Beef, it's what's for dinner.

The darling Mr. TL rarely gets red meat prepared at home. Why you ask... well, it's not my favorite. Unless you're taking about a tender, medium cooked filet mignon with a Gorgonzola sherry cream sauce, then I'm pretty much never going to be in favor of red meat. However, when I read rave reviews about this gem of a recipe, I figured I could appease the darling husband for one meal... with a big bun full of meat (with lots of sharp provolone melted over the top!).

I'll be the first to admit that this recipe was over the top incredible. Apparently the Pioneer Woman actually does know what she is taking about ;) I adapted my recipe slightly by utilizing my favorite kitchen gadget, the slow cooker, and allowing the beef to become magical by cooking all day. I'm not sure if it is a bonus or torture that you get to smell the delicious scent of it all day, but ya do. So deal with it and Enjoy :)

Italian Drip Beef
(adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks)

1 whole Beef Chuck Roast, 2.5 To 4 Pounds

1 can Beef Broth

1 packet of Good Seasons Italian Dressing

1 teaspoon Salt

1/4 cup Water

16 Oz Pepperoncini Peppers, With Juice

Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls

4-6 slices of sharp provolone (but any cheese will do)

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Stir lightly to combine seasoning with the liquid. Cover and turn on low for 6 hours.

When 6 hours is up (or when you can't stop salivating at the smell) completely shred all meat with two forks, leaving no large chunks behind. Serve immediately, or keep warm over a simmer on the stove.

You may make the day before, then store in the refrigerator. Remove the hardened fat from the top before reheating.

Serve on buttered, toasted rolls. Top with cheese (sharp provolone is recommended) and melt under the broiler if desired (and believe me, you'll desire it).

The way to my husbands heart...

Is via buffalo wing flavored items... buffalo chicken dip, buffalo chicken pizza, buffalo chicken cookies... ok, maybe not that last one, but you get the point. Mr. M loves him any meal inspired by the famous chicken wing and this meal, was no exception. And bonus points for the recipe being derived from Cooking Light!

I am a huge blue cheese fan so after one read through of the recipe, I knew I had to have it. The cheese, once folded with light cream cheese, became very easy to stuff into the butterflied breast and stayed intact surprisingly well during the browning and then sub sequential baking process. That is, until I cut into it, and had a blue cheese moat on my plate. That my friends, is pure heaven.

I made a few minor adaptations to the original recipe, which I've noted below and would make it with the same adaptations again in the future!

Enjoy :)

Blue Cheese-Stuffed Chicken with Buffalo Sauce

(adapted from Cooking Light)

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons fat free cream cheese

1 teaspoon lime juice

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons 1% reduced-fat milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons water

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

2 teaspoons hot sauce

2 tablespoons buffalo sauce

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast to form a pocket. Stuff cheese mixture evenly into pocket.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Combine milk and egg in a shallow dish, stirring well with a whisk. Place panko in a shallow dish. Working with 1 chicken breast half at a time, dredge chicken in flour, then dip in egg mixture; dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken, flour, egg mixture, and panko.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and extra virgin olive oil to pan; swirl until butter melts. Arrange chicken in pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over and allow to brown another 4 minutes.

Place skillet in oven. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until done.

While chicken bakes, combine remaining butter, water, Worcestershire, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer; cook until butter melts. Remove from heat, and stir in hot sauce and buffalo sauce. Serve sauce with chicken.

Blondes have WAY more fun!

Baked goods and pastries are my arch nemesis. Brownies, especially, are my weakness. This past weekend I had some of my best girlfriends over for our monthly girls night and I decided to mix up the traditional brownie dessert recipe and whip up some delicious blondies!

I found this recipe after a quick google search and adapted it accordingly. I served it with vanilla bean ice cream + homemade caramel sauce (a post for another day!).

Enjoy :)

Butterscotch Walnut Blondies
(adapted from SimplyRecipes)



1 cup of butter, melted
2 cups of tightly packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of butterscotch chips
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts


Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 9x13 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.

Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the butterscotch chips or other mix-ins.

Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

One of my favorite snack foods...

... is a big soft pretzel. Preferably with a side of honey mustard to dunk it in. Clearly, this isn't exactly a healthy snack but thanks to my friend Katy and her find in the Hungry Girl 1-2-3 Cookbook, I was able to include my love of pretzels + honey mustard into this evenings dinner!

I adapted the recipe slightly and have included the adaptations below. The result was a very tasty chicken finger that didn't even need a dunking sauce and is moderatley good for you!

Enjoy :)

Pretzel Coated Honey Mustard Chicken Fingers

(adapted from Hungry Girl 1-2-3 cookbook)

3 tbsp clover honey

3 tbsp grainy mustard

2 egg whites

1 pound boneless chicken tenderloins

2 dashes salt

2 dashes black pepper

8 ounces hard salted pretzels,finely crushed

2 packets of Splenda (any sugar substitute will do)

Preheat oven to 350 F

Mix honey, mustard and egg whites together in a small bowl.

Season chicken strips with salt and pepper and then submerge in the mustard-egg mixture. Set aside to marinate for at least 5 minutes (I let mine marinate for 8 hours).

Mix crushed pretzels with Splenda and spread mixture out on a plate. Spray a baking rack with nonstick spray.

Thoroughly coat chicken strips with the pretzel mixture, and then transfer to the baking rack sheet. (Discard excess mustard-egg mixture.) Mist the tops of the strips with nonstick spray.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

So about that eating healthy...

I flagged this recipe on The Food Network website from Sunny Anderson a few months ago and knew that when the husband and I wanted to indulge, this would be the meal. Fried fish... big, crusty sourdough rolls... cheesy, creamy pasta. Yum yum yum.

Tonight was the night to indulge! Next week we get into the full swing of healthy eating, gym going, and spin classes so it was the perfect evening to go for it.

The batter on the fish is so perfect (LOVE the cornmeal!) and the mac and cheese is sharp and delicious. The original recipe called for catfish but I used locally caught pollock, which is a nice, dense fish that holds up really well to frying. The mac & cheese also called for onion and while I loooove onion, the Mr. does not, so I sub in shallots whenever a recipe calls for an onion (which makes the onion taste more mild).

Enjoy!

Crunchy Fish Sandwiches and Stove Top Mac & Cheese

Ingredients for Spicy Tarter Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise 1 lemon, juiced

3 teaspoons prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons hot sauce

2 tablespoons dill relish

Pinch kosher salt

Pinch ground pepper

Ingredients for Fish:

Oil, for frying

2 eggs

3 dashes hot sauce

2 teaspoons Old Bay

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 fish filets

4 sourdough sandwich rolls

4 tablespoons butter, softened

To make the Spicy Tartar Sauce:

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the Fish:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a deep 12-inch pan set over medium-high heat, add enough oil so it comes 1/3 of the way up the sides. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F.

In a wide-mouth bowl, whisk the eggs with the hot sauce, Old Bay and a pinch of salt. In a small paper bag, mix together the cornmeal, flour, cornstarch, and salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge the fish in egg mixture, then in the flour mixture. Gently shake off excess flour. Set aside and repeat with remaining flounder. Fry the fish in batches until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes each side, being careful to keep the temperature at 375 degrees F. Remove fish to a paper towel to drain and immediately season

with salt.

Slice the sandwich rolls in half, slather the cut sides with butter and season with salt. Arrange, cut side up, on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly golden, about 8 minutes. An alternate is to put them, buttered side down, on a griddle or under a broiler, and toast until golden. Set aside.

To assemble sandwiches, slather the rolls with the Spicy Tartar Sauce, top with fish, and serve.

