my first dinner in a few days...

...is boxed macaroni and cheese with hot dogs, because although i like cooking fun things i still like eating like a 5 year old. it's been a crazy week at work. monday night my team was there until after 12:30 am and tuesday night we snuck out by 9:45. i think the storm has passed and the next two days should be better, tonight i got out at a normal time which has left me with hours with which i no longer remember how to fill.

i have super special guests coming in this weekend, (coupled with my extra super special guest last weekend!) and am hoping to roast a delicious chicken. hoping to cook a little over the weekend.

who knew an electric stove could catch fire?!

Caramelized Chicken and Pappardelle with Spinach, Herbs and Ricotta

things are gettin' fancy round here now that momma's here to help! we discussed many meal options and for tonight decided on the two dishes above. i had never had pappardelle (wide egg noodles) but they were really good, and while the pasta has ricotta and parmesean its very light.

the chicken recipe comes from Tasty Kitchen via How Sweet Eats--it tasted delicious but i think i may have slightly overcooked the mushrooms and my sauce didn't really thicken--i had to sprinkle in some Wondra flour.

the pappardelle was from the april issue of cooking light--as a note you probably want to make the pasta first, then make the chicken if you are making them together.

chicken

you will need:  (this says it serves two, but....it doesnt)

• 4 whole Thinly Sliced, Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• ⅓ cups All-purpose Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ¼ whole Onion, Chopped
• 2 cups Sliced Mushrooms
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• ⅓ cups White Wine

first sprinkle the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides, then lightly coat with flour. (this should be a thin layer, not a breading)
heat the olive oil in your skillet and cook chicken for a few minutes on each side, until brown.

place cooked chicken on a plate, add 1 TB butter to pan and cook onions for a minute or so. add the rest of the butter and saute mushrooms for about 5 minutes, until soft. pour wine in the pan and scrape (deglaze) the brown bits off the bottom, and add the chicken back into the sauce.

serve hot!


pappardelle

you will need: (serves 4, 1 3/4 c serving size!) obviously this is if you eat it by itself...

    8 oz uncooked pappardelle
    1 TB kosher salt
    1/3 c ricotta cheese
    3 cups baby spinach
    1/4 c chopped fresh chives (we used green onions because thats what i had)
    1/4 c chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
    1/4 c chopped fresh dill (we omitted this--i dont like dill)
    3 TB fresh grated parmesan cheese
    2 TB olive oil
    1/2 t fresh ground pepper

cook pasta with 1 TB salt, dont add oil if the package says to--the sauce won't stick. and never rinse pasta either, just in general. don't do it!

drain and reserve 1 c of the cooking liquid, combine 1/2 c hot liquid with ricotta in a blender until mixed. toss hot pasta with the ricotta mixture and the remaining ingredients, adding extra cooking liquid if it's too dry.



by the way, while heating the pot of pasta water, the burner underneath exploded into flames, several times. it was horrifying and mysterious.


now it's dessert time! yumyumyum.

naan pizza X

naan bread pizza

for tonight's quickie dinner (i have almost nothing in my fridge but a variety of half used vegetables and some yogurt) (also, a freezer full of odds and ends requiring pre-meditated thawing, which i have never been good at--unless i wanted a meal of waffles, tater tots and sweet potato fries...ew) i yanked out some frozen naan bread (because, blessedly, naan bread is so thin i took it out, and it thawed while i worked out) and threw my pizza brick in a super hot oven--500 degrees.

since i know for pizza to be especically delicious, your brick needs to be very hot i let it preheat for an hour. normally i wouldn't let it go this long but while it heated up i popped in a P90X video from the collection of workout dvds sam burned for me.


let's be honest, i gotta work it if i'm going to be eating all of (literally, who else is going to eat it all--i.e. chocolate mousse pie) the things i post on here. the video i did was Kenpo X, which is basically karate-ish/boxing kicks and punching etc. and its....58 minutes long. which you could gather from the aforementioned preheat time. i'm very tired, and my arms very sore. it was kind of fun though, even though i am very sweaty and thankful at times like these i live alone...and that no one can watch me punching and kicking the air like a crazy.

