Tricia's Kitchen

2011-07-04T09:33:00.008-04:00

Enchiladas Verdes

I've never made enchiladas before and have been meaning to try them out for what seems like a lifetime. I probably have about five difference recipes saved on my computer. But recently I was looking for a new mexican option for dinner and came across this one over on all recipes. I can't help it, I'm a stickler for recipes with awesome reviews. And my husband... well, he has a thing for tomatillos.

I had some trouble finding the ingredients in my regular grocery stores (yes, I went to about three different grocery stores looking for these ingredients). But fortunately, along my travels, I noticed a Mexican grocery store which had everything I needed. And was SO CHEAP! I probably paid less than half on the produce if I would've bought them in the grocery store. As a matter of fact, the second time I made this (yes, I made this TWICE in one week!) I went back just for the tomatillos and serrano peppers and it cost me less than three bucks. The tomatillos alone would've cost me at least $4 in the grocery store. And the few tomatillos I did see in one of the stores I went to were in terrible shape, and I think they had a total of 8 tomatillos. I'm glad I put those shriveled things back because the quality and quantity of the tomatillos available at the Mexican grocery store were far better.

This recipe called for blackening the tomatillos, serrano peppers and garlic. To do this, I simply put my broiler on and set them on a foil lined baking sheet. The next step was to toss it all in a blender. Well, for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to use my food processor instead.

Don't do this. Because once I turned it on, the liquid spurt out of all sides of the food processor lid. USE A BLENDER! Unless you have a better food processor that perhaps contains liquids.

At this point, the tomatillo sauce was looking fascinating.

Once you get it blended, the color changes a little, but I think it's just the aeration that gives it the cloudy appearance.

At this stage you're gonna pour the tomatillo sauce into a small pot and heat it on the stove. You'll add water and some chicken bouillon. It sounds a little strange, but really brings the flavor out in the sauce.

I wanted to show you some of the specialty mexican ingredients that I couldn't find anywhere but at this Mexican grocery store. The recipe insisted on using the Mexican Crema, and to NOT use sour cream. My husband and I loved this stuff. It was rich and creamy. Not as sour as sour cream.

This is the Cotija cheese. I still have a ton of this cheese leftover in the fridge. It looks like parmesan cheese. And as much as I like to stay authentic with the recipes, I don't think I needed a whole pound of a grated cheese. I'd have to make a lot of enchiladas to use up this cheese before it's going to expire. But after eating this recipe twice, the only thing that's really going to keep me from making these things once a week will be the side trip to the specialty store to get the fresh tomatillos.

So I was a little skeptical about the step where it calls for flash-frying the corn tortillas. I didn't understand the importance of it. But after attempting to not fry them the second time I made this - trust me, it's crucial. Otherwise the tortillas won't be pliable and will tear before you get those things even half-rolled.

Here's a look at the enchiladas before I put them in the oven.

And here is a shot of the beauties after having baked them a little to get them warmed through (because I used a rotisserie chicken which had been refrigerated).

And here are a few more beauty shots:

Look at that sauce! Although it does look a little thin, and I did reduce the amount of water in the sauce the second time I made it, it was definitely not lacking in flavor.

Thanks to all recipes for another tried and true recipe!

BONUS TIPS:

1. The second time I made this I saved myself some time by cutting the stems off of the serrano peppers and the tomatillos before I popped them under the broiler for blackening.

2. As a time saver, when I was filling the tortillas, I realized I could mix the shredded chicken with a few spoonfuls of the tomatillo sauce and a generous sprinkling of the cotija cheese and mix it all together instead of layering them individually onto the tortillas.

3. The second time I made this I was really curious about adding shredded cheese since every enchilada I've ever had was smothered in melty cheese. So I bought a block of monterey jack cheese, shredded the whole thing, and sprinkled it all over the enchiladas before popping them into the oven for heating. Personally, I thought this really made the recipe. My husband liked them both ways. So if melty cheese is your thing, don't hesitate to go for it!

Perfect Blueberry Pie

2010-07-05T11:46:00.007-04:00

My first attempt at a totally from scratch blueberry pie was a miserable FAIL. I tried to ward off liquid-pie syndrome by adding 2 extra tablespoons of cornstarch to the blueberry mixture (which was essentially, blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon). This technique didn't work because the natural liquid from the berries took too long to combine with the cornstarch to help solidify the juices. In the end, it resulted in a liquidy, grainy disgusting mess.

After the first fail, I realized that what I was looking for was a recipe that would give me the consistency of pie filling, like the kind you can buy in a can at the grocery store. I knew that I would need to cook the blueberries with the sugar and cornstarch BEFORE adding it to the pie crust.

Everybody remembers that Google is my friend. The lightbulb went off and told me to Google "blueberry pie filling." One of the first results was a recipe from Recipezaar which had 5 stars and enough raving reviews that led me to believe that this was exactly what I was looking for.

As you have probably already noticed, this recipe was a major success. I now consider myself a pie baking QUEEN. Ok, maybe not in a general sense. But a blueberry pie baking queen for sure!

Now that we have the filling out of the way, I can tell you how I came to the most perfect homemade pie crust. The past from-scratch pies I've made I noticed that for my taste, the crust was never sweet enough. I don't like it sickeningly sweet, but just enough to complement the fact that it's a dessert. And for me, the taste of the crust is mega-important because the bottom crust is my ultimate favorite part of a pie.

So I basically had two pie crust recipes I was staring at, one of which called for no sugar, the other of which called for 2 tablespoons. I knew in my heart that 2 tablespoons wasn't enough. Further disecting of the two recipes showed a different ratio of flour-to-shortening. I decided to go in between.

And so here is my recipe for PERFECT PIE CRUST:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
4 Tbsp sugar (it's really the same as 1/4 cup, but it doesn't sound as bad :D)
1 tsp salt
3/4 to 1 cup shortening (and by this I mean I took a 1 cup measuring cup and didn't quite fill it up all the way, but to where I knew it was more than 3/4 cup and less than 1 cup)
1 egg
1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
3 Tbsp water
-----
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the shortening and blend together with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vinegar and water. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir gently until it just comes together.
Tip: You may need to work a little extra flour into the dough as you're rolling it. I did, but I don't know how much. Maybe by adding 1-2 extra tablespoons of flour from the get-go would work, but at first, the dough just seems a little soft. Chilling might work well also.)

And here is the recipe for PERFECT BLUEBERRY PIE FILLING
Source: adapted from Pastryismybiz via Recipezaar

2 pints (4 cups) fresh blueberries, rinsed clean
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp plus 3 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
-----
1. In a medium saucepan add 1-1/2 cups of blueberries, sugar and 2 Tbsp water. Cook over low heat, gently mashing the berries, and simmer until sugar is melted and mixture is liquidy.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch with 3 Tbsp water.
3. Add cornstarch mixture to berry mixture. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened and no longer cloudy, 3-5 minutes.
4. Pour hot mixture into a bowl. Allow to cool to a warm temperature. Fold in remaining blueberries, cinnamon and nutmeg. Let cool before adding to pie crust.

And to put it all together, you want to preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Reduce heat to 375 degrees when you put the pie in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes, checking midway through to make sure the edges aren't burning. If they're getting too brown, cover edges with foil. Let cool before serving.

Ta-da! You should have a beautiful pie that you just can't wait to show somebody!

Special thanks to the hubs for rolling out the dough and cutting my lattice strips! xoxo!

Berry Picking & Blueberry Pie Attempt #1 FAIL

2010-07-05T10:56:00.011-04:00

Last Thursday we had a 2 day reprieve from the third heatwave of the season and we were blessed with a beautiful 80 degree day. The hubs and I decided to take a trip back up to Solebury Orchards. We took our first trip last Fall after we visited their stand at the Morris Arboretum. Solebury has AMAZING apple cider. But this week was prime picking for blueberries. I've never in my life been berry picking before so this was sure to be an adventure. And I'd never seen blueberries on the bush. For all I knew, they came in my grocer's freezer and were susceptible to freezer burn (I kid, I kid).

I was expecting to be walking through mounds of mushed berries on the ground (that's kinda what happens when you have some random berry tree in Philly). So I was suprised at how neat the orchard was.

And at how beautiful blueberries on the bush really are.

And at how even though I saw these little buggers:

I wasn't bothered by bugs at all!

During our blueberry picking there were several excited children there who repeatedly exclaimed, "OH GUYS! It's BLUEBERRY HEAVEN OVER HERE! It's blueberry HEAVEN!" They were right though.

But they also didn't know how to read the signs.

The raspberry picking wasn't very good.

And the blackberries weren't necessarily ready to be picked, but the hubs found a nice little bounty of them (note: there was no sign saying not to pick the blackberries).

We ended up bringing home a ton of blueberries and a pint of blackberries for snacking on.

So we came home and did some research on blueberry recipes. We figured we'd get the most use out of them by trying to make a pie. In my experience, I haven't been too successful with pies. They're just never as good as anything I can buy in a store. And I proved myself right again with this attempt.

Not only was it super liquidy, but the cornstarch and sugar that was mixed with the blueberries created a very unpleasant texture. But MYGOD was it pretty (before we cut into it)!

Stay tuned for Blueberry Pie Attempt # 2!

Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes

2010-06-30T10:26:00.004-04:00

I found this recipe in last October's issue of Cooking Light. It was a reader submitted recipe from Lorraine Fina Stevenski from Clearwater, FL. The concept of adding amaretto was so intriguing to me that I couldn't wait to try it. There's a brownie recipe I love, which uses boxed brownie mix, then you add amaretto to it. They're still the best brownies I've ever had. But alas, I finally just got around to making it. I tend to do that, save recipes for forever before getting around to trying them. But in last week's scouring of cookbooks and whatnot to find new ideas for dinner, I happened upon this dog-eared page.

It's a shame it took me so long to get around to this recipe because good GOD are these things good! I wasn't expecting to love them as much as I do. I'm not generally a fan of add-ins to my cupcakes. I just like a mouthful of cake without any funny stuff. But because the apples are so finely chopped in this recipe, the apple just sort of becomes one with the cake. The result - a beautifully structured, moist, tender, PERFECT cupcake. My camera is having trouble capturing just how perfect these cupcakes are, but here's the best it could do:

I'm sending you directly to the source for this recipe since I only made a few minor changes (I used 1% milk instead of 2%, I didn't have almonds for the streusel, and I just skipped the glaze part because I just wanted to get to eating them). In the end, all I have to say is that you HAVE to try this recipe. If you don't, you will die an incomplete existence. :)

Portobello Mushroom Lasagna Rollups

2010-06-27T19:45:00.008-04:00

I'm on a roll this month... two dinner posts in 2 weeks. That's more than I've posted all year! Anyway, last week the hubs and I stopped in Wegman's and realized how much better their produce is than our local Shoprite and Acme stores. It was sort of an inspiration to pick a bunch of new recipes and head to Wegman's for the ingredients. One of the recipes I chose was from one of my favorite Food Network chefs, Ellie Krieger. I got a couple of her cookbooks, of which 3 of this week's dinner recipes are coming from. Tonight's dinner was from The Food You Crave. If you don't have her cookbooks, I highly recommend hers. Her recipes are always so balanced in nutrition and flavor. Granted, I always add a bit more salt to my recipes, but I'd rather it taste good than feel like I have to force-feed myself bland, healthy food.

One of the first things I changed about her recipe was the tomato sauce. Her recipe calls for the tomato sauce which she has a recipe for in the book. I wanted to make this dish as simple as possible, so I just used crushed tomatoes and added some Italian seasoning, a pinch of salt here and there, and some crushed red pepper to add some flavor. These simple changes really elevated the flavor in this dish and I was more than pleased with the way this dish turned out. Which says a lot because..... I thought I hated mushrooms! Back to the Wegman's thing, their portobello mushrooms were just perfect. And the organic mushrooms were the same price as the regular, so that was a no-brainer decision.

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM LASAGNA ROLLUPS
Adapted from: Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

10 lasagna noodles
2 tsp olive oil
2-3 portobello mushrooms (stems and gills removed), chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes with basil (use an extra can and season accordingly if you like extra sauce)
kosher salt
Italian seasoning
crushed red pepper
one 15 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
one 10 oz. package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
1 large egg
black pepper
parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and lay flat on parchment paper.
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until moisture has evaporated. Add a pinch of salt, a touch of Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper to taste, and 1-2 ladles of crushed tomato straight out of the can. Simmer about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk egg and ricotta cheese together. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste. Stir in spinach.
5. Spread 1 ladle of crushed tomato straight from the can in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
6. Spread about 2 Tbsp of the ricotta mixture along the length of a lasagna noodle. Spoon about 2 Tbsp of the mushroom mixture on top of the ricotta mixture on the lasagna noodle. Roll the noodle and place in baking dish, seam side down. Repeat for remaining lasagna noodles.
7. With your remaining crushed tomatoes, add a pinch of salt, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper to taste directly to the can. Stir until combined. Ladle the seasoned crushed tomatoes over your lasagna rollups.
8. Top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese over each rollup. Top with grated mozzarella.
9. Top with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until the mozzarella is lightly browned.

I made this dinner after a long day of work on my feet and it was a cinch. I even did some of the dishes before I went to sit down! I was admittedly a little nervous about whether I would like this or not - mainly because of my fear of mushrooms, but alas, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find how much I (and the hubs!) liked this dish. And I'm even happier considering the vegetables that are incorporated into it. I need to eat more vegetables and this is a great way to do so. I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!

Four Cheese Macaroni

2010-06-15T19:12:00.005-04:00

Do I still have any readers out there? If so, hello! In any case, I just made up my own recipe! With inspiration from a few others. And it turned out pretty FAB. And it was still daylight when it was done cooking, so I was able to snap a few good pics of tonight's dinner to share with you :)

I had lunch with a few classmates (over the course of my "vacation" I completed the esthetics program at Jean Madeline, and well, I took an actual vacation, too!) to celebrate the end of our course. Living in Philadelphia is quite dandy for being a foodie. And Jean Madeline being in South Philly was quite dandy for trying the food at Bridget Foy's. There was one item on the menu a few of us were drawn to, that being the Mac and Cheese made with a four cheese bechamel with a potato chip crust. Sounded pretty amazing, until one of the waitresses said it wasn't her fave thing on the menu, so I changed my mind and ordered the burger (which was pretty freaking awesome). My friend, Maria, asked for an appetizer portion anyway and let us all try it. And after that I was kinda kicking myself in the ass for having doubted the mac and cheese.

Then I saw Stephanie blogged a mac and cheese with mascarpone and mozzarella and I was INSPIRED. I starred that recipe for reference later on and so today was finally the day to put my own spin on it. I was inspired by her use of mascarpone. I've only ever encountered it in tiramisu (one of my fave desserts of all time). Her recipe reminded me of the cheesy heaven I had at Bridget Foy's. So I started doing some research.

I saw Stephanie tweaked her recipe from a Cooking Light recipe which originally called for fontina. That was also intriguing. Then I read a review from somebody who didn't like the "stinky" smell of the fontina. Which then reminded me of how disappointed I was in a risotto once when I used parmagianno romano (to me, a "stinky" cheese). Then I read that gruyere was a good substitute for fontina, which I was familiar with after using it in a fondue once. So then I googled "four cheese mac and cheese" to try to find a good basis to start with. I found this one from Emeril and took a few bits and pieces from him as well. And here is the recipe I ended up, which was, AMAZING, and incredibly easy!

