Plates of Penrose: Superbowl Rewind

Well, our Panthers did not do so well this past Sunday, but luckily we still had a fun evening with friends, snacking on some delicious food!


Of course, we had some of the staple necessities for a good football party menu, like Buffalo Chicken Dip, a fresh Veggie plate with Ranch Dip, and some Smores Brownies for a dessert.


I made my first attempt at making guacamole and it was delicious! Ryleigh and I are big guac fans and this recipe did not disappoint:  Tab's Guacamole.  I switched some ingredients for convenience--instead of fresh cut tomato and jalepeno I used a drained can of Rotel and half a small can of diced jalepenos, and instead of crushed garlic I used a tablespoon of minced garlic.  It all turned out great!



Everytime I make my Crockpot Ribs they are a total crowd pleaser and my husband comments for days about how good they are :) So, I thought I would share the way too easy recipe:

Ingredients:

1 or 2 Racks of Ribs (pork or beef)

Garlic Salt

Onion Salt

Creole Seasoning

BBQ Sauce--whichever is your favorite!

Directions:

Cut your rack(s) of ribs into individual ribs (this is pretty easy-just slice between the bones).  Try to trim off the bits of gristle if possible.  I also usually trim off some of the excess fat--a little is okay to keep on the ribs for flavor but I hate biting into a hunk of fat--yuck!  After you have everything cut apart, sprinkle a light dusting of garlic salt and onion salt on top of the ribs.  Then, sprinkle with a good dusting of Creole seasoning for a nice kick of flavor.  

(At this point, if possible I like to let the ribs marinate overnight in the refrigerator. 

If you don't have time, just continue on to the next steps...)

Get out your crockpot, pour about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of BBQ sauce over the bottom and then start placing your ribs inside.  Stand your ribs upright--this gets easier the more ribs you place in the crockpot.  I have found that I can fit two racks of ribs in my 6qt crockpot just fine. Once you have all of your ribs placed, drizzle a little bit of BBQ sauce on top of each rib. Then, cook on low for 7-8hrs.  If your crockpot seems to cook everything quickly like mine does--they could be ready in as little as 6hrs.  

Yall, these are always fall. off. the. bone. good!  As you can see from the top part of the picture above--they are seriously fall off the bone tender when they are done!

"Football foods" are always some of my favorites. I'd love to hear if you try these recipes and what your thoughts are!

Plates of Penrose | Inspiration!

Yall, I am so excited. So many people ask me where I find recipes for delicious dinners, appetizers, desserts....the answer anymore is almost always Mix & Match Mama.  It's a foodie blog written by a mom who just so happens to be Sean Lowe [former Bachelor]'s sister.  I love her recipes for so many reasons --they have always been delicious, they are for "normal" people (i.e. there is no fancy chef lingo), and they are practical!  She's a mom so she understands the need for balance. She has great ideas for meal planning, crock pot cooking, and delicious yet easy desserts.  I have never had one of her recipes fail me!  I incorporate them into our daily dinners, covered dishes to bring to events or people who have had babies, holiday meals....everything!  Even my picky-eater husband loves her recipes.

So, I may have squealed with excitement when she recently announced this:

I know that these will be just the first cookbooks of many from her and I plan to add every single one to my collection.  I have a drawer full of printed out recipes from her blog and now I can have them all bound and pretty!

It looks like they will retail at $16 each once they are available February 1, 2016.  Preorders are available now!

Plates of Penrose: Buffalo Chicken & Cauliflower

A healthier mix of a favorite. Instead of carb-loading on macaroni or chips with buffalo chicken, I mixed in cauliflower.

Now, you could use fresh cauliflower and steam it on the stove then season and mix in with your cooked chicken. But, like me, you could also buy this great mix: Birdseye Steamfresh Buffalo Cauliflower.  You could also get a steamer bag of regular cauliflower and season it to taste, but I found this bag to be really good.  Steam this in the microwave as directed while you do the following...

I diced my chicken breasts then seasoned with some chili powder, Kick'n Chicken, Dry Ranch seasoning, and tiny bit of garlic salt.  I'm Italian so we cannot use just one spice... Then cooked on the stove. As the chicken was almost cooked through, I added Buffalo Ranch dressing and Texas Pete (or Frank's Red Hot, to taste).  You could also add in 4oz cream cheese and/or shredded mozzarella.  Once the chicken is cooked all the way, add in the steamed cauliflower and mix it up.  An easy, one-pot kind of meal :)

Since I did not put in the cream cheese it was not as thick as a dip, just a normal sauce.

We ate it with some homemade cheesey bread. I had never done home-made but this was really good and simple!  Tasted just like Texas Toast but the slices were not as thick.  Spray a baking sheet with Pam, then lay your bread slices down.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and Greek seasoning.  Melt 1/3-1/2 stick of butter in the microwave then pour out evenly over the seasoned bread.  Top with shredded cheese of your choice (we did mozzarella) and cook in the oven.  You want the cheese to melt and the bread to toast, which generally takes about 5-7 minutes with your oven at 350 degrees.


Enjoy :)

Plates of Penrose: Brown Sugar Ham French Toast Roll-Ups

These were so good!  Inspired by the French toast roll-ups that I saw swimming around Facebook, I changed it around a little.

Brown Sugar Ham French Toast Roll-ups

We never buy bread in our house. Unless I know we are doing something where we are packing sandwiches (like a day on the lake) or specifically need bread for a recipe, we don't buy it. We never end up eating it or making it more than a couple slices through the loaf, and old, moldy bread grosses me out.

Therefore, in a pinch I decided to use some delicious Pilsbury crescent rolls for the bread (I even had Honey Butter flavor so I chose that!).  I smooshed together the seams and made 4 rectangles, then baked them as directed for about 8 minutes.

I cubed a ham steak and simmered on the stove with some brown sugar for flavor.

While still warm (and easier to roll) I took the "bread", put some ham on it near the edge, and carefully rolled them up.  Then, I rolled them in a raw egg & cinnamon mixture before putting them in a pan on the stove to toast.

Simple, easy, and ready in about 12-15 minutes.  If you are a lover of breakfast for dinner like we are, this is a great weeknight meal! (or anytime meal. They were good!)

You could also modify by stuffing some breakfast sausage or fruit into the middle, but we had a ham steak left-over from another meal so decided to use it!

Plates of Penrose: Momfessionals Recipe Club

Today I'm linking up with Momfessionals for the Recipe Club exchange.

I'm sharing my Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese, and I can't wait to see some great recipes from all of the other ladies!

My original post on this recipe a few weeks ago can be found here.


Buffalo Chicken Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:
--Chicken (I used tenderloins but you could also use breasts)
--Hot sauce
--Dry Ranch seasoning
--Chili Powder
--Onion Powder
--Macaroni noodles
--Velveeta Cheese package

Directions:
*If you are able, marinate your chicken in some chili powder & dry ranch seasoning overnight. No worries if you don't have time for that though!

On your stovetop, put cut-up chicken in a pan and season with chili powder, onion powder, and dry ranch seasoning.  A light dusting of all three is enough, just to cover the tops :)  Mix together with some hot sauce and continue cooking.  Boil your water in a separate pan and then add in macaroni noodles.  Once macaroni is cooked, drain water then put back on the stovetop over medium heat with half of a Velveeta cheese package, some more hot sauce (to taste) and a little bit more dry ranch.  Combine your chicken in and mix all together, once cheese is melted into a nice sauce, lower heat.  Enjoy!  Serve with some carrot or celery sticks, or throw a steamer bag of veggies in your microwave for a nice, balanced meal!

Of course, if you like onion and celery you could also sauté them with the chicken then throw them into the mac & cheese, or get fancy and top it off with some bleu cheese crumbles.

Follow me on Pinterest if you want more of my recipes and some great ones that I've tried from others!

Plates of Penrose: Quick, Easy & Filling Breakfasts

I'm someone who definitely needs to eat breakfast in the mornings, but typically never sit down to eat it. It has to be something "on the go" or something I bring to work and eat at my desk while checking morning emails.

About a month ago my cousin, who is a Beachbody coach, sent me a sample of chocolate Shakeology.  I have been wanting to try it for a while, but haven't made the splurge.  Which in reality, it comes out to about $4/shake which isn't that bad but the $129 lump purchase made me want to try a free sample first to make sure (1) it actually tasted good and (2) was as magical as it claims to be.

Well, I was really impressed with Shakeology.  My usual breakfast (granola bar, greek yogurt, or bag of cookies) would only sustain me until around 11 when I wanted a snack to hold me over until my 1pm lunch.  I mixed the chocolate Shakeology sample with my iced coffee and it was pretty darn good. I wish that I had my blender at the apartment so that I could've made a smoothie but that is packed away so I made due.  What I was most impressed with is that I drank it on my way to work and did not get hungry at all --like, did not even think about food--until lunchtime.

Another great breakfast option that I came across recently is Refrigerator Granola--perfect because it is made in advance and is a good grab & go solution for busy weekday mornings while I'm more focused on packing Ryleigh's lunch for the day.  #workingmom #needmorehoursintheday

The Yummy Life blog

There are so many great flavors that she gives recipes for:  Mocha, Cherry Chocolate Chunk, Peach Raspberry, and one that I think will be a favorite this fall--Pumpkin Pie.  

I'm a chocolate lover and if I get to incorporate some dark chocolate into a healthy breakfast, it will give me my fix for the day so that I don't find myself with candy for a mid-morning snack.  #sweettooth4life #moderation

If you try any of these, or have other ideas to share, I'd love to hear them!

Plates of Penrose: Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

This was a quick and easy 20 minute weeknight dinner!  We are big buffalo chicken fans so I'm always trying to think of different ways to prepare it.  Tonight, we went with:

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:
--Chicken (I used tenderloins but you could also use breasts)
--Hot sauce
--Dry Ranch seasoning
--Chili Powder
--Onion Powder
--Macaroni noodles
--Velveeta Cheese package

Directions:
*If you are able, marinate your chicken in some chili powder & dry ranch seasoning overnight. No worries if you don't have time for that though!

On your stovetop, put cut-up chicken in a pan and season with chili powder, onion powder, and dry ranch seasoning.  A light dusting of all three is enough, just to cover the tops :)  Mix together with some hot sauce and continue cooking.  Boil your water in a separate pan and then add in macaroni noodles.  Once macaroni is cooked, drain water then put back on the stovetop over medium heat with half of a Velveeta cheese package, some more hot sauce (to taste) and a little bit more dry ranch.  Combine your chicken in and mix all together, once cheese is melted into a nice sauce, lower heat.  Enjoy!  Serve with some carrot or celery sticks, or throw a steamer bag of veggies in your microwave for a nice, balanced meal!

Of course, if you like onion and celery you could also sauté them with the chicken then throw them into the mac & cheese, or get fancy and top it off with some bleu cheese crumbles.