Guest Post - S'mores Bars and Friends in Meg's Kitchen!

Hello readers (if I still have any that is)! So, I've taken a hiatus...a long one from my kitchen. Life's been busy, and to be honest, I haven't been in the kitchen this whole time. Geesh!

I am posting now and I have to admit, even now, I had nothing to do with the latest action that went on in my kitchen. Labor Day weekend brought great fun, good friends, and yummy food (no thanks to me)! Josh and I had friends over for an evening of grilling and games, and luckily, I have friends that enjoy my kitchen, too! :-)

I had a craving for s'more bars. Although I was the hostess, I some how managed to con my friends to make the s'mores bars for us! Haha! We, well, ok, not we, my friend Troy searched for a recipe on-line (since we didn't pre-plan, he didn't bring his recipe), and off to the store we went to gather the ingredients. Here we are (photo courtesy of Eric!) getting all set up.

Troy did most of the stirring and melting. Eric measured the cereal, and Kelsie poured the marshmallows. What did I do? Well, I got the pan and sprayed it with non-stick spray...and, that's it...oh, and I took photos. Anyways, we discovered we needed to add more cereal, there was a LOT of chocolate and the bars turned out pretty gooey.

Gooey, but still yummy enough to eat. In fact, I ate one of the s'mores bars for breakfast the next day...hey, there's cereal in those bars, so there!!! Anyways, Troy sent me his recipe to try next time, so, I'll have to try that out soon, too!

Katie's PB Cups!

I received this recipe from one of my good friends back in MN, the lovely, Katie E. I was bored on Friday, so I decided to give it a try. It sounded so tasty and I love peanut butter...especially with chocolate.

After melting peanut butter and butter, you stir in powdered sugar a bit of vanilla. Then, you press that mixture into a greased pan. Next, the chocolate topping...made of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate melted with butter and a touch of vanilla. After pouring the chocolate topping onto the peanut butter layer, all you have to do is chill it in the fridge. I agree with Katie's words, it is defintely quick and easy!

When Josh got home, I cut us each a piece to try. In our opinion, this is a DELICIOUS treat...but, very, very rich. Josh could only eat one bite of his! I ate about half of my piece. I am a die hard pb/chocolate fan. I've been nibbling on bites all weekend, too! :-) Thanks, Katie!

Busy Day Pork Chops

Hi! I'm still here...I promise! Geesh, it's been a long time since I last updated! I have been cooking these past couple months, just nothing new or too exciting. So, last night I decided to try a recipe out of my "Healthy Cooking" magazine, from Taste of Home. Basically, it was a simple recipe for breaded and baked pork chops. According to the picture, here's the final product. So, we'll see how close I get to that...

The breaded mixture was simply seasoned bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I dipped the chops in skim milk before coating them in the breading.

Winky is SO funny whenever I'm doing something in the kitchen, he always justs sits and watches me. Luckily Josh got home from work at the right time. As soon as he was in the door I greeted him with a "Quick, get my camera and take a couple pictures of me for my blog!" Yeah, I'm a good wife.

Anyways, you spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, then, after placing the breaded chops on the baking sheet, you spray the top of the chops with a bit of cooking spray, too. Then, you just bake them for 9-11 minutes on each side in a 375 degree oven. Here are mine hot out of the oven. I think maybe I sprayed a bit too much Pam.

Oh, while they were baking, I walked into the kitchen and saw this and couldn't help but laugh. I guess Winky and Smokey were curious about what was going on in the oven, too...since I so rarely use it. They probably didn't know what to think...either that, or they were hungry and were hoping they were having pork chops for dinner!

So, here's my plate. Pork chops with some spiral mac-n-cheese. How'd they taste? Well, I asked Josh, and he said, "They aren't bad." Sigh. I had to agree. They weren't bad, but they weren't awesome either. They were somewhat bland. But, at least I can now experiment with adding some new flavors to the breading for next time!

Corn on the Cob - Take 2 (And a Guest Post!)

