Piggy Pie Creations

15Aug
0

Because life is never easy…

I’m thinking there’s going to be yet another break in posts here.  Earlier this week I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes after failing both the 1 hour and the 3 hour tests.  Honestly, I’m not sure what this means for the immediate future of PPC.  I do know that this latest diagnosis in an otherwise difficult pregnancy has me quite frustrated.  I’m definitely slacking in the kitchen, lately.
I am hoping that in meeting with the nutritionist, I’ll be struck with inspiration for new healthier meals.
I do have some recipes and recipes with photos on my computer that I am hoping to share with you all, but in all honesty, right now it’s hard for me to look at and think about foods that I can’t eat.

Posted by Judy in Uncategorized
06Aug
0

Strawberry Muffins

My kids had been hinting that I hadn’t made muffins “in forever”, and muffins are their “favorite breakfast food ever!” so while they were away last weekend I took the opportunity to make a batch of muffins as a welcome home surprise.  They were so surprised, and so grateful.  They absolutely loved them.  Out of the dozen, I got one, and I think my husband got one… the rest went into the bellies of my kiddos.  These are awesome fresh out of the oven smeared with a little butter.  I meant to split one open and grill it in some butter, but they didn’t last long enough for that!  They were a huge hit for breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dessert!

strawberry muffin

strawberry muffin

Tasty!

Tasty!

1-3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup yogurt, I used some strawberry yogurt that I had in the fridge.
1/4 cup melted and cooled butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups chopped frozen strawberries, thawed

To Make~
In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in strawberries.

Fill muffin cups coated with cooking spray or lined with paper liners two-thirds full. Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Makes 1 dozen.

Posted by Judy in breakfasts and tagged with
13Jul
0

Chicken Parmigiana

My husband LOVES Chicken Parmigiana.  Loves it.  I think he’d be willing to eat it 7 nights a week if I’d make it.  I made it for his birthday last year. He loved this recipe SO much.  He has been so incredible throughout my pregnancy, I wish I could make it for him more often to thank him for everything he does.  However, I’m having some serious issues with sauce and severe heartburn.  (and touching raw chicken isn’t so good for my tummy)  Once this baby is born, he’ll be getting it for sure, all the time.  (Just hopefully me eating the sauce doesn’t affect the nursing baby!)

chicken parm

chicken parm

You’ll need~
4 Chicken Breasts
2 Eggs
1 cup Flour
3/4 cup Bread Crumbs
1 tbsp Granulated Garlic
1/4 cup Romano Cheese
Salt and Pepper
2 cups Grated Mozzarella Cheese (or more if you like it cheesy!)
4-5 cups Marinara sauce (depending upon how saucy you like it)
Parmesan Cheese (for sprinkling when done!)
1 lb Spaghetti

To make~
Combine the bread crumbs, garlic, Romano Cheese, salt and pepper.
Dredge the chicken in flour, and then put the chicken into the beaten egg. After chicken is coated in egg place in the bread crumb mixture and cover completely. In a pan over medium heat, add oil and pan fry the chicken. When the chicken is done place on paper towel. Pour some of the marinara on top of the chicken and then top with the mozzarella cheese and melt in the oven. Serve chicken with spaghetti and sauce


Posted by Judy in mains and tagged with ,
22Jun
0

Stuffed Peppers

My husband doesn’t like peppers, but really enjoyed this meal.  Even the kids ate it all up!  SO good!

stuffed peppers

stuffed peppers

You’ll need~
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
6 sweet bell peppers

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl.  Add the cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo should be only partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other vegetables. Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine. Transfer the warm chicken broth to a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds.

Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully transfer the stuffed pepper to a serving plate.

In the peppers pictured, I also threw in some fresh spinach that I’d had leftover.

Posted by Judy in mains, veggies and tagged with
11Jun
0

Fettuccine Carbonara

The pregnancy is going better, thank goodness (18wks 3days today!).  The seizures I was having have stopped, and the morning sickness has subsided.  I am slowly, but surely, starting to get some energy back.  Hopefully I’ll be back in the kitchen full time soon.  This recipe is for a Fettuccine Carbonara that I’d made before I got pregnant, and just recently came across the picture on my hard drive!  Yay!

You could use any pasta you want, I just happened to have some fettuccine on hand.  Admittedly, when I took this picture, I’d forgotten to add the cheese.  It was a big exciting evening here.  My husband had been outside with the kids when he called me to hurry out.  Our son had ridden his bike, without training wheels, for the very first time!

Fettuccine Carbonara

Fettuccine Carbonara

You’ll need~

1/4 C. flour
1/4 C. butter
1 qt. milk
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
24 slices extra thick bacon
1/4 C. olive oil
3 C. mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. fettuccine, uncooked
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Add milk, salt and pepper and stir vigorously with wire whisk until mixture barely comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, whisking frequently while sauce thickens. Keep warm. Cook bacon until fully cooked. Drain on paper towels. Cut into small pieces and stir into sauce. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute sliced mushrooms. Add to sauce. Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Drain well and add to the sauce. Blend well and transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
I am still having problems eating meat with this pregnancy.  I’m not too sure if it’s the meat, or the handling of the meat when I have to cook it.  I’m thinking of attempting once a week cooking.  It will save time, and I won’t have to handle raw meat on meat-eating days.  Hopefully it will work.  I’m still down in the weight gain department.  As a matter of fact, my doctor has ordered me to drink milkshakes!

Posted by Judy in mains and tagged with
02May
0

Sorry!

I do apologize for the lack of updates.  We found out that we’re pregnant!  The morning sickness left me less than creative in the kitchen an now that’s passing, but I’ve started having some serious complications.  I hope to be back to blogging soon.

Posted by Judy in family
23Apr
0

Mmmm… Cake…

I love me some cake.  Do you know what I love better than cake?  Gourmet cake.  What’s better than gourmet cake?  Free gourmet cake.  Double Duty Mommy is having a giveaway on her site.  She is giving away one free cake from Bake Me A Wish.  Seriously.  Go and enter.  Look at those cakes!  I am pretty sure I’d like to try… all of them?  With Mother’s Day and my birthday approaching, I may have to put in a request to the Hubbster!

Also be sure to check out Double Duty Mommy.  Fun Mommy, and fun site!  I am glad that I found her blog!

Double Duty Mommy

Double Duty Mommy

Posted by Judy in Uncategorized
21Apr
0

Thai Barbecue Pork

This Thai recipe is a huge hit with my family.  It’s also super easy, so that’s a plus for me!

Thai BBQ Pork

Thai BBQ Pork

You’ll need~

2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp salt
1 lb pork loin
1 tsp Chinese five spice

Cut the pork with the grain into long  thin pieces. Marinade with the rest of the ingredients for at least half an hour or overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 and bake for an hour.

This is so easy, and so very tasty!!

Posted by Judy in Thai, mains and tagged with
12Apr
0

Barbecue Sauce!!

The weather is warming up, and that means I can pull out the grill!    I was out of bottled barbecue sauce, so decided to try to come up with a little something on my own.  Why not, right?

I marinaded some chicken thighs in it, and it was pretty darned good, if I do say so myself.

BBQ chicken

BBQ chicken

You’ll need~
2 cups ketchup
1 quart water
1 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup each dark-brown sugar, chili powder, fresh lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves of garlic, very finely minced
Boil everything together until thickened, stirring constantly.

I’m sure it would be tasty on other meats as well.  I can’t wait to find out!

Posted by Judy in mains and tagged with
27Mar
0

Bourbon chicken

This is a recipe that the kids absolutely loved and devoured it (even though they initially didn’t want to eat it because they thought it had real bourbon in it and feared becoming drunk?). I think that next time I’ll add a little more heat to it, but I wanted to go easy because the kids don’t do spicy stuff.
I served this over, my son’s favorite, brown rice.

bourbon chicken

bourbon chicken

You’ll need~
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
olive oil
2-3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp ketchup… catsup… whatever
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of water
1/3 cup of soy sauce

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Brown the chicken pieces. While you’re doing that, combine everything else and mix well. Add the mixture to the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Maybe next time I’d add some corn starch or something to thicken up the sauce a bit.

Posted by Judy in mains and tagged with
Next Page »