Cream Cheese & Jam French Toast Sammy

Liv (my 15 month old) loves to eat dry cereal and a scrambled egg with cheese for breakfast. It's pretty typical...but lately I've been wanting to switch up her breakfast routine. At breakfast time, I just want whatever I make to be easy, quick, and yummy. I am not a morning person...so cooking with a cup of coffee in one hand is a must! My first thought was french toast with Nutella (yum)...but then I remembered this cafe my mom used to take me to that served cream cheese and jam sandwiches. And ding...the light bulb went off in my head. French Toast Sammy with cream cheese and jam in the middle. Delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• splash of milk
• 3 drops vanilla
• 2 slices of bread
• cream cheese
• jam

Heat a skillet on medium heat with cooking spray or butter to prevent sticking. Whisk egg, milk, and vanilla together in a shallow bowl. Soak both sides of bread in the egg mixture and immediately place in skillet. Cook both sides for several minutes to ensure egg is cooked through. Smear with cream cheese and jam and serve as a sandwich.

You can also switch it up with cream cheese and honey, peanut butter and honey (or syrup), add cinnamon to the egg mixture, or use cream cheese and fresh fruit. Be creative!

Cheers!
CC

Steamed Artichoke

Who doesn't love artichoke? But cooking this delicious vegetable may make some people scratch their heads...and I can't say I blame you. It just does not look very inviting. It's easier than you may think though. And I will tell you a simple and tasty way to get this from the market to your table.

Ingredients:

• Artichoke 
• Garlic powder
• Pepper
• Mrs. Dash (original blend)
• Melted butter or Mayo (optional) for dipping

Place steam basket in large pot. Add enough water to come just to the bottom of the basket. Too little water will boil out of the pan before the artichoke is finished cooking. Cover pot and heat water on medium heat until steaming, then turn down to medium low Slice the very top of the artichoke off, and also about 1/2 inch off the stem and wash thoroughly. Place the artichoke in the pot, stem down, and sprinkle top with the spices listed above. Cover and let steam for two hours. Artichoke is done cooking when leaves pull off easily. Serve with melted butter (spice it up with the listed spices) or mayo for dipping.

Cheers!
CC

Honey Dijon Pork Chops

Just a little something I threw together for dinner tonight.

Ingredients:

• 2 Pork Chops
• 3 tablespoons Honey Dijon Mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• Bread crumbs
• Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray bottom of a glass baking dish with olive oil, and then coat with a thin layer of bread crumbs. Place shops in the dish. Mix mustard, sauce, garlic, and onion and spread over the chops. Sprinkle a thin layer of bread crumbs over the top and bake for 20-25 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chops, mine were pretty thin). Make sure meat is cooked through before serving.

I made some Chicken and Mushroom flavored Rice-A-Roni to serve with it along with peas. Gotta get those veggies in!

Cheers!
CC

Strawberry Cream Cheese Yumminess

The Commissary where I do my grocery shopping had strawberries on sale for just $1. I do love strawberries! So I made pancakes one morning topped with Nutella and strawberries...but what to do with the rest...hmmm...strawberries and cream cheese are delicious. Hence an idea was born. This is a great dessert or even part of a balanced breakfast.

Mine looks a little lopsided...but it tasted delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 1/2 package of strawberries, sliced
• 8 tablespoons whipped cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the dough onto a cookie sheet but do not separate the rolls. Mix together cream cheese, vanilla, almond extract, and sugar. Smooth out half the mixture onto the dough. Place strawberries on half the dough and fold the other half over...pinch sides to close it up and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Cheers!
CC

Did you make this? Make any changes? Let me know your thoughts!

Spanish Rice

This was my first time making Spanish rice. It was definitely not perfect, but it wasn't bad...as Nick would say, it was white girl rice. I will work on it though...

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 medium diced onion
• garlic, cumin, cilantro, salt, pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter

Combine all ingredients in a large-ish sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce to medium low heat and cover...cook for 20 minutes or until rice is soft. Do not uncover to stir until rice is done. Once it is done cooking, mix it up and serve.

Cheers!

Chicken Fajitas

Being a So Cal native, but living in Louisiana I am really missing Mexican food. We went out one night to what we were told was the best Mexican food in town...it was okay...but not by So Cal standards. So right now I think my best best is to rely on my own versions. My cooking is still very white though...I need to brush up on my skills when I go home to visit...spend some time with my BF3 (who is Mexican).

I was really craving some good fajitas and these really hit the spot for me! This is my original recipe. I also made some Spanish rice to go with the meal...it turned out okay for a first try but next time I am going to make a few changes. I'll post the rice recipe in a separate post.

Ingredients:

• 1lbThin sliced chicken breast, cubed
• 1 large onion, diced (I used a sweet onion)
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• garlic, pepper, cumin, cilantro, salt, Worcestershire sauce

Spray a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, and a splash of lemon juice, garlic, pepper, cumin, cilantro and salt and cook until onion is browned. Add in bell pepper and  chicken and splash with a little Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. Make sure to stir and flip chicken. Make sure chicken is cooked all the way through...cooks in about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with warm tortillas and your favorite toppings...salsa, sour cream, cheese, avocado, guacamole, etc.

Cheers!
CC

Did you try this? Make changes? Tell me your thoughts!

Bacon Wrapped Baked Potato

One of my all time favorite foods...the potato. There are a billion things you can do with a potato, and baked potatoes are one of my very favorite ways to make this delicious food. This recipe is a combination of something I saw on Pinterest and some potatoes made by Nick's step-dad. They turned out delicious!

Ingredients

• Large baking potato
• 4 onion slices (I used sweet onion)
• 4 slices thin maple bacon
• butter
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, Mrs Dash and olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash potato really well (scrub the skin). Make 4 deep slices in the potato. Stuff butter, spices and an onion slice in each potato slice. Spray a little olive oil on a piece of tin foil. Wrap the potato with the bacon slices, then place on foil and wrap tight. Cook in oven for 3 hours. TIP Put the potato on the upper oven rack, then place a cookie sheet on the lower rack so that the drippings don't mess the oven.

Top with your favorite toppings...sour cream, cheese, salsa....

Cheers!
CC

Did you make this? Tell me what you thought...and if you made changes :)