Cranberry Mini Muffins

I've had a silicone mini muffin pan for a long time, and just never got around to using it. First, I was afraid that it wasn't exactly...safe. Ye ole internet turned up no real answers. Recently, I've been thinking about making some muffins up, but had a tough time finding a mini specific recipe. So, I again googled how to modify to mini muffins... and had some trouble. However I changed my search terms, I had success this time around. So, I made a recipe I found on allrecipes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil Substituted 1/4c applesauce
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). I baked at 350 for minis
   
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, beat egg with a fork. Stir in milk and oil. Pour all at once into the well in the flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until moistened, but do not beat. The batter will be lumpy. Pour the batter into paper lined muffin pan cups.
3. Variations: Blueberry Muffins: Add 1 cup fresh blueberries. Raisin Muffins: Add 1 cup finely chopped raisins. Date Muffins: Add 1 cup finely chopped dates. Cheese Muffins: Fold in 1 cup grated sharp yellow cheese. Bacon Muffins: Fold 1/4 cup crisp cooked bacon, broken into bits.
4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. I checked first at 10 minutes, but they took about 15 in all.

I had some raisins, and I had some Craisins. I went with the Craisins. I put them in the food processor, but that didn't get them super fine, but it was just fine here.

This was not a bad recipe per se, and I (and The Boy) can't stop snacking on them, but there's something missing from them. I wonder what whole wheat flour would do, or maybe substituting brown sugar for some of the white. In reading some of the reviews on allrecipes, others suggested using a diced apple with some vanilla and cinnamon; that sounds delicious!!

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce

I found this in my Google Reader from Made with Love.... You can see her post here. You can also find the recipe on foodtv.com.

I made my sauce a little differently than the recipe suggests. I sort of blended the sauce recipe given with the shells and Giada's Arrabbiata sauce from Everyday Italian. In addition, the sauce in the book only makes 1 quart, which I figured wouldn't be enough. So, I made the sauce in the book (minus black olives). I'm pretty sure I added an extra can of crushed tomatoes as well, to make a bit more sauce. So while I had that going, I then proceeded with this recipe's instructions of browning pancetta in olive oil, adding more garlic, etc. Does that make any sense? This of course made a lot more than the 5 cups I needed, so I just put it in the freezer for another time.

I made two trays of shells. I made a 9x9 pan for that night and a 9x13 pan for the freezer. The pan we had that night came out great, with one exception. The recipe suggests that we drizzle the sauce over the shells, but this resulted in the pasta not covered not really cooking all the way. It wasn't bad, but the softer parts were way better.

This is definitely a keeper!! No pictures just yet... maybe when I make the freezer pan, I'll take some! I enjoyed it, as did BAJ. It also makes great leftovers, which I just had for lunch. Wahoo for stocking the freezer!! Wahoo for my first stuffed shells!

Ingredients

• 1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells (recommended: Barilla) I used store brand
  
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon I used regular iodized
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
• 1 (8 to 10-ounce) package frozen artichokes, thawed and coarsely chopped I used a can, which I drainied first
  
• 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves I used a combo of sweet basil and purple basil
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 5 cups Arrabbiata Sauce, recipe follows
• 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella (about 5 ounces)
  

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still very firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until the onions are soft and starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the ground turkey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is slightly golden and cooked through. Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture with the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, parsley, and the remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

To stuff the shells, cover the bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 cup of Arrabbiata sauce. Take a shell in the palm of your hand and stuff it with a large spoonful of turkey mixture, about 2 tablespoons. Place the stuffed shell in the baking dish. Continue filling the shells until the baking dish is full, about 24 shells. Drizzle the remaining Arrabbiata Sauce over the shells, top with the grated mozzarella. If freezing, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 day and up to 1 month.

To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until the shells are warmed through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 60 minutes (20 minutes if shells are unfrozen.)

Arrabbiata Sauce:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 cups jarred or fresh marinara sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool until ready to use.

Yield: approximately 6 cups

A Grilled Cheese twist

I found this idea forever and a half ago in Kraft's Food and Family magazine. It is a favorite in our house, and I doubt I've ever blogged about it. Have I mentioned that mozzarella, tomato, and basil is my all time favorite combination? Despite disliking roasted red peppers, if they're serving it with the above, I'm sold.

Anyway, so you just make your grilled cheese like you normally would, except you use mozzarella, add a slice of a tomato, a leaf of fresh basil, and make it on sourdough bread. (I have to say, the sourdough is really key--it doesn't work well on regular old sandwich bread, but imagine it would also be very tasty on Semolina!).

There you have it---the twist on Grilled Cheese!

Italian Mac n Cheese

I found this in my Google Reader on Living Insanity's Loving Food on Friday and marked it with the intent of making it that night for dinner. Plans changed and I pushed it instead to tonight.

When BAJ asked what dinner tonight was, I suspect he rolled his eyes to hear that I was making mac n cheese, which is certainly not typically a meal he enjoys. He came in as I was cooking and said, "there's mushrooms in this mac n cheese? and sausage?" Clearly, his interest was piqued, and he realized this was not the typical mac n cheese recipe.

I didn't know what bulk sausage was (until I was already cooking and looked it up). It apparently is those Jimmy Dean sausages that are in the frozen section, and not the typical Italian sausage that I used. It would be interesting to try it that way too.

I also bought 8 oz of Italian cheese. I just went and sprinkled shredded mozzarella on top.

Finally, I went to Acme for what I needed. Acme is not known for having fancy stuff. The only mushrooms in their case were white and portobello, so I went for the on sale sliced white mushrooms.

• 1 pound ziti rigate, penne rigate or cavatappi (ribbed, hollow corkscrews)
• 1 pound Italian bulk sweet sausage I used Italian sweet sausage
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 12 crimini mushrooms, sliced pkg of sliced white mushrooms
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 (10-ounce) sack, 2 1/2 cups, shredded Italian 4 cheese blend, available on dairy aisle
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained well
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco), optional
• 1/2 cup Parmesan, a couple of handfuls

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water and cook pasta to a chewy al dente, about 8 minutes.

In a nonstick skillet, brown and crumble the sausage. Drain cooked crumbles on paper towel lined plate. Return pan to heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, butter, garlic and mushrooms. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Saute 3 to 5 minutes, until mushrooms are lightly golden.

Preheat broiler to high.

To mushrooms, add flour and stir, cooking 2 minutes. Whisk in stock, then stir in cream. Bring cream to a bubble, then stir in 2 cups of 4 cheese blend. When cheese has melted into sauce, add tomatoes. When sauce comes to a bubble, remove from heat and adjust seasonings, adding hot sauce if desired.

Combine cheese sauce with sausage and pasta, transfer to baking dish, casserole or oven safe serving platter. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of 4 cheese blend and the grated Parmesan over the top and brown under hot broiler.

My husband really liked this. He went back for seconds, which is unusual for him. Due to the broiling, it didn't have the "hard pasta" that he dislikes so much.

My 2 year old son really liked this. He asked for seconds as well, and ate the sausage, which is unusual for him.

I thought it was a little on the bland side. I wish I had added more Tabasco, or wonder if the Cremini mushrooms would have added more flavor, or using all Italian cheese blend. I would like to try the suggestions of the reviewers on food network's website and add another can of tomatoes or maybe some spinach for some more flavor and veggies!

Definite keeper in these parts!

Pictures coming soon!

Chicken Curry (without Chickpeas) with Tomatoes

This one comes from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals, and also can be seen here. (Robin answered my question about substituting the chickpeas! WOW!) As is well known, my husband does not eat chickpeas. So, I just left them out here.

Serves 4
TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Active cooking time: 5 minutes
2 cups quick-cooking white or brown rice
2 roasted chicken breast halves
15-ounce can chick peas, drained
15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup lowfat sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and ground black pepper
Cook rice according to package directions.
Meanwhile, using a fork, pull chicken meat from bone in shreds. Transfer chicken to a medium saucepan. Add chick peas, tomatoes, sour cream, curry powder, and cumin and mix well. Set pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes to heat through. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve chicken curry over rice.


