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Title: Sausage and Egg Casserole
Author: Gayle Grigg
Time To Cook (in minutes): 15 prep, 45 cooking
Rating (1-4):
Tags:

1 pound bulk pork sausage
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
6 slices white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

In a skillet, brown and crumble sausage; drain and set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs; add milk, salt and mustard. Stir in bread cubes, cheese and sausage. Pour into a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Yields: 8
Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sausage-and-Egg-Casserole/Detail.aspx
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Title: BAKER'S Simply Sensational Truffles
Author:
Time To Cook (in minutes): 15 mins
Rating (1-4):
Tags: Dessert

2 1/2 pkg. (20 squares) Bakers Semi Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 pkg (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 Decorations: Chopped Planters Cocktail Peanuts, Multi colored sprinkles

MELT 8 chocolate squares. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm.

SHAPE into 36 balls. Place on waxed paper covered baking sheet.

MELT remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles; return to baking sheet. Decorate, then refrigerate 1 hour.

Yields:
Source:
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Canyon Ranch Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Title: Canyon Ranch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author: Canyon Ranch
Time To Cook (in minutes): 10
Rating (1-4):
Tags:

1 Canola oil (to grease cookie sheet)
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup low-fat cream cheese
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 6 ounces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with canola oil.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar on low speed with an electric mixer. Add egg yolks and vanilla and mix on low until just combined.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Add to butter mixture and mix by hand until combined. Portion heaping teaspoonfuls (or use a 3/4 ounce scoop) onto baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 7 minutes. Lightly flatten cookies with finger. Rotate baking sheet and bake an additional 3 minutes.


Yields: 38 cookies
Source: Canyon Ranch card
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Nutty Cheeseball

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Title: Nutty Cheeseball
Author: Kitchen-Aid
Time To Cook (in minutes):
Rating (1-4): 4
Tags:

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 package (8 ounces) light cream cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Place all ingredients except pecans in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to Speed 4 and beat about 1 minute, or until well blended. On wax paper, shape mixture into a ball. Roll ball in chopped pecans. Wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate until serving time. Serve with assorted crackers or raw veggies.

Per serving: (2 tablespoons) about 65 calories, 4g protien, 1g carbs, 5g fat, 13 mg cholestorel, 109 mg sodium

Yields: 24 (1 ball)
Source: Kitchen Aid mixer recipie book
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Peppermint Frosting

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Title: Peppermint Frosting
Author:
Time To Cook (in minutes):
Rating (1-4):
Tags:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil (Pure Lavender Oil, use half)

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk, beginning and ending with powdered sugar. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in peppermint oil.

Yields: Makes about 3 cups
Source: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1563843
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Title: Chocolate Cookies
Author:
Time To Cook (in minutes):
Rating (1-4):
Tags:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (110 grams) light brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) white granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (140 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (30 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (260 grams) white chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. First sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt and then add to the butter and egg mixture. Mix just until incorporated. Fold in the the chocolate chips.

Using a small ice cream scoop or two spoons, place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.

Bake for approximately 8 minutes or until the the cookies are still soft in the center but are firm around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.


Reach for this cookie when that next chocolate craving hits. This rich and buttery tasting Chocolate Cookie is adapted from a recipe in Regan Daley's 'In the Sweet Kitchen' and combines the subtle flavor of Dutch-processed cocoa powder with sweet white chocolate chips. While perfect with a tall glass of cold milk, its soft texture also makes it the perfect cookie for homemade ice cream sandwiches.

This dough freezes beautifully so you can enjoy freshly baked cookies on demand. Shape the dough into 1 inch (2.54 cm) balls, place on a parchment lined baking sheet and put in the freezer until the cookies are frozen. Remove the baking sheet from the freezer, place the frozen cookie balls in a freezer bag, and return to the freezer. When you want these cookies, simply place the cookie balls on a parchment lined baking sheet, preheat the oven, and then bake as directed.
If you are not familiar with Dutch-Processed or Alkalized Unsweetened Cocoa Powder it is cocoa

that has been treated with an alkali to neutralize its acids. Because it is neutral and does not react with baking soda, it must be used in recipes calling for baking powder, unless there are other acidic ingredients in sufficient quantities used. It has a reddish-brown color, mild flavor, and is easy to dissolve in liquids. Its delicate flavor makes it ideal in baked goods like European cakes and pastries where its subtle flavor complements other ingredients. Droste, Lindt, Valrhona, Poulain and Pernigotti are some popular brands




Yields: Makes about 24 - 3 inch round cookies.
Source: http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateCookies.html
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Vegan Flatbread

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Title: Vegan Flatbread
Author: Christine
Time To Cook (in minutes): 15 prep 24 cooking
Rating (1-4):
Tags:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbs salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of baking soda
3 tbs canola oil
1 cup cold water
1 Extra flour for dusting
1 Optional: chopped fresh cilantro, 1 clove chopped garlic

Preheat the oven with pan inside to 400 degrees.
Put ice in the water to really get it cold while you prepare the ingredients.
Mix together the flours, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Stir in the canola oil until uniformly distributed. If you want, stir in garlic or handful of chopped cilantro to taste, but it is just fine served plain.
Measure one cup of water (don't use the ice) and stir into mixture until the dough becomes one ball.

