Moving Time

The new site is up and runnning.  I will no longer be updating here.  Please go to the new site for all future updates.  And don't forget to change your bookmarks, google reader or blogroll to make sure you can find me. :)
http://burnttoast2010.wordpress.com/

Mommy Blog

A quick update for any of you who read my mommy blog as well as this food blog.  I moved "Becoming Mom" to a wordpress site.  It is now a private blog because, frankly, I had some creepy followers and since that blog is about my kid it just weirded me out.

So, if you read that blog you can comment here with your email address and I'll send you the info on how to access the new site.

"Burnt Toast" will be moving to a wordpress site soon too.  I discovered it is just too much work to update on 2 different hosts.  You will still be able to follow the blog, you'll just have to update the web address.  Or you can just use google reader which is what I'm doing now and it's so much easier.

There will be a new post soon.  I'm making pickles. ;)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Looking for a super simple dessert?  Like peanut butter and chocolate? Don't walk, run (well, "run" your fingers across the keyboard) and go here.  Try this pie now!!

I just adore The Pioneer Woman and all her blogs, but her cooking blog is what initially drew me in.  Last weekend I was in a need of a quick, easy dessert where I already had most of the ingredients on hand.  This one fit the bill and was a hit with the fam.  I didn't have a pie plate, so I just used a square dish and put the whole oreos in certain spots so people would know it had a chocolate crust.  You know me, always thinking. (Actually it was just a good excuse for more chocolate)

You will notice it is a very small portion size.  It is super rich, but so very worth it.  And a tall glass of milk doesn't hurt either!

I won't bore you with re-typing it.  I could never do it the justice PW does.  Enjoy!

Summertime

I guess it's technically not quite summertime yet, but it sure feels like it! And the fresh corn is everywhere in the local grocery stores. I love to grill fresh ears of corn!

I came up with this recipe as a quick side the other night. It was a big hit and I'll be making it again!


Grilled Corn & Potato Salad
Source: Me

1 small white onion sliced in 1/2" slices (if you pulled them apart it would be like onion rings)
3 ears fresh corn, shucked
3 medium red potatoes, sliced in 1/4" slices
3 tbsp butter, softened
5 fresh basil leaves, minced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, cover your potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Add some salt to flavor the potatoes. I'll leave how much up to your discretion. I like my potatoes salty.

Boil just until fork tender. Drain. Grill onions, corn and par boiled potatoes. Here's a hint: put the onion rings on a piece of foil on the grill to keep them from falling through when you turn them!) Remove from the grill and mince the onion (I used a mini chopper to make this job easier) and cut corn off the cob. Add to bowl with potatoes.

In a separate small bowl mix softened butter with basil and parmesan cheese. Add butter mixture to the potatoes, corn and onions. Toss until melted and covered with the yummy, cheesy, basily (and yes, I'm aware the last one's not a real word) butter.


I served it with some Italian dressing marinated chicken that I grilled along side the corn, potatoes and onions. This made for a pretty quick and fantastic summer dinner!

Easy Noodle Stir Fry

Super fast. Super Easy. And decently healthy. What's not to love?

I came up with this recipe because I was craving those noodles you get at the Japanese hibachi grill places. I used whole wheat spaghetti because I'm trying to eat a little more healthy, and honestly this was so good I don't think I'd even want to use the regular stuff. I only made a one person serving for my lunch, but I'll definitely be making this again for the fam soon.

Easy Noodle Stir Fry
Source: Me

1 serving whole wheat pasta, cooked and drained
1/4 white onion, sliced very thin
2 large cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onions and cook until they start to get lightly brown and translucent. While the onions are cooking, whisk together the ginger, mustard, pepper flakes, sesame oil and soy sauce in a small bowl. Add the garlic to the pan with the onions and saute a few more minutes. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the noodles. Stir fry about 2 minutes, then add the soy sauce mixture. Toss and cook a few more minutes, then serve and eat!