Ok, so my desire to eat corn on the cob wasn't really fulfilled last Sunday...so, I had to try again. Last night Josh grilled some of those steak fillets with bacon wrapped around them. I remember having these occasionally as a child, and I remember the bacon being my favorite part. Go figure, right. Anyways, I decided to make corn on the cob again, and I also roasted some baby red and yukon gold potatoes as side dishes.


The potatoes were really easy. I chopped them with one of my new knives that were a gift from my awesome friend, Katie, who I met working at the U. This knife is sharp and cut through those potatoes like they were butter. I was real careful while chopping. I have a history of cutting myself...like a lot. Josh was worried the whole time I was chopping. After chopping (some in halves and some in quarters) I just tossed them in a plastic bag with some EVOO and some salt, pepper, and rosemary. Then, I just layed them out on a pan (so the skin was facing up) and popped them in a 450 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

For the corn...no, I didn't try grilling again. I took the easy way out and boiled them. Josh and I both knew that we wanted to be able to eat and enjoy the corn last night. And, this time, Josh gave me a 10 out of 10 for the corn. :-) Gee thanks, hunny. Basically, he's saying I'm great at boiling water and setting a timer. :-) Haha. I think even HE could make the corn next time!

Anyways, here's my plate complete with the steak Josh grilled, the finished roasted potatoes, and the yummy corn on the cob! As you know, I'm not a huge steak fan, so I only ate about half of the steak (gave the rest to Josh) and I ate a LOT of potatoes...with ketchup of course. The potatoes definitely had a mild flavor, but any seasonings could be added easily. Overall, the meal was yummy and was a success. We ate out in the 3-seasons room, too! Yay!

Guest Post:

And, for the guest post...drumroll please...Josh made me a cheesecake!!! (This is a belated birthday surprise, and very much appreciated.) No, people, he did not from it from scratch. But, he had to use and mixing bowl, the mixer, a measuring cup, AND a spatula, so, his work was still much appreciated and after a few moments of internal deliberation. I decided it was blog-worthy. :-) After it chilled in the fridge, Josh had to add the cherry topping before serving. He had to get out the first piece and we all know what a chore that is, so it's messy, but it tasted pretty good. How would I rate him...I guess...well, being generous...probably a 6.8..maybe a 7 since he did decide to use a chocolate crust. :-)

Wow, two posts in a week...is that a new record for me???

I Grilled...Sorta

Last night we invited my Dad over and we wanted to grill out. So...I had the brilliant idea to try and grill corn on the cob to go along with the steak Josh wanted grill. I googled directions to learn more about grilling corn on the cob. It seemed simple enough. So, I decided to try it out. So, I cleaned the corn. And yes, you all know I grew up in Iowa, and yes, this is the first time I've ever cleaned fresh corn on the cob.

Anyways, after you cleak the corn, you have to leave some of the husks on. Then, you soak them in water for 15-20 minutes. You then have to tie the husks together at the open end, and then you can simply place the corn on the grill. You rotate it until it's charred all around. Here I am at the grill!!! Although, I must admit, Josh really did the grilling...the only time I was at the grill was for this picture. :-) (P.S. Isn't it sad I'm wearing a sweatshirt in May!!!)

For the steaks, Josh had wanted to go an actual local meat market, So, we did and he bought New York Strips. We simply let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then I pierced them all over with a fork, then Josh seasoned them. I don't really like steak. It's always just seems like a huge hunk of meat...which is it, but for tonight, I simply ate a small portion off of each of their steaks. I also baked some potatoes, but I guess I forgot to take a picture.

Oh, and how did the corn turn out. Well, here I am trying it out. To be honest, it was just ok. It was pretty crunchy, and I think that we should have kept on a few more husks to seal in more of the moisture and grilled it for a bit longer.

And, here is the conversation between Josh and my Dad after Josh tried it.

Dad: "So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how was it."

Josh: "Ummm, probably a 3."

And that, pretty much sums up the corn.

My First Meal In Our New Home!

Wow! I can't believe it's been over two months since I last updated! That's sad.

