Pasta and Meatballs Meatloaf

(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

Pasta and Meatloaf - two very basic and staple meals in this household... you can imagine how wowed I was when I stumbled upon this mash up of mini meat loaves stuffed with pasta and then placed on a huge piece of garlic bread.  Oh holy delicious! I had to make it and did and we ate until our bellies burst. It was absolutely easy to make and you should really give it a go. Really really.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1/2  Cup dried penne pasta

3 Hoagie buns - make sure you find wide ones. I wasn't able

    to so I found a wide fresh baguette loaf from the bakery,

    which worked fantastically.

1  Medium onion (chopped)

3  Garlic cloves (minced)

2  Eggs

3/4  Cup milk

2/3  Cups fine dry italian bread crumbs

1/4  Cup grated parmesan cheese

2 Teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 Cup pasta sauce

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Shaved parmesan cheese

Parsley

Garlic Butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Boil the penne noodles, drain and set aside to cool.
3. Cut each bread roll into half (for a total of 6 individual pieces).
4. In a skillet, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Medium heat.
5. In a bowl, combine the eggs and milk - whisk gently.  
6. Next add the bread crumbs, bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese.
7. Fold in the ground beef and cooked pasta.
8. Form six mini loaves. Don't worry about them being perfect The mixture will be soft and lumpy.
9. Place the loafs on a baking pan (cookie sheet) and bake uncovered for 25-30 mins or until completely cooked thru.
10. Butter the bread with the garlic butter and bake for 10 mins or until golden brown.
11. While the bread is baking, heat up the pasta sauce.
12. Spread sauce on each slice of bread, sprinkle with some shaved parmesan then top with a meat loaf. Sprinkle some more shaved parmesan and garnish with parsley.
13. Serve with a side of pasta sauce for dipping.

Its that easy! Make pasta, make meatloaf, make garlic bread. Put it all together and Mmmmmm.

Avocado, Pineapple Banana Shake

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1/2 Cup Almond Milk

1/2 Avocado

2 Cups Spinach

1 Banana

1/2 Cup Pineapple

Juice of 1 Lemon (3tbs)

1 Cup Ice

1tbs Minced Ginger (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Put the spinach and almond milk in the blender first. You'll want to be sure you've tightly packed your cup of spinach, get all that good stuff in there. Once you've blended that down, add everything but the ice. Blend again for just a few moments and then add the ice. Blend to desired texture.

NOTES:

This one isn't bad at all. I added the mince ginger but I think from here on out, I'll leave it out. I've decided I'm not too fond of tasting ginger in my smoothie - don't get me wrong, I like ginger... just not in my smoothie. BUT if you like it in your smoothie, its good for you, so put it in... or don't... but certainly no more than the 1 tablespoon because then you'll just have a ginger smoothie.

As for the pineapple - I totally cheated and used one of those small 8oz cans of crushed pineapple (or at least I think it was 8oz...whatever the smallest can size is).  Its what I had in a pinch and it worked just find. Saved me the cutting and mess too.

This smoothie was very filling, tasty enough, but again.. the ginger wasn't my friend, but don't let that keep you from trying it.

Antioxidant Cheers!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1 Cup Kale
1/2 Cup Pomegranate Juice
2 Cups of Frozen Blackberries, Blueberries, Strawberries
1/2 Cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt


Blend your kale and juice first. Add the rest.

Did you know, that Kale has more iron per calorie than beef AND its high in fiber. Its true!

In fact, dark leafy greens have more nutrients per calorie than most foods and are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins (like K, C, E, and B), minerals (think iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium),  and phytonutrients (like beta-carotene, lutein). I mean, that alone should be enough for you to go for it. 

And here's a tip.. it blends out green but then when you add the berries, it turns purple - and that means, no turned up noses at the table because they are too busy slurping up this purple goodness.