FOUR CHEESE MACARONI
Source: me, inspired by Stephanie, Cooking Light, Bridget Foy's & Emeril

1 pound pasta (I used Barilla Pipette because I thought the shape was fun)
4 Tbsp salted butter
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (I used 2% only because my store was out of 1/2 gallons of 1%)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
5 good shakes of Tabasco sauce
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (yes, from the plastic jar)
4 oz gruyere cheese, grated
4 oz mascarpone cheese
8 oz extra sharp cheddar, grated
2-3 large handfuls of Lay's lightly salted potato chips, crushed (just eyeball it)
-----
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile...
3. Melt butter in skillet over low heat. Whisk in flour and continue stirring over low heat for 3 minutes.
4. Gradually whisk milk into flour mixture, stirring continuously over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in salt, pepper, tabasco and the parmesan, gruyere and mascarpone cheeses until melted. Stir in a small handful of the sharp cheddar, reserving the rest.
6. Drain pasta. Return hot pasta to pot. Pour bechamel over hot pasta. Stir to coat.
7. Spray a 9x13 dish with nonstick cooking spray.
8. Layer 1/3 of cheesy pasta into bottom of dish. Layer 1/2 of the remaining sharp cheddar. Layer the second 1/3 of cheesy pasta. Top with remaining sharp cheddar. Top with crushed potato chips.
9. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

This really was one of the greatest dishes I've ever made. I'm pretty proud of it. I have a track record of screwing up my mother-in-law's macaroni and cheese recipe so I'm beyond thrilled to have come up with my own mac and cheese recipe that I'll continue to make through the years and hopefully pass on to my potential children and their potential families.

One change I will TRY next time is to stir in ALL of the cheeses, including the sharp cheese, so that the bechamel has that melty, stringy texture, assemble the dish, and broil it for a few minutes for the top to get golden. The only thing I noticed was that the melty, stringiness went away after the bechamel was baked into the pasta. So I think I'll try it this way next time and decide which method I like better then.

Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes

2010-01-08T10:51:00.006-05:00

I'm a foodie. I watch the Food Network regularly. One of my newest favorite shows is The Best Thing I Ever Ate. There's just something so justifying about a Food Network chef declaring something as the best thing they ever ate. It's like, if you were to go eat the same thing, there's no way in the world you would be disappointed by it.

I happened to catch the breakfast episode where Aida Mollenkamp pronounced her love of some ricotta blueberry pancakes from BLD restaurant in Los Angeles. And just the week before my best friend mentioned that her husband was making her some ricotta pancakes. I was captivated.

I scoured the internet for a recipe that seemed like it was closest to BLD's as portrayed on the show and I chose this one. I was not disappointed in the least! And I've made some pretty $h!tty pancakes over the years! I'm pretty sure that whenever I'm going to make homemade pancakes again, I'm going to be choosing this recipe. They were light and fluffy (which is usually where I fail), and melt in your mouth. Basically, perfect. And considering I nailed these guys on the first try - how could I not revert to this recipe from now on??

So if you're looking for a simple yet decadent morning treat, why not try one of the best things you could ever eat?!

Since I made this recipe exactly as I found it, please click here for the recipe!

My only note will be that for my first pancake I must not have had the griddle hot enough. I had great results over medium heat, as you can see! I was able to cook 4 pancakes at once on my square griddle pan.

Ps. This recipe makes a ton of batter. If you're only cooking for 2, I recommend cutting the recipe in half.

Peanut Butter Tandy Cakes

2010-01-08T10:16:00.004-05:00

Do you have Tastykake near you? If you don't, you're missing out. They're a bakery business based out of Philadelphia. I think they pretty much only distribute to the Tri-State area. One of my favorite Tastykake treats are the Peanut Butter Tandy Cakes. A couple of years ago I was introduced to the homemade variety. HOLY COW were these things good. I was addicted. They're so FRESH. Way better than the mass produced variety. But I think that's true with almost anything homemade.

I made my best friend get the recipe from her mom's best friend. I went and bought a jelly roll pan because I have to follow the rules. And I've made more than a dozen batches of these things for various occassions over the last year. This Christmas was the first time I brought them to my family's annual Christmas Eve party. And people were basically fighting over who was taking how many home (admittedly, I was one of those people).

So if you ever need a cake fix, chocolate fix, peanut butter fix, or all 3, then you need to try this recipe! You can find varying recipes on the internet with basically the same ingredients. I've had success with these ingredients and steps:

4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp oil (canola or vegetable)
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
scant 1 tsp baking powder
1 to 1- 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 bag milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. Stir in the milk until incorporated.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the batter until blended in.
5. Grease and flour a 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. Pour batter into pan and transfer to preheated oven.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven (Mine have taken 23 minutes, other times 28 minutes), until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. While the cake is hot, plop on spoonfuls of the peanut butter and spread gently. This can be assisted by placing the cake with peanut butter on it into the turned off oven for a short minute. Spread the peanut butter all the way to the edges. Transfer to fridge to set.
8. When the peanut butter is set, melt your chocolate chips on the microwave for 2 minutes at high power, stirring at 30 second intervals. Pour melted chocolate over the cake and spread to the edges. Transfer to fridge to set.
TIP: When the chocolate has set up some, it is a good idea to score the chocolate where you will be making the slices so that the chocolate doesn't crack.

Just be sure that when you cut these up to serve that you set some aside for yourself to enjoy later!

baked chicken with onions, potatoes, garlic, and thyme

2009-10-12T10:42:00.005-04:00

(Apologies in advance for crappy pics)
And so who would've thought I've actually been cooking and not blogging? Well, admittedly, I didn't cook this one, I just supervised. But this dish is easy enough to throw together (literally, you just throw it all in the roasting pan) for your kitchen illiterate husband to make. And based on your meal standards, this may or may not be a complete meal. I would round it out with a nice green salad to make it complete. But again, easy. It's a set it and forget it kind of meal.

Hubs was actually the one to notice this recipe in my Everyday Food magazine from October. I often find myself flipping quickly through this magazine, but hubs found a bunch of recipes he wanted to try to make himself. This was the first one he tackled. After thoroughly enjoying this meal, here is our version adapted to our liking.

BAKED CHICKEN WITH ONIONS, POTATOES, GARLIC, AND THYME
Source: Adapted from Everyday Food, October 2009

2-4 bone-in chicken breasts (1 per person)
1-1 1/2 lb new potatoes, halved (quartered if large)
1 red onion, cut into eighths
1 head garlic, cloves separated but left unpeeled
6 sprigs thyme
2 lemons, quartered
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
-----
1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Throw chicken, potatoes, onion, garlic, thyme and lemons in roasting pan.
3. Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
4. Drizzle the olive oil mixture over chicken and vegetables. Toss to combine.
5. Turn chicken skin side up.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Pop into oven and roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 50 minutes.

To serve, we squeeze those roasted lemons on top of our chicken. To die for. Enjoy!

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

2009-10-12T09:58:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't blogged in forever, but I still follow all of my favorite blogs in my google reader. Yesterday I came across this recipe on Elizabeth's Edible Experience. I've had 3 bananas over-ripening on my counter for a week (since I bought them to go with my Cheerios, and then suddenly, ran out of Cheerios) and was going to try a different recipe with flax seed in it but haven't gotten around to purchasing it. So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had all of the ingredients on hand, and I went ahead and made this last night.

The first thing I can say about this recipe is that it is now replacing my old standby. If you love the combination of banana and chocolate, you can't go wrong with this one. And it's a healthier version to boot. Second, the cook time for this recipe is too long, by about 15 minutes. My old standby recipe only calls to be baked for 60-65 minutes. When I saw this recipe called for about 1 hour 15 minutes, I pulled out my old recipe card to compare because I thought it seemed like a long time, and I thought Elizabeth's version looked a little on the dry side. I prefer my banana bread super moist. So I decided to set my timer for about 60 minutes and do the wooden pick test then. Sure enough, it seemed perfectly baked at around 65 minutes so I took it out. After cutting into it about an hour later (I just couldn't wait to try it), it was still nice and warm, but super moist. So I would recommend doing the same.

MARBLED CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD
Source: Elizabeth's Edible Experience (make sure you visit Elizabeth's blog for some great step-by-step photos!)
Adapted from: Cooking Light

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
2 eggs
1/3 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
cooking spray
-----
1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 1/2 in. x 4 1/2 in. loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Beat together the butter and the sugar. Add the mashed banana, eggs and sour cream. Mix well until incorporated.
4. Add flour mixture in about 3 additions and mix well.
5. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips on high heat for about 1-1 1/2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds. Cool slightly.
6. Add 1 cup of the batter to the chocolate and stir well to combine.
7. Layer the batter with the chocolate batter in your prepared loaf pan.
8. With a knife, stir gently to swirl the batters together.
9. Pop in the oven and check it after about 60 minutes and do the wooden pick test. I personally didn't want mine to come out clean, but with some moist crumb on it. If not done, continue baking and checking at 5 minute intervals.

Seriously Moist Chocolate Cake

2009-06-29T18:06:00.007-04:00

This is my go-t0, most favoritest chocolate cake recipe. I found it on the internet eons ago and can't find it again to give credit.

It was my sister's 26th birthday yesterday and mom was having us over for a really nice dinner so naturally I offered to make and bring the cake. I asked my sister what kind of cake she wanted - chocolate. I asked her what kind of icing she wanted - rainbow chip. You got it Sis!

I've never in my life had a slice of chocolate cake as moist as this. I urge you to try this recipe the next time you need a chocolate cake. Seriously, you cannot go wrong.

SERIOUSLY MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE

Source: the vast world wide web

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil (I use canola oil)

2 eggs

1 cup milk (I only ever buy 1%)

1 cup HOT coffee

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cups cocoa powder (I use Penzey's Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder)

2 cups cake flour (when I've substituted all-purpose flour, my cake always sank in the middle)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream

-----

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Grease and flour your cake pan(s) (2 round, or 1 sheet).

3. Add all dry ingredients (except sugar) to a bowl and whisk to combine.

4. In mixer, add sugar and oil and mix to combine.

5. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.

6. Slowly add milk, coffee and vanilla extract.

7. Add dry ingredients in increments with mixer on low speed.

8. Add sour cream and stir to combine.

9. Pour into cake pans and transfer to oven.

10. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Again - try this recipe the next time you need a chocolate cake - you'll never try another!

Chicken Scampi

2009-06-29T17:47:00.004-04:00

Fortunately for me, my mother-in-law is a pretty good cook. I've learned how to make a few dishes of hers and this has always been one of my favorites. Back in the day when the hubs and I were still dating, if we didn't have plans for us to hang out on a day where his mom was planning on making chicken scampi, he would always call me up and say "Mom's making chicken scampi, wanna come over?" It was just one of those dishes for me.

So she taught me how to make it, and it's relatively simple. The most daunting part about it is the chopping of practically an entire head of garlic. And one thing I'd never sacrifice in this dish is the use of fresh garlic. I was almost gonna this time - but just couldn't! I made a stop at the produce stand during my travels that day just to get fresh garlic because I knew I was making it for dinner and didn't have any on hand.

Another thing - if you haven't noticed by now - is that this is a red sauce scampi. People are usually surprised when I mention this dish and the fact that it's made with tomato puree, but it's just normal to me!

CHICKEN SCAMPI

Source: my mother-in-law

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

2 Tbsp butter

1 small onion, diced finely

1 head of garlic, diced finely (I usually use about 9-10 cloves of the head)

1 can tomato puree (you can also add a can of diced tomatoes to add some texture/additional veggies)

long pasta, cooked according to package directions

salt

sugar

-----

1. Melt butter in skillet.

2. Add chicken and cook until browned.

3. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent.

4. Slowly add the tomato puree and stir.

5. Cover and simmer until pasta is done, stirring occasionally.

6. Season with salt and a few pinches of sugar to reduce the acidity (I personally don't think pepper has a place in this dish).

Serve this with a salad and some nice italian bread. I picked up a fresh loaf from Baker Street Bread, sliced it up, buttered one side and sprinkled some garlic salt from Penzey's.

A lightened up Cheesecake Factory meal...

2009-03-27T18:38:00.004-04:00

My husband and I like to eat out more than we care to admit. The last time we made it to the Cheesecake Factory he ordered the Louisiana Chicken Pasta. Sure enough, as always, the meal was killer. I thought I'd try to find a copycat recipe to surprise him with, and sure enough, I found one that had great reviews. The only problem - I refused to make a dish so fattening, especially when the nutrition information was flashing in my face. The easiest change I could make was to nix the cream and replace it with low fat evaporated milk on the advice of my friend Dana. I kept everything else pretty much the same.

I was leery of the flavors being the same. The cream sauce was pretty much just red and yellow peppers, and red onion. I thought for sure there had to be some Cajun seasoning in there. I decided to try to trust the recipe and add Cajun seasoning if I felt it wasn't right. I kept sniffing the sauce to see how close it was. From the moment I added the evaporated milk to the peppers and onion, I knew instantly that this copycat recipe had nailed it.

The result: it was SO CLOSE to the real thing. Definitely a recipe we will be making again perhaps when the funds aren't there to hit the restaurant for the real thing.

Go to RecipeZaar here for the recipe (it's pretty long, but easy when you have a hubs who doesn't mind helping you out in the kitchen). Note that my only changes were: (1) to sub lowfat evaporated milk in place of the cream, and (2) I scaled the servings down to 2, and there was plenty of food for 3-4 people. You're sure to enjoy this if you try it!

Sausage Coins & Farfalle

2009-03-24T17:37:00.012-04:00

Sometimes I feel like I make the idea of dinner too complicated. I look for "recipes" and sometimes I find one that seems easy enough, uncomplicated, and ends up tasting good. But other times I just don't even want to think about it. That explains the extreme lack of posting lately.

So yesterday I was stressing over what to make for dinners this week, and I recalled a lunch I once had at La Cena Italian Ristorante. It was called Linguini Salsiccia e Broccoli di Rape, also known as Italian sausage sauteed with garlic and olive oil, topped with broccoli rabe and crushed red pepper then tossed with linguini. Of course I ordered it minus the broccoli rabe. I've never had it before and have heard it tastes bitter, so I decided not to even go there.

This dish, in all of its simplicity, was so good that 4 months later I was remembering it out of nowhere and craving it. So I made a stop at the grocery store to grab some things for the next few nights worth of dinners (God willing I cook each night) and set to trying to recreate this dish.

And so, here it is:

SAUSAGE COINS & FARFALLE

Inspired by: La Cena Italian Ristorante

Enough farfalle for 2 servings, cook according to package directions (linguini would of course work just as well)

2 italian sausage links (hot or mild), cut into coins (hint: it helps if the sausage has been in the freezer for an hour or so - and to have a sharp knife)

2 Tbsp olive oil

several generous dashes of crushed red pepper

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

grated parmesan for serving

-----

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add sausage coins and saute until nicely browned on both sides.

3. When the sausage is done browning, shake a healthy dose of crushed red pepper and add garlic. Turn the heat down a little to prevent the garlic from burning. Sautee quickly until fragrant and return to a medium sized bowl.

4. When pasta is done, drain and add pasta to the bowl with the sausage coins. Toss. Add in more crushed red pepper to taste.

5. Serve with parmesan cheese.

(Serves 2)

Cajun Chicken & Rice Stuffed Peppers

2009-02-10T18:07:00.005-05:00

Why is it that cooking healthy dinners is so much easier when you're unemployed? I think the answer to the question is obvious. In any event, I'm enjoying my unemployment while I can. One of the first things I did after being laid off was I scoured the internet for some new healthy recipes. One of my go-to websites for such recipes is myrecipes.com. I like to search for Cooking Light recipes.

Well, when I found this recipe I knew I wanted to give it a try when the hubs would be on night work. "Why?" you ask? Well that's because he's Picky Peter and doesn't like peppers. I, for one, love stuffed peppers but just haven't found a recipe I liked that was easy enough. This recipe turned out to be just the ticket.

I made a few modifications based on ingredients I typically have on hand and I couldn't have asked for a more delicious dinner tonight. I highly recommend this dish. I'll definitely be making it again, and again and suggest you try it soon!

CAJUN CHICKEN & RICE STUFFED PEPPERS
Source: adapted from Cooking Light

2 portion sized chicken breasts, or 1 large chicken breast, diced
2 green peppers, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds and membranes discarded
1 1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
2 tsp EVOO, divided
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup minute rice
2 pinches of salt

-----

1. Place pepper halves in a shallow dish. Cover with saran wrap and microwave 4-5 minutes. Remove from microwave and drain off liquid.

