Snack Edition: Cinnamon-Orange Mini Muffins

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So this snack was yummy.  It had the deliciousness of cinnamon and sugar with a sweet hint of orange.  Soooo good!  I got the original recipe from Betty Crocker.

So first thing's first: I preheat my oven to 400 degrees, and then sprayed my mini muffin pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

In a bowl, I added 2 cups of Bisquick, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of softened butter, 1/2 cup of milk (I used Soy milk for our dairy-allergic child!), 1 teaspoon of grated orange peel and 1 egg and mixed everything until it was blended, about 30 seconds.  Then I put the batter, evenly, into the mini muffin tin.

I let it bake in the preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes.  While that was cooking, I mixed 2/3 cup of sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and set it aside.  Then I melted 1/2 cup of butter in another bowl and set that aside.

When the muffins were cooked, I separately rolled the tops of each muffin in the melted butter and then into the cinnamon/sugar mixture and voila!  Yummy snacks were done!  It stated ti serve it warm, which I did with some, but when we ate the leftovers on another day, they were equally as yummy!  :)  The muffins were 130 calories/ mini muffin and only $0.10/muffin!

Here's the recipe!!

2 cups Original Bisquick mix

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 egg

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted

Honey Barbecue Meatloaf

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So, I've never been a fan of meatloaf.  I'm not sure if it was the type of meat that had been used before when I had it, or if it was the ketchup, but something in meatloaf just never appealed to me.  UNTIL THIS MEAL.  Holy cow, please try this meal for yourself, I am BEGGING you.  This was ridiculously delicious.

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest, which lead me to this recipe and WOW.

So first thing's first: I preheat my oven to 350 degrees and then started to prep the meal.  In a large bowl I added 1 pound of extra lean ground beef along with 2/3 panko bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon (each) of Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and honey, 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce and 1 teaspoon (each) of salt and pepper.  I mixed it with my hands and put the loaf into a loaf pan that I had previously sprayed with cooking spray.

In a smaller bowl I mixed an additional 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce with 1 tablespoon honey and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce.  I spooned half of the mixture on top of the loaf and saved the additional for later.

Once I placed the loaf in the oven I allowed it to cook for 45 minutes.  When it was cooked, I sliced them into 4 pieces, drizzled the remaining sauce over the pieces (which I had briefly heat up in the microwave) and served it with some frozen peas and voila!  Dinner was served!

This was an easy meal with little prep and BIG flavor!  Everyone was quiet during this meal, which I know means they loved it because they're too busy eating to talk haha!

The meal was only 310 calories (I believe the peas added another 60-70 calories) and only $1.51/serving!  Woo!!

Here's the recipe!!

1 pound extra lean ground beef

2/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey, divided

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Happy cooking everyone!!

Chinese Fried Noodles

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Oh my gosh, I love this meal soooooooooo much!  I've made this at least a dozen times since I originally made it; for lunches, for quick dinners when we've had events, etc.; it's THAT good.  The best part?  It's so simple, and yet just another way to showcase how versatile ramen noodles are!  :)  Sometimes I add/substitute other veggies or things in the noodles to suit my tastes; it can easily be changed up!

So I originally got this recipe from allrecipes.com and it's sooooo good.  My oldest son doesn't even enjoy scrambled eggs that much but really loves it in this meal!

First thing's first: the recipe called to cook the noodles first, but I actually like to prep my veggies and everything else, as I like the noodles to be warm when I go to cook them.  I thinly sliced 4 green onions, peeled and grated 1 small carrot, and minced 1/4 cup of red bell pepper.

Now on the recipe it stated to use vegetable oil for this part, but I wanted to lessen the amount of calories so I only used cooking spray.  Each vegetable needed to be cooked separately, so I sprayed a skillet with cooking spray and cooked the green onions, the carrots, the red bell pepper, as well as 1/2 cup of frozen green peas.  They each needed to be cooked for about 2-3 minutes.  Once those were all cooked, I set them aside in a bowl and started to cook the eggs.  I separately beat three eggs in a bowl, sprayed additional cooking spray in the skillet and scrambled the beaten eggs.  After that was cooked, I also set that aside and started on the next item.

