‘Betty Crocker’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Individual Double Mushroom & Beef Savory Pies {Betty Crocker}

December 12, 2013 · Narrative

The traditional meat and potatoes dish gets a unique twist with these Individual Double Mushroom & Beef Savory Pies.

During Thanksgiving dinner at my sister’s, her mother-in-law asked what projects I was working on for clients, and I mentioned that I needed to develop a recipe for Betty Crocker, using their potato products. And we started bouncing meat and potato ideas off each other. On the way home that night, I started fleshing out some ideas and here we are.

Whether or not I work with Pillsbury and Betty Crocker, I have no problem saying how much I love their refrigerated pie crust. I have been using it forever, and never make my own crust. Because theirs is just awesome. So, when I decided to make these pies into an individual size, I started with the pie crust, tearing it into pieces that fit into a muffin tin. “Tearing” = rustic. Natch.

Once the crust baked into a light golden brown, I added in a mixture of ground beef, chopped baby bellas, and Cream of Mushroom soup. You know, the Campbell’s stuff that childhoods were made of. By using the condensed soup, the beef got a creamy stroganoff feel without all the extra steps.

Add a bit of Cheddar cheese. Because everything is better with cheese. And top it with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes. Pop it in the oven for a few minutes, and dinner is done. Taking care of meat and two vegetables in one delicious individual savory pie.

Dirtying only two pans and having enough for our dinner, our neighbors, and a few leftover and done in thirty minutes?

Winner, winner, beef pie dinner.

And for a completely different twist? The beef mixture would make an awesome base for a pizza.

Tomorrow? A Friday bonus as we talk gelato.

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Recipe: Ham and Cheddar Mashed Potato Patties {Betty Crocker}

November 22, 2013 · Narrative

Warm mashed potatoes fried up into a patty with bits of ham and Cheddar? Comfort food at its finest.

So I have good news and bad news. The bad news (I always want that first when someone has good and bad news for me) is that I don’t have a crescent recipe tonight as promised. Because I had mixed up some dates, and it won’t be coming until next week sometime. The good news, however, is that I still have a new recipe for you tonight.

And even better? It will make excellent use out of any leftover ham (or even turkey) you might have next week at your Thanksgiving Day feast.

The folks at Betty Crocker challenged me to come up with a new recipe using one of their boxed potato products. I had to confess that I had never even purchased from their potato product line before (and there is a ton of variety available), but they didn’t need to ask twice to get me to create something delicious with mashed potatoes.

I mean, let’s be real. It doesn’t get more comforting that warm mashed potatoes, does it?

And my mind started racing in all sorts of directions. What to do? What to do? And through some twists and turns, I suddenly arrived here.

Ham and Cheddar Mashed Potato Patties.

The Betty Crocker mashed potatoes couldn’t be simpler to make. Pour the contents in a bowl with water and microwave for a few minutes. To that, I added a few chopped scallions, chopped cooked ham, and Cheddar cheese. Form them into little patties, dunk in a coating of Panko, and fry ’em up.

So good. Like a hug from the inside out. A slight hint of onion from the scallions, a nice bite with the bits of ham, and a little bit of extra creaminess from the cheese.

I won’t lie. They’re a bit messy to make. But I promise you, totally worth it.

I mean … c’mon … Mashed Potato Patties for the win!

If there are Betty Crocker or Pillsbury items on your grocery list for next week’s holiday festivities, you can find lots of printable coupons right here.

And with that, I’m off. Wishing you a wonderful weekend! xo

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Recipe: Peachy Keen Grilled Chicken

March 15, 2012 · Narrative

Last month, the folks at Betty Crocker were looking for recipes to show off Yoplait’s new Lactose-Free yogurt line. I pitched them two ideas, one was the yogurt parfait I shared with you a few weeks ago, and the other was this recipe for grilled chicken. Our temperatures in New Jersey have been flirting with Spring, and it has hit the mid- to high 60s a few times this past week. Something I am more than a little excited about. And when I think about warm weather, I think about grilling.

Unfortunately for me, my grilling is largely relegated to the indoors kind. When the kids and I moved 2-1/2 years ago, as we moved the grill, we found that it had been housing a little family of who knows what over that winter. So that was the end of that. Truth be told, I’m a huge scaredy cat when it comes to grilling and all things gas. I happily left it to The Ex. Since the demise of our outdoor grill, I’ve been doing all my grilling indoors on a grill pan.