On a clean countertop or smooth cutting board, spread out a nice handful of flour. Coat your hands with the flour and place the dough on floured surface. Fold it in half just a few times so it is easy to work with and not sticky. Divide the dough into 8 roughly equal balls. (Divide the dough in half, then each half in half, then each of those halves in half.) Add some more flour to the surface if you need to, then take one ball and smoosh it with your palm. Rub some flour on your rolling pin, then roll the dough until it is about a 6 to 8 inch circle. Usually half way during rolling, I pick the circle up and flip it over to make sure it isn't sticking. If the dough is snapping right back, just put the circle to the side and start with a new ball.
When all the balls are rolled into flat discs, redust your surface with flour and further roll out the ones that were not cooperating. They should behave after their time-out. I like to roll them all a second time to get them pretty thin, to almost 9-10 inches in diameter.
Carefully place a disk of dough into the pan in the oven. I didn't have to grease my cast-iron pan because it is seasoned. Bake for 3 minutes, then remove with tongs. It should have several blistery bubbles. If you are using a ridged pan, the ridges should be indented and the rest of the dough slightly puffy. If you want a very flat bread like the triangles pictured, flip the disk over using tongs after a minute and a half of baking.
Repeat with the remaining disks.

Yields: 8 Flatbeads
Source: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegan-flatbread/
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Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

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Title: Spicy Butternut Squash Soup
Author:
Time To Cook (in minutes):
Rating (1-4):
Tags:

1 Medium size Butternut Squash
2 Large carrots
1 Medium red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 Red Chili pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme
2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4-5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 Fresh ground pepper
1 Sea salt
1 Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Peel squash and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds (keep them for roasting) and cut the squash into 1/2 cubes.
Peel and chop carrots into pieces about the same size as the squash.
Sweat onion and garlic over a medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until translucent.
Add the squash and carrots to the onion and garlic mixture and cook for another 10 minutes to soften the vegetables.
Add sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Add thyme, chile peppers and stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Check seasoning, and puree in a food processor or blender a little at a time, making sure to allow for steam to escape.
Garnish with Parmesan Cheese and serve with your favorite bread or rolls.

Yields:
Source:
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Taken up biking, been working to slowly raise my endurance and be better prepared for running in the winter (when it's too ick to bike.) So far I really like it. I did 7.8 miles this week, and hope to do close to 9 this week. I have vacation this week so maybe I will get brave enough to try taking the bike out on a trail in the area. Been too nervous, but I got a mounted bike pump this week so at least I feel a little more safe out in the wilds of a heavily transversed trail. Need to find a little bag to hook onto the handlebars to hold my mp3 player, keys, ect. Will work on that, and maybe get some pictures of my bike.

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Title: Orange-Rosemary Pork Cutlets
Author: Pork, the Other White Meat
Time To Cook (in minutes):
Rating (1-4): 3
Tags: Dinner

1 pound pork cutlets (fresh leg of pork or tenderloin)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 navel orange, peeled and sliced (optional: reserve some peel for garnish)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 cup peach or apricot jam

If necessary pound cutlets to 1/4-inch thickness; season with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large nonstick skillet; add pork and sauté, 3 to 4 minutes on each side until cooked through. Remove cutlets to plate, cover with foil to keep warm.
Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil, add orange slices, rosemary and 2 tablespoons water. Cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until orange is tender. Add jam and a tablespoon of water, cook over medium heat, stirring, until sauce is of desired consistancy.
Pour sauce over cutlets, garnish with slivered orange peel if desired, and serve.

Yields: 4
Source: http://www.cooksrecipes.com/pork/orange-rosemary_pork_cutlets_recipe.html
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Wednesday Leftover Bento

Simple simple, easy bento. This new class is taking up TONS of time. It leaves little time to cook or exercise between work and school. I still managed to catch most of American Idol while prepping food and doing homework. The kitties are doing fine, and pretty much back to their normal selves.

Leftover Chicken Craisin over Rice in the lower box. Cheese cubes, Spanish Olives, and Cucumber slices in the top box. I cut out the evil seedy centers with a Japanese maple leaf cookie cutter to get the star like centers. I think I already miss not having goldfish in the box, but I have to mix things up just a little bit. Ciao~

Tuesday Classic Bento

Felt like being a kid again, so I kept it simple. I guess thats what happens when you read a childs lunch cookbook T.T

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with a side of goldfish in the top box. Frozen tropical fruit in the second box; it's still frozen, that's why it looks funny. The lower box has celery with cream cheese and craisins. That's about it, see ya tomorrow~

Monday Mole Bento

Today we have leftover mole enchiladas. I have been missing mole enchiladas since I moved to Ohio, but these were much spicier than I remembered them. The place back home was more mild and nuttier. These were homemade with mole sauce from the grocery store. My kitties did fine and are back home. The boy seemed completely unfazed by the experience, but the girl was reluctant to move much. We chalked that up to her's being a much more invasive surgery that his.

