Couscous and Zucchini

I can count on one hand how many times I have made couscous in my life. Until I looked it up on the Internet, I didn't even know what it was!! Yes, I was that clueless! As dinnertime was approaching last night and my marinated pork chops were almost done in the oven, I was scrambling to figure out a side dish. I had zucchini and a box of couscous, so how about mixing them together?!?! I was in the midst of making this "concoction," when the hubby arrived home. I told him what I was whipping up and he had a one word response, "interesting." All righty then.  When I put some of my "concoction," on his plate, I waited for a reaction. He had two helpings! When dinner was over and we were cleaning up the dishes, I asked him if he would eat it again. He said he would! Cool!!

FYI - this is super scrumptious left over the next day, I know because I had some for lunch this afternoon!!

Ingredients

4 cups zucchini, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water
2/3 cup couscous, any brand
  I used Near East

Cover the bottom of a large frying pan with the canola oil.  Add the zucchini and onions and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a large spoon until the onions and zucchini start to get soft and tender. Sprinkle the cumin, curry powder, salt and pepper evenly over the onions and zucchini. Immediately add the water, stir to mix in the spices and bring to a boil. Remove frying pan from the heat, add the couscous, stir to combine and cover for five minutes. Fluff with fork and serve.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Pie

When I told my husband that I was going to make a key lime pie recently, he seemed particularly intrigued. I later found out why. He said that's his favorite kind of pie! I had no clue. You would think after 26 1/2 years together I would know that!! We haven't changed a bit, have we?!?! The hubby has a little more "snow," on his "rooftop," and I have acquired a few extra pounds, but other than that....

Anyways, this pie has just five ingredients, but oh my, it is SO good!!! The hardest part was waiting overnight to let it set. That's right, you don't need to put it in the oven, let your fridge do all the work!!! My husband got the first bite and told me, "this is really good!"  I have a great hubby, he likes 99.9% of the food I make 🙂. A happy wife is a happy life!

Ingredients

6-ounce ready-to-eat graham cracker pie crust
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
8-ounce bar cream cheese, softened
8-ounce container whipped topping, thawed

In a medium size bowl, put the condensed milk, lime juice and cream cheese. Using an electric mixer or a large spoon, beat until smooth. Pour into graham cracker crust. Spread whipped topping evenly on top. Put in fridge for 12 hours. Serve immediately and keep covered in fridge.

*Note: feel free to use whatever brand you like for the ingredients. I am partial to the Kroger brand, so that is what I used. Enjoy!!

No Bake Rocky Road Bars

I have had marshmallows on the "brain," for a while now and finally decided to do something about it Thursday afternoon!!! It has been a tad toasty here lately and I did not want to turn on the oven, so a "no bake," recipe was a perfect option. You need just four ingredients and two hours to make this tasty treat, SO, if you are wondering what to take to your next gathering, whip up some of these bars, they are sure to be a big hit!

Ingredients

1 cup dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
10-ounce bag miniature marshmallows
2 cups milk chocolate morsels
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan with aluminum foil and then spray with non-stick spray. Set aside. In a large bowl, put the peanuts and marshmallows. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, put the chocolate morsels and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to a medium heat, stirring occasionally with a large spoon just enough to melt the chocolate morsels. Don't boil! Pour over the ingredients in the large bowl. Stir gently with a large spoon until the peanuts and marshmallows are covered in the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Put in fridge for a minimum of two hours and then cut into squares. Store up to five days covered in the fridge.

Baked Dutch Baby

This has got to be one of the easiest breakfasts I have ever made and it has just six ingredients. It looks kind of fancy, doesn't it??? A "typical," Dutch Baby is cooked in a cast iron skillet. We have one, but it is buried in a box in the back room of our basement somewhere! I decided to bake it in a glass pie pan instead. All I can say is YUM!!! After a super duper busy weekend, it was nice to slow down a little this morning and have a slice of this with a steaming hot cup of coffee!