I thought this was pretty flavorful, and was very happy to use up some of my leftover cilantro (since fresh herbs go bad so fast and get forgotten so easily in my house) from Sunday's pico de gallo. My husband, however, had MAYBE three bites. I may have gone a little heavy handed with the curry, but it was still a tasty recipe.
The point of Robin's recipe is to use the leftovers from a previous roasted chicken recipe she made (you can also see it on the website linked above), but I imagine any leftover roasted chicken, including a store bought rotisserie would work well here.
The longest part of this recipe was taking the chicken off the bone. I wish there was something else I could add here to substitute for the chickpeas, they're so stinking good for you, but she was right that we didn't even miss them, but I suspect they would add a nice little flavor to the dish too... and of course, the protein!!
Pictures coming soon!

Pico de Gallo

I've never made pico de gallo, despite loving it a ton. I decided to make it for yesterday's Super Bowl party. I researched a bunch of different recipes, but sort of made my own way with it. Here's what I did:

4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, diced
red onion, diced--maybe 1/4 c
scallions, sliced--about 1 stalk
cilantro--about 1/4c chopped
lime juice from half a lime
chopped garlic--maybe the equivalent of 2 cloves

I meant to put in some diced jalapenos, but forgot. Oops.

I served these with both tortilla chips and pita chips. It was good on the tortilla, but EXCELLENT on the pita!!

I'll definitely be making this one again. So tasty and so healthy. I bet it would be really good on tilapia; I think I'll try it one of these nights I'm on my own for dinner!

Lauren's Mini Aloha Calzones

Ingredients

• olive oil I used Pam
  
• 1 batch pizza crust I used the Pillsbury kind
  
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 cup mozzarella
• 1 cup diced ham
• 1 cup diced pineapple (if using canned, drain first!) I used canned crushed pineapple
  

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly coat a 9x9 baking dish with oil.

Roll out pizza dough and divide into 16 pieces. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

Take a piece of dough and flatten. Place a spoonful of the pineapple mixture into the dough and wrap the corners around to seal. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Bake uncovered for 16-20 minutes.

Happily stolen from Lauren's blog. We had plans to get together with some friends for our monthly get together, and it coincided with Super Bowl Sunday. Although none of us were big football fans (except my husband, that is), we decided to go football esque with our theme. I was in charge of appetizers, and planned several in anticipation of snacking throughout the game. I wasn't really sure what to make, but had my eye on these little buggers, which Lauren made as part of a competition she was in. They looked easy and TASTY, so away I went. They were most definitely tasty, and got raves from everyone who ate them. They weren't, however, very pretty. First problem, I may or may not have sprayed the second pan with Pam. Next problem, I may or may not have drained the pineapple well enough. I also had WAY extra filling.
Since I baked these at my friend's house, I didn't take any pictures--plus, not so pretty anyway. I'm going to try to reheat these to see how they turn out for a second day.

I'm really curious to know whether Lauren made this one up or if she found it somewhere--either way, though, it was GREAT and I will definitely be making it again!! YUM!

Sausage Strata

1/2lb Italian sausage I used hot, BAJ said he prefers the sweet
1/2c green pepper, chopped I I substituted fresh mushrooms
1/2c onion, chopped
can of stewed tomatoes, reserve juice
bread, crusts removed
3 eggs
milk
salt

1. Remove sausage from casings, brown in a skillet, breaking up. Add onion and green pepper, saute about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook about 15 minutes.
2. Spray an 8x8 microwavable pan with cooking oil. Place bread on the bottom (I used 4 here). Spread sausage mixture over, then top with more bread (another 4).
3. Combine eggs, tomato juices, and enough milk to make 2.5 cups. Pour over bread. Cover with Saran Wrap and microwave for 15 minutes.

