Rich and Creamy Chicken Pasta

Nothing too spectacular but a new recipe for us nonetheless.  I liked it although I wouldn't be able to eat a lot of it since it was really rich.  Eric said he liked it but it lacked some flavor or seasoning.  So spice it up :)

1 c cooked, cubed chicken
1 box whole wheat pasta, cooked
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c flour
1 c milk
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 jar pasta sauce (26 oz jar)
1 scallion, thinly sliced
6 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese for topping

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes.  Stir in flour.  Slowly add milk.  Bring to a boil for 1 min.  Reduce heat to low medium.  Stir in cream cheese, pasta sauce, scallions, basil leaves, salt and pepper.  Stir well to combine.  Add chicken.  Cook over low medium heat until cream cheese melts about 10-15 minutes. 

Serve with salad for a meal for 4.

Cajun Raging Burgers

I've been a slacker in the kitchen lately but I do have an excuse..it was my birthday a week ago and Eric made a fabulous dinner (spicy crab imperial, crispy chicken, and veggies---I wanted to post the recipe for the crab imperial but he said he has to 'perfect' it... I laughed at that) and we had left overs for a day or two.  We also had some easy, uninteresting meals, which were not blog-worthy.  Being that it was Memorial Day weekend, we had to grill so we tried our luck at making burgers from scratch.  They were yum.

sauce:
1/4 c mayo
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
1 tsp Creole seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp grated lime peel
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt
dash of hot pepper sauce
dash of Worcestershire sauce

burger:

1 tsp dried onion flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c finely chopped carrots
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
1/8 c Italian bread crumbs
4 rolls
EVOO spray

In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.  Mix till well blended and and chill until burgers are ready to be served.  In a skillet, sautce carrot, garlic, onion flakes, and parsley in melted butter for 5 minutes.  Cool slightly.  In a large bowl, combine the vegetable mixture with Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper sauce.  Crumble in beef.  Add egg and bread crumbs.  Mix well.  Shape into 4 patties.  Grill burgers over medium heat for 5 minutes on each side.  Spray inside of rolls with EVOO and toast on grill.  Serve burgers on toasted rolls with sauce and cheese of choice.  I used blue cheese crumbles and Eric used slices of Colby Jack cheese.

Garlic Enchiladas

The original recipe had called for 1 pound of ground beef but I had about a 1/2 lb of ground beef and 1/2 lb of chicken left over from other recipes.  Plus, both were cooked, which made this easier for me.  Eric was super excited for this recipe because he loved the 'look' of the sauce.  We both liked it but decided there was too much cumin and it was a little too saucey for me.... although Eric says there could never be enough sauce ;)

1 lb meat, cooked (ground beef, cubed chicken, etc-whatever you desire)
1 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp sage
1-14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

Sauce:
3 large or 6 small cloves of garlic, minced
5 tbsp butter
1/2 c flour
2 c beef broth
2 c tomato sauce
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
6 whole wheat flour tortillas
2 1/2 c shredded Cloby-Monterey Jack cheese

In a sauce pan, heat EVOO over medium heat.  Add cooked meat and heat through for 2 minutes.  Stir in flour and seasonings.  Stir in tomatoes.  Let bubble for 1-2 minutes.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
In another saucepan, melt butter.  Add garlic and saute until tender.  Stir in flour until blended well.  Gradually stir in broth.  Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring until thickened.  Stir in tomato sauce and seasonings.  Reduce heat and heat through.
Pour about 1 1/2 c of sauce into bottom of a 13x9 greased pan.  Spread about 1/4 c of meat mixture down the center of each tortilla and top with 1-2 tbsp of shredded cheese.  Roll up and place in dish, seam side down.  Finish with the rest and top with rest of sauce.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove cover.  Top with remainder of cheese and bake additional 15 minutes.  Serve with optional sour cream.  About 4-6 servings.

Sweet 'n' Spicy Chicken

I did not think I would like this.  However, I had all of the ingredients for it and it seemed like something that Eric would like.  It also was a super fast recipe so that scored mucho points with me.  I was surprisingly pleased with the result.  Eric was happy as well especially since he said it reminded him of Chinese food.... wait... did I say I liked it?!

