Buffalo Chicken Dip

This one isn't from a cookbook -- it's from Husband's list of favorites!  We brought a batch to a casual cookout last weekend and got rave reviews.  I took most of the credit, naturally.

Husband prefers it cold, while I like to top it with shredded cheese and bake until warm and bubbly.  Because cheese. 

I finally used the Pinterest trick for shredding chicken, and let me tell you, I couldn't have been more impressed.  The paddle attachment on my KitchenAid mixer turned those three giant chicken breasts into perfect shreds in less than a minute.  Just tear the breasts into large chunks and mix on low speed.  

   
Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients
3 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce
1/4 cup ranch dressing
8 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
Shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

Preparation Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until well blended.  Spread evenly in serving dish.  For cold dip, garnish with slices of celery and serve.  For hot dip, sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over the top and bake at 350 until dip is bubbly and cheese is slightly browned. 

Serve with celery sticks and tortilla chips for dipping.

Thai-Style Mushroom and Chicken Stir-Fry

In the interest of trying something a bit healthier, I pulled out my old copy of The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook and set about finding a recipe that Husband would actually eat.  He has finally come around to Thai food, so I adapted this recipe for our tastes. 

This recipe started as Thai-Style Mushroom and Tofu Stir-Fry, but for us, it's out with the tofu and in with the chicken!  I want to try cooking with tofu one day, as I happen to love tofu with my Thai food (Pad See Ew with Tofu is my favorite).  But for now, we start with the safer alternative.
     

Substitutions: Chicken for tofu, obviously.  I used portabella mushrooms, as our Kroger did not have fresh oyster mushrooms available.  And since we had regular Jif in the pantry, I used that instead of the reduced-fat peanut butter.  For more heat, I added sriracha in place of red pepper flakes. This was so fresh, colorful, and delicious served over rice.  I found myself wanting more veggies! 

Here's my recipe below, adapted from the original: 

Thai-Style Mushroom and Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, cut into strips or bite size pieces
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
8 ounces portabella mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces snow peas, ends trimmed and strings pulled
8 ounces canned sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Preparation Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, and lime juice until smooth. Add the water, sesame oil, cornstarch, and pepper flakes and whisk until blended. Coat a nonstick wok or a large nonstick frying pan with nonstick cooking spray and heat over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until opaque. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the snow peas and continue stir-frying until the peas are tender-crisp, 2-3 minutes. Add the peanut butter mixture, water chestnuts, and tofu, and stir-fry until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Serve over steamed rice or noodles. Sprinkle with the cilantro.  Serves 3-4.

Mint Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

First off, I have to confess: this recipe isn't from a cookbook.  Also, I've made it before - several times, in fact.  But this time was different.  I tweaked the recipe to make festive St. Patrick's Day treats for Husband's work potluck, and they were a huge hit! 

All that to say, you have to have this recipe.
 

These are a great option if you need a gluten free dessert.  Plus, they're so pretty to look at and are nice and light after a heavy meal.  So refreshing, too, with the hint of mint!  

Adapted from my Christmas party favorite Real Simple recipe.

Mint Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

Ingredients
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
green food coloring, as desired (about 8 drops for pale green as shown)

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 225.  Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy.  Increase mixer speed to high, then add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Allow a few moments between adding tablespoons to sugar to ensure thorough mixing.  Continue mixing on high speed until stiff and glossy with firm peaks, about 2-3 minutes.  Add in peppermint extract and green food coloring.  Once done, turn off mixer and fold in chocolate chips by hand. 

Drop mounds of the meringue mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart.  Bake until firm and dry, 75 to 90 minutes.  After 75 minutes, watch carefully to prevent browning.  Let cool completely on the baking sheets.

Southwestern Cheese Steak Supper

Since I had gotten it out for help with the Pretzel Toffee Chocolate Crunch Cookies, I went back to the original red Betty Crocker's Cookbook looking for dinner ideas.  When I found this one-skillet meal that involved meat + pasta + queso, I knew I would have to try it.

Husband laughed about how it's called "supper."  My grandmother would call the three meals breakfast, dinner, and supper.  In my mind, there's breakfast and lunch, but then dinner and supper are the same thing.  It always confused me as a small child!

