Turkey Pesto Sliders

As I do my meal planning, I've been going straight to Annie's blog to see what's cooking. I don't think I've made anything from Annie we haven't LOVED. So, I was perusing and this was on the front page. Mostly ingredients I had on hand, this seemed like a perfect easy supper.

It was! These were really delicious, so easy to make (I kept trying to get my son to come help, but Daddy distracted him with a computer game), and so cute! I know my picture doesn't at all do the sandwich justice, so just head over to see Annie's pictures.

Our grocery store sells whole wheat slider buns, so I got those. I also used olive oil mayo. I think this would be delicious with a roasted red pepper on top, but we didn't have any around!

Turkey Pesto Sliders
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Ingredients:
6 slider buns
6 slices of turkey deli meat
6 slices of provolone cheese
3 tbsp. pesto
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone baking mat. Split the slider buns and lay a folded slice of turkey on the bottom half of each bun. Layer each with a slice of provolone. In a small bowl, combine the pesto and mayonnaise in a small bowl and mix until blended. Spread a thin layer of the pesto mayonnaise on the inner side of the top half of each bun. Replace the top bun over the cheese to assemble the sandwiches. Brush the tops of the buns lightly with melted butter. Bake 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sandwiches are warmed through.

Chicken and Artichokes in a White Wine Sauce

Tonight, I was simply too exhausted to cook. We went away for the weekend, and have been running a TON since we returned (we're car shopping, which really messes with meals when you're working around the schedules of two little boys who want to nap and eat), so we've been eating a good amount out. When I said that I was soo tired, and wanted to just sit for a minute (for what felt like the first minute of the day), my wonderful husband said he would cook.

Niiiiice.

So, he's the one who made this. As he was finishing up, he said he really hoped the meal tasted as good as it smells because it smelled so good.

It was very good. Way to go, Annie! The problem with ours was that the chicken was a little bit overcooked; he ended up not eating much of his chicken, but devoured the sauce.

I couldn't tell you what modifications he made other than this:
We used Pinot Grigio that had been sitting in our fridge for awhile, probably to the point of being vinegar.
We had beef stock in the fridge; I'm pretty sure he used that for the chicken broth.

Chicken and Artichokes in a White Wine Sauce
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Ingredients:
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. herbes de provence (or a combination of other dried herbs such as basil, parsley, oregano, thyme)
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (2 chicken breasts total)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 (14 oz.) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Minced fresh parsley, for serving
Directions:
In a pie plate or shallow dish, combine the flour, dried herbs, salt and pepper and stir with a fork to blend. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture. Using tongs, coat the chicken breast halves in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. Remove the chicken to a plate; cover and keep warm.
Add the butter to the pan and warm until melted. Add the mushrooms and artichokes to the pan and cook until most of the liquid is released from the mushrooms and the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
In a liquid measuring cup, combine the white wine, chicken broth, and reserved tablespoon of flour; whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to the skillet, cooking until it is warm and slightly thickened. Return the chicken to the pan to warm through and cover with sauce. Serve the chicken with sauce spooned over the top, and garnish with grated Parmesan and fresh parsley as desired.
Source: adapted from Proceed With Caution, originally from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, Bridal Edition

End of Summer Pasta

I found this recipe in my Parents magazine this month, and was so happy that it used lots of the veggies we've been given from friends' gardens this summer. I was very excited about this, expecting it to be delicious, but it wasn't. It probably isn't the fault of the recipe; the eggplant tasted very weird and mushy, so it was either overcooked or it was bad. We tossed it and had leftovers. I have lots of red onion around, so I added some of that in with the garlic, but otherwise followed the recipe as written.

But anyway, maybe it would be very good for someone else to make!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cupextra-virgin olive oil
• 2 mediumeggplants, cut into 1/2 to 1-inch chunks
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb.farfalle or other dried pasta
• 6 small or 3 mediumtomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2 to 1-inch chunks
• 1 to 2 tsp.thinly sliced garlic
• 1/2 cupfreshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Chopped fresh basil for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the eggplant, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and stir occasionally until it's browned and tender, about 15 minutes.

