Shiritaki Tofu Noodles

So there has been a lot of hype about these new shiritaki tofu noodles. They are only 20 calories per serving and are supposedly just as good as pasta. I had to try these out for myself because I absolutely love pasta, but not the extra calories. In the end I can say that they are a little chewier than noodles and not exactly the same, but a good substitute for less calories.

The first thing you should know is that they come in a bag full of liquid. This liquid smells really REALLY bad. Trust me don't take a whiff...it's horrible. Put the noodles in a strainer and rinse them as soon as possible. Rinse them really thoroughly to get rid of the smell. It is so bad. Once you rinse it you can blot it with paper towels. I heard the drier you get it the better. I just got impatient and put it in the pan.

I've heard that these noodles don't do well with marinara sauces, so I wouldn't suggest making a normal spaghetti dish. I tried to make a low cal dish that would be creamy and delicious. I used aloutte cheese squares, a little olive oil, some fat free mozzarella, plain greek yogurt and garlic salt. Just melt it all together and voila! What I have shown is two bags of the pasta so I doubled the recipe. Just make sure everything is melted and then serve it up with some salad! It comes out to be 120 calories for one serving aka the whole bag. I think it's worth a try!

Ingredients
1 package shiritaki noodles
drizzle of olive oil
1 square alouette cheese
2 T fat free mozzarella
1 T plain greek yogurt
garlic salt to taste

Directions
rinse the shiritaki noodles very well! Pat noodles dry with paper towel and put them into a sauce pan. Add the olive oil, cheeses, greek yogurt, and garlic salt. Mix it until all ingredients are combined and melted.

The easiest potato cheese soup EVER!

This is a soup my mom has always made when I was growing up. It has few ingredients and the great thing is you can't really mess it up.  The measurements are different every time, so you just have to see what you like and add more or less.

To start out I added about 1/2 cups of celery and a half an onion. Put it in a stock pot with 1/4 cup of butter. Let it simmer until the onions are translucent

Add in the chunks of potato and the chicken broth and let it boil until the potatoes are tender

Of course I didn't get this next part on camera, but pour half of the soup in the blender with 1/4 cup of velveeta cheese and blend it until it is smooth and creamy. Add more cheese if you like it cheesier. You might want to let it cool down before you put it in the blender.  Pour the creamy soup into a different pot and put the rest of the soup in the blender with more cheese.  Once it is all blended heat it back up and serve it in hollowed bread bowls with bacon bits and shredded cheese. Enjoy :)

Guiltless Cupcakes

I know I haven't been able to post in awhile, but I couldn't resist posting this guiltless version of cupcakes. My roommate found this recipe on pinterest and now we have tried many different variations. This version is definitively So here is the secret ingredient...PUMPKIN

Now let me tell you how to create this really difficult masterpiece. Well you take a can of pumpkin and you mix it with devils food cake mix. Yeah that's pretty much all there is to it. You mix it and then you put it in cupcake liners. Have the oven preheated to 425 and cook them for 20 minutes rotating after 10 minutes. Now go make them! Trust me they are sooooo worth it and less than 150 calories each!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes :)

My friend Nicki and I decided to try out these cinnamon toast crunch cupcakes from www.yourcupofcake.com.  They were really fun to make, but I think I would make the frosting a little lighter next time...maybe less cream cheese.

So to start out here are all the ingredients

It isn't really one of those recipes you make with the stuff you have in your fridge and pantry. We definitely had to go out and pick this stuff up from the store.

So to start preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl combine the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla

Mix in the sour cream then the cake mix and cinnamon...

now find a pretty friend and make her stir it!

Stir in the crushed cereal and then start filling the cupcake liners 3/4 full 

Bake for around 15 minutes. Stick a tooth pick in and see if it comes out clean to make sure it's done :)

We obviously couldn't decide which cupcake liners to use

When you are all finished whip up nice frosting with some crushed cinnamon toast crunch and voila!

Cinnamon Cake:

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

¾ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup sour cream

Vanilla Cake Mix (not white cake mix)

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with 20-22 cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla.

3. Mix in the sour cream.

4. Add cake mix and cinnamon and mix until combined

5. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean


Cinnamon Toast Crunch Buttercream:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder (or generic brand like us)

Directions

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy

Add Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder

Add vanilla and powdered sugar

 Adjust the consistency using milk if it is too thick

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with cinnamon sugar and Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares.

It's Pizza Time!

Ok before you continue you must realize that I am a college student and I don't always have time to make my own dough, so don't expect me to teach you how to make the best dough ever.  However, be prepared to use minimal ingredients to make awesome flavors!

Ok so to start out I am going to show you one of my favorite pizza combinations ever.  It's not for everyone, but it's definitely for me.  It is a gorgonzola and caramelized onion pizza. Sounds awesome right!? Well it is.  What is even better is that it only requires a few ingredients.

