Cornbread Mexican Pizza Revisited

My hubby requested this one. Cornbread Mexican Pizza. I have posted the recipe before but I changed a few things in it this time around. The original recipe I saw on Rachael Ray. Both Boca and Morningstar Farms have veggie type meat crumbles.  I didn't have salsa but instead used tomato sauce. I like it because you can use whatever veggies are in season. My daughter is a new vegetarian so I can make sure she gets her veggies too!

1 lb ground beef
2 corn bread mixes like Jiffy
2 eggs
1 1/2 milk
1 cup black beans drained optional
1 small zucchini diced (you may use the veggies of your choice)
1 small yellow squash diced
1 tomato seeded and diced
1 small onion diced
1 can tomato sauce
2 TBSP taco seasoning
1/2 cup shredded cheese.
PAM for spraying
cast iron skillet


Pre heat oven to 400. Stir together the corn bread mix, milk, and eggs in a medium sized bowl. Spay PAM in the bottom of a cast iron skillet and dump in the corn bread mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until set in the middle. In a sauce pan heat 1 TBSP of taco seasoning and the tomato sauce on low. In a frying pan add the ground beef and brown and drain the fat. Remove the beef and add some of the sauce to it. Spray pan with PAM once again. Add the veggies and sautee' until tender. Remove cornbread from the oven and pour tomato sauce over the cornbread. Add the tomato sauce and then the ground beef. On top of that add the veggies. Top that with cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Orange Glazed Chicken Stir Fry

Last night I made a variation of a stir fry I love. It has carrots, sugar snap peas, and chicken. This time I added a delicious orange sauce with it. I like how it comes together so quickly and tastes soooo good!

Orange Glazed Chicken Stir Fry

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 bag frozen sugar snap peas

2 carrots cut into coins

1/2 onion diced

2 tsp ginger minced

2 tsp garlic

2 TBSP soy sauce

4 TBSP EVOO

1/2 cup chicken stock

2/3 c orange marmalade

4 TBSP corn starch

In a separate bowl mix cornstarch with the chicken and stir until chicken in coated. In a frying pan add the EVOO and the carrots and onions. Cook until the carrots become soft but aren't all the way cooked through and the onions are translucent. Remove from pan. Add the remaining 2 TBSP of olive oil and add the chicken flipping over every few minutes til no longer pink. Add the ginger, chicken stock, soy sauce, and the veggies back to the pan. Let the sauce come to a boil and add snap peas. In a small bowl mix two more TBSP of corn starch with 1/4 cup water and pour into sauce. Let bubble. This will thicken the sauce. Serve over rice.



Lasagna is What's for Dinner

I have the ground beef on the stove as we speak and am making lasagna for dinner. This is one of my hubby's favorites. I love this show on the Cookingchannel.com called "Hungry Girl" and saw her substitute roasted egg plant planks for noodles therefore cutting down on calories and carbs. I roasted the egg plant at 425 for about 20 minutes flipping over about half way through. My daughter the vegetarian is getting egg plant planks with the ricotta.

Here is the recipe I use:
1 container fat free ricotta
1 egg
1 package precooked lasagna like Bertoli
1 egg plant cut into planks and roasted per directions above makes about 6 planks
1 can spaghetti sauce (I like Hunt's)
1 lb ground beef (I am using Supreme lean)
1 cup cheese of your choice like mozzarella or cheddar shredded
Italian seasoning

Lower heat in oven to 350 degrees. Stir one egg and a pinch of cheese into the ricotta. Mix Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Ladle 1/4 of the spaghetti sauce into a 9x13 baking dish. Place the first layer of noodles. Then add a spoonful of sauce to each noodle. Top with ricotta and then the ground beef. Next is the egg plant. You are using this instead of a noodle for the next layer. Top with the ricotta and meat then a noodle for the next layer. On the top layer top with sauce and sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top.  I ended up using 6 noodles instead of the whole box like I normally do. Bake covered with tin foil for 50 minutes. Insert a knife and check the noodles for doneness. Remove tin foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until done.

Shrimp, Asparagus, and Gnocchi Revisited and Gloomy Saturday

What a horrible spring! This week we had one day that was 80 then it went down hill from there. It has been in the 50's and raining almost every day. I headed back to the local fruit market today to pick up some asparagus I had been eyeing. These things are huge! Also I picked up some prosciutto and another 8lb bag of oranges. Yep we ate almost the whole 8 lbs of the the first bag.

The plan for tonight is gnocchi with prosciutto and shrimp. I am going to make a piccata type sauce to go over it. Here is how I normally make picatta sauce. I don't have any white wine so I am going to make the sauce strictly out of lemon juice and chicken broth.