*Warning: I followed the directions and ended up with way-overdone steak.  It was pretty disappointing, I must admit, especially after Husband had cooked us some amazing filets a few nights before.  But the pasta was delicious and idiot-proof easy, so next time, I'll wait until further in the pasta cooking process to put the steak back to the skillet.  

Betty has the recipe on her website.

Southwestern Cheese Steak Supper

Ingredients
1 pound beef boneless sirloin steak, 3/4 inch thick
1 1/2 cups mild salsa
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups uncooked rotini pasta (5 ounces)
8 ounces Velveeta, cut into cubes (1 cup)

Preparation Instructions

Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Cut beef into 4 serving pieces. Cook beef in skillet about 4 minutes, turning once, until brown. Remove beef from skillet. 

Add salsa and water to skillet. Heat to boiling. Stir in pasta. Place beef in pasta mixture. Cover and cook over medium heat 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender.  Stir in cheese until melted.

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is a standby at my house.  I have always followed my family easy cheat recipe with Pillsbury pie crusts, Veg-All, and cream of chicken soup.  Simple, hearty, tasty -- what's not to love?

I did take special pride in this recipe because everything except the crusts was made fresh.  No cans in sight!  While I'm not sure every step was worth the trouble for a simple weeknight, there are some tricks that I'll carry over to my cheat recipe, such as:

• Adding sautéed onions and mushrooms
• Cooking in the cast iron skillet
• Using Creole seasoning
• Egg white wash on the top crust

Would you take a look at how beautifully that crust turned out?  Crispy, crackly, flaky golden brown deliciousness, I say. 

Surprisingly, this pie was listed in the Southern Living booklet Best Fall Baking.  I guess it is a pie, after all, but I went looking through the book for sweet treats and happened upon dinner instead.  And yummy leftovers for lunch, too!

Southern Living also lists the recipe on their website. 

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie 

Ingredients
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 (8-oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cups frozen cubed hash browns
1 cup matchstick carrots
1 cup frozen small sweet peas
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 (14.1-oz.) package refrigerated pie crusts, brought to room temperature
1 egg white 

Preparation Instructions 

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt 1/3 cup butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; add all-purpose flour, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually add chicken broth and milk, and cook, whisking constantly, 6 to 7 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat, and stir in Creole seasoning.  Next, melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add onion and mushrooms, and sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken, next 4 ingredients, and sauce.

Place 1 pie crust in a lightly greased 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Spoon chicken mixture over pie crust, and top with remaining pie crust. Whisk egg white until foamy; brush top of pie crust with egg white. Cut 4 to 5 slits in top of pie for steam to escape. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Pretzel Toffee Chocolate Crunch Cookies

Well, March is here, but that didn't stop the winter weather in Nashville last week!  Looks like it's finally going to break this weekend, which sounds amazing since we spent last weekend cooped up avoiding the ice.  Naturally, that called for some sweet treats, and I found a delicious recipe in the Christmas with Southern Living 2013 annual holiday book.

My mom sends me a copy of the book every year, which I love to flip through but, admittedly, rarely get to put into practice.  After having done so with these cookies, I have to say I would happily make them again, but with one small tweak: not using unsweetened chocolate bars!  Chopping the bars was a major pain.  I started by hand, which was taking forever.  So I moved on to the mini food processor, which was slightly faster but still couldn't quite power through the chocolate bars without creating mostly chocolate dust.  Frankly, I think these would be delightful with semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, so next time I'll save myself the hassle.
  
My other regret is somehow adding too much flour.  I measured per the directions, but the cookies didn't quite flatten out enough during the baking process.  To figure out the problem, I looked at my trusty original red Betty Crocker's Cookbook and found her Cookie Troubleshooting Guide.  Next time I'll "spoon flour into a measuring cup, rather than scooping the cup directly into the flour canister."      

Substitutions: none!  Can you believe it?  I used Baker's unsweetened chocolate, Kroger pretzels, and Heath bars -- Husband's favorite.  Now the only remaining challenge is to keep my hand out of the cookie jar every hour when these are around.    

Pretzel Toffee Chocolate Crunch Cookies  

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed mini pretzel twists
4 (1.4 oz.) chocolate covered toffee bars, chopped
2 (4 oz.) unsweetened chocolate baking bars, chopped
parchment paper

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed after each addition. Stir in pretzels, toffee candy, and chocolate. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 1 inch apart onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool completely (about 30 minutes).