2. Heat 1 tsp oil in skillet. Add chicken and season with cajun seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.

3. Heat remaining 1 tsp oil in skillet. Add onion and garlic. Saute 1 minute.

4. Add chicken broth, rice and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes. (This is a good time to get your dishes done)

5. Return chicken to skillet and continue cooking until rice is done and broth is absorbed, about another 3 minutes.

6. Divide chicken and rice filling and stuff pepper halves equally.

Sausage, Pepper & Onion Sandwiches

2009-02-03T19:00:00.009-05:00

One meal I like but tend not to make often is sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches. I don't know why I don't make it more often (honestly, I just don't cook that often anymore). Anyway, I used to make it by just browning the sausage, doing a quick saute of the peppers and onions, adding beef broth, seasoning with salt and pepper, and simmering away until the onions and peppers were cooked to my liking. I always knew it was sort of bland, so one day I was reading the cooking board and realized there were actual recipes people use to make these sandwiches.

I bookmarked this recipe and it's been saved in my email ever since November. That's not half as long as I usually save recipes before trying them, so I guess that's an improvement.

This recipe, with a few modifications, was actually really great, not bland in the least! I'm happy to have found this recipe and will definitely be making it again in the future, and probably more often than usual :)

SAUSAGE, PEPPER & ONION SANDWICHES
Source: adapted from Food Network

1 package sweet Italian sausage
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 large sweet onion, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 large green bell pepper, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
3 large garlic cloves, minced
about 1/4 cup chicken broth
about 1/4 cup cooking sherry
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
3 6-inch italian rolls
-----
1. Remove casing from sausage and cut into 3 inch links. Cut links in half and flatten so both sides will cook evenly (I'm weird about making sure my sausage is thoroughly cooked and not pink in the middle and this has been my solution to ensuring that doesn't happen). Cook in skillet until browned on both sides (about 8-10 minutes). Remove sausage from pan and set aside.

2. Add EVOO and onions. Saute about 10 minutes, stirring, until golden.

3. Add tomato paste and cook about 1 minute.

4. Add peppers, chicken broth and sherry. Season with salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes until peppers are softened.

5. Return sausage to pan and cook until peppers are cooked to your liking (I don't like a lot of crunch to my peppers so I tend to cook them longer).

6. Stir in balsamic vinegar and add just a few more splashes of chicken broth to take the edge off of the vinegar.

7. Serve in fresh italian rolls and top with cheese if you like.

Food Blogging Equipment

2009-01-31T22:18:00.004-05:00

Well, I finally did it. I went and built myself a light box. Here's hoping that it gets me posting more during the winter! I still have some lighting stuff to figure out, I think one 60 watt bulb isn't enough, but it's better than nothing :) These pics were taken at 10pm.

My newest favorite thing... gourmet loose tea

2009-01-29T13:41:00.007-05:00

I went to visit a friend last week and she introduced me to gourmet loose teas. I tried the vanilla and instantly fell in love. It's such a cozy and comforting drink, perfect for a chilly day, a stressful day, even a generally good day. I've taken to having 2 cups a day. I just absolutely love it.

I purchased my new teas from Adagio Teas. With the easy to use teapot with built in tea strainer, it's kinda fun to make myself a cup of tea now. With each purchase of their tea pots, you get to pick a sampler pack of teas. I picked the herbal sampler which included blood orange, chamomile, spearmint and rooibos. I still have no idea what rooibos is, but I've always enjoyed minty teas, have taken to liking chamomile in the last year, and blood orange just sounded fun. It was the obvious sampler for me to pick.

Shipping was cheap, delivery was fast, I couldn't have been more pleased with my purchase from Adagio.

Vanilla, my new favorite tea. It's just amazing, the smell, the taste. Simply the best:

Blood Orange smells incredible right out of the tin. It smells super fruity, and when brewed, produces a delicious tea reminiscent of juice. This tea needs minimal sugar added:

Chamomile is a flower tea, known for its soothing and calming qualities. These buds are almost too cute to brew:

Spearmint - it kinda looks like oregano, but it most definitely is not. It smells exactly like spearmint:

Rooibos, which I know is a red tea, is caffeine free, which is ideal for soothing cups of tea in the evening:

They also sent me a free sample of Aries, one of their zodiac teas, based on my birthday. Described as a blend of irish breakfast and masala chai, it smells freaking amazing and I'm excited to try it:

So if you have a favorite tea flavor or want to experience a new world of teas, go check out their website, and explore their large selection!

White Cupcakes

2009-01-10T16:00:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I had a random craving for a really nice cupcake. I remembered coming across Bridget's blog, The Way The Cookie Crumbles, and she did a comparison between 3 recipes for white cake. I was so inspired, not only by her pictures, but because I was able to see the inside of the cupcakes side by side. I'm weird and there are certain types of cupcakes that I like over others, so I thought it was neat to be able to pick which recipe I wanted to try based on what the inside of the cupcake should look like. I chose Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake recipe.

I adapted Dorie's recipe by excluding the lemon zest and using vanilla extract in place of lemon extract (because I really don't like citrus undertones in my cakes) and I followed the directions I found on Bridget's blog to a T. I filled the cupcake tin and popped it into the oven, ensuring that the temperature was correct on my oven thermometer. I set the time for 18 minutes and hoped for the best. You see, the last 3 times I tried to make cupcakes from scratch, they all sank!

I was pleasantly surprised, and ecstatic, when I checked the cupcakes when the timer went off, they were all perfectly puffed up. I stuck my cake tester in, prayed it wouldn't deflate the cupcakes, and it didn't! Then, I took the cupcakes out of the oven, again nervous that the change from oven temp to room temp would cause them to deflate. And after a few minutes I checked on them again - and they were still perfectly risen! A success in itself :)

So then, I set out to make my own chocolate frosting, something I'd never done before. I had a debate with my friend, Dana, who balked when I told her I was just going to buy some Betty Crocker icing. I explained that I didn't want to deal with the hassle of melting chocolate. She politely informed me that Domino sugar has a recipe for chocolate buttercream which she uses, and adds cocoa powder to instead of adding melted chocolate to. I couldn't disappoint her.

So here's what I came up with for the frosting, which, by the way, turned out super awesome:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3 3/4 cups (450 grams) powdered sugar

3-5 Tbsp whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

5-7 Tbsp cocoa powder

Basically I just creamed the butter, sugar, vanilla and 3 Tbsp of milk together. Then I added the cocoa powder 1 Tbsp at a time until I achieved the desired chocolatey flavor. Then I just added another 2 Tbsp of milk to bring the frosting to the right consistency. And then I iced away!

I found the interior of the cupcakes to be really soft and tender, almost reminiscent of an angel food cake, but the edges were a little too chewy for my liking. However, the chocolate frosting was awesome and I don't think I'll be buying Betty Crocker ever again :)

Butter Spritz Cookies

2008-12-14T16:39:00.006-05:00

The MUST-HAVE Christmas cookie in our family is butter cookies. My sisters and I grew up with them and they've become a tradition in the family. Thanks, Grandmom, for starting this great tradition!

I used to have the worst trouble with cookie presses. I've thrown at least 2 of them away, and one year got blisters on my hand from trying to make one work. So the last 2 years I've tried the drop and press method, and the roll and cut method. No matter how you do it, these cookies are amazing, and always no-fail. There's something about the almond extract that's just warming to the soul. These cookies melt in your mouth without tasting greasy or too buttery. They're just perfect. So if you're looking for the perfect recipe to use in your cookie press, give this one a try! You won't be disappointed :)

And if you're looking for a nice reliable, easy to use cookie press, go get the Wilton Pro Ultra II. Thanks to Nestie veniceforever for the recommendation!

BUTTER SPRITZ COOKIES

Source: my grandmom

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract

2 1/3 cups flour

Assorted decorations for cookies

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream butter.

3. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

4. Beat in egg and almond extract.

5. Gradually blend in flour.

6. Fill cookie press and press cookies directly onto ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Decorate cookies with your desired topping - my personal favorite is the colored sugar.

8. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly golden.

9. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

*This recipe yields 7 dozen cookies and is easily doubled for 14 dozen. It sounds like a lot - but I'm making 1 double batch and 1 regular batch this year.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

2008-12-14T16:08:00.008-05:00

One of my husband's favorite cookies to eat at Christmastime is chocolate peanut butter chip cookies. I had a problem with recipes I've tried in the past - they just weren't what I like in a cookie. I really only enjoy chewy cookies. So I went on the hunt for a recipe to try and came across this one on allrecipes.com. When I search for recipes there, I always look for recipes with 4-5 stars and a lot of reviews. So far, this method hasn't done me wrong.

I read the reviews for this 5 star cookie and adapted it based on what I read. Basically my only adaptions were using half white and half light brown sugar. I've learned that the brown sugar imparts a certain chewiness to a cookie. I also didn't add the called-for amount of chips, just because I dont love a lot of chips in them, but for appearances sake, after I dropped each ball of dough on the cookie sheet, I pressed in a few peanut butter chips just to make them look prettier. Also, I added a few regular chocolate chips in.

The hubs ended up loving this recipe, and I did, too - crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. It's definitely going to be added to the yearly Christmas cookie list :)

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CHIP COOKIES

Source: adapted from allrecipes.com

1 cup salted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dutch-processed)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup peanut butter chips

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, add dry ingredients and whisk together.

3. In stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars.

4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed sugar mixture in 3 increments and stir until blended in.

6. Stir in peanut butter and chocolate chips.

7. Drop heaping teaspoons onto parchment lined baking sheet.

8. Bake 9-11 minutes or until set.

9. Remove from oven, let sit 1-2 minutes and remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes: I found that this recipe baked up nicely right after mixed, and right out of the fridge.

Hope you love it!

Roasted Bacon Chicken

2008-11-10T19:00:00.006-05:00

People, if you're gonna roast a chicken, this is the chicken to roast. I saw it first on Elizabeth's Edible Experience. It happened to be a Top Recommended blog on the sidebar in my google reader. A stroll through her blog during one of the most boring days at work (who am I kidding, they're all boring) landed my eyes upon this chicken and I was in awe. I immediately emailed my friend, Dana, and told her, and I quote, "I HAVE TO HAVE THIS!!!!!"

I have to admit, that after making it, my favorite part of this meal was not in fact the chicken (which was, don't get me wrong, the best friggin roasted chicken I've ever made in my life), but it was the gravy! LIQUID GOLD! You can bet your ass that I saved that leftover bacon grease to whip up a similar dinner quicker with boneless breasts on a weeknight. Because although I made this on a Monday, I prefer to make more time consuming dinners on Sundays.

Seriously though, if you love bacon, if you love chicken, if you love gravy, you've gotta make this!

ROASTED BACON CHICKEN

Source: adapted from Williams-Sonoma

2 bone-in chicken breasts

olive oil, as needed

freshly ground pepper

4 slices bacon, cut in half

2 Tbsp finely diced shallot

1 1/2 cup chicken broth, separated

2 tsp all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter

-----

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Set a wire rack in a roasting pan.

2. Rinse and dry chicken. Drizzle with olive oil and rub in. Season with fresh ground pepper. Lay strips of bacon over each breast. Transfer breasts to roasting pan.

3. Roast chicken, uncovered, in oven 45-60 minutes or until no longer pink (my breasts took 50 minutes and came out super juicy and completely cooked). If bacon begins to get too dark, cover loosely with foil until chicken is done.

4. Remove chicken to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil.

5. Remove wire rack and drain all but 2 tsp. of bacon grease.

6. Set roasting pan with the reserved bacon grease over medium-high heat. Add diced shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 1-2 minutes).

7. Add about 1/2 cup of chicken broth and whisk in the flour. Add remaining 1 cup of chicken broth and simmer about 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter.

8. Serve over chicken and any other amazing carb that can absorb this liquid gold. Don't let any go to waste!!

Notes: the original recipe calls for 2 whole roasting chickens. Knowing this, I still made the same amount of gravy. I got a total yield of 3/4 cup of gravy after letting it thicken.

Pasta e Fagioli, revisited

2008-10-19T08:01:00.007-04:00

I've already made this soup and blogged about it, but back then my picture taking skills weren't all that great, and also the recipe was by weight and I wanted to nail down the ingredients better. So for the first chilly weekend of Fall here I knew I wanted to make it again in my new dutch oven. It was definitely not as much of a chore to make since I wasn't so focused on getting exact weights of the ingredients. This recipe is scaled down to make 4.5 quarts, but I definitely needed my 7 quart pot to cook it in.

PASTA e FAGIOLI (copy cat Olive Garden)

Source: adapted from cdkitchen

a drizzle of olive oil

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, diced

1/2 of a small 1 lb. bag of baby carrots, chopped

5 stalks of celery, diced

2 (14.5 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (32 oz.) carton + 1 (14.5 oz.) can of beef broth

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 1/4 tsp pepper

2 1/2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped (I used dry)

3/4 tsp tabasco sauce

1 jar (1 lb. 10 oz.) spaghetti sauce (I use Ragu)

1 cup dry small pasta (such as ditalini or elbow macaroni)

salt to taste

-----

1. Brown ground beef in oil. Drain if necessary.

2. Add onion, carrot, celery and diced tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes.

3. Add beans, beef broth, oregano, pepper, parsley, tabasco sauce and spaghetti sauce.

4. Simmer soup on low for about 30-45 minutes until carrots are almost tender.

5. Add pasta to pot and simmer on low for about 15-30 minutes until pasta is just shy of al dente. As the soup cools, the pasta will absorb the broth. You can cook the pasta separate and add it to the soup after the soup has cooled.

Sprinkles Cupcakes

2008-10-12T09:37:00.007-04:00

For my birthday (back in April) my WC Sis, Lindsey, sent me the cutest birthday package: a Sprinkles cupcake mix kit, rainbow sanding sugars, the cutest little cupcake cake tester, a beautiful dish towel with all of my favorite colors, and some personalized note cards. I'm so lucky to have been paired up with such an awesome Sis who quickly became my friend. What's even greater is that she's only located 1 big city and a train ride away. We've been fortunate enough to be able to meet up in person twice already, and we always have such a great time together, and for these things I am so thankful. It's so easy to form friendships and bonds with people over the internet. There's a certain anonymity that makes it easy to be yourself. But when you're able to carry those friendships over into real life so easily, it's special.

Anywho, back to my amazing and thoughtful birthday gift that I got like 6 months ago. The Sprinkles cupcake kit has been sitting on a shelf since then, just waiting for me to find the right opportunity to whip them up. I attribute the hold-off on not having butter in the house, or not wanting baked goods around. But last night at 11:00 pm I was home, bored and lonely while the hubs was working. I called him up and whined about how bored I was. One thing I tend to do when I'm bored is bake, so he helped me decide to bake up these cupcakes.

They were really simple to make, the baking time was spot on, and they came out of the oven looking like gorgeous golden mounds of awesomeness. I can't tell you when was the last time I made a successful batch of cupcakes. After finally buying an oven thermometer though, I attribute my many many failed attempts to improper oven temperature. I can certainly tell you how disappointing it is to pull out a tray of deflated cupcakes - I could go on for hours on the topic. But I was so happy that I didn't fail these cupcakes.

I decided to use store-bought icing - it's so much cheaper than making your own. And in these tough economic times, that's what I'm aiming for! (Oy vey, I can feel the agida creeping up - moving on!) Also, I just happened to buy some piping supplies for a breast cancer benefit I'm involved in for a friend and decided to test out my skills with these cupcakes since I'd never piped a piping of icing in my life! I have to admit, it was crazy-fun! I'm going to be piping whenever I get the chance! If I could manage having crazy amounts of cake and buttercream around the house, I might actually go take the Wilton cake decorating class - but really, that's the last thing I need.

