recipe of the week

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

i originally got the idea from the pioneer woman but changed it up a little!

ingredients

CAKE:

2 sticks of unsalted butter (i used margarine)

3 cups of granulated sugar (i used splenda)

6 eggs (yes, 6!)

1 cup of natural applesauce (she uses sour cream but i hate that junk plus this is way better for you!)

1.5 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

ICING/FILLING

i used this exact recipe for the icing (sorry, didn't even try to make this a bit healthier!)

2 cartons fresh strawberries (you might 1 need more if you want to garnish the top of the cake)

2 sticks unsalted butter

3 to 4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

up to 4 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream (i used milk and it turned out great!)

directions

CAKE:

beat softened butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy

add eggs two at a time, mixing thoroughly

add the applesauce and vanilla

sift the flour and baking soda and add slowly to the mixture

mix on low until all the of the flour mixture is added

be sure to mix thoroughly but DO NOT over mix!

spray your pan (i used three 9 inch round pans) with PAM or use butter and flour so your cake will not stick

put in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes

ICING/FILLING:

slice strawberries and put in bowl with sugar (i used splenda) for at least 30 minutes (i left mine over night)

beat butter for a few minutes on medium

add 3 cups of the confectioners sugar and beat on low until sugar is incorporated with the butter

increase speed to medium and add vanilla, salt and 2 tablespoons of milk and beat for 3 minutes

if your icing needs to be stiffened add remaining sugar, if it needs to be thinned add remaining milk (i did not need to add anything)

once your cakes have cooled you can put the icing and strawberries between each layer and then ice the cake with the remaining icing. i also topped my cake with some extra slices of strawberry.

FYI: if you choose to do this the night before be aware that your strawberries will be very syrupy and therefore your cake will be runny. it made the cake very delicious but also very messy! but, i don't think my family minded the mess ;)

recipe of the week

i came up with this recipe after travis had a not so healthy version at cici's. after he ate this he told me it was the best thing i make (yeah right! stuffed peppers? ranch chicken? taco soup? dessert?). oh well, at least he's easy to please!

CHEESEBURGER PIZZA

ingredients:

pizza crust (store bought or homemade)

ground beef or turkey (i used turkey. fewer ww points!)

cheddar cheese (shredded)

onions (diced)

tomatoes (diced)

lettuce (shredded)

ketchup

salt and pepper or your choice of hamburger seasoning

directions:

preheat oven to 425 degrees

brown meat. drain.

put back in pan and add seasoning(s) and onions.

brush pizza crust with olive oil.

add 1/2 cup of cheese to bottom of pizza crust (this is key to make it cheesy since there is no sauce!).

add meat mixture on top of cheese.

put another 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cheese on top.

put in oven for 10 to 12 minutes (or until the crust browns and cheese is completely melted).

pull out of oven and add tomatoes and lettuce.

drizzle ketchup over the entire pizza.

enjoy!

with a knife and fork for a less messy dinner table!

this is so easy and the kids will love it! or in my case my 5 year old bf.

just kidding baby, i love you!

to do: cooking

here's my to do list when it comes to getting in the kitchen!

my top ten to do's...

1. parm knot rolls.

Source: foodgawker.com via Ashley on Pinterest

2. lemon loaf.

Source: thewhimsicalcupcake.wordpress.com via Ashley on Pinterest

3. something, anything in a mason jar! corn bread and chili.

Source: giverslog.com via Ashley on Pinterest

4. parm tomatoes.

Source: eatingwell.com via Ashley on Pinterest

5. a complete breakfast in muffin form? yes, please.

Source: marthastewart.com via Ashley on Pinterest

6. pumpkin spice doughnut holes. perfect for fall. or anytime really, who doesn't love doughnut holes?!

Source: laraferroni.com via Ashley on Pinterest

7. pineapple chicken salad pitas

Source: find.myrecipes.com via Ashley on Pinterest

8. beef empanadas

Source: smittenkitchen.com via Ashley on Pinterest

9. pizza

Source: foodnouveau.com via Ashley on Pinterest

10. engagement chicken...yes please! just kidding travis :) but serioulsy i want to make this because i've never mad a whole chicken before.

Source: glamour.com via Ashley on Pinterest

feel free to check out some other recipes i can't wait to try out here.

let's get cooking!

recipe of the week

black bean and corn salsa

this is by far the easiest recipe i have made. and not to toot my own horn or anything but i did this totally from my brain (i know, not very hard!) and it is awesomesauce!!!

seriously, try it tonight!

* please don't judge me for buying the more expensive, already chopped onions and tomatoes. do you know how hard it is to make them look that good? even my hand chopper can't do it like the guys at miejer can. seriously, don't judge!

ingredients:

1 15 oz can of yellow corn drained

1 15 oz can of black beans drained

1 palm full of chopped cilantro

1/2 red bell pepper chopped

1/2 cup of chopped red onion

1/2 cup of chopped tomato

1/4 of lime juice

salt to taste

directions:

add all ingredients together in a large bowl

EAT!!

new recipie

after work today i'm running to the grocery to pick up a few baking necessities; like eggs and real butter.

try as i may to bake healthy (and i do A LOT!), i'm craving good 'ol fashioned chocolate cookies.

and i'm probably going to make a few batches of this as well.