Poulet Roti (Roast Chicken)

Nothing says cuisine like Julia Child... am I right?  After watching the movie Julie & Julia with Husband, I mentioned that I would love to have my own copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Husband did not disappoint, as I found the set of Volumes 1 and 2 under the Christmas tree!  Of course, that was Christmas 2012, and this is the first time I've finally attempted a recipe. 

The end result was spectacular, of course.  But I have never put so much labor into what I thought was a simple dish!  

Substitutions: I bought a larger chicken (approximately 6 pounds) so that we would have leftovers.  Happy to report that I did not adjust the amounts of the remaining ingredients and it still turned out perfectly, as did the Chicken and Dumplings I made from the subsequent bone broth and leftover chicken.  I added some whole red potatoes to the roasting pan to go with the carrots and onions.  

After so many flips and turns, it was hard to keep track of which way was up, for the bird and for me...  Be careful when turning the chicken so that the delicious skin doesn't wind up stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan.  

Is it sinful if I thought the carrots were the most amazing part? 

Poulet Roti (Roast Chicken) 

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, 3-4 pounds
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
5 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature, divided
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon shallot or green onion, minced
1 cup chicken stock or broth

Preparation Instruction

Preheat oven to 425°F. Sprinkle inside of chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and smear in 1 tablespoon butter. Dry it thoroughly with paper towels, and rub the skin with 1 tablespoon butter. Place chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan. Strew carrot and onion around it, and set it on a middle rack of the preheated oven. Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil to use for basting.

Allow chicken to brown lightly for 5 minutes. Turn it on its left side, basting it with the butter and oil mixture, and allow it to brown for 5 minutes. Turn it on its right side, baste it, and allow to it to brown for 5 minutes. Reduce oven to 350°F. Leave chicken on its right side, and baste every 8 to 10 minutes, using the fat in the roasting pan when butter-and-oil mixture is empty. Halfway through estimated roasting time (when the right side of chicken is golden brown, about 40 minutes), sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt then turn it on its left side. Continue roasting and basting for another 20-30 minutes, until left side is golden brown. Then, sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and turn the chicken, breast side up. Continue basting and cook for another 10-20 minutes or until chicken has an internal temperature of 165°F. When done, cut and discard trussing strings, and allow chicken to rest on a hot platter for 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan, and discard. Then, strain the cooked vegetables and pan juices through a chinois. In a small sauce pan, combine strained pan juices and minced shallot (or green onion), and cook over low flame for 1 minute. Add stock, and boil rapidly over high heat, scraping and discarding any white foam, until liquid reduces to 1/2 cup. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off flame, and just before serving, swirl in 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter into the pan sauce. Pour a spoonful of sauce over the chicken, then ladle the remaining sauce in a gravy boat for the table.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Have you ever been to the Grassland Foodland grocery store on Hillsboro Road?  In the front left corner is Miss Daisy’s Kitchen, a treasure trove of prepared comfort foods and delicious sweets.  When I was on maternity leave, a friend brought us some of Miss Daisy's Poppy Seed Chicken, and I've been hooked ever since.  As I was looking through my cookbooks this week, I came across this recipe and immediately wondered if it could be as good as Miss Daisy's.

The recipe comes from Homecoming: Special Foods, Special Memories compiled by the Baylor University Alumni Association.  I'm a Trinity girl myself, but my grandmother and great-grandfather graduated from Baylor, and their Christmas Lemon Pecan Cake recipe is featured on the back cover!  Of course, Mimi sent me a copy of the book for my collection, and after my latest perusal, I know I'll be back to try some more recipes.

While there were too many poppy seeds, Husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and I'll happily make it again.  It's a step below Miss Daisy's, but that could be because (1) I'm not Miss Daisy and (2) I made a slightly healthier version.  My smaller recipe made about 5 servings, and it was delicious served over rice (the first night) and over noodles (the second night).     

Substitutions: Since chicken breasts come in a pack of three (which annoys me to no end... I feel like Steve Martin in Father of the Bride ranting about hot dog buns), I adjusted everything to match this amount of chicken and to lower the fat content a bit, and I baked the casserole in an 8" x 8" dish.  I used 1 can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup, 12 oz. light sour cream, 3 tablespoons poppy seeds, 1/3 cup sherry... and all the Ritz crackers and butter, because that's the best part!

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture... but has there ever been an appetizing picture of a casserole?

Poppy Seed Chicken

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (16 oz.) container sour cream
4 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 cup sherry wine 
1 sleeve buttery round crackers, crushed
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation Instructions
For best results, start the night before by combining the first 5 ingredients in a bowl, mixing until blended.  Allow to sit in refrigerator overnight.  When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and spread chicken mixture evenly in dish.  Sprinkle the crushed crackers evenly on top.  Drizzle the melted butter over the crackers.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and top is golden brown.   

Caramel Apple Cake

Any friend of mine knows I love food, especially dessert!  So, needless to say, I was super excited that I received Desserts from the Loveless Cafe as a gift.  I am a lifelong fan of Loveless, and now that we live nearby, it's a constant temptation!   

While I've never had anything at the cafe that I didn't like, I was a bit disappointed in this cake.  I think it had too much spice in it for my taste.  That didn't stop my colleagues from gobbling up the leftovers, though.  And as much as I adore chai tea, I'm surprised I felt this way.  Husband didn't care for the pecans in the cake, but I have to disagree -- the toasted pecans were my favorite part!  

Substitutions: I went the easy route and used caramel ice cream topping instead of making the Drunken Caramel Sauce.  After discovering that cardamom was more than $10 for a small jar, I searched the internet for substitutions and came up with a mix of equal parts cinnamon, clove, ginger, and nutmeg.  Maybe that's why the cake seemed over-spiced to me?  If I were to try again, I might have to spring for the cardamom.   

 
Loveless Cafe lists this recipe and others on their website.

Caramel Apple Cake

Ingredients
½ cup pecan pieces
2 eggs
1 ½ cups packed dark brown sugar
1 cup canola oil or other neutral vegetable oil
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch dice
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup Drunken Caramel Sauce (recipe below)

Preparation Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 6- to 8-cup Bundt pan. Place the pecans in a small baking pan and toast them in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly colored and fragrant. Let cool. Mix the eggs, brown sugar, and oil to a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the pecans and apples and stir with a spatula to combine. Sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and baking soda over the mixture. Fold together until combined so that no streaks of flour remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack and place the rack over a baking sheet. Using a fork, poke holes all around the sides and top of the cake. If the caramel sauce is not in a liquid state, heat it gently on the lowest setting in the microwave until it pours like honey. Drizzle the caramel slowly over the cake in an effort to cover the entire cake with a thin layer of glaze. If the caramel pools on the pan below, scoop it up and drizzle it over the cake again; the more you get on the cake, the better. Allow the caramel to set and the cake to cool completely before slicing.

Baking Tip: If you don’t want to make your own caramel sauce, you can buy it, but be sure it is a thick sauce, such as an ice cream topping.   Mexican cajeta or leche quemada works quite well too.

Drunken Caramel Sauce
Makes about 1 ¼ cups

Ingredients
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small cinnamon stick
1 inch of vanilla bean, split lengthwise in half
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ cup bourbon, whiskey, or dark rum

Preparation Instructions 
In a small saucepan, combine the cream, butter, and cinnamon stick. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pan using the tip of a knife and toss in the pod. Set over low heat to warm the cream, melt the butter, and infuse the flavors, about 3 minutes.

In a separate deep saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring to melt the sugar. Using a moist brush, wash any sugar crystals off the sides of the pan. Continue to boil without stirring until the sugar syrup begins to color. Once it turns golden, gently swirl the pan and watch it closely. As soon as the caramel turns an even amber shade, remove from the heat.

Carefully pour a few tablespoons of the warm cream into the caramel; the mixture will boil up furiously. Whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk in the remaining cream. Continue to whisk until all the caramel is dissolved. Stir in the bourbon, remove the vanilla pod, and let the sauce cool to room temperature before serving.

Creole Jambalaya

Husband is really enjoying his new role in helping me pick out the new recipe each week.  This week I just brought him a cookbook and let him go to town.  I handed him the Southern Living One-Dish Meals special booklet I bought a few years back.  Impulse buy at the grocery store checkout, I suppose.