The verdict: Now, I've never had an actual Sprinkles cupcake so I can't compare to the real life version, but I thought the texture and density of these cupcakes was perfect. I enjoy a fluffy, dense but not chewy cupcake. Seriously, if I could make cupcakes from scratch and achieve this texture I would be baking cupcakes a whole lot more frequently. I found it to be similar to America's Test Kitchen fluffy yellow cake, but not as dry. Like I said - PERFECT. But the taste seemed a little off. It could be because they sat on a shelf in my house for so long, but I did feel that the flavor in these were lacking. Was it so bad that I've decided not to shovel a few more cupcakes down the hatch? Certainly not. The hubs and I will be enjoying the few that are left after a little mishap in my kitchen whilst photographing these gorgeous kaleidoscopical gems. I thought I loved sanding sugars as much as any one person could - but after receiving the rainbow kind, oh my goodness, my love has grown.

Thanks again, SO MUCH for my birthday present Linds!! I'll light a candle in honor of our half-birthdays!

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

2008-10-05T19:31:00.004-04:00

I've had this recipe saved for a few months. I originally saw it on Liz's blog, and again on Melissa's blog with a few modifications. Finally I fit it into our weekly menu. Boy am I glad!! This was so good and really simple to make. The most trouble I had was opening the cans of beans with my manual can opener! Don't worry, a new can opener is on my list of must-gets in the near future :) This was really yummy in it's original version, but I can already get a sense of how it would taste with Melissa's modifications - I imagine something akin to Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza, which I love. Also, I think I might try this some time by adding in some hard taco shells to add some crunch to it. I think this is a great recipe that can be modified here and there to give you a great result, however you might change it.

So if you love Mexican (like me and the hubs do), you MUST try this one!

TORTILLA AND BLACK BEAN PIE

Source: Everyday Food

4 (10-inch) flour tortillas (I happened to buy 8 inch tortillas which fit perfectly into my springform pan)

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 large onion, diced

1 jalapeno, diced (I used about 1 Tbsp jarred, diced jalepeno)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cumin

coarse salt and ground pepper

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

12 oz. beer (or 1 1/2 cups water) (USE THE BEER!)

1 package (10 oz.) frozen corn

4 scallions, plus more for garnish (I didn't add mine into the pie because I prefer them fresh, crisp and cold)

2 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used a block of colby-jack)

-----

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan, using the bottom as a guide. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, garlic and cumin and saute until softened, 5-7 minutes.

3. Add beans and beer to skillet; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of springform pan. Layer with 1/4 of the beans (I did 1/3) and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat 3 times, ending with 1 cup of cheese on top.

5. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, about 20-25 minutes (mine was slightly browned at 20 minutes). Unmold pie, sprinkle with scallions. To serve, cut into wedges (serves 5-6).

Apple Pie

2008-10-05T12:11:00.003-04:00

Fall is officially upon us! Not just by the calendar, but by the weather as well :) I love fall. I love the crispness in the air, wearing clothes without worrying about if I'm going to be sweating my arse off or not. I just love it.

Seeing as my blog has not been updated as much as I'd like it to be recently, I've been on the hunt for new recipes to try out. I knew that this fall I wanted to try to bake something with apples, and the hubs loves apple pie, so I mentioned it to Ashlee who happened to be updating her blog, literally at that moment, with an apple pie she just made. I always like to use recipes that friends have had success with, so I decided to try hers out!

This was really, really simple. I was scared of making my own pie dough, I've never done it before, but really, it was simple and I look forward to doing it in the future making other pies. The only thing about this pie is that I used granny smith apples, which are known to be more tart than sweet, and you could definitely taste the tartness in the pie. I tried to compensate for their tartness by adding extra sugar, but wasn't able to achieve what I was aiming for. Next time I'll use a naturally sweeter apple.

For the recipe, please visit Ashlee's Blog!

Crispy Yogurt Chicken

2008-10-01T17:55:00.003-04:00

I'm a follower of The Pioneer Woman's blog. This is the second recipe of hers that I actually tried. I've heard a lot of rave reviews about this chicken so I knew I would have to give it a shot. I'll regularly make regular fried chicken cutlets, varying it sometimes by adding parmesan cheese or crushed red pepper to the breading. Sometimes we just like it plain with a touch of salt. But I need new recipes for the blog! So this was it. The hubs thought it was a weird concept to dip the chicken into yogurt first, but he actually liked it. And as a healthy alternative it was really enjoyable. I served it with a side salad and this lemon spaghetti and now we're nice and full :)

CRISPY YOGURT CHICKEN
Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups non-fat plain yogurt
juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tsp dried parsley
1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups plain panko breadcrumbs
salt
olive oil spray

-----

1. Line a baking sheet with foil and top with a cooling rack. Preheat ovent o 350 degrees.

2. Trim chicken of all fat and grossness, rinse and pat dry. Cut into pieces to whatever size you like (I cut each breast into about 4 pieces). Season with salt.

3. In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and parsley.

4. In another bowl, mix together both types of breadcrumbs and season with salt.

5. Dip chicken pieces in yogurt, then in breading until thoroughly coated. Transfer to baking sheet.

6. Spray each piece with the olive oil spray.

7. Transfer baking sheet to oven; bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

8. If your chicken is not browned enough, switch on the broiler and broil until golden brown. You can also flip the chicken, spray the other side and broil until golden brown.

Creamed Spinach Gratin

2008-09-18T17:55:00.007-04:00

The hubs is home today, his day off - he's been on night work for 2 weeks. I asked him what he wanted for dinner and he wanted chicken cutlets. So I decided to try out a new creamed spinach recipe. This one got 5 stars on myrecipes.com. It's a Cooking Light recipe so that's a bonus. It was really really easy to throw together, and so flavorful! And at only 72 calories per serving, it's definitely being added to the stack of usable recipes for some nice homecooked meals like this one. I also served with some (instant) mashed potatoes and gravy (mixed from a packet, just like Mom used to make). See? I like to keep things simple :)

And if you're not near Jersey - I feel sorry for you. There really is something special about a fresh Jersey tomato - I'm not even a fan of tomatoes, but as soon as you slice one of these babies open, it's like discovering a treasure.

CREAMED SPINACH GRATIN

Source: Cooking Light, November 1997

10 oz. of fresh spinach

cooking spray

2/3 cup chopped onion (I just used a little sprinkle of dehydrated minced onion because I'm pretty sure 2/3 cup of onion would be a bit overwhelming)

1/4 tub-style light cream cheese

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup (1/4 inch thick) sliced tomato

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese (I went a little overboard with the sprinkle)

-----

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Remove large stems from spinach. Tear spinach into 1-inch pieces; place in colander and rinse under cold water. Set aside. (Umm, I totally skipped step 2 entirely, and I didn't notice anything unusual in the final dish)

3. Place a large dutch oven (I used a deep skillet) over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray and add onion. Saute 3 minutes or until softened. (Again, I skipped the onion step because I used dehydrated onion)

4. Add spinach and saute until wilted, about 2 minutes.

5. Add cream cheese, oregano, salt and pepper and cook an additional 1 minute or until the cream cheese is melted.

6. Spray a 1-quart gratin dish with cooking spray and spoon the spinach mixture into it.

7. Lay the tomato slices on top, followed by the breadcrumbs, then the cheese.

8. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

For the chicken, I just dipped in egg and breaded it with plain panko, seasoned with italian seasoning and cayenne pepper.

Broccoli, Cheese & Rice Casserole

2008-09-16T18:17:00.005-04:00

Sigh. I'm trying to eat more vegetables. I've never found vegetables to be exciting. I scoured myrecipes.com to find some appealing recipes and came across this one. It had decent reviews. In the end, I didn't love it, but it was good. I made it tonight as a meal but think it would be more acceptable as a side dish, possibly for a fall dinner party or something. But I don't have dinner parties so I dont think I'll be breaking this recipe out again in the near future. Also, at first, the onion seemed to be a little overwhelming, but I quickly forgot about that. The creaminess lended by the cream of mushroom soup and the cheese was comforting. I think this would be a great recipe to get kids to eat more veggies. But I don't have kids, so I'm just going to keep this recipe in the bottom of my recipe drawer.

BROCCOLI, CHEESE & RICE CASSEROLE

Source: Cooking Light, November 1999

(come to think of it - I bet this recipe would've been a real winner in 1999)

1 cup uncooked instant white rice

1/2 cup chopped onion (I'd consider reducing this to 1/4 cup and chopping smaller than I did)

1/4 cup fat-free milk (I used 1/3 cup of milk based on reviews, and also used 1% milk)

4 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (I used 1/2 regular velveeta and 1/2 low-fat sharp cheddar)

2 (10 oz.) packages of chopped broccoli

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can of reduced sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup

-----

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

3. Mix all ingredients and spoon into casserole dish.

4. Bake for 45 minutes.

Adventures with shrimp... continued

2008-08-18T19:46:00.004-04:00

Some of my previous attempts with shrimp didn't turn out so well. Finally, I think I found an easy, no fail, amazing dish! This was seriously SO good. And it being a Cooking Light recipe, it's a win-win! The sauce was simple and perfect. As far as homemade sauce goes, this is now my go-to recipe, whether or not I make shrimp with it. I love spicy food, so an arrabbiata is only fitting. And I've had shrimp arrabbiata from different restaurants and I must say that this tops them all.

I'm going to post the recipe as stated, but if making this dish for 4 servings, I would definitely double the sauce - no ifs, ands or buts about it. I made the sauce as follows and used only a 1/2 pound of shrimp. Also, the beauty of this dish is that you can lessen the amount of oil easily, thus omitting more fat. I served this with Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta.

SHRIMP ARRABBIATA
Source: Cooking Light, March 2006, David Bonom

6 ounces fresh linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup prechopped onion
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

-----

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

3. Sprinkle shrimp with salt; add shrimp to pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done. Transfer shrimp to a bowl.

4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan. Add onion, minced garlic, basil, and crushed red pepper to pan; sauté 1 minute.

5. Add tomato paste and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes or just until sauce begins to thicken.

6. Return shrimp to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

7. Add parsley to the pan, stirring well to combine. Serve over pasta.

Tilapia with Lemon Spaghetti

2008-07-30T17:31:00.005-04:00

Like it or not, I'm a fan of Rachael Ray. I don't like everything she cooks, but I love her 30-minute meal concept. So occasionally after work I can catch her show on the food network. One day I happened to catch the Sea Note episode and when I saw her making this lemon spaghetti, I knew I had to try it. Along with the lemon spaghetti, she made flounder francese with toasted almonds, lemon and capers. My husband doesn't like flounder, and I don't think either of us are fond of capers - so I decided to try it with tilapia, seasoned with salt and pepper with a simple dip in egg then lightly fried in EVOO. The result - a seriously satisfying and somewhat healthy dish. I use light cream and high fiber pasta (Smart Taste). It's a way to get healthy fish into my somewhat picky husband.

LEMON SPAGHETTI

Source: Rachael Ray

Salt

1 pound spaghetti

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (easily reduced)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream (I use light cream with excellent results)

1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (omitted)

1/2 cup (10 or 12 leaves) fresh basil, very thinly sliced (omitted)
-----

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and drop the spaghetti into the pot.

2. Heat a large deep skillet over low heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.

3. When the pasta has been cooking about 5 minutes, add lemon juice, a ladle of the cooking water from the pasta and the cream to the garlic and oil. Raise heat a bit to bring sauce to a bubble.

4. Drain pasta when it still has a good bite to it, al dente. Add lemon zest and half of the cheese to the cream sauce. Season the sauce with salt, to taste. Add pasta to pan and turn off heat. Toss the pasta with sauce a minute or 2, allowing it time to soak up the sauce.

5. Top the plates of pasta or platter with remaining cheese, parsley and basil.

Spicy Green Beans and Omaha Steaks Ribs

2008-07-22T19:56:00.006-04:00

A while ago I received a gift card to Omaha Steaks. With that gift card, the hubs and I decided to buy some steaks and some baby back ribs. Tonight was baby back rib night. I knew the hubs wanted the perfect risotto with it, but I felt like I needed a vegetable (I'm a bad girl and don't eat veggies with all of my meals). And if you read my blog regularly, you know I like spicy food. Something you may not know about me is that one of my favorite vegetables is green beans. But canned green beans don't cut it - there was a time when they did - but those days are long gone. I learned about fresh frozen green beans and have been using them. But today I wanted REAL fresh green beans. So I stopped at the grocery store and grabbed some from the produce section. After sauteing these beans with a little bit of EVOO, chili oil, garlic, salt and pepper, the end result was fantastic! And get this - fresh, raw green beans are so much easier to cook than those frozen ones. Ok, ok, you might've known that already, but I didn't and am glad that I do now.

A note on the Omaha Steaks Baby Back Ribs: For the price ($42.99 for 2 lbs), it wasn't really worth it. They come fully cooked, and tasted good, but not as great as what I can get at an Outback or Longhorn Steakhouse restaurant for half the price - with no mess in the kitchen.

SPICY GREEN BEANS

Source: me

1/2 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed, and rinsed

1/2 tsp EVOO

1/4 tsp Mongolian Fire Oil

1/8 tsp minced garlic (I uses jarred)

crushed red pepper to taste

salt/pepper to taste

a few Tbsp of chicken broth

-----

1. Heat EVOO and chili oil in medium sized pan over medium heat.

2. Reduce heat to low and saute garlic until fragant (about 20-30 seconds).

3. Add green beans to pan. Season with crushed red pepper, a pinch of kosher salt and a few cracks of pepper and toss to coat.

4. Saute about 1 minute then add about 1 Tbsp of chicken broth. If this dries up pretty quickly, add another 1 Tbsp of chicken broth.

5. Continue sauteing, stirring frequently, until tender crisp or to your desired doneness.

Arroz Con Pollo

2008-07-21T18:07:00.006-04:00

One of our FAVORITE meals is arroz con pollo. It's a dish I've been making since before I had my own kitchen. And I don't know why, but it's been a long time since I last made it. It's an indulgent dish, that's for sure. I mean, it's not exactly healthy to eat a big whoopass bowl of white rice for dinner, is it? Yeah, I didn't think so. Anyway, I guess it's a good thing I haven't made it in a while. But when I do make it, I have to make a big freaking pot of it, and sometimes there's not even enough for me to bring for lunch the next today. Like tonight - my mom stopped by and she took some home with her. Hubs had 2 bowls, I had one. All that's really left is the crispy rice from the bottom of the pot. Oh well. Trying to watch my weight I guess it's for the best.

Anyway, to make this dish, it's mostly done by tasting. My friend Marisol who I used to work with but has since moved to Florida (sniff) taught me how to make it, but when she taught me, it didn't include the chicken, and was really just Spanish Rice. Well, hubs and I decided we needed some more substance in the dish and one day I decided to add chicken to it, hence the name, arroz con pollo. And Lord knows there are probably a million and one different varieties of arroz con pollo, but this is the way we like it.

ARROZ CON POLLO

Source: me with Marisol's help

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

oil

2 packets Goya Sazon

3 1/2 cups water

about 1/2 cup Goya Sofrito, or more to taste (1/4 - 1/2 of the jar)

1 Tbsp kosher salt (or to taste)

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp garlic powder (or more to taste)

3 cups long grain rice

diced jalepeno to taste - for spicy, I add about 2 heaping spoonfuls (we used Cento jarred diced green jalepenos)

-----

1. Heat oil in large nonstick pot. Add diced chicken and cook over medium heat until cooked through.

2. Open 1 packet of Sazon and sprinkle half of the packet over the chicken. Stir to coat.

3. Add water, the rest of the 2 packets of sazon, the sofrito, salt, pepper and garlic powder and stir. This is when you start tasting. You're aming for a salty, garlicky seasoned taste. I added 1 Tbsp of kosher flake salt and felt it needed some more. If you undersalt, you can always add salt to your individual serving when it's done. This works for us because hubs doesn't like too much salt on his food.

4. Once you have a nicely seasoned pot of water, add in your rice and jalepenos and stir. I like to also add in an extra few teaspoons of oil to keep the rice from sticking together. Keep stirring over medium-low heat until about 1/2 of the water is absorbed.

5. Cover and set the heat to low.

6. Stir every 5 minutes and re-cover - but here's the tricky part - after all of the water is absorbed, the rice in the bottom of the pot will begin to get crispy. You want to avoid stirring the crispy rice into the rest of the rice. Unless, of course, you like crispy rice. So when you stir, do so gently when reaching to the bottom of the pot.

