Buffalo Sunday

It's football Sunday again.  When Joe and I started our Sunday football menus, we could not wait for this week.  The Steelers play Buffalo.  

Buffalo wings, buffalo chicken dip, and buffalo chicken sliders made the menu this week.  There are so many different buffalo combinations we could have done, but these made the cut! 

Week Twelve Menu

Baked Buffalo Wings

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Sliders 

The wings are Joey's recipe from when he was back in college.  The sliders are a super simple recipe I just put together.  The dip recipe is Frank's Red Hot's version of this football staple.  

Buffalo Wings

Ingredients 

2lbs frozen or fresh chicken wings

Ranch dip seasoning packet

Frank's Red Hot Sauce ( it's up to you how much!) 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lay chicken wings out on a cookie sheet and cover with water.  Cook the wings for 30 minutes.  

Remove the wings from the oven, dump them into a mixing bowl, and clean the pan.  

Turn the oven to broil.

Add the ranch seasoning packet and as much hot sauce a you would like ( at least a half a cup) to the wings.  Toss the wings and then lay them out on the cookie sheet.  

Place the wings back in the oven under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes or until the wings are crispy enough for you! 

Buffalo Chicken Slider

Ingredients 

1lb ground chicken

1 ranch dip seasoning packet

1/4 cup hot sauce

Directions

Combine all three ingredients in a mixing bowl and form into six patties.  Cook about 5 minutes on each side on the stovetop or on the grill. 

Too with crumbled blue cheese and extra hot sauce on your choice of bun! 

Buffalo dip: use the classic recipe (Frank's Red Hot Sauce) 

Our tummies were full, our buffalo cravings were satisfied, and the Steelers won a game! 

Cheers to a great Sunday! 

Never Stop Cooking ~ Melissa

A Week of Chicken

I am typically known to make a different meal every night of week, and the only way I make it again is if I really, really like it, or it's requested.  Joe tends to say, " please make this again, but I won't remember it because you make so many different things!"

This week I decided on a theme for dinner....chicken.  I guess this is as close to making the same meals as I can get. I started looking for ideas, and ended up going with chicken recipes inspired from around the world.  

I am actually following recipes all week, so I will supple the recipe, my thoughts ( if I will make again too!), and the changes I made to them if any.  

Here is what our weekly menu looks like:

            Monday is Chinese night:

      Crockpot Sesame Chicken Thighs

              Tuesday is Greek night:

    Kalamata and Tomato Chicken Breast

          Wednesday is Mexican night:

     Chicken and Black Bean Casserole

             Thursday is Indian night:

            Crockpot Chicken Korma

                Friday is Italian night:

            Smothered Chicken Italiano

Who doesn't like chicken! And every recipe is healthy and is under 400 calories. I will round out my meals with some simple sides as always! 

To me this looks like a pretty tasty week of cooking! Enjoy! 

Never Stop Cooking~Melissa

And just because who doesn't love a puppy, here is ours:

It's football time!

The Steelers played the New England Patriots today.  As it seems like a rebuilding year, we had some friends over and spent more time watching the Cleveland Browns win, then actually watching the Steelers game.  

But anyway, we decided on doing a boiled dinner of corned beef since this is typical New England fare, along with some roasted carrots ( because they taste so much better than boiled) and baked sweet potato fries.  

Week Six Menu

Corned Beef Sandwiches

Roasted Carrots

Cajun Sweet Potato Fries

To make the corned beef, I just placed it in the crockpot and covered it with water and the spices that come with it.  I set the crockpot to 165 degrees and let it cook on low.  It took about 4 -5 hours on low and then I let it sit on warm for a few hours until we were ready to eat! 

Joey carved that baby up and it was yummy! It's such a simple meal, how can you not make it! 

You could even put your veggies right in the crockpot with the meat if you like.  I would cook the meat and then take it out and let the veggies ( carrots, cabbage, and potatoes) continue to cook for another hour or two. 

Next week it's buffalo time! Oh my god, I can't wait! Buffalo dip, wings, and sliders here we come!

The Steelers may not be having the best season, but we are eating pretty darn good 😄🏈

Never Stop Cooking~Melissa

Happy Halloween - Time for chili

Happy Halloween! 

Joey and I decided on making a Halloween tradition of chili and corn bread, a Halloween movie, and maybe some Halloween candy to go along with it. So that's what we are up to tonight. 

One of our favorite chili recipes comes from Rachael Ray.  It's called Indian Summer Turkey Chili. You can find the recipe on foodnetwork.com

I do change a few things as I am known to do.  Here is my Rachael Ray Redo of Indian Summer Turkey Chili:

Ingredients

19.2 ounces 93% lean ground turkey

4 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp steak seasoning

1 tsp seasoning salt

2 tbsp hot sauce

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 medium onion, diced

2 bell peppers, diced

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1 cup frozen corn

Directions

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat the pan over medium high heat.  Cook ground turkey for about 4-5 minutes.  Add in the spices, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.  Add in the veggies and cook for another 4-5 minutes.  Stir in the chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, and BBQ sauce.  

