Cranberry Orange Stuffing

Sorry for posting this so late! It's been a crazy busy week. This stuffing is absolutely delicious and very easy to make. I adapted this from Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals recipe found here. Her recipe was to serve four people, but her serving size was about an ice cream scoop full. Now, I don't know about your family, but mine is all about leftovers. I wanted to make enough to feed all 6 of us and have some goodies left over. 

Keep in mind that I undercooked mine slightly so that tomorrow when we re-heat it, it won't dry out. I say cook yours about 40-45 minutes or until it's golden brown on top and no longer a soupy texture.

Cranberry Orange Stuffing

• EVOO
• Couple pats of butter
• 7 ribs of celery diced , no leaf with the white chopped off
• 1.5 medium white onions, I chopped it super fine
• 3 bay leaves
• S&P to taste
• 2 cans (32 ounces) chicken stock
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme
• 2.5 loaves Trader Joe's Low Fat Cranberry Orange Bread

First things first, if you can't get Trader Joe's brand cranberry orange bread then don't worry about it. I'd say 2 loaves are equivalent to about 5 large cranberry orange muffins. So 7 muffins? Yikes. I'm sorry I'm not sure how big the loaves are and I forgot to take pictures before I threw away the wrappers . . . 

Preparation & Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Chop all of your veggies, saute in a skillet over medium-low heat with the bay leaves and thyme until they've reduced in size and softened. Once the oven is heated, chop the bread and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. I had left my bread unwrapped on a baking sheet for two days to dry it out a bit, which it didn't really get dry so I had to toast it up a bit. Beat the eggs and whisk in the chicken stock/broth. In a large bowl add the veggies and bread. Ladle the stock over the bread and veggies and mix until it has soaked up a lot of moisture. I ended up not using the entire 2 cans of broth because I didn't want the mixture to be too soupy, since the bread is already much more moist than regular toasted bread. It should be moist enough where you squeeze it in your hand some of the moisture leaks out, but doesn't drip down your hand. Place mixture in casserole dish and bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Let cool and serve!

How To: Pizza in a Hurry, On a Budget

Two weeks ago was most definitely the worst work week of my life; every day I would come home and have a glass of wine, and put my feet in the hot tub just to relax. Cooking sounded awful, but unfortunately I have a husband to feed. Enter: biscuit dough pizza! I did not think this was possible, or that it would taste good; I quite enjoyed it, and the mister drooled over every piece. The coolest part about this dough was making it on the grill pan. I got those awesome grill marks without taking a step outside my apartment door. Sigh, I'm going to miss having grills on the roof. I fear when we make the move to live in the cheap we'll be giving up a lot of amenities. Alright, enough whining.

Giveaway: Edgeware Diamond Elite Pull Thru Knife Sharpener *CLOSED*

How about a giveaway for those of your suffering from the hell that is Monday?! Yeah, I thought it would cheer you up.

Edgeware is a leading seller of knife sharpening tools that sells everything from honing steels to mandolins. One lucky reader will have the opportunity to win the manual elite pull thru knife sharpener that works on both straight edged, santoku, and serrated knives. This is the most versatile sharpener because you have the option to select a course or fine sharpening edge; there is also a ceramic stone built in to perfectly hone your knives every time you sharpen. I own the Electric Diamond Elite Sharpener and I must say, it is absolutely fantastic!! I use it a couple of times a week, and use a little hand held one my hubby bought me in the meantime. My knives stay perfectly shaped and incredibly sharp. The Diamond Elite sharpener even took a cheap $3 santoku knife from Target and made it razor sharp, something I thought was impossible to do with a bad knife. Even if you don't win, I highly recommend purchasing this knife sharpener if you're looking for something professional and affordable! At only $29.99 it does the job of a professional sharpener PLUS a steel honing rod. Pretty awesome ^_^

Poulet au Porto

I swear to you, I've been cooking all week! This is roast chicken steeped with port wine, cream, and mushrooms. I ended up making this dish twice for me & hubby and a third time just for myself. Yum! The best part about this dish is you get to flambe the chicken, which is just too fun. I served it over lemon-parsley cous cous with a side of homemade pasta salad. I have to say, I took shortcuts with this recipe. For instance, I did not roast an entire chicken. I bought chicken breasts, and I cooked them in a skillet with the lid on to make a nice fond for the sauce. I'll give you instructions for how I did it, this will serve 2.

