Penne with Vodka and Chicken

Last night, I planned to make chicken enchiladas. Then I realized that the recipe would take an hour and a half, and I needed to have started it a long time ago. So I bumped up the penne with vodka sauce I planned to make on Friday and moved it to Tuesday. But I also had some cubed chicken from when I made The Boy chicken nuggets and decided to look for a recipe that added chicken into penne with vodka sauce.

I found this here.

Overall it was pretty good. I can't quite give it a very good because I made a user error--I didn't think there was enough tomato in the pan, so added another tablespoon of tomato paste. That caused the meal to come out orangey and not creamy enough.

User error and all, though, this was pretty good and SO MUCH EASIER than my typical penne with vodka recipe. I'll definitely be making this one again (correctly) on a workday!

Penne with Chicken and Vodka Sauce
serves 2
derived from The Silver Spoon

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized chunks
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 box of penne, cooked al dente
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cloves minced garlic
red pepper flakes to taste
salt and pepper
1/4 cup vodka
5 tablespoons heavy cream

1. Melt butter in pan and brown chicken over medium heat. Add tomato paste, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes. Add vodka and heavy cream and cook until you can no longer smell the vodka.

2. Taste to adjust seasoning. Add cooked pasta and allow the dish to heat through.

Whole wheat pizza, AGAIN.

I made my recipe for whole wheat pizza last night. We ended up not having it then, so I Saran Wrapped and then left it in the fridge over night.

I usually only use half the dough, but this time I figured I'd use the whole thing because it usually tears on me.

SUCH A GOOD DECISION. It was the perfect size to fill my pan and the crust was just perfect. It looked and tasted like a DiGiornio... certainly not as good as a takeout, but cheaper than a frozen.

I just raided my fridge for some veggies and toppings and used yellow peppers, canned mushrooms, and a tomato. YUM!!

Bruschetta Chicken

This is yet another stolen from Lauren's blog. See the original recipe here.

Pictures coming soon.

I ended up using the yellow tomatoes I had leftover, so this looked kinda strange. But it tasted super good! All my favorite things combine into "Caprese Salad," so I knew this would be a big hit. I used to make Rachael Ray's Chicken Caprese Salad (I thought for SURE I could find this on the internet, but it's not popping up), but this is much better.

I pan fried my breasts (heheh) in olive oil, after pounding them a little thinner.

Next time, I would probably not mix the olive oil with the balsamic for brushing, especially since I already had olive oil in the pan.

Definitely a keeper in this house!

Spicy Pasta with Shrimp,Tomatoes, and Basil

Original recipe from Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings

The idea of this meal sounded perfect. Pasta? Check. Tomatoes? Check. Basil? Check. BAJ's request for shrimp one night? Check.

And the meal itself was...fine. I felt like there was a lot too much sauce for the half pound of fettucine I used, which is unusual, but I just wasn't bowled over in love with this one.

I did like that this recipe was EEEEASY.

Eggplant Parm

From allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
• 1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
3. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

I followed the instructions of some of the reviewers for this recipe. First, I salted these and let them sit in a colander for 20 minutes. I then rinsed them and patted dry. I baked them for 7 minutes on each side at 450. I also used one large eggplant.

Somewhere along the way, I turned the temp of the oven down to 350, but I'm not sure when. I just kept an eye on it until the cheese on top was melty and the sauce was bubbling.

This was definitely the best I've made this dish. The eggplant came out nice and soft and it was even good as leftovers (of which I am not a fan). I ended up using an entire jar of spaghetti sauce because I wanted to make sure everything was covered and got nice and soft.

This went really well with some Texas Toast!

Chicken Nuggets

From allrecipes.com

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch size pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put melted butter/margarine in a bowl or dish for dipping.
3. Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter/margarine first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place well coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

I made this for the boy, whose father has been giving him Perdue Popcorn Chicken. I figured, I was battering stuff for Eggplant Parm, so I'd try to make him some chicken nuggets too. Instead of using melted butter, I used an egg, which I scrambled lightly. I didn't measure too much, and I think I used garlic powder and Italian seasoning only.

I think my oven was set at 450 for another thing I was making, so I only baked for 10-15 minutes.

These were really good! Both BAJ and I tried one and they were tasty... maybe I'll make these for all of us on night. Oh, and The Boy liked them too!!

French Onion Risotto

I got this from Lauren's blog as well.

I have to admit that I didn't love it. I liked it, but just can't go on raving about it. BAJ agreed, thinking that either I don't know how to properly make it (certainly a possibility), risotto just isn't his thing, or the risottos I've made just haven't been his thing. I don't know what it is, either, but any of those are real possibilities. I don't think I've ever had risotto made by someone else, so can't be sure if I like risotto or not.

I digress...

Perhaps the problem is the addition of white wine instead of sherry.

