great for cooling off in the summer time too.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

I saw this picture and started drooling over it. This was the perfect dessert following our Mexican dinner of chicken and black bean enchilada casserole. When I saw this recipe I thought "I hope this tastes as good as it looks." It was more than I could have expected. I was speechless when I took my first bite and my eyes rolled into the back of my head. In that moment I forgot about all other desserts I have ever tasted. Everyone that I have shared it with since have had a similar reaction. My sister was a taste tester the next morning and she said "OMIGOSH!" Then I said "I KNOW!" I love chilled cheesecake; I don't usually like it warm but this is the exception. It's even better warm, and that's saying a lot because it is divine chilled too. It has a sweet crunchy top and bottom. I thought after it chilled it would lose its crunchiness and it didn't all that much. This dessert is hard to not share but at the same time you want it all to yourself.

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/07/sopapilla-cheesecake.html

Ingredients:

2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls

2-8oz cream cheese (softened, room temperature)

1 1/2 cups sugar (divided)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 stick butter (1/2 cup real butter not margarine)

Directions:

SPRAY a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press 1 can crescent rolls into the bottom of your baking dish press the seams together.

BLEND in a separate bowl the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla then spread over top of dough. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and place on top of the cream cheese mixture pressing seams together again.

MELT butter and pour over top layer of crescents.

MIX the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar & cinnamon together. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the top.

BAKE at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly and bottom crust is slightly brown.

Gina's Tips: I only used ¼ cup butter to drizzle on the top and found that to be enough. I also used brown sugar instead of regular granulated sugar. "The Girl Who Ate Everything" suggests drizzling honey over it or strawberries and whipcream. I found it to be perfect by itself.

Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

I found this recipe on the blog "The Girl Who Ate Everything". I wondered if it would be too spicy but it turned out just right. In fact, all three of my kids had 2nds and some had 3rds. Everyone loved it. I made small changes to the recipe. The best part is you can prepare the main chicken portion early so that at dinner time you just have to layer everything into the baking dish.

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/11/chicken-and-black-bean-enchilada.html

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts, shredded

½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4.5 oz) can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 (8 oz) container sour cream

Directions:

BOIL chicken in water for at least 15 minutes or longer depending on thickness of chicken breasts. Remove chicken from pot and shred. Boiling longer makes chicken more tender, making shredding easier.

HEAT a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Sauté chicken with cumin, coriander, and garlic powder until well blended with chicken. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the cilantro, black beans, and green chili peppers.

SPREAD half of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish that has been greased. Place 4 tortillas over the sauce, overlapping them. Layer half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, and sprinkle with half of the cheese and half of the sour cream.

SPREAD the remaining enchilada sauce over the cheese, and make another layer of tortillas. Layer the remaining chicken mixture over the tortillas, and sprinkle with cheese and sour cream.

COVER dish with a lid or aluminum foil.

PREHEAT the oven to 375°f. Bake for 30 minutes.

REMOVE the cover, and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and dot with sour cream. Continue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Gina's Tips: I used a 9x13 baking dish so I used 4 chicken breasts. I used a bigger 28 oz can of enchilada sauce because I spread enchilada sauce, sour cream, and cheese over every layer including the top because it made it tastier throughout and juicier. I don't measure my cheese I just cover the chicken mixture until I can't see much of what is underneath. I had flour tortillas which were soft taco size so I used those and it tasted great. I skipped the sauté step and just stirred the chicken mixture in a bowl. The second time I made it I sautéd the chicken and I really didn't taste much of a difference. I didn't have coriander on hand so I sprinkled some fajita seasoning in. Yum.

The Girl Who Ate Everything

I have a new favorite blog site

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/

I came across this blog when I was looking up twice-baked potatoes and I had to check it out based on the title alone. I love it. She's my kind of cook. Everything looks so good on it. It has so many recipes I want to try out. I have already begun.

Food Quote

We were eating Gordon Ramsay burgers one night for dinner and Logan said:

"The more burgers I eat, I get happy."

I told you they were tasty good.

Oreo Truffles

I have to say that I am not a big fan of the Oreo cookie as a cookie itself. I'm more of a chocolate chip cookie fan. When I tasted an Oreo truffle, however, it was a different story—a delicious one.

Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 30 min

Makes: 4 dozen

Ingredients:

1 pkg (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

1 pkg (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups), divided

2 pkg (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Directions:

MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended.

SHAPE into (1-inch) 48 balls.

CHILL in refrigerator 1 hour or until firm.

DIP in melted chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

Gina's Tips: I used both the original Oreo cookie and the mint ones to have the mint flavor on the inside and milk chocolate on the outside. I melted milk chocolate chips for dipping the truffles. I made the mistake of dipping them before chilling them and they were saggy, yet still tasty after hardening. I put the cookies minus the cream filling into a ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to turn them into crumbs.

On the Kraft website they have several different versions of the Oreo truffle: original, cool mint, and toasted coconut.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/cool-mint-oreo-cookie-121576.aspx

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/toasted-coconut-golden-oreo-cookie-121579.aspx

Ultimate Twice-Baked Potatoes

Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins

Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes, cleaned and unpeeled
8 slices bacon, or real bacon bits
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided
1 TBSP chives, chopped

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F.

BAKE potatoes in oven for 1 hour.

COOK bacon in a skillet over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

COOL potatoes for 10 minutes after done. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.

BAKE for another 15 minutes and serve.

Rotisserie Chicken

Saturday night I made rotisserie chicken and my good friend, Jaylee, brought twice-baked potatoes to go with it because she loves me. I also made homemade bread. Then for dessert I made Oreo truffles. It's so nice to have my passion for food back. This night tasted soooooo good.

I forgot to take a picture so I found one that closely resembled the look of mine.

This picture cracked me up because it looks like my dinner is going to walk away.

prep: 10 mins

cook time:1-1/2 hrs

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 onions, quartered

2 (4 pound) whole chickens

Directions:

MIX in a small bowl: salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, white pepper, black pepper, and garlic powder.

REMOVE and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with paper towel. Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place 1 onion into the cavity of each chicken. Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours.

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F.

PLACE chickens in oven browning bag in a roasting pan. Bake for about 1-1/2 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F.

Gina's Tips: I used half of an onion and split it between the two chickens. I used a large size (up to 8 lbs) oven bag for quicker cooking and it keeps the juices better. If you don't have an oven bag you can bake the rotisserie chicken uncovered for about 5 hours at 250 degrees F. This recipe is low hassle because you can prepare the chicken in the morning with the spices and everything and keep it refrigerated until you're ready to bake it in the oven. That's exactly what I did so dinner time it was easy.