From here, I boiled 2 packets of Oriental flavored ramen noodles (make sure to set aside the sauce packets) and, once they were thoroughly cooked, I drained the noodles.  In a skillet, I added 2 tablespoons of sesame oil along with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and cooked the noodles over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, stirring them constantly during that time.  Once that was cooked for that time, I added the ramen season packets, along with soy sauce (the recipe wasn't specific on the amount of soy sauce, so you can just eyeball the noodles and use whatever amount suits you), and tossed it to coat the noodles.  Then I added all of the cooked veggies and scrambled eggs and allowed it to cook for another 3-5 minutes and voila!!  Dinner was served!

As I said, I've made this over a dozen times already.  It's so quick and the items so interchangeable that there are so many options to choose from!  I listed the recipe with the amounts as stated but, for my family, I actually doubled the recipe.  It stated that it was a 6 serving meal but just my husband and myself could kill one bag!  So the meal originally listed the calories as 161/serving, however, taking one bag each for all four of us changed the calories to 483 calories/serving.  My guess is that the calories were also lessened due to using cooking spray instead of the oil for each veggie, but I'm not quite sure what that would lessen it to!  :/  It was also only $0.36/serving (this is based on the 6 serving total.  If you eat like we do, then making it 2 servings would make it about $1.15/serving).  I know, right?

Here's the recipe!

2 (3 ounce) packages Oriental flavored ramen noodles

3 eggs, beaten

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 small carrot, peeled and grated

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon vegetable

soy sauce

Happy cooking everyone!!!

Happy Easter: Herb and Garlic Crusted Beef Rib Roast with Slow Cooker Brown-Sugared Baby Carrots

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Okay, so I'm aware I'm WAYYYYYYYYY behind on my Easter post, but bare with me.  It has been a busy month and a half!!!

This meal was delicious and, actually, really easy because I didn't have to pay to much attention to it in order to get an amazing meal!

So I started with my side first, as that was going to take longer.  The recipe for this I originally got from Pillsbury and it was delicious!  I remember when I was younger, my sister used to always make this carrot dish as a side that was sweet and soooo yummy, but she would never tell me her secret!  When I saw this I knew I had to make it in hopes that it would match her dish!

So first thing's first: I sprayed my slow cooker with some cooking spray and placed a 16 ounce bag of baby carrots into it (the original recipe called for 32 ounces but there were only four of us, I certainly didn't need THAT much!).  Then I sprinkle the carrots with 1/4 teaspoon salt (all of these measurements are half of what the actual recipe states but, not to worry, I will put the full amount below!), 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of butter.  Then I covered that, set it on high and let it cook while I prepped and cooked the roast.  Make sure after it cooks for about two hours to stir it!

So for the roast, the original recipe I got was from Betty Crocker again (boy do I love her or what?) and it was super easy to make!

First thing's first: I preheat my oven to 350 degrees and lined my roasting pan with foil.  I put the roast in the pan with the fat side up and then, in a separate bowl, mixed 2 teaspoons (each) of dried basil and thyme, 1 teaspoon (each) of Kosher salt and garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.  I rubbed it into the roast and then put it in the preheated oven for about 2 hours.  Make sure to check the temperature for your roast as it needs to read 135 degrees to be done and oven temperatures vary, so the time could be more or less depending on your oven!

I let that rest with foil over it for about 15 minutes until the temperature read 145 degrees (this was for medium rare.  If you'd like medium, it needs to stay covered until it reads 150 degrees).

Once the meat was rested and the carrots were cooked, I sliced the beef and spooned the carrots onto the plate, adding the juices and 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley and voila!!  Dinner was served!  This meal was soooo yummy, seriously.  The roast was 340 calories/serving (it made 8 servings so there was extras yay!) and the carrots were only 100 calories/serving (this one made 5 servings as I had cut it in half like I mentioned earlier) so total it was only 440 calories!  Woo!  It was also only $2.16/serving and that's with BOTH the roast and the carrots!

Here's the recipe!!

Roast:
1 beef rib roast (4-6 pounds)

2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Carrots:

1 bag (32 ounces) baby carrots

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

Happy cooking everyone and happy belated Easter!

Slow Cooker Polynesian Pork Ribs

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Okay, so, surprisingly (although maybe not!) being from Hawaii I am not particularly fond of pineapple.  I blame my mother entirely for that, as that was all she said she ate when she was pregnant with me!  :)

HOWEVER, I definitely try not to punish my family by not feeding them the things I don't like.  So on this meal, I sucked up my issues with pineapple and went ahead with it.  It wasn't the best thing I've ever tasted, but again, I don't like pineapple.  My family said that it was delicious, so you try for yourself and let me know!

This meal I got originally from Betty Crocker and anything that allows me to dump things in a bowl and let it cook on its own is fine by me!

So first thing's first: The original recipe stated to put a slow cooker liner in the slow cooker bowl, but I just used some cooking spray, which worked fine.  Then I finely chopped 1 clove of garlic (or you can use the jarred kind if that suits your needs.  I like to use the fresh stuff!), sliced 1 small onion and added those to the slow cooker, along with 2 pounds of boneless pork ribs.  I then took half of an 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple and spooned it over the ribs, reserving the remaining for later.  Then I set that on low and let it cook for about 9 hours.

When I got home from work, I drained the juices from the slow cooker.  In a separate bowl I mixed 3/4 cup of ketchup, 3 tablespoons of packed brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger root and the remaining pineapple, pouring it over the cooked ribs.  Then I set that to high and allowed it to cook for another 25 minutes.

While that was heating, I cooked some rice and when it was done, voila!  Dinner was served!

To be honest, the meal was pretty good but I've always been weird about the sweetness that the pineapple brings to savory foods.  I like my savory to stay savory, but, luckily for me, the meal didn't taste that much like pineapple it was just sweet.  The meal was only 390 calories per serving (it was a six serving meal yay!) and $1.85/serving!  Woo!!

Here's the recipe!!!

Ribs:

2 pounds boneless pork loin ribs

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 small onion, sliced

1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

Sauce:

3/4 cup ketchup

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger root

Cooked rice

Happy cooking everyone!!!

Asian Marinated Flank Steak with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

So I realized that I just shoot myself in the foot when I say that I'm going to post more often.  ANOTHER birthday passed, this time MINE, and my mother's!, so as usual, my time became very limited!  I know, excuses, excuses, but I had every intention of posting stuff.  Either way!  I'm here now and will do my very best to post more often.  :)
So this meal I made a few weeks ago now, but it was so yummy!  Especially the wasabi mashed potatoes, mmmmmm.
I originally got this recipe from Fitness Magazine.  So first thing's first: One of the ingredients in this recipe is toasted sesame oil.  Now I realized far too late that I didn't have any sesame oil, so I had actually found a recipe where I toasted some sesames in oil and made my OWN sesame oil!  :)  So then I took 1 1/4 pounds of flank steak, 1/4 soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of the toasted sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of Sriracha and honey, as well as 1 teaspoon of minced fresh ginger in a bowl, covered it with foil and let it marinade for 15 minutes.  While that was marinating, I boiled some water that I had salted and added 3 pounds of russet potatoes that I had previously peeled and cubed.  I allowed it to cook until it was tender, about 10 minutes or so, drained and then added it to the bowl of my mixer.  Then I added 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk and Greek yogurt, along with 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon each of salt and wasabi paste (yum!).  I let the mixer blend everything together.
While that was blending, I heat a large pan over medium heat and added 2 tablespoons of the marinade, as well as the steak, to the pan.  I allowed it to sear for 3-5 minutes on each side, and then moved it to a cutting board to let it rest.
I sliced the steak into 1/4 inch pieces and served it with the mashed potatoes and voila!!  Dinner was served!!  Surprisingly, even though wasabi is usually very hot, it really only lent a small amount of heat to the potatoes and mostly lent it the flavor.  It was delicious!  It was 408 calories for the entire meal (steak AND potatoes) and only $3.48/serving (it made a total of 4 servings)!
Here's the recipe!!!

1 1/4 pounds flank steak
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
1 teaspoon salt

Happy cooking everyone!!!

Spinach and Linguine Soup with Fried Egg and Garlic Tor-toast-a

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Okay, so I have quite a few recipes that I did before this one, but I just LOVED this recipe, and so did all three of my little, and big :), guys and I've been so excited to do, so I'm just going to skip ahead.  Deal with it!  :)

This meal was ridiculously easy, but still managed to be ridiculously good.  I love the imagery of any meal where they put an egg on top, so I was all for trying this recipe!

So first thing's first: Just a heads up that the original recipe actually called for vermicelli but, for some reason, every store I went to didn't seem to have any.  I'm not sure if vermicelli is hard to come by or what, so I just used what I had on hand, which was linguine.  Still tasted good so I'm not complaining!  When I do find vermicelli I will definitely make it again, it was too easy!  Anyway, the first thing I did was thinly slice half of a yellow onion and mince 1 clove of garlic (like I mentioned in my last blog, if you're uncomfortable mincing your own garlic, you can definitely use the bottled kind, it works just as well.  I just tend to like my herbs I use to be fresh!).  I also took 1 bunch of spinach and stemmed it, setting it aside for later.  I then heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and added 1 tablespoon of olive oil to it to warm, as well.  I added the garlic and onion and sauteed it for about 5 minutes, adding 5 cups of chicken broth to the saucepan and bringing it to a boil.  Once it was boiling, I added 1/2 pound of linguine (vermicelli if you'd like to use the original recipe), breaking it beforehand into two inch pieces, and let that boil for another 7 minutes or so.  Then I added the spinach and allowed it to boil until it was wilted, about another 2 minutes, and then set it to low so I could cook the eggs (woo!!).

The original recipe stated to butter the pan prior to cooking the eggs, but I like to minimize the calories (obviously) so I just used cooking spray each time.  Make sure to keep the yolk in tact when you crack the egg and allow it to cook, yolk side up, for about 5 minutes for each egg, so that the bottom has set but the yolk is still running.

I spooned the soup into individual bowls and topped each with an egg and VOILA, yummy dinner was served!  As you can see, we also topped our with Sriracha sauce (our youngest, especially, is in love with Sriracha sauce) and upon cutting into the egg on the first bite, the yolk just spills into the soup and...sheesh, just heaven, honestly.  It was so good.

I also added my own little concoction on the side, if you can see on the second image.  The hubs and I have created our own little name for this and have been using it quite frequently on meals that need a side like bread (we tend to not have bread on hand in the house and we always love garlic bread/toast/etc.).  Meet the Garlic Tor-toast-a!  It's really simple, just spray each side of a corn tortilla with cooking spray, sprinkle with some garlic salt on each side and bake in your oven (350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes, making sure to turn it occasionally) and you've got your very own Garlic Tor-toast-a!!  We've used this so many times recently, whether it be just as a side to pasta, or have even added it to wraps/burritos, etc. we've made as a crunchy additional to the meal.  SOOOOOOO good, please try it and let me know what you think!!

So the best part of this meal was that it was only 178.5 calories/serving and, with the Garlic Tor-toast-a, only added another 55 calories, so the meal in its entirety was only 233.5 calories!  Whoa!  It was also only $1.21/serving, and that's WITH the Garlic Tor-toast-a!  Yay!!

 Here's the recipe!!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

5 cups chicken broth

1/2 pound linguine, broken into two inch pieces

1 bunch spinach, stemmed

 4 eggs

Sriracha sauce for serving

4 corn tortillas (if you'd like to do the Garlic Tor-toast-a option!)

Cooking spray

Happy cooking all!!