Smoked Turkey Lettuce Wraps!

I love having all of the local farm stands open for business!  This is the best time of year around here because of all the fresh produce you can purchase!

 

When I stopped to get corn the other day at my favorite farm stand, I noticed something new this year.  Living lettuce - well, of course I had to try it!

Today for lunch I made smoked turkey lettuce wraps!  They were so good!  The  living lettuce is the perfect lettuce for making "sandwiches".  I believe that this will be my new way of eating sandwiches for the rest of summer - so light and refreshing!

Here is how I made my lettuce wrap - you can custom make the wrap to suit your own taste.

 

Smoke Turkey Lettuce Wrap

1 slice Domestic Swiss Cheese

1 slice John Martin Smoked Turkey Breast

1/2 Slice Tomato

1/2 Thinly Sliced Red Onion

1 Slice Dill Pickle (I use Mt. Olive Brand)

1 Leaf of Lettuce

DIRECTIONS:  Layer all ingredients on lettuce, wrap up - enjoy!

 

Happy Eating!

 

*Meck's Produce is located along 222 South - just outside of Quarryville or visit their stand at Lancaster Central Market.

~Cooler Corn~

Happy summer everyone!  Hope you are all getting a chance to enjoy the long days!

 

Around here it is sweet corn season and while I love sweet corn, I do not like shucking the corn.  So any corn cooking technique that does not involve shucking the ears is a winner with me!  I was intrigued by cooking corn in a cooler and wondered if it would even work.....let me tell you, the cooler did a fabulous job!  I highly recommend this method, especially if you are having a picnic and will be cooking a large amount of corn.

 

All I did was cut off the top (tassel) part of the corn, place in a cooler and then we boiled enough water to cover the corn and poured it over the top of the corn.  Shut the cooler lid and walk away for about 35-45 minutes.  Pull the plug on the side of your cooler, drain the water.  Corn will remain hot for hours.

 

Easy peasy! 

 

*Note:  We used our turkey fryer pot to boil the water.

 

Happy Eating!

Crockpot Skinny Chicken Cheesesteaks!

I came across this recipe yesterday as I was perusing the internet for dinner ideas!  It was a hit with the family and the plus side of this dinner is that it's a weight watcher recipes from this site:

http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/skinny-philly-chicken-cheesesteak-sandwiches-in-the-crock-pot/

There are lots of tasty little weight watcher recipes on there!

You can serve this open-faced (as shown above) or with the whole roll!  Here is how I made them:

Skinny Philly Chicken Cheesesteaks
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 C. Vidalia Onion, sliced
1 C. Green Bell Pepper, sliced
1 C. Yellow, Red, Orange Peppers, sliced
1 pkt, Dry Italian Seasoning (Good Seasons)
1/2 C. BBQ Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays, Hickory Brown Sugar)
14 1/2 oz. Can, Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
Hot Dog Buns
1 C. Reduced Fat Mozzarella
DIRECTIONS:  Place chicken in bottom of crockpot.  Top with peppers and onions.  Add BBQ sauce and sprinkle with Italian season packet.  Pour broth over chicken mixture and cover.  Cook on low 6-7 hours.  Remover chicken from broth and slice.  Place back in with broth and peppers, onions - gently mix together.  To assemble sandwich:  On a baking sheet place bun and add 1 C. of the chicken mixture.  Top with 2 Tbsp. of cheese.  Broil for a few minutes until cheese has melted. 

The original recipe states that he WW points are 6.  (WW Points Plus=7).

Happy Eating!

Strawberry Shortcake Dessert!



 This dessert is AWESOME!  That is all I have to say about it!  Make it...you will love it!  Of course I found the original recipe on Pinterest and it was pinned from http://reallifedinner.com/raspberry-shortcake-dessert/. 

Strawberry Shortcake Dessert
1 Box White Cake Mix (+ingredients to make the cake)

1 (4.75 oz) Package Danish Dessert

1 (8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened

½ cup powdered sugar

1 (8 oz) package Cool Whip

3-4 cups fresh berries

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake cake according to package instructions. Use a large 13×18 lightly greased cookie sheet to bake it in. Mine only took 12 minutes to cook. It should take 12-15 min. When toothpick placed in center comes out clean you know it is done.  Let cake cool completely. 

In a sauce pan, combine contents of the Danish Dessert with 1¾ cup cold water. Put on medium high heat and stir continuously until mixture comes to a boil, Boil for 1 minute or until mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  You can place in fridge (place on a hot pad). 

While the berry topping is cooling combine softened cream cheese and powdered sugar with a hand mixer.  Mix in Cool Whip and carefully spread onto cake. 

Next, place fresh cut berries on top of cheesecake layer.  Check to see if the Danish Dessert mixture has cooled off. Don’t leave it in the fridge too long or it will set up. It doesn’t have to be completely cool to add to the cake, you just don’t want it to be hot or it will melt the cheesecake layer.