Oeufs en Cocotte (Eggs in a Ramekin)

Some of you may already know that I'm a big fan of Julia Child, as well as amazing French foods. I don't cook enough French food, mainly because of the time and unhealthy aspects of butter and certain meats, but I've been trying to do more French cooking lately. I love this dish because it's simple, and you can make it as healthy and as fancy as you want.

How To: Cinnamon Rolls from Canned Biscuits

My mother made a delicious batch of cinnamon rolls the other day. I went over to her house and left with baggie with two cinnamon rolls. I must admit, with my husband sitting right next to me, that I ate both of them. One was supposed to be for him, but I just couldn't resist! I felt really guilty about the cinnamon rolls; my poor husband had missed out on a treat, a treat we had been craving for weeks. I decided I would make a batch to ease my guilt, this is where I encountered a slight problem. I had never actually made cinnamon rolls before; not Pillsbury and definitely not from scratch. Enter: Store brand 50 cent can of biscuit dough. How do you spell lifesaver? BISCUIT DOUGH.

  

Snack Smarter: Onion Rings

I love a good onion ring! My first job was working at Burger King when I was 16 and I absolutely loved snacking on the delicious onion rings, yum! Unfortunately, when purchased from a fast food joint they're awesomely horrific for you. Seriously, so much fat and calories it's not even worth it. Here's a quick way to make them at home and keep things on the lighter side. One word: fiber! Kicking up the fiber content in the onion rings will help your body to keep from absorbing all the excess fat. If you want to be super healthy you can skip the panko breadcrumbs and just use Fiber One cereal as the breading, but it honestly doesn't stick as well. I sprinkled in some panko, mixed it up, and gave it a go with another ring. It came out perfectly. I'd choose these rings over BK any day. Here's what you'll need:

How To: Spruce Up Your Leftovers

Remember that amazing chicken, lemon, and basil dish I made a couple days ago? Well, the next day I needed something hearty and delicious for brunch but I didn't want to eat the same thing twice in such a short time. If you're like my mother, then you loathe eating the same thing two days in a row. She'll make a giant casserole, enchiladas, chicken, you name it; then the next day she'll be making another ridiculously large meal so that she, my dad, and my little brother don't have to eat the same thing two days in a row. My mom does leftovers the smart way, instead of getting sick of your food you give it a break in between meals but you have enough to last you all week ^_^

Back to brunch. I had a few red bell peppers that were just screaming "pick me, pick me!!" from the crisper drawer. I chopped up and froze most of them, but I saved half of one so I could use it for breakfast. I had only grilled half of one chicken breast to go with my pasta for dinner because it was just me; what I did do with the rest of the chicken breast and another whole breast I had was butterfly them so they'd be thin, and then popped them in the oven to bake with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Standing in front of my fridge I searched for all the ingredients that would work with the peppers. I saw: noodles from the night before, chicken, eggs, and my lovely balsamic glaze. Shizzam!! There it was, a simple and quick skillet breakfast. Not only is this a great way to use up leftovers, it's also a smart way to really stretch a buck.

Grilled Chicken and Lemony Pasta Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ree over at The Pioneer Woman posted this recipe the other day and I knew I just had to make it as soon as I could! I was already in possession of a live chicken (by live I mean two frozen breasts, not my own of course), a box of penne pasta, and 2 lemons. Seriously for the first time ever all I've needed to buy for a recipe was fresh basil. So money. I love every single one of Ree's recipes, only trouble is she's liberal with both butter and heavy cream. I'm not hating, those ingredients in combination stop my heart and make my stomach sing! Well, make my brain sing. Stomach's can't sing. To lighten up this amazing recipe I used whole wheat penne pasta, cut out the extra fat by skipping the heavy cream and half and half, and topped mine off with a balsamic glaze. I just love balsamic glaze; I don't really care what the dish is, if there's chicken involved it's gonna get showered with glorious glaze. I didn't snap any step by steps because I cannot even begin to compete with Ree's fabulous pictures. Her writing style is so amazing she makes me pee my pants a little every time I read a post of hers. Seriously check out the original recipe; if you aren't worried about the ingredients then by all means use a lot of butta' baby! ;-)

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers