Archive for January, 2010

4 green or red bell peppers
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
3/4 cup salsa
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup uncooked converted long grain rice
1 & 1/4 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Mix everything (except the peppers) together.  Cut tops off peppers and clean out seeds.  Fill peppers with filling mixture.  Place in 5 – 6 quart slow-cooker, sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours, until filling is heated and peppers are soft.  Enjoy your super easy, super yummy dinner!  Add a dollop of sour cream for extra awesome.

My sister and brother-in-law bought me these awesome silicone cupcake cups fro Christmas, Regency Sili-Cups.

Unlike other silicone cupcake cups, Sili-cups gold their shape without needing a muffin tin and the edges are crisp little zig-zags.  They are, in a word, awesome.

I decided to play with my Soapylove Jewelry Box colorants and make some soap cupcakes.

I melted clear soap and mixed in fragrance, color, and the sparkle dust soap-safe glitter that comes with the color set, then poured the soap into the cups.

I played around with filling the cups to different levels.

While the soap hardened, I melted white soap and added the same color and fragrance.  These colorants are not non-bleeding, so I used the same color for the cupcake and frosting.

The “frosting” needs to be stirred and stirred until it cools and thickens enough to hold shape when it is poured on top of the cupcake base.  Then, you only have a few second before it gets too hard to pour, so be prepared to work quickly.

Spritz the cupcake with alcohol just before putting on the frosting.  Then, pour the soap frosting on, using a spoon to shape it.  If it floops of the edge of the cupcake when you pour it, just smoosh it back on; it gives it a more realistic frosting appearance.

Spritz again with alcohol and top with a sprinkle of the sparkle dust.

I loved them so much, I made lots of different colors!

Long name, amazing treat.

I make these for the boys to have for snack.  They are slightly better than other sweet treats because of the protein in the peanut butter and the whole grain in the cheerios.  And they’re addictively delicious.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 6 cups honey nut cheerios (store brand works fine)

Measure out the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan.  Add marshmallows.  When marshmallows are partially melted, add the peanut butter.  Stir and melt over medium-low heat until all ooey-gooey.  Do not burn!  You might want to take it off the heat when there are a few unmelted marshmallows left and stir until smooth.

Pour over cereal and stir until well blended.

Pour into a buttered 9×13 pan.  Press down with buttered hands (or sprayed wax paper or silicone spatula).

Let cool, then cut into yummy, awesome bars.

Enjoy!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday.  I know that was 2 weeks ago, but this is my first post since then.  Now it’s time to dive into 2010 with a nice slow-cooker recipe.

This week, I decided to get back into the habit of menu planning.  This was not a New Year’s resolution; it’s something I have been meaning to do for a long time.

I was having a hard time coming up with ideas, so I went to a Kraft Kitchens e-mail newsletter and started clicking on links.  I came up with a week’s worth of dinners, made a list, and went to the grocery store.

The first recipe I made was this Slow-Cooker Sweet and Sour Pork.  It uses barbecue sauce and chicken broth for the flavor.  I also added a little bit of the juice from the canned pineapple.

What You Need!

1-1/2 lb. boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chicken broth
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple chunks in juice, drained
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked

Make It!

PLACE meat in slow cooker; top with onions.

ADD barbecue sauce and broth; cover with lid. Cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours (or on HIGH 4 hours).

STIR in remaining ingredients. Cook, covered, on LOW 30 min. or until rice is tender.

The recipe calls for a boneless pork loin, but I substituted pork chops because they were on sale for pennies on the dollar compared to the pork loin.  It required a bit more work, but the new kitchen shears I got for Christmas made quick work of that.

I like that the recipe calls for adding the green pepper near the end of cooking.  I never thought of doing that, but I hate how mushy peppers get in slow-cooker recipes.

Tip: cut up the peppers when you are putting everything else in the slow-cooker and put them in a container in the frige until needed.  That way, you only have to do veggie prep once and it’s easy-peasy to throw the chopped peppers, pineapple, and rice in a the end, without having to lug out your cutting board and knife again.

Both my husband and I liked this dish.

Sorry that I don’t have any pictures.  I didn’t realize I would like this so much that I would want to blog about it.