2. Add pasta to boiling water and prepare as directed. While its cooking, add the tomatoes and garlic to the eggplant mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is nicely softened, about 10 more minutes.

3. When the pasta is done, drain and toss with the eggplant sauce and Parmesan. Adjust the seasoning and garnish with basil if you like.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

This was first made in our house almost a year ago. I, however, not only didn't make it, but I also didn't even taste it. Newly pregnant, I was too tired to cook that day and the smell of the chicken turned my stomach. I finally got around to making it again, and it? Is awesome. This was fantastic and it will be going into our pizza rotation.

I used Bulls Eye Original BBQ sauce. I picked it because it had no HFCS, but the flavor is just awesome. It was perfect in this recipe.

Some alterations I would make to this is that, as written, it uses WAY too much BBQ sauce. I put 1c on the chicken as a marinade and a thin layer on the pizza itself. I should have just used the marinade and been done with it.

From $5 Dinners. Original recipe here.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 cup BBQ sauce
Homemade Pizza Crust (used our recipe, posted here)
1/2 large red onion
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 - 1 cup BBQ sauce

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dice chicken breasts and pour 1 cup of BBQ sauce over the pieces. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Saute chicken pieces in skillet over medium high heat for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken has cooked through.
2. Prepare homemade pizza dough.
3. Meanwhile, saute chopped red onions and garlic in 1 tsp olive oil for 4-5 minutes, or until onions become more opaque.
3. Roll pizza crust onto pizza pan or baking stone. Top with 1/2 - 1 cup of BBQ sauce and spread around with spoon.
4. Top with cooked diced chicken and sauted red onions. (Top with 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese!)
5. Bake about 20 minutes.

Grilled Chicken Fajita Fettucine

I found this recipe over on Mel's blog and decided it looked like something to try.

As I'm cooking it, there are a few changes I'd suggest:
1. Start the pasta sooner than the recipe suggests. My water was just boiling when everything else was finished. A good time might be about the time you put the chicken on the grill.
2. Don't slice the chicken before marinating. I wasn't even thinking about this, but it would have been so much easier to grill a whole breast and then slice afterward.

Grilled Chicken Fajita Fettuccine
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version

*Serves 4-6

Marinade Ingredients:
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider or red wine vinegar I used apple cider
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Pasta Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into fajita-sized strips
1 tablespoon vegetable, canola or olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced into half moons
1 green pepper, sliced into thin strips I used a cubanelle pepper
1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips
8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
4-6 ounces crumbled feta cheese (Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack or cheddar could easily be subbed here)
1 pound fettuccine
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
Sour cream for serving

In a small bowl, mix the marinade ingredients together. Place the chicken strips in a ziploc bag, pour the marinade over the chicken and seal the bag. Refrigerate and marinate for 4-8 hours.

Grill the chicken strips until they are tender and cooked through (alternately, you could saute the chicken in a hot skillet to cook or broil in the oven). Set aside and tent with foil to keep warm.

Start a large pot of water to boil. When boiling, add a tablespoon of salt and the fettuccine. Cook until the noodles are tender, according to package directions. Drain.

While the water is heating and the noodles are boiling, in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the 1 tablespoon oil and add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until they begin to soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to give off their liquid and start to brown (by now, the onions should be nearly finished cooking). Add the bell peppers and saute until they are crisp tender. I like my bell peppers barely cooked so they retain their sweetness and crispness, but cook them however you like.

Return the noodles to the pot and toss with the chicken, vegetables, half of the cheese and cilantro. Serve the pasta with a dollop of sour cream, if desired, the remaining cheese and additional cilantro. For a prettier presentation (rather than serving from the pot), after combining all the ingredients in the pot, dump the pasta onto a large serving platter or bowl.