so anyway, i made pizza for dinner because i had some naan (an excellent crust ANYTIME, not just when you have nothing else in your house to eat but paper towels) and i needed to finish off my log of fresh mozzarella (which i always seem to have now) and i just bought some marinara sauce at Trader Joe's (my new favorite place ever....it's so cheap! and cool, and well...i'm a sucker for grocery stores. whatever)

also, i bought some fresh mushrooms...at some point in the past...and needed to use some of them before the fungus began growing its own fungus. so i spread some sauce, sliced and spread out some mozz, and sliced mushrooms and baked for about 7ish minutes. the end result was a little burnt (even for my taste, and i like things a little overcooked) but the cheese was at that nice, fully melted chewy stage. i sprinkled it with a tiny bit of kosher salt and dug in!

by the way--i don't know if anyone else has trouble finding good bottled sauce--i like Ragu because that's what i've eaten since, well forever--but it has many more calories than i would like to consume. i was using Classico tomato and basil for a while which is pretty good, 50 calories a serving (as opposed to Garden Medley Ragu at 80) but it wasn't like my favorite sauce. when i poured it on my pasta i didn't like relish every bit and lick my bowl or anything...half because i am civilized and have manners (at times) but half because i was only really eating it for its inoffensive caloric properties.

i know pretty much no one who reads this--that i know of--(except sam! get it!!) can access Trader Joe's, but the sauce i got is really tasty--AND 60 calories a serving! (honestly, i scoured every bottle until i found a reasonable one but it paid off) it's Trader Giotto's Tomato Basil Marinara.

recipes i want to try

today began with visions of caramelized mushrooms and herbed bread, and then i took a nice long look around my clean apartment and not so clean kitchen ( even though it was sparkling yesteray morning, funny how that happens) and decied my will was not strong enough to wade through the ocean of dishes sure to await me.

so, i just did some food fantasizing instead.

Caramelized Chicken and Mushrooms


The NY Times Chocolate chip cookies (via How Sweet Eats)

Naan Bread (you can make it! whoohoo!)

Red Lobster Biscuits (the only reason worth going, and literally the majority of my meal, with a size of mozzarella sticks and chicken fingers)

tonight's easy peasy no clean up meal is a delicious stuffed pepper pulled from my freezer, and some goldeny crisp tater tots.



the Stuffed Peppers are delicious and following in my momma's (and granny's) footsteps, I make a big batch and freeze them so I can whip them out when I don't feel like making a mess or putting any effort into making dinner.

this makes a heck of a lot of stuffing...like at least a pound, so you can just buy as many peppers as you want to have  on hand, and freeze the remaining stuffing to make new peppers later on.

you will need:

    1-1 1/2 lbs ground beef
    1 roll of Jimmy Dean hot ground sausage (it isn't actually spicy, has nice flavor)
    3 medium yellow onions, chopped
    2 large ribs celery, chopped
    1/2-3/4 green bell pepper, chopped (you can save the other half for stuffing!)
    2 or 3 eggs, beaten (i don't remember what i used, so start with 2 and add the other if it's too dry)
    1 bag Pepperridge Farm herbed stuffing mix
    1 bay leaf, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper (i'd start with 1/2-1 tsp each, taste as you go!)
    dash of Worcestershire sauce
    extra bell peppers for stuffing (however many you want)

take the extra peppers and slice in half, or remove the tops (depending on how you want to stuff them) and clean out the seeds and other junk.

simmer peppers in water for about 3 minutes--just to soften them some, you don't want them going limp before stuffing (because they will be cooked more later)  drain on paper towels and set aside.

brown the sausage and ground beef with seasonings in a large skillet, then add in onions, celery and peppers. cook for a few minutes, until tender, then drain out fat in a paper towel lined colander. (remove bay leaf)

beat the eggs and add to the dry stuffing mix; once combined stir into meat mixture.