Quick Product Rave

There is no recipe in this post, but be sure there will be some to come using this awesome stuff! If you make a lot of rice, soup or anything where you need chicken stock and you love Thai inspired food, this is the chicken broth for you:


I wanted to use my new rice cooker and this new culinary broth I got on sale, so I put the two together with a little rice, bell pepper and baby vidalia onions and wow! So good! If you like the coconut soup served at Thai restaurants you will love this stuff. It smells just like it and leaves a hint of those flavors in your rice. I will be purchasing more. No contest!!

Happy Easter!!

In an effort to avoid the "fun" of dying eggs with a toddler, we made jello eggs this year. I know, I'm no fun, but Logan is at the age where if he can't do things by himself he gets extremely agitated and I just didn't want to deal with the fall out. Plus, I can guarantee there would be some broken eggs. I promise, next year we will do it.

I got the exact recipe here.

These were really good and Logan liked eating them, well if I would cut them up for him. He couldn't seem to get the concept of biting all the way through them. We had Strawberry, Lime and Blackberry Fusion. Strawberry is still my favorite!

Not sure if these will become a yearly tradition or not. We had so many desserts that even with only 8 eggs they all didn't get eaten, but they were a big hit with the older folks. They just couldn't imagine jello as an Easter egg. ;)

Hot Cocoa Pudding

1 toddler + 1 pre-schooler + snow in Alabama = lots of fun and a really tired mommy/aunt! My nephew came to spend the night and we got about 3 inches of snow. The boys had so much fun, but I am worn out! We even made snowcream for breakfast since snow is such a rarity here in the southeast. And after looking around a little online, I discovered that some people put hot cocoa mix in theirs to make it chocolate. We tried it and it was ok, but it just melted SO fast!

I left the hot cocoa mix on the counter and for some reason I got this wild idea to make chocolate pudding with it. I have no idea why. Sometimes I just get a wild hair and want try new things. And I never know how they are going to turn out. Sometimes they completely bomb. This time it was a major hit!!

Keep in mind I really have no idea how to make homemade pudding. I've only ever used the instant kind. And since 2 little boys running around means limited time on the computer, I didn't have time to research it. But I figured I know how to thicken milk with butter and flour, so that's what I did, using the instant hot cocoa mix as flavoring. The finished product:



Hot Cocoa Oreo Pudding
Source: Me


This is not really what I would call a recipe because I didn't measure anything. I made a basic roux (butter and flour), added milk. Let it thicken. Added a pack and a half of hot cocoa mix. Let it thicken some more. Put crushed oreos in the bottom of a glass dish, pour in mixture, top with more crushed oreos. Refrigerate until firm, cold and delightful!



Looking at this picture makes me want to make some more. But I will refrain. I don't even want to know how many calories were in the bowl, but I know it was WAY too many!

Lots of Updates

I'm about to have a lot of updates coming your way! I've been cooking, but not blogging; mostly due to my crazy busy schedule lately. I've been taking pictures along the way though, so now I'm going to try and catch up in the next few posts. Make sure you check out the new posts below for some great new recipes!

This post will actually be about dinner tonight. It's hunting season and the hubby harvested 2 deer this year! So it doesn't take a crystal ball to see lots of venison in our future. And turkey season is up next, so hopefully we'll have some wild turkey in a few months!

Venison tenderloin is probably one of my favorite cuts of deer. I haven't always been a big fan of deer meat. It can be pretty gamey and definitely has a distinct smell and taste, but it is super lean and I've found that with the right marinades it is perfect! This year, T got smaller deer, so of course the tenderloin is smaller, but very tender and the perfect amount for our family of 3. I've gone Korean BBQ style and made deer poppers, so this time I decided on a Thai flair for the tenderloin. I was inspired by some fried shrimp with a Thai style sauce that we had over the weekend. It had a distinct peanut butter flavor, which I am not usually a fan of, but it really worked in that sauce. I've based my marinade around that sauce, but mine isn't quite as peanuty.

This time I went ahead and sliced the tenderloin into medallions prior to marinading and grilling the meat. I then marinaded the medallions for about 3 1/2 hours. I also reserved about a tablespoon of the marinade to top the cooked medallions. It was SO good! I will definitely do this again!