Sunshine Smoothie

Well doesn't this look tropical.  I decided I'd attempt fancy today. I think I just surprised myself at my capabilities.. Ok, I know its a fairly simple thing, anyone can do it. But, I've never done it..and I did it! So that means you can too!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1/2 of an 8oz can of crushed pineapple
1 Banana
1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries
1/4 cup Mango-Peach Juice
2 tbs Honey


DIRECTIONS:
For the first layer, you'll want to blend your yellows. The banana and pineapple (with juice it comes in). If its too thin, add another banana.  Add the two spoons of honey.
Set aside.

For the second layer, blend the mango-peach juice with your strawberries. You may opt to add more strawberries if you feel its not enough. If you need it to be looser, add more juice.

Next, pour your yellow smoothie in a tall glass.
Then, SLOWLY pour your strawberry mixture. You want to do this slow so it stays somewhat separate.  Garnish with a strawberry and serve!

NOTE: you'll want to be sure the consistency of each layer is more thick than thin so that it stays separate. So add more or less of any of the ingredients as you see fit. Adding ice will also thicken it up if you are in a bind.

Pretty in Pink

Mmmm, look how pink this smoothie looks! A blend of random things found in my fridge, this was absolutely yummy, and you should make it or miss out.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 Avocado

1 Cup Frozen Strawberries

1 Apple

1 Banana

1 Yoplait (or whatever brand) Cherry Cheesecake Yogurt (single serving size)

1/2 Cup Pomegranate Juice

You can most definitely use fresh strawberries if you have them, and just add ice at the end to get the slushy smoothie consistency.  Add more or less juice (depends on you, but start with less and work your way up).

The yogurt, you can use whatever you have. This was just what I found in my fridge.

A Basic Smoothie

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1 Cup Spinach
2 Bananas
1 Cup Frozen Strawberries
1/2 Cup Grape/Apple Juice


DIRECTIONS:
Fairly basic.  Blend the juice and spinach together first. Always do this first. It just makes it better Easier.  Then add the remaining ingredients.  Add more juice if you want it looser. Add ice if you want it slushier.  Thats it!

My New Blender

So I got this awesome blender for Christmas. I've been begging for a blender since I started this whole cooking adventure, and finally..... my whining has been heard and I received The Ninja Master Prep Professional Food & Drink Maker.   I've decided I'm going to blend the hell out of the kitchen, starting with smoothies. I'm going to go on a smoothie binge, just watch.  For one, every single day that I was in Vietnam visiting family, I had fresh smoothies every day. I miss that. Secondly, a healthy, delicious, filling breakfast in a cup, on the go?? I  mean really.. who can argue with that. This'll be the perfect way to get fruits and vegetables all in one little cup and feel like i'm having a sweet treat the whole time.   Plus i'm getting really bored of boring english muffins and oatmeal for breakfast...

Behold..the fancy, inexpensive, awesome Ninja. It comes with four different containers for your various needs. Storage lids, sharp blades (i've already cut myself), and probably my only complaint is that now I need to find a place to store all those containers. Otherwise, I love it!  But if you are concerned with space, there are other Ninja systems, with just one pitcher.  Anyways, enough of this. I'm not here to advertise, I'm just excited I finally got a blender. :-)

I'd tell you how I made this but honestly, I have no idea. I was just so blender happy I started throwing random things in it. This is a blend of coffee, ice, peanut butter, bananas, and chocolate chips, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.   I'm pretty sure its not too difficult to reproduce and you really should because holy yum!

Enchilada Stacks

I don't know why I felt I had to be overly cautious when making these, aside from the fact that it was my first time trying. I'm somewhat disappointed in how it looks but the taste is oh so good, even as leftovers the next day. And with green tabasco.  Next time, and there will be a next time, I am going to totally up it and fill it without hesitation and have it oozing and dripping with goodness.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1 package of tortillas (I used the 8 inch - 10 pack ones).
1 lb lean ground beef (although honestly, next time I may opt for 1.5 lbs)
1 can red enchilada sauce (20 oz)
1 package taco seasoning 
Shredded cheddar cheese (8 - 16 oz or more if you like cheese)
1 can refried beans (16oz)
1 can diced green chilies (or you can cut fresh ones)
Scallions to top

* Note - add any other additional ingredients you like in your enchiladas.  The taco seasoning isn't a necessity, you can just use enchilada sauce mixed into the beef, however I found it needed an extra something so I threw in the seasoning.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Brown ground beef in a skillet.  

