Crockpot Cup Brownies

That's right! Brownies. In a cup. In your crockpot. It's cool concept. The idea of the recipe is like you are eating hot chocolate.

stoneware or ceramic coffee cups
brownie mix (I used 8x8)
ingredients needed to make brownie mix according to the box
crockpot (kind of a given)
cooking spray
whip cream (or ice cream)

Make the brownie mix as the box suggests. Spray coffee cups with cooking spray, pour cups about half full of brownie mix. Place in crockpot on high for approximately four hours (when the brownie starts to separate from the cup take it out). Make sure all four cups are touching the bottom of the crockpot when you place them. Once you remove the cup from the crockpot put whip cream (or ice cream) on top. The whip cream (or ice cream) will melt into the brownie cup! Yep, that's what I said, "melt into." When you are ready to serve stir the mixture and enjoy!

I thought they were pretty good. It was an easy dessert to make while I cooked dinner and cleaned house.

Cary's Magical Enchiladas

This is the recipe for the enchiladas I made last night.  I am going to claim this recipe as mine because it is actually three different recipes combined the way I like enchiladas.  I believe what makes them magical is the fact that the chicken simmers in the HOMEMADE enchilada sauce for an hour!

2 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sugar
dash of salt
1 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion (chopped)
2-8 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 lb of chicken tenderloins
17 small flour tortillas
shredded cheese
1-15 oz black beans (rinsed)

Pour oil into dutch oven (over medium heat) and cook the onion and garlic until you can smell them.  Add tomato sauce, chili powder, coriander, cumin, sugar, and salt.  Then add water.  Cover the sauce mixture while you cook your chicken.  You can cook the chicken any way you want.  I chose to boil it because I find it easier to cut up that way.  Once chicken is done place chopped up chicken in sauce mixture, cover, and set it on simmer.  I let it simmer for about an hour. 
Once the hour is over drain your mixture over another bowl so you have your chicken separated from the rest of the sauce.  Add your rinsed black beans to the chicken and stir together. 
Spread the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with sauce.  Roll your chicken and bean mixture into your tortillas and place in pan (to make the tortillas easier to roll heat them up in the microwave for 15-30 seconds).  Once your pan is full pour your sauce over all the tortillas.  Cover with cheese (you can decide how much cheese you want).  Place foil over pan and cook in 350 oven for 20-30 minutes-until your cheese is melted.

Since this is my tweaked version of a recipe I might have left some things out.  If you have any questions just let me know!

All I Need is a Green Apron

I'm telling you--just give me a green apron and call me a barista! I'm on a roll with this new espresso machine. My latest and greatest is the Cinnamon Dolce Latte (my husband's favorite)!

I think this recipe makes me really happy because I paid 6.99 for the Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce syrup and it can make 33 LATTES! Do you even know how much much money that saves the Plunkett's?!

Here's the recipe:

2 shots espresso

8 oz hot milk

2 tbsp Cinnamon Dolce syrup

Dollop of whip cream

Dash of cinnamon

Now, because I have not yet mastered the milk steamer attached to my machine I heated the milk in the microwave for 1:30 and then stirred all the ingredients together, topped with whip cream, and sprinkled cinnamon on top.

According to my husband it was wonderful!

I Will Always Love You

Oh yes, I will always love coffee drinks. I don't really care for just black coffee. Don't get me wrong--I'll drink it but I'd much rather pour liquid goodness in it. Recently, this stay at home mom had the opportunity to work part time for a contractor while he was on vacation. What did I do with the first paycheck I've received in five months? What else? Bought a new espresso machine and coffee grinder! When we moved our previous, less expensive, machine broke and I was pretty sad about it but I didn't want to buy the same machine again. I wanted to upgrade. But then my bundle of joy was born and this two income family went to one income so the prospect of a better espresso machine was not in the immediate future. UNTIL NOW!

So...what's my favorite drink? Have you ever seen those little cans of Starbucks Double Shot in gas stations? Well, that's it! I looked online and found the recipe and so far every morning that is my drink of choice.

2 shots of espresso*
2 oz (4 tbsp) half and half
2 oz (4 tbsp) skim milk
2 Splenda packets
Mix all together and add some ice!

