Breakfast Time

My bestie over at Delish Life told me abut this quick & tasty breakfast.  Not only is it quick & tasty, but it is a great low cal breakfast option!

Baked Egg Cups
From The Simple Delights

12 Eggs
12 slices of deli ham
1/2 Cup of your favorite cheese (I used Parmesan)
1-2 Sliced green onions
Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.  Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.  Lay a piece of ham in each hole creating a little ham cup.  Crack one egg into each hole and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Once the egg is cooked to your desired level of doneness, remove from oven and top with grated Parmesan cheese and sliced green onions.  At around 100 calories each, this breakfast is hard to beat!  Serve with toast, in an English muffin or on their own.  Enjoy!

Quinoa Burgers

YUM, YUM, YUM!!!  I saw THIS recipe from CanYouStayForDinner for Quinoa Burgers, and knew right away that they would be on my table very soon.  (Side note: You MUST check out this blog!  Her story is so inspirational and real!  I can't wait to try more of her delicious looking recipes!)  Oh Quinoa, how do I love you... let me count the ways... If you aren't familiar with Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) read a previous post about it here.  I love the stuff!  I've used it for all sorts of side dishes, in soup, salads & now "burgers"!  Mr. B was pretty excited about the idea of Quinoa Burgers (he's a big Quinoa fan too).  I made the recipe exactly as written and they were great!!  I had mine in a lettuce "bun" but for Mr. B I got some Thin Buns.  One bite into it and I knew we had a winner.  We both uttered several complements in between bites.  In fact, he (the guy who hates leftovers and repeat meals) requested that I use the rest of the mixture for tonight's dinner.  Can't beat that... one prep time, 2 dinners.

If you are a fan of Quinoa, or have yet to try it, give this one a shot.  Maybe your diners will be asking for more too!  Enjoy!

Loaded Quinoa Veggie Burgers
From: Can You Stay For Dinner

•1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
•1 carrot, diced
•4 scallions, sliced
•2 cloves garlic
•15 ounces can black beans, drained and rinsed
•1/4 cup Italian seasoned dried breadcrumbs
•1 large egg, lightly beaten
•1 tablespoon ground cumin
•¾ teaspoon salt
•½ teaspoon pepper
•2 tablespoons olive oil (for cooking)

In a small pot, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes; set aside.

In a food processor, pulse carrot until finely chopped.  Add cooked quinoa, scallions, garlic, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, cumin, salt, and pepper; pulse until combined but still slightly chunky.

Form mixture into four patties. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium; cook burgers until browned, about 8 minutes per side.

Makes 4 Patties

Serve in a lettuce "bun" or Whole Wheat Thin Buns for low cal options.  (The recipe as written is 7 Weight Watchers Points+ per patty.)

Party Time: Progressive Dinner Party

Last month we took part in a Progressive Dinner Party that one of our neighbors arranged.  If you have 3 - 5 houses in the same neighborhood this works perfect since everyone is in walking distance.  It can also be done with houses near by, but driving distance.  (Just make sure to drink responsibly!) 

The concept is simple.  Each house chooses one course.  You start with the first house and "Progress" to the next, and so on.  If driving between houses you may want to have maps to the next location. Either way make sure everyone know the address of each stop.


Our breakdown went as follows:

House #1 - Appetizers & Cocktails

We started the night out with a small variety of appetizers.  It's key to remember that no one wants to fill up too much at any one stop.  There is much eating (and drinking, if applicable) ahead, so pace yourself.  Also, when planning the menu for your house, don't over do it with options.  Too many tasty options this early in the night makes it easier to over do it. 

House #2 - Salad

There we found a nice "salad bar" like set up.  It was nice because everyone could chose their desired toppings and not have any of what they didn't like.  You could however to one large salad for everyone to have a small portion of. 

House #3 - Soup

This is the course we hosted.  I originally thought I wanted to do a few soup options.  However, I ended up doing just one large pot of clam chowder & it was enjoyed by all!  I had bowls of oyster crackers to top it off.  It would be fun to do a few of options, if you had the time of course.  Crockpots would be great for this!

House #4 - The Main Course

It's finally time for the main event and by this point you are probably not exactly feeling hunger pains.  It's important to remember that if you are in charge of hosting this portion of the meal.  So try to keep it simple.  No need for a turkey dinner with all the fixins here!  Our hostess chose a tasty vegetarian lasagna and some homemade focaccia bread.

House #5 - Dessert!

Last, but certainly not least, it's time for dessert! You can offer one item or many options.  Just be prepaird for leftovers!  You may want to have coffee as an option here too.  We were greeted by a small variety of pastries.  A few people opted to to take theirs to go, so some sort of "doggie bag" containers would be nice.

In the end we all had a great time.  Since this was a December party, we ended with one last house.  There we had a gift exchange.  They has some small snack foods and pleanty of beverage options.  Those who were ready to go home did and some of the more ambitious of the the group stayed to play pool and the party continued into the night.  You may want to choose who hosts what baised on what point of the evening their stop is.  It made the most sence to have the last stop of the night be the more party oriented group.  If you are the type that like to end the night at a scheduled time, you may want to opt for one of the earlier time slots.