To start out we are going to caramelize some onions.  Chop up about 1/2 -1 red onion (depending how much you like onions).  Put some olive oil in a frying pan and dump in the onions.  Now you add some brown sugar...a little...a lot....it doesn't matter.  Now watch the magic!

Stir it around and wait until they look like little worms!! Also  you might want to cut the onions a little thinner.  I am not a skilled chopper so try not to judge me.

Now roll out any kind of pizza dough that you want. I prefer thin crust for this particular pizza, but go crazy with whatever you like.  I used the pillsbury thin crust dough and it worked great.  Just roll it out and generously sprinkle it with gorgonzola cheese.

Now put the caramelized onions on top ( i sprinkled more cheese after putting on the onions) and then stick it in the oven.  You probably just have to follow the baking directions for whatever pizza dough you are using, so I am not going to specify temperature and time.

If your pizza looks like this then congrats you succeeded! Now slice it and eat it!

For another variation of pizza I made Buffalo Chicken Pizza. It turned out awesome! This recipe was taken from the Pioneer Woman. If you don't already read her blog do it...really she is awesome.

Ok so the great thing about pizza is you don't need any specific measurements.  For this pizza i took some chicken chunks and covered them in BBQ sauce.

I sprinkled  BBQ sauce on the the dough and generously sprinkled mozarella cheese on top.

Now put the chicken on top of cheese and add some red onions.

Stick in the oven and voila!!!!

I added cilantro on top and it was definitely a good choice.

 and then of course the pepperoni and pineapple pizza. It is pretty self explanatory :)

Pasta Primavera

This recipe is one of those recipes that I think everyone has made at one point in their lives. It is super easy, healthy, and delicious.  My mom taught me how to make this awhile ago and I make it all the time for a quick and easy meal.

To be honest I don't use exact measurements.  I don't think you can really go wrong with these ingredients.  Feel free to add more or less of whatever you'd like!

To start out put some olive oil in a sauce pan.  Add in the onions and start cooking for a few minutes before adding the garlic.  Make sure the onions become a little translucent.

Once the garlic has simmered for about 30-45 seconds add in some basil and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Now all that is left is to add the diced tomatoes and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.  I know it's really hard to wait, but trust me it's worth it.  Make sure to stir it every once in awhile to make sure all the flavors get absorbed. 

When it is finished salt to taste and serve on top of angel hair pasta.  I always add some shredded parmesan to make it extra tastey.

Ingredients
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped (or 1-2 tbsp. dried basil)
4 tomatoes diced (or large 29 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes)
salt (to taste)
parmesan (optional)

Cookies N Cream Ice Cream!

This will probably be your favorite and easiest recipe ever created!  This recipe seems to be all over the blogging world and on the back of Eagle Brand condensed milk.  You can customize the flavor however you want, but this one is my favorite so far.

All that you will need for this recipe is Oreo cookies, condensed milk,  vanilla, and whipping cream. Sounds simple enough right?

Start out by putting the condensed milk, vanilla and crushed Oreos into a bowl and mix together.

In a separate bowl pour the whipping cream and begin to whip as if you are making whipping cream.  Once you have created semi stiff peaks in the whipping cream it should be ready!

Slowly fold the whipping cream into the other mixture a little at a time.  Once everything is coated put the mixture in a freezable container or pan.  I just put mine in a banana loaf pan and put it in the freezer.  Let it freeze overnight or at least 8 hours if you want it to be completely frozen.

And there you have it! Delicious homemade ice cream without an ice cream machine!

Ingredients
2 cups whipping cream
14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 package Oreos (you can do more or less depending on what you like)

Crunchy, Yummy Onion Rings

 Here is my beautiful friend Annie taste testing my onion rings. I think she approves :)

 So here is my set up. Mix the egg and milk in one bowl, and the dry ingredients in another.  The onions can be cut as thin or as thick ass you want it. Then get ready to get your hands dirty.  Grab some onions dip them in the egg mixture, toss them in the flour and drop them in the oil.  Then watch them work their magic.

  

Put them on a paper towel to get rid of the extra oil and then start snacking. Trust me they are good!

Check out the BBQ sliders on my page to see how you can use these puppies.
BBQ Bacon Blue Cheese Sliders

 Ok so I know that I haven't updated my blog in a few months, but I went on a trip to Europe and now I am just getting back into the swing of things. This recipe was from Our Best Bites and I actually made them a long time ago to put on the BBQ blue cheese sliders.
1 large onion 1 egg
1 Tbs milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Cayenne Pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
vegetable oil for frying
Heat 2 inches of oil to 350 degrees. Dip a handful of onions in egg mixture and let the excess drip off. Then put them in flour and lightly toss to coat. Place onions in hot oil and cook until golden brown. Remove the onions and place them on folded papertowels to absorb oil.

Chocolate Cream Puffs

I got this recipe from our best bites...again....I need to branch out.

Ingredients
½ c. water
¼ c. butter
1/8 tsp. salt
½ c. flour
2 eggs

Ok so the first step is to preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine water, salt and butter in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add the flour all at once and stir until a large ball of dough forms.