Stove Top Mac & Cheese

2 tablespoons butter

2 shallots, grated with juices retained

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups heavy cream

8 ounces Colby Jack cheese, shredded

4 ounces sharp Cheddar, shredded

1 pound baby shell pasta, cooked al dente

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots, including juices, and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, white pepper, paprika, and salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Cook for a few minutes to let the flavors bloom, and then slowly stir in the heavy cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Add the cheeses and stir until melted, then remove from heat. Stir in the pasta and toss until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm.

Hola! Mi llamo Mexican Chicken Meatloaf!

In my hunt for healthy recipes, I came across a meatloaf recipe that called for ground beef that caught my eye... I knew I could just sub in ground chicken for the beef and make it that much better. It turned out quite tasty and moist and it satisfied my love of Mexican flavors!

Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken Meatloaf




1 lb. ground chicken
1 cup crushed Doritos
1 egg - beaten
1 packet taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups shredded colby/jack cheese - divided
1 1/2 cups salsa - divided
1/2 can refried beans


Combine first 4 ingredients, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and 1 cup of the salsa.

Form mixture into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan.

Spread refried beans over the top of the meat loaf.

Drizzle remaining salsa over top.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 50 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake additional 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Happy New Year!

We spent our New Year's Eve between two parties and where there are parties, there are, of course, yummy snacks!

I chose to bring two types of Sweet Onion Tartletts to the first party and Beer Dip & Easy Goat Cheese Spreads to the second. Everything turned out really very tasty and I would make it all again in a heartbeat.

Sweet Onion Tartletts (Thanks to my girl Emily for the inspiration!!)

Top: Sweet Onion Tartletts with Blue Cheese, Bottom: Sweet Onion Tartletts with Baby Swiss Cheese



Ingredients:

4 large red onions, peeled and sliced into half moons

1 stick of unsalted butter

6 packets of sweet & low

1 package of phyllo dough

salt & pepper to taste

2 tbsp melted butter

8 ounces shredded swiss

8 ounces blue cheese crumbles

Directions:

In a large dutch oven, melt the stick of butter. Add onions and stir to coat with butter. Add sweet & low. Cover & let onions sweat out for 20-25 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the onions are soft & brown, season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove onions from heat. (At this point, you can choose to leave them as is, or stir in cheese. I took half of my onions and stirred in shredded swiss and left the other half plain, and once they were in the cups, then topped them with crumbled blue cheese)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut your phyllo dough into 2 inch
squares. Spray a mini muffin pan with Pam. Place 2 pieces of phyllo in the cup, pressing down. Use a small pastry brush and brush a small amount of melted butter onto the phyllo. Cover the butter coated phyllo with 1 more square of phyllo.

Fill each phyllo cup to the top with desired onion mixture. If you are going to top your onions with cheese, sprinkle the cheese on top of the onion filled phyllo cup.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned and bubbley!

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Beer Dip (I adapted this recipe from one on a RI Nestie's fabulous recipe site and it will ABSOLUTELY become a recipe that I will make again)



Ingredients:

16 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup beer
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and ranch dressing mix until smooth. Beat in cheese. With your mixer on low, pour in beer in a steady stream. Mix until well combined. Serve with pretzels.

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Easy Goat Cheese Spreads (I bookmarked this recipe from the Pioneer Woman many moons ago and had been waiting for the perfect time to debut it! Nexttime I want to try poppy or sesame seeds... and the dill was by far my favorite!)



Ingredients:

2 packages (11 Ounce) Fresh Goat Cheese

6 Tablespoons Fresh Dill (or More If Needed)

6 Tablespoons Paprika (or More If Needed)

Directions:

Finely chop your fresh dill and spread it out a bit on a piece of saran wrap.

Carefully remove the goat cheese from the packaging and gently roll it over the fresh dill, coating it almost completely.

Pour some Paprika onto a second piece of saran wrap. Roll the second cylinder of goat cheese in the paprika until it is covered completely.

Carefully wrap each roll snugly in plastic wrap and chill until it’s time to serve. (The Paprika Goat Cheese will not do well if kept for longer than one to two hours so don’t make it too far in advance).

Serve with crostini or crackers.