1/2 lb chicken breast, cut into small cubes
1 tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 tbsp taco seasoning
1 tbsp flour
1 c salsa (we used hot and loved it)
1/4 c peach preserves
1 c brown rice, cooked as directed
1/2 c broccoli, steamed

In a large resealable bag, combine flour and taco seasoning.  Add chicken and toss to combine.  In skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add chicken to hot pan.  Brown chicken.  Combine salsa and preserves, stir into skillet.  Bring to a slow boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 3 minutes.  Serve over the rice with broccoli.  Serves 2.

Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

The original recipe called for pickle slices, which you placed on the pizza prior to putting it in the oven.  Something about baked pickles grossed me out so I skipped that step.  Regardless, Eric polished off about half the pizza before I even got a chance to get one slice.

1 Herbed Wheat Pizza Dough recipe precooked
1/2 lb ground beef, cooked, excess fat drained
1 lb bacon, cooked, chopped*
1 c pizza sauce or marinara sauce
1 1/2 c mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 450 F.  On precooked pizza dough, evenly spread sauce, leaving room for crust.  Top with ground beef, bacon, cheeses, and Italian seasonings.  Cook for 8-10 minutes until cheese melts.

*May be more like 3/4 of a pound once I was done snacking on it as I was getting everything together... oops.

Herbed Wheat Pizza Dough

I had made Wheat Pizza Dough before but I wasn't 100% satisfied with it.  It was too thick for us and doughy.  So I experimented a little and arrived at this new version of dough.  It's super thin but that's fine-less carbs :)

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 tsp sugar
1 1/2 c warm water (100-110 F)
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 c all purpose flour, divided
1 c wheat flour
1 tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp parmesan seasoning (McCormick)
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp parsley
Cooking spray

Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water in a large bowl.  Let sit for 5 minutes. Add 2 1/4 c all purpose flour, wheat flour, EVOO, salt, and seasonings to yeast mixture.  Integrate as much as possible in bowl.  Turn dough onto a floured surface and begin kneading dough with floured hands, adding additional flour.  Dough will be tacky.  Knead for about 3 minutes.

Place dough in a large bowl coated lightly with cooking spray.  Cover and set in a warm place free of drafts.  Let stand for 45 minutes.  Press 2 fingers into dough-if an indentation remains, dough is ready.  Preheat oven to 450 F.  Punch dough down on a floured surface, cover, and let stand additional 5 minutes.  Divide dough into two equal portions.  Roll each dough ball into a 12 inch circle on a floured surface and place dough on a lightly sprayed pizza pan.  Cook for 5 minutes prior to placing toppings on top.

You can freeze the other dough ball.  First lightly spray with cooking spray and place in freezer bag, squeezing out as much air as possible.  Place in freezer.  Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.  Then cover and let stand in a warm place, free of drafts for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has risen.  Shape and cook as instructed.

Sausage and Spinach Pastry Squares with Cherry Tomato Salad

Another Rachael Ray [surprise surprise].  I've never used frozen pastry sheets before and I am now in love.  There are so many things you could do with these [aka fill them buffalo chicken and blue cheese, of course].  Eric absolutely loved this.  He ate a double portion of salad and two pastry squares-he added red sauce to dip with and complained forever about spinach.... but it could not have been that bad since he polished his plate.  I, on the other hand, liked it.  Things I would have done differently: used less spinach, used more cheese [Eric says cheese is going to be the death of me], not added the lemon zest to the meat mixture.  That said, I loved the salad mucho-that was delish :)

4 tbsp EVOO
1 lb Italian sausage (either sweet or hot--you preference--I use hot)
1/4 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried sage
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted
4 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 10oz box frozen spinach, defrosted (I would use 1/2 to 3/4 this amount)
zest and juice of 1 lemon (I would not use the lemon zest)
1 1/2 c Italian cheese blend, shredded
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
6 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 cups arugula
1 c romaine lettuce
1/4 c parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Heat a medium skillet over high heat with 2 tbsp of EVOO.  Add the sausage, breaking it up until it is crumbled.  Add onions, 2 cloves of garlic (minced), sage, salt, and pepper.  Cook until sausage is browned.  Remove from heat and drain excess fat. 

Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 2 equal rectangles.  With pastry brush, paint the sheets on one side with mustard.  Refrigerate until filling is ready.  Arrange defrosted spinach in a kitchen towel or several layers of paper towels.  Wrap towel around spinach and squeeze excess water.  Put spinach in a mixing bowl, add zest, cheeses, and season with salt and pepper.  Add sausage and mix well.

