Incase you missed it!

My friends at New Day were nice enough to make me a YouTube video of my appearance yesterday so I could share it here for all of you. So just incase you missed it, or live outside the viewing area, here you go!




On a side note... do you follow me on Facebook or Instagram? If not, please come on over and add me to your favorites and I will be sure to follow you back!! If I am not posting on here, I am still most definitely posting on one or both of those places! I am a picture taking addict, so Instagram is my new favorite thing in the world. Instant gratification!  But I warn you, it is mostly pictures of my awesome boys and family; you can get a glimpse into my life through my photographs.  To find me you can either click on the links I just posted or look on the right sidebar and there are buttons over there as well.  I look forward to getting to know you all a bit better! Come and say hi!!

Zucchini Pancakes on New Day Cleveland

It was back to the studio today cook with my favorite television host, David Moss on New Day Cleveland!  With Summer only a wink away, we went with a family favorite recipe, Zucchini Pancakes.  This recipe is a special one to me.  It is one my mom has been making for years and years and just the smell of them brings back so many special memories of vacation on the beach, in OBX and dining all together around a huge table, laughing and sharing stories.  It is so cool how a simple recipe can do that to you!  Food is so much more then just food!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love what I do?  Goodness, talk about a rush!  This is my 5th time on the show, and yet a part of me still can't believe that it is real.  I truly am blessed.  And now on to the recipe....

Zucchini Pancakes
1/3 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups zucchini, shredded
chives, chopped (optional)
butter for frying

Mix first three ingredients. Stir in eggs until moist. Fold in zucchini. Fry patties until brown.

*I like to keep an oven proof dish in the oven on warm and put the pancakes in there as they cook. Just be sure to keep them loosely covered with foil so they don't shrink up or dry out. Diced tomatoes are also a nice addition. Just be sure to deseed them. You don't want a whole lot of tomato, just enough for flecks of color and a bit of flavor.

Italian Sausage Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers

This is a yummy and super easy meal that is perfect for a weeknight.  You can easily prepare these peppers the night before and then throw them in the oven to bake when you get home from work cutting down on your time even more.  I call for Cubanelle peppers which are one of my favorites!  They have a mild heat yet taste sweet at the same time, especially after cooking.  But if you prefer a spicier pepper, Hungarian Hot peppers are a great substitute.   When I make these, I like to use a combination of Cubanelle peppers and mild Italian Sausage.  It has just the right amount of spice, but mild enough for the kids to enjoy.  Jackson my 6 year old couldn't stop raving about these at dinner.  He even ate the pepper!   It was too cool. 

Italian Sausage Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers
4 Cubanelle Peppers (banana or Hungarian Hot peppers will also work nicely) 
1 lb ground Italian Sausage (sweet, mild or hot are all delicious choices!  Use your favorite)
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Spray a 9x13 pan with pam, and cover bottom with a bit of spaghetti sauce, just to keep everything moist. Sauté onion and minced garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the ground Italian sausage and sauté until no longer pink. Pour pork mixture into a large bowl and add bread crumbs, salt and pepper, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and one beaten egg. Stuff them into halved cubanelle peppers (banana or Hungarian hot are also good choices). Top with remaining sauce and shredded mozzarella. Cover and bake for 50 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Serve alongside a nice green salad and some crusty bread, enjoy!

I apologize for the not s great photograph.  I am having problem with the memory card for my camera.  So iphone it was today! 

My New Day Cleveland Video with the recipe for Tortellini Soup!

What a rush! Those (almost!) 7 minutes go by so, so fast! LOL.  But today was fun, fun, fun and I am so thrilled I have been blessed with this opportunity to work with such a wonderful group of people.  I have decided that I could truly get used to this life (grin).

This video was made for me by New Day Cleveland website. Thank you!

And here is the recipe for my delicious Tortellini Soup from the show.  You will love it, I promise!

Tortellini Soup

3 cups beef stock (chicken or vegetable may be substituted, but the beef gives a nice rich flavor)
3 cups water
1 ear corn, kernals cut off and “corn milk” scrapped*
1 medium zucchini, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced (or 1 teaspoon dried)
salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

*Quick tip to Easily cut corn off the cobb- A bundt pan is the best bowl for this job! It has a handy hole to hold the corn steady and then the bowl for all the kernels to fall into. Gotta love dual purpose items!

Turn your bundt pan right side up, place the cleaned corn cob upright with the tip of corn resting in the hole of the pan. Slowly slide the knife down the sides of the corn, cutting off a section at a time. Once all the corn is removed, turn your knife around so the flat side is facing the cob.

Repeat the process, scraping down on the cob collecting all the sweet corn milk in the bowl. This is special stuff, you definitely don’t want to just throw it away! It is sweet, juicy and will give a great added flavor to the soup.

Directions for the soup:
In a large stock pot over medium heat, add one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and sauté onion and zucchini until tender and beginning to caramelize. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add tortellini’s and simmer 7-8 minutes or until they are fully cooked and floating to the top. Serve with nice crusty butter bread.

The original link to this recipe is here.

Four Times a Charm!

Yay!!! New Day Cleveland tomorrow!! 

Your support is wonderfully encouraging, so if you are local and would like, tune in at 10:00am to Fox 8! I will be sharing my own recipe of Tortellini Soup- perfect for this crazy cold weather we have been having! Goodness gracious, it is suposed to be 13 degrees tomorrow (it was only 50 degrees two days ago~  geez, crazy Cleveland weather!)

If you aren't local but still would like to see little me, I will be posting the YouTube video later in the day. Thank you so much and wish me luck!

Preview of my yummy Tortellini Soup!

Creamy Salsa Chicken in the Slow Cooker

Hi friends!  Here is another great crock pot recipe to add to your weekly rotation.  It is awesomely delicious and, just what makes crock pot recipes so popular, it comes together in under 10 minutes.  It will make your kids crazy happy to eat dinner and if you serve it at a party, I can guarantee it a huge hit.   What I love most about it is how versatile it is.   We love it tossed in a salad with rice for homemade burrito bowls, wrap the chicken in tortillas for a delicious taco, or when served alongside tortilla chips it  makes a great dip for parties.

When I was making Creamy Salsa Chicken this last time I found an awesome product, Greek Cream Cheese. It is 1/2 the fat of regular cream cheese, 2x the protein and full of all those wonderful live active cultures.  I gave it a whirl and loved it!  I hope it wasn't a fluke finding it in the store because it was so great.  Definitely right up our alley.  I'm not being paid to promote this stuff- i just love it and wanted to share!  Using the greek cream cheese even made this a healthy dish, total bonus.  But everything in moderation is really the key, right?!

On a side note, guess who is invited to be on television again! New Day Cleveland invited me to share my recipe for Tortellini Soup on January 22nd at 10:00am on channel Fox 8! What a cool way to start my new year :)  Time to go dress shopping!

Creamy Salsa Chicken in the Slow Cooker

3-lbs boneless skinless Chicken (either breasts or thighs is fine)

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, drained

1 (15 ounce) jar chunky salsa 

1 medium onion chopped

1 (8 ounce) block of cream cheese 

Spray the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.  Place chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker and top with the drained corn, black beans and chopped onions.  Pour the salsa on top.  Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6.  One hour before it is finished cooking, carefully pull the chicken out of the slow cooker and shred.  Put the chicken back into the slow cooker and gently stir to combine.  Place the block of cream cheese on top of the mixture and replace the lid.  After 30 minutes stir the cream cheese into the chicken mixture until fully combined.   

This recipe is so versatile! It is delicious served over rice, wrapped in a tortilla, topped onto a salad or even as a dip with chips.  Enjoy!