Quasi-Healthifying Garlic Pepper Chicken

Quite simply, this recipe was fan-flippin-tastic!! I found the meat of the recipe here -

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/becky-higgins-garlic-chicken-farfalle.html

And let me tell you that Kevin and Amanda have been in my kitchen more than once now, well, via recipes, and they have never failed me! haha.

Anyway, the only differences I made, was that I used light cream instead of heavy whipping cream, I used whole wheat rotini pasta and I only used half of the called for 16 oz., and I only used 6 slices of bacon (because I only had half a package of bacon in the fridge and only half a box of rotini, unless I wanted to use spaghetti, and I didn't). Also I used pepper bacon instead of regular bacon. Finally, I also added peas, just for a LITTLE green :)

I think it's delicious though. A little on the alfraedo side, which I usually don't like, but it was really good.

Potato Chorizo Tacos with Guacamole

So after getting Rick Bayless' cookbook as a gift and testing out some of the simpler recipes, I decided to take it a step further and try one of the more complicated ones, which really wasn't more complicated so much as more ingredients... and more chopping! haha.

Potato-chorizo tacos
3 medium red-skin potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
8 ounces Mexican chorizo sausage, store-bought (casing removed if there is one)
1 small white onion, diced up nice and tiny
2 poblano (or red bell) peppers, roasted and peeled - I used 1 poblano and 1 red bell pepper, cut into ¼ inch slices.
Vegetable oil
12 warm, fresh corn tortillas (you can use flour, but I prefer corn, and so does Rick Bayless, so I must be doing something right!)

For the avocado salsa (aka guacamole - also for reference, I should've just bought this):2 large ripe avocados1 garlic clove 10 sprigs of cilantro

So, first and foremost, we chopped the onion and cilantro. Then we cooked the chorizo in the skillet for about 5 minutes until it was nice a crumbly, and set it aside in a bowl to re-use the skillet until it was time to add the chorizo back in.

Then the pepper roasting began! Zack used a method I like to call blow-torching. The cookbook recommended using an open flame so this seemed like a natural thing to do. It also said you can use an electric ovens broiler if that’s all you have, you just need to watch and rotate the peppers so they cook evenly. You want to blacken up the peppers completely, until they look something like this…

Then, you want to put the charred peppers into a plastic bag to let the peppers get nice and soft, to make taking off the skin that much easier. It takes about 5 minutes. Once they feel nice and squishy, take then out, peel off the charred-ness under cool running water, chop off the stem and take out the seeds, then chop those suckers up like you would do for peppers in fajitas, into long thing slices.

The next step is to grab the chorizo-ed skillet, empty except for oily chorizo remnants. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of oil at medium heat and throw in your onions.

Once they are translucent, which takes anywhere from 2-5 minutes depending on how big your onions are, you want to add the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.

After they’re nice and even more tender (remember you’ve already cooked these guys! Cooking them on the stovetop with the onions, is just to brown them up a bit).

Then you want to add the peppers and the chorizo, stir it up a bit and throw a lid on it, turn the stovetop down as low as you can, and get to workin’ on the rest of the dish!

Which includes cooking the tortilla’s and making the guacamole. I recommend doing the tacos LAST. To make the guac, it’s the easiest thing in the world. Take the avocado that’s been peeled and pitted, throw it in a blender or food processor with the cilantro and the clove of garlic and get it nice and smushed up, but still chunky.

To cook the taco shells, take out as many as you need, we used 6. Wrap them in a damp paper towel, and put them into a plastic bag that isn’t sealed but is folded over to somewhat steam up. Microwave them for 5 minutes, and they should be good to go. And watch out when taking them out because those suckers are HOT!

Then all that’s left to do, is enjoy!

Mothers Day Casserole

I got a lot of requests for this recipe so I'm throwing it out there for everyone. I've got the regular dish for you, and the WW dish in pink.