Add 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce to the ground beef and stir.  Add the taco seasoning now too if you plan to use it.  Take it off the heat and set aside.

Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  This is important to do otherwise the first layer of tortilla will stick to the baking sheet.  

Place one tortilla on baking sheet and top with a layer of beef followed by cheese, then the diced green chilies. Pour some enchilada sauce over it. I did not measure out how much I used, i just poured loosely. You can do more or less per your taste.

Next, add a tortilla on top  and spread a layer of the refried beans. 
Layer three will be the same as layer one. 

Keep following this pattern for five tortillas, but when you get to the last (top) tortilla, dip it in enchilada sauce and set on top.  Sprinkle with cheese and then cover the whole stack with foil.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.  Remove foil, add a thin layer of enchilada sauce and some more cheese. 
Bake uncovered for 5 minutes so the cheese melts.

Garnish with the cut scallions and serve!

Baked Ham Egg and Cheese Boats

(Adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon) 

Ham, egg AND cheese... all in a loaf of bread? Yes Yes Yes! 
There's so many ways you could go with this idea but we'll keep it to the basics today. But seriously, the possibilities are endless.  Think bacon, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc..etc..etc..

Lets just jump right into it because there's not really much else to say about it other than its delicious and my non fancy self secretly felt a little fancy when I pulled it out of the oven and served it up. 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
* this is based on how many I made. Adjust according to how many you want to eat!

• 4 small baguettes. (you can use hoagie rolls)
• 6 large eggs 
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (you can use milk instead)
• 1 cup diced ham (I just grabbed the sliced deli sandwich ham and chopped it up)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (your choice)
• 2 scallions (sliced thin)
• Salt, pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Hollow out the bread.  Keep in mind that if you hollow it deep then you have to fill it more. I ended up doing this and had to add more ham, egg, and cheese to the mix.

In a bowl, whip the eggs and cream.  

Next, add the ham, cheese, and scallions.

Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture into the bread loaves and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until the eggs are fully cooked.

Allow to cool for a few minutes then cut wedges and enjoy with a nice hot cup of coffee! 

Bacon Pancakes

Oh sweet bacon, I can't tell you how many times I've zoomed in on this picture just to stare at the bacon. Bacon will be the death of me if I don't watch out and clearly I'm eating way more than I should in one sitting because each time afterwards, I'm dehydrated for at least two days. I've got the bacon fever bad and I need to stop. But first, bacon pancakes!
The song Bacon Pancakes from the show Adventure Time is a constant in my household. Its absolutely catchy and of course makes me crave bacon, so this morning I decided to follow the songs lead and make bacon pancakes, all the while singing the song... in fact, I'm singing it now that I'm talking about it..... I can't stop. 

Now I'm not a huge fan of pancakes - I prefer crispy waffles, but the idea of sticking a strip of bacon in a pancake sounds pretty damn cool if you ask me.  And before I go on with the recipe, I'm going to post this remix version that I play on a loop, of the Adventure Time song.  It'll make you happy and without a doubt want bacon pancakes! It'll also get stuck in your head. Forever.  You should totally hit play right now.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 1 package of bacon (preferably thick, center cut)
• Pancake mix (I buy the kind you just add water to, but make it however you like)

                         THATS IT!   How easy is that?!

DIRECTIONS:

Fry the bacon.  How much is up to you. I did most of the package but also left several strips to eat solo. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats eating crunchy bacon on its own.  If you have a bacon press, use it. You want to keep your strips somewhat flat.  Set aside when done.

Mix up your pancake batter and if you have one of those hot griddles, I'd say use that. But a skillet works just as well. Its what I use, it just takes longer. 

