my absolute favorite artichoke dip...

from the Healthy College Cookbook - messy, used, old school edition; 

it used to have a tomato on the cover but now it looks like this...

Taking this to a little gathering tonight - it's always a hit! especially with pita chips! 

Go ahead and try it; your friends will thank you:)

Oreo cupcakes.

Best I've baked in a while!

...didn't have a whole lot of extra time to make them fancy with a cookie piece on top, but no doubt, next time I will! :)

((Easiness! whole recipe • Thanks, Pinterest!))

Pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes

Easy. And Delish!

1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
(stir dry ingredients)

1 egg
almost 1 cup milk
almost 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
almost 1 cup chocolate chips

(in that order)

stir. stir. stir.

cook on hot oily skillet.

Prepare for some YUM.
♥

oreo brownies... a very good idea.

Three ingredients:
brownie mix, oreos, & butter cream frosting



Simple directions:

Put 12-15 Oreos in a zip-lock baggie.
(I used 12, but next time I'll use a few more.)

Use a rolling pin to crush cookies
-not completely- just enough.

Set aside and make the batter as directed.

Stir in crushed Oreos.

The hardest part for me was letting the brownies mostly cool before frosting.

After adding icing, add a layer of chopped cookie chunks (about 12 more Oreos).

If you like brownies and oreos -or chocolate in general- you're likely to absolutely love this. (I suggest making them for company. I'm quite sure I could've eaten the whole pan myself.)

And just in case you're a make-it-from-scratch kind of baker... This was my source inspiration: My Baking Addiction. She even tells how to make your own Butter Cream. Mmmm.

Enjoy! ♥

chicken tortilla soup

Rotisserie chicken tortilla soup, originally uploaded by kimalford.

This is seriously the easiest (and one of the best) meals I've made. ever.

recipe...
*rotisserie chicken (2 cups)
*chicken broth (1 carton)
*salsa (1 cup)
-make it hot on the stove

then add any/all of these...
*cilantro
*avacado
*tortilla chips

*monterray jack cheese

*slice of lime
(Don't skip the lime!! It makes it so great!)

ENJOY!! <3

Food Changes

After watching Food Inc. this past weekend, there are a few baby steps I'm inspired to take....

1. Eat less meat.

2. Buy more organic.

3. Buy more whole foods. Start cutting out processed foods.

4. Reevaluate the bread we buy. [Learn to make my own.]

5. And finally, read (or listen to) this book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.

Pretty excited Naptime Diaries' is back with the 1% changes this week too... perfect timing! :)

baked or fried?

no question.

I always (always) choose fried.

ahh, wrong answer, I know.

But I loooove fried.

For a snack when I got home, I devoured my sweet husband's leftover waffle fries that he saved just for me, because he knows how very much I love them... and then my dad made these for supper!!!

crispy fried goodness... it's a shame that I love them so. really it is.

SO, in the spirit of 1% changes (baby-step-size -that's why I LOVE this game!) --I want to adopt the challenge to replace fried with baked once in a while! 

I've already given up fast food this year, so that's not even my vice right now...

But, come date night or the occasional Sunday lunch out, basically whenever I'm given the opportunity, 100% of the time I choose fried -- potatoes, chicken, whathaveyou..... (sometimes may be acceptable, but 100% is just. too. much.)

So, I called my mom-in-love on the way home today just to ask how she does her delicious baked potato fries... It may be just the same way you do yours, but I'll post the steps anyway... even if for myself so that I'll be ready to DO them next time my french fry craving hits (like tomorrow;)...

Cut up potatoes and put them in a zip lock bag,
add some oil,
cheyenne pepper,
minced garlic (or garlic powder if you have none to mince)

Give it some shake-shakes.

Spread them on an oven pan.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
Then switch to broil for 10 more minutes (instead of stirring them around... brilliant if you ask me... either way though!)

and voila... pure goodness.... and it's not even fried!! :)

[she mentioned too that you could soak the freshly cut potatoes in ice water for a minute before adding them to the seasoning-bag..... her fresh-out-of-the-garden-potatoes didn't need such love, but maybe when using store-bought ones, I'll go ahead and add that step:]

Bloggers, link up with a healthy recipe or 1% change??

Eat Right for Your Type...

A few years back, I came across this book... Eat Right for Your Type by Peter J. D'Adamo ...I kinda love it! Not everyone agrees with the guy's research & philosophy, but I found it helpful for getting me on the right track with food choices.

Being that I have type A blood, D'Adamo encourages me to get my proteins from beans rather than meats.... this bean dip recipe has been one of my favorites...

[I'd like to say it's better with black beans (b/c they're my favorite), but personally I think it's way better with pinto beans]....

Happy changing, friends! ...Hope you too have been encouraged by all this to keep making those small, consistent, baby-step-ish changes for the greater good...... I certainly have appreciated the challenge!!

{link up with Naptime Diaries!}

feels like Saturday...

[...because I'm off work, had time to spend making and eating breakfast with J, and have the rest of the day to PLAY!! ...wooohoo! :]

So... this fall I've been trying out as many pumpkin recipes as I've had time for.... because they're sooo good of course!

pumpkin muffins (the second of 2 tries:)

pumpkin pancakes... mmm!

pumpkin smoothies...

and today, inspired by Jessi C's pre-Thanksgiving post....

pumpkin french toast!!

and they were a hit! :)

I'm also glad to see that I have myself beat from last year's two treats...
*pumpkin cookies and
*pumpkin choc-chip muffins :)

Yay!!

