Dinner for a handful of Savages

Yes, I made dinner last night for the Savage household! Mary, Ken, Dan, Dave, and myself. Now this one wasn't necessarily healthy, but it sure was good and did have some garden fresh choices in there.
Admittedly, I was nervous making dinner for them (Mary is an awesome cook and... let's just say they're all accustomed to... quality cooking...) Therefore, with no further adeau, I started researching recipes with the help of my good friends, BettyCrocker.com and Cooks.com. So I began! ..at 3pm. Dinner was to be expected at 6:45pm, but hey -  I'm a newbie at this dinner thing, so I figured I needed to get my ducks in a row before anything boiled over... or burned... or caught the house on fire.
First up was some delicioso chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chip cream cheese filling and cream cheese frosting, a favorite of mine that I first tasted in Miracle Mountain Ranch's kitchen. (Props to Sarah and Connie for the intro to those sweet thangs!!)  Following is the recipe straight from Cooks.com

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FILLING

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa 1 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 1 c. water 1 tsp. vanilla 6 tbsp. oil FILLING: 4 oz. softened cream cheese 2 tbsp. beaten egg 6 tbsp. sugar 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (mini morsels work best) 1. In bowl; mix flour, baking powder, and soda, cocoa, sugar and salt.2. Measure water, add oil and vanilla. Pour into bowl and stir well. 3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease muffin pan. Fill to 1/2 full only. 4. Combine cream cheese, egg, sugar and chocolate chips. Put 1 tablespoon of filling in center of each cup. 5. Cover filling with remaining batter and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake part only comes out clean, remove from pan immediately and cool on rack. (Makes 16.) Icing not recommended.

So I made these first because I knew these could be made ahead of time. We had leftover cream cheese frosting from Julie and Tyler's wedding, so I used it, but the recipe can also be found on Cooks.com

BIG DADDY'S CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 ½ (12 oz) packages cream cheese 1/4 plus 1/8 cup butter (1 ½ sticks), softened 3 cups confectioners' sugar few drops vanilla extract or rum ¼ - ½ cup chopped pecans (optional).

Alrighty, and for the main course, we had Chicken Parmesan over Angel Hair spaghetti, fresh asparagus from the garden (roasted parm asparagus - what else would I make?!), and some garlic butter toast. The chicken parm recipe is from About.com actually (http://southernfood.about.com/od/chickenbreastrecipes/r/bl61230j.htm)

This is an easy dinner to prepare, and it's relatively low in fat if you use the lower amounts of cheese. If you're short on time, use seasoned fine dry bread crumbs and a little Parmesan for the coating.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soft fine bread crumbs
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh shredded
• 1/4 teaspoon dried leaf basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• dash pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 chicken breast halves
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 jar (16 ounces) spaghetti sauce or marinara
• 1/2 to 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• hot cooked pasta, drained

Preparation:

Line a baking sheet with foil; spray with olive oil spray or nonstick cooking spray. Heat oven to 350°.

In a food processor, grind crumbs, Parmesan, basil, parsley, and a dash of pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt until fine. Pour into a plate or shallow bowl.

Pound chicken lightly to flatten evenly.

Beat egg with the milk in a shallow bowl.

Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture then coat with crumb mixture. Arrange the chicken pieces on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until juices run clear when pierced with a fork.

In an 11x7-inch baking dish, pour about 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce. Arrange the cooked chicken on the sauce; pour remaining sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Serve over hot cooked and drained pasta or noodles.

For the asparagus, you can see my recipe that I always use! And the toast was just a melted garlic butter blend over some split dinner rolls we had that needed to be used. Popped those babies in the toatser oven and we were ready to go in 5 minutes!
So after doing a balancing act with the oven, trying to get everything out at the same time, dinner was ready at 6:45. We had plenty left over and everyone was full to the brim!

Dave got to do clean up (much to his dismay), but we good natuedly helped him a little bit before Dan and I headed out to the screened in tent in Mary's garden (bugspray in hand).
It was a fun night! (The cupcakes were a HUGE hit.)
When it got dark, Dan and I trooped inside to watch American Idol (down to the final 4! -Haley needs an attitude adjustment. She's a bit persnickety. Sad day that James was voted off... They're all sooo good!) And then me and Dan hit the trail and ran a couple miles (after which it felt like someone took a vise to my insides .. NOT a fun feeling).
We then had a great night talking to Ken and Mary til late.
God is good to give us both the bounty of earth and the bounty of relationships. This makes me more motivated to really share with people the Gospel - the good news! Life with God is not always easy (like last night was), but it sure is GOOD, and he gives us these great time together. His love for us is so great.

Til next time!
Love,
Em

Yummy Snack!

This is sooo easy and I did it on accident. Ham n cheese roll ups, right? BUT, you melt them. YUM!

I used Honey Ham and Pepper Jack Cheese, but I think you can use anything you want, really.
I put them in the microwave with something else I was warming up, but I think next time I'll purposefully put them on broil in the stove. The melted cheese is so good instead of a cold-cut snack item! The picture below has bits of bacon in there too. I wonder how it would taste with a little bit of cooked spinach in it?

