Palmiers

1 package of puff pastry

1/2 cup sugar

*large sugar sprinkles for dusting

Thaw puff pastry on counter. Roll out and dust with sugar on both sides. Roll each end up to middle. Cut in 1/2 inch slices. Lay out on cooking sheet and dust with sugar sprinkles.

Bake on 400* for 12 minutes.

*recipe from The Daily Grapefruit blog

My very best lasagna!

I have been tweaking lasagna recipes for about 5 years now and I made my best yet this week. Mr. Becker said it was his favorite....and its great because it's is full of spinach, you don't even need a side salad.

So here you go:

1 box lasagna noodles

2 T Olive Oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

1 pack of sweet Italian sausage

1 28 oz (I think, whatever the biggest can is) of crushed tomatoes

2 T Italian seasoning

salt & pepper

3 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped

4 cups grated mozzarella

Boil lasagna noddles with a pinch of salt in the water so they don't stick together.

While noodles are boiling add oil to skillet, cook garlic and onions for 1 minute.

Add sausage to pan, break it up and cook on Med heat. Cook until no longer pink, in fact I even like my a little crispy on the outside. Then add the tomatoes and boil for a few minutes, stirring often. Reduce to simmer and add seasoning and about 2 T of salt (taste and add more if needed) and a little pepper (about a teaspoon)

Add the chopped spinach leaves and turn off heat.

Now get a large pan and add a layer of noodles. (my kids and dog love the noodles so they each get one)

Spoon a layer of sauce over the noodles.

top with a large handful of motz (I LOVE motz)

repeat! End with a thick layer of cheese and sprinkle the top with a little Italian seasoning for a nice finish.

Cook at 350* for 25 minutes and enjoy!!

Orange Marmalade

I got the bright idea to make orange marmalade.

The recipe said it only takes 2 1/2 hours.

It was wrong.

Very wrong.

It was about 24 hours total.

But it's yummy & will make a great gift for Kali's teacher, so here is the recipe.

Lunchy lunch time

Crepes, raspberries, pistachios and fruit snacks.

(Kali picked each item out, these are her favorites)

Steamed Dumplings

1/2 cup grated carrots
1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
2 T chopped green onions
1 T chopped cilantro
1 T Soy sauce
1 T hoisin sauce
Wonton wrappers
small bowl of water
Steamer
non-stick veggie spray

Heat steamer. Mix carros, cabbage, onions & cilantro in bowl. Add soy & hoisin sauce. Mix. Trus edges of wrapper lightly with water. Place spoonful of mixture in center of wonton wrapper & fold up. Repeat until mixture is gone. Spray steamer surface with cooking spray and add wontons. Cover and steam for 10 minutes. Remove dumplins. I like to serve with a mixture of soy & hoisin sauce for dipping and some white rice :) Enjoy!

Kali lunches

Fig newtons, pomegranite seeds, strawberries, ham & crackers
Fig newtons, strawberries, cheese & crackers, rice

Creamy mashed potatoes & Garlic veggies

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

4 large Yukon gold potatoes

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 T butter

salt

Boil potatoes until easily pierced with a fork.

Mash potatoes ( I use my Kitchenaid) add butter & whipping cream & salt to taste.

Garlic veggies

8-10 mini carrots cut in half

1 cup cauliflower

1 cup broccoli

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 t garlic salt

heat oil in skillet and add carrots, cook a few minutes and add cauliflower cook another 2 minutes and add broccoli sprinkle with garlic salt and enjoy!

Grilled Sage Chicken

7 drumsticks

2 heaping tablespoons of sage
4 T olive oil
salt & pepper

In large plastic ziplock bag combine olive oil and sage. Add chicken drumsticks and toss....sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Grill until golden brown & enjoy!

More Kali lunches.....

Heart & star rice balls made with my molds, pea pods (Kali's favorite) with fruit leather butterflies, grilled chicken and a chocolate wafer cookie.

Ham & tortilla roll ups, green grapes, cheese butterflies & chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

Oh and don't mind the paint missing on my computer desk....when I get bored I peel it off, weird huu?

