Hawaiian delight!

Last night Chad and I had a recipe I found in my parents' Prevention magazine while I was home over the weekend. The recipe seemed simple enough so I came home and modified it. We loved the Hawaiian sandwiches at the Polynesian resort so I thought it sounded similar.

Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches
1 pound cooked chicken breast (thinly cut)
4 Ciabatta rolls
8 thin slices of deli style Black Forrest Ham
4 slices of Provolone Cheese
1 can of crushed pineapple
*butter optional
Marinara Sauce - to be served on the side

Layer the ingredients on the ciabatta rolls. Grill on a panini press or grill until lightly toasted. Dip sandwiches in the marinara sauce and enjoy!!!

You have to love your slow cooker....

Last year I purchased the Crock Pot Best-Loved Recipes Cookbook at Sams on a whim. I love this cookbook and all of the recipes in it. My favorite recipe which I made several times last winter was the "Easy Beef Stew." But I refer to it as one of my favorite comfort foods - Beef and Noodles. This recipe is so delicious that the beef flavor will melt in your mouth. With the combination of the dry onion mix and red cooking wine the flavors just amaze me everytime! Enjoy!

" Food is the most primative form of comfort"

~ Sheila Graham

Easy Beef Stew

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

4 ounces mushrooms, canned

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1/3 cup red or white wine

10 ounces cream of mushroom soup, canned

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in Crock-Pot® slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 12 hours. Serve over hot cooked noodles. (egg noodles - no yolks work best)

Might be one of the best things I've done with Chicken....

Sorry this entry is two days late but school begins again this week and I have been a tad frazzled. But Monday evening I did manage to try this succulent chicken dish. I love my new Weight Watchers 15 minute cook book. Lots of fun new things to try! Chad was working until 7ish so I was on my own for dinner. I needed something that would look and taste good when Chad reheated it when he got home (which was more like 8ish). My hunch about this recipe was true... just as good reheated. If you know me very well, you know that I don't do leftovers often. There are the exceptions of reheated pasta dishes, stir fry, some casseroles, etc. If it has a sauce to it I will probably reheat it up. But reheated chicken and steak - FORGET IT! :) Here is one recipe I would definitely reheat to enjoy for a second meal!

Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
Balsamic vinaigrette salad spritzer

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; place tomato mixture on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until tomato skins burst and begin to wrinkle, stirring once. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl, scraping juices into bowl. Stir 1/4 teaspoon salt into tomato mixture.

3. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Place chicken on individual plates; coat each breast half with 2 to 3 sprays balsamic spritzer. Spoon tomatoes evenly over chicken.

A nice Sunday dinner for two....

Last night I tried a new recipe for Chad and I from the Weight Watchers 15 minute cookbook. It was a fun dish to make and it only took 13 minutes to prep and cook together! The best part is... It's only 5 points and absolutely delicious!

Lemon-Herb Skillet Pork Chops

4 (4oz) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (1/2 inch thick)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp.  dried thyme
3/4 tsp.  paprika

1/4 tsp.  dried rubbed sage

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 lemon wedges

1. Sprinkle both sides of pork evenly with salt and pepper. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients in a shallow dish. Dredge pork in flour mixture.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 4 minutes on each side or until pork is done. Serve with lemon wedges.

Yield: 4 servings - 1 pork chop and lemon wedge each.

*Blogger's note: I had to cook the pork chops an extra minute on each side to reach the correct temperature. So make it 5 minutes per side.

On the Side:
I served this dish with golden Yukon potatoes that I steamed in the bag via microwave. I mashed the potatoes with a little garlic salt. Then I used the "I Can't believe it's not butter" olive oil spray and sprayed each serving with 2 sprays each. I topped off the potatoes with parsley for presentation.
We also had a Cesar salad to accompany this wonderful meal!

Busy night = eating out

Chad and I both had a plethora of things to do last night. It was 7:30 and I was still picking out glasses at LensCrafters and he was finishing up getting his new phone at Verizon. The result ended at Panda Express with Garlic Lovers' Chicken and String Bean Chicken. Yum! But I did experiment for lunch yesterday and took the pulled BBQ chicken from my earlier post and put a little on top of a salad for lunch. Good idea that was somewhat delicious but I needed Tums after. I will be taking a hiatus for a few days since I will be in Washington visiting friends and family before back to school - so no food blogging until Sunday. Enjoy your dinners until then....