Mushroom Ravioli with Marsala Sauce

I saw this on Lauren's blog and figured it would be a great one for us to try. My husband is a huge Marsala fan, and often orders mushroom ravioli when we go out to eat, so I figured I'd give it a try. Like Lauren, I bought a package of Buitoni's Wild Mushroom Agnolotti. I was toying with getting two packages, since I figured one wouldn't be enough for the three of us, but at $5.49 a package at my store, instead made a few side dishes. We had broccoli and bread (all I had was sourdough, which wasn't a great choice, but we definitely wanted something to mop up that delicious Marsala sauce) on the side.

Oh wow, this was outstanding. This was a very different Marsala recipe from ones I've made previously, and it was delicious.

All three of us enjoyed this one, and it was particularly fast and easy to make. Go to your store and make this tonight!

Here's the recipe for Marsala sauce, which she took from the Food Network site.
Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Add olive oil to heavy hot saucepan. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, saute until mushrooms are tender. Add flour and cook about 1 minute then deglaze pan with Marsala wine. Add beef stock and cook until thick and flavors are blended.

Vanilla Cupcakes

I wanted to make a Spiderman colored cupcake for A for his birthday party. The chocolate cupcakes I was making weren't going to work, so I found this recipe, colored the batter, and also used leftover strawberry frosting, which I also colored. These came out really tasty, and were a big hit with the birthday boy! Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe Vanilla Cupcakes: 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature 2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Zest of 1 large lemon (optional) 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk Buttercream Frosting: 2 cups (230 grams) confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 tablespoons milk or light cream Assorted food colors (if desired)

Vanilla Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. If you want flat topped cupcakes then slice off the dome of each cupcake, with a sharp knife, before frosting. If you want to pipe the frosting, I like to use a large Wilton 1M star decorating tip. For the Frosting: In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed. Tint the frosting with desired food color (I use the paste food coloring that is available at cake decorating stores and party stores). Makes about 12 cupcakes

Angie's Dad's Best Cabbage Coleslaw

From allrecipes. From our co-op, I had a large cabbage, some onions, and some carrots taking up room in my fridge. With a birthday party coming, and needing room in my fridge, I decided to make a cole slaw. This one sounded delicious. I made it today, and tasted it right after making it. It tasted pretty good, but the true verdict will be how it tastes on Saturday!

I am not a cole slaw fan, in general. If it's there, I will try it, but I almost never really like it. This cole slaw, however, was so delicious. Our party guests even commented on it being delicious and wanted to know how I made it (which, of course, I couldn't remember at all). It was nice and tangy but also had that wonderful sweetness from the sugar. I will definitely be making this again, but in the future will use a much smaller cabbage because this made sooo much cole slaw.

As an aside, many of the allrecipes users mentioned that they used cole slaw mix to save time. I just went ahead and sliced my cabbage and it really didn't take that long. One of the guests suggested that it wouldn't taste the same if I had used one of those bagged mixes, so I will probably use a regular cabbage again in the future. I followed the directions here with very good results.

Ingredients

• 1 medium head cabbage, shredded
• 1 large red onion, diced I used a white onion
  
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine cabbage, onion, carrots, and celery. Sprinkle with 1 cup sugar, and mix well. In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, oil, salt, dry mustard, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Pour hot dressing over cabbage mixture, and mix well.

Classic Italian Lasagna

I remember that my grandfather LOVED my mom's lasagna. After his passing, I don't think she's made it again, preferring the much easier baked ziti.

Mamma's lasagna wasn't like this.

I discovered this recipe by checking out Emily's blog. It originally came from Mel's blog.

My husband actually did most of the cooking for this lasagna, bringing his lasagna total to 4. Definitely allot yourself a good two hours from start to finish. My original plan was to put this together last night then bake it today, but that just didn't happen. I started putting it together around 4 this afternoon. Then, I discovered my block of mozzarella had gone bad and was thrown out. Oops. So, I went to the store only to hit traffic on my way back. Add in a baby feeding, and things didn't get started until almost 5. Bedtime starts in these parts around 7. Oy.

