Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup - oil

1 cup - milk

1 tsp - vanilla

1 3/4 cup - all-purpose flour

1/2 cup - sugar

1/4 cup - cocoa

1 tbsp - baking powder

1/2 tsp - salt

1/2 cup - semi-sweet chocolate chips (85g)

Directions: 

1 Preheat oven to 400F and prepare muffin pan. Grease muffin pan or fill with paper liners. A nonstick pan requires no greasing.

2 In large bowl add and combine well eggs, oil, milk and vanilla.

3 In smaller bowl combine well flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips.

4 Combine wet and dry mixtures and fold together gently until just mixed. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake at 400F for 18 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

5 Hint: Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top of each muffin halfway thru baking.

Overnight French Toast

This was DEEEEELICIOUS!!!!
And what an awesome time-saver in the morning!

Adapted from Here

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup maple-flavored syrup
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
10 (1-inch-thick) slices Challah bread
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 1/4 cups sliced strawberries (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Spray 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. In medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, syrup and margarine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute.
Pour syrup mixture evenly in bottom of sprayed pan. Arrange bread slices in even layer over syrup mixture. Set aside.
In large bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla and salt; beat with wire whisk until smooth. Pour evenly over bread in pan. Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
To bake, heat oven to 350°F. Uncover pan; bake 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned.
To serve, top each serving with 1/4 cup sliced strawberries; sprinkle with powdered sugar.

The Return of Food Shopping on the Cheap

I've fallen off the coupon wagon lately but after spending $75 on 3 little ole' bags of groceries today...I'm hoppin back on! Now, if only I can remember to buy the paper every Sunday...

Saw this blog post today that may help you get started as well...

Saving Cents With Sense post

I'll have to tune into Extreme Couponing later for motvation :)

Eggplant Parmesan

Recipe from Cooking Light

Other Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes minutes
Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Eggplant:
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
2 cups whole-wheat panko
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 (1-pound) eggplants, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray
Filling:
1/2 cup torn fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Remaining ingredients:
1 (24-ounce) jar premium pasta sauce (I used 1 & a 1/2 jars)
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup (3 ounces) finely grated fontina cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. To make eggplant, combine 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon water in a shallow dish. Combine panko and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano in a second shallow dish. Dip eggplant in egg mixture; dredge in panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere and shaking off excess. Place eggplant 1 inch apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until golden, turning once and rotating baking sheets after 15 minutes.

3. To make filling, combine basil and next 6 ingredients (through egg).

4. To assemble, spoon 1/2 cup pasta sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer half of eggplant slices over pasta sauce. Sprinkle eggplant with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Top with about 3/4 cup pasta sauce; spread half of ricotta mixture over sauce, and top with a third of mozzarella and 1/4 cup fontina. Repeat layers once, ending with about 1 cup pasta sauce. Cover tightly with aluminum foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Remove foil; top with remaining third of mozzarella and 1/4 cup fontina. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese melts; cool 10 minutes.

Banana Bread

One of the many ways to make delicious banana bread!

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers

These are simple to make and amazing to eat. Seriously. The sauce kick's ass.

Recipe from here.

Makes about 6 servings.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 - 6 hours on HIGH

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds Italian sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
{I did one package of sweet and one package of spicy}

2 bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch strips

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) stewed tomatoes

2 cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste

1 package McCormick® Slow Cookers Italian Herb Chicken Seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker; toss to coat well. Cover.

2. Cook 5 - 6 hours on HIGH. (Cooking time may vary).

3. Serve over cooked pasta or in hoagie rolls, if desired.

Dallas Burgers

I adapted this recipe from my favorite Bobby Flay burger here.
These were so amazingly yummy. My hubby wants them every night for dinner!

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean beef
chili powder
paprika
dry mustard
cumin
salt & pepper
burger buns
coleslaw
bbq sauce
spicey cheese
sandwich pickles

Directions:
Mix 1 tablespoon chile powder, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon each of dry mustard, ground cumin and kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Mix in beef with hands. Shape lean ground beef into a uniform patty, no more than 3/4 inch thick (don't overwork the meat). I made 4 patties. Make a depression in the center with your thumb so the burger won't bulge; the indent will rise as the patty cooks.
Preheat a grill or cast-iron grill pan to high. Brush the pan with canola or olive oil and season the burgers with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown and slightly charred, turning once (7 minutes for medium-rare). Avoid pressing with a spatula! Add cheese and bbq sauce on top of each burger to your liking the last minute of cooking.
Toast buns. Add you burgers to the toasted buns and top with coleslaw and pickles and enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

I made this recipe a few years ago and was suddenly craving it the other day. It's sooooooo yummy on a chilly night! Pure comfort food.

Recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

• 4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds
• 
  2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)

• 6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

• 1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream


• 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled


• Cracked black pepper
  

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

Food Shopping on the Cheap - Take 3

Once again, this was difficult since I was buying a lot of holiday items....but I still had a decent amount of coupons and made out ok. Better than no savings at all :-)

Hopefully come January, I can resume spending a lot less.

Food Shopping on the Cheap - Take 2

I didn't have high hopes for this week since I had to buy a lot of Turkey Day items and purchased a lot more than usual...but I still managed to do awesome, and I even spent enough to go back for a free turkey :-)