recipe Archives - Page 11 of 15 - The Sarcastic Blonde

Lifestyle, recipe

:: crack of the week ::

February 3, 2015

the skinnytaste cookbook strikes again!

I’ll also share what I made for the super bowl which was NOT on the healthy scale but definitely on the crack scale.

for sunday dinner last week, my husband made steaks

and I thought it was the perfect time to finally try cauliflower “mashed potatoes”.

these were so delicious; I don’t know why I waited so long to make them.

and I got to use my immersion blender which was super-lame-housewife-fun.

kip could not get enough of them. kip never eats anything, at home or at a nice restaurant or anything in between, and ever says something is really good (it’s so weird. food does not excite him AT ALL and it is MIND BOGGLING) but he shockingly had nice words for this side dish.

well, that or he is getting much better at the lying husband to please the wife role.

probs a bit of both.

but well down, cheesy cauliflower mash, well done.

:: Cheesy Cauliflower “Mash” ::

recipe via skinnytaste cookbook

see what I did there? I matched my food to my (wrinkly) hand towel.

like matching my eye shadow to my outfit. which is a no-no. but what the hell.

1 large head (7 cups) cauliflower, cut into florets

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/3 cup 1% buttermilk

1 tablespoon unsalted whipped butter

3/4 teaspoon salt

freshly cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon fine chopped fresh chives

1/3 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Add the cauliflower and garlic, and cook until cauliflower is soft (about 15-20 minutes).

Drain and return the vegetables to the pot.

Add the buttermilk, butter, salt, and black pepper to taste.

Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender) puree the cauliflower.

Stir in the chives and cheddar and serve hot.

goes wonderfully with steak and a side salad!

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For some UN-healthy crack of the week,

for the super bowl, I went with an easy perfect go to (make in the morning, bake that night for game).

Hawaiin Ham and Cheese Sliders.

every single one disappeared. they are SO GOOD. ugh. I’m drooling thinking about them all over again. I’m sure a lot of you have made these before or had them, there are a ton of recipes all with slightly different tweaks, but if you haven’t, get on it stat!

:: Hawaiian Ham and Cheese Sliders ::

image and adapted recipe

I make them in the morning, and refrigerate until party time.

1 package King’s Hawaiian Rolls (24 rolls)

1 pound deli ham

1 pound Swiss cheese

2 sticks butter

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

3 teaspoons poppy seeds

1 onion, diced

Melt the butter and mix in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, and onion. Simmer until the onions become translucent about 5 minutes. Cut the entire package of rolls in half. Do not separate them, keep them intact. (To keep things cleaner and simpler, I line the pan with aluminum foil, spray that, and place the rolls inside the tin foil lined pan) . Place the bottom half of the rolls in the prepared pan and spread with half of the onion mixture. Layer the ham and cheese over the onion mixture. Cover completely from edge to edge. Replace the tops of the rolls and spread the remaining onion mixture evenly over the surface.

Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours (the rolls will absorb the butter mustard sauce as they sit). When you are ready to serve. Remove rolls from the refrigerator and heat oven to 350°F. When the oven in hot, place the covered pan in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 10 – 15 minutes, or until tops are light golden and slightly crisp. Transfer rolls onto a cutting board, cut and serve.

watch everyone eat their brains out.

Lifestyle, recipe

healthy crack of the week :: skinnytaste slow cooker soups

January 20, 2015

AsI said yesterday, I have been loving my Skinnytaste cookbook.

Today, I’ll be sharing TWO soup recipes that we made in the last week!

p.s. yes. these are both mexican themed soups.

we have a bit of a mexican obsession in this household 🙂 it can’t be stopped.

The Santa Fe Chicken could not have been easier to make.

I made it when I had been awake for all of 3 minutes, and other than dropping an entire can of chicken broth on the floor, and then spilling the can of black beans, it took mere minutes.

…. clean up took a bit longer…. and black beans went down the sleeves of my all white fuzzy robe…. it was HIGH-larious except that it was not.

it tasted even better the next day on top of brown rice (some of the liquid had evaporated so it was the perfect fix).

this photo was from the next days leftovers, so some of the liquid had evaporated 🙂

I served it over brown rice and topped it with some cheese and scallions.

