Picnic Perfect Tuna and Macaroni Salad

by penji1

I got this recipe out of All You magazine.  It was easy to make and the bite I had after it was all done was pretty tasty.

salt and pepper

1 pound elbow macaroni (I used baby bow ties)

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (I left this out)

1 carrot, grated (I just used my julienne peeler)

1 (12 oz) can tuna in water, drained

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/4 cup plain low fat yogurt (I didn’t have any yogurt so I just left it out)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1  Bring large pot of salted water to boil.  Add pasta and cook according to package directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water.

2  While pasta is cooking, combine celery, onion, parsley, carrot and tuna in large bowl.  Add pasta and toss to combine.  In small bowl, whisk mayo, yogurt and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.  Pour over pasta and toss until well coated.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

White Chocolate Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel

by penji1

These muffins taste great, however they did not puff up nicely on top like good muffins are supposed to do (you probably can tell from the picture) so I need to figure out what I did wrong on this one.  Perhaps I filled them too full but I used my large scoop which is the perfect size for muffins and cupcakes so I’m not sure about that but when I make them again, I will try filling them a little less full and see if that works.  You’ll be the first to know!  This recipe comes from the Cake Mix Doctor.

cake:

6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter

1 (18.25 oz) package plain white cake mix

3/4 cup milk

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

cinnamon streusel:

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans (I used walnuts)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1  Preheat oven to 350 (or 325 if your muffin pans are dark in color).  Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2  Melt white chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat.  Stir constantly until both melt and mixture is smooth, 3 – 4 minutes.  Let cool slightly.

3  Beat cake mix, milk, eggs, vanilla and chocolate mixture on low for 1 minute then on medium for 2 minutes.  Batter should be thick and well combined.

4  For streusel, combine nuts, sugar and cinnamon in small bowl and stir well.

5  Scoop batter into muffin lined pan and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of streusel.

6  Bake muffins until they spring back when lightly pressed and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 – 25 minutes.  Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing.

Chocolate and Caramel Oatmeal Bars

by penji1

Time for the weekly treats for the weekly work meeting!  I think this recipe comes from Betty Crocker but I’m not positive.

1 yellow cake mix

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 (12.5 oz) jar caramel ice cream topping (about 1 cup)

3 tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9 x 13″ pan.  Beat cake mix, butter and egg on low for 1 minute or just until crumbly.  Stir in oats.  Reserve 1 1/2 cups of oats mixture.  Press remaining mixture in bottom of pan.  Bake 14 – 18 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.  Mix caramel topping with flour and then drizzle over chips and nuts.  Sprinkle reserved oat mixture over top.  Return to oven and bake 20 – 25 more minutes or until golden brown.

Fresh from the Garden Tomato Pasta

by penji1

These tomatoes are not fresh from the garden (since I don’t have a garden yet) but they are fresh from Winco!  This recipe from Kraft really tastes best though with tomatoes from your garden and you can serve it hot for dinner tonight and then cold for lunch tomorrow; tastes great either way!

3 cups rotini pasta, cooked

2 cloves garlic, minced (I just use my garlic press)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I just used Italian because that was what I had)

4 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes (I used grape, also because it was what I had)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (I just threw some dried in)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook garlic and onion in dressing 2 minutes or until softened.  Add tomatoes and cook 2 more minutes.  Toss with pasta and remaining ingredients.  Serve warm.

Pasta Side Salad Made Over

by penji1

I doubled this and it still didn’t make a lot so if you are making this for a crowd, you might want to triple or more this Kraft recipe.

1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Italian dressing (by now you probably have noticed that I really like Kraft Zesty Italian but this time I used Ken’s Italian because it was on sale and I had a coupon!)

1 cup Colby and Monterey Jack cheese crumbles (I did not include these this time.  I’ve noticed that cheese generally doesn’t hold up well in pasta salads and since I try to make a lot so that it will last for a more than a day around here, I’ve started to just leave the cheese out.  There is always cheese in the fridge so if my family wants the cheese they can sprinkle it on top as they take a serving.)

3/4 cup match stick cut carrots (you can buy these in the produce section pre-cut but they’re not cheap so I just used my julienne peeler to make them at home)

1/2 cup frozen peas (the petite ones are best in this salad)

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

Cook macaroni according to package directions.  Mix mayo and dressing in large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours before serving.

Winners Announced!

by penji1

The winners of the Pampered Chef prize packs have been chosen in a random drawing and are as follows:

The Green Prize Pack was won by my friend and neighbor Karin Jessen.