      

Place a strip of bacon down on the hot surface and then pour  batter over it. Let it cook and then slowly flip once the first side is done. You can gauge when to flip when all the little bubbles burst. 

Once the second side is done, move to a plate and continue with as many as you plan on making.

Pour some syrup over it for added yummy goodness. Butter too!

Stromboli

I don't really know if you'd classify this as a Stromboli, probably not, but its what I set out to make at least. I've never made one before so I'm pretty sure I'm entitled to a pass if it doesn't exactly look as it should.  It did however, taste pretty fantastic. Yay me!

I love using Pillsbury doughs in my cooking - they are such quick go to's that you can use to make a number of things. Of course, I'm sure it would make me beam if I were to make my own dough and then get to say Look at the dough I made! Fancy!  But I'm also quite content with the easy route of not having to go thru all the steps of making the dough. Plus I'm also still trying to conquer my fear of the  pop the dough can makes when I open it. One of these days it won't make me flinch anymore....

So Stromboli.  First off, I looked at a bunch of recipes online to gather up an idea of what I was to do.  I only bought pepperoni and sausage and figured I could fill the rest with whatever I had in the fridge.
Here's what I came up with, which made two fairly large loafs - this fed 4 and we still had leftovers.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• Ground sausage (I used a 1lb tube of Jimmy Dean)
• 2 cans refrigerated pizza crust dough (I used Pillsbury 13.8oz Pizza Crust Classic)
• Sliced pepperoni (I bought a bagful and added liberally - how much is up to you)
• Spinach (I used fresh and added by the handful - again, how much is up to you)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used orange but you can use any color)
• 1 medium onion, diced (I used a red onion)
• Mushrooms, diced (I used 10 Baby Bella mushrooms)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 1tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Italian seasoning 
• Cooking spray or olive oil
• Spagetti sauce for dipping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375 and spray some oil on a baking sheet. If you don't have cooking spray, you can just pour a teaspoons worth of olive oil on the pan and wipe it to coat with a paper towel.

2. In one skillet, cook the ground sausage.
Meanwhile, in another, sauté the onions until they are clear through.  Once this happens, add the garlic and bell pepper and cook until the peppers are soft.  Last, add the mushrooms.  Once thoroughly cooked, add to the cooked sausage and mix mix mix. Add some italian seasoning in as you'd like and set the whole thing aside (off of the heat).

3. Next, roll out one of the two pizza doughs. You may need to roll it out a little extra with a rolling pin. I did.  But not too thin, or the filling will push through the dough.

4. First, layer down the spinach.  I had bought a bag of spinach and ended up using most of it between the two strombolis.  Don't forget that spinach shrinks once cooked, so what may look like a lot piled on won't be that fluffy once cooked.

5. Next, add the sausage mix, pepperoni, and then the cheese - one layer after another.

6. Now you will want to take one end and slowly roll it all the way to the other and seal it with your fingers. Be careful when you roll as the filling will try to fall out.  Seal the sides too.

 

              BEFORE BAKING                                       AFTER BAKING (oooh ahhh!)

7. Your last step before baking is to coat the surface of the loaf with oil - spray or pour a little on your fingers. The idea is to cover the surface lightly and then you'll want to sprinkle the parmesan cheese all over it.

8.  Follow the steps above for the 2nd loaf.

9. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes. Let it cool on a rack for a bit so everything sets in its final resting spot and then slice into goodness.  Serve with the spaghetti sauce and enjoy!!

                   

                                                                                                                                  Burp*

Bloody Worms and Maggots

Tonight I really didn't feel like cooking. It was just the little man and I and he wanted hot dogs. Easy enough.  I offered him bloody worms... aka hot dogs and ketchup, and being that I'm half Asian, I have to have rice with my meal.  While I usually go for the basic white rice, I opted for some yellow rice tonight just to add some color to the meal and to double as the maggots - although I'm sure the white would suffice just fine.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• Hot Dogs 
• Ketchup
• Rice 

DIRECTIONS:

Make your rice ahead of time as it'll take longer than the hot dogs.  You could also just use hot dog buns and skip the maggot factor.