Serves: 6 (in WW portion world, this should easily feed 8-10 people)

Regular Ingredients:

- 1 lb bag of hash browns
- ½ cup of green pepper and ½ cup of onion
- 1 lb deli ham chopped into bite size pieces
- 1 doz. eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups of cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup of butter
- Salt and Pepper
- ½ lb of bacon, crumbled

I did the WW thing for this meal and modified the recipe as follows -

- I doubled the amount of green pepper and onion
- You can use turkey instead of ham, or half turkey/half ham
- I used half regular eggs, and half egg whites - may need a few extra egg whites. I did.
- I didn't use any cream
- I used fat free cheese. I also think that Swiss cheese would be really good for this
- I didn't cook my pepper/onion mixture in butter. Rather I used some olive oil
- Put salsa on top in lieu of bacon

Directions:

1. Dry the hash browns with a paper towel or two until most of the moisture is out of them and they feel relatively dry, but not totally smushed.
   


2. Put the dried hash browns in a 9x13 casserole dish, sprinkle salt and pepper on top and put in the oven while it’s pre-heating to 350 degrees. They should stay in there for at least 20 minutes.
   


3. While the hash browns are baking, do the following:
   
   a. Sauté the green pepper and onion in a quarter cup of butter (or olive oil)
   b. Break open the eggs into a bowl and whisk
   c. Add the cooked green peppers and onion, and the milk to the eggs (or just the green pepper/onion if you aren't using the cream)
   


4. Once this hash browns have been in there the allotted 20 minutes, take them out and begin the assembly:
   
   a. Spread the ham (or turkey) evenly, over the hash browns
   b. On top of the ham, spread 1 cup of the cheese
   c. Pour in the egg/green pepper/onion/milk mixture over the casserole
   


5. Throw that sucker in the oven for 40 minutes in a middle rack
   


6. Take back out once that’s done, and add the remaining cheese and the crumbled bacon (or just the remaining cheese if you're not using bacon), if you’re using it and put back in the oven for about 5 minutes, on one of the racks closer to the top of the oven
   


7. If you're going to add the salsa, I would keep that on the side and have people add as much or as little as they like.
   


8. In case you're wondering how to keep peoples serving sizes small, I served this with a fruit salad of strawberries, bananas and clemintines with a squeeze of lemon juice over top. It's good to balance out the heaviness of the casserole with something a little lighter.
   

And that’s it! I hope you enjoy it.

ps - Unfortunately, I don't have a picture so just use your imagination as far as the deliciousness is concerned...

Because "real" jambalaya takes entirely too long

So a few months ago I tried making real homemade jambalaya, and it was really good. It took forever, made a huge mess in my kitchen and did I mention it took forever? I said to myself, I am NEVER making this again unless there's an easier way. So last week when Brian came over for dinner, I decided now was the time to try the easy way...

So maybe this isn't the best jambalaya, but it was really good, so here's the recipe!

First and foremost make sure you have a pot with a lid! That's KEY!

I took your standard green pepper and an onion (I used the pre-diced frozen stuff, worked great), and I let those saute a second or two, to get brown, then I added 1 pound of chorizo sausage, and 1 pound of chicken, all diced up (shrimp would also be a great addition but I didn't use it this time) and threw that in the pot with some cajun seasoning (around 2-3 teaspoons) and about a teaspoon of oregano and some whole pieces of red pepper I threw in. Once they looked pretty cooked I added 1 can of the small diced tomatoes, and about 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of water. I let it sit on the oven for about 20 minutes on low heat with the lid on the pot. Once the rice was done I decided it could use a can of tomato sauce, just to thicken it up a little bit. I also added some corn at the last minute, and thought about adding beans but I didn't have any. Oh well.

Everything ended up being really awesome. Some crusty bread would've been a nice touch too, but it was also, unfortunately an afterthought. Oh well.

Apple Pie Cookies (with or without nuts)

Hey folks! So since I'm in the Christmas spirit I've been baking up a storm, some successful (this recipe), some not so successful (the fudge). Anyway, of everything I made my favorite was actually an original and personally Kelly recipe!

So here's what you need -

Utensils - You'll need a cupcake tin (or a baking sheet but the cupcake tin is WAY easier) and a circular cookie cutter - or small water glass which is what I used.

Ingredients - Get one of those boxes of the 2 uncooked pie shells (like, the pillsbury kind) that you find by the butter and eggs in the grocery store. And secondly, a large can of apple pie filling (or you can make your own apple pie filling, but I'm not gonna lie about where mine came from :) haha). Also, while I'm not going to give "amounts" you also need brown sugar, cinnamon and sugar to dust on top when you're done.

