New Diet

A whole lot has been going on in my life recently. But due to some health complications I have started the South Beach diet. So from now on, I will be making all my recipes to suit my new life style. They are all hearty and delicious but low carb and sugar. Hope they help everyone make smart food decisions.
~Brittany

Brussel Sprouts

I know I know, Everyone hears the words brussel sprouts and is like run for the hills!!!!

Well, I have a few simple steps and tips that will make everyone love brussel sprouts, and turn them into a regular side dish...

Firstly if you have kids a really easy way to make kids like brussel sprouts is to tell them when they ask what your making, say baby lettuce. I totally tricked my 8 year old sister to eat my brussel sprouts and even help in the preparation by calling them baby lettuce. lol P.S. she absolutely loved them and she is one of the pickiest eaters I know.


Ok to start, do not, and I repeat, do not use frozen brussel sprouts. Get the fresh ones at your local grocery store, they sell them..

Ok, so size does not really matter, but it tastes best when you get the really small sized ones at the store, they get crispier.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

So clean and rinse the brussel sprouts.
Pat them dry with a clean dish towel or paper towel.
Using a sharp knife and a cutting board (butter knife for kids) cut the bottoms off the brussel sprouts, removing the outer leaves. This makes sure there is no dirt or anything on them...
Then cut the brussel sprouts in half or quarters depending on the size.
Get a backing sheet out, one with edges to it.
Spread out all the brussel sprouts evenly on the pan.


Get out your extra virgin olive oil and slowly and lightly drizzle the brussel sprouts till they are all lightly covered.
Sprinkly garlic powder, pepper, and salt to taste. GO a little heavier on the salt than normal, it makes them taste better, trust me.

Then using your hands stir and toss together all the sprouts in the oil until they all seem covered in everything.
Spread them back out evenly ( wash hands)
Then pop them into the oven.
Let them cook for ten minutes, using a spatula, flip them over, then put them back into the oven for another five minutes.

Very important not to cover with foil wrap during cooking.
Having them uncovered is what makes them crisp up on the outside and be really delish and juicy on the inside.

Try it out and let me know how it goes. So good, trust me on this!!! My husband says he swears I secretly put sausage in them somehow. lol XD

~Brittany

Recipe of the Day

This looks soo awesome!!! Candy Cookie Cups. You make them with a muffin tin and this recipe uses fun size butterfingers but you could use any candy bar I bet. Also the recipe is super easy. You could even do this with just cookie mix or premade dough.
http://dinnersdishesanddesserts.com/?p=1679

Party Starters!

Ok, so today was memorial day to celebrate the men and women who have died for this country. I was in charge of the appetizers. I made two really easy recipes today. One was cheesy potato puffs and the second was creamy tomato snackers.

For the Cheesy Potato Puffs get one puff pastry sheet and let it come to room temp. This may take an hour or so, so do it ahead of time. 

While that is happening either make mashed potatoes from scratch, use some instant mashed potato mix, or use any left over mashed potatoes you may have. I actually used some left over mashed potatoes I had in my fridge. 

Put your left over mashed potatoes in a large snack ziplock baggie (about one cup), add a pinch of salt, pepper, and herb de province. Then add about two table spoons of cream cheese or sour cream, and two tablespoons of nacho cheese. Then this is the fun part! Just mush it all around in the closed bag until its fully mixed! So fun, great to do with kids too! 

Now get your oven ready by setting it to 350 to preheat. Then unroll your puff pastry, do not stretch out. keep the powdered side down when you cup. Cut the pastry five by five. Put 1/2 tablespoon of mix on every square. 

To fold the pastries take opposite sides and bring to middle and pinching so the top looks like an x on a square pastry.

Put in the oven for twenty minutes when puffy and golden brown, its finished!

The second one I made today was Creamy tomato snackers!

They are so simple to make, especially on a time crunch. They also look great and can be very sophisticated.

First put about six pieces of regular white bread on a baking sheet and put in the oven for twenty minutes at 350. Make sure to turn over and put back in the oven for another ten minutes.

You can totally do this with the bread the day before. Also if you want a cleaner look only keep them in for ten minutes on each side, then they will be cut able and less crunchy.

Let cool for ten minutes. Then break into fourths.

Spread with plain cream cheese, make sure its even and a little thickly done. Sprinkle with some dill. 

And here are two options. For a fresh summery and easy taste add a little slice of tomato, if for a more sophisticated crowd, add a sliver of smoked salmon on top. They both taste awesome!!! Today since it was so hot I did tomatoes. 

~Brittany

Cool food blog

Found this guy on a blog, its called cooking comically.

He makes something called a hobo pie. Also the way he writes his recipes are amusing. Check it out.

http://cookingcomically.com

~Brittany

Lazy Veggie Lasagna

Lol, ok so I got home from work at 11 pm tonight and was feeling incredibly hungry for some homemade lasagna.
So I decided to make it the fast lazy super easy and still delicious way. I make this really delish veggie alfredo lasagna, and I turned it into a pasta dish. hahaa

So get a big pot, fill it with water and set to boil. I used spiral noodles cause they looked fun. So once the water is boiling dump the pasta in and stir. I added 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the water. I let that all cook. Once the pasta is almost cooked add about a cup of sweet peas and a cup of sweet corn (frozen). Once the noodles are done drain and place back in the pot. Add one jar of alfredo sauce, I used Rinaldi. 1 cup of Ricotta cheese and 1 cup of three cheese blend of shredded cheese, mixed together sprinkled with garlic powder and pepper stirred again and served. (I think the cheese blend was mozz, cheddar, and Mont. Jack.

I dont have a pic cause it was eaten so fast and I was too lazy as you can tell to even plate it and take a photo for you all. But its super delicious and easy to make. You could even sprinkle a little bread crumbs on top to give it that veggie lasagna feel. Sometime Ill make sure to give my recipe for amazing veggie lasagna, the non lazy version. lol. Hope you enjoy.

~Brittany

Recipe of the day

Hey all, I found this tasty yummy recipe for Mexican lasagna, Just so you know, if you dont have chili powder on hand you can make your lives easier for this recipe and use a taco seasoning mix. XD Yumm!!! And you can make this with ground beef or turkey if you prefer.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/mexican-lasagna-recipe/index.html

Happy Eating!
~Brittany