This certainly SMELLED good as it cooked, and it was surprisingly easy to make (one hears such horrors about making risotto, but it really wasn't bad at all). But I have to admit to being disappointed (especially since Lauren loves hers so much!)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of any combo of beef broth and water (I used a can of broth (1-3/4c and the rest water)
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• Half of a large onion, thinly sliced
• Fresh thyme I used dried
  
• 2 tablespoons sherry, to taste I used white wine because I needed to use it up or throw it out...
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• Provolone or cheese of your choice, optional

In a medium saucepan, bring broth and water to a boil. Simmer on a low-medium heat.

Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add onion and cook 3-4 minutes until tender.

Add rice, stir, and cook 1-2 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup broth mixture. Cook on a low-medium heat. When almost all the liquid is absorbed, add the next 1/2 cup. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time.Before adding the last 1/2 cup broth, stir in thyme and sherry. Cook with remaining broth until rice is done. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in cheese, if using.Makes about 4 small portions.

French Onion Chicken Casserole

I got this one from Lauren's blog.
I also got the side dish from her (French Onion Risotto).

This was super duper easy to make... I used regular soup mix... I figured that I had it and wouldn't go buying specific French onion mix--gotta be the same, right?

I only used 2 breasts so I only used 1/2 an onion and ended up baking for about 20 minutes or so. The chicken came out so moist and tender... YUM! I just wasn't super excited about the sauce. It was good, but in small doses for me. I thought it was way too salty, and I don't love me some salt. BAJ, on the other hand, really enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• 2 Tbs plain flour
• Packet of french onion soup
• 1 large onion
• 1 Cup water
• 2 Tbs sour cream or plain low-fat yoghurt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C)

2. Put the soup mix and flour into a ziplock bag, add the chicken breasts and shake it to coat them. Save the excess flour mix.

3. Heat some oil in a pan, or spray it with non stick cooking spray - and add the chicken and cook until browned all over. Turn them often, but carefully cause it will take off the coating if you aren't!

4. Take the chicken out, and put it in a casserole dish.

5. Add onions to the pan. Stir constantly over heat until onions ar soft.

6. Blend the saved flour mixture into a cup of water, and add it, to the pan with the onions and bacon. Cook for a couple of minutes, then pour over the chicken in the casserole dish.

7. Cover, then cook for about 35 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken, and stir in sour cream/yoghurt, then replace chicken in the gravy. Serve!!

"Fried" Tomatoes

Fried tomatoes is one of my go to summer meals. I love it, and I love to eat it outdoors. My mom makes it with some kind of white sauce, which I have not been able to a. find online, b. replicate, or c. get the recipe from her.

So I found a recipe on allrecipes, which I can't seem to locate there now. So I'll have to type it out here at some point, just not right now.

I found yellow tomatoes at the farmer's market and couldn't resist them, so I used one yellow and one red for this. It turned out pretty good for both kinds!

I served it with Parmesan pasta of one kind or another by Rice a Roni or the like, since I had no potatoes for the traditional mashed potatoes side dish. It turned out to have the perfect creaminess to accompany the tomatoes.

Hoisin Glazed Chicken Breasts

From Cooking Light, originally here

Ingredients

1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
3/4 teaspoon bottled minced fresh ginger
Cooking spray
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 lime wedges

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients. Remove 2 tablespoons of hoisin mixture, and reserve to brush on cooked chicken. Line a shallow roasting pan with foil; coat foil with cooking spray. Place the chicken on prepared pan. Brush 2 tablespoons of hoisin mixture evenly over chicken; broil 5 minutes. Turn chicken over; brush with 2 tablespoons of hoisin mixture. Broil 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Spoon reserved 2 tablespoons of hoisin mixture over cooked chicken. Serve with lime wedges.

This was a pretty standard Cooking Light recipe, I'm finding. They really love using garlic, ginger, and hoisin sauce, but it works so I'll keep doing it. This was really easy to put together, especially since the sauce really lends itself to not measuring.

I served it with brown rice. I wanted to serve it with broccoli on the side, but discovered all I had in the freezer was broccoli stir fry, which was pretty good too. (It just now occurred to me that I have fresh broccoli in the fridge. WOOPS!)

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Originally found here.

I've never made pulled pork before, but was looking for something that wouldn't require much of my time the day before the party. I decided on this, and we were very happy with the results.

I used a small cut of pork butt. It was three pieces, which the butcher at Shop Rite suggested when I told him I wanted to make pulled pork (when he showed me the pork butt I should use, I balked and said, "Um, there's only two of us.")

I also used a can of root beer (Shop Rite brand!) and store bought creole seasoning (because I had it).