Spread the glaze topping evenly over the cheesecake layer and put entire dessert in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight. Keep Refrigerated.

 

HAPPY EATING!

Ooey Gooey Semi-Homemade Cinnamon Rolls!

So, these snow days are kind of bad for a diet....and days like today when it is rainy and sleety - we can't even get out for some exercise.
The cinnamon rolls aren't exactly diet friendly either but trust me, they are worth every single calorie!

These cinnamon rolls are sweet and provided a nice afternoon treat....yes, that's right - I had them at 3 in the afternoon and they were good!

Here is how you make them.....



Ooey Gooey Semi-Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

1 Loaf Frozen Bread Dough
1 1/4 Cups Brown Sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. Cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Flour
1/2 C. Butter, softened
2 oz. Cream Cheese
4 Tbsp. Butter, softened
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 C. Powdered Sugar
DIRECTIONS:  Allow bread dough to thaw and double in size (follow directions for thawing on the package).  Take an 11x17 pan and butter the bottom.  Place a piece of parchment paper over the greased dish and then butter again.  Once dough is thawed, roll out into a large rectangle.  Spread 1/2 C. softened butter onto the dough.  Next, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and flour.  Sprinkle this over the dough.  With a rolling pin - roll the sugar mixture into the dough.  Starting on the long side of the rectangle, roll dough tightly into a log shape.  Cut the rolled bread into 1 1/2 - 2" sections and place side by side in the prepared baking dish.  Cover with saran wrap and sit in a warm place.  Allow to double in size - until rolls are just touching - approx. 1-2 hours.  Preheat oven to 350.  Remove saran wrap from the rolls and place in oven to bake.  Bake for 15-17 minutes or until lightly browned, do not over bake.  While your cinnamon rolls are baking, you can make the icing.  Beat together the cream cheese and 4 tbsp. butter until smooth.  Add vanilla and beat again.  Add powdered sugar and beat 5 minutes.  When you remove the rolls from the oven - place 1/2 the icing mixture onto the rolls.  Once cooled you can icing with the remaining icing.

HAPPY EATING!

Peppermint Patty Steamers!

 



















Tonight we made another special treat.....peppermint patty steamers.  Honestly, I think that steamers is just a fancy name for steamed milk.  In this case, we used peppermint patties and it really was more like a hot chocolate drink.
Peppermint Patty Steamers
2 Small Peppermint Patties
1 Cup + 1 Tbsp. milk
DIRECTIONS:  Break up 1 1/2 peppermint patties into the bottom of your mug.  Measure 1 tablespoon of milk and place with the peppermint patties.  Microwave for 20 seconds, stir and if you need to microwave another few seconds to make the patties and milk smooth, do so.  Heat remaining 1 Cup of milk on stove top over medium heat, being careful not to boil the milk.  Pour heated milk over the melted peppermint patties, stir and top with whip cream if desired and garnish with remaining 1/2 of peppermint patty.

HAPPY EATING!

Peanut Butter Granola!

So today is yet another snow day around our area!  Thought I would try my hand at making some granola since I really can't go any where!

Here is what you will need:

 















This recipe is courtesy of:  http://www.somethingswanky.com/chewy-peanut-butter-granola-parfait/

When you remove it from the oven, let it cool completely and break into bite size pieces like this:

Store in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks!

Peanut Butter Granola
1/2 C. Peanut Butter (I used creamy)
1/2 C. Honey
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 C. Old Fashioned Oats
DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Combine peanut butter and honey in a medium sized bowl.  Microwave approx. 30 seconds.  Stir or whisk until smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Add oats and stir to completely coat them.  Spread on prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, break into pieces and store in container for 2 weeks.

ENJOY!

White Chicken Chili!

This is a great, comforting snowy evening kind of meal!  I adapted the recipe from here:  http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/09/creamy-white-chili.html/comment-page-2.  I didn't have some of the ingredients so  I had to make this recipe with what I had and it was GREAT!  Actually, quote my kids, "MMMMMMM, this is scrumptious." I served this with shredded cheese, green onions and cheese quesadillas.  Here is my adaption:

 

White Chicken Chili

 

2 Boneless, skinless chicken breast - frozen

16 oz. Chicken Broth

1 Tbsp. Dried, minced onion

1 1/2 tsp. Garlic powder

1 Can pinto beans, drained/rinsed

1 Can Light red kidney beans, drained/rinsed

1 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. Oregano

1/2 tsp. Chili powder

1 (8oz) block of light cream cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Place chicken breast in crockpot.  Add chicken broth, beans and seasonings (do not add cream cheese yet).  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Remove chicken and shred.  Add shredded chicken back to broth.  Stir in cream cheese and cover.  Heat for another 30 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and soup is hot.

 

HAPPY EATING!