What's in the Box Wednesday?

In today's lunchbox is a strawberry scone with a pat of butter, fresh pineapple, walnuts, and a Greek yogurt smoothie with frozen fruit and spinach.  The scone is also made with Chobani Greek yogurt, so with the walnuts and smoothie, there is plenty of protein in this lunch without having to pack a meat.  Happy Wednesday!

Valentine's Day

This has been a festive week.  First Fat Tuesday, now Valentine's Day.  It was such a nice day.  I went to Caroline's class party, had lunch with Mike at Kobe, and made a nice dinner for the family at home including Quiche and Cake both in the shape of a heart.  This was my first time to make Red Velvet Cake from scratch.  My Mom is the one who usually makes it.  It turned out delicious.  The recipe is at the bottom!

I found the cute idea for Caroline's Valentine's here.  I don't have a Cricut, so I bought the mustaches here.

Minute to Win It M&M game

Pass the tissue paper heart game

Opening Valentines

Friends

Festive table

Cake and Quiche

Waldorf Astoria Red Cake (adapted from my OLD church cookbook!)

Cake
1/2 c butter flavored Crisco
1 1/2 c sugar
1 (2 oz) bottle red food coloring (1/4 c)
2 Tbsp cocoa (heaping)
1 c buttermilk
2 1/4 c cake flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 eggs

Frosting
3 Tbsp flour
1 c milk
1 c sugar, granulated (not powdered, this threw me off and I had to call mom to confirm, but it works!)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c butter

Cream Crisco, sugar, and eggs.  Make a paste of food coloring and cocoa.  Add to creamed mixture.  Add buttermilk alternately with sifted flour and salt.  Add vanilla.  Add soda to vinegar (but hold over bowl as it foams).  Then add to creamed mixture, blending instead of beating.  Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees in 2 8 inch greased and floured cake pans.  Cool on rack.  Split each layer in two and frost.

For Frosting, cook flour and milk until very thick, stirring constantly.  Cool.  Cream sugar and butter plus vanilla until very fluffy.  Add to first mixture, which has cooled.  Mix until well blended.  Should be consistency of whipped cream.

This cake is best made a day or two before serving.  It gets better upon sitting!  Also, I like to cool my cakes in the pan for 10 minutes then remove them to parchment paper and put straight in the freezer until I'm ready to frost.

Bread Machine King Cake and Red Beans and Rice

We don't normally do anything special for Fat Tuesday, but I had a wild hair today and decided to change that.  I made my first ever King Cake.  I'd been thinking about doing it for a couple of days, then today I started to get a little stressed about everything on my plate.  I called Rick's Bakery to see if they had any and they didn't so I did it myself.  It really was a breeze.  I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and modified it a little and it turned out nicely.  To complete the theme, we had Red Beans & Rice for dinner.

Caroline was excited to get the piece of cake with the Baby.

Bread Machine King Cake (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

Bread
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbls softened butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
3 1/2 tbls sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

Filling
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
5 tbls melted butter

Icing
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbls melted butter
1/8 tsp vanilla
2 tbls milk, or as needed
purple, green, and yellow sugar sprinkles

Place the warm water, salt, butter, egg, sour cream, 3 1/2 tbls of sugar, flour, and yeast into the bread machine in that order.  Select the dough cycle, and start.  Check the dough after a few minutes and add more water or flour if dough is too dry or wet.  I had to add a tad more water.

Mix the filling sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a bowl and set aside.  Grease a baking sheet or line with silpat.

When the dough cycle is finished (mine was 1 1/2 hour), remove the dough and roll out to a 10 x 28 inch rectangle on a floured surface.  Spread the cinnamon mixture over the dough.  Pick up one of the long edges and roll into a log.  Place the rolled dough onto the baking sheet, seam side down, and form into a ring.  Moisten the ends of the dough with a little water; pinch the two ends together to seal.  Cover with a cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.  Mine took about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake the cake until the top is golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Mix the powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tbls butter, vanilla, and just enough milk to make a smooth glaze.

Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a rack for about 10 minutes.  Spoon the glaze over the cake, letting it run down the sides.  Immediately sprinkle with alternating sections of purple, green, and yellow sugars.  Allow to cool before serving.

Red Beans and Rice (adapted from Family Fun Magazine February 2012)

Ingredients

1 tbls Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 16 oz can chicken broth
Bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp Creole seasoning, or more if you like it spicy
3 15 1/2 oz cans red beans, rinsed and drained
1 pound turkey smoked sausage, but into bite sized pieces
cooked white rice

In a large pot, warm the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute until they are soft and tender, about 8 minutes.

Add the broth, bay leaf, thyme, creole seasoning, and beans and bring to boil.  Partially mash the beans, leaving most whole.  Stir in the sausage, cover and reduce to medium-low.

Simmer covered for 10 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the bay leaf and serve over hot rice.

What's in the Box Wednesday?

Chobani!  That's what's in the box!  We are a Chobani loving household, so the nice folks at Chobani sent this box full of Greek yogurt goodness for us to try.

The regular Chobani tubs are always part of our weekly shopping list, but I was especially happy when they came out with the Champions tubes.  They are so easy to throw in the lunchbox as seen below in a lunch from last week.  I freeze them and then by lunchtime, they are at the perfect temperature and consistency.  (They're fun to eat frozen at home too.)

Today's lunches also have Chobani products, but you can't see them at first glance.  I'll explain after the photos.

Both girls have a Chobani muffin, Chobani smoothie, grapes, and Babybel cheese.  I included some smokey almonds in Addie's since she is older and hungrier. :)  I made the smoothies last night using 6 oz of Non-fat Raspberry Chobani Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of a frozen berry mix (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries), 1/2 a banana, and just a little bit of milk.  This was enough for two ice pop molds.  I froze them overnight and at lunchtime they should be at a nice consistency for drinking.  Before I closed up the lunchboxes, I used rubber bands and baggies around the molds to prevent leakage.  After I received my box of goodies I browsed around the Chobani website and found they have TONS of great looking recipes using their products.  I found this muffin recipe and modified a little using 1/2 whole wheat flour.  I think you could use any yogurt flavor you like also.  I used some of the Chobani Bites I received in the box.  As you can see, Greek yogurt is very versatile.  I hope to try some of the other recipes on the site soon!

Peanut Free Puppy Chow

Poor, peanut butter passionate Addie pined for puppy chow.  (Try to say that 5 times fast).   So she set out to make a peanut free version due to Caroline's allergy.  It turned out fantastic!  Now, I'm coming off of a three week cleanse so pretty much EVERYTHING tastes good to me right now, but everyone else in the house was eating it like crazy too so I'm taking that as confirmation of it's goodness.  Addie used a basic recipe on the back of a cereal box and substituted the peanut butter with this handy dandy product.

This is the best tasting peanut butter substitute (or "fake peanut butter" as we call it) I have found.  Besides the taste, other positives are that it contains non-GMO soy and is made in a 100% peanut, nut, gluten, and dairy free facility.  This is the creamy version, but a crunchy one is available as well.  I tried to get some photos of Addie in action but as usual, I didn't get much cooperation.

And I had a couple of photo bombers.

It was a fun family night in the kitchen experimenting with a new twist on an old snack.  I had to remove myself from the room after it was made though.  It was so good and I didn't want to totally sabotage my cleansing efforts!

Peanut Free Puppy Chow (adapted from the back of a cereal box)

9 cups Toasted Rice squares cereal
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup Wowbutter
1/4 cup real butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Measure out the cereal and set aside.  In a 1 qt microwaveable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, Wowbutter and butter uncovered on high for 1 minute; stir.  Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour this mixture over the cereal and stir.  Pour all into a large resealable plastic bag, add powdered sugar, seal, and shake until coated.  Spread out to cool.  (We really didn't do this, everyone was too impatient and started eating it immediately.)  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (if you have any left!).

The Great Souptacular

 

Today I'm linking up with Leslie at blondeambitionblog.com.  It's all about soup.  So after you're finished here, head over there and check out some other tummy warming comfort soups!  These are two Mexican style soups that I love.  The tortilla soup is a Rick Bayless classic.  I think I've mentioned before that our favorite Bayless cookbook, Mexican Everyday, is falling apart from use.  His recipes are sooo good.  The other is my Mom's Enchilada soup.  It's great for a cold night and always receives compliments.

Tortilla Soup (adapted from Mexican Everyday, by Rick Bayless)

Ingredients
1 large dried pasilla or ancho chile
1 15 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes and their juice
2 tbls olive oil
1 medium white onion, sliced
3 garlic gloves, peeled
2 quarts chicken broth
Salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large ripe avocado
6 oz Mexican Queso Fresco cheese
Tortilla chips
1 large lime

Toast the chile by turning it an inch or two above an open flame for a few seconds, until you smell the aroma.  Or if you don't have a gas stove, toast it for a few seconds in a dry pan on medium heat.  Break into pieces and put in your blender with the tomatoes and their juice.