But...I'm back!!! :-)

So, last night I finally made our first meal in my new kitchen. The stove top is one of those that is flat. So, that's new to me. It's ok, but I do prefer gas so I can see the flame. Oh well. I'm sure I'll get used to it. Anyways, dinner was nothing fancy...just an old stand-by. BBQ chicken breasts and rice. Also, I had some cooked carrots, but Josh passed on those. Anyways, it's good to know that my oven and stove work.


So, the BBQ chicken is super easy to make. My Dad actually uses this method and taught me about it. All you do is place the chicken on some aluminum foil and squirt a bunch of your favorite BBQ sauce all over it. Then, you simply create a little packet, and bake it for 35-45 minutes in a 375 degree oven. That's it. Even I can't mess that up. Then, I just made some simple rice from old Uncle Ben.

Here's my plate all ready for me to eat. Josh doesn't like his food to touch, so I didn't photograph his...he uses one plate for his BBQ chicken and eats all of that. Then, he gets a second plate for his rice.

Anyways, I will cooking more and blogging more, so please keep checking back...sorry for my short hiatus. :-)

Mexican Chili and Cornbread

Tonight I tackled chili again! I decided to go with more of a Mexican theme, and I even created the recipe kind of on my own (using the Mexican Lasagna recipe as a guide). I also found a "healthier" cornbread recipe on-line, so I wanted to try that, too. I LOVE cornbread. I actually wanted to make the cornbread first, and then had to decide what I could eat with the cornbread.

I diced the red onion and green pepper first. Then, I tossed those veggies into the soup pot with some evoo. I added ground turkey, chili powder, and cumin. I let the turkey brown for a bit. Then, I added a can of drained and rinsed black beans, a can of diced tomatoes, some corn, and 2 cans of low-sodium V8 juice. Then, I just let that simmer while I moved on to bake the cornbread. I also added some shredded cheese to the top of my bowl. It was pretty tasty. Next time though, I think I will add something to make it a bit spicer. Maybe some hot sauce, or some jalapeno pepper? It was tasty, I just could have used a bit more heat I think.

The cornbread was super easy to make. I will definitely use this recipe again. Each piece only has about 120 calories and 1g of fat. The "healthy" part of the recipe is that there is no oil in it...I used 1 C. of non-fat plain yogurt. It was nice and crumbly and fairly moist. I almost burned it, but grabbed it out just in time. Whew! I took a bite off the corner and then remembered I needed to take a picture still! Next time, I will spray some butter on the top right away...I forgot this time. Oh well.

So, I have LOTS of leftovers. Josh didn't want to eat with me. Remember the corn incident from the Mexican Lasagna...yeah...I didn't even go there with him this time. He ate cereal for dinner instead. So, I'll freeze two of these and I plan to eat two of them this week. It's nice to have some meals already planned for the week though I suppose. I also cut the cornbread into individual pieces and wrapped them up and froze all but two slices. We'll see how well they keep and taste in the coming weeks. I'm trying my best not to waste food. So, I actually had fun cooking tonight...but now I have a dirty kitchen and a lot of dishes to do...boo for that.

Update: So, while I was taking Josh to the airport tonight it dawned on me for some reason...I never even added the sugar that the recipe called for in the cornbread recipe!!! So, my cornbread is super healthy I guess! Oops! Oh well. Makes me want to bake another batch to see the difference the sugar makes...

Guest Post (not my idea) - Coffee

I actually know how to make coffee. However, a few weekends ago when our friend Troy visited, they decided that this should be a blog post. I argued with them since I do NOT consider making coffee cooking and I didn't want to add it. However, here it is...they're so lucky I like them. Welcome to the Joshua Smyser Coffee making experience. Photography by Troy.

Josh's new thing is grinding fresh beans. So, here he is using my Magic Bullet (I love that thing!) to grind the beans he purchased from Caribou. I LOVE the smell of coffee, and I like most coffee flavored drinks/foods, but I don't like drinking coffee. Weird. I know. Here's our coffee pot and the coffee mugs the guys used. Troy said this was the best coffee he's ever had. But, the added sugar probably helped, too!

Anyways, sorry I've been neglecting the blog lately...I've just been busy and lazy and not cooking. I do have a new meal planned for this weekend, so the next update should be early next week. I am trying to get back to my kitchen more!