But, we went forward and made this. It was worth it. I asked M, "Was it worth all the work?" and he replied that it was...definitely what I was expecting him to say. We both thought it was delicious. The Boy was being...stubborn? He could only be persuaded to eat by saying it was the only way he could go to the playground after dinner. Yep, we bribe our son. He said it was good, but really wouldn't eat it.

Anyway. Go make this. I suggest you do it sooner rather than later. But definitely make sure you give yourself the time!

Oh! Some changes to the recipe:

• Put some of the red sauce on the bottom of your pan. We found that the bottom layer of pasta didn't cook properly and stuck to the spatula as it came out of the pan. This resulted in some ugly food photography.
• Also leading to some ugly food photography was that things were a little too gooey. We waited the 15 minutes that were suggested, but I think it could have used another 5 minutes to cool properly. (It also helps to explain the kind of ugly picture of the lasagna).

Edited to add: This was quite tasty as leftovers too! YUM! Next up is, how did it freeze? :)

Classic Italian Lasagna
Printable Version
Printable Version with Picture

*Makes one 9X13-inch pan of lasagna (and requires the use of several pots and skillets…but don’t worry, you can wash those up in a snap while the lasagna is baking)

Red Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced (see garlic tutorial here)
1/2 large onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or a mix of dried oregano and basil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

White Sauce:
3 cups milk (not skim, I used 1%)
5 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

9 lasagna noodles, boiled for half the time on the box (or use 12 of the no-boil noodles, of which I far prefer the Barilla brand)
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or with a napkin dipped lightly in olive oil and set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey over medium-high heat, breaking the meat apart into pieces with a wooden spoon. When turkey is cooked through, drain the grease and set aside.

In a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon butter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. When oil/butter is hot, add the garlic, stirring constantly. When the garlic is lightly browned, but NOT burned, add the onion and mushrooms. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are soft and browned and the fluid has mostly cooked out. Remove from heat and either using a handheld immersion blender or transferring the vegetables to a blender, blend the vegetables to a paste-like mixture. Return the pot to the heat (pour the pureed vegetables back in, if using a stand-alone blender) and add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Then add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir. Cover and let the sauce sauce simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the lasagna, stir in the reserved ground turkey.

While the red sauce simmers, if using lasagna noodles that need to be boiled, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil the noodles for half the time suggested on the box. Once the noodles are cooked, drain, but do not rinse. Add a dab of olive oil to keep them from sticking together. If you are using no-boil noodles, you can skip this step.

Also while the red sauce is cooking, melt the four tablespoons butter and when melted, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine and letting the mixture cook, while stirring, for a minute or two. Gradually add in the milk, whisking constantly. Add the salt and pepper. Slowly whisk the white sauce, ensuring it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan, while cooking it over medium heat. Continue slowly stirring or whisking while the white sauce cooks and thickens quite a bit, about 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch of mozzarella for good luck, if you wish!

To begin layering the lasagna, keep in mind that you’ll have three layers of noodles as well as three layers of the sauces and cheese – so plan on splitting all the sauce and cheese piles into thirds so you don’t run out at the end! On the bottom of your lightly greased baking pan, layer three pre-boiled noodles or four no-boil noodles, slightly overlapping the no-boil noodles. Layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges and top with another layer of noodles. Again, layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and top with the final layer of noodles. Layer the sauces and cheeses again.

Cover the lasagna with a greased layer of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and let the lasagna sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Cherry Coke Cupcakes

The frosting here reminds me of a little beret.

After baking three types of cupcakes for A's third birthday party trials, we finally have a winner. BAJ EXCLAIMED when he tried the batter that these were by far the best yet (I believe he mouthed Effing Awesome). These Cherry Coke cupcakes from Annie's Eats were really good, and they look pretty too!