As we were looking at options, I was disappointed to notice that many of the recipes were not truly "one dish" recipes.  This Jambalaya recipe calls for cooked rice, meaning a second pot would be dirtied... but since I have been enjoying using my new rice cooker, I let the infraction slide.  You're welcome, Southern Living.     

On second thought, I suppose they mean that the meal is served in one dish?  That's hardly something to get excited about, is it?  I just want to wash fewer pots and pans!

Regardless, this Jambalaya was easy to make and turned out great.  The spice level was perfectly mild for me, while Husband gussied his up with some Frank's Red Hot sauce.  Our carnivorous toddler even tore into the sausage and ham.

Substitutions: None.  I used butter, Andouille sausage, and long-grain white rice.

P.S. Sorry about the photo quality so far.  I have a fancy new camera that I haven't yet learned how to use, but sweet Husband got me photography lessons and Photoshop for Christmas.  So for now, I'm using iPhone pics for speed reasons.  Should be fun to look back and laugh at these blurry blobs at the end of the year!

Here's the recipe from Southern Living:

Creole Jambalaya

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 cups cubed cooked ham (1 pound)
1 pound Cajun-flavored or smoked sausage, sliced
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
5 cups cooked rice 

Preparation Instructions
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and next 3 ingredients; sauté until tender. Add ham, sausage, and next 4 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Stir in rice, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes over low heat.

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

This recipe has so many things going for it: warm and hearty, one pan preparation, full of veggies, and super delicious!  Husband slurped it down quickly in silence, which is his ultimate stamp of approval.  The leftovers were equally delicious the next day, too.  I found the recipe in EveryDay Feasts: The Junior League of Tampa Culinary Collection.   

Substitutions: None, but I did want to spell out some of my grocery choices.  I used Buitoni Whole Wheat Three Cheese Tortellini and reduced sodium beef broth.  Buying fresh Mild ground Italian sausage meant I didn't have to deal with removing sausage casings.  Chopping the zucchini slices in half before adding them to the pot was a good call, too. 

Serve with warm, crusty bread and a glass of red wine... you have some left over from this recipe, right?  As the saying goes, "I always cook with wine.  Sometimes I even add it to the food." 

   
Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

Ingredients
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
1 1/2 cups fresh chopped spinach
8 oz. fresh meat- or cheese-filled tortellini pasta
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping 

Preparation Instructions 

In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown the sausage. Remove sausage and place in a bowl to the side; leave just enough of the drippings to coat the bottom of the pot. Saute onions and garlic in drippings until soft. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini, parsley, spinach, and tortellini. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Ladle into large bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Makes 6 large bowls.   

Quesadillas de Camarones

After my first success, I went back to The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier this week for another new recipe.  This one grabbed my attention right off the bat.  I'm with PW -- pretty much anything would be delicious in a quesadilla.  Husband, however, did not agree.  Cue series of text messages involving bargaining and several ridiculous emojis, finally convincing him to give the recipe a try since he likes all the ingredients anyway.   

Had I not been in a Sudafed-induced haze when I went to the grocery store, I might have been smart enough to request my shrimp peeled and deveined.  Cold & flu season is the pits, and so is deveining shrimp. 

Substitutions: I made a 1/3 recipe, kinda.  The original recipe is for six quesadillas, but we just needed two.  After using up some items in the fridge, I ended up with 1/2 pound of shrimp, 4 oz. Ortega Medium Taco Sauce (Husband's favorite), 1/2 large onion, 1/2 large red bell pepper, 1/2 large green bell pepper, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, and 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese.  I diced the veggies because I like smaller pieces.      

Husband's verdict: surprisingly delicious.  My verdict: delicious, but I totally expected it!  I wondered if they would be too spicy with all the taco sauce, but they turned out perfectly even for my more sensitive palate.  And who knew butter was the trick for perfectly gorgeous quesadillas?  My only complaint is that I dirtied three different pans in the process, as I was cooking the shrimp and the veggies simultaneously to speed things along.  What can I say -- Momma was hungry!  Good thing, too, because these shrimp quesadillas were so filling that I didn't even miss the rice I got too distracted to prepare.  Medicine head, you win again... 
    