This is an old recipe of my mom's...definite comfort food for me. I planned to make something completely different, but the meat was bad so I luckily had some sausage defrosted in the fridge so went to that instead. This time, the only bread I had was a whole grain something or other, which really wasn't a good choice--this recipe needs white bread! Otherwise, I was pleased with how this turned out. For some reason, despite following Mom's recipe, it doesn't come out tasting just like Mom's, but it was good anyway. I did like the substitution of the mushrooms, which would probably be good along with a bell pepper too.

Picture coming soon!

Roasted Chicken with Smokey Apricot Sauce

From Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals. See it online here. I love Robin Miller's cookbook and ended up getting my own copy after checking it out from the library. I really like her tips for cooking big meals and then using the leftovers to make something new... the epitome of once a month cooking. We all know that leftovers can be super fast but also sometimes pretty boring, so this really helps jazz things up.

Serves 4
TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Walk away time: 35 minutes
Cooking spray
10 (5-ounce) skinless chicken breast halves (with bone)
Salt and ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups apricot preserves I had about one cup
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Preheat oven to 400º. Coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray.
Season chicken all over with salt and black pepper. Arrange chicken in prepared pan and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine apricot preserves, soy sauce and liquid smoke. Mix until blended. Pour mixture over chicken.
Roast 35 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Serve four chicken breast halves with this meal and refrigerate remaining chicken until ready to use (or freeze up to 3 months).


We had two breasts with either roasted potatoes or sweet potato fries and sugar snap peas. This was a really JUICY breast of chicken, but (and perhaps it was because I didn't have enough sauce due to not enough apricot preserves) there wasn't a whole lot of flavor. Next time, maybe I'll use my Ronco flavor injector to get the flavor into the meat in some way. I used two of my ten breasts and plan to make one of her morph recipes later in the week (I'm thinking the quesadillas!)

Chicken Parm sandwich

This came from my ATK cookbook. Since ATK has caused other bloggers some issues, I won't copy it from their recipe, but tell you what I did.

First, I took 2 chicken breasts, and pounded them thin. I dredged in flour, then a beaten egg, then some Italian breadcrumbs. I heated some olive oil in a frying pan, added some garlic, then cooked the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side until brown. I then drained on a paper towel.

Next, I put the chicken in a baking dish, covered it with tomato sauce, Parmesan, and mozzarella. I baked it for a few minutes until the cheese was melty.

I then put it on a toasted roll.

It was good. Very good. So good that my husband, who gets frequent chicken parm cravings, said "You can make this any time." I guess he liked it. I think the rolls I got were particularly good, which makes a difference.

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken Thighs

Original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

• 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 lb.), excess fat trimmed I had about 1lb of boneless, skinless
  
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or 2 tsp. dried
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

Preheat broiler. Rinse chicken thighs; pat dry. Arrange thighs, skin side down, on a broiler pan. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, olive oil, rosemary and garlic. Brush 1/3 of mixture over chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.

Using tongs, turn chicken thighs skin side up. Brush 1/3 of lemon-juice mixture over skin and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until thighs are browned, about 7 minutes.

Turn off broiler and set oven to 450°F. Brush final 1/3 of lemon-juice mixture over chicken (discard any leftover lemon-juice mixture) and return pan to oven. Bake until juices run clear when pricked with a fork and meat is no longer pink at the bone, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Because I had no bone, I modified the cooking time a little. I broiled it on hi for about 5 minutes each side (which was a little too long for the second side). I then baked at 425 for about 7 minutes.

I served with Alexia brand roasted red potatoes and green beans. Delicious. This was a fairly easy recipe to make, perfect for a weeknight. BAJ liked it too, although he did comment that he doesn't really like dark meat. My response was "it's SOO much cheaper, it's totally worth it."

In addition to being so tasty, everything (except the chicken thighs, that is) was on hand. Score!

Blueberry French Toast Bake

Here's another make ahead recipe I found for our NYE extravaganza. Again, the kids ate it, but I was the only adult who did. This was delicious and so easy. I really loved that I didn't even have to defrost the blueberries!! It was a little crisp, but this was even great on the second day.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1-1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 6 eggs
• 10 slices french bread, cut into 1" cubes
• 3 oz. pkg. cream cheese, diced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts Omitted
  
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation:

Generously grease 13x9" glass baking dish. Beat flour, milk, 2 Tbsp. sugar, vanilla and eggs in large bowl until smooth. Stir in bread cubes until well coated, then pour bread mixture into prepared pan.