They really don't have a whole lot of Coke flavor, but they are delicious anyway. I wasn't, however, a big fan of the frosting here. It was pretty thin and a little runny, so for the birthday party, I'm going to make a buttercream frosting to go with it (which will be dyed Spiderman-esque!). This time, we used three cherries in each cupcake, and pressed them all the way down. Three is probably a good number, but next time, I won't press them all the way in.

So, go make these because they're awesome!!!


Cherry Coke Cupcakes
Printer-Friendly Version
Yield: 10-12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup sugar
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
½ cup buttermilk
¾ cup Coca-Cola
¼ tsp. maraschino cherry juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Maraschino cherries, stemless
For the glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. Coca-Cola
For topping:
2/3 cup heavy cream
3-4 tbsp. powdered sugar
Maraschino cherries
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with foil or paper liners. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter. Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg until incorporated. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, Coke, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract; stir to combine. (This mixture may look disgusting and/or curdled – it’s okay!)
Mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture on low speed, alternately with the liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners. Drop 4 or 5 stemless maraschino cherries into each cupcake well and push them down into the batter. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the optional glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and Coke in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Spoon or drizzle a small amount of the top of each cupcake. Allow to set.
To make the whipped cream topping, add the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin whipping on medium speed, slowly adding the confectioners’ sugar and gradually increasing the speed to high as the cream holds soft peaks. Whip until the cream holds stiff peaks, being careful not to overbeat. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cupcakes and top each with a maraschino cherry.

Cookies n Cream Cupcakes

I was perusing my Google Reader and came across these yummy looking cupcakes on my friend Lauren's blog, and thought these would be great for A's birthday party. He loved the idea of "Cookie cupcakes," and was very excited about the whole idea.
As you can sort of see in the picture, I had some trouble with the frosting--maybe the heat caused the runniness of it, but it wasn't super awesome. I liked the flavor of them, though, although M suggested that it was too much of the same thing throughout (he said they might be better with a strawberry frosting or something like that).
When we offered a taste to A (we offered: a whole cookie cupcake, a whole chocolate cupcake, or half a cookie cupcake and half a chocolate cupcake), he went all out for the cookie cupcake. He really liked it too, but I'm sure how much of a commentary an almost 3 year old is on sweets of any kind!

Ingredients

• 30 Oreo cookies
• 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 Large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Count out 12 Oreos and separate the top and bottom wafers. Make sure each has some of the icing on it. Place one wafer, icing side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Set them aside. Place the remaining 18 Oreos between sheets of waxed paper or in a large, closed zipper-lock bag and crush them by rolling over them with a rolling pin. Set these crumbs aside.
3. Place the cake mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 1 1/2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the crushed Oreos and fold these into the batter until well incorporated. Set aside the remaining crushed Oreos for the frosting. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.
4. Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If you plan to freeze them, don't add the cookie-crumb topping. Wrap them I in aluminum foil or in a cake saver and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator and top with cookie crumbs before serving.
COOKIES AND CREAM FROSTING
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
a pinch of salt
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
remaining crushed Oreos
Mix together butter, confectioners sugar, and a pinch of salt until creamy. Increase your mixer speed to high and beat until its light and fluffy. Add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat until its smooth. Fold in crushed Oreos. Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.

Strawberry Cupcakes

I made lots of trial cupcakes in preparation for my son's 3rd birthday party, and when I saw that this recipe came from Candace Nelson, owner of Sprinkles and judge on Cupcake Wars, I knew I had to give it a go.

I enjoyed this one a lot, though the cake seemed a little more dense than I would prefer.  I liked how the frosting came out; it looks really pretty as I swirled it with a pastry bag.  Woot; it almost looks like the contestants' on Cupcake Wars!