I'm back!

I haven't blog since... January. And since my blogging consistency has been more sporadic than faithful, I must admit so has my eating habits. Nevertheless, here I am again! Today I made a Boca veggie patty topped with some mozerella to go with my favorite yummy asparagus recipe I made in January. Now I'm off to work... to pick up a salad from McD's I guess... sigh. Anybody have any idea for meals that are good to make in advance, put in Tupperware and take to work?
On a side note, has anyone seen Julie and Julia? Great movie =) I think I want to do a sort of the "cookbook" challenge when I get back from my summer in New Hampshire. Which, by the way, I think will be a great way to expand my cooking skills with the fresh and the green - working at Longview Farm with produce. Pick up some tips from Dan's mom, perhaps? =) In September when I come home, I plan on taking on a cookbook challenge... I want to be a good cook/wife =)
Off to work. Grocery store for some fresh things before coming home. Yummm!

Oatmeal Strawberry Pancakes

1/4 cup oats
4 egg whites
3 diced strawberries
a bit of water


-Mix oats and egg whites well. Add dices strawberries and a bit of water til the right consistency.
-On a well-greased skillet pour pancakes
-Top with yogurt, applesauce, or fresh fruit.
*Makes three small pancakes


~Emily's Notes:
.:These definitely taste different than normal pancakes and have a different texture, but over-all are pretty good and you leave feeling (and knowing) you ate a very healthy breakfast! They're kinda bland, but I think it would be fun to experiment with these. These are A+ if you're wanting a good breakfast if you're trying to lose a few pounds. It's nothing special, but that's ok!
.:If you make a larger batch, make sure to grease the skillet or pan really well between each. These stick very easy and are hard(er) to flip than normal pancakes.

I got this recipe from a friend who knows what she's talking about!! (Thanks Kathy!) =)

In search of.....

I'm looking for good smoothie combos! Help! I usually put in whatever fruit and always add soy milk, protein powder, and usually a yogurt.
Suggestions are welcome!

Love,
Emily

Chocolate Syrup Brownies

Yes! We are allowed to give our taste buds something sooo yummy! That's the fun part of life.

1 egg
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup chocolate syrup
1 1/3 cup wheat flour, all purpose
1 scoop (3 Tbs) chocolate flavored protein powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.)

-Preheat oven at 350. Grease a 9 inch pan well.
-Beat egg and add sugar and chocolate syrup.
-Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together - add to sugar mixture.
-Fold in melted butter and nuts.
-Spread in pan and bake for 40 minutes,
-Cut while in small squares while still warm. Serve when cooled a little bit.
*Makes 16 small brownies.

~Emily's Notes:
.:Would a home-made brown sugar work as good and be healthier? Make it from molasses and ___? (There's no way I know of to get around the syrup!!) ;)
.:Original recipe does not call for wheat flour, but it tastes the same and adds more sustainance to the treat! It also does not call for the protein powder, but again, sneaking it in there is never a bad thing!
.:I sneaked another yummy, healthy thing in there... natural peanut butter! Wa-la... even healthier peanut butter brownies. Sooo gooood!
.:These were really easy for being home-made. I topped them with a caramel drizzle for embellishment, which made it pretty fun. They were a nice density, moist, and tasty. Keeper!

I got the recipe from Hershey's 1934 Cookbook. Enjoy the treat!

Love,
Emily

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

1 1/2 lbs fresh asparagus
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic pepper blend
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
2 Tbs shredded Parmesan cheese

-Heat oven at 425. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
-Wash asparagus, breaking off the ends where it becomes tough.
-In a shallow bowl, mix all ingredients, minus the Parmesan cheese. Toss asparagus  to coat. Spread in pan.
-Roast uncovered 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, toss to coat. Roast uncovered 5-8 minutes longer or til crisp-tender.

~Emily's Notes:
.:Normal salt works great, as does normal pepper (though I'm sure garlic pepper blend would be good too!)
.:This recipe was surprisingly easy - my 8-year-old sister was able to help me with a lot of it!
.:To coat in Parmesan cheese, I just used a spatula and put them in a shallow bowl with the cheese in it, and tossed and shook them til evenly coated. Then I spread them back on the sheet and popped them in the oven.
.:Nope, we don't get asparagus often, since it's a little more expensive. But I've heard it's easy to grow and harvest! So we will be putting that in our garden this year for sure.
.:I was wondering about alternative oils that would also be good in this...?
.:Be careful not to over-do these. Do it too long and they're limp with no snap to them.
.:My brother and his girlfriend are vegetarians and loved these... my picky little sister and younger brother also loved these... that's saying something when those two parties agree on a green food....

I'm looking for other good asparagus recipes! This one was super easy and DElicious!! (I bet this would be good with okra too...!)
This recipe came from Betty Crocker's website.

Love,
Emily