Arrange pastry rectangles on a sprayed cookie sheet.  Place a quarter of the sausage mixture on one half of each puff pastry.  Fold the pastry over the filling, being sure to cover all of the filling, and using a fork, crimp the edges closed.  With a sharp knife, cut two long slits on the top of each pastry.  Brush tops with beaten egg.  Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

In a salad bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, remaining 2 tbsp of EVOO, red wine vinegar, basil leaves, remaining 2 cloves of garlic (minced), and lemon juice.  With a fork, lightly crush about half of the cherry tomatoes.  Once the squares are baked, add the arugula and romaine to the tomato mixture then toss to coat.  Top with shredded parmesan cheese.  Serve the pastry square wth salad.

Cheesy Crab Pasta Casserole

I heart heart HEART all things crab, however, crab can be expensive to cook with so I use canned crab, figuring I can save the splurge for non-canned crab when we're out to eat.  I started off with a recipe from a Taste of Home cookbook or rather a concept for a recipe [since I changed it so much...go figure].  I changed the pasta, vegetables, cream sauce, seasonings, etc.  Feel free to do the same since crab is complimented so well by so many different things.  On a side note, I totally loved this so did the husband.  Eric said, "It's so weird-it's just like your Crab Dip... only with pasta and vegetables.  Next time, though, buy live crabs, cook them, and peel them.  Then use that meat."  Yep, Eric, I'll get right on that ;)  Although I will likely not be doing that, I will possibly add in a third can of lump crab meat.... since you can never have enough crab, right?

1/2 lb medium shell pasta
1/4 of each of a green pepper and red pepper, chopped**
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 c cooked broccoli (use fresh broccoli and cook so that stays crisp)
6 tbsp butter, divided
2-6 oz cans of crab meat, drained, flaked
1-half pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 c milk
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp McCormick Perfect Pinch Roasted Bell Pepper and Garlic
2 c sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about a 8 oz package)
1/2 c mozzarella cheese


Preheat oven to 350 F.  Spray a 2 1/2 quart baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.  Cook pasta according to directions.  In a medium skillet, melt 4 tbsp butter over medium heat.  To the skillet add the peppers and garlic and cook until crisp tender.  Toss in drained broccoli.  Remove from heat and add drained pasta and crab meat to vegetables.  In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt remaining 2 tbsp butter.  Add flour to butter, stir well.  Add cayenne pepper and Perfect Pinch.  Add cream and milk and turn heat up to bring to a boil.  Add 1 1/2 c of cheddar cheese and 1/4 c of mozzarella cheese.  Remove from heat and stir till all cheese is melted.  Pour cheese sauce over crab pasta mixture and stir to combine.  Spoon into prepared baking dish and top with remaining cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes.  If desired, place under high broiler for 1 to 2 minutes to brown top of dish.  Serve with salad for a meal for 4.  (There will probably be a small pool of oil from the cheese and butter on top of the dish... if so, use a few paper towels to blot that away and you're good to go... now that made you hungry, didn't it? haha).

**Strange amount of peppers, I know, but as I have said before, I buy peppers in bulk, chop and freeze.  Therefore, I can pull out odd amounts to cook with since I am not the hugest pepper fan.

Lasagna Roll-Ups

Some time ago I decided it would be intelligent to buy approximately 10 boxes of (non wheat...which is a problem for me) lasagna noodles and although pasta does have a lengthy shelf life, at the rate I am going with making lasagna dishes, I may never get through all of them.  I found this recipe on a package of cheese I believe a while ago.  We're both up in the air about the dish.  Eric says he doesn't get the concept of rolling the lasagna noodle up and would just rather have my lasagna-he did say he liked the addition of the Worcestershire sauce to the meat though.  I (who typically is not a huge over the top sauce lover) felt it should've had more sauce and it was hard to plate without it falling apart, which made it lose major points for me (and hence, just a shot of all nine roll ups in the pan).  Regardless, give it a try-it's easy enough to adjust with different meats, cheeses, etc. 