Makes enough for 1 dozen cupcakes

• 1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Sprinkles' Strawberry Frosting - Martha Stewart Recipes 

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/candace-nelson-strawberry-frosting

Makes 1 dozen

• 2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
• Sprinkles' Strawberry Frosting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Recipes

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/candace-nelson-strawberry-cupcakes

Pan Fried Chicken with Corn and Tomatoes

I've tried this recipe once before and was fairly successful (although I commented then that I overcooked the chicken). This time around, the chicken was cooked perfectly, and we enjoyed it a lot. We loved the fresh flavors of corn, basil, and tomatoes from our co-op box, and I was really happy to use several things from the box in one meal. I actually used yellow tomatoes, so the presentation isn't as pretty as it would have been if I'd used red ones. But it was pretty anyway!

I served with peas and something else (that I cant remember).

Wahoo, summer!

From Everyday with Rachael Ray August 2009. See original here

• 4 Servings
• 
• Prep 20 min
• 
• Cook 5 min

Ingredients:

• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 chicken breast cutlets (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
• Salt and pepper
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 3 ears)
• 2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Easy does it
Stand an ear of corn upright in a large bowl and run a knife down the length of the cob to remove the kernels.

Directions:

1. In a shallow dish, stir together the breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons basil. In a separate shallow dish, add the buttermilk; in a third dish, add the flour. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Working with 1 piece at a time, coat the chicken in the flour, then dip into the buttermilk and coat with the breadcrumbs, shaking to remove any excess.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until golden-brown, about 5 minutes; drain on paper towels.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the corn, tomatoes, onion, the remaining 2 tablespoons basil and 1 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Serve over the chicken.

Carrots

This is a wonderful recipe that comes from my America's Test Kitchen cookbook. I chose it to accompany the Chicken Saltimbocca I made because I had a ton of carrots, and the flavors in both were similar (thyme, lemon). These were delicious! My husband actually made these while I took care of other things.

Sea Bass Baked in Foil

This comes from Giada's cookbook, but she calls for Salmon. We had sea bass that my parents caught, so I was looking for something to use and in her notes, she mentioned that Italians typically use sea bass but that she was changing it up. The recipe can also be found on the food network's website.

This was...ok. We didn't love it, although we really loved the small amount of clean up. The fish was really nicely cooked, it was just that we weren't crazy about its flavor.

Ingredients

• 4 (5 ounces each) salmon fillets
• 2 teaspoons olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, drained
• 2 chopped shallots
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle salmon with 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir the tomatoes, shallots, 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Place a salmon fillet, oiled side down, atop a sheet of foil. Wrap the ends of the foil to form a spiral shape. Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish and tomato mixture, covering completely; seal the packets closed. Place the foil packet on a heavy large baking sheet. Repeat until all of the salmon have been individually wrapped in foil and placed on the baking sheet. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Using a large metal spatula, transfer the foil packets to plates and serve.

Chicken Saltimbocca

This comes from Giada de Laurentiis's cookbook, but can also be found on the food tv website.

I kind of hate making chicken rolls. You have to shove toothpicks in, and then find a way to brown all sides (with toothpicks) in a skillet. Kinda tough, plus I usually splatter myself. But, I made these anyway.
They were pretty good, although not really all that outstanding. I served with pasta (although it would have been better if I'd served the chicken OVER the pasta) and glazed carrots.

Ingredients

• 6 (3-ounce) chicken cutlets, pounded to evenly flatten
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 paper-thin slices prosciutto
• 1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Place the chicken cutlets flat on the work surface. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 1 slice of prosciutto atop each chicken cutlet.

Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove the excess water. Season the spinach with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of oil to coat.

Arrange an even, thin layer of spinach atop the prosciutto slices. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up each chicken cutlet as for a jellyroll. Secure with a toothpick.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Simmer the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove toothpicks from the chicken. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid over the chicken and serve immediately.

Chicken Parm sandwich

I've blogged about this one before. My husband didn't remember that I've made this, though, and was downright impressed.

It's from my ATK cookbook, but I also found it posted here. I went and put them on hero rolls.

Good.