Top evenly with cream cheese cubes and blueberries. In small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. sugar, cinnamon, and nuts and toss to mix. Sprinkle over blueberries and cream cheese. Cover casserole tightly and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and bake casserole, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serves 8

Make Ahead scrambled eggs

For the under 10 guests, I couldn't think of what to serve. I didn't want to go for chicken nuggets, but figured breakfast for dinner would be a big hit. Wanting to get as much done the day before NYE, I sought out a few make ahead breakfast recipes.

First up, I made scrambled eggs, according to this recipe.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/8 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Beat eggs with cream in a large bowl. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Pour eggs into skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until eggs are scrambled and just set, but still moist.

Remove pan from heat and stir in sour cream. Spread eggs into a greased 12x7" glass baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to eat, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the baking dish and sprinkle eggs with pepper and salt. Stir gently, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and eggs are hot, at least 140 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. 8 servings

This made way more than we really needed, since NONE of the adults had any (save ME)!! It was really good though! My son ate a good amount, and we both had some more the next day too--still great. This is a very rich recipe, as you can tell from the use of sour cream AND heavy cream, but it made some delicious scrambled eggs!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This is another recipe I made for New Year's Eve, but forgot to take a picture and forgot to post. It was my first attempt at spinach artichoke dip, but it was just as easy as regular artichoke dip. It was a hit, and also reheated well (it made way more than anyone ate). We had it on both tortilla chips and fresh veggies. Delish!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hot-Artichoke-Spinach-Dip/Detail.aspx

Grilled Tilapia with Mango Salsa

Tilapia was on sale last week, so I went in search of a quick and easy tilapia recipe. I found this one on allrecipes, and figured that since strawberries were also on sale, I would make it with them.

When it came time to make them, however, I had discovered a bottle of chunked mango in the pantry, and not wanting it to spoil and realizing my husband doesn't really like strawberries, I made it as written instead.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets
• 
  
• 1 large ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced I used 3 slices of jarred jalapenos
  
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, parsley, garlic, basil, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the tilapia fillets, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Prepare the mango salsa by combining the mango, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper in a bowl. Add the lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil grate.
4. Remove the tilapia from the marinade, and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Grill the fillets until the fish is no longer translucent in the center, and flakes easily with a fork, 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Serve the tilapia topped with mango salsa.

Not having a "real" grill, I used the George Foreman... I was thinking as I used it how very rich that guy must be as a result of that grill! One of the reviewers on allrecipes stated she set her GF for 300 degrees and let it go for 9 minutes. I also set it for 300 degrees, but 9 minutes was way too long. Glad I was keeping an eye on it!!

I enjoyed this a lot. I had a hard time, however, thinking of a side dish to serve with this. I figured it would never be enough for dinner for us, so I served it with a salad and a frozen potato/cheese/broccoli blend, which while not a very fitting side, helped to fill us up a little more.

My husband said I could make this again, but that it was a little too spicy for his liking, so I might cut down the amount of jalapeno I use in the salsa next time. He also said he felt like the fish didn't really have any flavor on its own, which may not be totally untrue. Next time, I'll probably freeze the fish in the marinade or start the marinade the night before.

Chicken Marsala with Sage

I had some Marsala wine laying around and some sage too, all leftover from NYE, so went in search of a recipe to use some of it up. I found this recipe over at epicurious, and figured it would be perfect, given BAJ's love of Chicken Marsala and the great reviews over there.

It was easy enough to make, although pounding my ENORMOUS chicken breast (I used ONE for both of us, cut in half) still wasn't enough to make it reasonably thin--should have just gone with the recipe's suggestion to cut it in half. Oh well.

I enjoyed the recipe, and thought it was pretty tasty. BAJ, on the other hand, said it was "Okay," but didn't finish his chicken. Oh well, fail again.

