Drop Biscuits

Well, it has been over a year since I posted on the blog, and man, have things changed!  I have graduated from nursing school with my accelerated BSN, worked night shift in the Intensive Care Unit, got engaged to my longtime college sweetheart, planned a wedding, switched to day shift, and married my college sweetheart on October 4, 2014.  After a few months of settling into married life, Christmas passed and it's officially 2015, and I am so ready to be back to blogging. Even though I have been slack (understatement) about posting, I never stopped cooking and baking.  I'm back, baby doll, and first up, are my easy drop biscuits...

Drop Biscuits

2 cups flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 T sugar

½ cup chilled butter, diced

1 ¼ cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, powder, salt, and sugar.  Sift.  Cut in butter.  Add milk.  Drop by the spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.  Bake 18 minutes.  (Switching the top and bottom pans half way through the bake time).  Makes 30 biscuits.

**Tip-- when trying to wash the bowl afterwards, use a balled-up piece of aluminum foil in place of a sponge to avoid the dough getting stuck in the sponge.  Ew.**

Creamy Mediterranean Chicken

This recipe is a great way to enjoy a creamy pasta dish without all the fat and calories as those that you get at restaurants!  The chickpeas and reduced-fat cream cheese combine to make a rich sauce that will make you think that you're cheating on your diet!

Creamy Mediterranean Chicken

2/3 cup chicken broth

8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed

1 can chickpeas, rinsed

1/4 cup fat-free Italian Dressing

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced

4 slices deli ham

1 package baby spinach leaves

1 1/2 cups angel hair pasta, cooked

Blend broth, cream cheese, 1/2 cup chickpeas, and Italian dressing in a blender until smooth and set aside.

Saute chicken until cooked.  Add ham and remaining chickpeas.  Pour cream cheese sauce over ingredients in the skillet; cover with lid.  Simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes.  Toss in pasta.

Call Me a Hippie, but I Love Granola

I have always loved granola, but the high fat content and calories always deterred me from eating it.  When my sweet boyfriend got some granola as a housewarming gift from his new neighbors, I got inspired to create my own "healthi-fied" granola recipe!

~Crunchy Granola

6 cups rolled oats

1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Dash salt

6 T honey 

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup craisins

2 T brown sugar

1/2 cup almond milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, mix honey, almond milk, and brown sugar over medium heat until combined.  In a bowl, combine oats, nuts, coconut, cinnamon, salt and mixture from the saucepan. Place on a sheet pan and put in oven. Bake for 30 minutes or a little longer, stirring occasionally. 

Remove pan from oven and add raisins. Cool on a rack, stirring once in a while until granola reaches room temperature. Transfer to a sealed container.

Enjoy on top of granola, with milk, or just sneaking it from the container!

International Crepes

It's official.  I have graduated from nursing school!  Now, I have more time to cook, photograph, and blog in between study for my Board Exams.

I know that I have posted my recipe for crepes before, but I love experimenting with new fillings.  This particular recipe might be my favorite.  This is the Hawaiian Pizza Crepe!

~Hawaiian Pizza Crepes

Crepe Recipe

Filling:
1 cup marinara sauce
1 package of deli ham, chopped
1 can of pineapple tidbits, drained
1 package low-fat mozzarella cheese
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Cook your crepes and then top each with marinara sauce, ham, pineapple, cheese and red pepper flakes.  Roll the crepe and warm in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the cheese.  Enjoy this international delight!

Revamped Cake Mix Cupcakes

I have always loved any sweet that is made from scratch.  I'm not going to lie, I have been known to turn up my nose at break and bake cookies and cake mixes.  Whew, I'm glad to get that off my chest!  Well, that is not the case anymore.  My palette has evolved... and I have discovered this new recipe!  Enjoy!

~Revamped Cake Mix Cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake mix
Eggs called for on the box +1 egg
Substitute the oil called for on box with the same amount of melted butter
Substitute the water called for on the box with the same amount of buttermilk

I know it sounds difficult, but trust me, it's easy!  Combine all of the ingredients and beat for 2 minutes. Poor into lined muffin tins or a greased cake pan. Bake according to the instructions on the box.  Test with a toothpick and then allow to cool!

While you are waiting for your confections to cool, whip up some of this awesome buttercream icing!

~Awesome Buttercream Icing


1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup real butter
1 1/2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
1 dash salt
5 cups confectioners' sugar
2 -3 tablespoons milk

Cream butter and shortening; then add vanilla and salt. Add sugar a cup at a time beating on medium speed. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time and beat on high until completely blended.

Cissy's Easy Fruit Cake Cookies

These ain't your Grandma's fruit cake cookies... well, actually they are MY Grandma, Cissy's, fruit cake cookies.  Many people turn up their noses at fruitcake, but these cookies are a different story.  They are sweet and salty, crunchy and soft, rich and addictive... pretty much everything you want in a dessert.  So throw those preconceived notions about fruitcake aside and whip up a batch of Cissy's Easy Fruit Cake Cookies!

~Cissy's Easy Fruit Cake Cookies

1 cup candied pineapple
1 cup candied red cherries
1 cup candied green cherries
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup pecans
2 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut fruit into small pieces. Chop nuts. Mix fruit and nuts. Sift together dry ingredients over the fruit. Mix the fruit and dry ingredients (yes, you will probably have to use your hands and get messy!)
Cream the butter and sugar; add the eggs. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, nuts and fruit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop the batter onto the sheet by the teaspoon.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies... You might have had them before, but you have never tasted them like this!  They are delicious, easy (ONLY 2 INGREDIENTS!), and (semi-)healthy! So buy some cake mix and pumpkin and heat up that oven.  You'll thank me!

~Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

1 can pumpkin puree

1 box of yellow cake mix

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix the box cake and the pumpkin puree until combined. Take a teaspoon ice cream scoop and drop the batter onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 13 minutes. Allow the pies to cool and then slice them in half horizontally. Spread cinnamon cream cheese icing in the center and enjoy!

~Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract and cinnamon.