Lunchy Lunch

Cheese lion, bear, giraffe & ark, crackers, raspberries, carrots & candy corn

The Best Clam Chowder

6 diced potatoes (I like Yukon Gold)
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 yellow onion diced
2 cans Gordon's Minced Clams

Drain juice from minced clams over vegetables then add water to barely cover.
Simmer until tender.
Drain.

3/4 c butter
3/4 c flour

Melt and make paste over medium heat.

1 quart half & half
1 1/2 t. salt
1 T Red Wine Vinegar

Add half & half and stir until it makes a white somewhat thick sauce.
Add salt & RW Vinegar.
Add veggies & clams.
Heat through.
If it gets too thick just add milk.
Enjoy!!

More Kali lunches

Raspberries, turkey roll, sugar cookie (recipe on this blog) and flower & heart rice balls

Want to know how I made the rice balls?

I bought this cool thing on amazon.com

you cook the rice, scoops into little shape cups & press down with lid.

Then just push the little shapes out!

The kids love them.

Mini ham sandwiches, sunflower seeds, carrots & cheese lions.

Kali's lunch

With Kali starting Kindergarten this year and me being very anti-cafeteria food I have been getting creative with her lunches. I even found a great blog called Another Lunch with fun ideas. Here are a few of Kali's lunches from last week.

Cheese giraffes & an elephant, crackers, carrots, a ham roll, grapes and candy corn for dessert.

Grapes again, cheese bears, crackers, turkey dog slices & craisins.
These lunch are super cheap, easy to make and she loves them & is always excited to see what will be in her lunch :)

Chicken Puff Pastry Pie

Puff Pastry Shells from the freezer section, thawed

1 bag of mixed veggies from freezer section

2 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

3 potatoes (I like golden potatoes NOT russet)

salt

pepper

1 t cajun seasoning (more if you like, it's GOOD)

cooked chicken

Pop the potatoes in the microwave for about 3 minutes until they can easily be pierced with a fork

Cook pastry shells according to directions on box

boil chicken broth & add veggies until warmed through

drain 1/2 of broth

add cream of chicken soup to broth & veggies & stir

now that the potatoes are cooled off, dice those babies!

add to soup mix

add s&p...I LOVE salt so I use a lot

and add cajun seasoning & chicken

Stir chicken mix up & spon into shallow bowl....top with puff pastry

BAM! Dinner is served!

Mel's Salad

See the yummy salad in the pic above?

My sister-in-law Mel made it once and I LOVED it.

Here is the recipe

1 cucumber halved & thinly sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

mozzarella cheese, cubed (the real kind of mozz that comes in a ball in water is best)

salt & pepper

1 T Olive Oil

3 T Red Wine Vinegar

torn fresh basil leaves

Toss everything together & YUM!

Steak Tacos with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Steak

Olive Oil

Paprika

Chili Powder

Ground Cumin

S & P

2 limes

1/2 Red onion, diced

cilantro, chopped (about 1/2 a bunch)

One whole pineapple

jalapeno

tortillas

I used to large top sirloin steaks & brushed both sides with olive oil & sprinkled with about 1/2 tsp of paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt & pepper. Squeeze juice of one lime on top of steaks & let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Cut fresh pineapple into four long pieces

Grill steak & pineapple

to make salsa cut pineapple into small bite sized pieces, add onion, cilantro and 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper diced & NO seeds, squeeze juice of one lime on salsa. Mix.

Thinly slice steaks and serve on tortilla with salsa on top--YUM!

*recipe adapted from Cat Cora

Tacos

1 lb ground beef

1 T veg oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 T chili powder

2 t ground cumin

1 T salt

1 12 oz can diced tomatoes & green chilis

1 can pinto beans, rinsed

Heat oil in skillet and cook onions until tender. Add beef & brown, add garlic cloves, chili, cumin, salt, tomatoes/chilis and pinto beans. Heat through and serve!

Fruity summer salsa

1/2 sweet onion

3 nectarines (pitted)

1 mango (cut off peel & get rid of pit)

2 peaches peeled

3 Roma tomatoes

juice of 2 limes

2 T sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Serrano chili pepper (seeds in if you like it hot)

1/2 bunch of cilantro

Toss fruit, tomatoes, onion, pepper and cilantro into food chopper.....put in bowl & add sugar, lime, salt & sugar....mix & serve with chips! YUM!!!

(adapted from cheekykitchen.com)

Yaya's Tuna Pasta

2 cans of white tuna, drained

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 Roma tomato, diced

3 green onions, chopped

Bowtie pasta, cooked

Thousand Island dressing (about 1/2 c or more if you like)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

2 T sweet pickle relish (or one sweet pickle, diced)

Mix ingredients in large serving bowl and serve with crunchy french bread...enjoy!!

Pretzels

We love eating pretzels when we go to the mall so I wanted to make my own at home. They are SO easy and YUMMY!

*recipe from Melskitchencafe.com

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 t sugar
1 package of instant yeast
1 cup warm water

Mix ingredients in bowl (I used my kitchenaide with the bread loop) Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Lightly flour dough and place in plastic bag....close and let sit for 30 min.
Preheat oven to 500*
Roll your dough into long "snakes" and twist into pretzel shape. Dip into mixture of 1/2 cup warm water mixed with 2 T of baking soda.
Bake for 8 min
Brush with melted butter and top with course salt--enjoy!

Paprika Potatoes

5 Yukon Golden Potatoes, washed, peeled, and sliced

course sea salt 1 1/2 t

Paprika 1 1/2 t

3 T butter

put sliced potatoes in microwave until tender (about 3 min)

add butter to pan until melted, add potatoes, sprinkle with paprika and salt

cook about 10 minutes stir often to prevent sticking to pan
(Serves 4)

YUM!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I made this pizza last month & after searching for a good pizza dough recipe for nearly 2 years I am happy to say that this is the BEST one yet!! The pizza is pretty darn good too. I made half the pizza BBQ Chicken and the other half just sauce & cheese for the kids. The dough recipe is enough for 2 large pizzas so you can save the other half for the next day.

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki

I have never had Greek food before so when I saw this recipe for Chicken Gyros I thought I would give it a try and I am SOOOO glad I did. I also made the homemade pitas rather than using store bought. And, instead of using the tzatziki recipe on the same website I made it the way my friend, Monika showed me.

Tzatziki

1/2 large cucumber or 1 whole small cucumber, peeled & grated into bowl

cover with 1 tsp. of salt (helps suck moisture out)

add 1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 garlic clove minced or pressed

put in fridge at least 1/2 hour before serving

YUM!

It was so nice outside we had to eat al fresco!

and my kids LOVED it!

look at Kai chomp it up!

Kali brought out some blueberries & carrots to jazz hers up a bit.

Strawberry Lemonade

1 cup hot water
2 cups sugar
2 large lemons, juiced
3 strawberries (pureed in a mini-chopper)
1 gallon of water

Dissolve sugar in hot water
Pour into large gallon pitcher
Add lemon juice & strawberry puree
Add enough cold water to taste & serve with ice
Enjoy!

Chicken Caesar Pasta

1 large chicken breast, grilled & seasoned with salt & pepper
Caesar salad dressing
tomato, diced
Asparagus, steamed or blanched & cut into bite sized pieces
Tri-color rotini pasta, cooked & drained

Toss pasta, asparagus, tomato, and chicken with Caesar salad dressing & serve!

Chicken Pesto Sandwich

Two chicken breasts sliced in half & grilled until no longer pink and brush with prepared pesto.

Top with:

tomato slices

muenster or provolone chees slices

avocado sliced

and serve on French bread (Safeway artisan is the BEST)

Pizza two ways

First, the dough.... dissolve 2 t active dry yeast in 1 cup of warm water. Add 2 3/4 whole wheat flour, 1 T olive oil, 1 T sugar and 1 t salt. (I have a kitchen aid mixer so I put on my bread hook and mix for 8 minutes) if you don't have one knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.Place in bowl coated with cooking spray, turn once to coat & cover. Let rise in a warm place (I turn my oven for a few minutes to warm and turn back off and leave dough in there) if its summer I just leave it out on the patio. Leave to rise until dough doubles, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down & roll into a 15 inch circle, transfer to pizza pan and build up a crust on edges. Bake at 400* for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and add toppings!