Mexican Lasagna (from Rachael Ray!)

For the last two years, I've made tacos on Superbowl Sunday for Josh and me. This year, we had originally decided to uphold our tradition, but then, I decided to spice things up just a bit as I had been wanting to try this recipe from Rachael. Basically, it's tacos in a casserole dish (and it's somewhat healthy...I didn't really tell Josh that part). So, I checked with Josh, and he was a bit hesitant (he hates casserole type meals). But, decided he'd try it for my sake. Isn't he a great husband?! His true reaction will be included later on...

Well, overall, this was super easy to make! And, I got to use ground chicken for the first time. You simply brown the chicken in some EVOO, and add some red onion, chili powder, and cumin. Let that cook through, then add some taco sauce, black beans, and corn. That's it! (I had the idea as this was browning that I could also easily make this into a chili by adding some canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, too! Go me for even thinking like this!)

After the meat mixture is done, all you do is make layers in a greased (I used Pam) baking dish. Start with meat, then add shredded cheese, then a tortilla, then cheese, meat, cheese, tortilla, and top with cheese. Bake it for 15 minutes or so for the cheese to melt and brown. Here's the finished product...hot out of the oven. I could have used more cheese on top I suppose. But overall, I was trying to keep it somewhat healthy, so I used ground chicken, reduced fat cheese, and 94% FF heart healthy tortillas (I would have used whole wheat tortillas, but then I would have really been pushing it with Josh!)

Here's my plate. I topped mine with sour cream and some scallions. It was pretty tasty, although a bit messy to eat. But, the flavors were nice, and it was a fun change from normal ol' tacos. What did Josh think? Well, he grew up with a mother and grandmother who liked to sneak in vegetables. Hence, his now extreme dislike of casseroles and need to know EXACTLY what's in his food.

Well, once he discovered the corn...he was not a happy husband. :( Now, he does like corn by itself, and I knew he didn't like corn in salsas, but I didn't think it would be a big deal in this recipe, so I didn't say anything. I did mention to him that black beans were in it, but like I said, I did not mention the corn.

So, he was a bit unhappy because he thought I was trying to sneak in vegetables. I wasn't! And, I even put in LESS corn than the recipe called for. So, after that fiasco, it was decided that he did like the Mexican Lasagna ok (which was also surprising since it was made with chicken, and he's a beef man) but, the next time I make it, it could be spicer (I thought it was spicy) AND with NO corn. :) Yay for him at least trying a casserole-type dish for me. I did appreciate that!

Ok, Josh...I can live with excluding the corn next time. And I promise to never, well not never, but I promise to rarely sneak in any more vegetables when I cook for you. ;) Ha!

Guest Post :-) Dinner at Troy's!

I was at UNI last weekend for the UNI-RA Conference, and during our break I spent some time with some of our good friends from college Troy, Kiley, Kelsie and Kelsey. Troy and Kiley were Josh's former residents at UNI, Kelsie is Kiley's fiancee (also a UNI alum), and Kelsey is Kiley's sister.

Troy hosted a fabulous dinner and baked and cooked for us! Here is Kiley with the wonderful spread that Troy had pulled together. (Kiley...you're luckly I included this picture...I typically only want pictures of food in this blog!) Troy told me the Doritos were home-made, but I didn't believe him there. He also made meatballs that were tasty. Troy was an excellent host!

The star of the meal though (in my opinion) was the wonderful beer bread and cheesey dipping spread that Troy made. It was super tasty! I still need to get that beer bread recipe from Troy...and the chees dip, too...

Oh, and Kelsie made a yummy yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Kiley messed up the frosting though and then complained until I fixed it for him. Ha!

Next post...coming early next week...I'm attempting another Rachael Ray recipe tomorrow!!!

Banana Nut Roll

Over MLK weekend I decided to be super ambitious. I got out my Better Homes and Garden Cookbook (you know the one...it has the red and white plaid cover) and started flippng through it. I came across this picture...remembered I had an overripe banana...saw there was cream cheese icing and filling (yum) and made the decision to try out this fancy dessert for Josh and me.

