Tasty Tuesday Mexican Chicken Pizza with Cornmeal crust.

Here's a simple method for making homemade pizza -- it can be on your table in 40 minutes!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
Additional cornmeal
2 cups Mexican cheese blend (8 oz)
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic fire roasted diced tomatoes or plain diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup sliced green onions (4 medium)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oven to 450°F.In medium bowl, stir together 3/4 cup of the flour, the sugar, yeast and salt. Stir in warm water and oil. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on high speed 1 minute. Stir in 1/3 cup cornmeal and remaining 3/4 cup flour to make a soft dough. On lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray; sprinkle with additional cornmeal. Press dough into 14x10-inch rectangle on cookie sheet; prick with fork. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges just begin to turn brown. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese blend. Top with chicken, tomatoes and bell pepper. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake 6 to 8 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and edges are golden brown. Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro.
Time-Saver: You can choose to cook your own chicken, or purchase a rotisserie chicken and shred the meat for this pizza.
Makes 6 servings.

Brownie Cream Pie

I've been wanting to make a home made pie for a while. I did a lot of experimenting and finally out came the Brownie Cream Pie. This one is made with a store bought pie crust, but you can make your own.
You Need:

• Pie crust 
• tub of whipped cream
• brownie mix
• eggs, milk, and oil for the brownies. 

Pre heat your oven to the temp on the brownie box. Mix and bake your brownies. When done let cool. I popped mine in the frig. When cooled take a bowl and add some whipped cream and some crumbled brownies. Mix well. Do this until just about all the brownies are gone and you have enough mix to fill the pie crust.  
Full the crust and add some whipped cream on top and some more crumbled brownies to make it look pretty. Than your all done and ready to eat.

Tasty Tuesday : Fried Green Tomato BLT

This is a special edition of Tasty Tuesday. It's the Tasty Tuesday Hubby Edition !!!!!
This is he's Fried Green Tomato BLT. " The BTL for those who don't like BLTs".

You'll Need :
green tomatos
bread
bacon
lettuce
red onion
cheese.

What You Need To Do :
Batter and fry those green tomatoes. Fry up that bacon too. Toast the your bread ( we like wheat ). Now you build your sandwich. Add cheese, sliced onions, lettuce, bacon, and fried green tomato.
Then eat it up and enjoy.

Thanks to my wonderful hubby today for this great recipe.

French Toast Cups

I saw this recipe on Rachael Ray and I had to try it out and share it.
You'll need :
Eggs
Any seasoning you like on your french toast.
bread
a oven
a muffin tin
fruit
and syrup.

You mix your eggs and seasoning in a bowl.
Take your bread and cut it from the center on one side, this helps it fit into the muffin tin easier.
Dip the bread into the egg mix and push down into the muffin tin to make a bowl.
Spray down the muffin tin with non sticking spray.
Like this:

Put the muffin tin in the oven until the french toast is golden brown. It will come out looking like the above picture.
Take the french toast cup out in put on plate and add fresh fruits and syrup.

You will get a yummy French Toast Cup like this one above.

Darlin Review : Tostitoes Artisan Recipes

 




Tostitoes has come out with a new chip. Tostitoes Artisan Recipes is made with 100% natural ingredients. These ingredients are black beans, garlic, chipotle, and 9 flavorful gains.

I was lucky enough to get to try these great chips out. All the ingredients are baked right into the chip so no dip is needed. Just grab one and enjoy it right from the bag. I tried out the black beans and garlic. They were really good. I loved the salty taste that come along with it. They did kinda dry out my mouth, so make sure you got a good drink handy.
I really like these chips and so did my daughter. I felt good about feeding her chips with all natural ingredients.









I got a free bag of Tostitoes Artisan Recipe chips for doing this review. As always all the opinions are mine and only mine.

Nutella Mommy Party / Giveaway

I was lucky to be choose to host a Nutella Mommy Party. I'll be the 1st to admit I'm not the best at eating a healthy breakfast. I'm a coffee and candy bar kinda gal. My daughter eats healthier than I do with her morning banana.
Nutella might have just changed my ways when it comes to eating breakfast. Nutella is  made with roasted hazelnuts, skim milk, and cocoa. There are over 50 hazelnuts in one jar of Nutella spread. Nutella is also a peanut free product. It doesn't even come in contact of peanuts during manufacturing.
I throw a party of my family today.