These were so darn tasty. They definitely aren't corner pizza place good, but they are pretty close, and certainly better for you.

Further proof that the Cooks Illustrated folks know what they are doing! YUM!

Lighter Chicken Parmesan
(Source: Cook’s Illustrated, October 2006)

1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs) I used regular bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus extra for serving
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
Table salt and ground black pepper
3 large egg whites
1 tablespoon water
Vegetable cooking spray
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 ounces each), trimmed of excess fat and sliced into cutlets
2 cups tomato sauce , warmed
3 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Combine the bread crumbs and oil in a 12-inch skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow dish and cool slightly; when cool, stir in the Parmesan.

2. In a second shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together. In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.

3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top, and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg whites, and finally coat with the bread crumbs, Press on the bread crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the chicken on the wire rack.

4. Spray the tops of the chicken with vegetable oil spray. Bake until the meat is no longer pink in the center and feels firm when pressed with a finger, about 15 minutes.

5. Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce onto the center of each cutlet and top the sauce with 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella. Return the chicken to the oven and continue to bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and serve, passing the remaining sauce and Parmesan separately.

Balsamic Chicken

This is a recipe that was shared on a message board of which I am a part several years ago. Everyone raved about it, so I figured I would give it a try. We enjoyed it a lot, and the best part is that it comes together really quickly.

This was attributed to Cooking Light, although I can't find a similar recipe on their website.


This is delicious. The chicken is so tender, and it has so much flavor. I usually serve with mashed potatoes, but this time, served it with frozen roasted potatoes.

Balsamic Chicken

(Cooking Light)

1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 (5-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves Make sure these are thin cut or pounded thin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots I used a yellow onion
Chopped parsley (optional)
Combine broth, vinegar, and honey.

Melt butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat.

While butter melts, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour.

Increase heat to medium-high; heat 2 minutes or until the butter turns golden brown. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add shallots, and sauté 30 seconds. Add the broth mixture, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Serve sauce over chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Aloha Pork Chop Skillet

I believe I found this (it was several years ago) on the Betty Crocker website, but I found it today here.

This is something I really enjoyed, and it was really easy to make it too. The husband, well, he's not a pork chop fan. The Boy dug right in, as one might expect with the amount of pineapple and other sweetness that was in this!

I found thin sliced pork chops, which were the cheapest unit price they had. These worked out great because they were a great size serving for The Boy, and they cooked very quickly. I ended up making 5 chops, just in case (for 2 adults and one almost 3 year old), and we did have a few leftover. This was a nice change for us!

Ingredients:

1T vegetable oil
4 pork chops
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into chunks
2 cans (8oz each) pineapple chunks in juice, undrained
1/2 c. fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4c. Catalina dressing
1-1/2 t garlic powder
1-1/2 c white rice, uncooked

Directions:

HEAT oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops; cook 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chops; cover to keep warm.

ADD bell peppers, pineapple, broth, sauce and garlic powder to skillet; mix well. Bring to a boil.

STIR in rice. Top with chops; cover. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 minutes or until chops are cooked through (160°F.) Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes.

Scallops Provencal

Julie Powell commented in Julie and Julia that she shared with Julia Child a love of butter, and attributed the amount of butter she consumed during her project for her weight gain. It's true, butter makes everything delicious and delightful (says the girl who was raised on margerine...) This dish is no exception; the addition of 4T of butter makes an amazing sauce to accompany the lightness of the scallops. This was heavenly and creamy.

After his first bite of scallop, A said "Mmmmmm" (as in yummy), but wouldn't eat it after that. Dunno.

I served this over whole wheat thin spaghetti, which was a great choice. I didn't have much in the freezer for veggies (I think broccoli would work perfectly), so went with corn.

Definite keeper! I could definitely have gone back for seconds, thirds, if I wasn't concerned about all that butter!

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 lemon, cut in 1/2

Directions

If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each 1 in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.

In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on 1 side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.