Tag Archives: butter

Cheryl’s Crock Pot Sweet Potatoes

January 21, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Wherever the recipe came from, this is now “Cheryl’s Sweet Potatoes” to me since my friend Cheryl gave me this recipe 🙂 These are a bit on the high side for calories, so serve them with a nice light serving of fish or chicken. They are so satisfyingly good – just sweet enough without being too sweet ! You could skinny these up using less butter, Splenda brown sugar blend – – but why mess with perfection !?!?!

4 servings
289 calories per serving

2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/8 t salt
2 T butter, cut into pieces
1 t vanilla

Combine potatoes, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and place in the crock pot. Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours. Add butter and vanilla at the end, stir gently to blend.

Dessert, Product Reviews

Poundcake with Cinnamon Sauce

December 21, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Did someone say poundcake ? Did someone say cinnamon sauce? Add the 2 together and you get QUITE the dessert. And, of course, it’s available from Plentiful Pantry ! Just add this to their growing list of mixes that get you out of the kitchen in no time flat.

As usual with the mixes from Plentiful Pantry, the dish had the guests OOOing and AHHHing as they bit into the most moist poundcake they had ever had (and that was before I even added the sauce !). All I did was add butter and water – how great is that !?!?

Check out the full line of desserts over at Plentiful Pantry. They have so many different ones to choose from and they all turn out perfect dishes full of homemade taste.

Dinner, Mexican, Sides, Vegetables

Spicy Corn and Peppers

November 22, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This recipe packs so much flavor into one dish – the milky sauce mixes just perfectly with the cayenne and onion to create a rich vegetable dish that has you coming back for more.

6 servings
127 calories per serving

2 T butter
½ c onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
¼ t cayenne pepper
Coarse salt
16 oz. frozen corn
½ c diced tomatoes, drained (canned)
½ c whole milk

Melt butter in a skillet and add onion, pepper, cayenne and 1 t salt. Cook 7-8 minutes or until onion is soft then add the corn and tomatoes and cook 10 minutes. Stir in the milk and then remove from heat and serve.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Cinnamon Tortillas and Ice Cream

November 19, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Vanilla ice cream AGAIN? Well – that’s not what you’ll be thinking when you eat this one up ! The crispy, sweet tortillas make a regular dessert a SUPER dessert.

6 servings
248 calories per serving

2 T sugar
1 ½ t cinnamon
3 8 inch fat free flour tortillas cut into 6 wedges each
1 T butter, melted
1/3 c caramel topping
3 c light vanilla ice cream

Preheat broiler. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Brush butter over both sides of the tortilla wedges and sprinkle with the sugar mix. Broil 1 minute each side.

Microwave caramel topping 45 seconds. Scoop out ice cream and top with caramel sauce. Serve with cinnamon wedges.

Chicken, Kid Friendly, Lunch, Soups

Creamy Chicken Rice Soup

November 12, 2010 admin Leave a comment

The broth for this soup is just perfect – it is satisfyingly creamy without being too much. The veggies are just enough. And the rice makes it really stick with you. It is a great lunch soup and reheats well. Be sure to not skip the wine and lemon juice – just the little bits make a big difference in the taste of the broth !

6 servings
218 calories per serving

½ c chopped carrot
1/3 c finely chopped onion
1/3 c chopped celery
2 T butter
¼ c flour
6 c chicken broth
2 c cooked rice
1 c cubed cooked chicken
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1/8 t garlic powder
1 c 2 % milk
2 T lemon juice
1 T white wine

Saute the carrot, onion and celery in the butter until tender then mix in flour and gradually stir in the broth. Mix in rice, chicken, salt, pepper and garlic powder and bring to a boil the reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the milk, lemon juice and wine and cook 5 minutes or until heated through.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

My Chocolate Fudge Brownies

October 12, 2010 admin Leave a comment

No matter what brownie recipe I try, I always go back to this one – it is a great recipe that serves up a cakey yet fudgy brownie that does not skimp on the chocolate flavor. The other great thing about this recipe is that is it ONE POT for prep – that’s it. And the baking pan stays clean because you line it with foil.

