Posts tagged food
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Feb 7th
This is a quick and easy recipe. Very yummy, but not very healthy 
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/2 bag of frozen chopped spinach
- 1 can artichoke hearts, unmarinated
- 8oz grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded Monteray Jack cheese
Directions:
Drain artichoke hearts completely. You will need to squeeze the excess juice out of the artichokes by putting them in a paper towel and squeezing them. Chop them up. In a medium sized bowl combine the mayo, all of the parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the monteray jack cheese, the spinach and the chopped artichoke hearts. Mix well. Put mixture into a casserole dish and top with remaining monteray jack cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
I usually serve it with Wheat Thins or Tostitos Scoops.
Enjoy!
Easy Chicken Marsala
Feb 4th
I made this for dinner last night. It was pretty easy to make and quite good.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (thin)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup Marsala wine
- 1/4 cup cooking sherry
Directions:
1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken in mixture.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter in olive oil over medium heat. Place chicken in pan and lightly brown on each side.
3. Add mushrooms, Marsala wine and sherry.
4. Cover skillet and simmer for 10 minutes, turning once, until chicken is fully cooked.
I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. The sauce was a little bit thin but could probably be thickened somehow.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Feb 1st
Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour – I’ve used whole wheat too
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter – softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups mashed bananas – about 8, but I’ve gotten away with 5
4 large eggs, well beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips – any chocolate works great!
Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter or spray two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans.
*In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
*In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the bananas and eggs, beating well until blended. Beat in the vanilla.
*Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and blend well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
*Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until golden brown and a cake tester is inserted in the center and comes out clean – but because of the bananas, the tester may not look clean even when it is done, so don’t overcook.
*Set pans on a rack for 15 minutes. Then turn out of the pans to cool completely.
Chocolate Cheerios
Feb 1st
We usually go grocery shopping as a family on Sunday afternoons. This week I sent Scott solo so we didn’t have to take Brinley, who is sick, out. I gave him a verbal list of what we needed and a reminder of the usuals, along with a few recipes to buy ingredients for. Scott has always been a pretty healthy eater so I never really worry about what he’ll buy when left to his own devices. I’m usually the one trying to sneak Oreos or soda into the cart. The one aisle that always turns Scott into a kid again, though, is the cereal aisle. Believe it or not, Mr. Healthy has been known to buy the following cereals on a regular basis: Count Chocula, Resee’s Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs and Fruit Loops.
Needless to say, I was not surprised when he came home yesterday with a box of the “new” Chocolate Cheerios. Though I’ve always been a huge Cheerios fan, and even had a love affair with Banana Cheerios last year, I was quite skeptical about these Chocolate ones. They just looked unappealing on the box and I couldn’t imagine eating them for breakfast, maybe as a mid day snack, but not breakfast. So this morning, Scott pours himself a bowl and I look on still a skeptic. He takes a bite and his reaction is positive (I think even he was a bit unsure at first). He’s trying to describe the taste to me and compares them to Cocoa Puffs. He goes on to say that they’re not a wanna be type cereal like the Fruity Cheerios were (Fruit Loops wanna bes). I decide that I need to see for myself so I pour myself a bowl as well. To my surprise they were good! It took me about 1/2 the bowl to make my decision, but I like them. I’ll definitely eat them again, but probably not on a daily basis. They’re just chocolate-y enough without being overbearing. They do turn the milk chocolate though (but I’m not one to drink my cereal milk anyway).
So, for something as low in fat, calories and sugar as they are, they’re quite a good treat. I can see myself eating them more as a snack though and sticking to my Life Cereal for breakfast.