Happy Thanksgiving-eve!! ♥

PS- In all this pumpkin-recipe-trying, I've learned it's more about the spices than the pumpkin... the spices are definitely the important part! :)

3 Firsts in one recipe...

Yet another reason to love Saturdays... besides time to play on the blog, I also tend to have more time to spend in the kitchen, and I LOVE that! :)

Here's to my first Saturday go at Pumpkin Puff Pancakes...

First time using our handy egg-white separator!

Oops.. Sorry, #2, apparently I need some more practice...

First time stiffening egg whites (also difficult)

AND first time enjoying pumpkin pancakes!! Mmmm! 

Here's the recipe if you're interested :)

*the only thing I did different was added 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

(ground cloves are my favorite... I highly suggest adding them to any pumpkin recipe. period.)

Yay for seasonal cooking!! ♥

Chicken Pot Pie recipe..

This is like a 60 minute, $12ish meal... and will last you a few days (or serve at least 6 people) if you make a large one like this...

Layer ingredients:

2 cans chunk chicken breast, drained

2 cans drained Veg-all [or something like it]

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Make Crust & Pour over other ingredients:

2 cups slef-rising flour

2 sticks margarine (softened)

2 small cans evap. milk

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until top is brown.

Serve hot. mmmm.

Notes:
*This is the recipe doubled because we love leftovers [and this particular recipe is better reheated.]
*I realize as I type this out that I didn't use 'self-rising' flour and, in that case, I should add a tspn of baking powder.
*I also halved the crust ingredients this time, so it's a good bit thinner than this recipe would make. (still tasted awesome & we took in less flour & margarine... not a bad idea if you ask me. :)

Hope you try it. And hope you ENJOY! ♥

Homemade Popcorn...

Directions from Amy Sedaris' book-

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence



My only suggestions: don't put too much oil...

just enough to coat the bottom & barely cover the kernels

AND: you really don't need that many kernels... 

this made so much popcorn!!

I had no idea it was going to make so much...

I think next time I'll start with a smaller pot!

nachos...(wed.2.10)

I'm not really recommending this...

merely documenting it...

these are nachos with turkey and mozz.cheese on them

not that bad...

not that great either...

i think next time i'll stick with the beans and salsa :)

new recipe: personal chicken-pies!

mmmm!!

easy and good!!

ingredients:

canned chicken

veg all

a little cream of mushroom soup

directions:

mix together and stuffed inside a grands biscuit

bake according to biscuit directions

extremely simple... and quite yummy!! ♥

pumpkin cookies..(Wed.11.11)

first pumpkin treat of the season for me..

(Jeremy came over for lunch, so I had good reason to indulge.. :)

here's the recipe for these yummy Cookies...

Ingredients:

COOKIES..

1 medium egg.

2 cups of flour.

1 cup of butter.

1 cup of sugar.

1 cup of pumpkin.

1 teaspoon of baking powder.

1 teaspoon of soda.

1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

1 teaspoon of vanilla.

1/2 teaspoon of salt.

ICING..

1 cup of powdered sugar.

1/2 cup of brown sugar.

4 tablespoons of milk.

3 tablespoons of butter.

3/4 teaspoon of vanilla.

Preparation:

COOKIES..

Cream the sugar and the butter.

Add the pumpkin and the egg.

Add the dry ingredients.

Bake at 350F for about ten minutes.

ICING..

Combine the butter, the milk and the brown sugar.

Boil for three minutes minutes. Allow to cool.

Stir in the sugar and the vanilla.

Apply icing to the cookies.

other recipes from the site..

bean dip... (finally!)

1 16oz. can of refried black or pinto beans

1 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

preheat the oven to 325. combine beans, sour cream, salsa, salt, & pepper in a shallow baking dish (or oven-usable glass bowl). top with cheese, if using. bake 10-15 minutes, or until heated through. (i usually stir once after 7 minutes or so)..

makes 3 cups (thankfully, it's easy to duplicate!)

(another) memorable datenight.. (Fri.10.30)

new recipe: tempura vegetables & chicken..

(insert sound of oil sizzling)

sharing: makes any meal better!

in between: serenading & being silly!

(so much fun; so glad he loves me!) ♥

breakfast..(fri.4.10.09)

organic & no high fructose corn syrup.

breakfast is such a tricky meal of the day for me.. I would be content with just coffee, but I know better..

I was looking for some type of protein bar when I stumbled across these.. they're more like a cereal bar, but they had the least amount of sugar and more of the good stuff.. and guess what, they actually taste GOOD! :)

...Sat. 4/11 = Charleston day with my love!! (yay!)<3

mongolian.. (sun.3.1.09)

before the grill.



..and after.

a new favorite restaurant for sure.. (i got a little carried away there with the peanuts, eh?)

..they also have sushi and yummy dessert.. and very reasonable prices..

(it's basically a raw buffet... fill your bowl, pass it to the cooks, they work they're magic, and hand you back some delicious goodness!)

good thing its up on the north end so it gets to be a treat! :)

yummm.. (sun.2.22.09)

cookie pizzas at dawn's.

i want to make that!

i'm going to try for meg's wedding shower next month.. i'll let ya know how it goes! :)

(in the pic with me: tonda and little trey.. and dawn, comin in for another cut)