The recipe was pretty complicated (in my opinion), and I knew I'd be trying a lot of new techniques and using some fun tools in the kitchen, so I was kinda nervous. Also, I realized I did not have the exact sized pan that the recipe called for. I had a pan that was smaller and a pan that was bigger...but not the one I needed...so I decided to go with the smaller one and my plan was to just not use all the batter. I was hoping all would still be ok...I knew I was taking a risk...but I went ahead anyways...

To start with...I had to seperate eggs. I started off using this 'egg seperator' but it was kinda weird and annoying, and so I really just used it to hold the egg after I initial cracked it open. Then, I'd dump the egg in my hand and let the whites fall through my fingers. I had to do this and then let them set for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Once the 30 minutes were just about up, I went ahead and greased and lined the baking sheet with waxed paper. I also made the cream cheese filling and spread (almost all of) it in the baking sheet. I premeasured the rest of my ingredients that I could (including mashing the banana) and got out the rest of the measurement cups I would need. I also combined the dry ingredients.

I got to use my Magic Bullet...but it didn't work as well as I thought it would. The recipe called for finely chopped walnuts to fold into the batter. I had walnuts, but they were coarsly chopped, so I had the grand idea of using my Magic Bullet to obtain the fine chop. However...first mistake...I definitely blended them TOO long, and it turned into kinda a paste. :-( Oh well. I guess next time I won't be lazy and I'll get out the cutting board and knife...leason learned.

So, then it was time to mix the egg yokes until "they turn a lemon yellow color and stream continuously from the beaters." Then I folded in the walnut (paste.)

Next, I had to beat the egg whites. I was really excited to do this for some reason...probably because I've seen it done so many times on FoodNetwork. So, I began. At one point near the beginning, they looked kinda "bubbly." And I had a horrible thought that some soap residue got into the whites while I was separating them (as I had just washed my hands). But, I just kept mixing, and eventually, they looked like what I'd seen on TV. Whew! After mixing in some powdered sugar, I waited for the stiff peaks to form.

Then, I had to first fold in the egg yoke mixture into the whites. Then, I had to fold in the dry ingredients. Finally, the cake batter was done! That was a lot of work...and my arm shoulder kind of hurt from holding that dang mixer for so long. I poured the batter onto the cream cheese...reserving some of it since my pan was smaller...and popped it into the oven.

THEN (See...isn't this complicated???)...while that was baking, I had to lay out a towel and sprinkle it with sifted powder sugar. Yay! I got to use my sifter for the first time! That was fun. I hope to be sifting more in my future, too. Ha! Ok, once the cake was done baking, I had to immediately flip it onto the towel and get ready to roll it. I was so proud of myself that I hadn't burned it!

The rolling was going just fine....better than I expected, AND THEN...I noticed something...something bad. The middle of the cake still had raw batter!!! So, instead of burning the cake...I didn't bake it long enough!!! The cake wasn't done! :*-( All my hard work, all my time in the kitchen, all for NOTHING...and it's not like I could just pop it back into the oven at this point.

So then...I'll be honest... I started crying. Josh hugged me. Then, I stopped crying because then I was just ticked off. I still hadn't even made the cream cheese icing yet...but had room temperature cream cheese sitting out. Josh...luckily...noticed that perhaps the middle wasn't done...BUT, it looked like the ends were done. So...there was a bit of hope for me. I'm glad Josh noticed that, because before he said that, was about 1.5 seconds from throwing the dumb cake roll in the trash.

Meanwhile, I had decided to use some of the extra batter to make some banana cake muffins. At this point, they were already in the oven...so I was just crossing my fingers that these would bake through. I left them in long enough! Yay, they baked through!

I decided to make the icing anyways since the muffins were a success, and I figured we could at least have a slice off of each end of the roll. So, the icing was made, the cupcakes were iced, and the ends were eaten right away with the icing drizzled over them. In the end, it was pretty tasty. Would I make this again? Well, if you asked me last week...I would have said no...but I'm not a quitter...so, yes, I do think I'd try it again...but not anytime soon...

Stay tuned for another guest post later this week!