Eatin' the Greens

Honey B. does not eat greens, but a New Year was comin'.

A few years ago I'd learned a way to make collards quite tasty. Using a little soy sauce, garlic, etc.  Could I remember the amounts or the etc.? No, of course not, but off to the local grocery we went to pick up some of those yearly moneymakers.  Other people had obviously had the same idea, duh!?!  Not a collard was left in the store.  Then, my eyes landed on this bag:

Hmmmm.  Kale is supposed to be good for you, isn't it.  Maybe it could work the same way as the collards I remembered.
So, we bought 'em, and I came home in search of a recipe.  This is the one I found.  Here is my version with some tweaks from the original to make it more like what I remembered!

Sauteed Kale with Balsamic Vinegar
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh kale
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil (cheaper than olive oil and has a higher smoke point!)
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Directions:

1. Cut stems from kale and wash thoroughly.  Chop into bite-size pieces. (I skipped this step due to the lovely bag o' greens I found.)
2. In large skillet or wok, heat grapeseed oil and cook garlic until tender.
3. Add balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and and chopped kale.
4. Cook for 10 minutes or so, until kale is cooked to desired tenderness.

That's it!  These were surprisingly good, even to my no greens eating hubby.  He even ate them as leftovers tonight!  Score!!


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Meatless Monday ~ Spinach Alfredo Linguine

The Mr. and I have decided to have one meatless meal a week, saving money and hopefully eating healthier.  Hence the name Meatless Monday!  I came across this recipe and of course tweaked it to our taste and what I had in my kitchen (for example, I didn't have "frozen creamed spinach" so I used "frozen chopped spinach" and added some Philly Cooking Cream).  Here's the delicious result.  You've gotta try it!!


Spinach Alfredo Linguine (Blessed Girl Style!)
Printable Recipe
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 Tbsp. Philadelphia Cooking Cream- Italian Cheese and Herb flavor (Had some, wanted to use it!)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 (15 oz.) jar of alfredo sauce (I used Bertolli "Four Cheese Rosa")
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
8 oz. whole grain linguine
olive oil

Directions:
1. In a large pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil (add garlic after onions have been in the pan a bit).
2. Add basil, pepper, spinach, and cooking cream.  Combine and let warm for a couple of minutes.
3. Add in alfredo sauce and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Simmer on low heat while you cook the noodles.
4. Serve spinach alfredo over cooked noodles, top with the rest of the Parmesan and enjoy!

Honey B's Romantic Artichoke Chicken

As many of you know...and for those that don't...our first anniversary was this past Sunday.  First let me say that I am one blessed girl boy!!  God has allowed me to spend my life with such a wonderful woman who shows me her love everyday.  So, one thing I like to do to repay that p.d.a. is to cook special dinners on special days.  So...

For my first post ever on my sweet wife's little corner of the web I'm going to show you what I cooked for our first anniversary dinner!

I pondered and moored over what to cook for my wife.  I know she loves mushrooms.  I know she loves artichokes.  And I know she loves handbags!  (Ok, I know that has nothing to do with anything...but she really does.)

So with all the things I know about her, and a few of the things I think I know, I made us Honey B's Romantic Artichoke Chicken (printable version here).

For this recipe you will need:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 14 oz. can marinated, quartered artichokes
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I used about 1 1/2 cups!)
• 1 cup chicken broth

Directions:

Put oil and butter in a deep skillet over medium heat.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste.  Brown the chicken in the skillet about 5 minutes each side.  Do not let the chicken cook all the way through...but mostly.

While the chicken is browning chop your whole mushroom into slices.  I prefer thicker slices because the mushrooms cook down a lot and we both love that 'shroom flava!  Also, we like the baby bellas for this kind of recipe.  They're a meatier mushroom and a lot more flavor than the plane ol' white mushrooms.

Here's something I've learned when I about found myself with nine fingers.  Slice with the top down and slice on two sides of the stem first.  This gives the mushroom more stability when slicing then...and when your dealing with really sharp knives stability is good.

Now...make sure you have all ten fingers.  If you do then drain your artichokes.  Make sure you drain the extra juice into a bowl for use later.

(If by chance you are now down to nine fingers I would highly suggest you find your way to a hospital.  You can drain the artichokes when you get back!)

Your chicken should be good and browned by now on both sides.  Take those out of the skillet and set them aside.  Put your mushrooms and your artichokes into the skillet and let the 'shrooms brown.

After the mushrooms are good and brown throw in those drained juices you set aside, a cup of chicken broth, and that almost done chicken.  Give it a good little stir and let all that goodness simmer on medium/low for about 20 minutes (until the chicken is done through and through).

Now, for the romantic part!  Place the chicken on a the plate with artichokes and mushrooms all over the top...and don't be stingy with the toppings.  Put a little greenery on the side, light a couple of candles, and put in some nice music and you have a romantic dinner for your first anniversary.  