at this point you can either freeze all the stuffing mixture for later use (in small portions so you can stuff a few peppers at a time) or stuff the peppers you simmered earlier, place on a cookie sheet in the freezer for several hours, then place all in a freezer ziplock bag.

once you are ready to enjoy these babies (make sure they're thawed), top with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs and a pat of butter, bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

the weird strawberry i found!

cooking for one

i must say i am thrilled to be finding several recipes that are written for those of us who may only be cooking for one, or people cooking for two, in which case i would have lunch the next day!

so far, i have found recipes for cupcakes, pizza, tiramisu, and creme brulee.

i feel like i may be going Tasty Kitchen crazy but, thats how cool it is. recipes for everything and everyone, including vegan and vegetarian recipes abounding. i haven't made a stab at any of these tiny dishes but i am aiming to get my hands dirty in the coming days...or minutes--those cupcakes sound awesome! (obviously i will be adding cocoa powder...)

just found this too!! chocolate sour cream cake.

guess it's time to bring on the burn...gotta work it off somehow.

i love glee!!

cashew chicken lettuce wraps

 while the title of this post has nothing to do with cooking, i had to get it off my chest. i love glee. and i listen to the music from the show pretty much allthe time, 4 or 5 days a week most times. its so fun and happy and makes me want to burst into song at boring moments in my work day. i am tempted to do this some days, but have resisted so far!

moving on..

another Tasty Kitchen delight! my favorite recipe from there so far, shared by missamy. it was insanely quick and easy, and tasted like a million bucks--blindfolded, you may think you are eating at a nice restaurant!

after one bite, i did however take my lettuce, tear it into pieces, and continued eating this as a salad--it was very messy. if you like mess, go for it! it was delicious with extra crisp, cold lettuce though, added nice texture. i recommend this approach--keeps the lettuce from wilting to quickly.

you will need:

• 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Red Pepper
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Ginger
• 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
• 2-⅓ Tablespoons Soy Sauce, Divided
• 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil (or Oil Of Choice)
• 2 pieces Chicken Breast (approx. 3/4 Lb. Total), Diced
• 1 cup Diced Onion
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ¼ cups Cashews, Chopped
• 8 leaves Of Greenleaf Or Iceburg Lettuce, Washed And Dried

mix together rice vinegar, brown sugar, ground red pepper, ground ginger, sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, stir to dissolve sugar!

heat canola oil in pan over medium to medium-high heat. add diced chicken and brown (about 4 to 5 minutes).

Remove chicken from oil. Add onions and garlic to pan and remaining soy sauce (1/3 tbsp. or 1 tsp.) to pan; brown.

When onions and garlic are brown and tender, add stir fry sauce, browned chicken and cashews. Saute mixture for a few minutes and remove from heat.

Spoon chicken mixture into individual lettuce leaves.  (or on to a bed of torn lettuce!!)

make this, soon.

as promised...

chocolate mousse pie

i realize this somewhat blurry, bumpy rugged photo may not convey the true deliciousness and richness of this dessert appropriately, but it's safe to say its the most addicting, creamy, chocolatey delight there is.

i halved this recipe, and still ended up with this. oh lord.


you will need:

    crust:

3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (i use teddy grahams)
1/2 cup melted butter

    filling:

1 lb chocolate chips, or equal amounts of chocolate bars chopped (pretty sure in bars its 16 oz. of chocolate)
2 whole eggs
4 eggs, yolks and whites divided (room temperature)
2 cups whipping cream
6 Tbs powdered sugar


for the crust:

crush the cookies into crumbs by placing in a zipper bag and smashing or rolling with a can (of whatever...beans, tomatoes etc). dump into a bowl and pour in the butter, stirring to coat.

press into a 10" spring form pan and chill for 30 minutes


for the filling:

you can do one of two things to melt your chocolate.