3/4 lb ground beef
1 garlic clove, minced
1-26 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c frozen spinach, defrosted, drained
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c ricotta cheese
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese, divided
9 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained
2 c mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Brown meat and drain well.  Combine spaghetti sauce and Worcestershire sauce.  Remove half of the sauce mixture and stir meat into other half.  Mix egg, ricotta, 1/4 c Parmesan cheese, and spinach.  Lay out the lasagna noodles on a mat.  Spread each noodle with 2 heaping tablespoons of ricotta mixture.  Top evenly with meat mixture and then 2 heaping tablespoons of mozzarella cheese.  Roll up each noodle.  Place in a greased 8 inch square pan.  Continue with rest of noodles.  Pour remaining sauce over noodles.  Sprinkle evenly with remaining parmesan and mozzrella cheese.  Spray a piece of foil and cover.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Serve with a salad for a meal for 4-6.

Garlic and Herb Chicken with Romesco Sauced Spicy Greens

I'll start off this recipe by saying that suddenly Eric wants to help in the kitchen when he is home.  He is also very concerned regarding whether or not I will give him credit or at least mention his name when I blog what we [***I***] made.  What's that all about?!  Anyway, I have to either not be picky about how I want something done when I delegate it to him OR I have to be very specific in my directions on how to execute a particular step.  Eric's task was to slice the sweet potato to make Garlic Sweet Potato Fries.  He sliced them a little too thin for my taste (they soak too much EVOO up then) but we're obsessed with sweet potato fries right now and they were still yummy.

This recipe is inspired by a Rachael Ray recipe of the same name.  I made a few slight changes and we arrived at this, which we both thoroughly enjoyed :)

6 garlic cloves
1/2 c EVOO
1/4 c fresh parsley leaves (according to Rachael, this is a generous handful)
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
10 basil leaves
2-8 oz chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, pounded to a half inch
1/4 c mixed nuts
1/4 c whole wheat bread crumbs
3/4 c of jarred roasted red peppers, drained
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1 plum tomato, quartered
4 c arugula, cleaned and trimmed

In a food processor, combine 4 cloves of garlic, 1/4 c EVOO, parsley leaves, salt, pepper, thyme, and 6 basil leaves.  Process the ingredients to a smooth paste.  Scrape the contents of the food processor onto both sides of the chicken.  Let sit 20 minutes.

Preheat a large nonstick skillet to medium heat.  Add the seasoned chicken to the skillet.  Cook on each side for 5-6 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm with foil.

While the chicken is cooking, add the nuts, bread crumbs, peppers, tomato, remaining basil leaves and garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar to the food processor.  Don't bother cleaning out the herb mixture from the chicken.  Start processing on low and slowly pour in the remaining 1/4 c EVOO in a slow steady stream. Process until all ingredients are ground and the mixture is smooth.

Serve with romesco sauce over the arugula and either chicken sliced on top of greens or on side.

Strawberry-Raspberry Cream Cake

By far, my most favorite non chocolate dessert if we're only talking about desserts I make.  A few of my friends will request this if I am offering to make them a birthday cake :)  Even Eric will hope for leftovers on this one and he is a definitely not a dessert eater.  Delish :)

cake:
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
3 large eggs

filling:
1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 c sugar
6 oz fresh raspberries OR 1 c frozen raspberries, defrosted
1/4 c jam (strawberry, raspberry or any berry flavor)

frosting:
2 c heavy whipping cream
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease (with vegetable shortening) 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.  Line with waxed paper.  Grease paper and lightly flour pans.  Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl.  Combine milk and vanilla extract in a glass measuring cup.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on low speed, beat butter until creamy.  Gradually beat in sugar (a 1/2 c at a time).  With mixture on medium speed, beat butter mixture for 4 minutes.  Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended.

With mixer on low speed, beat in flour mixtures in thirds, alternating with milk mixture, just until blended.  Spoon batter into prepared pans and spread evenly.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.  Place cake pans on a wire rack, cool for 10 minutes.  Run a knife around sides and invert cakes onto rack to cool completely.

To make filling, combine strawberries and sugar in a bowl.  Add raspberries.  Let stand at least 15 minutes, stir occassionally.  Sugar should dissolve completely.

To make frosting, in a large bowl, with mixer on high speed, beat frosting ingredients until stiff.

To assemble, peel waxed paper off cake layers.  Using a large knife, gently make cake layers even and flat, cutting off excess.  Spread one cake layer with the jam.  Spoon  some of the berry mixture over the jam and spread evenly-keep 1/2 inch away from edge of the layer.  Spread evenly with frosting.  Top with second cake layer.  Frost cake evenly and serve with remaining berry mixture.