24 servings
211 calories per serving

1 c walnuts, chopped
2 sticks of butter
2 c semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 c sugar
4 large eggs
1 t vanilla
1 ¼ c flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil extended over the long side edges so you can grab the foil and pick up the whole brownie after it cools. Melt the butter in a pan on the stove and add chocolate and stir until all melted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Then add in eggs one at a time (just stirring with a wooden spoon). Stir in vanilla and then stir in flour in 4 batches. Pour into foil lined pan and sprinkle with walnuts. Bake 20-25 minutes. Do not overcook.

Dinner, Pork

Pork Filets

September 8, 2010 admin Leave a comment

What a great pork recipe ! Any time you serve a sauce with something, it just makes it so much more special. And this sauce is special unto itself ! It is very flavorful with just the right amount of tang from the mustard and Worcestershire. Put the 2 together and you get a meal fit for a king !

2 servings
255 calories per serving

Pork:
8 oz. pork tenderloin
1/8 t kosher salt
1/8 t pepper
2 t oil

Sauce:
2 T minced shallots
¼ c white cooking wine
½ c chicken broth
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t Dijon mustard
1 t lemon juice
1 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 t butter
1/8 t kosher salt
Tabasco sauce to taste

Cut pork loin into 4 thick pieces and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in skillet until browned, about 6 minutes per side. Also sear the edges cooking the pork for a total of 16 minutes or until done throughout. Remove pork and keep warm. Saute shallots in same skillet 2 minutes. Add wine and simmer until reduced by half. Stir in broth, Worcestershire, Dijon and lemon juice and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in parsley, butter and Tabasco. Drizzle sauce over filets.

Mexican, Vegetables

Chili Lime Corn

August 18, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Hot, hot, hot and good, good, good !

4 servings
129 calories per serving

2 11 oz. cans of corn, well drained
2 T butter, soft
¼ t grated lime zest
2 t lime juice
½ t minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (available in the Mexican section of your grocer – or with most other Goya products)
1 t chili powder
½ t Kosher salt

Melt the butter and mix in the rest of the ingredients other than the corn. Then stir in corn and simmer until heated through.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Coconut Fudgies

June 15, 2010 admin 1 Comment

There is nothing quite as decadent as chocolate. Make it fudgy by adding in marshmellows and evaporated milk, and it is just sinful ! If you don’t like coconut, leave it off – if you want different nuts, go for it. But don’t skip this recipe – this is a real winner !

32 servings
240 calories per serving

1 c butter, divided
14 Honey Grahams, finely crushed
1 c sugar
5 oz. evaporated milk
10.5 oz. package mini marshmellows
12 squares Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 c chopped walnuts
1 c coconut, toasted
Pam

Line a 13×9 pan with aluminum foil making sure it folds up over the ends so you can use it to lift out the dessert later. Spray the foil with Pam. Melt ¾ c butter and mix in the crumbs then press into the bottom of the pan to make a crust. Bring the rest of the butter, sugar, milk and marshmellows to boil, stirring constantly then add chocolate and stir until melted. Pour over the crust and top with the nuts and coconut then refrigerate 2 hours.

(To toast the coconut, simply place it in a hot skillet and stir frequently until it gets brown and toasty)

Breakfast, Kid Friendly

Orange Cinnamon French Toast

June 7, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Sweet honey, orange and cinnamon – a great winning combination. This is a great, easy breakfast prep so it’s great for serving overnight guests.

6 servings
158 calories per serving

2 T butter, melted
2 T honey
½ t cinnamon
3 eggs
½ c orange juice
1/8 t salt
6 slices bread
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine butter, honey and cinnamon and pour into a 13×9 pan sprayed with Pam. Beat eggs, orange juice, and salt. Dip bread into egg mix and place in pan then bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. The underside will get much more brown so be sure not to over cook. Serve with extra honey.