Cassoulet Misadventure... STICK to the RECIPE on this one! LOL!!

The other night I did a variation of Easy Cassoulet. (Click on it for the original recipe and image)

The night before I had done stuffed Portabello mushrooms to DIE FOR... That post is COMING SOON!! HOWEVER, I decided to make life a little easier and cook up sausage and mushrooms for both meals. I figured since I was out of ham, I'd just use more sausage. I learned an important lesson about this cassoulet. It has a delicate balance of ingredients and spices and I will not mess with it again... except for adding cheese on top!! LOL!! This time I didn't add cheese on top and I should have!  ;p

I discovered that the beans and ham balance the spices and sausage. As it was, it was WAY too spicy for our liking!! So TONIGHT, I fixed the leftovers. I added the ham, more beans, more mushrooms and a tad more cooking wine. It was MUCH BETTER!! *sigh*  I made a pan of cornbread and we drank apple juice with it. We are not wine drinkers, so it was apple juice!! I have to say, the apple juice truly DOES enhance the flavor of this dish!! YUMMO!! Now, this REALLY is a yummy dish when you make it the way it was intended. So click on over to the original post and try it out right!  ;D

So Wednesday night's misadventure turned into today's success. I learned my lesson on this recipe and I won't assume and play again... I can only promise that on this one though, because I had a RAVING success PLAYING with the stuffed mushrooms recipe!!  ;p

Unedited image... GASP!!

Stuff It: Guest Post TAMARA AKA CHEAPSKATE MOM

This post is from Tamara,

AKA Cheapskate Mom

and apparently she has included links to even ANOTHER blog for even MORE GREAT recipes!! Hope you ENJOY!! ;D

She had a WONDERFUL recipe for the stuffed mushrooms that I can't wait to try!!

HERE'S TAMARA!

*******************

That's right I said Stuff IT!!

It's the theme over at Think Tank Mama's place! She does this fun weekly thingamajig called Share a Spoon and I told her to Stuff It and she did!



I love stuffing food. Esp in my face. So what better food to stuff your face with than stuffed food? Right??

Today's recipe is Stuffed Shrooms! I love mushrooms and recently my hubs and I went out on a date (seriously that like never happens) so we splurged and got appetizers before our meal. I ordered stuffed mushrooms and they came served with a lemon wedge. Oh it was scrumptious! The lemon gave the flavors a pow!

Of course I had to make these the very next chance I could. They turned out yummy!


Stuffed Shrooms

Ingredients18 fresh portabello mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp chives chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dill
1/3 cup of cream cheese (for lower calories you can use reduced fat)
1/3 cup of shredded parm/romano cheese blend
1/4 cup of panko crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
parsley
2 lemons

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Wash mushrooms and pat dry
Gently remove stems from the caps by pulling them with your fingers
Finely chop stems
In a large saute pan heat olive oil
Add chopped stems
Add garlic powder
Add chopped chives, lemon juice and dill
cook until fragrant
remove from heat and set aside
in a medium bowl combine cream cheese, shredded cheese, salt, pepper, and panko crumbs
add mushroom stem mixture and mix well
prepare a large baking sheet with cooking spray
stuff mushrooms generously with mixture
Garnish with parsley. I usually sprinkle a little more cheese on top as well.
Bake in center rack approx 10-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Cool about 5 minutes before serving with a lemon wedge.

You can add crabmeat or artichokes for a more hearty appetizer. I like to mix up my spices so sometimes I add paprika or red pepper flakes. Sometimes a dash of hot pepper sauce or white wine instead of lemon juice. It's really all about making the recipe your own!

For more great Stuff It recipes and to add your own please visit Think Tank Mama's place!

"Healthified" Turtle Ice Cream Cake

"Healthified" Turtle Ice Cream Cake

10 chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed (1/2 cup) 1 tablespoon no-trans-fat 68% vegetable oil spread stick, melted 3 cups chocolate reduced-fat ice cream, slightly softened 1/2 cup fat-free hot fudge topping 2/3 cup chopped pecans 3 cups vanilla reduced-fat ice cream, slightly softened 1/4 cup fat-free caramel topping 1. In small bowl, mix wafer cookie crumbs and melted vegetable oil spread until crumbly. Press gently and evenly in bottom of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Freeze 30 minutes. 2. Drop chocolate ice cream by small spoonfuls over crust; carefully spread until smooth. Freeze 1 hour or until firm. 3. Spoon and carefully spread fudge topping over ice cream. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the pecans; press lightly. Freeze 1 hour or until firm. 4. Drop vanilla ice cream by small spoonfuls over pecan layer; carefully spread until smooth. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup pecans. Cover; freeze at least 8 hours or overnight. 5. To serve, let stand at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes to soften. Carefully remove side of pan. Cut into 12 wedges. Place each wedge on individual dessert plate; drizzle each with 1 teaspoon of the caramel topping. Store remaining ice cream cake covered in freezer. High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

Prep Time: 30 min70% less sat fat • 62% less fat • 45% fewer calories than the original recipe. With fewer calories and less fat, this turtle won’t take a bite out of your diet!

Total Time: 11 hours 0 min

Makes: 12 servings

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving: Calories 240 (Calories from Fat 80); Total Fat 9g (Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol15mg; Sodium 125mg; Total Carbohydrate 34g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 25g); Protein 4g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 6%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 10%; Iron 4% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1 Other Carbohydrate;0 Vegetable; 2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Pico de Gallo to DIE For

Recipe/Post/Photos are ALL courtesy of Courtney at One Fine Wire! 


Thank you Courtney!! YUMMY!!!  ;D
Now go check out Courtney's blog as a THANK YOU!!  ;D

Pico de Gallo:

First you need to chop up (dice):

*5 Roma Tomatoes

*1 Jalapeno

*1/2 of a Sweet Onion

*A handful of Cilantra

Make sure to de-seed each item.  Here are our leftovers.

Once you have diced everything, simply squeeze three Limes all over!

Doesn't that look beautiful and oh so colorful!?

Then you take your Tostito's Scoops chips and dip away!  

It's such a refreshing snack for the summer!  

You can't go wrong with those natural flavors :)