7. After about 20-30 minutes, your rice should be steamed perfectly - once you get to 20 minutes, just start tasting it to check for doneness.

Hopefully someone will be interested and daring enough after reading all of my crazy directions to give this a try and end up loving the dish like we do :)

Blueberry Muffins

2008-07-19T19:09:00.008-04:00

Once upon a Thursday I felt like baking something, so I delved into my file of recipes I've been wanting to try and came upon the blueberry muffin recipe from Cooks Illustrated. In an effort to make them healthier and after talking with Ashlee, I decided to sub 1/2 of the flour for a mixture of whole wheat flour and ground oatmeal.

This recipe is super simple to throw together, and the muffins came out super moist. And even better, they taste like a healthier muffin, but not in an "eww this is freaking nasty" kind of way.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS, a little bit healthier

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 ground oatmeal

1/2 tsp table salt

1 egg

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 1/4 cups fat-free sour cream (10 oz.)

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

-----

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position in oven and heat to 350 degrees.

2. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Whisk flour, whole wheat flour, ground oatmeal, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.

4. In a second medium bowl, whish egg until well combined and light in color (about 20 seconds).

5. Add sugar to egg and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous (about 30 seconds).

6. Add melted butter to wet mixture in 2 or 3 steps, whisking to combine after each addition.

7. Add sour cream to wet ingredients, whisking just to combine.

8. Add frozen berries to dry ingredients and toss gently to combine.

9. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold gently until batter comes together and berries are distributed evenly (about 20-30 seconds - small spots of flour may remain and batter will be thick).

10. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop batter into greased muffin tin.

11. Bake 25-30 minutes until light golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

12. Invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, and cool at least 5 minutes.

Yield: 12 standard muffins

Spicy Shrimp and Fettuccini

2008-07-17T18:21:00.006-04:00

One day I was scouring myrecipes.com for some healthy dishes. I came across this recipe featured in Cooking Light magazine. I love spicy, I love pasta, and I love shrimp, so I had to give this one a shot.

I made a few changes based on the ingredients I had on hand, and in the end it was great, a definite make-again dish, except I solemnly vow here and now to NEVER BUY FROZEN COOKED SHRIMP AGAIN! Ugh, NAAAAASTY! Anyway, I'll probably just stick to frozen raw shrimp from now on.

I also halved the recipe, but made the sauce as stated because I like a lot of sauce with my pasta.

SPICY SHRIMP and FETTUCCINI

Source: Cooking Light, October 2007

8 oz. fettuccini (I used 4 oz of whole grain fettuccini for 2 servings)

1 Tbsp EVOO

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used 1/2 lb. of some nasty cooked frozen shrimp, yuck)

2 cups chopped plum tomatoes (I used a 14.5 oz. can of diced roma tomatoes)

2 Tbsp reduced-fat sour cream (I omitted as I had none on hand)

1 Tbsp tomato paste (I reduced to 1 tsp)

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

-----

1. Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

2. Heat oil in pan. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and saute 1 minute.

3. Add shrimp; saute 1 minute.

4. Add tomatoes, sour cream, tomato paste, basil and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

5. Stir in pasta and cook 1 minute or until heated through.

6. Plate and top with parmesan cheese.

Tag!

2008-07-16T11:58:00.002-04:00

Wow, this is my first tag! I'm pretty excited about it. I've been tagged by Melissa over at Made by Melissa!

Here are the rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago?
I was 16 years old, so it was the summer between my sophomore and junior years. I was probably just lazily wasting away my summer days, watching bad day-time tv and hanging out with friends on corners.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. Go grocery shopping.
2. Laundry.
3. Start a new book on my lunch break - Second Chance by Jane Green.
4. Decide on going out for dinner, or cooking.
5. Play with Daisy, my dog - love her!

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Cheez-its/Cheez-its Party Mix
2. Green olives.
3. Hummus.
4. Pizza flavored Gold Fish.
5. Cookies/brownies.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Buy a house on the shoreline in New England.
2. Buy my mom, both of my sisters a nice house outside of the city and a reliable car.
3. Buy my husband a fast car.
4. Set up college funds for my nieces and nephews.
5. Travel, lots!
6. Quit my day job! I think I'll keep my night job, hehe - I kid, I kid :)

Places I’ve lived:
1. Pennsauken, NJ.
2. Cinnaminson, NJ.
3. Philadelphia, PA

Jobs I’ve had:
1. Worked the counter at Dunkin Donuts - until I caught scarlet fever a month after I started!
2. Worked at my mom's office for a paratransit company.
3. Administrative accountant assistant for a non-profit scientific research facility.
4. Different divisions of corporate retail.
5. The requisite babysitter.

I am tagging…
Ashlee of Ashlee's Cooking - A Year in the Kitchen
Lindsey of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings
Liv of Mangia!

Homemade Pita

2008-07-11T10:57:00.006-04:00

So of course, to go along with my hummus, I needed pita! A few weeks ago Ashlee blogged about making pita and I was intrigued! Never in my life would I have thought to make my own pita. Usually I just buy wheat pitas in the grocery store. I'm one of those people who is scared of yeast. After finding such detailed instructions here, I knew I had to try it, especially since Ashlee supplied my tahini to make hummus.

But then, Ashlee blogged a sort of different recipe using more whole wheat flour and brown sugar. I always need to use the best recipe I know of, so I decided to use Ashlee's recipe with the assistance of The Fresh Loaf's instructions.

In the end, it was sort of simple, but my pita didn't puff up. Still, they taste great and are an awesome compliment to my homemade hummus! I think in the future I'll save making homemade pita for special occassions - my kitchen's a mess!

HOMEMADE PITA

Source: The Fresh Loaf and Ashlee

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling)

1 packet Rapid Rise yeast

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar

1 Tbsp EVOO

1 cup warm water

-----

1. In your stand mixer bowl, mix the dry ingredients, including your rapid rise yeast.

2. In your stand mixer bowl, add EVOO and warm water to your dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until a ball forms. If all of the flour won't stick, add just a bit more water.

3. Fit your stand mixer with the dough hook. Kneed on low-speed for 10 minutes.

4. Prepare a large bowl by lightly greasing with oil (this is where your handy Misto sprayer comes in).

5. After the dough is done kneeding, transfer your dough ball to the oiled bowl. Roll the dough ball all around until it's lightly greased on all sides. Cover bowl with saran wrap and let rise for 90 minutes.

6. After the dough has risen and doubled in size, punch it down to release the gases.

7. Separate dough into 8 equally sized balls and cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

8. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees, with your baking stone or inverted baking sheet inside. If using a baking sheet, place a piece of parchment paper on top.

9. After your dough balls have rested, roll out your dough balls onto a floured surface.

10. Bake as many pitas as will fit on your baking surface for 3 minutes. Remove, let cool and enjoy!

Hummus

2008-07-11T09:45:00.007-04:00

Hummus is something that I've been wanting to make on my own for a long time. Problem was, I couldn't find tahini in my local grocery stores. Finally, my blogger friend Ashlee offered to buy a jar for me and send it to me. I was so excited when I got it a couple weeks ago! So what perfect opportunity to make the hummus than a girls' weekend with some of my best friends?!

We're heading down the shore tonight, but I took the day off to prepare - laundry, making the hummus, right now I have my pita dough rising (hopefully they turn out great!), etc. At first I was nervous about how the hummus would turn out. But I kept tasting it and adjusting it here and there and it turned out SO FREAKING GOOD. I'm hooked, addicted, oh boy - is there hummus eaters anonymous? I can't wait to be making this on a regular basis, which I guess starts today :)

HUMMUS
Source: Melissa

1 can of garbanzo beans, drained
juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp Tahini
1 clove of garlic
salt & pepper to taste
EVOO
paprika
-----
1. Put first 5 ingredients in food processor and pulse until finely choppped.
2. Turn on and stream in EVOO and process until smooth (about 2 tbsp, but I just eyeballed it until it was the consistency I liked.
3. Remove and garnish with paprika.
(Note: I also sprinkled some paprika and processed it in to add some more color)

Heaven... I mean Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

2008-07-04T16:47:00.008-04:00

As far as chocolate chip cookies go, I love them, but I'm really picky. Well I found a few great recipes I really liked, but when I saw these chocolate chip cookie bars a/k/a Lunch Lady Bars, I thought to myself "I love the concept, and I love how easy they seem." So when I went to the store to grab some ingredients for dinner, I grabbed some chocolate chips. I had everything else on hand.

I didn't even have to break out my Kitchen Aid mixer for these (sadly I don't have enough counter space to keep mine out). But I love when I find great recipes that don't require the use of my Kitchen Aid. And seriously, when I took my first bite of these bars, I was in love. And considering how quick and easy they were to make, I'll definitely be reaching for this recipe whenever the craving for a chocolate chip cookie hits me!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS

Source: Allrecipes as adapted by Sherri

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup oil

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

-----

1. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the sugars with the oil.

3. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, mixing well.

4. Gradually add dry ingredients.

5. Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips.

6. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil (if you use foil, spray with non-stick spray).

7. Spread the dough into the pan, then sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.

8. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15-25 minutes until light golden brown. [Note, mine took 30 minutes]

No, really, it was perfect!

2008-07-03T18:24:00.004-04:00

I'm an avid reader of The Pioneer Woman Cooks! Not only does she never cease to crack me up with her commentary, but her food always looks mouth watering. One day I came across her Perfect Risotto recipe. I thought nothing of it then because I thought risotto would be one of those things I would never even attempt to make. That is, until Lindsey made her lemon risotto with shrimp and peas a few weeks ago and I gave it a try. When I didnt have such great success with that recipe because I didn't like the pecorino romano cheese, I thought back to Pioneer Woman's Perfect Risotto. I rushed to her website/blog and feverishly copied down the ingredients and directions and set out to make up a half batch to have with some steaks my husband and I recently got from Omaha Steaks.

I set out to make this risotto with only parmesan cheese. When I was prepping everything, I decided to grate some of that pecorino romano I still have leftover from my last risotto attempt. In the end, this risotto turned out amazing, and was, in fact, perfect. :)

PIONEER WOMAN'S PERFECT RISOTTO

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Here are the measurements scaled down for about 3 servings:

1/2 Tbsp EVOO

1/2 Tbsp butter (I only had unsalted in the fridge)

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 lb Arborio rice

32 oz. carton of reduced sodium chicken broth

1/4-1/2 cup light cream

1 cup grated cheese (your choice of parmesan, romano and/or asiago)

salt & pepper to taste

chopped chives

-----

1. Heat oil and butter in skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent.

2. Add arborio rice to pan and stir. Add about 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Reduce heat to low. When broth is absorbed, add another 1/2 cup (I just used a ladle) and stir until absorbed, repeating process until rice is to desired tenderness.

3. Remove pan from heat and stir in the cheese.

4. Add a few splashes of cream and stir.

5. Stir in chopped chives, season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

6. Proceed to make the chocolate chip cookie bars blogged above!

Crustless Ham, Cheese and Spinach Quiche

2008-07-01T18:14:00.004-04:00

I subscribe to Cooking Light magazine. Usually I have trouble finding something that interests me because I have such simple tastes. But this month page 160 just jumped out at me, so before I recycled my magazine, I tore this page out and set it aside. This golden nugget is for a Crustless Smoked Turkey and Spinach Quiche - of course, I had to adapt this recipe because I've never before seen smoked turkey ham as the recipe calls for, and the swiss cheese I had in my house seemed to have gone past its expiration date.

But after coming up with a mix of cheeses that I did have in the fridge - 4 cheese mexican blend, american cheese, and keeping with the reduced fat cheddar - this turned out FANTASTIC. I was so happy with the results as it was my first quiche ever. So if I'm ever craving a quiche again, this will definitely be my go-to recipe!

Crustless Ham, Cheese and Spinach Quiche

Adapted from Cooking Light, June 2008

3/4 cup cubed ham

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

3/4 cup shredded mexican cheese blend, separated in 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup

1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese

1 slice of american cheese chopped up

3/4 cup fat-free cottage cheese

1/2 cup evaporated fat-free milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup baby spinach leaves

-----

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add ham, onion and pepper to pan and saute 4 minutes until ham is lightly browned.

3. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/4 cup mexican blend cheese in pie plate. Top with ham mixture.

4. In a large mixing bowl, gently whisk together the eggs, remaining cheeses, cottage cheese, and evaporated milk.

5. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add flour to egg mixture and gently stir in.

6. Add spinach to egg mixture and gently mix in.

7. Pour the egg mixture over ham mixture in pie plate.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Eating clean?

2008-06-29T19:06:00.006-04:00

This is sort of a new concept for me. I sort of get it. I might just be overthinking it. Either way, my friend, Jess, was looking for a clean way to prepare tilapia and came across this blog and recipe. Jess raved about it, and of course I was leery, because avocado is something that I'm just learning to experience, all thanks to Jess for that one. But I decided to give it a try - I figured beans and rice and sour cream make everything better.

So I did my research on how to pick an avocado, and I think I did a pretty good job. And for a first timer, I had no trouble at all extracting the avocado from the pit and the skin. And considering that the dish ended up being fresh and fabulous, I can say that my first experience with using avocado was a hit.

I made enough for 3 meals and now have enough for 2 lunches after I had it for dinner tonight. And let me tell you - this was amazingly easy and FAST to cook up.

Ingredients (estimated):
4-6 Tbsp fat-free sour cream
4-6 Tbsp salsa
1 cup black beans
3/4 - 1 cup rice (I used brown rice)
3 tilapia fillets
1/2 avocado, diced
1 small tomato, diced
salt and pepper

1. Season your fish with salt and pepper. Coat a large pan lightly with a spray of EVOO (courtesy of Misto) or whatever you have on hand (the original recipe posted uses coconut oil). Lightly brown the fish on both sides until cooked through, them with a spatula, break up the fish into bits.

2. While your fish is cooking, mix up the sour cream and salsa in a medium sized mixing bowl.

3. When fish is done, toss all ingredients into the mixing bowl with the sour cream and salsa and stir gently to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Revisiting a childhood favorite...

2008-06-24T18:10:00.003-04:00

As a kid, my mom would occasionally make crescent-wrapped cheese dogs. My sisters and I loved them. Even my husband loves them. After talking to my friend Jess one day about what to do about a bunch of hot sausage she had to cook up, we sort of devised this idea. It's beyond simple, and as always, versatile.

Ingredients:
2 links of hot sausage, butterflied (optional: remove skins)
a few slices of mozzarella cheese
1 can reduced-fat crescent rolls
parmesan cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a skillet, brown the butterflied sausage links over medium heat.
3. After the sausage is done, roll out the crescent roll dough and create 2 squares by pressing or rolling the triangles together.
4. Lay mozzarella on one half of each crescent square. Top with sausage link and close by pressing edges together.
5. Place on parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top and bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

So for those cooks who are looking for something quick, simple and delicious for dinner, give this one a try!

My first risotto...

2008-06-22T20:17:00.005-04:00

My friend Lindsey has been making a lot of risottos lately. And of course, being an avid watcher of Hell's Kitchen, I've noticed risotto is a sort of popular dish these days. Who knows if it was popular before Hell's Kitchen - cuz honestly, I've never even heard of it before I started watching the show.

Anyway, Lindsey posted an awesome looking Lemon Risotto with Shrimp and Peas. As soon as I saw it I knew it had to be my first try with risotto. So, I set out to find that special rice in my grocery store. Of course my lame grocery store didn't have it, but I found it at the second store I went to. I came right home and started cooking this dish up.

My personal thought on this dish is that I really loved it before I added the pecorino romano cheese. I think I'm a weirdo who doesn't like cheeses that smell like feet or something. So while I was sort of put off by the final product because of the cheese, I'm definitely going to be trying other variations of risotto in the future.

I don't know if the texture of my risotto was right either as I don't have anything to compare it to. But I'll have to make it a point to try it out - either at Lindsey's place (wink, wink), or out at a restaurant.

