Windows Live Writer

So, clearly I haven’t blogged in quite some time. I am so darn frustrated with adding pictures in Blogger that I’ve been too discouraged to blog. I have tons of posts in my head, but want to type @$%(#*(%*(#)%*#*$%*)#&* when I start a post in Blogger. So I Googled ‘adding pictures to Blogger’ and found this as an option. Seriously?… you can find ANYTHING on the internet :-)

So now, a few pictures from our engagement on July 3, 2007 on top of Vail Mountain in Vail, Colorado. Backstory… Mr. Tote knew that I really wanted photos of our engagement. So on our vacation to Colorado, he clued my uncle in on his plan to ask me to marry him. So there my uncle was… snapping pictures the whole time.

Here.we.go.

 

  

How nice :-)

Vanilla Pound Cake

I was looking for a light dessert to make for Mother's Day (I know... a little late in posting) and came across this fantastic recipe from Weight Watchers. I had never made pound cake so I didn't know quite what to expect. This turned out way better than I was thinking! It was super moist and delicious!

The only change I made was that I didn't have almond extract on hand, so I used a little extra Mexican vanilla extract.

This is a GREAT summer dessert and I think it would be wonderful with blackberries, blueberries or any other fruit.

1 spray(s) cooking spray
2 large egg(s)
3 large egg white(s)
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
8 oz light cream cheese
3 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 1/3 cup(s) sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
1 3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, vanilla extract and almond extract; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until blended. Beat in sugar, baking powder and salt until blended. Beat in flour and egg mixture, little by little, beginning and ending with flour.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes.

Cool cake in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 12 slices and serve.

WW Points per serving: 5 pts (without the berries or Cool Whip)

Giveaway Alert!

One of my faithful followers, Meg, is hosting a giveaway over at 1 Funky Woman to celebrate her 100th post. She's giving away a $50 gift card to CSN stores, which I hadn't heard of... until now. I think I've found a new love on their beddingsheets.com specialty store. Check this out...

I am swooning over the black and silver paisley combination. I really hope I win. Even if I don't, I think these sheets may find a new home in our bedroom. So hop on over to 1 Funky Woman to enter her giveaway!

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Hummus with Chives

I love spring! I especially love that my chives came back from last year. I hear they're pretty hard to "kill," but still, I'm pretty happy about it. I used a couple of different recipes from the internet to come up with what I think is a delicious accompaniment to vegetable crudite and also pita chips.

1 Can (15.5 oz) Cannelini Beans, drained, but reserve 2 Tbsp liquid
2 heads garlic
1 Tbsp tahini
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp salt
1/2 C olive oil, plus more for roasting
5 stalks chives

Start by roasting your garlic. To do this, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulbs, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place each one into a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and cover them up. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until the heads feel soft when pressed. Let cool completely. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.

Finely chop the chives. Place the beans and reserved liquid, tahini, lemon juice (minus the seeds, folks!), roasted garlic cloves, chopped chives and salt in a food processor. Puree with the blade attachment until mostly smooth. While the processor is still running, drizzle in up to 1/2 C of olive oil or until smooth. Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving with cut up vegetables and/or baked pita chips.

Spinach and Pork Tenderloin Salad with Pears and Warm Shallot and Cranberry Vinaigrette

Another winner from Cooking Light! This one came from the April issue of my new favorite mag. I am really excited at how satisfying this salad is. It totally filled me up and it felt good to eat so much iron-y, calcium-y goodness. I had to make a few slight adjustments, including only making two servings. My modified recipe is below. You can find the original recipe here.

8 oz pork tenderloin (or about half of one tenderloin*), trimmed and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
3/4 tsp brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp dried thyme, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
pinch of salt and pinch of pepper
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/4 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, sliced thinly
1/4 C dried cranberries
1/4 concentrated pomegranate blueberry juice - that's what I had on hand. The original recipe calls for cranberry juice cocktail
6 C baby spinach leaves
1 ripe pear, thinly sliced

Combine vinegar, mustard, sugar, small dash of salt and pepper and 1/4 tsp thyme in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine flour with remaining thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Flatten the slices of pork between two pieces of plastic wrap with a heavy pan. Toss the slices of pork in the flour mixture and set aside.

Heat 1 Tsp oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and minced garlic to pan. Sautee for 3 minutes or until the shallots are tender and lightly browned. Add cranberries and juice. Cook until liquid is reduced to 2 Tbsp (about 2 minutes). Reduce heat to low and add the vinegar mixture. Cook 1 minute, stirring with a whisk. Set aside and keep warm.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Shake the excess flour from the slices of pork and add them to the skillet. Cook 3 minutes or until brown, turning once. Toss the pork with 1 Tbsp warm cranberry mixture.

Cobine spinach and pear in a large bowl. Drizzle with remaining cranberry mixture and toss well to coat. Arrange the spinach on 2 plates and top evenly with pork.

WW Points per Serving: 8 points

*Since it's just Mr. Tote and I, we trim our pork tenderloins right after purchasing and usually cut them in half crosswise before packing them individually in freezer bags. Half of a tenderloin is usually plenty of food for the both of us.

Pan Seared Shrimp and Arugula Risotto

I found this recipe in the May issue of Cooking Light. I'm no stranger to making risotto, thanks to Mary Ellen's fantastic recipes.

This one did not dissapoint. The arugula was the perfect spicy complement to the shrimp. Mr. Tote loved it, as well. We'll definitely be making this again!

4 C chicken stock
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
dash salt and pepper
1 shallot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 C Arborio rice
1/2 C dry white wine
1/2 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 Tbsp butter
3 C baby arugula
1/2 C thinly sliced fresh basil - I omitted since I didn't have any on hand

Bring chicken stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Keep warm over low heat.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with a dash of salt and pepper. Add shrimp to pan and cook or 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

Heat remaining tablespoon of oil and the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic to pan. Sautee for five minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add rice and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine. Cook for one minute or until the liquid is almost all absorbed, stirring constantly.

Add 1 C stock. Cook four minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining stock, one ladle at a time, stirring frequently until each amount of stock is absorbed before adding the next. This should take about 25-30 minutes.

Stir in shrimp and cook one minute or until done. Stir in cheese. Remove from heat. Stir in arugula and basil until slightly wilted. Serve immediately.

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

I found this recipe on Stephanie's A Year of Slow Cooking blog. Stephanie comes up with the most amazing recipes. Her creativity when using a slow cooker is definitely something to envy. Below is her recipe for Chicken and Dumplings in the Crockpot. Mine didn't turn out so "soupy" and was more like a casserole, but still equally delicious. My slight modifications appear below. Please visit A Year of Slow Cooking for the original Chicken and Dumplings Soup Recipe and lots of other fantastic finds.

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, defrosted

1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
16 ounces frozen corn
2 cans cream-of-something soup (I used one can cream of mushroom and one can cream of chicken)
1 can refrigerated biscuits, or one batch drop biscuits (I used the drop biscuit recipe on the back of the Bisquik box)

Spray a large slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place the chicken and vegetables into the bottom of the crockpot. Add the cream-of soups. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5. An hour before serving, shred the chicken with two large forks, and drop in the biscuit dough.


Cover and cook on high for another hour. The biscuits are done when you can insert a knife and it comes out clean. They will be spongy and will brown a bit on the sides and top.

Serve in bowls, with a biscuit or two per person.