Post Holiday Healthy Food

Cooking is so fun for me, but it becomes kind of tricky when I am trying to lose weight. So I am going to try and come up with some new post holiday healthy foods to make. I have lost 15lbs. in 6-7 weeks, but as you can imagine with Christmas, this past week has been tricky. So with New Year's rolling around the corner I will continue making healthy changes, and get back to cooking healthy dishes. Don't get me wrong, I love the yummy treats the holiday's seem to bring, but you get to a point where you need fresh bright healthy flavors. I hope those who may actually read this blog will enjoy the recipes I come up with. If there is something you are craving but are looking for a healthy way to enjoy it, let me know and I will try to come up with a recipe for you.

One dish I love to make is lemon grilled chicken with a balsamic drizzle. So tangy and tasty. It is also so simple. Just combine all the ingredients in a plastic bag, and let marinade all day. Then throw it on the grill, or in a pan on the stove, and in minutes you have a delicious dish to wake up your taste buds.

Lemon Chicken: Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cloves, minced garlic
1/2c. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/4c. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. fresh chopped thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
* mix ingredients together, add chicken and coat. Let marinade all day and then grill or bake or saute. Enjoy!

Balsamic drizzle:
1/2c. good balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
* heat in sauce pan over med-low heat till slightly thickened.

After marinading the chicken then throw on the grill till cooked through. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the top. It doesn't take much of the balsamic vinegar, only a little bit and you get that tangy flavor. I would suggest serving fresh snap peas, or green beans steamed along side the chicken. When the farmers markets open up again, it provides a wonderful selection of fresh produce that is excellent to cook with.

Quick cooking

I was waiting for Dave to come home from an Info Session for school. SO I hadn't made anything yet. I fed the kids ahead of time and then tried to figure out what I had on hand to make for Dave and I. So, I went to the pantry and decided to see what was there. A box of penne pasta, a jar of good quality marinara sauce and herbs de provence. So here is the recipe for a delicious cheesy pasta.

Penne with Marinara:

3/4 box of penne pasta
1 pound of lean ground beef
1 T. herbs de provence (or Italian seasoning)
1 tsp. salt
1/2tsp. pepper
1 jar of favorite marinara sauce
1/4c. asiago cheese, shredded
1/4c. Parmesan cheese, shredded

Bring pot of water to a full boil. While that happens brown ground beef in a saute pan with 1T. olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs de provence. While meets browns add the pasta to water. Add marinara sauce to the meet. When pasta is done(10-12 min) drain and return to pot. Add the meat sauce and mix well. Then add in the cheese and stir a little longer. Serve in bowls with your favorite french bread. Enjoy!

Delicious Pumpkin Cake

I haven't added anything to the blog in a while, but here is a fabulous recipe that is easy and fast to make.
Pumpkin Cake:

1 box Spice cake mix
3 large eggs
1 small can of pumpkin
1 cup of water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2c. chopped pecans
1/4c. chopped walnuts
1/4-1/3c. white sugar
3T. cinnamon

*Mix the spice mix, eggs, pumpkin, water, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix on medium speed for a couple minutes. Then pour half of the batter into a lightly greased non stick bundt pan. Then in a small bowl mix the nuts, sugar and cinnamon. Pour 3/4 of the mixture on the batter, then spread the rest of the batter in and sprinkle the rest of the sugar/nut mixture on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until done. Serve in the morning for breakfast on Thanksgiving day. You will love it!

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR AN ECLAIR RECIPE! COMING SOON!

Chocolate Goodness!

My sister came to visit this past week and she can't have flour in anything she eats. So one day a couple years ago I was trying to find a cake recipe that would work for her. I came across this cake and I knew it would be a hit!
It tastes so delicious! I hope those out there reading this will give the recipe a try.

Flourless Chocolate Cake:
2 sticks of butter
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
7 egg yolks
1/2c. sugar
5 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Over a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate chips. While this is melting, beat the egg yolks and sugar. The egg yolk mixture should be light in color, and fluffy. Combine the chocolate mixture with the egg yolk mixture. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites. Once light and fluffy, gently fold whites into chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla extract, and pour into a greased 9 inch pan. Heat oven to 350 and bake for 25-35 min.

We then like to top the cake with a chocolate frosting. This frosting goes on thin and hardens slightly once it has had a chance to cool down.

Chocolate Frosting:
1 stick of butter
2T. dark cocoa powder
3T. buttermilk
1tsp. vanilla extract
2c. powdered sugar

Melt butter and then add in cocoa powder, and buttermilk. Mix well together over medium heat. The add 1c. of the sugar and heat for 1-2 minutes. Then add the rest of sugar and vanilla. Heat for another minute and then pour over cake.
Enjoy with fresh berries and vanilla ice cream.

Birthday Cake Busted!

This is my story about an adorable cute little cupcake birthday cake gone all wrong. Too bad I forgot the camera.
I was making a ginormous cupcake cake that was going to sit on top of a two level 9 inch round cake. The cupcake turned out great and the other round cakes turned out as well. I put dowels in the round cakes and put the cupcake cake on a cardboard round cut out. The hitch was once I put the cupcake on top of the other cake it started to look like it was a little top heavy. Yipes! I still had to hold this thing on my lap for a 20 minute car drive.
So here's how this whole thing went down.
I get in the car, and we get out of the driveway...totally fine.
We get out of the neighborhood, still good.
We get onto the main roads and I notice the bottom cake is starting to crack a little. So I say to Dave, it wont hurt if you go a little faster. Haha.
We get 3/4 the way there and we were turning and I noticed that the cake started to crumble. At that point I am holding the cake with my hands and I am not too happy about this. I say to Dave, oh great. Just great! He says, I think the cupcake cake is too top heavy. I say, really? Are you sure? I was a little smarty pants. I was so frustrated, but we finally get to my in-laws home and I just start balling. I was so sad and so sorry. Everyone was so kind but I still felt bad. Oh well. That is my story. I made a cake. It was the cutest little cake, only problem was it didn't make it to the destination in one piece. But other than that, it went great.
Oh well. Live and Learn. Next time I will be better prepared. Can't wait for the next challenge. And hopefully I will have pictures!

Creative Cooking

I love to cook. I am not a professional by any means, but I have been cooking since I was 14. I started cooking to help out my family and from there it turned into a something I loved to do. I love taking old recipes and giving them a fresh new spin, or coming up with new recipes (even if they don't always turn out).

I gave the blog this title because this is what I would call my restaurant if I ever had one. Rosie is my grandmother who past away in December 09. She was a wonderful woman who made anyone feel special. Whether she threw a party, cooked a lovely meal for family, or found the best little treats. When I was younger and would visit her and my grandpa in the summer time, she took me with her to a fantastic little grocery shop. She found the best Iris's without any blemish, she found the freshest strawberries with bright green tops along with a couple other items. We took them home and she rinsed the strawberries ever so carefully so not to bruise them, and then began to fluff the green tops. In my head I was thinking, umm, they are just strawberries, but as I continued to watch her, she made that bowl of strawberries look so appetizing. This is how she would make me feel whenever she made anything, or bought anything for that matter. For me, I want to try to incorporate her ability to make people feel special in the food I make for people. I think it's those little touches that makes people really enjoy themselves when going to a cafe, restaurant, or just a meal at home.

Well this is what my blog is going to be about. I will post recipes that with a couple extra little creative ideas can turn a meal into something fantastic. I hope people out there will enjoy this blog. If you have a recipe you want to see jazzed up or need a new idea, then hit me! I hope I will be able to help.

Emily