Gnocchi with Asparagus, Prosciutto, Shrimp,  and a Piccata Sauce

1 cup chicken broth
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 c white wine (use it if you've got it)
2 tsp capers
2-3 slices prosciutto sliced into ribbons
asparagus trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces then blanched
shrimp (today I am using raw) about one lb.
1 pkg potato gnochhi boiled
1 TBSP butter
salt and pepper

Defrost the shrimp if frozen by placing in a bowl of cold water. Every few minutes drain and add new water until defrosted. In a pot boil water and add asparagus pieces and boil for about 5-6 minutes. Remove to a paper towel with a slotted spoon and reserve the water. If you have thicker pieces of asparagus trim them down with a potato peeler so they won't be so woody. Add the gnocchi to the asparagus water. (Cook per package instructions) In a pan add chicken stock (white wine), and lemon juice along with the capers. bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and prosciutto. The shrimp will cook fairly quickly and are done when the are pink and begin to curl. Lasty drain the gnochhi and add to the sauce. Stir together and add salt and pepper.

Fruit Market Finds and Black Bean Mango Salad

My husband and I in a quest to become healthier have taken up walking. I was also in need of a few veggies so we headed over to Layton Fruit Market near Milwaukee's air port. I used to frequent that place when we lived closer. I would then strap my then baby daughter into her stroller and walk a mile to get there and then around this cute airport park. That's where my hubby and I went today.

We got 8lbs of oranges for $4.99. They are huge! Also the olive oil was $4.99. In the regular super market it is 3x's that amount for the same oil. The bread was on clearance and with the portobellos I am making mushroom and onion sandwiches on crusty bread for lunch. For dinner I am making Artis' areapas or pita pockets stuffed with tomatoes, meat, pine nuts and seasonings. The side dish is going to be this mango black bean salad I saw on the Nate Berkus show. It looks awesome! I used red peppers too in it but at $3.99/lb I won't be buying any red peppers soon. Here is the recipe.

Black Bean Mango Salad
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
½ cup Italian dressing, any kind you like (use fat-free or low-cal) see note
Two 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed (I have ones I froze)
½ cup chopped red onions
1 small green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small red pepper, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a food processor or blender, take ¼ cup of the mango with the Italian dressing until smooth.
In a large bowl, combine the remaining mango with the beans, red onions, and peppers. To the bean mixture, add the mango puree.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, and chill until ready to serve.

Note: instead of using bottled dressing I made my own. I have some Greek seasoning I recently purchased from the Milford Spice Company online. Here is how I made the dressing.

1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Greek Seasoning or use Italian
1/4 c vinegar
2/3 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

I mixed all the above in a blender with the 1/4 mango as in the recipe and it tastes great but also tasted great without the mango.

Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches
2 Portobello mushroom caps wiped with a damp cloth to remove dirt
1 small Spanish or sweet onion diced
2 TBSP EVOO
salt and pepper
1 tsp butter

If you wish you may leave the caps full without dicing them but I prefer to dice them. If you keep them whole just brush the sides with EVOO and grill them for about 2-3 minutes each side. I dice the mushroom tops discarding the stems. In a small frying pan heat the olive oil and add the diced onion. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms. They will release a lot of water so do not season them to the end. They will be fully cooked after 2-3 minutes.  At the end remove from heat add the butter and salt and serve over crusty Italian bread. I also like to slather some mayo on the bread. It keeps the bread from becoming too soggy.

Shopping Day and Menu for the Week

I have't been to the store in about a week and a half. You know how they say never go to the grocery store hungry? That's correct! I still did ok. I traded in some coins at the coinstar machine. It came to exactly $17.00 then I had 5 coupons. It was double double coupon day so they double up to 5 dollar coupons. My bill was $87 and I saved $15.00 with coupons.

I started Sensa this week too. It's a powder you sprinkle over your food and works with your sense of smell to curb appetite. So far so good. I am down about 5 lbs for the week. I have also been trying to walk each day too.

My eldest daughter has decided to go vegetarian so I am trying to incorporate some veggie meals for her sake. Last night we had Classico cheese sauce over linguine with chicken. I made hers without the chicken and added the chicken to ours. She also has a project due tomorrow which she hasn't even started. Hence the hair pulling!

Well here is what I have planned for the week:
chicken patty sandwiches and home made fries
steak and potatoes (veggie burgers for my daughter)
lasagna with egg plant
stir fry sugar snap peas and chicken
mango and black bean salad and shrimp
kale chips to snack on
Mexican pizza

I know there is more but I have to run out the door for work:)

Mole' Spice Rubbed Grilled Pork Chops

I recently ordered some spices from the Milford Spice company with my Groupon. One of them was a mole' rub. I had seen this recipe on myrecipes.com if you would like to make the spice rub from scratch.

mole' spiced pork chops

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile peppers
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
• Cooking spray

I rubbed the spice in and let it set covered with plastic wrap in my fridge for a few hours. My hubby grilled our pork chops outside but you can do so indoors for about 3 minutes per side. I used thinner loin chops.