Chicken Pesto Pizza
1/2 lb chicken cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small onion halved and thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper or yellow pepper, julienned
3 T prepared pesto
1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 t pepper & salt

In large skillet over med heat, cook chicken, onion and pepper in 2 T olive oil until chicken is no longer pink & veggies are tender. Remove from heat and spread dough with pesto, top with chicken and cheese mixture. Sprinkle with pepper and salt.

Bake 400* for 15 minutes & ENJOY!!

Tomato Basil Pizza
2 T olive oil
2 cups mozzarella cheese (sliced or grated)
1 large tomato thinly sliced
fresh torn basil leaves

Drizzle dough with olive oil, top with tomatoes basil leaves and cheese. Bake 400* 15 min & enjoy!!!

Francis and I loved both of these pizzas but I figured the kids would not go for it so I divided the dough and made them a small pizza and they picked their own toppings of tomato sauce, mozzarella and olives. It was fun for them to top their own pizzas :)

Chicken Orange Pasta Salad

2 cups uncooked bowtie pasta

2 cups cooked chicken

2 celery ribs chopped

1 can (110z) mandarin oranges drained

1/3 c plain yogurt

1/3 c mayo

1/4 c orange juice concentrate

1 T white vinegar

2 t sugar

1/4t salt

1/4 t ground mustard

3 cups torn salad greens

Cook pasta. Drain & rinse with cold water. Combine chicken, pasta, celery, & oranges. In a separate small bowl mix yogurt, oj concentrate, vinegar, sugar, salt & mustard with whisk. Pour over pasta mixture and add greens...toss and enjoy!

* I also added a handful of chinese crunchy noodles for some texture. SOOO good!!!

The Pioneer Woman

I started the week sick of my all of my recipes, I needed somthing fresh & new! I decided to look at blogs and find some new recipes. 4 of the 5 I found were on The Pioneer Woman's website. She is perfection! Her recipes are hearty, easy to understand (lots of pics) and SO dang good! Before you click on her link make sure that you clear your schedule and are able to sit at the computer without a kid on your lap because it is magnificent! Oh and get a pen and paper out because you will want to make a grocery list to make all of her yummy recipes!

First, you must make this Steak Sandwich it was so filling and very easy to make. Mr. Becker LOVED it and the kids liked the steak cut into small bite sized bits.

Then move on to this bacon chicken sandwich that my husband even took to work the next day (and this man HATES leftovers)

and these cookies are pretty delish!

I am going to make recipes tonight and tomorrow from another blog and if they are good I will post links to them as well :) For now, enjoy the Pioneer Woman!

The BEST Sugar Cookies!

Mix 1 cup shortening(I used butter flavored) with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar, mix 1 minute until creamy and add 1/2 t vanilla and 1 small egg.

In separate bowl mix 2 cups flour with 1/2 baking soda, 1/2 t baking powder and 1/8t salt.

Add to shortening mix.

Use small cookie scoop or spoon to form balls and roll in sugar (coat well)

Bake 375* for 9 minutes. Let cool & enjoy!

Peanut Butter cup cookies

These cookies are my husband's favorite! The kids like to open the peanut butter cups to help, it keeps them busy & they like to tell Daddy they helped :)

The kids helping with the cookies

1 3/4 cup flour

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1/2 c butter, softned

1/2 c white sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c peanut butter

1 egg

1 t vanilla extract

2 T milk

40 minature Reece's Peanut Butter Cups

Preheat oven 375* Mix flour, salt, baking soda set aside. Cream together the butter, sugars and peanut butter. Add egg, vanilla and milk & flour mixture. Mix well. Use small cookie scoop or spoon into a mini-muffin pan and press peanut butter cup into center. Bake for 8 minutes.