Confession: Some days this is a triple shot (with 3 of everything instead of 2).

*If you don't have an espresso machine I've read that you can make your regular coffee then pour that coffee into the water reservoir of your machine and run it through the same coffee grinds again.

Who Needs to Eat Out?

OH MY GOSH! So I made Pioneer Woman Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner last night and they were SO GOOD. However, because I went (mostly) by the recipe we had a ton left over. What do you do with a ton of tasty meatballs? Make meatball subs for lunch the next day! Oh yes, you heard me. I made some wonderful meatball subs for lunch today. And yes, we still have meatballs in the fridge!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice your the bread of your choice in half. I used Cobblestone wheat sub rolls.
I cut the meatballs in half, put them on a separate plate and heated them up in the microwave just to get them warm. I don't like a lot of sauce on my sandwiches so I didn't heat up very much sauce.
Next, I sprinkled some mozzarella cheese on the bread slices then placed the warm meatballs halves on the bread. I zig zagged the meatballs so the sandwich would be full when you put them back together.
If I would have known I was going to make these sandwiches I would have used sliced mozzarella but since I didn't have any I sprinkled some on top and placed them in the oven until the cheese melted.

All done! This was a great lunch from a great dinner! Guess what Upstream Coords? This is what you are having Monday night for dinner!

Now if I can just master a good steak sandwich!

Pioneer Woman-ish Salsa Recipe

I found a Pioneer Woman (PW) salsa recipe and it looked so good! However due to the lack of ingredients at my house I either omitted or substituted some of the items.
1/4 tsp sugar

2 tsp chopped garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cumin

1 can rotel

1 can diced tomatoes

splash of lemon juice

PW calls for fresh chopped garlic (I can't keep fresh garlic at my house before it goes bad), 2 cans of rotel (I pretty much split her recipe in half so I only used one), 28 oz can of tomatoes (I used 14.5 oz can), lime juice (all I had was lemon juice), and fresh cilantro (don't like cilantro so I don't have any at the house).

I have a kiddie food processor so I had to make this in three batches then mix them all together in a larger bowl. So I put all my dry ingredients in a small bowl and mixed them together and scooped some tomatoes and rotel into the food processor.

I put half the dry ingredients with my tomotoes and pulsed until I had the desired thickness I wanted. I like thinner salsa with no big chunks.

Finished product! I did take a little sample taste and it's pretty good if I do say so myself.

Recipe Friday...Postponed

So sorry I didn't post a recipe yesterday. I know you were sitting around waiting for it. Here it is!

Low Sodium Grilled Chicken Marinade

Pour enough canola oil to cover the bottom of your dish plus a little more just for good measure.

Sprinkle Mrs. Dash Table Blend on your oil. I sprinkle a lot because it just tastes so good!

Add your chicken to the oil and seasoning and sprinkle the top with more Mrs. Dash. Stir all the ingredients around to make sure everthing is evenly coated. Cover and put in fridge until you are ready to grill. I left this in the fridge for about 3 hours before I put them on my counter top grill.

Now, if you've never tried Mrs. Dash don't be scared. There are a ton of flavors but I use the Italian Blend and Table Blend the most. The Table Blend is most like season salt but has a lot less sodium! If you've ever had any Italian dish at my house or potatoes you've had Mrs. Dash and you didn't even know it!

Happy Recipe Friday

I know you are all getting ready for your Superbowl parties! Here is a heart healthy Southwestern Layer Bean Dip!

1 16-ounce can nonfat refried beans, preferably “spicy”
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
4 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup prepared salsa
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup pickled jalapeño slices, chopped
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack, or Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 medium avocado, chopped
1/4 cup canned sliced black olives, (optional)

Combine refried beans, black beans, scallions, salsa, cumin, chili powder and jalapeños in a medium bowl. Transfer to a shallow 2-quart microwave-safe dish; sprinkle with cheese.
Microwave on High until the cheese is melted and the beans are hot, 3 to 5 minutes.
Spread sour cream evenly over the hot bean mixture, then scatter with lettuce, tomato, avocado and olives (if using).

Go Colts!!