All in all, find a situation that works best for your group and have fun!  It was great to get to know some of the newer members of the neighborhood better.  We are all looking forward to making an annual event out of it.

If you have any questions on how to arrange your own Progressive Dinner Party feel free to ask away!

The Best of 2011

What's for dinner tonight?  Maybe one of these favorites from 2011 will help you decide!

5.) Low-Fat No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake in a Jar!  Why not start with dessert first??  Especially when it's an easy, delicious, and low fat dessert to start your year off on the right foot.  This tasty treat was one of my many Pinterest findings & I just LOVE it!  I've made many other mini jar variations since trying this one.  If you haven't tried the mini jar dessert, do yourself a favor for your next dinner party.  Your guest will love getting handed their own individual dessert!

4.) Cheesy Shell-Stuffed Shells w/ Vodka Cream Sauce  This recipe has made the countdown two years in a row now!  Can't say I'm surprised, seeing as it's one of the most popular dishes among the people I've made it for.  I constantly get asked for when I'll be making it again!

3.) Fresh Corn Tomato Salad  If you are one of the many of my followers that has tasted or made this recipe, I'm sure you know what this is it's second year at in the top!  I have given this recipe to more people then I can count.  And so many of them tell me that they make it repeatedly during the summer.  I purchased a handy dandy "corn zipper" not too long ago.  So I'm sure I'll be making it plenty this summer.  (Maybe I'll even manage to snap a new photo of it!)

2.) Quite Possibly The Best Ever Stuffed Mushrooms  Here's another of my personal faves!  Why do I love these so much?  Because EVERYONE else does!  It's so nice to have no fail recipes in your arsenal that you know people will go bonkers over! 

1.) Chicken in Phyllo Dough  This is not only the most popular recipe of 2011, but is the most popular recipe on this blog of all time!  If you're looking for an easy recipe that is sure to impress, this is it!!!

So there you have it, the most popular recipes (by page view) of 2011.  Stay tuned for the best of my personal faves!

Tis' the Season to Put Stuff in Jars...

We do small gifts every year to hand out at Mr. B's family Christmas.  Last year was the House Seasoning.  This year I thought about doing a refill, but decided to go with something different.  I saw this idea on Pinterest and we both agreed that it would be perfect.  They were super easy and turned out pretty cute.  Unfortunately, I didn't test out the labels on the jars before I printed and cut out 24 of them.  I realized a little late that they didn't fit so well.  Next time I'd do a smaller label.  Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing.  Enjoy!

Scent of Christmas in a Jar

Your label can read:

Pour contents into saucepan on stove top and simmer on low heat, add water as needed.

Refrigerate to keep fresh.

Items Needed Per Jar:
1 pint jar
2 slices of lemon
1 lime slice
2 slices of orange
3 cinnamon sticks
3 bay leaves
2 Tbsp whole cloves
a dash of fresh ground nutmeg (Optional)
Red Food Coloring (Optional)

Place ingredients in pint jar and fill with water, that has been colored red (if desired).  Attach lable and decorate as desired.

Rose Cake

I saw a BEAUTIFUL Rose Cake on i am baker a while back & just knew that I would one day attempt it.  This past weekend we celebrated my AMAZING Grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary and it seemed to be the perfect occasion.  (I love how it almost mimics their original wedding cake.)  I feel so blessed to have them in my life!

 

Weeknight Dinner: Pepperoni Roll-Up

How busy is December?!?!  With night after night of running here & there, sometime dinner gets pushed to the back burner.  The next thing you know you've had several consecutive nights of fast food & take out.  A couple of nights ago I was working late and I picked up the phone to call Mr. B to see what he wanted me to pick up for dinner.. again.  glad he didn't answer, cause it got me to pause for a second and realize I could take a few extra min to whip up a quick and tasty dinner.  In fact, need a little help?  Type "quick and easy dinner" into your Pinterest search bar - that's what I did.  You'll find plenty of ideas, like this one...

These Pepperoni Roll Ups were so easy & Mr. B loved them.  I could probably put pepperoni in anything though & he'd love it.  The great part about these is they are so customizable!  You can use a variety of different options for the dough, but I followed another bloggers lead & went with bread dough.  I got the Pillsbury Simply French Bread in the refrigerator section. I rolled it out and cut it in half.  One can made two rolls. 

Once rolled, simply rub a little olive oil on one side and sprinkle some Italian seasonings and garlic powder.  Coat with a small amount of pizza or marinara sauce.  Add a layer of desired toppings - I used Mozzarella, Parm, pepperoni, sliced mushrooms & diced pepperoncini peppers - and roll 'em up.  Place on a baking sheet.  rub the tops with a little more olive oil & bake at 350 for about 30 min.  Serve with a side a marinara for dipping.  Enjoy!