Source: cutoutandkeep.net via Ashley on Pinterest

do you try to bake healthy? or is the real stuff just worth it!

recipe of the week

i made a special and yummy dinner earlier this week.

josh and i are especially fond of this because it was a childhood fav in our house!

menu:

stuffed bell peppers

corn*

cheese bread

stuffed bell pepper ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 cup uncooked instant brown rice

2 cups tomato sauce

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. onion powder

1/2 c. onion, chopped

6 bell peppers

directions:

cut pepper tops off and get all seeds out.

boil peppers for 5 min.

brown your ground beef. drain.

cook instant rice according to package.

add beef, rice, garlic powder, onion powder, onions and 1/2 the tomato sauce to pan and cook on medium heat.

put peppers in a baking dish and add beef mixture to each pepper.

pour remaining sauce over the peppers.

cook on 350 for 45 mins.

cheese bread ingredients:

whole wheat hotdog buns (i use the 80 cal low fat)

spray butter

garlic salt

low fat mozzarella cheese

directions:

open hotdog buns on a baking sheet

spray each with the butter

sprinkle the garlic salt on top

add the cheese

broil for 3 to 5 min or until cheese is bubbling and brown

*corn was canned and cooked according to can directions

we also enjoyed some yummo wine from huber's farm, strawberry flavor for the summer time!

recipe of the week

homemade salsa

ingredients:

1 28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes

2 cans of mexican style rotel (the pic shoes hot. DO NOT get this. you'll burn your tongue off and this is coming from a texas gal who likes her salsa HOT!)

1/2 onion

1 handful fresh cilantro

garlic powder, salt, pepper and lime juice to taste

one whole jalapeno

5 to 10 shakes of cholula hot sauce (depending on how hot you like it, i use about 8)

(pic also shows double of everything because i was making A LOT of salsa!)

directions:

chop your onion, cilantro and jalapeno. i used my hand chopper that jennifer got me for christmas!

but everything in your blender or food processor. pulse that baby for a good minute or two.

taste it and add things as you like. i usually have to add a little bit of lime, cholula or garlic powder.

put in a mason jar or tupperware

and make it all cute for your fam and friends, who will love it!

recipe of the week

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

ingredients:

1 c whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 c brown sugar

1 1/3 c old fashioned uncooked oats

1/2 c chocolate chips

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tbs margarine (like smart balance or i can't believe it's not butter)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

directons:

preheat oven to 375.

combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly .

combine brown sugar, egg whites, vanilla, applesauce and margarine in large bowl and mix thoroughly.

add flour mixture and beat together.

blend in oats and chocolate chips.

drop teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.

bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

makes 3 1/2 dozen

each cookie is 1 ww point.

enjoy them cookies!

yummo!

recipe of the week

rutabaga fries

ingredients:

rutabaga

olive oil

seasoned salt (or any seasoning you like on your normal fries)

instructions:

wash your rutabaga.

peel all the skin off.

chop into wedges. i'm horrible at this and need more practice.

now here's where i have no pics because my phone died and my digital camera is awful and well the end result was terrible.

i can admit when i've made a fail. and this was a BIG one.

i used too much olive oil and the fries wouldn't crisp up like i wanted them too. i hate soggy fries. i did however try one that was semi-crisp and it was good. you honestly can't tell it's not a potato until the after taste gets ya. it will take a little getting used to but i will make these again. i'll put an update next week when i make them again.

plus side of the rutabaga: for a cup of raw it's 1 ww point. cooked it's 2 ww points. and a serving of the fries is 3 ww points. not bad.

recipe of the week

haven't done one of these in a while. welcome back recipe of the week!

chicken teriyaki stir fry

this was so so so easy.

ingredients:

2 bags of frozen stir fry with noodles

1 chicken breast

teriyaki sauce of your choice

we marinated the chicken in the sauce for about an hour and then grilled it on the foreman.

while it's grilling, dump your bags of veggies into a large skillet or wok.

once the chicken is done cut it into small chunks and add to the veggies.

add 1/4 cup of the sauce (or really as much as you like!)

let it get all friendly in there. you know they love each other so let them just hangout for a little while.

after about 20 minutes i scooped it all up into a bowl and had a great veggie packed dinner!

and i'll let you know, i did eat all those veggies. even those broccoli pieces :)

yay me!

and this whole dinner was only 5 points...WHAT?

yep, for 1.5 cups of the stirfry and 3 ounces of chicken.

to quote michelle tanner: whoa baby!

recipe of the week

beef stew

ingredients: 1 lb. stew meat, 1/4 cup of flour, 5 cups of veggies (we used carrots, green beans, corn and potatoes), 2 tsp. evoo, beef stew seasoning (waaaaay cheaper than buying all the spices you'll need!), 3 cups water.

time: about 3 hours but we cooked it all day (last monday actually when i was sick and at home all day.)

brown the stew meat with the flour and the evoo

then pour in the water and let it simmer for an hour.

while that's cooking cut up your veggies (or open the frozen package or can!)

after an hour of the meat stewing, add your veggies and cook for at least another 2 hours (or until your veggies are tender. ours took at least 2 hours).

enjoy!

btw. this recipe is only 3 ww points per 1 cup serving!

recipe of the week

so sorry i have no pics but this is a fab salad recipie!

it's super easy to make too.

this is for one serving but you can easily make it for as many people as you need.

3 oz of grilled chicken (boneless, skinless, and trimmed please!)

3 cups of lettuce (my choice was a mixture of light, dark and shredded carrots and cabbage)

2 tbs. of ken's asian ginger sesame lite dressing

2 tbs. of wonton strips (from a package at the grocery or you can stop by your local chinese takeout place)

mix all together and enjoy.

this recipe is 6 ww points.

fyi: i had this for dinner last night and also for lunch today. i gave myself 5 cups of lettuce for lunch today to keep me extra full since lettuce has no point value but kept all the other measurements the same. it was a little drier but i kinda like it that way!