MagicallyDelicious

Lazy?  Well, I might be a little when it comes to cooking during the week.  I don’t get home from work until about 7 most nights, and the last thing I want to do is cook and clean.  And since it’s just me and my dog, no one is complaining if I make toast or popcorn for dinner.

This week, however, the fine folks at Johnsonville saved me from my sometimes questionable dinner choices, and I got four different delicious dishes out of the same basic meatballs.

Because I’m an AllRecipes AllStar, they sent us coupons to try their Italian sausage.  I chose Mild Italian, which I found was really the perfect amount of spice (I’m a spice wimp).  I started out by making this quick recipe for meatballs.  Formed quickly, baked quickly, they were ready for action.

I turned them into a lovely meatballs slider on a pretzel bun, and they were an excellent substitute for ground beef.  It was a little spicier than a beef meatball and was great with some cheese and sauce.

They also became a topping for a homemade pizza, and the filling for a delicious calzone.  Every version of these were delicious and each recipe was simple and quick.  So this little exercise kept me from the toaster oven for a whole week, and I didn’t even have to do much cooking or cleaning.  I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of these multipurpose recipes, but this one is a keeper for sure.

On second thought, I’ll revise my “lazy” statement and call it efficient instead

Tonight I’m writing thanks to my friend Punkin Muffin (you know who you are!).  I went on a “faceless recipe” adventure on AllRecipes.com.  Basically here’s how it works:

1. I search the site for recipes that both sound good and no one has taken a picture of yet.
2. I make the recipe, take the best pictures I can, and rate the recipe.

Sometimes I find gems.  Sometimes I understand why no one has posted a photo.  I mean there are a lot of delicious recipes that just don’t love the camera.  Fortunately this time, I got lucky.  I made three recipes this weekend and all of them turned out well and they turned out to not be too hard on the eyes.

So here is the first – Judy’s Pumpkin Muffins.  This one sounded good so I took a chance – it only had one review before me, so it could have gone either way.  But I think they turned out pretty and tasty.  Very moist, the right amount of spice.  The only thing I’d change next time would be to add a little vanilla and maybe a bit more cinnamon.  They’re easy to make and tasty – highly recommended for you and/or your punkin muffin!

You can find the other very photogenic recipes I made this weekend by visiting my Facebook page.

Sometimes you just want a quick and delicious lunch; there’s nothing wrong with a little shortcut here or there.  This recipe couldn’t be simpler!  2 Pillsbury Grands biscuits, 2 slices of cheese, 2 ounces of ham.  Flatten out the biscuits, fill them with the ham and cheese, and an egg wash over the top. Bake it for about 15 minutes and it turns a lovely golden brown with a deliciously gooey ham and cheese sandwich tucked inside.  Definitely a welcome warm lunch on a cold winter afternoon.  Get the official recipe here.

Well…I kind of took the summer off from cooking.  I moved from Maryland to Chicago, and I’m still unpacking boxes and restocking my kitchen.  Every time I try to make something, I’m missing an ingredient that I always have on hand, but had to leave behind because it was an open liquid.

So I was very excited to make my first dish in my new kitchen.  Simple, quick but so delicious.  This is my recipe for Quick & Easy Home Fries I posted on AllRecipes a very long time ago.  Enjoy!

It’s that time of year – I have a window unit air conditioner, so it is officially too hot to bake.  That doesn’t mean I won’t try, but on a regular basis it’s just not practical.

But I love cookies, so what’s a girl to do?   Enter Sara Snacker, the very next best thing to homemade cookies.

Sara Snacker has some really unique flavors, including summery goodies like Lemonade, salty sweet Chipnetzel – with and without chocolate!  They were kind enough to send me an assortment to try out, and even nicer to offer some to give away to a lucky reader!

The cookies are made from ingredients I can pronounce, all natural, and I like the fact that they aren’t all “perfect.”  The lemonade cookies were all a little differently shaped, just the way mine come out of the oven.  So if I wanted to (not that I would ever do such a thing mind you), I could pass them off as something that came out of my kitchen.  If I put them on a plate, they did technically come out of my kitchen, right?

It’s tough to pick a favorite, but since I like salty/sweet/chocolate, it’s probably the Dark Chocolate Chipnetzel.  But a very close second is the very lemony Lemonade, which tastes like lemon meringue pie to me.  Or the S’mores, which are a perfectly sweet bite of goodie that reminds me of sitting around the campfire.  Or Vanilla Milkshake.  Or the regular Chipnetzel.  Oh…ok that was all of them!  So I guess I just won’t pick favorites and say try them, you’ll like them.  They’re like you’d make, but you don’t have to heat up your kitchen on a hot summer day.

The Giveaway – Beat the Heat & Enjoy Something Sweet!

Enter to win a bag of both Lemonade and Vanilla Milkshake (which taste great together with a tall glass of milk, by the way).  Just click a button in the contest below to do one of the following to win:

• Leave a comment – tell me what sounds like your favorite flavor of Sara Snackers
• Tweet – Tweet @magicdelicious the cookies that sound good to you and a link back to the contest.
• Pin it – Pin a picture from the contest and mention what cookies look the best to you

Winner will be chosen at random – enter below by the end of June 8, 2012 for your chance to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

First batch - Toll House Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to bake, which makes this MY time of year.  The oven runs almost nonstop before Christmas.  This year, while much of it will head off to friends and family as usual, more of that baking will make its way to people who need a real boost in spirit.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore provides a home away from home for seriously ill children and their families, and helps to fund programs in the local area that directly improve the well being of children.  When I think about the fact that there are 36 families staying there over this holiday season with seriously ill children, it makes me want to do something to deliver some holiday spirit.  I can’t imagine how discouraging it can be to spend the holidays away from home with such an uncertain future.

So I’m participating in Cookies Across America, a grass-roots program powered by AllRecipes.com and Nestle Toll House,  designed to harness its online community for good.  Home bakers across the country will bake and donate an estimated 1 billion cookies to those in need this holiday season.  That’s enough cookies to circle the globe twice if lined up end to end!  Twelve dozen of those cookies will be mine, delivered to the families at Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore.

For me this is a complete no brainer.  I’m adding a few dozen cookies to my list of baking this holiday season.  And I get to host a little get together to help get them decorated and packaged up.  In the area?  Come by and help on December 10 from 1-4:  just RSVP here.

So, I get to do something I enjoy, have a nice day with friends to get everything ready, and I get the satisfaction of knowing I did something to help this holiday season.  What could be better?

I’m making a batch of cookies every day this week to get ready for my event next Saturday, so check back as I post pictures of the cookies as I bake them.  Two batches down…several to go!

If you want to participate in Cookies Across America there are many ways you can help.

1. Take the pledge!  Click the banner on the right and pledge the cookies you’ll donate this year.
2. Host your own gathering!  Set up a group at Meetup.com and get together with friends to bake and decorate some cookies to donate.
3. Bake some cookies and donate them on your own.  Find a local organization you believe in and deliver some cheer.
4. Don’t like to bake?  Donate to those who do.  Give ingredients to your local food pantry so that families who couldn’t otherwise afford to can bake their own recipes this year.

AllRecipes user: Roysaper

Turkey is a great source of protein, B vitamins and is low in saturated fat.  Consider using olive oil and herbs with your bird this Thanksgiving instead of butter to roast a flavorful bird without adding the saturated fat.

This recipe for Rosemary Roasted Turkey can also be used for Cornish game hens, chicken breasts or roasting chicken. Select a turkey sized according to the amount of people you will be serving.

AllRecipes.com

Sweet potatoes are loaded with beta carotene, vitamin A and fiber but often sweet potato casseroles are so loaded with sugar and fat they seem more like a dessert.

This version of the classic sweet potato casserole dials back the extras to deliver a flavorful and more healthy version of a traditional classic, without compromising the flavor.  The marshmallows are optional for those who miss that sweet traditional topping.

This dish is quick to prepare, but to save time, boil the sweet potatoes in advance, then complete the recipe the next day.

This weekend the MagicallyDelicious kitchen turned out some oatmeal chocolate chip squares, and this banana bread.  I’d been making the same recipe for years, completely content with it.  I’d added my personal twist to it, and it became a staple recipe.  Whenever I had over-ripe bananas to use up, I trotted out old faithful, and it never let me down.

But this time I got wandering eyes.  I wanted to see if the grass was greener on the other side.  And I wasn’t disappointed.  The texture was much different from my normal recipe, so I was leery as I poured the very liquid batter into the pan.  It took much longer to bake than my normal loaf too.

It’s just so good.  I don’t know if I’ll go back to my old recipe or not.  I may have to make it one more time to be sure this new one is “it.”  I’ll share the new one with you (unlike our man of mystery, keeping his secret recipes to himself), and maybe you’ll also step out on your normal banana bread.  Leave a comment after you make it and let us know what you think.

My personal twist on this recipe is I replaced 1/2 cup of white sugar with brown sugar (though next time I may reduce the overall amount – it’s a rather sweet loaf), and added 1 t of cinnamon, 1 t vanilla.

Check out Best Ever Banana Bread at AllRecipes.com