So basically you the pie shells into little circles and lay them into the cupcake tin, it's ok if they don't go to the top. If you're going to do them on a baking sheet, don't fold them up or anything.

Then you want to take small scoops and place them in the middle of the cup/cookie. I did it the cookie route, and they were pretty good but I could EASILY see how the cupcake tin route was better. Also, I feel like you could use more apple filling with the cupcake tins whereas I put a limited amount of apple pie filling on the cookies for fear they would just run all over the pan.

I cooked them for however long it says to cook the pie crust at whatever temperature the box said, plus about 3 minutes or so. It depends on your stove though.

Then if you want, you can sprinkle on the dusting of brown sugar, regular sugar and cinnamon.

If you want to proceed on to more deliciousness, you can do that too.

That's by adding a candied nut topping. And to make this, you'll need:

1 lb pecans
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

So you whip up the eggs with the vanilla with your trusty kitchen aid until you've got kind of a frothy mixture. Add the nuts and stir them with a wooden spoon until they are coated, then add the rest of the ingredients (mixing them ahead of time is a good idea, before pouring them on the nuts). Mix them up with that trusty wooden spoon again. Then put them in the oven on 250 and stir them every 15 minutes so they don't stick together too much.

Then once these bad boys are done, throw them on the top of your cupcakes/cookies, and deliciousness ensues! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Peanut Butter Cake

This recipe is a take on a recipe Zack's mom makes. It was pretty good if I do say so myself.

So the recipe is as follows:

Part 1
1 box yellow cake mix (chocolate works too - I used yellow though) - also note the time lengths to cook the cake on the box because that's what you'll use to bake this cake - for me it was 350 for 30 minutes.
1 cup peanut butter (I used chunky peanut butter which was my first amendment to this recipe)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used 1/3 of a cup of splenda brown sugar instead)

Mix the ingredients together in the mixer until it has an almost pilly consistency, then take out 2/3 of a cup of the mixture.

Then to the remaining mix, add:

3 eggs
1/4 cup of oil
1 cup of water

It makes a pretty wet batter, akin to cake mix but a little thinner. Pour it into a greased 13x9 pan - preferably glass. Once all the mix is poured in, take the leftover 2/3 cup of crumb mix and add to it chocolate chips. You're supposed to add nuts too, but since I used the chunky peanut butter I went without the nuts on top. I WAS thinking though as I was making this, all the delicious things you could put on top of it. Kind of like when I was making the gooey butter cake. I also think this lends credence to my idea of a peanut butter and jelly cake that's worthwhile. I know you're out there cake!

Anyway, throw any ingredients you want on top of the cake that would add to the deliciousness of the peanut butter, maybe some banana or apple? cinnamon? The ideas could go on forever. Also when in doubt of what to put on top, chocolate icing would be equally as glorious!

Anyway this was a thoroughly enjoyable cake but milk is most definitely necessary!

Gooey Butter Cake

I realize I don't USUALLY post again so quickly. I feel like 90% of the time there's at least a 10 day down period but this recipe was too good to pass up. First of all when told about the cake for the first time by a one, Stephanie Emburey - her exact words were - It's like eating a hug. With that said, I knew I had to try it.

Low and behold, I actually HAD all the ingredients! Incredibly rare but true, and with Zack's birthday on Wednesday, I figured now would be as good a time as ever to give it a try. Here's the link to the recipe I used - http://www.treehousekitchen.com/2009/03/paula-deen-gooey-butter-cake-recipe.html - I actually started with another recipe but quickly (and thankfully) realized it was not correct! What I loved about this PARTICULAR recipe is it's list of other options for what to do with the cake!!

So with that said, my notes about the recipe:

1. It's SUPER easy to make. I like this string of easy desserts I'm trying out. The easier and more delicious, the better!

2. I'm sad that I didn't investigate all the versions of the cake you can make. While I knew there was a pumpkin variety, I wasn't aware of ALL the different kinds you can make. Zack and I decided the next time I make it we're going to do the banana version, and maybe add some walnuts or something. Or chocolate - everything is better with chocolate!

Look out for some other new recipes, possibly coming soon... possibly not... the world will never know :) haha