Ingredients

2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium size bowl, put the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat well with a whisk or large spoon until well combined. Gradually, add the flour a little bit at a time until all the flour has been added. Beat well. The mixture should be thick and creamy. In a small bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove, melt the butter.  Add the melted butter to an ungreased 9-inch pie pan (I used a glass one), so it covers the bottom of the pan. Pour the mixture in and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let it cool slightly. Enjoy as is, top with fresh fruit or with powdered sugar.

Beef Taco Casserole

This December will be 27 years since I met my hubby. Pretty much since the beginning of our relationship, I have cooked and/or baked for him. That probably adds up to a lot of meals!!! One day last week, he came home from work and said something along the lines of, "what kind of concoction are you making?"  I sometimes get in a "rut," so when he saw different ingredients laid out on the kitchen counter, he was intrigued. When we sat down to eat, the hubby had two VERY large helpings. Guess he liked my "concoction!" LOL. I like to say the hubby and I are like a fine wine, we get better with age!!!!!

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes,  undrained
15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup sour cream
1 ounce taco seasoning mix packet
2 cups tortilla chips, crushed
2 cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan, brown meat until no longer pink and it is cooked through. Remove from heat and drain off grease. Stir in tomatoes, black beans, sour cream and the taco seasoning mix packet and stir well with large spoon.  Set aside. In a 9 x 13 inch ungreased pan, spread the crushed tortilla chips in an even layer. Spread half of the meat mixture, then half of the cheese, then the other half of the beef mixture, ending with the other half of the cheese. Bake for about 25 minutes or until heated through. Makes eight servings.

"Healthier" Breakfast Cookies

You would think that these breakfast cookies would be completely devoid of flavor considering there is no flour, white sugar, butter, margarine, shortening, canola oil or chocolate in them. Well, back about four years ago, I put a recipe for breakfast cookies on this blog. While they were yummy, they also had a lot of extra ingredients that I knew I could eliminate, to make them "healthier." Up until a few months ago, I would regularly buy Oreos when I would go to the Kroger. I was putting them in Dominic's lunch, but I also would eat way too many of them. They are very addicting!!! I finally came to the conclusion, that if I didn't buy them, then I wouldn't eat them!! In the past couple of weeks, I have had more than one person tell me that Dominic looks thinner. I  personally think it is because he stopped eating all those Oreos! I decided to come up with a "healthier," version of my original breakfast cookies from four years ago! These taste pretty darn good, if I do say so myself!! By the way, Dominic LOVES these cookies!!!!!


Ingredients

1/2 cup + two tablespoons old fashioned oats
1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cereal, crushed
  (your choice)
*I used the Kroger version of Rice Krispies 😉

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking/cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, put all the ingredients in the order given and stir with a large spoon. To make these cookies all the same size, I used a 1/4 cup of batter for each, rolled into a ball and flattened slightly with the palms of my hands. I was able to make nine cookies. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, then remove from oven and let them sit on the sheet for five minutes before removing them to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Ham and Cheese Mini Omelettes

Eggs around here have been very cheap. Aldi  has had a dozen for 64 cents for several weeks!! I was trying to think of a different way to use eggs. I love omelettes and I used to make my stepson "made to order," omelettes when he was younger. He would be so appreciative, that it made me happy to do it for him! During the week, I am hustling to get the hubby and Dominic to work and school respectively, that we never get a chance to eat breakfast together. Lately, on the weekends, Sunday has become the day we eat breakfast together and I've just been making scrambled eggs.  In my lifetime, I've probably made thousands of cupcakes and muffins, but I have never thought of using the muffin tins to make mini omelettes.  This recipe was so easy, quick and on the table in about a half hour. We usually buy a ham for Easter and we inevitably have tons left over!! I think I know what I'm making Easter Monday for breakfast!😉
 
Ingredients

12 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cooked ham, cubed
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin liberally with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. In large bowl, crack the dozen eggs. Beat well with fork and add the curry powder, pepper, ham and cheese and with a large spoon, combine well. Pour into the muffin tin, distributing
evenly. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a mini omelette comes out clean. Remove from oven and let them sit for five minutes before you remove to a wire rack.  *Feel free to make your mini omelettes all cheese, all veggies - whatever you want!!