1. you can place in a microwave safe (preferably glass) dish and melt for 30 second intervals, stirring in between. this is the quickest way

but be warned--if your chips/chocolate are not fresh fresh fresh they can burn and congeal. its gross and if you havent melted your share of chocolate in a microwave, i suggest you fast forward to option 2

2. place chocolate in a glass/metal bowl (you don't want plastic!) small enough to place on top of a saucepan. fill the saucepan with enough water that it just touches the bottom of your bowl--this takes a little finessing, you don't want to bowl floating around, but the water needs to be touching.

simmer (heat until the water bubbles some, NOT boiling) water, stirring chocolate the whole time. this is the double boiler method and its basically burn proof.

it may mean more time and dishes, but its worth it if you fear burnt chocolate.

moving on

let your melted chocolate cool to a lukewarm temperature and then stir (whisking is easiest) in the 2 whole eggs.

once combined, stir in the 4 yolks only, and continue whisking. this may take a while, as this thickens the chocolate considerably--make sure it isnt lumpy or your mousse will have chunks of chocolate in it. while this is not really a bad thing...it's also not very smooth and moussey like.

^ if there is a biceps-endowed man in your house, this may be a good time to ask for his help, unless you are just a buff monster yourself. 

in the bowl of your mixer, whip the cream and powdered sugar until light and fluffy (soft peak stage) which basically means until you can pull up your whisking attachment and the cream will hold its little peak. google it if you arent sure.

get a new bowl for your mixer, or transfer cream and clean the bowl, and beat your egg whites until stiff--you want a thick foamy consistency, but don't over do it.

alternately mix in equal parts whipped cream and egg white, stirring to combine, being sure the mixture is thoroughly incorporated.

 pour the mousse on your pie crust and chill overnight, or at least for 6 hours.

if your gluttony is not sufficiently satisfied, top with whipped cream and enjoy the resulting coma.



no dinner tonight, my gluttonous rampage of the refrigerator yesterday left me in quite a state. i may be eating again by friday or so...

tonight

korean-style chicken noodle bowl

tonight's dinner is courtesy of 4littlefergusons on tasty kitchen.

it was pretty delish, although i tweaked it slightly...


you will need:

• 1 package (13.25 Oz. Package) Whole Wheat Spaghetti Noodles
• 1 piece Fresh Ginger, 1-inch Piece  (i used ground ginger from the bottle)
• 4 whole Garlic Cloves, Pressed
• ½ cups Tamari Or Soy Sauce
• 6 Tablespoons Honey
• 4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 4 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil (this Makes The Dish!)
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha Hot Sauce, More If You Like It Hot  (didnt have it, used crushed red pepper)
• 2 cups Sliced Mushrooms
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Oil
• 1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut Into Cubes
• ½ packages (16 Oz. Package) Cole Slaw Mix  (omitted)
• ½ cups Chopped Carrots
• ½ whole Red Pepper
• 5 whole Large Green Onions, Thinly Sliced (tops And Bottoms)
• Toasted Sesame Seeds, For Garnish   (omitted)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and place in a large serving bowl.

In a small pot, combine a splash of water, chopped ginger, garlic, tamari/soy sauce, honey, tomato paste, vinegar, sesame oil and hot sauce, whisking until smooth and heated. Pour sauce over noodles and keep warm.

Get all of the remaining ingredients ready for a quick stir-fry.

In an oversized skillet, sautee mushrooms in the butter; remove from the pan, leaving juices behind.

Add the oil and heat over high heat. Add the chicken cubes and stir-fry until browned, about 3 minutes.

Add the cabbage, carrots and bell pepper and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the scallions and toss for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms back in, stir and empty the skillet contents over the noodles. Top with sesame seeds.

note: these directions are hers, i didn't feel like re-typing them. you can probably tell since she used real punctuation and capitalization...


this was pretty quick and easy and had lots of flavor! i'll probably be omitting chicken next time, and using larger, more coarsely chopped vegetables instead. i haven't been eating very much meat lately,  for no particular reason, but as you can see in earlier posts, this week was meat free.