Swimming with Salmon

Last night I decided to attempt to make salmon for the first time. If I make fish it's usually tilapia with lemon/pepper, but thought salmon would be more interesting. I have a big thing about pink meat... freaks me out!! I like everything well done and thank God for the person who made the meat thermometer. It just gives me a piece of mind. Anyways - cooking a fish that is supposed to stay pink was very hard for me. I kept wanting to stick it back in the oven, but when the thermometer said it was ready we sat down to eat it. We accompanied the salmon with leftover party potatoes and pasta salad that my mother-in-law gave us the other day. The flavor was amazing!! All I added to the salmon was a spray of I can't believe it's not butter (olive oil), a dash of lemon pepper and garlic salt. Yum!
I would like to share my recipe from the other evening since it is probably my favorite summer crock pot dish and turns out delicious everytime! It is my BBQ pulled chicken. Only 4 Weight Watcher Points (until you add the bun).

Slow-Cooker Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients

• 24 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian dressing
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth

Preparation

• 1. Put chicken in slow cooker. In a bowl, combine barbecue sauce, dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.
• 2. Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred with 2 forks. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and chicken broth. Stir into sauce in slow cooker, cover and cook until sauce is thickened and heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. Return chicken to cooker, stir, cover and continue cooking on low for 45 minutes. Serve chicken on whole-grain buns, over brown rice or with baked potatoes if you like.

Hello from the Wurmnest Kitchen!

Ever since I was little the kitchen was a place I loved to be! My mother, Pamela Sue Waughop, would always have a hot lunch and dinner waiting for my dad and me. The kitchen was the place she seemed to have it all together.... living the dream of being the perfect housewife and mother. Because she was in and out of the hospital when I was coming to the age of learning to cook, I decided to teach myself.  I became a whiz at the microwave and could cook basic like mac 'n' cheese. I came from a long line of wonderful cooks - why wouldn't I pick up the art of cooking as well.
In college I was forced to try to cook because I was living on my own in an apartment. My stepmother, Lori Waughop, gave me some simple recipes and would help me make them at home before heading off to school. I became a genius at three recipes: the Bisquick baked chicken, the Bisquick impossible cheeseburger pie, and my mother's hamburger stroganoff recipe. I also managed to bake my dad's sugar cookies during the Christmas holiday at college.
Now I am married and for the past year have tried out several new recipes on my husband (who is always the willing guinea pig). I have discovered something great... I CAN COOK! Mostly everything I have tried to date has turned out edible at the very least - if not incredible. So I decided to take my cue from Julie Powell, author of Julie and Julia and write a blog about it. I thought what a great way to catalog the recipes I have tried throughout the year. Since I feel more solid in cooking than baking I thought I would challenge myself to learn to bake throughout this blog as well. When I bake it either looks great, tastes terrible OR looks terrible, tastes great. I will review each recipe and post the recipe so you can enjoy it too!
Bon Appetit!

First baking recipe accomplished!!!

Praline-Apple Bread

Sour cream is the secret to the rich, moist texture of this bread recipe. There's no butter or oil in the batter—only in the glaze.

 

• YIELD: Makes 1 loaf
• COURSE: Breads

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
• 1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 3/4 lb.)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake 1/2 cup pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 to 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 minutes.

2. Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until blended.

3. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in apples and 1/2 cup toasted pecans. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9- x 5-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chopped pecans; lightly press pecans into batter.

4. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, shielding with aluminum foil after 50 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

5. Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a 1-qt. heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, and spoon over top of bread; let cool completely (about 1 hour).

Note: To freeze, cool bread completely; wrap in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Recipe from Debbie Grusska, Hobart, Indiana

Southern Living SEPTEMBER 2009

* Review: WOW! This bread is simply amazing and quite simple surprisingly enough! I would definately recommend this for a fun fall treat! The glaze on top makes this bread delicious.... well what wouldn't be delicious when it's made of butter?! This is a definate repeatable bread to add to my collection of things I can actually bake well. This not only tasted great but looked beautiful as well.