As I said, I only used one chicken breast, so used 1/2 c of Marsala and 1/2 c of chicken broth. I believe I used 3T butter, and there's really no suggestion how much sage to use so I just took a bunch of the leaves. I added some shallots to the sauce, although should have sauteed them a little first. If I had any mushrooms around, I would have added them as well.

Spice Set Giveaway

Check out the Spice Set Giveaway over at The Clean Eating Mama. What an awesome contest!!
Thanks to Lauren for posting about this on HER blog!

Chicken with Artichoke Rosemary Sauce

Not sure of the exact recipe, but it came off the label of my tomato sauce can.
It was pretty easy to make, but was really lacking some oomph in the flavor department.

The basic recipe was to brown chicken breasts (I used thin sliced) in olive oil, add in the tomato sauce, artichokes, and rosemary, simmer a little while (I think I added in some garlic too), remove the chicken and artichokes to thicken the sauce, and then serve with rice.




Do artichokes (from a can especially) count as a veggie?

Macaroni and cheese

My son ADORES macaroni and cheese. My husband, however, does not enjoy it. I like it a bunch. I make it from time to time, and BAJ sucks it up. I have made ONE recipe he liked, French Onion Mac n Cheese. To solve the dilemma of The Boy's loving it, we nearly always have Annie's Macaroni and Cheese in the house. Ironically, BAJ typically makes it. A had been asking for Mac and Cheese, but we ran out. At the grocery store yesterday, BAJ completely forgot until we were on our way home. Instead of finding a grocery store that was open (our usual is closed on the most minor of holidays), I said I would just make it for A--it would surely be healthier that way. Then I asked if I could just make it for all of us; I was driving envisioning myself making mac and cheese from scratch as well as the chicken meal I had planned, and it wasn't pretty considering I have a difficult time getting a main dish and two sides prepared.

To the cookbooks I went--first to ATK. Their version took an hour and 10 minutes, and Momma was hungry. I then went to my Betty Crocker Bridal edition (I'm pretty sure I've made this before) and found that their version takes 50 minutes from start to finish. SOLD. I had a snack and got to cooking.

The macaroni and cheese on Betty Crocker's website is the same as the recipe in my cookbook. See it here.

2	cups uncooked elbow macaroni (7 ounces)
1/4	cup butter or margarine
1/4	cup all-purpose flour
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/4	teaspoon pepper
1/4	teaspoon ground mustard
1/4	teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2	cups milk
2	cups shredded or cubed Cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

1.	Heat oven to 350ºF.
2.	Cook macaroni as directed on package.
3.	While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constanly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.
4.	Drain macaroni. Gently stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

I used 2 cups of whole wheat rotini, and also used 1 c of whole milk and 1 c of skim milk. Finally, I had a hankering for mac and cheese the way my mom made. That means I had to get out the stewed tomatoes. I had absolutely no idea what to do with them to make them Mom's way, but just heated them on the stove. As soon as I opened that can, I realized the smell of stewed tomatoes takes me right to Mom's macaroni and cheese. Yum. So, this macaroni and cheese was NOT the same as my mom's. It was, however, gooey and cheesey and very tasty. The Boy gobbled it up. I had two helpings, and even BAJ went back for a little more.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

By Ina Garten. Find the original here.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 16 extra-large white mushrooms
• 5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine or medium sherry
• 3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
• 6 scallions, white and green parts, minced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2/3 cup panko crumbs
• 5 ounces mascarpone cheese, preferably from Italy
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it's completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste, Cool slightly.

Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing for 50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

These were tasty, but the recipe made WAAAAY too many for the number of guests we had. I got ENORMOUS stuffing mushrooms, and made a whole lot of them (I can't remember how many were actually in the container, but it was close to 20). For 6/8 people who had been eating appetizers all night, that's way too much. This was a pretty tasty version of stuffed mushrooms, although I'm not sure what purpose the addition of marscapone served. It's not exactly inexpensive, and it didn't really seem to do much for the flavor here.

Anyway, I tried a new one, and was satisfied with the results, but will probably keep looking for a stuffed mushrooms recipe.