i don't care for large chunks of red meat and really hardly ever eat red meat, unless ground. (or unless i am home and my wonderful momma is making what we like to call "beef tits"  or, for civilized people, beef tips (which you MUST consume with egg noodles.) the only other non-ground red meat i ever eat is pot roast, which must be consumed with white rice. so, you learned something new today--you probably have been eating these dishes wrong your whole life.

you're welcome.

in a nutshell, you will most likely only ever come across chicken or turkey based meat dishes, maybe ground beef or ground sausage occasionally (like in delicious quiche or stuffed peppers!!) and never, ever will you spy a crustacean, arthropod, or other sea dweller, seeing as these creatures are just plain weird and gross.

over the weekend...

chocolate mousse pie
(this is not the actual pie, just an imposter/place holder)

i am planning to make this glorious dessert, recipe courtesy of my bff's momma, melody bachman of The Pampered Chef.

it is the most delicious thing i could dream of, and while I normally only make it for special occasions, (because there are many people around for those, ensuring i do not eat the whole thing myself) i am here in snowy (again, eww! come on spring!) cold grey ohio and i need something to brighten my spirits and cushion my waistline. i mean hey, i don't want my workouts to become ineffective due to a lack of fattening desserts--i need a challenge!

debating on whether to make this in ramekins or in a pie plate. hmmm.  recipe and real picture to follow!

need to come up with some other yummy ideas, as the weekend is the best time to cook!

3.10.11

stuffed shells

for tonight's quick dinner, i used the left over pizza sauce from my margherita pizzas and the ricotta mixture is basically the same from the ricotta toasts--i'll explain:

you will need:

    about 2 cups leftover pizza sauce, or tomato sauce of your choice
    1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of its juices (use paper towels to squeeze it out)
    10 jumbo pasta shells (roughly...i just threw some in, enough for dinner and lunch tomorrow. i have extra)
    1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese (none of these measurements are precise, just eyeball it)
    1 bunch fresh basil, julienned
    1 egg (you don't need this, i threw it in because many recipes call for it)
    1/2 tsp kosher salt
    1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
    1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (this allowed me to use my mircoplane grater for the first time, and i must say its the beginning of a lusty affair)


preheat that oven to 350.

boil your shells for about 11 minutes, whatever the box says really. mine said 11.

 drain them and set them aside.

 heat up your sauce of choice in a saucepan (just to warm through, you aren't cooking it) and stir in about half the spinach, give or take. or omit it if you aren't a spinach person...i won't judge.

mix up the ricotta, parmesan, egg, basil, salt, pepper, and about 1/2 the spinach in a bowl.

now find an oven safe dish large enough for all those shells, and spread a little sauce in the bottom to keep the pasta from sticking. one at a time, cup the shells in your hand and spoon the ricotta mix inside, and gently lay in the dish. don't get crazy and over stuff them, you dont want it all oozing out in the oven. i had one extra shell, so i threw it out. you just have to kind of guess the noodle-to-filling ratio. (i'm a pattern maker not a mathematician, and although i realize repeat pattern is very complex and mathematical at times....i don't care. just go for it! no one is watching, channel julia child)

anyway, once the stuffing and placing is done, spoon the rest of the sauce over the shells and put the pan in the oven. (if you're feeling really crazy you could top it with some fresh mozz before you bake, why i didnt do this i dont know, it sounds delicious in retrospect.)

bake about 25 minutes or so and eat!


this is strictly an opinion, but i think a good double chocolate milano appetizer and (yes, and) dessert couple beautifully with the delicate and subtle fruit notes of this dish....or some fancy talk like that.

3.5.11-3.8.11

margherita pizza

saturday

you will need:

    one pizza crust/ingredients for pizza dough
    one 28 oz can whole tomatoes, crushed with your fingers (or hey, use crushed or diced
    tomatoes instead)
    2 tb olive oil
    5 cloves of garlic, more or less according to your taste
    1/2 tsp kosher salt
    1/2 tsp oregano
    8 oz ball fresh mozzarella
    fresh torn basil


preheat oven to 500 degrees. you absolutely want to use a pizza brick/baking stone for this. throw it in and let it heat up with the oven. let the oven preheat for a good 30 minutes to ensure it is hot enough

prepare your favorite pizza dough in advance or just get out your ready made crust.

