this little piggy...

I found some great, thin pork cutlets at the food store last weekend, and decided to roll them around some long grain wild rice and saute. Not bad! There's no recipe, really - just roll the pork (you also could use chicken) around a tablespoon or so of rice, and roll up, starting at the thin end. I dipped the rolls into buttermilk, then dredged in pan searing flour and sauteed. We had it with green beans sprinkled with a bit of salt and parmesan, and roasted acorn squash.

going bananas

Many of the girls who frequent the cooking message board I visit can't wait for their bananas to turn mushy for this very reason - banana bread! I used a recipe from that board this time around (thanks to the nestie who shared it - I can't remember who it was!), and it is delicious. Very tasty, and a bit sweet (you probably could cut the sugar a little, I may try this again with whole wheat flour and less sugar to make it a little more figure friendly;). There also is a recipe in this month's Cooking Light that I'd love to try - it has coconut inside and on top and a lime glaze that soaks in while the bread sits. yum!

Banana Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter or margarine. Beat the egg slightly, and mix into the creamed mixture with the bananas. Mix in sifted ingredients until just combined. Stir in milk and nuts. Spread batter into one greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees until top is brown and cracks along the top, about 40 minutes.

This recipe also recommended adding vanilla and cinammon - I'm out of both!! Bad baker!

Greek + American = one great dinner

This past weekend I got a hankering for some homemade baked macaroni and cheese, and came across some delicious-looking tzatziki sauce at the store, so our dinner of chicken gyros and mac and cheese was born!

Jean's baked macaroni and cheese

7 tablespoons butter

7 tablespooons flour

salt and pepper

a dash Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon mustard
3 1/2 cups milk

12 ounces of shredded cheese, whichever's your favorite

3 cups elbow macaroni

Melt butter over medium heat, then whisk in flour, one tablespoon at a time, making sure that it's smooth. Stir in salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Slowly pour in milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Add cheese; let mixture come to a boil and boil for one minute, stirring frequently to preven milk from burning. Cook macaronis for about six minutes - you want them a bit firm. Combine sauce and elbows and bake for about 30 minutes at 350.

-I top mine with bread crumbs before it goes into the oven, and put a few squirts of Frank's Red Hot sauce when it's plated.

Easy chicken gyros

one pound chicken tenders

salt, pepper, oregano

a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice

lettuce, tomato and onion

pita bread

tzatziki sauce - I bought premade this time, but it's very simple to make - basically just plain yogurt, cucumber and dill

Toss chicken with spices, saute in a little olive oil. Squeeze some lemon juice over the chicken while it's cooking. Warm pita in the oven. Fill pita with chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion and sauce, fold up and enjoy!

what's for dinner?

There's a great pizza place nearby that's known for its super thin-crust pizza, but they also make a delicious chopped antipasta - I'm always looking for new things to do with salad and this one's so easy. Tonight I used romaine and iceberg, cucumber, green pepper, red and yellow tomato, carrots, salami and turkey, and tossed it with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, garlic powder and parmesan. We also had grilled cheese made with munster on whole grain bread and my dad's delicious homemade bread-n-butter pickles on the side. simple and delicious ~ perfect for a Monday!

woo hoo for healthy muffins!

I'm always on the hunt for healthy muffins - I love to make a batch on Sunday, have a few during the week and freeze the rest. I've made these a couple times now - they taste great fresh as well as frozen. Enjoy!

Whole-Wheat Pecan Muffins

(Source: I believe this is from Cooking Light - but I'm not positive!)

Ingredients
1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons stick margarine or butter, melted

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 large egg whites

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.
Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and the next 4 ingredients (flours through salt) in a medium bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Combine buttermilk, sugar, margarine, almond extract, and egg whites; stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 161(28% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 0.6g,mono 2.3g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 4.1g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 80mg; SODIUM 200mg; FIBER 2.2g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.1g

Variations

Well, just one variation for now - this time I used chopped almonds on top instead of pecans and mized in about a half cup of prunes (next time I'll probably try raisins). I also make less than 12 - there's nothing worse than a skimpy muffin! They also are great with a drizzle of honey.

As my friends and family know, I love to cook and bake! I've come across some pretty great food blogs in my constant search for recipes, so I decided to create my own, which hopefully will inspire other foodies as the ones I read inspire me. enjoy!