Here is the recipe from PW:

Quesadillas de Camarones

Ingredients 
Flour Tortillas
12 whole Large Shrimp, Peeled and Deveined
8 ounces, fluid Mexican Red Sauce
1 whole Large Onion
1 whole Red Bell Pepper
1 whole Green Bell Pepper
2 cups Cheese, Grated (Monterey Jack Is Best)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt To Taste
Butter for the pan

Preparation Instructions

Pour red sauce over shrimp. Set aside. Chop vegetables into large pieces. Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the sauce. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Add in a little water if the sauce gets dry. Remove from skillet and chop into bite-size pieces.

In a separate skillet, sizzle approx. 1/2 tbsp. of butter. Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp. Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook on both sides, adding another 1/2 tbsp. of butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla isn’t overly dry. 

Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!

Fancy Mac and Cheese

Our New Year's celebration was decidedly low-key.  Big Boy went down at his regular bedtime, and as usual, I knew I wasn't too far behind.  But the night called for something special, so I got out one of my Christmas gifts from Husband, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier.  We celebrated with bubbly... both champagne and cheese varieties!  Mmm, bubbly cheese. 

I made a half-recipe and it was still an enormous amount of food.  It was difficult to figure out 3/4 of a box of macaroni, and I think I used too much, making the final product not as saucy as I would have liked.  Warming up leftovers with a splash of milk was great, though.  The caramelized onions and roasted mushrooms really make this dish sing!  This would be best suited as a side dish for a large gathering.     

Substitutions: Since Husband was doing the grocery shopping, I limited the hard-to-find-cheese search and used more gruyere in place of the fontina.  And since I detest blue cheese, I used mozzarella in place of the gorgonzola.  Big Boy drinks 2% milk, so I used that instead of whole milk. 

And as for whether I made it to midnight?  Negative.  Fell asleep on the couch around 9:00pm, woke up at 11:00pm, had a piece of cake, and went to bed.  Happy New Year, party animals!

Here's the recipe straight from the PW herself:

Fancy Mac and Cheese

Ingredients 

16 ounces, weight White Button Or Cremini Mushrooms, Quartered

Olive Oil, For Drizzling
Kosher Salt And Black Pepper To Taste
8 slices Thick Cut Bacon
2 whole Yellow Onions, Peeled, Halved, And Thinly Sliced
5 Tablespoons Butter, Plus More For Buttering The Pan
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Gruyere Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Fontina Cheese
4 ounces, weight Goat Cheese (chevre)
1-1/2 pound Macaroni
1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
2 cups Whole Milk
1/2 cup Half-and-half
2 whole Eggs, Beaten
4 ounces, weight Crumbled Gorgonzola Or Other Blue Cheese

Preparation Instructions 
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle the mushrooms with olive oil, then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven until deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside. Next, fry the bacon until chewy but not yet crisp. Chop the bacon into bite-size bits and set aside.In a large skillet over medium-low heat, saute the onions in 1 tablespoon butter, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside.Grate the Parmesan, Gruyere, and fontina cheeses. Unwrap the goat cheese. Cook the macaroni until just undercooked. Drain and set aside. 

 

To make the sauce, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour, whisking to combine. Let the roux cook for a minute or so, whisking constantly. Pour in the milk, whisking constantly, then cook the white sauce for 3 to 5 minutes, or until thick and bubbly. Next, add the half and half, 1 teaspoon of salt, plenty of black pepper, and stir to combine. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the hot white sauce into a small bowl containing the beaten egg, stirring the egg with a fork as you drizzle it in. Once combined, pour the mixture into the pot with the white sauce, stirring constantly. Add all the cheese in and stir them around to melt. Add the cooked macaroni and stir to coat. Splash in a little milk or hot water as needed for thinning. 

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan generously. Lay half the cooked onions in the bottom of the pan, followed by half the macaroni, half the roasted mushrooms, half the Gorgonzola, and half the bacon. Repeat the layers, ending with the bacon. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until bubbly and hot. Delicious!

  

New Year, New Endeavor

2014 is here, and I've decided it's time to start something new.  I have always loved to cook, and for the past several years I have received cookbooks for Christmas (thanks to not-so-subtle hints... thanks Husband!).  But with work, motherhood, running, and friends, I rarely take time or remember to use these sweet gifts. 

So this year, it's time to Get Out The Cookbook.  My goal seems simple: to try one new recipe per week.  Follow along with me as I attempt 52 new -- and hopefully delicious -- recipes!