Thai Style Venison Medallions
Source: Me

1 venison tenderloin, slightly thawed from frozen and sliced into about 1/2" medallions
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/2 c soy sauce
1 tsp honey
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp. sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp fresh grated ginger

Melt the peanut butter slightly in the microwave, about 15 seconds on high. Then whisk in soy sauce. Add the rest of the ingredients except the venison and whisk together. Reserve about a tbsp, or more if you like, to pour over the finished dish. Add the medallions to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but several hours would be better. Grill medallions (I used my cast iron grill pan) until medium doneness. Pour reserved marinade over grilled medallions.

We also had sauteed blue (or purple, whichever you prefer) potatoes with crispy shallots. I bought the blue potatoes just because I'd always wanted to try them and my local Publix had them on sale.


They are very interesting to work with. They basically taste the same, but they get blue everywhere!


For the record, the hubby says they do not taste the same as regular potatoes. He said they were good, but not the same. I think they have a slightly bitter after taste occasionally, but not every time. These were just plain awesome! You can do the same thing with baby red potatoes or fingerling potatoes also.



(Blue)Potatoes with Crispy Shallots
Source: Me

10 small blue potatoes, quartered
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 large shallot, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat. Throw in the potatoes, toss to cover with oil, then put a lid on it. The steam will help cook the potatoes quicker. Stir occasionally. When the potatoes are slightly fork tender, but still too firm to eat, add the shallots and stir. After the shallots start to crisp up, add the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the garlic starts to brown slightly, but make sure it doesn't burn. Burnt garlic is really bitter!

Cheese & Green Onion Drop Biscuits

These were inspired by the cheese biscuits a local restaurant has on their menu. I used the exact same garlic cheese bread recipe from a previous post, click here to get it. I just added green onions, dropped them biscuit style instead of making a loaf, and then topped each biscuit with melted garlic butter. They were a big hit!

Taco Soup

Best comfort soup ever! Also one of the easiest. You could personalize this more with your own blend of taco spices and fresh chopped onions and garlic if you have the time and want to experiment. I went with the straight recipe for the first time. It was great! Of course mine was venison taco soup ;)

Taco Soup
Source: my mom

2 lbs ground chuck, drained (I used ground venison)
2 packets ranch dressing
2 packets taco seasoning
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can RoTel
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans white shoepeg corn
2 soup cans of water (You can use less depending on how thick you like your soup)

Mix all ingredients together. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes. I did all this in the crockpot. Even on high for 30 minutes it never boiled, but it still tasted awesome!

My bowl topped with chopped cilantro and cheese:

Green Rice

I got this idea from Rachael Ray, but hers had a lot more green. This is a great side dish for any meal or even by itself if you are going meat-less. Forgive the picture, all I had at the moment was my iphone.

Green Rice
Source: Me, inspired by Racheal Ray

rice
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 cup of cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Prepare two servings of rice according to the package directions. I like to use jasmin rice, but you can use whatever you like. Set aside to cool. In a large skillet, heat olive and sesame oil over medium high. Add shallot, garlic and jalapeno. Sautee for a minute or so, then add the rice. Toss to coat the rice and let it sit for a few minutes before you toss it again. It should develop a little crunch. After about 10 minutes or less depending on how much rice you have, remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Serve immediately.

Happy 2010!!

I can't believe another year is beginning. I guess the old adage is true; the older you get the quicker time passes! It seems like we were just celebrating the new 2009 new year. I am looking forward to a fantastic 2010 though!

This year, my hubby went hunting on New Year's Eve after work, so dinner was just me and the little man. L ended up taking a late nap, so I decided to make something I'd been craving for a while now: dumplings!

I'm not sure if this dish is really redneck or really lazy but I know it is really good! I absolutely love dumplings, but have never made them. I heard of people using canned biscuits to make quick and easy dumplings, but just wasn't sure how they would taste. Since I had some on hand, I decided to try it out. The only chicken I had was frozen and I was just too tired to defrost it and then worry about cooking it. Therefore, this is what I came up with and I will definitely make it again! Not sure if the hubby would like it though. It's not substantial enough for him. Maybe I'll use this recipe and add some chicken next time. I do love chicken and dumplings. :)



Dumpling Soup
Source: Me
Serves 1

1 1/2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
2 canned biscuits
1 dash each of salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, dried Italian herb blend

Combine stock and seasonings in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Pinch off pieces of the biscuits and drop into the stock. Move dumplings around as they cook to make sure they don't stick to the bottom of the pan.

You may not want all the broth as soup, but you need at least a cup and half to get the dumplings to move around while they cook. You can refrigerate the broth and use it again later though. Or just eat all of it. That's what I did. ;)

All in all, Pretty easy, right? No muss, no fuss. I was really surprised at how good this turned out and really enjoyed my dinner!

Baking Again

I know it comes as a shock since I am always bemoaning how much time and measuring it takes to bake. And usually I am a huge failure in this arena. For some reason, most of my adventures in baking have ended badly. However, this December I am 2 for 2! My previous post about cookies was a hit and now I have made bread. This is the second time I have ever even attempted making bread in my entire life, and of course it is another quick bread. No time for yeast and rising and all that for this girl. When I want something, I don't want to wait forever!

This is another recipe I bookmarked a really long time ago and I recently came across it again when looking for a bread recipe to make for one of my family Christmas gatherings. The need was born of necessity since I forgot to get dinner rolls at the store. I am not even a big bread eater, but I do love any kind of garlic cheese bread.

This bread was dense, cheesy and garlicy with a nice crunchy outside. Yum! Everyone loved it and I will definitely make it again. This loaf served 9.

Find the original recipe here. The only changes I made were adding a tbsp of garlic powder and not using the dill. I think the dill would be awesome, but it called for fresh dill and I just didn't think the dried stuff would taste as good.

Best Christmas Cookies Ever!!

I am a bit ridiculous when it comes to cookies. I don't like "brown" cookies. I like them white and soft. For this reason, I don't eat them very often. Which is not really such a bad thing. You know, when you consider the whole trying to lose weight thing.

But alas, it is Christmas time which definitely calls for cookie baking. I had bookmarked this cookie recipe ages ago and came across it again recently. These cookies looked so cute and fun. They would be great to do with kids, but not my kid. At only 18 months, he was a little less than enthused. When I told him we were going to make cookies, he did not understand why we could not eat them right then. There was a lot of waiting involved, which he is not so great at. I did give him some cookie dough while we waited for them to cook. Yes, I gave my child cookie dough with raw eggs in it. Trust me, I am sure it is not the worst thing he has eaten.

I am not even going to try and do this recipe justice. Click here to see the original post from Pioneer Woman. She is awesome. And so are these cookies!

A Healthy Twist

I am mildly obsessed with The Biggest Loser tv show, and now I have the wii game which is one of the hardest work outs I've ever done! On the game, they even have a section of recipes and healthy living tips from the trainers and past contestants. One tip is to take a recipe you love and find a way to make it better for you. I recently did this with my hamburger hash. Click here to get the original version. In this twist, I used ground turkey instead of ground beef and substituted black beans for the potatoes. I would love to tell you that I calculated just how much fat and calories you saved, plus you added fiber by adding the beans, but I can't. I just didn't have time. I was too hungry. Ha!

It turned out awesome though! And, I didn't even miss the ground beef or potatoes. The ground turkey tasted almost the same. I just bumped up the seasonings a little more. And I love black beans, so that was an easy swap. Logan also loves beans or peas of any kind, so he was all over this dinner. Plus, this fed all 3 of us for dinner, plus it fed Logan and I for lunch for 2 or 3 more days!! It re-heats perfectly.

Ground Turkey Hash
Source: Me

1.25 lbs ground turkey (Make sure they didn't grind the skin up too. Jenni O makes a great one!)
1.5 tbsp chili powder
1.5 tbsp paprika
.5 tbsp cumin
1/2 onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can stewed tomatoes

Brown turkey over medium high heat. Once almost cooked through, add spices and garlic/onion. Cook a few more minutes, then add corn, black beans and tomatoes. Stir and turn heat down to low. Let simmer about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes!!

This Breakfast Should Be Illegal!