The Maroon Prize Pack was won by my friend and fellow script supervisor Mary Conder.  (Mary, I need your address so I can mail your prize pack to you.  My email is penji@comcast.net if you’d like to just email it to me.)

If you didn’t win, don’t despair!  I plan on doing more giveaways on a regular basis, perhaps after every 50 recipes posted.

Southwest Chicken Skillet

by penji1

Hurray for one pot dinners!  They are quick, easy, tasty and have minimal clean up!  What could be better?

1 tablespoon oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ pieces (I was in a hurry and so just used a can of Costco chicken and left out the oil)

1 (1 pound) bag frozen broccoli, corn and red peppers (this time I used a bag of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots)

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup thick and chunky salsa

2 cups coarsely crushed tortilla chips

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oil over medium high.  Cook chicken in oil, stirring until browned.  Stir in veggies, beans and salsa and reduce heat to medium (if using canned chicken, start with this step and add chicken with veggies, etc).  Cover and cook for 6 – 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until veggies are crisp tender.  Sprinkle with chips and cheese.  Cover and cook 2 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Toffee Chocolate Chip Shortbread

by penji1

If you like shortbread, you’ll like these cookies.  This must be the first time I’ve made shortbread for my family because they weren’t too crazy about these cookies.  I think they bit into the cookies expecting regular cookie texture and instead got shortbread which threw them off.  The cookies  have a good flavor with a shortbread texture and are quick and easy to make.  I doubled the recipe and it still didn’t make a lot so if you want more than a few dozen, triple or quadruple the recipe.  This recipe came from “All You” magazine.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup toffee bits or chopped up Heath or Skor bars

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts if desired

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Stir in flour and salt just until dough forms.  Fold in chips and toffee and nuts if including.

2  Roll dough into 1″ balls or use a small scoop to form balls.  Place on cookie sheets 1″ apart pressing down lightly on each one with a moistened palm.

3  Bake until cookies are firm and just golden around the edges, 12 – 14 minutes.  Let sit in cooling rack for 5 minutes then remove to trays to cool completely.  Store tightly covered.

Tuxedo Brownie Cups

by penji1

These are probably my most requested treat and a favorite Pampered Chef recipe.  I made them today for my friend Lacee.  She is leaving on a mission soon  and I made them for her open house tonight.

1 (19 – 21 oz) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make mix)

2 (1 oz) squares white chocolate for baking

2 tablespoons milk

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup Cool Whip, thawed

1 pint small strawberries, sliced or 1 pint whole raspberries or both!

1  Heat oven to 325.  Spray cups of mini muffin pan with Pam with flour (the one labeled for baking).  Prepare brownie mix according to directions for cake like brownies.  Using small scoop, fill each cup 2/3 full.  Bake 14 minutes or until edges are set (do not overbake!).  Remove pan to cooling rack.  Immediately press tops of brownies with tart shaper to form cups.  Cool in pan 15 minutes.  Loosen edges and gently remove brownies from pan.  Cool completely.  Repeat with remaining batter.

2  Microwave white chocolate and milk on high 1 minute then stir until smooth.  Cool slightly.  Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar and mix well.  Gradually stir in white chocolate until smooth.  Fold in Cool Whip.  Pipe mixture into cooled brownie cups with Easy Accent Decorator.  Place 1 strawberry slice into each cup or one whole raspberry into each cup.

OR you can skip most of step #2 and just fill these with Cool Whip which is what I usually do.  It’s faster and easier and everybody loves them no matter what’s in the middle!

Pizza Pasta Salad

by penji1

One of the things I like best about cooking is that you don’t have to follow the recipe exactly, in fact I consider a recipe as a starting point only.  The first time I make a dish, I usually try to follow the recipe fairly closely and then the second time I make it, I make it my way which is the way that I know my family will like.  You can see by this recipe what I mean.  Not sure where this recipe originally came from.

3 cups penne pasta, cooked, drained and cooled (I used rotini because it was what I had!)

4 tomatoes, chopped (I used grape tomatoes, about a pint, because I prefer the taste)

12 slices hard salami, chopped

1 cup Mozzarella cheese crumbles (I can hardly ever find these and when I do find them, they aren’t cheap so I just use shredded Mozzarella)

1/2 cup fresh chopped basil (I just go with dried, about a teaspoon, because it’s easier and I’m all about easy)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup roasted red pepper Italian with Parmesan dressing (didn’t have this so just used Zesty Italian)

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.