This is definitely a keeper in our house. In fact, I will probably be making it the next time we have a big party, we liked it that much!

your favorite cut of pork (shoulder, butt, whatever you like)

8-12 ounces of root beer (some girls use Coke)

spices (I used Emeril's essence)

your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Dinosaur)

Put pork, root beer and seasonings in the crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours. Drain the crockpot, and add the BBQ sauce. Cook on low for 30 more minutes. Remove from the crock pot and shred, adding more BBQ sauce if you like. Serve on sandwiches!

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes, Part 2

I frosted them with store bought icing, and they were outstanding. The cake was divine, and since it was so darn easy, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to use a box mix.

The cake with store bought icing was clearly good enough for Baby SBF's first taste of cake:

Cat in the Hat Cake

I am by no means an artist. In grade school, I drew an Easter bunny that came out looking like a camel.

When we started to plan The Boy's first birthday party with a Dr. Seuss theme, I found this on the internet and though, "Hey, she said it was easy. That's what I'll do." But then time got in the way, and that plan went out the window.

We then decided we would cut a cake in the shape of The Cat in the Hat's hat. In the middle of the night before the party, I decided it would be way too much and way too easy to screw up, so decided instead to frost the cake white and draw on the hat.

Somehow, my little plan worked, and here's what came out:

Who wants a $50 gift card???

I found a contest!! WOOHOO.
It's for a $50 Target gift card.

Check it out here
and please say that Christina from feistybaby.blogspot.com sent ya!

Spaghetti Sauce

Things happened last night, and dinner didn't get started until 6:30. So I went looking for something fast... I found ravioli in the freezer, so that was dinner.

I did, however, have the cooking urge, so I sought out a pasta recipe for the stovetop. I found one, but actually made some of my own modifications!! I CAN do it!!!

Original recipe found here

1 med. onion
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes & puree I used crushed tomatoes
1 c. water
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. basil
1 bay leaf

Chop finely in blender: onion, carrot and celery. Chop garlic the same, but separately. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, carrot and celery and cook until tender. Add tomatoes, water, salt, pepper, basil and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Pour through a food mill (optional). Discard solids. Simmer 15 minutes. Will thicken if chilled overnight.

I added in a frozen cube of red wine, a can of tomato paste, and some oregano in during the tomatoes step. I didn't measure at all. I found it to be a bit too salty, but BAJ thought it was fine. I did, however, add way too much water. I didn't food mill it, but I do wish I had chopped my carrot thinner. In short, the flavor was decent, but I probably should have added more tomato paste to thicken it up after adding too much water.

Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Birthday Cake and Frosting

Recipe originally found here

The cake was very very good, and I will for sure make it again. The frosting, through no fault of the recipe, didn't turn out so great. I think the problem was that I substituted for powdered sugar (from here). The frosting turned out grainy and just plain yuck. I also added 2t of raspberry extract, just to try it out. I definitely got some of that flavor, but BAJ said the frosting was flavorless.

Picture of my poor sad wimpy frosted cuppie coming soon.

No cooking in these parts

We are without stove/oven for awhile. It conked out in the middle of making dinner for my parents on Thursday. It seems the computer went haywire, and will cost $150 to replace. It also might not fix the problem, so it looks like a new one is in the works.

We went to a few stores and finally decided on a range at Sears. For some really really stupid reason, the warehouse that ships to our town is out of stock. If we lived one town over, we could get it. How stupid???

So now we either have to wait until this warehouse has them again (luckily, they are holding the sale price for us), decide on another range, or go to a different store.

It can never be easy, right?

One Pot Thai

This came from my new cookbook from Food and Wine Magazine, One Dish Meals.

I liked that it was so veggie filled. I'm not a huge fan of radishes, but they worked in this dish. It's a recipe that calls for ground pork, but ground turkey was on sale, and that's what I used. It was pretty good and I'll probably make it again, but we're not RAVING about it.

Cleanup was nice, though, since it technically only used a skillet and a cutting board (although I didn't use a large enough skillet at first!)

Fried Tilapia

This was a recipe for Fried Catfish from ATK. I wasn't sure if I would like catfish, and tilapia was on sale, so away we went.

It was pretty good, although not delicious. It was a little bit too much of the SAME for me to eat a whole filet. I served with corn on the cob and McCain's steak fries.

Catch up

Wow, it's been a while.

First, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! My little boy is only 26 days away from being one. Absolutely unreal.

I went away for awhile to Colorado for some work type stuff. It was an awesome trip, but after being cooked for, cleaned up after, and not having to do any domestic stuff for a week, I had a hard time adjusting and we went out to eat a bit more than normal.

I HAVE been cooking, but haven't yet uploaded any pictures, so those are coming soon.

I've decided to take a hiatus from TWD. Money is tight right now and I just don't have the energy for baking at this time. We'll see if I can manage it again in the fall... hopefully I can because I really enjoyed being part of the group.