Once the rice is near done, slice the hot dogs into four strips. You may be able to slice an additional strip or two if you're careful.

Boil some water in a frying pan and place the strips in.  They will start to curl up - its pretty cool to watch. Reminds me a little of shrinky dinks from back in the day. Do they even make those anymore??

Pour out the water and return the worm dogs back into the pan. Mix in some ketchup to coat.

Serve over a bed of rice.

Little Jason Past and Present

This kid is too much. 

Born on Friday the 13th, this is my son Khai.

I think he was around 3 years old here.

 I came home to find him standing at the front door waiting for me like this, with the chainsaw he had picked out at Target.

He just turned six years old the other day.

He's mad about something.

DIY Pumpkin Fruit Cups

Here's another cute and easy throw together for the kiddos.  Any orange fruit cup - mandarin oranges, jello, etc..  will do.  Draw your pumpkin face on it and thats it! Cool fruit cups. Happy Kids.

Worms and Witch Fingers

Spaghetti and breadsticks Halloween style, served up in a couple of bell pepper pumpkins.  I had fun making this dinner as much as everyone enjoyed eating it.  There's not much more to it, so lets get to the recipe (aka its late and I'm too tired to babble on about it).

WHAT YOU"LL NEED:

• Spaghetti noodles  (however much you want to make)
• Spaghetti sauce
• Ground beef (optional if you want a meat sauce)
• Bell Peppers (orange and yellow are best. Use however many you would like to serve up)
• Bread stick dough (I used Pillsbury)
• Almonds
• Red gel dye
• Italian seasoning and/or garlic salt
• Large black olives
• 1/4 cup melted butter

DIRECTIONS:

Pumpkin/Worms ~

Make your spaghetti as you normally would.
Hollow out the peppers and carve pumpkin faces in them.
While the spaghetti noodles are boiling, make your witch finger breadsticks - see directions below.
When noodles are done, add your sauce and loosely fill the peppers.  
Before its too full, slice the olives in half and place them inside the pepper behind the cuts for the eyes.

Witch Fingers ~
Shape the breadstick dough into knobby fingers.
You can use a knife to mark up the knuckles.
Dab some red gel dye on the tips of each finger and press an almond into it.
Brush the tops of the finger with the melted butter and sprinkle with the seasoning.
Bake per directions on the packaging.

Spooky Pizza

If your household is like mine, pizza is a quick and easy go to meal for those days you don't feel like doing much. In keeping up with the Halloween theme, I stumbled upon this great homemade pizza recipe thats loaded with spinach, cheese, ghosts and pumpkins.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 1 tube of pizza dough (I used Pillsbury or you can make your own from scratch)
• 1 cup pizza sauce (I just used some Prego spaghetti sauce)
• Spinach
• Shredded cheese
• Slices of pre-sliced mozzarella and cheddar cheese
• Pepperoni slices
• Cookie cutters - ghost, pumpkin (or whatever you want)

WHAT TO DO:

Roll out your pizza dough and add your toppings. 

Bake according to directions on the can of dough.

Using the cookie cutters on the pre-sliced cheese, cut your shapes out.

Once you pull the pizza out of the oven, place the shapes on it and add eyes - I used pepperoni but you can use anything, olives, etc.  

Place back into the oven for about 30 seconds.

Remove, let it sit on the counter for a few minutes before serving it up.

(Adapted from Within The Kitchen)

Choco Pretzel Pops

I don't have a recipe for this other than to say go to a craft store like Michaels, and buy Wiltons Candy Kit for Pretzels.  The instructions are fairly easy to follow, but the photo on the front of the box with the little girl and her mom is totally false advertising because this was definitely not a job for a little kid - at least not mine. 

While the instructions are easy to follow, painting in the different colors into the mold was a pain in the ass. The end results however are pretty cool, although my crappy photos don't show that.  And I can't say that I'd make dozens of them like I had hoped.  I stopped at a handful and at most I'll pull the molds out again when I'm very bored or next Halloween.