Slow Cooker Santa Fe Chicken

recipe from Skinnytaste

Ingredients:

24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
15 oz can black beans, reduced sodium
2 cups frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
3 scallions, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
salt to taste

Directions:

Combine chicken broth, beans (drained), corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot

. Seasonchicken breast with salt and lay on top.

Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, removechicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning to taste. Serve over rice or tortillas and your favorite toppings.

Calorie information :

Servings: 8 servings • Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts

Calories: 190 • Fat: 1.5 g • Fiber: 5.6 g • Carbs: 23.1 g • Protein: 21 g

Next up :: Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
The Chicken Enchilada Soup was a wonderful healthy soup, that was fine without all the delicious toppings when I had it for lunch at work. However, it’s 10x better for dinner once we added some cheese, scallions, diced avocado and a big dollop of 0% Plain Greek Yogurt (I promise in this dish it tastes just like sour cream, and for making creamy and rich it was a delicious necessity!)

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

recipe via skinnytaste

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low sodium fat-free chicken broth
8 oz can tomato sauce
1-2 tsp chipotle chili in adobo sauce (or more to taste)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus more for garnish)
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
2 cups frozen corn
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 8 oz skinless chicken breasts (16 oz total)
1/4 cup chopped scallions, for topping
3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
fat free sour cream (optional) I use 0% Plain Greek Yogurt

Directions:

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, 3-4 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth, tomato sauce and chipotle adobo sauce and bring to a boil. Add cilantro and remove from heat. Pour into crock pot.

To the crockpot, add drained beans, diced tomatoes, corn, cumin, oregano and stir.Add the chicken breasts; cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Add chicken back into the soup, adjust salt and cumin to taste. Serve in bowls and top with fat free sour cream, cheese, scallions and cilantro. You can also top with avocado or crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups + cheese • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7 pts

Calories: 260.9 • Fat: 6.6 g • Protein: 25.4 g • Carb: 29.9 g • Fiber: 6.7 g • Sugar: 4.1 g

Sodium: 572 mg (without salt)

what are some of your favorite healthy blogs or cookbooks? I’d love to know some of your favorite recipes to try out!

Lifestyle, recipe

crack of the week : funfetti sugar cookie cake

January 13, 2015

the baking bug bit me big time last week.

(I rewrote that twice and no matter what there’s alliteration. apologies)

I hadn’t baked anything new and fun in what seemed like months, so a girls dinner was the perfect excuse.

I chose this funfetti cookie cake because it was more cute than anything, but ended up really loving it. I like sugar cookies and cookie and cake and funfetti of course but none of those are really a favorite.

Combine them all into one, however, and it was perfection.

and, as always, it was SO easy. it took minutes to get everything into the pie pan and into the oven.

and in my humble opinion my picture actually turned out pretty, so I did cartwheels.

Funfetti Sugar Cookie Cake

recipe from Sallys Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk* (*room temperature!)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups (190g) spoon & leveled Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2/3 cup (120g) white chocolate chips
1/2 cup (80g) rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)*

VANILLA ALMOND FROSTING

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 and 3/4 cups (150g) confectioners’ sugar
2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream or half-and-half*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract* (*optional, I will leave out next time I think. see note below)
salt, to taste
extra sprinkles for decorating on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie dish or cake pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Get it nice and smooth, then add the sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough is quite thick. Once combined, gently fold in the white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup sprinkles using a rubber spatula (or by mixing on low speed).

Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until very lightly browned on top. You want the cookie cake to be extra soft in the center, so careful not to overbake. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack at room temperature before frosting. The center will slightly sink – that’s normal.

For the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy – about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla and almond extracts with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. I usually add anywhere between 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Frost the cake as desired, I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to decorate the edges. Using a very sharp knife, cut into slices and serve. This cake goes wonderfully with vanilla ice cream! Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days and in the refrigerator up to 5.

cooks notes :

at 25 minutes mine wasn’t quite cooked so I waited until 30 minutes, but at that point it was already a little more brown that I would have liked. take it out earlier than you think you should or don’t walk away during those final minutes because it will brown quickly and you want the more underdone, chewy cookie.

when pouring the almond extract that the original recipe says YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE BECAUSE IT TOTALLY MAKES THE FROSTING, pay attention to what the hell you are doing … . because if you don’t then you will accidentally pour 3x as much into the bowl and suddenly the yummy frosting is pretty much ruined.

whoops.