Anyways, the top box has mole enchiladas. The bottom box has black bean saute, corn muffin, goldfish,and a clementine. The black bean saute is in a little plastic dish swiped from Quizno's. They put out these perfect little lidded plastic cups on the condiment table so I always snag a few extra. In this case, I got tired of soggy goldfish, and put the moist dish in a lidded cup. I have no idea the calorie count on this, as the mole was a production and I have no idea how much of it I really used.

Craisin Chicken over Wild Rice

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Title: Craisin Chicken over Wild Rice
Author: Kaede
Time To Cook (in minutes): 10
Tags: Dinner

10 oz. Can of Chicken Breast
1 Box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice
1/3 cup of Craisins

Cook rice according to package. While rice is cooking drain chicken. When rice is finished mix in can of chicken and craisins. Stir, and enjoy~!

Yields: 4
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Last Bento of the Week!

Tomorrow my kitties get snipped, so I wanted to use my Rilakkuma (Relax Bear) box. I figured as frazzled as I am now over this, tomorrow I'll be needing a reminder to relax at lunch time. Yesterdays box was a little too much, I didn't even eat my sesame carrot salad. This also means, I'm tired of sesame carrot salad. So I used the last of it today and cooked up my standard quick fix meal, Craisin Chicken over Wild Rice (recipe to follow.)

Today's lunch contains: Clementine, Craisin chicken over wild rice, sesame carrot salad, and sho-yu tamago in a sea of baked goldfish. That's it for the week, see you again Monday~!

Tuesday Bento

Hurray! Three straight days of bento, well not counting the weekend. I found that when I work the later shift I am waaayyyy hungrier than when I work a normal shift, so today's box is a bit beefier. I only have one more day of bento this week since I took a few days off work to care for my kitties after their "special" six month surgeries. I was super lucky to have my sisters Christmas/ Birthday present be a shopping trip to BJ's. I kept my eye out for bento sized yummies and found these adorable chicken appetizers. Each one is made of chicken for the dish, with some kind of super yummy filling. While not entirely conducive to dieting, they cook in 1 minute and taste great!

Today we see the return of the Sesame Carrot Salad, some steamed broccoli, baked goldfish, Spanish olives, and soy sauce container in the lower box. A chicken bite, one of each flavor, in the middle box. Last but not least, shoyu tamago, and the last of the cucumber in the top box. Clocking in at 538 calories for lunch. While not great; I will not be starving an hour after lunch, calling my sweetie, and asking him have dinner ready when I get home. All while I drool into the receiver. Ciao for today~

Monday Bento!

Still working to cleanse the fridge of food that will go bad. I really dislike that the good stuff goes so quickly, it is hard for me to remember to use it. I also get tired of leftovers REALLY fast. My weekend went pretty well. I did a walk/run on Saturday, trying to get my body reconditioned into running. Then spend Sunday cursing the Saturday exertion. Anyways. I gave the Shoyu Tomago recipe a shot. Next time I'm going to ignore Julia Child and stick to my hard boiled egg recipe. Leaving them to sit for 10 minutes left the yokes not done enough for my taste. They were done, but looked VERY yellow and soft. I usually leave my eggs to sit for 20 minutes before cooling them. Oh well, you live you learn.

Today's lunch consists of korma (coconut) curry mixed with chicken, crackers, cucumbers, clementine, sesame carrot salad, and shoyu tomago (soy sauce egg) cut into two flowers. The little pink thing poking out of the top box is a container of soy sauce for the cucumber. I accidentally got some on them and it was yummy! I also slipped in a little white tasting spoon to spread the curry chicken. I used to go into Coldstone Creamery and just ask for a handful of the testing spoons when I worked next door. Now I have a bunch to wash and reuse or toss if the whim strikes me. All of this clocks in at about 407 calories, so I am in good shape to start the week. See you tomorrow!

Bento Day 1!

Today I start blogging my bento's! My friend at work decided to start a big diet thing on January 2nd and here we are! I'm going for calorie control, so I know lots of stuff may not be healthy, but.... at least it's portioned and tasty. I'm also going to bring bento to work more this year to save some money. My new years goal was to pay off my credit card this year, and $7 lunches everyday does not help accomplish this. Now on to the good stuff!

Today we start with spicy beef empanada, clementine, carrot sesame salad, cucumber slices, and zesty Italian dressing in the container for dipping. If the cucumbers look weird it's because I cut the seedy middles out. I found that I dislike cucumbers because of the texture change soo.... I fixed it!

Thats it until Monday!