Heat the oil in a large 4 qt saucepan over medium high.  Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 7 minutes.  Scoop up the onion and garlic with a slotted spoon and transfer to blender.  Process until smooth.

Place the pan back on medium heat.  When hot, add the puree and stir constantly until thickened about 6 minutes.  Add the broth.  Reduce to medium low and simmer 15 minutes.  Taste and season with salt to your taste.

Just before serving, add the chicken to the broth.  Divide the avocado, cheese, and chips among your serving bowls.  When the chicken is done, pour the soup into the bowls.  Squeeze the fresh lime over each serving.

Enchilada Soup (by Mom)

Ingredients
1 tbls olive oil
1 lb chicken breasts
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic pressed
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup Masa Harina
3 cups water
1 cup enchilada sauce
16 oz velveeta
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add chicken breasts and brown 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Set chicken aside.  Add onions and garlic to pot and saute for about 2 minutes.  Add chicken broth.  Combine Masa Harina with 2 cups water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended.  Add to onion mixture with remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices and bring mixture to a boil.  Shred the chicken into bite size pieces and add to soup mixture.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until thick.  Serve with shredded cheese, crumbled corn tortillas, and salsa.

What's in the Box Wednesday?

Today for Caroline's lunch I tried another idea from the Cooking with Trader Joe's - EasyLunchboxes cookbook.  These are "Olive-er Twists" with pizza sauce for dipping, mandarin oranges, and a cheddar Babybel with a heart cut out.  Since I'm not eating gluten and dairy currently, I didn't try a twist, but they smelled delicious while cooking.  Addie is eating school food today, but she tried one for breakfast and gave them a thumbs up.  I adapted the recipe a little and didn't use as much cheese or Italian seasoning.  Happy Wednesday!

Olive-er Twists

1 8 oz can refrigerated crescent rolls (I used reduced fat)
2 1/2 tbls canned chopped black olives
Up to 2 tbls extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I didn't measure this, I just sprinkled it on)
1/8 tsp sea salt (again, I didn't measure, I just used my sea salt grinder and sprinkled it on)

Preheat oven to 375. Combine olives, 2 tsp olive oil, cheese, and Italian seasoning.

Unroll the crescent dough and divide in two width wise.  Spread the olive mixture on one half.  Cut both halves into 6 1-inch strips.  Place 1 plain dough strip over each olive covered strip, pinch the edges, and twist slightly.  I had a little trouble here.  The picture in the book doesn't have olives showing on the outside.  I couldn't get it pinched enough to keep the filling from coming out a little.  However, I think I like the look of how they came out anyway.  Place on parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet.

Brush with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder and salt.  The original recipe calls for sprinkling with additional cheese and Italian seasoning as well.  Since my filling came through a little, I thought that was good enough.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Double Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake

I know I'm probably posting this recipe a little late since we are into diet season now, but just save it for later.  Plus, there's a funny story to go along with it.  My Mom was getting rid of some books and magazines and I carried home a Gooseberry Patch Christmas Cookbook.  This cake sounded good so I decided to make it for Christmas.  For some reason, I had a lot of trouble in the kitchen those couple of days leading up to Christmas.  I tried to make some candy that I'd made before and it flopped.  My candy thermometer wasn't working, so I used the soft ball stage test, but it still didn't set up.  I was disappointed.  Then I decided to make mini pecan pies for Christmas Eve dessert.  I have been wanting the Breville Mini Pie Maker for over a year.  I got an email the other day that Williams-Sonoma was having a one day sale and it was at it's lowest price ever, plus there was a code for free shipping.  I couldn't pass it up.  My first mistake was waiting until Christmas Eve to try it.  My next mistake was using homemade pie dough.  I remember a sales lady telling me months and months ago that it works best with store bought crust, but I'm sometimes stubborn about that, so I made my own.  Well, you have to be REALLY fast getting those little crust rounds into the machine, the filling poured, and the lid down, because it starts cooking immediately and the the crust will shrink down into the hole if you don't.  It was such a big mess.  The crusts were shrinking down into the hole before I could get the filling in and I was jumping up and down in the kitchen screaming, NO! please NO!  This is our Christmas Eve dessert! And Addie is watching me and laughing.  My father-in-law who drove over for the night, is sitting on the couch hearing it all.  Then after 10 minutes, I lift the lid and the crusts are burned and the filling is not set.  I'm panicking, so I roll out another crust and just do a normal pie the old-fashioned way.  Next, I'm trying out a green bean dish and the last step is to broil it for a few minutes to brown the top.  Well, I blackened the top.  So I had to try and scrape that off.  Lastly, we get to the cake.  It called for buttermilk, which I thought I had bought.  But of course I didn't.  I bought 1%.  I never buy 1%!  So I had to make my own buttermilk using vinegar.  Also, I have 9 inch round cake pans, not 8, so when the cakes were cooling, they looked a little thin.  Addie walks in and says, "That's the flattest cake I've ever seen."  Then my father-in-law walks in and says "I must be doing something wrong, because when I make cakes, they usually came out yay big."  (He's holding up his thumb and finger with about a 4 inch space in between).  At this point, I just want to cry.  But I don't.  Thankfully, after it was assembled with the filling and icing, it looked fine and it tasted MAGNIFICENT!  It was a little involved, but oh, so worth it!  The praline icing was divine.  Everyone loved it.  So the moral of this story is, there will be disasters and hecklers in the kitchen once in awhile, but don't give up.  You'll end up with a winner now and again.

Double Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake

1 c butter
1/4 c baking cocoa
1 c water
1/2 c buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 c sugar
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
Chocolate Ganache
Praline Frosting

Cook first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts and mixture is smooth; remove from heat. Cool.  Beat buttermilk, 2 eggs, baking soda, and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add butter mixture to buttermilk mixture, beating until blended.  Combine sugar, flour, and salt; gradually add to buttermilk mixture, beating until blended. (Batter will be thin).  Coat 3 (8") round cake pans with cooking spray; line with parchment paper.  Pour batter evenly into pans.  Bake at 350 for 22 to 24 minutes or until set.  Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool completely.  Spread about 1/2 cup ganache between cake layers; spread remainder on sides and top of cake.  Chill cake 1/2 hour.  Pour frosting slowly over top of cake, spreading to edges, allowing some frosting to run over sides. 

Chocolate Ganache

2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 c whipping cream
1/4 c butter, cut into pieces

Microwave chocolate chips and cream in a glass bowl on medium power 2 to 3 minutes or until chips are melted.  Whisk until smooth.  Gradually add butter, whisking until smooth.  Cool, whisking often, 15 to 20 minutes until spreading consistency.

Praline Frosting

1/4 c butter
1 c light brown sugar, packed
1/3 c whipping cream
1 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
1 c chopped pecans, toasted

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring often; boil one minute.  Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Add toasted pecans, stirring gently 2 to 5 minutes or until frosting begins to cool and thicken slightly.  Pour immediately over cake.

Here's another picture of this scrumptious cake on the brunch table at Mom's Christmas morning.

Scenes from the Weekend

Due to recent events, our family time this weekend seemed even more special to me.  And we had quite a bit of it!  Friday evening, Mike and James went to see The Hobbit, so I took the girls to Rise of the Guardians.  The BIG theater was crazy busy, so we went to the GHOST theater.  There were a total of 7 people watching the movie.  It was a good flick.  Saturday, we dropped the girls off for Christmas Play dress rehearsal, then Mike and I did a little shopping then headed over to a Holiday get-together thrown by my friends Beverly and Robert.  We enjoyed some wonderful southern cookin'!  Saturday evening we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas and I actually made something I pinned from Pinterest!  The Grinch Drink.

I made mine a little different than the one on Pinterest which called for Jones Green Apple soda and vanilla ice cream.  I wet the rim of the glass and dipped in green sugar crystals.  Then I just added lime sherbet and sprite and that was it! The girls seemed to love it!  After they went to bed we watched Christmas Vacation and the guys pulled out the Moose glasses and enjoyed some Egg Nog.

Sunday morning, Mike made Rudolph pancakes.

Then we headed to church for the Christmas Play.  The title was Fear Not Factor and it was about angels getting their assignments during the time of the birth of Jesus.  Our Pastor said he learned that Heaven was in Arkansas because where else would angels wear camouflage and cowboy boots.