Chicken Calzones

2008-06-16T17:56:00.004-04:00

On the quest to cook dinner more often, I needed to come up with some new ideas for dinner. Nobody likes the same old dinners week in and week out. We love to order calzones from our local pizza place, so why couldn't I give it a shot? Well, I'd tried it once a ball of dough and failed, miserably. So now it was time to revert back to "convenience" foods. In comes the Pillsbury pizza dough found in the refrigerator section of your supermarket. This was SO EASY! No rolling of dough required. Those close to me know that I suck at rolling out doughs and have grown to fear doughs now. So if you have a fear of rolling out pizza dough, this was a great alternative and I would encourage you to give a shot for your own baked-at-home pizzas/calzones/strombolis.

1 refrigerated Pillsbury pizza dough crust
1/2 small block of part-skim mozzarella, sliced
1/2-1 cup part-skim ricotta
2 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
parmesan cheese

-----

1. Open up the pizza dough flat and cut in half into 2 rectangles.

2. Lay mozzarella cheese on half of each half.

3. place 1 cut up chicken breast on top of mozzarella.

4. Spread a few tablespoons of ricotta over chicken.

5. Fold dough over toppings and seal edges.

6. Lightly spray the tops with EVOO and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

7. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

The versatility of these calzones is endless - put your favorite toppings in for a simple, quick and delicious dinner!

Parmesan Pork Chops w/ Creamed Spinach

2008-06-12T17:19:00.005-04:00

Hello! Long time no blog! It's been a whole month since my last blog post. I honestly hardly cooked at all in that time! Have you ever gotten into a total food rut? Well that's what happened to me. But I was finally able to pull myself out of it, so hopefully my blog posts will be more frequent now.

The dish to pull me out of this most recent food rut was Giada's Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops. I've only heard rave reviews over this dish, one from my friend Lindsey over at Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings, and it did not disappoint! Seriously, when I took the leftovers into work today and heated them in the microwave - 2 people asked, "What smells so good?!" Followed by, "I'm just gonna go get my plate," and "so you'll come by my house tonight to cook dinner, right?" I think that's one of the bests compliments you can get on your cooking.

PARMESAN-CRUSTED PORK CHOPS
Source: Food Network

For ingredients and directions, visit the source link as I followed it exactly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now, when I was thinking of a side I knew I wanted some simple buttered noodles. I really like Ronzoni's Healthy Harvest extra wide noodles with a touch of Smart Balance and parsley. But I needed a vegetable. I thought of some creamed spinach that I recently had from a local bbq joint. I'm usually not a fan of cooked spinach, but it was so good! So I found a lightened up version from Cooking Light and gave it a test drive. I found that it was relatively simple and easily halved, however I would drastically reduce the amount of shallot. Here's the halved recipe (serves 1-2) with my recommended changes noted.

CREAMED SPINACH
Source: Cooking Light

1 10 oz. bag of spinach
cooking spray
1 Tbsp minced shallot (I would only use 1 tsp)
1 tsp all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg (excluded)
1/4 fat-free milk
1/4 reduced fat cream cheese

-----

Remove large stems from spinach, and rinse with cold water; drain. Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat, and add spinach. (Spinach will need to be tightly packed into the pan to cook all of it in one batch). Cover and cook 5 minutes or until spinach wilts; stir spinach well after 2 minutes. Place spinach in a colander, and drain well, pressing spinach with the back of a spoon to remove as much moisture as possible.
Place pan coated with cooking spray over medium heat until hot. Add shallots; sauté 2 minutes. Combine flour, salt, and nutmeg; add to pan, stirring well. Cook 30 seconds. Add milk and cheese, stirring with a whisk; cook 1 minute or until thick. Add spinach; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated.

Grandma's Cheesecake Tartlets

2008-05-11T08:37:00.005-04:00

Today is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day, MOM! And to all of the other mothers out there who maybe happen to read my piddly blog.

Yesterday my mom decided to have all of her girls over for dinner at her house. Better her than me, because having people over generally causes me anxiety! So I had to offer to bring dessert. Mom wanted crock pot cake, and my younger sister wanted cheesecake. Yes, both of my sisters are also moms so I wanted to oblige my sister's request also.

I didn't feel like cooking a whole cheesecake (umm, I never have, yet, and didn't want to buy 5 packages of cream cheese!). So I called up grandmom who I knew had a recipe for cheesecake tartlets which she used to make at family functions all the time.

So if you're ever looking for something really really simple to please the cheesecake lovers out there, definitely give this a shot!

CHEESECAKE TARTLETS
Source: my grandmom, Joan (where she got it from, I have no idea)

2 packages cream cheese (I used one regular, and one 1/3 less fat)
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (which I just realized while typing this that I totally forgot!)
Nilla wafer cookies
foil cupcake wrappers
cheesecake topping of your choice (the drug of choice in my family is canned cherry pie filling)

-----

1. Combine first 4 ingredients and beat well.
2. Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake wrappers (keep the white wrapper inside each foil wrapper).
3. Place 1 Nilla wafer in the center of each cupcake wrapper.
4. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour about 1/4 cup of the cheesecake batter into each cupcake wrapper, covering the Nilla wafer.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until set. (mine took exactly 18 minutes).
6. Let cool, then store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
7. Before serving, top with your choice of topping.

Yield: I got 22 tartlets by measuring about 1/4 cup into each cupcake wrapper

What's that you say? You don't like toppings on your cheesecake? Well, neither do I. I much prefer my cheesecake unalduterated. The good news is they're just as good with no topping! It's the only way I eat them :)

Tex-Mex Turkey Burgers

2008-05-08T17:41:00.008-04:00

My WC sis, Lindsey, never ceases to give me reasons to love her. When I saw this dinner on her blog today, I began drooling all over my desk and had to pull out the disinfecting wipes. It was perfect because I had no dinner plans and was going to be home alone for dinner. I printed out the recipe and went straight to the grocery store after work to get some ground turkey. I couldn't wait to mush up these burgers.

I pulled out my digital scale and measured out 4 (5 oz.) servings from my package of ground turkey and froze 2 servings for future use. I decided to cook up 2 of these flavorful burgers so I would have something to take to work for lunch tomorrow (by the way, I so thought today was Friday, phhffft).

Here's the recipe scaled down for 2 burgers/servings:

TEX-MEX TURKEY BURGERS
Source: Lindsey

10 oz. 99% fat free ground turkey
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
dash of hot sauce (I excluded because I was too lazy to grab it out of the fridge)
1 Tbsp diced jalepeno peppers
1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I omitted)
1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced (I generally only keep sweet onions on hand because I prefer the taste)
1 sliced bell pepper, any color (I used 1 cup frozen tri-color pepper strips)
1 tsp olive oil

-----

1. In pan over low heat, saute 3/4 of onion and bell peppers in olive oil; stir occasionally to avoid burning.
2. In mixing bowl, combine turkey, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne black pepper, hot sauce, jalapeños, cilantro and the remaining 1/4 of the onion(finely chopped).
3. Using hands, mix until ingredients are combined. Divide mixture into two equal parts and form into patties.
4. Place patties on prepared grill or grill pan. Cook for five minutes per side or until no longer pink in center.
5. Remove from heat and top with onions, peppers and your favorite salsa.

To follow with Lindsey's suggestion, I served with 1/2 cup black beans

So, if you're looking for a very flavorful and quite healthy mexican dinner, you should definitely, hands down, give this one a try! Thanks, Lindsey!!

Weight Watchers points values per my calculations:
5 oz. 99% fat free ground turkey breast: 3 points
1/2 cup black beans: 2 points
1/2 tsp EVOO: 1 point
onions/peppers: 0 points
TOTAL: 6 points

Dinner and Dessert with Dana

2008-05-06T20:40:00.004-04:00

My friend, Dana, and I try to get together about once a month to cook each other dinner then try baking a new recipe. It was my turn to host so I decided to make some chicken parmesan because I finally found some panko bread crumbs in my grocery store. For dessert we decided to make these chocolate chip cookies. After I saw these in bakingblonde's blog, I knew immediately I had to try them and I wasted no time forwarding the recipe and pictures to Dana. It was then agreed that this would in fact be our next new recipe we would try. I think it was especially fun for Dana because she regularly bakes chocolate chip cookies for her husband and is always testing out new recipes.

CHICKEN PARMESAN for TWO
Source: Me

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts marinated in italian dressing (4 oz. each)

panko breadcrumbs

jarred marinara sauce

fat free and part skim mozzarella (I like to mix both because the fat free cheese doesn't melt well)

1. Bread italian marinated chicken breasts in panko breading.

2. Lightly spray pan with EVOO. Cook chicken on both sides to lightly brown.

3. Add marinara to bottom of 8x8 inch baking dish. Lay chicken breasts in baking dish. Spoon marinara over chicken. Sprinkle cheese on chicken. Bake at 350 for about a half hour or until chicken is done.

Serve with whole wheat pasta and a nice healthy salad.

For my salad, I just mixed romaine and spinach, lightly sprayed with EVOO and a few splashes of red wine vinegar, season with italian seasoning, salt and fresh cracked pepper. So yummy and much healthier than dousing with dressings.

-----
COPY CAT LEVAIN BAKERY THROWDOWN COOKIES
Source: bakingblonde

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (I used 2 tsp)
3 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (I used regular table salt)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts (I omitted)
-----
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in eggs, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. The dough will be stiff and thick. Finish mixing by hand if needed until just combined. Gently fold in chips and nuts if using.

4. Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop out dough balls. Place dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. You can make smaller dough balls but be sure to adjust baking times as needed to prevent browning.

5. Bake 15-25 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies and your oven) or until cookies are pale brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy. I baked my cookies for 22 minutes exactly.

6. Cool cookies on cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack until cooled completly. Serve or store in airtight container.

These cookies were amazingly soft, fluffy and puffy. Of course, that's the type of cookie I like. Dana said she felt it had too much flour in this recipe and would reduce the amount of flour next time she tried this recipe. The only downfall to these cookies is that you really can only eat one at a time! Well, I guess that would be a downfall for some, and an upside for others!

Enjoy!

Thanks Katie!!!

2008-05-05T08:28:00.000-04:00

You rock! Thank you so much for my new blog header!

For Ashlee

2008-05-05T07:33:00.002-04:00

I'm so sorry that there still are no updates :*(
But I wanted to give you a shout out in hopes that you might forgive me.
Hopefully I can make it up to you something serious this week!

Ribs

2008-04-27T14:37:00.003-04:00

The hubs and I were craving ribs lately so I decided to make them this weekend, along with an au gratin potato recipe I've been wanting to try. When I went to get the ribs I was able to find some boneless ribs, score. So this is the method I used to cook them:

1. Boil a large pot of water. Add ribs to the boiling water. Gently boil for 1 hour.
2. Remove from pot and drain on paper towels.
3. Season with garlic salt and pepper.
4. Set the oven to broil. Line a pan with aluminum foil. Place ribs on foil-lined pan and baste with your favorite bbq sauce.
5. Place pan under broiler for about 2 minutes. Remove, flip ribs, baste again, return to broiler for about 2 minutes. Repeat for each side and enjoy!

This method of cooking ribs is a combination of the way my family did it, and the method I found in Katie's blog.

To go with the ribs, I used Ashlee's potatoes au gratin recipe. It was really easy and good. I can imagine how great they would be if I didn't use low-fat cheese and if I would've doubled the amount of cheese.

Ribs would also go great with some homemade potato salad. Look for that in the blog this summer!

Grilled Spicy Lemon Chicken

2008-04-21T17:50:00.002-04:00

I do the best I can without an actual "fire" grill. I use a grill pan and it doesn't always result in great grill marks, but it's still super easy. I have to give credit for this idea to my friend, Jess (thanks, Jess!). It's a great light, summery (and low-fat too!) way to prepare chicken. If you're looking for a way to spice up your next chicken dinner, definitely give this simple and versatile marinade a try!

Grilled Spicy Lemon Chicken
Source: adapted from my friend Jess

juice of 2 lemons
3 tsp EVOO
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper
1-2 tsp crushed garlic
a dash of dried oregano
season with salt and pepper
2-4 chicken breasts
----
Combine all ingredients (except chicken) in a small bowl. Mix well with a whisk to help incorporate the oil. Transfer marinade and chicken to a large plastic baggie. Place in fridge to marinate for about 15-30 minutes. Grill or cook until no longer pink.

Oh sweet nachos...

2008-04-15T18:55:00.004-04:00

I love mexican food. Mexican food can sometimes be a challenge on the Weight Watchers diet. I heard great things about the Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight! cookbook. And lucky for me, there was a special section for Mexican food alone. The first thing that grabbed my eye for ease of execution and best probability for tasting great was the Nachos Supreme. THANK GOD I found this recipe. Seriously - if you're on Weight Watchers, this recipe is a must-try!

NACHOS SUPREME
Source: Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight! cookbook - copyright 2002

1 teaspoon olive oil (I excluded)
1 onion, finely chopped (I excluded)
1 garlic clove, minced (I excluded)
1/2 pound ground skinless turkey breast
2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 (8-ounce) jar taco sauce
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into quarters
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese (I used a 2% mexican blend)
1 Tbsp sliced pickled jalepenos, chopped (I buy diced jalepenos in a jar)
1 tomato, diced
2 scallions, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I excluded)
-----
1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the onion and garlic. Cook stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes. (I skipped this entire step)
2. Add the turkey and the taco seasoning mix. Cook, breaking up the turkey, until browned, about 6 minutes.
3. Stir in the beans and taco sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Preheat the broiler. Arrange the tortilla pieces in one layer on the broiler rack; spray the tortillas lightly with nonstick spray. Broil 4 inches from the heat, turning frequently, until crisp, about 4 minutes. (I cooked each side for 2 minutes - Keep an eye on them so that they don't burn)
5. Transfer the tortilla chips to a 9x13-inch broiler proof baking pan (I just used a baking sheet lined with foil for both steps 4 and 5). Spoon the turkey mixture evenly over the chips. Sprinkle with the cheese and jalepenos. Broil 4 inches from the heat until filling is hot and the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes (keep an eye on them).
6. Top with tomato, scallions and cilantro. Serve at once.

OPTIONAL: I served each chip with a small dollop of fat-free sour cream

SERVINGS: 6
NUTRITIONAL INFO (1/6 of nachos): 215 cals/4 g fat/5 g fiber
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS VALUE (1/6 of nachos): 4 POINTS

BONUS!!!!!
I use this recipe for my taco seasoning mix:

2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp black pepper

It makes a good amount which I just store in a spice jar.

Spicy Shrimp Scampi with Spaghetti Squash

2008-04-14T17:10:00.004-04:00

Spaghetti squash? "What's that?" I asked my friend, Dana. She tried telling me how closely it resembles actual spaghetti. Now, on my Weight Watchers endeavors I need to find ways to get veggies in wherever I can. But I was skeptical to say the least. So, about a month ago I found a spaghetti squash in the grocery store. I'd never even noticed them before, because quite frankly, I'm not a fan of squashes (or is it squeesh?). Yes, friends, it took me a month to get up the guts to cook it. Now, Dana said she bakes her spaghetti squash. My friend, Jess, says she microwaves her. My Google search for spaghetti squash cooking tips landed me here. I found this site quite helpful for the spaghetti squash novice.

Well, I couldn't think of a better recipe to try the "squash instead of spaghetti" method than the Shrimp Scampi recipe previously featured on my blog here. Well, that was thanks to Dana again - because she tried it first.

Well, I made this dish last night - it was experimental. But guess what - I liked it SO DAMN MUCH that I had it again tonight! So I decided to blog it. Now, for those Weight Watchers followers - 1 cup of spaghetti squash is a ZERO point food! One cup of wheat pasta is 3 points! And 1 cup of regular pasta is 4 points!

To make this dish more enjoyable, I realized after the "experimental" half of the dinner last night that I would like it so much better with more sauce. So today I made up a new batch of sauce, cooked up some more shrimp, microwaved my leftover spaghetti squash and scarfed it down.