They tried the Nutella samples and loved them. Even my daughter loved the great hazelnut and cocoa taste.
They also got to go home with some awesome Nutella gift bags.

All and all my party was great. Everyone loved the Nutella spread. It definitely has changed the way we look at breakfast.

I am also going to "spread" the party. Haha I'm so silly.
I am giveaway a great Nutella gift bag packed with some great Nutella stuff.

Win everything you see here in the picture.

• One Nutella coffee cup
• One Nutella coupon
• Two Nutella recipe cards
• Two Nutella sample packs. 
• One Nutella spreader. 

Enter by:
"Like" Nutella on Facebook
Following me Via GFC
"Like" me on Facebook

Giveaway ends March 12th
Go Enter Now!!!

I received free Nutella products for my party and review. And like always these opinions are all mine. 

Simple Crock Pot Pork Stew

I used stuff I already had around the house. No special trip to the store.

• Cubed up pork
• Carrots
• Potatoes 
• Green Beans 
• Chick Stock

Turn your crock pot on high and add a can of chick stock. Throw in your pork, chopped potatoes, chopped or baby carrots, and green beans.
Cover with water.
If cooking day of leave on high for five hours or until pork is cooked through and veggies are soft.

See I told you it would be simple.

XOXO
Nikki Darlin'

Cheesy Chicken Roll-Up

Ingredients: (makes 8)
1 can of crescent rolls ( I used rolls I didn't have any crescent rolls in the house.)
8 slices of ham ( I used the ham sandwich meat.)
some shredded cheese
8 chicken fingers. ( I used Banquet Original Chicken Breast Tenders )

Directions:
Preheat to 375
roll out one crescent roll
place the chicken finger in the ham
add cheese on top of the chicken
roll up the chicken and cheese into the ham
Then roll the ham/chicken into the crescent roll.
Bake until golden brown.

These are awesome dipped in honey mustard.

XOXO
Nikki Darlin'

Healthy Meatloaf

Ok I know this picture doesn't look the best, but believe me this is good meatloaf. And this is coming from someone who doesn't even like meatloaf. I was looking for healthy foods I could make and save/serve for a few days. I found this recipe for Mom's Makeover Meatloaf at MealMakeoverMoms.com.

Ingredients

• One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 pound lean ground beef (90% or higher)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Lightly oil or coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Mash the beans in a large bowl using the back of a large fork or spoon until smooth but still a bit chunky. Add the beef, eggs, carrot, bread crumbs, ground flaxseed, 1/4 cup ketchup, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste and mix until well combined.
3. Place the meat mixture in the middle of the baking dish. Shape into a 6×8-inch rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches high. Spread the 2 tablespoons of ketchup evenly on the top and sides.
4. Bake until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 160°F, 50 to 60 minutes. Let stand for a couple of minutes before serving.

I loved this meatloaf! I used too many beans and not enough ketchup this time around, but next time I will be sure to get it right. I also didn't have a loaf pan, so I used my casserole pan, which didn't work so well with making it look like a loaf. The black beans in this were awesome. And Skylee even liked it!

XOXO
Nikki Darlin'

I'm Free From the Dinner Ball and Chain

Thanks to my hubby's new work times I'm free of cooking dinners. Most women would be happy about this, not me. Well kinda I am, but not really. Before we got a place of our own I dreamed about our family dinners. I dreamed about the apron I would wear and cute pot holders I would buy. I seen us at the table laughing and enjoying our time together.
Well when he 1st got home we ate out a lot just because we missed going out together. Then he had to go back to work. So I started cooking our dinners. I would make fancy looking dishes that I thought he would like. Turns out he rather have BBQ pork chops, mashed potatoes, and greens. You know the classic southern man meal. So that's what I would cook him.
Then his then job wanted him to work night shift. So there went my dream dinners. At the time Skylee was on baby foods, so she was easy to feed. I would at sandwiches and cereal most the day. I really love cereal. Not the sugar kind, I love Rice Crispy and Chex.
The he got a new job working in the mornings again and I got my dinners back. By this time Skylee is now eat table foods. So our BBQ pork chops started to get baked rather than fried. I wanted everything to be healthy.
Now that his working nights again I'm finding it hard to keep things healthy. Just cooking for me and Skylee is hard. Most the time we're not hungry at the same times. So I would pop her something in the microwave and feed her something quick. I see this is wrong on the health stand point. So now I'm fighting with what to cook. What taste good, is healthy, and quick? Keep in mind I'm feeding only two people.