Whether you do yours inside or outside, this is a super simple recipe that is figure-friendly and easy enough to whip up for a weeknight meal. I paired it with a side of brown rice and a bowl of fresh fruit, and even though it was early February when I first worked on this recipe, we caught a hint of Spring in every bite.

Tomorrow morning, there will be a special Land O Lakes sponsored post, and tomorrow night, a giveaway from the generous folks at OXO, so you’ll want to be sure to stick around for that.

Until then…
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Recipe: Balsamic Strawberry Yogurt Parfait

March 5, 2012 · Narrative

First, before we dig in, can I just say how much I love the pictures I’m sharing today? I am my own worst critic when it comes to photos. I probably like more of them than I love, so when I come across a few that I love, I’m okay with proclaiming that.

Lactose-free recipes are not something that I need to look out for, but if it describes you, then this one’s for you. If you don’t have to eat lactose-free, there’s no reason why you can’t make this recipe too. I certainly did.

Did you know that Yoplait has a line of lactose-free yogurts? Yeah, I didn’t either. But when the folks at Betty Crocker asked for recipes featuring the new lactose-free yogurt, I was all about the research.

And when it comes to yogurt, we eat a ton of it in this house. Between me and the kids, we usually have one a day, and vary it with different flavors, brands, and such. Milk just doesn’t agree with my after-kids stomach, so I get most of my dairy from yogurt and cheese. Yogurt parfaits? Oh yes, please. Especially when it has a little something extra like balsamic macerated strawberries. Yum to the yum-o. Yogurt, delicious full-flavor strawberriesm, and granola. A perfect way to fuel you in the early hours of the morning.

Want to know more about the behind-the-scenes of this photo? You can check out the details on my photography website right here.

Tomorrow? March goals.

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Recipe: Two Cheese Egg Frittatas to Go

November 8, 2011 · Narrative

Weekday breakfast has always been one of my challenges. And it remains so. The mornings are crazy, trying to get the kids up and to school and me to work on time. All while making lunches, checking backpacks, and making sleeping beauties move at the speed of light. Children that don’t wake up on their own are not happy children, and then rushing them only compounds the situation. So breakfast? Usually the grab-and-go variety.

The folks at Land ‘O Lakes and Betty Crocker asked me, along with a few other bloggers, to come up with a new breakfast recipe highlighting Land ‘O Lake products, natch. Frittatas are one of my favorite on-the-run breakfasts because you can make them the night before and totally customize them to suit every little picky eater’s palate. Aside from not having to rush to be somewhere, what more could you want?

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Recipe: Griddled Goodness Sandwich

April 26, 2011 · Narrative

There is this little tiny lunch place in downtown Madison (New Jersey) that I used to go to a lot when I lived and worked in the area. It’s called, aptly enough, Lunch. More specifically Central Lunch, because it’s on Central Avenue. It’s in a little railroad car and maybe it seats ten on a good day. Like the famed Cheers Pub in Boston, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone when they walk in. One little booth and the rest are bar stools. The bar stools being the best spot because then you can watch Joe, chief cook and bottle washer, make all the food right in front of you. Love that.

They have the best grilled cheese ever, and I was determined to learn Joe’s secret. He finally told me (and I also started paying closer attention when he made them too). He puts the cheese right on the griddle. Not on the bread to protect it. Right in the line of fire, so to speak. Now, because you’re putting it right on the heat, it’s really on and off very quickly. One second too long and it’s worthless. But I promise you this, it makes the best grilled cheese ever.

Beyond that, Lunch is also known for their Klondike sandwiches. Many varieties are available, but it is a sandwich stuffed with diced, cooked potatoes and cheese. I haven’t had one in a good ten years and now that I’m telling you about it, I want one. Now. Forget the amount of hours (and scale obsessing) it would take me to reconcile it. It matters not. John F. Kennedy, Jr. used to stop in for a Klondike sandwich on his way to Caldwell Airport, and he even carved his initials into one of the bar stools. The Klondike he ordered was named after him (if memory serves me, it includes lettuce and tomatoes). Lunch was the perfect little spot where he could go in quietly and feed his appetite, escaping before people started finding out he was ever there.

Putting the cheese right on the heat is one of the secrets to this Griddled Goodness sandwich I’ve been making. It all started when Sarah posted about her inside out onion roll. What a fun idea, I thought, and instantly bought some the next day. But what to do inside? I started playing around with mushrooms, onions, the gorgonzola right on the heat, and then some honey ham. Put it all together and although it’s the teensiest bit messy, it’s worth every drip.

A little inspiration from Joe at Lunch + a little JFK, Jr. trivia + an inside out onion roll courtesy of Sarah = Griddled Goodness. The same says it all.

PS – A few more of my recipes have gone up at Betty Crocker; be sure to check them out when you get a chance!

Project 365
April 26, 2011, Photo #115
When both kids were out of school today, they immediately mentioned the heat. It had shot up to 83 degrees. New Jersey is funny like that. One day there’s a chill in the air and the heat is on, the next day, Nick is applying ice packs to his neck to cool down, with a dripping popsicle in his hand. Madeline went to school with leggings on, which, by the way, she won’t wear if you call them leggings. They are SOFT PANTS, thankyouverymuch. After a quick stop at Target on the way home, she was begging to wear shorts because “I’m sweating, baby!” I bought her a few pairs and as you can see, she couldn’t wait until we got home (or even, at least, in the car!) to put them on. That’s my kid, half naked in Target.

Celebrating the first really warm day of the season sounded like a good excuse to take a quick run to Dairy Queen. “I think this is the first time you guys have been to Dairy Queen,” I said as we pulled into the very busy parking lot. Nick quickly corrected me. Apparently one of their aunts has, ahem, already beat me to it.

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Craft: Easter Goody Bags

April 20, 2011 · Craft Ideas, Narrative

One of these days, I’m going to be the type of blogger that gives you a craft or food idea *ahead* of the holiday. You know, so you have enough time yourself to actually make it, if you’re so inclined. Today just won’t be one of those times. Hey, it’s all I can do to actually get things done in our house before the holiday hits, let alone be ahead of the curve for you guys. I’ve only been blogging for six years now; eventually I’ll get the hang of it. In the meantime, I can still share, and you can bookmark, and you’ll be all set for the NEXT time the holiday rolls around. You can start a holiday file in your filing cabinet, like I have.

I am busy as a bee making these little carrot goody bags for the kids to take to their respective classes tomorrow. Only 28 more to go. I am filling ours with whole grain goldfish, but I have seen them filled with Cheetos. Madeline would have certainly loved that, but that’s not how I roll. Orange jelly beans or M&Ms would be fun too though!

The only supplies you need.

The secret to the carrot shape? Use cake decorating bags! Genius, right? At first, I bought clear treat bags and was going to tape the sides in to make the cylindrical shape, but then inspiration struck and saved me boat loads of time. Since I still have an article due to Betty Crocker tonight, saving boat loads of time is pretty awesome. The only drawback to the decorating bags is that Wilton stamped their logo on each bag. I just cut the bags from the logo up and solved that problem.

A little tag slipped inside and green curling ribbon tying the top, and you’ll be the coolest mom in the class, guaranteed.

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Recipe: Chickpea Salad

April 14, 2011 · Clean Eating

I love chickpeas. In a salad bar salad. As a snack on their own. In Mediterranean recipes. And I love that they’re part of hummus, which can always be found in our refrigerator. One of these days, I need to share Beth’s hummus recipe. Good stuff. But for today, a recipe from me … Chickpea Salad.

Super simple, and a perfect way to take advantage of whatever crisp lovelies your local grocery store or farmer’s market are offering up. Use it as a guideline and mix and match with some of your own favorite ingredients too. And if you want to change it up even further, instead of serving it as a traditional salad, as I did, it also tastes great in lettuce leaves or wrapped in a tortilla with a protein of your choice.

However you serve it, it’s a great way to celebrate Spring flavors and chickpeas… all in one yummy bite. Ripe, buttery avocado? Check. Fresh cilantro? Check. Juicy tomatoes? Check. Guilt-free eating? Check, check, check.

As if you need another reason to eat chickpeas, did you know that one serving gives you 51% of your recommended daily needs for fiber? It is packed full of good stuff, helps fight off bad cholesterol, and is clean eating at its finest, so eat up, baby!

I’ll be back here tomorrow with an extra post for the week… until then!

Project 365
April 14, 2011, Photo #103
New Greek Inspired Turkey Burger recipe that I created tonight for the folks at Betty Crocker. Yummy stuff that I totally burned my tongue on.

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Recipe: Hearty and Easy Lasagna

March 22, 2011 · Narrative

I love a good splatter on a casserole dish. It’s when you know that good comfort food awaits.

Sometimes I feel like I’m not a very good Italian. I need to represent my heritage a little better, because truth be told, I don’t cook a lot of Italian food. Sure, nearly every holiday starts with our traditional Antipasto, and we have pasta a couple times a month, but platters of ziti, stuffed shells and lasagna are not always simmering from my stove-top. Nor is cook-all-day sauce. I should work on that. So many dishes, so little time.

Last Friday night, Nick and I had some one on one time, and a friend was kind enough to stay at the house to watch Madeline. In exchange, I offered to make them whatever she wanted for dinner, and lasagna was requested first. And then stuffed shells. And then my friend couldn’t decide. I said I would surprise her and ended up going with lasagna. I can’t remember the last time I made it, or even had it. Nick went through a phase a few years ago when he wanted it every time I turned around. And then he wanted nothing more to do with it.

In the grand scheme of things, lasagna has always seemed like one of those things that you don’t really need a recipe for. Layer noodles, sauce, meat, cheese, repeat. The recipe below is how I usually make our lasagna, but think of it as a guideline. Sometimes I add sausage to the meat portion of it. Sometimes I add different kinds of cheese. But the recipe remains the constant framework for how the dish comes together. I always add the spinach in with the cheese. The kids can see it (I am SO not a fan of disguising vegetables) and will eat it just fine. I get a little more green vegetables in their little bellies and it’s such a small dose of it, they don’t complain. Winner, winner, lasagna dinner.

Now to catch up on a few programming notes. If you’re looking for more recipes, do pop on over to Betty Crocker’s web site and check out my newest additions over there:

Banana Walnut Pancakes, one of Nick’s favorites. Gosh, I do love that photo. Nothing like a little dripping maple syrup to start your day off right.
Three-Cheese Vegetable Quiche. I lived on this for a week – best lunch ever. I wanted to make something quiche-like, but more vegetables and less egg. This was the result.
Carmelized Shallot Sausage Con Queso. You think the picture looks good? Wait ’till you taste the queso. Melted cheese is a weakness for me, and after a few bites of this queso, I had to give the rest of it away. Pronto. The temptation was far too great.
Double Cheese Chicken Fingers. Baked. Not fried. Love that.

And lastly, a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be a co-host for a Virtual Cooking Class sponsored by The Motherhood and Con Agra. If you missed the class, you might want to check out the transcript from it. The one hour went by crazyfast, but it was packed with all sorts of excellent ideas for desserts, sinful and otherwise.

Project 365
March 22, 2011, Photo #79
Three compliments today on the maiden voyage of this new necklace I bought recently. From an online store. Owned and run by a 15-year-old. Totally feeling like an underachiever now, but still loving the necklace.
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Recipe: Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream and Cherry Preserves

February 1, 2011 · Narrative

love the little face peeking out from behind the cupcake

It doesn’t seem right to celebrate a birthday without cupcakes, does it? Especially if it’s a girl’s birthday. So with The Neighbor Wife’s birthday last week, I went searching for a new cupcake recipe. Once I saw the recipe for Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream and Raspberry Jam, I decided it was time for a change-up from our usual chocolate and vanilla suspects and try something a little different.

Turns out none of the three kids are fans of lemon cupcake anything. Who knew? The lemon flavor is definitely apparent in this recipe. You know, especially given that it’s in the batter, the filling AND the frosting. So if you don’t like lemon, don’t try this. If you do, then this is a delicious way to celebrate a birthday, special occasion or a day when it doesn’t snow. Not that we know anything about that. Just read in the paper today that our county has been blessed *coughcough* with 65 inches of snow in the last month. Hurrah.

Just one note. The recipe says to bake until golden brown. I’d shave a minute or three off that because golden brown turned out to be a few minutes too long. Barring that, dig in!

You can find the recipe right here on Bethanny Actually.

If you’re looking for a fun new pizza recipe, do check out the one I wrote about on Betty Crocker last week – delicious stuff….

Teacher or Neighbor Gift Idea

December 22, 2010 · Narrative

Even though I’m not one of those uber-organized bloggers that gives you weeks of recipe and craft ideas before the holiday hits, I do have a great gift idea if you’re still on the look-0ut for something for your child’s teacher or a neighbor. I’ve been trying to think of something creative to give Madeline’s teacher and was really down to the wire. Thank goodness Woman’s Day magazine came to the rescue!