God blessed me with a wonderful woman who is so good to me.  Doing these kinds of things for her to show her how special she is only a small part compared to how special she really is.  I love you *blessed girl* forever and always!

Love,

Your Honey B.

Blessed Girl's Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies

After a busy day at school, I had a craving to cook something for my hubs, something to make him feel all warm and cozy.  After searching the kitchen, I found this cake mix:

Image Source

Yes, I know...but I'm going to do something else with it.  I promise. But, what...? We were missing one ingredient from every recipe I could find.  Ever been there?!?  So, after surfing for a while, and still missing ingredients, I decided to try to make cookies with this mix.  Here is what I created:

Blessed Girl's Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter softened
1/3 cup water
2 eggs
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In mixer, beat eggs, water, butter, peanut butter, and half of cake mix  until light and fluffy. Stir in rest of cake mix and chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about two inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. (Although, I highly recommend using your pizza stone. It's my favorite cookie "sheet"!)  Bake 10 to 12 minutes.  Then, enjoy some ooey, gooey yumminess, with a ginormous glass of milk!

I'm linking up at these lovely blogs:

Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas

Image Source

Mmmm, these are good!  I got this recipe from my friend Renee who makes this dish often!  It's adapted by Recipe Girl from a Southern Living recipe. You gotta try it!


Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 (16 oz.) jar medium salsa, divided
2 (10 oz.) cans enchilada sauce
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (low fat is fine)
2 1/2 cups shredded or chopped roasted chicken
10 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 (8 oz.) package shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
toppings:  shredded lettuce, guacamole, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped red onion, halved grape tomatoes, as desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together 1/4 cup salsa and enchilada sauce, and set aside. Microwave cream cheese in a medium microwave-safe bowl at high 1 minute or until very soft.  Add spinach, chicken and remaining salsa, and stir until blended. Spoon a heaping 1/3 cupful chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, and place, seam-sides dwon, in a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish.  Pour enchilada sauce mixture evenly over top of rolled tortillas; sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  Let stand 5 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.
-Serves 6

I think this just might be on next weeks menu for Honey B. and I!

Crockpot Carolina Barbecue Pork

I found this recipe on Chowhound. It's from Tables of Content, the most recent of the Birmingham Junior League cookbooks.  This recipe is unique in that it uses a dry rub as well as a wet sauce for cooking.  I made it for the second time today and it was scrumptious!  Get ready, 'cause you're gonna pull a lot of spices out of your cabinet for this one!

CAROLINA BARBECUED PORK
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

1 onion, thickly sliced
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 T. paprika
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. celery salt
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1 (3 to 5 pound) boneless pork butt (If it is bone-in add an extra hour of cooking on low.)
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp. white sugar
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
Hamburger buns

Arrange the onion over the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Mix the brown sugar, paprika, salt, celery salt, chili powder and 1 tsp. pepper in a bowl. Rub over the surface of the pork and place it in the cooker, fat side up*.

Mix the remaining ingredients (except buns, of course!) and pour half over pork. Reserve remaining half. Cook on High for one hour. Reduce heat to low and cook for 6 hours longer. Remove fat off the top*, shred the pork, and serve with the remaining vinegar sauce.

*These are my modifications to the original recipe (which stated to trim the fat off before cooking).  One of the commenters on Chowhound suggested to cook with the fat side up so it will render into the meat as it cooks.  Then excess fat can be removed off of the top when cooked.  This is the way I've made it and I wouldn't do it any other way!

I'm linking up to The Slow Cooker Squad linky at:

and at:

Blessed Girl's Lemon Chess Bars

Inspired by Amanda's post I had quite an urge to create something yummy a few weeks ago.  Her Chess Square recipe sounded scrumptious, but my mind immediately went to a couple of jars of this in our cabinet:

Now, this Blessed Girl loves some lemon!  So, of course I had to search for a way to use this in those Chess Bars.  But the question was where and how much to incorporate into the recipe.  After quite the search, and almost deciding to just throw some in and hope for the best, I came across another (much more involved, making the cake from scratch...creating your own curd...etc. recipe).  Although I would love to try it someday, tonight just wasn't the night.  So...

This is my combination of the two recipes (with a couple of modifications):

Blessed Girl's Lemon Chess Bars

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 box Butter Yellow Recipe Cake Mix

3 large eggs

1 stick butter (melted)

2 cups powdered sugar

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

2 1/4 C. lemon curd (or 2-10 oz. jars)

1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat 9x13 in. pan with cooking spray.

2. Mix cake mix with stick of melted butter and 1 egg.

3. Press dough into bottom of 9x13 in. pan.

4. Mix 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 eggs, and softened cream cheese in mixer until smooth and creamy.

5. Pour cream cheese over dough in pan.

6. Mix lemon curd with lemon juice, then drop spoonfuls of lemon curd over cream cheese mixture and swirl together with a knife.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until lightly golden brown.

7. Store in refrigerator.

Today I'm linking up at: