Loving the Monsters

So I have been dieting again... We are going on a cruise in November.. and I want to look as awesome as possible. So I have been browsing Pinterest and the rest of the internet trying to find interesting things to eat that aren't high in calories. I happened to find a picture of an avocado chicken salad in a lettuce wrap... and it sounded so good I went to click on the link on Pinterest.. and just my luck.. the link was dead. So I went out to the store and bought some stuff that I thought would taste good together to make it myself. And oh boy did it taste good!!! Okay.. so here is how you make this deliciousness :D Makes 4 servings: only 200 calories for one! Ingredients: -3 chicken breast tenderloins (320 calories) -2 avocados (460 calories) -1 red bell pepper (15 calories) -1 tsp onion powder -1 tsp garlic powder -1 tsp white pepper -1 tsp chicken bullion powder (optional) -Salt and Pepper to taste -4 large romain leaves or whatever large leaf of lettuce you wan

I served these delicious cheesy knot rolls with corned beef and cabbage. You can find the recipe for that here http://cookingforthemonster.blogspot.com/2014/03/corned-beef-and-cabbage.html I decided to try making some cheesy "Celtic Knot" rolls with our St. Pattys day dinner. And they turned out amazing! I took a basic bread dough recipe that I use and turned it into something fantastic. So.. here ya go Makes about 8 large knot rolls Ingredients: 6 cups of flour 2 cups warm water 2 packets of quick rise yeast 2 Tbsp softened butter 1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese + extra for sprinkling 1 Tbsp oil 1 egg white 1Tbsp water Instructions: Mix together 2 cups of flour, your yeast, and your 2 cups of warm water. Quickly mix it together and let it rise for 5-8 minutes.  Now mix together the rest of your 4 cups of flour, your salt, and your 1 cup of cheese. Whisk or fork through it until its all mixed and nice and soft with no lumps.  Add your soften

Well, its St. Patricks day... so I decided to try my hand at making corned beef and cabbage. I have never made it before but I was very very pleasently surprised with how it turned out. Corned beef is one of my husbands absolute favorite foods, and he says the way I cooked it was the best he has ever had. I also liked it, especially for my first time ever eating it. Here is how its done! Ingredients: Package of corned beef (you can get it at Walmart, Harmons, Smiths, most grocery stores) Salt Water 1 head of cabbage Instructions: (Now to make your own corned beef from scratch it literally takes 7-10 days to cure.. so that is why I (and most people) buy it packaged.) Take your corned beef and trim off a little bit of the fat on top. Me and my husband both have texture issues.. and it didn't seem to affect how moist the meat was. And honestly you can skip this step if it seems like too much of a pain, all the fat dissolved off anyways. Take a rack (I used a co

These little babies are slightly crispy on the outside, perfectly sweet, and are almost under baked in the middle, so it tastes like they are filled. SO GOOD! My family went crazy for these. The whole batch was gone within minutes. Today I decided that it might be fun to use our new clover cookie cutters for St. Patricks day. I couldn't find a sugar cookie recipe that I liked online, so I made up my own... and in the process discovered an AMAZING way to make lemon sugar cookies. These little babies are amazing. Now, this recipe can also be used as a roll out recipe for cookie cutters. But with the leftover dough I decided to roll them into balls and then roll them in powdered sugar.. OMG... So.. here is the recipe for both ways to do it. No joke.. you guys will love these. Makes about 40..ish cookies Ingredients: 1 cup softened butter (2 sticks) 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract Zest from one lemon Juice from half of a lemon  3 ½

So, my husband had been telling me how much he loves good bread and olive oil and how its hard to find a place that sells the good stuff anymore. Its usually soft instead of crisp on top and by the time you buy it, its no longer warm anyway. I decided I would try my hand at making some delicious french bread. I tried a couple different recipes and finally came up with my own perfect measurements for ingredients that made it just how I like it. It is super crunchy and flavorful on top, and soft and delicious in the middle. This was literally all that was left of the loaf only an hour or so after it came out of the oven... DELICIOUS!  So.... here is how you make this little beauty. ☺ This makes 1 loaf Ingredients: 3 cups flour 1 cup warm water 2 tsp salt 1 package yeast 1 1/2 Tbsp butter 1-2 Tbsp olive oil 1 egg white 1 Tbsp water Instructions: Take 1 cup of your flour, yeast, and salt and mix together with your warm water in a stand up mixer with the paddle at