Add the chili to the crockpot.  Stir in the corn, and cook on low for 4 hours.  

Serve with your favorite corn bread and toppings! 

Nutritional information

4 servings

One serving:

Calories 323 Fat 10.9g Cholesterol 79mg  Carbohydrates 37.5g Fiber 7.1g Sugar 18.7g Protein 24.3g

We are watching Monster House ( yeah, its a kiddie movie but is about as scary as Joey and I can handle) and hoping we get some trick or treaters.  

Happy Halloween🎃

Sunday Funday is back this weekend!

These past couple of weeks have been crazy with moving.  So we put a hold on our Sunday Funday football themed food.  But, this Sunday we are ready to go again. 😄

The Steelers are playing the Patriots this weekend.  Expect some New England style foods, with some patriotic inspiration too! 🇺🇸

Even though we didn't have football food this past Sunday, we did have our favorite meal, tacos and a beer because you need a beer after moving!

Cheers to our first meal in our new place! 

Never Stop Cooking~Melissa

Mexican Sunday Funday

Well, I know we have been watching football and recreating football foods with  city themes every Sunday, but this weekend we spent a lot of time moving stuff to our new apartment.  We use our Sundays, as what we call, a refeed day.  So we went for mexican enjoying a jumbo margarita, chicken nachos, pork tamales,  chicken quesadillas, and chicken enchiladas.

 

 It's Monday afternoon and I think I am still full! But it was really yummy to say the least.  

We had a great time, great food, and lots of laughs.

Not to mention, plenty of energy to carry a rug we really wanted.  Have a great week! 

Never Stop Eating Really Yummy Food~Melissa

Crockpot by Candlelight- Open Faced Turkey Sandwiches

Day three of Crockpot by Candlelight and we are having open faced turkey sandwiches.  If you want comfort food done super easy, this recipe is screaming your name.  

Ingredients

3 lb turkey breast

1 cup water

1 tbsp poultry herb seasoning ( or your favorite herbs)

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp seasoning salt

Directions

Combine seasoning in a bowl. Coat the turkey breast evenly with seasoning blend. 

Place turkey breast in crockpot and add a cup of water.  

Cook turkey on low for 4-5 hours or until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. 

Serve over bread with either pre-made gravy or use the turkey drippings and flour to make your own.  I served mine with cranberry sauce because I need cranberries with turkey:)

Crockpot by Candlelight - Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Day two of Crockpot by Candlelight means pulled pork sandwiches. This is my mom's recipe; it's simple, fool proof, healthier and everyone always loves it and asks for the recipe. It is so simple she is almost embarrassed to give it out. 

Ingredients

2lb pork loin roast

2 large onion, diced 

2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot. 

Cook pork on low for 7-8 hours. Serve on a soft roll by itself or with your favorite toppings.

Nutritional Facts

Servings per recipe: 6

1 Serving(4 oz meat and about 1/2 cup sauce): Calories 246 Fat 4g Cholesterol 70mg Sodium 747mg Carbohydrates 27g Fiber 1g Sugar 18g Protein 24g

What is great about using the pork loin is you keep your fat and cholesterol down! 

Recipe is in myfitnesspal under 

PuzioTraining 

Crockpot by Candlelight - Apple Cider Pork Roast

Crockpot by Candlelight - Apple Cider Pork Loin

Another day, another Crockpot by Candlelight meal.  Tonight we made apple cider pork loin.  I love pork and apples together so I took those flavors and went from there.  We ended up with a super moist pork loin with some yummy veggies and a broth that was flavorful and could have been made into a gravy.  We were too hungry to wait to make a gravy, so we just enjoyed our pork and veggies with the aromatic broth.  

Please note the paper plates, we are in the process of moving and all our plates are already at our new apartment! It made clean up easier! 

Ingredients

2lb pork loin

1 onion, chopped

1 apple, chopped

2 cups carrots, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp of each dried rosemary, parsley, and ginger

1 cup apple cider

Directions

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot. 

Cook pork on low for 7-8 hours. 

Remove meat and slice.  Place back in the crockpot in the juices before serving.

  

Season with salt and pepper.

If you like gravy, the juices will make a great apple gravy! 

Nutritional Facts

Servings per recipe: 6

1 Serving(4 oz meat and about 3/4cup sauce and veggies): Calories 250 Fat 5.7g Cholesterol 90mg Sodium 97.2mg Carbohydrates 15.5g Fiber 2.2g Sugar 10.1g Protein 33g

Recipe is in myfitnesspal under 

PuzioTraining 

Crockpot by Candlelight - Italian Beef Meatball

Day one of Crockpot by Candlelight began with Italian Beef Meatball Subs.  I used my regular meatball recipe because they are lean and a firmer meatball and I knew they would hold up well in the crockpot.  If you like a softer and moister meatball, try using beef with more fat (80-85% lean) or double the bread and milk.  Load these meatballs up on a crusty roll with some of the crockpot sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheese, serve with your choice of sides (we had broccoli and a spinach salad), light your candle and enjoy! 

Ingredients

Simple Crockpot Tomato Sauce

2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes with italian seasoning (or add some in)

1 large onion, diced 

3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Italian Beef Meatballs

1 lb 93% lean ground beef

1 slice whole wheat bread (I use Arnold’s), torn

1/4 cup low fat milk

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp dried parsley

Directions

Combine sauce ingredients in the crockpot.

Place torn bread and milk in a bowl, letting the bread absorb the milk.  

In a mixing bowl, combine beef, cheese, garlic, basil, and parsley.  Season the mixture with salt and pepper.  Add in bread and milk mixture and mix ingredients together.  Form mixture into 12 meatballs approximately 1.5 ounces a piece. Place meatballs in the crockpot. 

Cook meatballs on low for 7-8 hours. Serve on a crusty roll with crockpot sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheese. 

Nutritional Facts

Italian Beef Meatballs

Servings per recipe: 12

1 Serving(1 meatball): Calories 63 Fat 2.9g Cholesterol 23.2mg Sodium 51.2mg Carbohydrates 0.5g Fiber 0g Sugar 0.3g Protein 8.9g

Simple Crockpot Tomato Sauce

Serving size: 1/4 cup

Servings per recipe: 28

Calories 24 Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 108mg Carbohydrates 5g Fiber 2g Sugar 2g

Protein 1g 

Crockpot by Candlelight

Tis the season for the crockpot! If you haven't already started cooking in yours this fall, get it out! 

As Joe and I are getting ready to move, I find myself packing away more and more of our kitchen.  Our big crockpot hasn't made it to a box yet, and that is when I decided to challenge myself with two plus weeks of crockpot cooking. 

Yes, you see many food bloggers who have cooked in the crockpot for a longer length of time, but 2 to 3 weeks sounded good to me; I am hoping to find a few new staple recipes along the way I could go back to.  

Crockpot meals are meant to be easy and quick, but who says we can't enjoy them just like any other dinner we make. A crockpot and a candle are going hand in hand for the next few weeks, a I create some easy, healthy recipes that are yummy and fun to eat.  As we keep packing things away, we may end up using paper plates and plastic forks, but our candle will sit in between us, to remember that the crockpot is just as delicious as any other meal! 

Crockpot by Candlelight

Week One

Italian Beef Meatball Subs

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Cider Pork Loin with apples, onions and carrots

Open Faced Turkey Sandwiches

Enjoy!

Never Stop Cooking~Melissa

Sunday Funday - New York Style

Sunday Funday, the Steelers are playing the Jets!  This means New York food...which easily means PIZZA!  Thin crust pie, bagel chips with artichoke dip, and Italian spinach salad with caper vinaigrette made up our new yorker menu. The finale was "Big Apple" pie! (NY cheesecake would be the obvious dessert, but neither of us like cheesecake, so that was out.  And since we went apple picking Saturday, apple pie was a great choice, and why not name it after the city that never sleeps! 

Our Steelers won their first game of the season and our food was delicious.  I call that a good Sunday.  

Have a great week. 

Lets go Steelers!

Never Stop Cooking ~Melissa

Week Six Menu

Thin Crust Cheese Pizza

Bagel Chips with Parmesan Artichoke Dip

Spinach Salad with Caper Vinaigrette 

The "Big Apple" Pie

Thin Crust Cheese Pizza

Ingredients

1 fresh pizza dough (go get the good stuff at your local Italian market or bakery, it doesn't compare to store bought)

Shredded Italian cheese blend 

Parmesan cheese

Pizza sauce

Flour and corn meal

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pizza pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray.  

On a clean work surface, spread flour and corn meal down.  Roll out the dough (make sure it is at room temperature) to the size of the pan, making sure it is nice and thin.  

Place the dough on the pan and spread with pizza sauce leaving room around the edges for the crust.  Top with Parmesan cheese and place in oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove the pie and top with the Italian cheese blend and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Remove the pie from the oven and enjoy! 

When we make pizza, we don't measure our sauce or cheese, and just add as much as we like, and totally enjoy our pizza nights! 

Bagel Chip with Parmesan Artichoke Dip

We make our own bagel chips, but the artichoke dip is a recipe from Kraft foods.  I have made this recipe for years and everyone loves it.  Use this link below for the recipe. 

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/hot-parmesan-artichoke-dip-51255.aspx

Ingredients

Bagels, sliced thin

Parmesan artichoke dip (recipe on Kraft Foods website)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Place sliced bagels on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, keeping a close eye on them.  

Enjoy with Parmesan Artichoke Dip or your favorite dip.  (Try my caramelized onion dip!)

Italian Spinach Salad 

with

Caper Vinaigrette 

Ingredients

 4-6 cups fresh baby spinach

6-10 artichoke quarters, chopped

15-20 large black olives, sliced

2 oz mozzarella cheese, diced

1 plum tomato, diced

Caper Vinaigrette 

Caper Vinaigrette 

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp capers

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp olive oil

Directions

Make caper vinaigrette by combining all ingredients.  Toss with salad ingredients and enjoy! 

The "Big Apple" Pie recipe is coming soon! Here is a sneak peak at the goodness.  I wish I had some right now!