2 tsp EVOO (2 points)
6 oz shrimp (3 points)
minced garlic to taste (about 2-3 cloves)
1/2 cup white wine (2 points)
zest and juice of 1 lemon (or to taste)
crushed red pepper to taste (for spicy I used 1 tsp)
1 cup cooked spaghetti squash (0 points)
-----
1. Heat oil. Add shrimp and saute until pink and firm (1-2 minutes). Remove shrimp and set aside.
2. Add minced garlic to pan and saute until fragrant (about 30 seconds) - Be careful not to burn.
3. Add wine and lemon juice. Reduce a pinch.
4. Return shrimp to pan and remove from heat.
5. Serve over spaghetti squash.

Serves: 1 (easily doubled)

Seriously, this is a delicious, healthy and elegant 7 point meal. And you can reduce or eliminate the oil altogether to save on points.

Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

2008-03-27T17:33:00.013-04:00

This is one of our FAVORITE meals. My husband, of course, only eats the chicken and the rice, but that leaves all the veggies to me, which is a good thing as I just officially joined Weight Watchers. I usually make this dish by eyeballing everything, but for the purpose of my new Weight Watchers lifestyle, I measured everything out so that I could calculate the points value. Now this IS a spicy dish. If you choose to try it yourself and don't like really spicy food, feel free to alter the amount of red pepper and chili oil, or omit it altogether! That's just one of the many beauties of this dish.

SPICY CHICKEN STIR FRY
Source: Violet, an old friend who now lives in the U.K.

CHICKEN
2 chicken breasts (8 oz.), sliced thin
3 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp chili oil

VEGGIES
1 green pepper, chopped to your liking
1 small sweet onion, chopped to your liking
1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp chili oil
2 tsp crushed garlic

SAUCE
3/4 cup cooking sherry (or any dry white wine)
4 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp corn starch

-----

1. For the chicken - in a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, garlic, crushed red pepper and chili oil. Add chicken and stir to coat the chicken well.

2. For the veggies - in a large skillet, heat the sesame oil, chili oil and garlic over medium heat until fragrant. Add veggies and saute until tender crisp. Remove veggies and set aside.

3. Add chicken mixture to skillet and cook chicken over medium heat until cooked through.

4. While the chicken is cooking, mix together the sherry, soy sauce and corn starch for your sauce.

5. When the chicken is cooked through, pour in the sauce mixture and return veggies to skillet. Stir and simmer until the alcohol is cooked off or until your veggies reach the desired tenderness.

Serve with rice. Enjoy!

Servings: 4

Weight Watchers points value: 5 points (not including rice)

Cals: 241/Fiber: 2/Fat: 7

Disclaimer: the nutritional information was calculated on Spark Recipe's food calculator, which I then used to calculate the Weight Watchers points values.

What's up, doc?

2008-03-26T19:37:00.003-04:00

Ever since I came across this recipe about 4 years ago, it's been a must-have for Easter dinner every single year. If you're looking for a new carrot cake recipe to try, I highly recommend you try this one! It's so moist and has the perfect density. The only change I make is I exclude the nuts entirely, and I prefer it baked in a 9x13 cake pan (which takes about 35-45 minutes).

GIGI'S CARROT CAKE
Source: Emeril Lagasse - Food Network

3 sticks, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Pecan Cream Cheese Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
-----
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter 3 (9-inch) cake pans with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer.
Add the sugar, and beat.
In a medium bowl or on a piece of parchment, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs, beating well after the addition of each.
Add the vanilla extract and mix.
Add the carrots and beat on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes.
Fold in the nuts.
Divide between the 3 cake pans and bake until set and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest in the cake pans for 10 minutes.
Invert onto wire racks, remove from the pans, and let cool.

For the Frosting:
In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly.
Add the vanilla and pecans.

When the cake is cool, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread the top with cream cheese frosting and top with a second and third cake layer, spreading the icing between each layer. Spread the icing around the sides of the cake and let harden slightly before serving.

Scone? What's a scone?!

2008-03-21T18:59:00.008-04:00

No, people, I've never had a scone. In my life. EVER. But alas, the day has come! I had about a half gallon of milk about to go bad. Basically my milk was dated today. I'm sure there are people like me; I hate to use milk past the date on the jug (I don't I've ever used the word 'jug' in my everyday life. Wow, another first!). I've wasted milk before, but I've never been ambitious enough to find a way to use up my kitchen and pantry items before they go bad. I don't know what came over me, but I knew if I asked my friend Katie, she'd have plenty of ideas for me to get rid of my almost-sour milk.

So I emailed Katie, and she came back with a few ideas, and I was like nah, that's not doing it for me, so then she wrote back with "blueberry scones." DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER! I knew I had all of the ingredients on hand at home (that's a first!).

I came straight home after work and immediately starting working on these babies. They turned out great!

BLUEBERRY SCONES

Source: Katie - Good Things Catered

2 c. flour plus 2 Tbsp, plus 1 Tbsp

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 Tbsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

6 Tbsp butter, plus 1/2 Tbsp, chilled

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 c. half and half, chilled (I used 1% milk with a few spoons of fat free vanilla yogurt)

2/3 c. frozen Maine wild blueberries (store brand frozen berries for me!)

-----

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment (I used my silpat sheet).

2. In small bowl combine frozen blueberries and 1 Tbsp flour and toss to combine.

3. Place blueberry mixture back into freezer.

4. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

5. Take butter out of fridge, cut into chunks and add to flour mixture. Cut butter into flour until pea sized or smaller.

6. Add vanilla and half and half and mix in with a spoon until just barely incorporated.

7. Take blueberries out of freezer and knead into mixture until mixture forms a ball of sticky dough.

8. Turn dough out onto floured surface and pat down into rough 9-10 inch circle.

9. Cut into 8 triangles and place triangles onto prepared baking sheet at least an inch apart.

10. Take 1/2 Tbsp butter and cut into 8 small pieces. Place one small piece of butter on top of each scone.

11. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy. Now as I've said, I've never had a scone before in my life, so I don't have anything to compare mine to, but if I still wanted more after eating one, that must be good!

"mock" Chicken Marsala and Oven Roasted Broccoli

2008-03-11T18:06:00.007-04:00

I'm not really one for making elaborate or fancy meals. In fact, I have nothing against cooking with condensed soup. I came up with this really simple, delicious and healthy dish that also comes together really quickly. And recently somebody posted on the WC board raving about this oven roasted broccoli recipe. I'm always looking for a new interesting way to cook broccoli and it fit the bill. I tried it once last week and am officially in love with it.

"mock" Chicken Marsala
Source: me

olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
1 can fat free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
thin/angel hair spaghetti
salt and pepper to taste
-----
1. Set pot of water to boil for cooking pasta.
2. Heat pan and lightly coat bottom of pan with oil (I use my Misto sprayer). Add chicken and cook until lightly browned.
3. Add chicken broth and simmer while pasta is cooking.
4. While pasta is cooking, add condensed mushroom soup to pan, stir well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until pasta is done.
5. Drain pasta and serve with chicken and sauce.

Oven Roasted Broccoli

Source: Alton Brown - Good Eats

1 pound broccoli, rinsed and trimmed (I just used one crown)

2 tablespoons olive oil (I just spray with Misto sprayer until lightly coated)

2 cloves garlic, minced (1 clove per crown)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs (I did not use)

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or sharp Cheddar
-----

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces. Cut the stalk into 1/8-inch thick, round slices.

3. Place the broccoli into a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Spread the panko into a 13 by 9-inch metal cake pan and place into the oven for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted.

5. Remove the panko from the oven and add to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Toss to combine.

6. Return the mixture to the cake pan, place in the oven and roast just until the broccoli is tender, 8 to 10 more minutes.

7. Remove from the oven, toss in the cheese and serve immediately.

My notes: Instead of cutting into bite size pieces and the stalk into rounds, I just cut into small spears. It just takes a little longer to roast.

...and I'd like to thank my fans!

2008-03-09T10:42:00.004-04:00

Who would've thunk I'd've made somebody's day with my measly blog. Well I did! Crazy, I know, I have no lofty goals with my blog, I just like to, well, eat! Simple stuff at that. And every now and then I'm inspired to make something a little more creative from other blogs. So I must say I'm thrilled to have fallen into the blogging world and am able to make anybody's day with my own! I guess it's sort of voyeuristic, getting all up in somebody's kitchen, the good, the bad, and the ugly of it (hello numerous baking DISASTERS!).

Anywho, I won this beautiful award that I will proudly display here

And would now like to also call the following people for their acceptance of the award!

Lindsey, my "sis", over at Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings. I love to get all up in your kitchen ;) (I hope you don't mind getting another award, considering as you received it and then passed it on to me. Is that even allowed? Idk, I want you to have one anyway).

Katie over at Good Things Catered. I have to disinfect my keyboard regularly as I drool over your blog on a regular basis.

Duchess281 over at Confections of a Foodie Bride. Love your food porn girl! And thanks for turning me on to making my own vanilla!

and Mrs.OCandME over at My Apples and Oranges. Again with the food porn. I think I must have a fetish.

Thanks girls!

The Most Perfect BROWNIES

2008-02-18T19:06:00.004-05:00

Recently I've been on the quest for the perfect brownie. Today someone posted the link to this very unique blog - all (or so I've seen) of her recipes are done by video! So you honestly can't mess anything up! And considering I've messed up a few too many brownie recipes lately, I figured trying one more before giving up altogether couldn't hurt. I'm so glad I didn't give up! This is the recipe I've been searching for all along (to my WC sis, you know I LOVE Aunt J's brownies, as similarly pictured below, but this are a bit cakier and a tad sweeter and I think more along Jim's lines of a really great brownie). So after rewinding this woman's video enough times to catch the ingredients and measurements, here you go!

FUDGE BROWNIES

Source: Kathy Maister's startcooking.com

14 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour

pinch of salt

Optional: nuts, chocolate chips, etc. (I used 1/4 cups walnuts, 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)

-----

See Source link for Kathy Meister's video directions!

Pasta e Fagioli

2008-02-18T18:03:00.005-05:00

Oh Sweet Jesus! I've never tried a copycat recipe before but this one was hands down a success!! I'm not really a soup eater when out at restaurants, but when I worked downtown a co-worker and I would often head to Olive Garden for the unlimited soup and salad lunch special. I prefer soups with substance so I opted for the pasta e fagioli and it was so good! Ever since my first day enjoying that fabulous soup I have longed to make it myself. Thanks to cdkitchen.com I was able to do so. This has been on my list of things to make for a while now, but the husband was on night work this week so I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to make a big pot of soup and enjoy it for lunch and dinner all week. I scaled the recipe down to make 4.5 quarts and it filled my big pot up pretty well and would be plenty even for a small family. So for all those who were ever in search of a no-fail pasta e fagioli recipe, this is the one to try!

PASTA e FAGIOLI

Source: cdkitchen.com

1.5 tsp oil

1 lb ground beef

6 ounces onion, chopped

7 ounces carrots, slivered (I chopped)

7 ounces celery, diced

24 ounces tomatoes, canned, diced

1 cup cooked red kidney beans (I used 1 1/2 cups)

1 cup cooked white kidney beans (I used 1 1/2 cups)

44 ounces beef stock

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 1/4 tsp pepper

2 1/2 tsp parsley, fresh, chopped (I used dry)

2/4 tsp tabasco sauce

24 ounces spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu)

4 ounces dry small dry pasta (I used ditalini - I recommend cooking this separate and adding at after the soup is cooked)

-----

1. Brown beef in oil in large 10 qt. pot until brown.

2. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot.

4. Add beef stock, oregano, pepper, parsley, tabasco, spaghetti sauce (and noodles if you choose to).

5. Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes (I simmered for about an hour and a half).

Notes: my soup turned out thicker because I cooked it longer and the pasta went in dry. It's still wicked good though!

I iced it!

2008-02-13T19:22:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I love that colored sugar - I can never get enough of it on my cake. A little difficult to see in my awful kitchen lighting, but I used pink for Valentine's Day :)

FINALLY!!!!!

2008-02-13T18:54:00.004-05:00

I've ruined so many baked goods these last few months. With the demise of so many cookies and cakes I was bound to be successful one of these times - so the desire to succeed never left. Earlier this week, one of the fabulous Nesties on the What's Cooking board posted the recipe for America's Test Kitchen fluffy yellow cake. I was immediately drawn to this recipe for a few reasons. 1. I've become a huge fan of the ATK recipes because they always work out for me. 2. My husband loves plain old yellow cake. 3. I still had to have a little success with my baking this week!!

And so it was meant to be, and I'm so proud to say that this cake did not fall flat on me! Which is what usually happens when I bake cake/cupcakes anymore.

I was so ecstatic that I had to post the pictures of this gorgeous yellow cake before I even iced it. I'm 100% confident that it's going to taste amazing, too!

I baked it in a 9x13 pan for transporting ease as I'll be taking this cake into work with me tomorrow - and it took a perfect 35 minutes to bake up.

FLUFFY YELLOW CAKE

Source: America's Test Kitchen

Nonstick cooking spray can be used for greasing the pans (proceed with flouring as directed).

Bring all ingredients to room temperature before beginning.

Makes two 9-inch cake layers.

2 1/2 cups cake flour , plus extra for dusting pans

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon table salt

1 3/4 cups sugar (12 1/4 ounces)

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly

1 cup buttermilk , room temperature

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large egg yolks , room temperature

3 large egg whites , room temperature

-----

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch-wide by 2-inch-high round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Grease paper rounds, dust pans with flour, and knock out excess. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 1/2 cups sugar together in large bowl. In 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and yolks.

2. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. With machine running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks just form, 30 to 60 seconds (whites should hold peak but mixture should appear moist). Transfer to bowl and set aside.

3. Add flour mixture to now-empty mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment. With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape whisk and sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.

4. Using rubber spatula, stir 1/3 of whites into batter to lighten, then add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Lightly tap pans against counter 2 or 3 times to dislodge any large air bubbles.

5. Bake until cake layers begin to pull away from sides of pans and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen cakes from sides of pans with small knife, then invert onto greased wire rack and peel off parchment. Invert cakes again and cool completely on rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Feta

2008-02-13T18:46:00.006-05:00

For Christmas, my girlfriends and I all got together to exchange gifts, and my friend Jess's fiance cooked us a fabulous dinner that I'll never forget. He was so secretive when he was cooking and he wouldn't let us know what anything was until it was served. First up... wilted spinach salad with feta - OH MY GOODNESS, this salad (albeit not very healthy) was so freaking good!

Now here we are, 2 months later, and my other friend, Dana, mentioned having a dinner party and she didn't know what to make. This amazing salad was the first thing that popped into my head because as easy as it is, it's definitely an impressive dish. Then, of course, I started craving it, so I made it for dinner last night!

WILTED SPINACH SALAD WITH FETA

Source: Epicurious

1 9-ounce bag fresh spinach leaves

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium red onion, halved, cut into 1/3-inch thick wedges with some core attached

1 7-ounce package feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)

-----

Place spinach in large bowl.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over high heat.

Add onion; sauté until brown and softened, about 7 minutes.

Transfer to bowl with spinach; remove skillet from heat.

Add remaining 3 tablespoons oil and cheese to skillet.

Stir to melt cheese slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over spinach; toss to coat and wilt slightly.

Serves 4 - see source link for nutritional info.

This photo doesn't really do it justice, but TRUST ME, it's beautiful and delicious and you will love this!!

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

2008-02-11T17:22:00.000-05:00

My friend Dana gave me this recipe. I liked it, my husband didn't, but he only likes his fish breaded/batter dipped and fried. So his opinion doesn't count. So if you're looking for a new, easy, FAST way to cook your tilapia, definitely give this one a try! And just so you really understand, I whipped this dinner together SO FAST, it was done before the sun set! I served it with parmesan couscous and brussel sprouts.

BROILED PARMESAN TILAPIA

Source: Spark People

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon celery salt

1 pound tilapia fillets

-----

1. Preheat your oven's broiler.

2. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.

4. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan.

5. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes.

6. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork.

Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Makes 4 servings

See Source Link for Nutrition Information

Monkey Bread

2008-02-05T18:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got an email from my mom asking me to make monkey bread. Neither of us had ever had it in our lives, but my mom recently attended a party where it was served and was gone within minutes. My poor mom wanted more! I couldn't deny the chance to bake something so of course I was going to make it for her. For some reason I felt that it would be okay to bake in a loaf pan, and I think it would've been fine if I hadn't stuffed 4 layers of sugar coated cut biscuits into it, but in the end I think it turned out pretty decent. Mom's on her way over tonight :)

All of the recipes I searched for were very similar, but since I used Pillsbury biscuits I'll link you to the Pillsbury recipe.

Taco Chicken

2008-02-04T19:23:00.000-05:00

Several of us WC nesties get the Kraft magazines sent to us. When DH and I flipped through the most recent edition, we both saw this recipe and knew we had to try it - one problem: I didn't think potatoes really went with it. So I modified the cooking technique since I had some microwavable brown rice on hand.

The original recipe can be found here.

TACO CHICKEN FOR 2

2 chicken breasts
1/2 pack of taco seasoning
1/2 - 1 cup of hot salsa
mexican blend shredded cheese
-----
I lined an 8x8 baking dish with foil. I sprayed the bottom with non-stick cooking spray. I sprinkled a coating of taco seasoning into the bottom of the pan. I layed the chicken breasts in the pan and sprinkled taco seasoning on top of the chicken breasts until covered. I spooned about a 1/2 cup to 1 cup salsa on top (I recommend 1 cup so you can get some sauce when it's done baking). I covered with foil and baked for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. I removed the foil covering and sprinkled with cheese, and continued to bake a few extra minutes until melted. Serve with rice and sour cream - it was SO easy to prepare and really satisfying - you should definitely try this one if you haven't already!

Husband's Fave: Lemon Chicken

2008-02-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

I got this recipe from a friend like 4 years ago that she got out of an issue of Oprah Magazine. If I remember correctly, it was the recipe of an actual bonified chef, and it called for using parts of a whole chicken. As some of you may have noticed by looking through my blog - I only like to eat chicken breasts. So I adapt the majority of my recipes to account for this. I wish I still had the photocopy of the page from the magazine, but it was so disheveled from the many times I had to use it over these past few years I eventually had to toss the original and transfer the recipe to an index card kept in my recipe box. For the record - I googled and searched Oprah's website to figure out if I could link directly to the original recipe, but I couldn't find it :(

LEMON CHICKEN

Chicken parts (I use 4 chicken breasts)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil (I've found that you can reduce this by up to half and the results are still delicious)

1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic (I always use more, and prefer crushed garlic)

1/4 tsp oregano (I don't recall if this called for fresh or dry - but I always use dried herbs)

2 Tbsp fresh parsley (I always use dried herbs)

Salt & Pepper to taste

-----

The gist of this recipe is to broil the chicken, flipping halfway, whisk together the remaining ingredients, then pour over the chicken. The recipe called for heating the lemon mixture in a saucepan. I've found that pouring the lemon mixture over the chicken and continuing to broil produces good results - and minimizes dishes! I always make this in a 9 x 13 pan, lined heavily with aluminum foil. Serve with rice :)

Sorry I can't be more specific, but if you have any questions, you can always email me at bluebridejan07@gmail.com

I love my WC sis :)

2008-01-27T12:13:00.000-05:00

For my 1 year anniversary my WC sis, Lindsey (Luluk1102), sent me brownies made with a family recipe and she even sent the recipe on a pretty index card with her kitchen stamp on it - so cute! But I was sooooo bored this weekend, and needed to go get an onion for my salsa (below) so I figured I'd give these fabulous brownies a shot so I picked up a few things from the grocery store to make them. I love these brownies, and I love my WC sis - thanks Linds!

Visit Lindsey's blog for the recipe!

Hot-cha-cha!

2008-01-27T11:40:00.002-05:00

The hubby and I enjoy chips and salsa - BUT... I really haven't found a store bought salsa that we like. They all are just too chunky for our taste. My friend, Jess, once said she really liked the Chili's restaurant salsa, so I googled for a knock-off recipe and found one!

And really, when you make your own salsa, you can make it as thick or thin as you like, as spicy or mild as you like - so it's perfect.

CHILI'S SALSA

Source: Recipezaar

1 14.5 oz can tomatoes and green chili's (Rotel) (I used 2 small cans then weighed the contents to get 14.5 ounces)

1 14.5 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (plus juice) (I could only find a 28 oz can so I took each tomato, deseeded them, then weighed them and added the juice from the can until I got 14.5 ounces)

4 teaspoons jalepenos (canned, dicked - not pickled (I get jarred diced jalepenos by Cento - and of course I added waaaaay more than 4 teaspoons)

1/4 cup diced yellow onion (I use vidalia onions)

1/2-3/4 teaspoon garlic salt (I used 3/4 tsp)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon sugar

-----

1. In food processor place jalepenos and onions and process for just a few seconds.

2. Add both cans of tomatoes, garlic salt, sugar and cumin.

3. Process by pulsing until you reach desired consistency.

4. Refrigerate a few hours to help blend and enrich the flavor.

Note: I also added about a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of regular table salt.

Potato Soup sans Shrimp

2008-01-26T17:48:00.000-05:00

My friend Dana said she wanted to try this potato soup recipe from Paula Deen. It looked easy enough to me, and it was something I always wanted to try making myself, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Only problem - I don't think I'd like shrimp on my potato soup. I'm one of those weird people that if I try something once, and like it, I can only have it in it's original form (meaning the form in which I tried it the first time). So potato soup to me is creamy potato soup topped with chives, cheese and bacon.

So all I had to do was not put the shrimp in it, and it was simple enough. It wasn't no Bennigan's potato soup (the only potato soup I've ever had - and enjoyed), but I did really enjoy this one. I think I'd try a different recipe before I tried this one again though - I think the chicken bouillon in it is what made it different from what I'm used to. But as long as the hubby liked it (and he did) I consider it a success.

The long awaited Shrimp Scampi

2008-01-23T17:52:00.001-05:00

Well folks, I've had this recipe bookmarked for 7 months!!!! And I don't even know if this "nestie" is still around because I haven't come across her blog in a long time (good thing I bookmarked it!) because I'm not motivated enough to set up googlepages - so I visit blogs by clicking on the links in peoples' siggies. Anyhow, there was a series of events that led up to my finally being able to make this dish:

1. I've recently become obsessed with Trader Joe's, and I bought a bag of frozen shrimp - something I've never bought or cooked before, and
2. My husband was on night work - again - and he doesn't like shrimp.

Ok, that wasn't so much a series of events, but they were events nonetheless. And so I was 1 hour from leaving work today, and I was scrolling through all of my bookmarked internet favorites, and came across this long-buried link. LIGHTBULB!! But guess what - I don't normally stock lemons or fresh garlic in my house. So, a trip to the grocery store was necessary.

So off I went to the grocery store, grabbed what I needed, along with a beatifully fresh ciabatta roll to go along with it, and set off home and immediately began arranging my ingredients for dinner. Ok, I'm rambling. So here's the recipe with my notations in italics!

SHRIMP SCAMPI FOR TWO
adapted from Gourmet, April 2006

about 12-14 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used 24 frozen shrimp - the bag said they were large, but they looked small to me, so I read the servings sizes on the package - sure enough, 12 shrimp per person)
3 Tbsp - 1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
zest of one lemon
1 Tbsp lemon juice (I used 2 Tbsp because I love lemon in my pasta)
crushed red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced (I used my handy microplane for this)
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (I used dried parsley, because I don't do fresh herbs - didn't measure, just sprinkled however much I liked)
1-2 Tbsp unsalted butter
salt and pepper
1/3 box of long pasta (I used linguini)

-----

1. Boil and salt water and cook pasta according to package directions. Before draining, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water.

2. Heat oil over med-med high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Saute until pink and firm (about 1-2 minutes - do not overcook). Remove shrimp and set aside.

3. Add minced garlic to pan and saute until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

4. Add lemon juice and wine. Cook to reduce just a pinch.

5. Add crushed red pepper (to taste), lemon zest and parsley.

6. Add butter and cook until just melted.

7. Return shrimp to pan. Transfer drained pasta to pan. Mix together.

8. Add as much of the reserved pasta water as is needed until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.

Serve with or without parmesan cheese - I meant to, but was too eager to EAT it so I forgot, and it was FABULOUS! HIGHLY recommend! Thanks Honeybear a/k/a Rach257!

3 Bananas

2008-01-20T20:31:00.001-05:00

I had 3 very ripe bananas. What better to make than a batch of moist banana muffins? Nothing I could think of! So banana muffins it was. I'm sure I found this recipe somewhere on the internet several years ago, because back then, that's how I found all of my recipes. But that was before the days of blogging so I have no idea where it's source is. But anyway, here's my recipe, which is for a standard banana bread, but I halved it based on the amount of mashed banana I had and got 8 perfect sized muffins out of it. For integrity's sake, I'll post the banana bread recipe in it's whole form.

BANANA BANANA BREAD

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed banana

-----

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Stir together dry ingredients.

3. Cream together butter and sugar.

4. Stir in eggs and bananas.

5. Stir wet mixture into dry mixture just to moisten.

6. Pour into 2 8x4 inch loaf pans

7. Bake 60-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Note: As muffins, they took 20 minutes to bake.

Trader Joe's Eggplant Cutlets

2008-01-19T20:22:00.000-05:00

These things are amazing!!!!!!! I don't really buy eggplant because I find the salting and removing moisture to be a pain in the butt. My Trader Joe's is not that close to my house, so I just recently started venturing and during my first trip I came across these frozen breaded eggplant cutlets and a lightbulb went off in my head.

So the first thing I decided to try was eggplant lasagna because I had some fat-free ricotta and some shredded mozzarella on hand from earlier in the week when I tried to make calzones (they're not in my blog for a reason, lol). This was absolutely delicious!!! And low-fat! I only used about a half cup of ricotta, a 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, and just a light sprinkling of parmesan/romano to make 2 servings. I used enough eggplant cutlets to make 2 layers and lightly fried them in a little EVOO. For someone who is a convenience cook (that's me, by the way) this totally worked. This will definitely be something I make on a regular basis when the hubby is on night work (cuz yeah, I married the kind of guy who hates vegetables).

WC Recipe Exchange

2008-01-19T20:16:00.000-05:00

Well, my experience with the WC holiday recipe exchange wasn't that great - it wasn't anybody's fault, but it just seemed that there was always something working against me. I couldn't meet the deadline because my dad passed away, then it was one thing after another, until finally, today, I was able to get it done. But then........... I don't know what I did but the batter for my recipe never really set up - the directions said to bake for 20-30 minutes. I baked it for 20 and it wasn't done. I baked it up to 30 minutes and took it out. I should've checked it again before taking it out but I figured the extra 10 minutes should cover it. Then while it was cooling I realized that the top crust seemed to be totally separate from the rest of it and so basically I totally botched the recipe, and to the WC nestie who submitted Walnut Bars, I apologize from the bottom of my heart!! Both for the extreme lateness, and for botching it royally. And so, now I present my disaster...

Italian Wedding Soup

2007-12-30T15:39:00.000-05:00

aka Little Meatball Soup

My paternal grandmother is pure Italian. When we would visit her for Thanksgiving she would always serve this soup with dinner. I remember always looking forward to it, and if she didn't have it I would be disappointed.

When my mom and I finally learned how to make it, Progresso used to make an escarole soup and that was the only way we knew how to make the soup (well, the basis for it anyway). Then one day I could never find the canned escarole soup so I was at a loss for what to do and so we went a few years without this fabulous soup (because we stopped visiting this grandma because she wasn't exactly local anymore) until, one day I got up the guts to face the fact that escarole is a fresh leafy green available in my grocery store and that it wasn't gross to boil what, to me, was "lettuce." So I gave it a shot and it turned out fabulous so all was right in the world again. And so I shall share the basis of this recipe with you

about 1 pound of ground beef, seasoned as meatballs to your liking (I season mine with garlic, italian bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, mixed with 1 egg)

2 chicken breasts (or you can use canned chicken)

1 head of escarole, chopped and rinsed

1 large can of chicken broth plus a carton of chicken broth

chopped celery and carrots

1 small onion, minced

salt/pepper to taste

about 1 cup orzo pasta

1. In stockpot add broth, escarole, celery, carrots and onion. Set pot to simmer.

2. Begin forming meatball mix into tiny meatballs, dropping in the pot as you form them.

3. Once soup is simmering, season with salt/pepper and add chicken breasts.

4. Cover and simmer on low for several hours.

5. When meatballs are cooked through, boil water separately and cook orzo pasta according to package directions (approx. 9 minutes).

6. Drain and rinse orzo and add to soup.

(Note: the broth is not an exact science. Add more water/chicken broth to your liking. And keep an eye on it while the soup is simmering to make sure it doesn't evaporate.)

Enjoy with a sprinkling of cheese, and some buttered crusty bread!

Holiday: Chocolate Chip Cookies

2007-12-28T19:29:00.001-05:00

Over the years I've tried every single chocolate chip recipe I've seen that anybody said was the best. Thank you, again, Katie, for sharing this America's Test Kitchen recipe! Everybody loved them!!

I did want to add my notes because I messed up an entire batch by not chilling the dough enough. The trick I found that worked best for me was to go all the way up to the forming dough ball part, and twist to get 2 halves, as instructed. But then what I did was I put each dough ball onto some parchment paper and stuck them in the fridge for about an hour. It helped the dough chill quickly enough for me to not have to wait too long to bake them and resulted in a PERFECT cookie. I even made a batch with NO chocolate chips because my friend Jess and I really just love the dough sans chips. They were also a hit!

Holiday: Cream Puffs

2007-12-28T19:14:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Katie, for inspiring me to give these a shot! They were a hit! And SO easy!

Basic Cream Puff Dough

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil.
3. Stir in flor and salt until the mixture forms into a ball.
4. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl.
5. Using stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well.
6. Pipe onto prepared baking sheet in Tbsp size.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes in preheated oven until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
8. When shells are cool, pipe the cream into the shells.
9. Dust with powdered sugar.

(Note: Pipe cream into shells before serving. We piped the night before and the next day they were not as good as when we first piped them that night. And piping takes no time at all so it's really no big deal. Lesson learned!)

For the cream, we used this Williams-Sonoma recipe.

Holiday: Chewy Coconut Cookies

2007-12-28T19:08:00.002-05:00

My friend Dana and I wanted to try something new this year. We came across this recipe. We both agree that it was an easy, likable recipe and we would both make them again. I'm linking you directly to the allrecipes recipe so you can view the comments left by others who tried the recipe (can I say "recipe" one more time?). We followed the recipe exactly, but would definitely add some toasted coconut for a little extra coconut flavor. Enjoy!

Holiday: Butter Cookies

2007-12-28T18:47:00.000-05:00

My FAVORITE holiday cookie by far is the butter cookie. I'm loyal to my grandmother's recipe and I have no idea where it originates from. I just know that when grandmom came over to visit on Christmas Eve that she said, "Are those my cookies?" And so, without further adieu, here is the recipe!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract

2 1/3 cups flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream butter.

2. Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in eggs and almond extract.

4. Gradually blend in flour.

COOKIE PRESS DIRECTIONS

Fill press with dough. Form desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheet (Note: this will not work on parchment paper or on a silicone baking mat - cookies must be pressed directly onto the cookie sheet). Decorate cookies to your liking with sprinkles (my fave is colored sugar). Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove immediately to wire rack to cool.

ROLLED DIRECTIONS

Chill dough. Roll dough thin (this dough does not spread or puff). Use desired small scale cookie cutter (I just used a small round measuring cup I had). Transfer cut dough shapes to cookie sheet and decorate. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 8-12 minutes - depending on how thick you rolled the dough out.

(Note: I've also used a small cookie scoop and jus flattened with my fingers, decorated and baked. This is helpful if you don't like to roll out dough.)

I hope that someone else is able to get as much joy out of this recipe that my family does :)