Add one egg at a time and stir in completely before adding the second egg.

Put teaspoon sized drops of dough on an ungreased pan (they will expand). These were a little bigger and the cream puffs came out quite large.

Put in the over for 20-25 minutes, but make sure to check periodically to see if they are golden brown

Here is how to make the chocolate filling

Ingredients
1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
1 Tbsp. cold water
2 Tbsp. boiling water
½ c. sugar
¼ c. cocoa
1 c. cold whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Sprinkle gelatin over  the cold water in a small bowl and let it stand 1 minute to soften.
Add the boiling water and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear.
Let it cool slightly.
Stir together ½ c. sugar and ¼ c. cocoa in a medium bowl.
Add whipping cream and vanilla.
Beat at medium speed until stiff.
Pour in gelatin mixture and beat until well blended.
Refrigerate ½ hour and then spoon into icing bag in order to fill the pastry.

Macaroni Casserole

So I decided to do one of my own recipes on here, well actually it's my mom's....and with that I'm sure she got it from someone else.  Oh well I have no one to cite for this except my mom.  This was always my favorite meal growing up.  My dad and brother didn't like the cream cheese/sour cream mixture so it was always have the pan just sauce and and cheese and the other half was lathered in the creamy sauce.

So to start it up bring some water to a boil and cook the bow tie pasta.  I'm assuming everyone knows how to make noodles.
Chop up the medium onion and the clove of garlic and put it in a sauce pan with a little oil.  Let it start cooking for a minute before adding in the meat.  I always use ground beef, but turkey tastes really good also.

After the meat has browned pour in the can of tomato sauce and add the oregano. Let it simmer for 20 minutes so all the flavors get absorbed into the sauce.

 Mix the sour cream and cream cheese in a separate bowl until it is creamy.

Now I am assuming the noodles are done.  I usually double this recipe and make it in a cake pan, but it could fit in an 8x8.  Put the noodles on the bottom of the pan and start dropping dollops of the cream cheese/sour cream spread across the pan.  Spread the mixture all over the noodles until it is evenly covered.

Take the meat sauce and pour it evenly over the noodles and do a little spreading to make sure it is even.  Take the cheddar cheese and sprinkle it over the top of the casserole.

Place it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted.

Ingredients
7 oz elbow macaroni
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 1/4 lb ground beef/turkey
1 med chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup sour cream
3 oz cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

BBQ Bacon Blue Cheese Sliders

Ok honestly everyone needs to check out our best bites. It is my favorite blog ever. So here is another recipe I took from them calle BBQ Bacon Sliders. They are just soo tastey.

Ok so first you need to make some beef pattys.  I don't know anything about barbecueing or making burgers so I just took some ground beef, added some salt and pepper, shaped them into mini pattys and threw them on my George Forman grill.  The rest of the stuff is so good that no one noticed that my burgers weren't super amazing.

 The key is in the this Garlic blue cheese sauce that coats both sides of the bun. Seroiusly so good. Make it...NOW.

1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese

Mix all of this and you are pretty much set.
So after you make these beef pattys go aead and add some BBQ sauce.  I coated both sides, because I like lots of BBQ sauce.

The next step is to make some bacon.  That is a whole different tutorial so I am just going to assume you know how to make  bacon.

Now to assemble the burgers
First lay out some dinner rolls cut in half or find some mini burger buns like I did. Then generously spread some of that lovely garlic blue cheese sauce all over the bun...then add some more.  Add a little piece of lettuce (mine are pretty small).

then goahead and add some bacon right on top

This is what you should look like when preparing the sliders :)

Now you add those delicious beef pattys...and then some homemade onion rings (I'll post a tutorial on those eventually...another our best bites recipe ofcourse)

I only put them in a pan because I had to transport them to a potluck I went to.

Go ahead and slather the top bun with more garlic blue cheese sauce and there you have it! Perfection.

Pizza Rolls

So I found these on one of my favorite food blogs Our Best Bites annnnd they looked way too good to pass up.

First step was taking a pillsbury pizza crust and rolling it out on a lightly floured surface.  It should roll out to 8x16. Then cut the dough into about 24 squares. 

Add your favorite toppings.  I used shredded cheese, but I think chunks would be easier.  I put in in some small pepperonis and cheese. The insides shrink up so try to get as much filling as possible.  These turned out a little airy inside because there wasn't enough filling.

My second attempt I used some pineapple, pepperonis, and cheese. Yum!
Next fold the edges up and seal the filling inside.

Put the balls into a greased 8 inch round pan seam down.

Brush olive oil across the top of the balls and sprinkle with garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and italian seasoning.

Stick it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees, or just read the package and follow the directions. Keep an eye on them and take them out when they are golden brown like this...

they will be nice and gooey inside. I ate dipped mine in some marinara sauce and some ranch :)