Which Comes 1st : The Spoon or the Fork?

We have been learning to use our eating utensils. She started showing interests in using them a little after she turned a year old. So I started just giving her a spoon and fork with her meals, just to see if she would use them. ( Toddler spoon and fork of course). She took to the fork right away. She got the stabbing down pat. So at 16 months I can say we have mastered the fork. 

Now this spoon guy is another story. She tries bless her little heart. She just can't get the scooping motion do pat. She justs so mad at it. If the food doesn't stick to the spoon she would starve. She starts off trying to to scoop, then going into stabbing, then just cries and hands me the spoon.

We're still trying. I keep telling her it's going to take time. I give her pep talks, and hug her when she gets too mad at the spoon. And sometimes I can't help but to laugh at her tries. She'll make the funniest faces. So we'll keep trying and soon we will have this spoon mastered as well.

When did your little one start using a spoon and fork?

Any tips on how to help her get the hang of it better?

XOXO

Nikki Darlin'

Darlin Review : Munckin Snack Catcher

This is an old review a did a few months back on another blog. I wanted to move it here for everyone to see.

 

We just bought this for our daughter last night. I thought it was a wonderful idea. I'm a mommy that doesn't like mess, tough luck on my part huh? LOL

So I thought this would be perfect for our one year old little munckin who loves finger foods and feeding herself. So we headed down to good ol' Walmart and got her one. At 1st she didn't know what to do. It was funny watching her putting it to her mouth and trying to drink out of it. I showed her how it worked and she just got mad that she couldn't get her favorite snack out.

So this morning we tried again. She got better at it and she got one out. It's still a hit and mess type thing but I see her getting better.

I love this little thing. I think every mom of a toddler should have one. It takes some learning but in the end I see great things coming out of it.

I will be updating this post as Skylee gets better at getting her snacks out and let everyone know how it's going. so keep checking back over the next few days.

I give it right now 6 out of 10 stars!!!

Update:

Skylee has learned how the snack catcher works. She's doing pretty good with it. Still sometimes a hit and miss game. But I love this little thing.

Every mom of a toddler needs one!!!!

Homemade Crab Cakes

I found this recipe by googleing Easy to make Crab Cakes and got the this site Suite101.com
Below you will find the recipe and beside in this writing, you'll find my comments.
Hope you like, my husband really did.

2 cups bread crumbs or crumbled, uncooked white bread (for spongier cakes) I  toasted 6 piece of bread and crumbled them.


2 cups lump crab meat, or fresh boiled crab meat We had some left over crab from paste I made the day before.

1 egg

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Dijon mustard I used reg. mustard.

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning, or any seasoning salt  I used some seasoning salt I had.

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce I didn't use this.

1 tablespoon creole seasoning I also didn't use this.

Place bread crumbs or white bread pieces in a large mixing bowl. Bread crumbs may be purchased, or made at home by burning toast, and crumbling it into the bowl. Crumbled oyster crackers may be mixed in with the crumbs or pieces of uncooked bread for a richer flavor.


Crack egg and stir into crumbs or crumbled bread.

Add mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce and stir until the ingredients are well mixed. If using lemon juice, stir a little in with these wetter ingredients

Add seasonings (salt, pepper, Old Bay, creole seasoning) and whisk until the "dough" has an even consistency.

If using any of the optional vegetables, mince and stir in here. Celery or red pepper should be used, but not both. The same goes with parsley and cilantro. Tomato is a delicious addition to this recipe, and makes the crab cakes much tastier.

Stir all of the ingredients together well until evenly mixed.

Squeeze crab meat to drain juice out of it. With hands, work the crab meat into the dough by kneading and folding it in.

Make five to ten patties with hands. Press on them from all sides to make them tight, and keep them together.

Fry in a skillet with butter over medium heat for about five minutes on each side. If they are thicker, they may need to be fried a few extra minutes. Also, the patties may be baked in an oven. Place in oven at 375 degrees for about ten minutes. It may help to take them out and flip them at some point.

I mixed it all together in a mixing bowl to start with. I think I had too much crab meat, but I had to use the meat, I didn't want it to go bad. Then I used my hands to make medium size balls and placed them in a baking pan.

I had the oven per-heated at 375. I popped the crab cakes in the oven until they got a little brown.

I served them with green beans and dinner rolls. Yummy!

XOXO

Nikki Darlin'