I'm not really even sure it counts as a true breakfast item except for the fact that we ate it in the morning and used the word pancake. ;) I have mentioned before that I love the store Aldi. You can really get a lot for your money there without worrying about coupons or anything. Right now they have a seasonal item called Pumpkin Quick Bread or Muffin Mix. Props to my sister for turning me onto to this yumminess! In our house, we tend to use muffin mix to make pancakes because it is so much quicker. Breakfast time needs to be quick and easy when you have a toddler.


This is probably the best and easiest breakfast trick in my arsenal. Open a bag of any kind of muffin mix, add milk until it is a pancake batter consistency (usually about 1/2 a cup depending on the size of the package, but I honestly don't measure it.)

That is exactly what I did this morning, and then I made it even better. I made a cream cheese topping to play on the idea of adding syrup. It was just a basic cream cheese icing thinned out a little. Cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk. I am really not a measurer. I just go by consistency.

Fall is Calling My Name!

Here in Alabama our seasons tend to turn on us quickly. We went from 80 degree weather to 50 degree weather last weekend. It was COLD! And it did NOT feel like fall. However, this week has been great fall weather, low 70's/high 60's. We have had a great time playing outside.

Last night, we finally carved our pumpkin. This year Taylor carved a pumpkin fit for our toddler...Tigger!

I saved the seeds and roasted them in the oven with a little olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and salt. What a great fall snack! So, if you haven't carved your pumpkin yet, save those seeds and roast away. :)

It's That Time of Year Again!

And by that time, I mean hunting season. The husband is determined he will get a buck this year, so with a promise of more venison to fill my freezer I need to clean out what I have left. At the end of the season earlier in 2009, my father-in-law gave us a good bit of venison. We haven't eaten much, just every now and then, because it requires at least an couple of hours marinating to taste really good to me. And I don't always prep for dinner that early.

The good news is that venison is a very lean meat, and works great for my new weight loss plan! We had some tenderloin medallions and I decided to do them in a Korean BBQ style. They were SO good! Best way I've had venison yet!


I also tried a weight watchers recipe for mashed cauliflower and potatoes. These were pretty good, and a lot less points than traditional mashed potatoes. And Taylor even liked them. He ate seconds!!

Venison, Korean BBQ Style
Source: Me
Serves: 3-4 people
4 WW points per serving

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
3 green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
10-12, 1 oz. venison tenderloin medallions

Mix all ingredients except medallions. Reserve 1/2 cup marinade. Add medallions to the rest of the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Grill medalions until medium/medium-well. Pour reserved marinade over medallions once they are on the serving dish.

Mashed "Potatoes"
Source: Weight Watchers
Serves: 4
2 WW points per serving

8 oz. cauliflower florets
3 small yukon gold potatoes
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp salt, divided
1/4 cup 1% milk (I used skim because that's what we have)
2 tsp butter
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp chives, freshly snipped (I omited because I didn't have)

Place cauliflower, potatoes, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil until vegetables are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes; drain and return to saucepan.Stir in milk, butter, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper; mash with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in chives and serve. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

This whole plate? 6 Points!!!

Skinny Chili

Ok, so last week I started doing weight watchers points. I only have 24 daily points and by dinner those points are usually few and far between. I do have 35 extra weekly points I can use to splurge, but I really want to save those up for something good.

Thursday night I tried a weight watcher's recipe for chili. It is only 2 points per serving!!! Taylor and I both loved it. And one serving really filled me up. Taylor went back for seconds. ;) I added some fresh cayenne pepper to mine. I really like to use them when they are green because the skin hasn't gotten as tough and they are still pretty hot!



Skinny Chili (This is my name for the dish, not the original author's.)
Source: Judy Scuderi, find it here
Serves: 6

1 lb. lean ground beef (10% or less)

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 oz.) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 sweet onion, chopped

1/4 cup canned diced chilies

2 tbsp. tomato paste

Instructions

1. In a large nonstick skillet brown beef and garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally to break up meat. Drain excess fat. Add chili powder and cumin and stir to combine.

2. Combine tomatoes, beans, onion, chilies, and tomato paste in crockpot. Stir in beef mixture. Cover and cook on High until flavors are blended, 4 - 5 hours.

I added a little dried oregano and basil, salt and pepper to the crock pot for some extra seasoning.