In the December issue, they featured a number of food gift ideas, and when I spotted this one for Gingerbread Men, I knew it was perfect. Her teacher likes to bake and cook, and we’ve been trading magazines and cooking tips back and forth for awhile now. In no time flat, I had the ingredients mixed up for this food gift, and it was all assembled, without one slim dime being spent. It also helps that I had bought extra cookie cutters a few weeks ago, and I was able to snag a few plain brown lunch bags from my mom. You know, because I didn’t think Miss Janet would appreciate the Spiderman lunch bags that have taken me FOUR YEARS to get through.

The mix for the gingerbread men is inside the bag, along with the printed recipe, and outside, I made a tag with her name and tied a cookie cutter to it. I also made a second one for a friend that was just yesterday bemoaning the fact that she can’t find Betty Crocker‘s gingerbread pouch mix on sale anymore. This is perfect and oh so much better!

You can go here for the instructions on making your very own Gingerbread Men Mix gifts for your favorite teachers and neighbors, and if you scroll to the bottom of that link, you’ll find a cute printout for the recipe to stick inside the bag. Happy gifting!

P.S. In January, I, along with Sarah, am starting a new weekly challenge, Eat. Live. Be. for a Better 2011. I’ve reached out to a number of bloggers who will be joining in our challenge – yay! If you’re a blogger that would like more information (and you didn’t already get an e-mail from me), please drop me a line and I’ll fill you in. Thanks!

Project 365
December 22, 2010, Photo #316-317
Jamie came over tonight to celebrate an early Christmas with us, and we ended up having pizza in the living room, watching Home Alone and Beezus and Ramona, a few of the kids’ favorite movies.

Recipe: Chicken Souvlaki Salad Pitas

October 19, 2010 · Clean Eating

When it comes to Sunday dinner, I usually vacillate between two thoughts. Either I want to do something slow and cook-all-day, or I want to keep it simple. Depends on how crazy the weekend has been. This past weekend, one that was filled with apple picking, the cancer walk, a flat tire (which turned into a nearly 3 hour ordeal), and dinner guests both Saturday and Sunday night, I went for something simple. The perfect way to ease into the upcoming week, you know?

I discovered this handy recipe in one of those little grocery store checkout cookbooks and love that it falls neatly into the clean eating category. While I used it as part of our Sunday dinner, it is great to have in your repertoire for any other night when your schedule is more than a little crazy with school, sports and the like. Mix all the ingredients together and stuff into a toasted whole wheat pita. Yum. I love the Greek-inspired flavors, and Nick loved this one with whole wheat crackers as a snack the next day.

And speaking of clean eating … it’s something I definitely don’t get tired of talking about (or being inspired by). I have an essay on clean eating that will run on a major parenting website in the new year, a blurb in a major magazine and an upcoming interview with a food website. Revamping how I thought about food, and my transition to clean eating, was definitely one of a few big catalysts to losing so much weight this year. It was one of the things that made it all click for me, and it’s no wonder it’s a topic I’m fond of.

Last week, my friend Chris asked me how his boss could lose 20 lbs in sixty days. The answer is simple. Clean eating. I will eventually get around to writing up some guidelines that I’ve followed, but it’s really very easy. Don’t eat food (for the most part) that has ingredients. And as I explain it to people, Oreos have ingredients. Asparagus, chicken, broccoli, fish, bananas, oranges, none of them do. Just a few examples, of course, but the easiest way of explaining it. It harkens back to some of what Michael Pollan (and many others) talk about, but the closer you get to eating food in its natural state, the better it is for you. Eat the food as God and nature intended. In its cleanest form.

Do I sometimes deviate? Of course I do. There was a thin slice of pumpkin pie this weekend that can certainly attest to that. But most of my choices on a regular basis, day in, day out, stick to this common core principle. And then I added in a very active workout schedule, and the rest … is Cate Version 2010.

Project 365
October 19, 2010, Photo #183

I was washing a few dishes the other night and I caught my reflection in the kitchen window. My collarbone area has always been a good indicator when I’ve lost a lot of weight. See those bones? Loving that. Forty-four pounds ago, you couldn’t see them. Some of the changes during the year have been tiny little things like that, while others have been much larger. All good.

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