Sunday afternoon, we all went to the Girl Scout meeting for the family gingerbread house making event.  So much candy!

I ended the evening helping Addie learn to Cast On a knitting needle and making these Cream Cheese Cookie Jewels for the teachers and staff at her school.  It is one of the winning recipes in the newspaper cookie contest. You can find the recipe here.

Cookie Exchange

Last night I hosted my Book Club, The Literary Mamas, for a cookie exchange.  Everyone brought cookies to share and we ate and had coffee while we talked about our book selection, 11/22/63 by Stephen King.  The book was about time travel and the JFK assassination.  While looking for discussion questions, I found this link with ideas for a 60's themed discussion.  Something to keep in mind for all you book clubbers out there.  I gave out prizes for the top 3 cookies at the end of the evening.  We all voted and these Lime Shortbread cookies came out on top.  They had a wonderful citrus flavor.  Linzi said she got the recipe from the December issue of Southern Living magazine.

I made Chewy Drizzled Cinnamon Chip Cookies from Hersheys.com.

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 egg
1 2/3 cup Hershey's Cinnamon Chips, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup finely ground pecans or walnuts (I used my food processor to grind walnuts)
1 1/2 tsp shortening

Directions
Beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy.  Add corn syrup and egg and mix well.  Place 1 cup cinnamon chips in microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute at 50%.  Stir and microwave in 15 second increments if necessary until chips are just melted when stirred.  Stir melted chips into butter mixture.  Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to cinnamon mixture, beating until just blended.  Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour.  Heat oven to 350.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls, roll in nuts and lightly press nuts into dough.  Place on ungreased or silpat lined cookie sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes.  Cool slightly and remove to cooling rack.  Cool completely then drizzle with Cinnamon Chips Drizzle.

Cinnamon Chips Drizzle:  Place remaining 2/3 cup chips and 1 1/2 tsp shortening in small microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute at 50%; stir until chips are melted and smooth.

What's in the Box Wednesday?

It's a Christmas themed bento today.  This was an eat school lunch day for Addie, so this is Caro's lunch.  I made her a Christmas Tree grilled ham and cheese sandwich, red and green grapes, Greek yogurt with red and green sprinkles and eggnog bread cut into star and stocking shapes.  We were at Mike's Grandma's (or White Mamaw, as the girls call her, she has white hair) a couple of weeks ago and she always has good magazines.  She let me take home a Taste of Home Christmas magazine which is where I found this festive looking eggnog bread.  The original recipe called for pecans, but I left those out.  Caroline is only allergic to peanuts, but she doesn't really like the taste of any nut.  There is not an over-powering taste of eggnog, just enough to give it a nice, rich flavor. 

Egg Nog Bread

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup eggnog
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped red and green candied cherries

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and butter until well blended.  In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt; add to egg mixture alternatively with the eggnog, beating just until blended.  Fold in the pecans, raisins, and cherries.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 70 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Thanksgiving and Shredded Brussels Sprouts

It's been a fun Thanksgiving weekend so far.  We went to Oklahoma to celebrate with the family.  Wednesday night, Caroline and my great-niece Kiley made cookies.

And here's Kiley's sister Kendall.  She's learning to walk, but she doesn't walk, she runs! 

Thursday morning we had fun prepping food and watching the Macy's parade.  We ate at noon and all of the food was delicious as usual.

Caroline and my great-nephews Samuel and Easton

My sister's pecan pie

pumpkin

Okay, so we like pie...

Mom's dressing.  It's the best.

My sister asked me to make salad and Brussels sprouts.  I made a warm bacon dressing spinach salad.

 For the Brussels sprouts, Mike found a recipe on allrecipes.com that he thought might go over better than the regular little cabbage heads.  So I made Shredded Brussels Sprouts.  I modified it just a tad because the original recipe called for pine nuts and I didn't have any.  They were actually very tasty! 

Shredded Brussels Sprouts

1/2 pound sliced bacon
1/4 cup butter
2 pounds Brussels sprouts, shredded ( I used the slicing attachment on my food processor for this)
3 green onions, minced
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Cook bacon until crisp, drain, and reserve 2 tbls grease, crumble, and set aside.

Melt butter in the pan with the bacon grease over medium heat.  Add the Brussels sprouts and green onions to the pan, season with the salts and pepper.  Cook over medium heat until the sprouts are wilted, about 10 - 15 minutes.  Stir in crumbled bacon right before serving.