Lifestyle, recipe

holiday baking :: spritz cookies

December 16, 2014

I’m sure that we made lots of holiday treats growing up for Christmas,

but the only cookies I ever remember making were Spritz cookies.

I loved making them with the little hand press and decorating them with all different kinds of sprinkles.

and of course the fact that they are bite size so you can just pop a ton of them are just an added bonus 🙂

image

Spritz Butter Cookies

recipe via Martha Stewart

:: Ingredients ::

3 cups flour, spooned and leveled

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1/2 teaspoon of salt

4 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

optional :: egg wash (1 white with 2 teaspoons water) and sprinkles

:: Directions ::

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Place flour, sugar, butter, and salt into a food processor. Process until the texture is that of a coarse meal.

2. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks and vanilla. With motor running, add to the food processor. Process just until dough forms.

3. Fill cookie press and form cookies on baking sheet according to instructions (one click and press!)

4. If decorating with sprinkles, brush with egg wash and add sprinkles before baking.

5. Bake until edges are firm (10 to 15 minutes) not until the edges are brown. Cool on tray for 1 to 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

wait for it…… wait for it…… my food photography.

you’ll find that you’ve eaten twenty without even realizing it.

these little buttery christmas treats have that effect.

after we ate our fair share of each batch,

(you know, maybe the tree tastes different than the candy cane….. and the wreath??)

I then promptly packaged them up for my husband to take to work. stat.

what are your christmas baking traditions from growing up?!

Lifestyle, recipe

crack of the week :: {healthy} breakfast casserole

December 2, 2014

there are few things I love more for special occasion brunches than a breakfast casserole.

this {overnight breakfast casserole} is my go to recipe for holidays and when having a group over for brunch.

however, for a girls brunch recently I wanted to make something a little healthier and lighter for us to have. this recipe was delicious and easy to make ahead the night before. other than the difference between full fat breakfast sausage versus turkey sausage (which, of course, you CAN tell because nothing will ever be able to replicate that damn good jimmy jean breakfast sausage), this is a great option for all the flavor without the fat and calories.

you could always follow this recipe but still use a different breakfast sausage; with all of the other healthy recipe changes it will still be a better option!

photo and recipe via Eat Yourself Skinny

Ingredients

12 oz. reduced-fat bulk pork sausage

1 medium onion

2 eggs + 4 egg whites

2 cups fat-free milk

1 1/2 tsp. stone ground mustard

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

8 slices firm whole wheat bread, cubed

2 cups (8 oz) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions

The night before, cook sausage and onion over medium-high heat in a nonstick skillet until sausage is no longer pink. Drain and cool.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, egg whites, milk, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir in the bread cubes, cheese and sausage mixture. Pour into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

Lifestyle, recipe

crack of the week :: chocolate chip cookies

November 20, 2014

crack of the week :: chocolate chip cookies.

but, first

we can’t talk about cookies without troop beverly hills, the best movie ever.

I’ll keep this post to the point, you hear enough of my babbling:

These cookies are simple, easy, and perfectly delicious.

I have never baked a better cookie.

They are crazy similar to my moms secret recipe (almost as good).

I like my cookies super thin.

Thin, with a soft chewy middle and a thin crispy edge.

Perfection.

these photos definitely were not snapped on our white bedspread before eating cookies in bed. definitely not.

No one does perfection like my girl Ina,

so I don’t know why I ever used other recipes besides hers.

I did one batch with just chocolate chips, and one with chocolate chips + Heath bar pieces. Trust me when I tell you that the Heath bar really takes it to the next level of fat kid heaven.

Ina’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe from Ina Garten on Food Network

:: Ingredients ::

1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 extra large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 pounds chopped walnuts (*optional, I did no nuts)

1 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate chunks

(*or half chocolate chips/half Heath Bar Chips, found in the grocery store next to the chocolate chips!)

:: Directions ::

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter with the mixer on low speed, mixing only until well combined. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips.

Drop the dough onto a bakings feet lined with parchment paper using a 1 3/4 inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Flatten the tough slightly with damp fingertips. Bake for exactly 15 minutes. (The cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to col completely.

Can I seriously just BE Ina?