(note: if you are using fresh dough, place it on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel/cookie sheet. cornmeal slides more easily than flour)

add olive oil to a pan, heat to medium and saute garlic for 1 minute or so.

add tomatoes, salt and oregano, bring to a boil for a minute and then allow the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes.

evenly spread tomato sauce on to dough/crust. cover pizza with slices of delicious fresh mozzarella, and go ahead and snag a bite or two for yourself.

gently jiggle pizza dough onto super hot stone. (or just slide the crust on, the dough requires more finesse)

bake for 12 ish minutes, keep an eye on it. i like my cheese to be a little brown--use your judgement. unless you use dough you can't really underbake it, if using fresh dough just make sure the edges are golden and crispy looking.

allow it to cool for a good 5 minutes or so to let the juices in the sauce settle, or it will leak everywhere making your crust soggy (unless you inhale your pizza in seconds, which is feasible.) throw some fresh torn basil on top and cut, enjoy!

note 2: the sauce recipe makes enough for 2-4 pizzas, depending on size. alter other ingredients accordingly, or use left over sauce on pasta, or potentially the recipe below.

ricotta toasts with sauteed vegetables

monday

you will need:

    some type of delicious, bakery bread. you don't want to skimp. thick slices of an italian loaf work    well, i used half a mini ciabatta loaf, which was delicious
    1 zucchini, diced
    1/2 carton button mushrooms, chopped
    1 clove garlic, pressed
    1 tb olive oil
    4 plum tomatoes, chopped
    handful fresh basil, julienned (roll the leaves up tightly and slice thinly)
    1 c part skim ricotta cheese
    1/4 c freshly grated parmesan (again, you don't want to skimp, use the good stuff, or the not bottled stuff anyway)
    half a ball (4 oz) fresh mozzarella, sliced


preheat oven to 450

pour olive oil in pan and heat to medium, add garlic and saute 1 minute or so. throw in zucchini and mushrooms, saute until softened, a few minutes. you'll be able to tell. add tomatoes and sprinkle in a 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper. saute until tomatoes are warmed through--2 or 3 minutes.

add the grated parmesan, sliced basil, dash of salt and 1/4 tsp pepper with ricotta and stir to combine.

spread a thick layer of the ricotta mixture on to slices of bread (note: i used mini ciabatta loaves, about 6 inches long. i sliced one in half and had this for dinner twice. all the ingredients keep well and reheat beautifully for the next day, so just make as many as you will eat. basically...i always have leftovers.)

use a slotted spoon (to reduce juices) to spoon veggie mixture ontop of ricotta, and then top with mozzarella cheese. bake for about 10-12 minutes. keep an eye on it. i like my cheese a little browned and bubbly, my bread crispy and toasty.

this is such a simple dish that you really want to have wonderful ingredients, from experience i know skimping turns out badly.


   

macaroni and cheese with pureed squash

tuesday


you will need:

    8 oz macaroni (i like cavatappi, the corkscrew pasta)
    2 tb butter
    2 tb flour (i like Wondra, for gravies, sauces--it won't clump)
    2 cups milk
    2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
    1/2 tsp kosher salt
    1/2 tsp black pepper
    1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on your tastes)
    one 10-12 oz package frozen pureed squash, thawed.


preheat to 400 degrees.

bring water to a boil, cook pasta according to package directions. drain and set aside--do not rinse.

melt butter in saucepan on medium low heat, sprinkle in flour and whisk to thicken roux. let this mixture do its thing for a bit, allowing it to turn a beigey color.

gradually stir in milk, whisking to combine. let the sauce thicken between pours, and once all combined allow to simmer (whisking constantly) until thick. for me this usually takes anywhere from 10-15 minutes on medium high heat.

once milk mixture is thickened, add seasonings (salt, pepper, cayenne) and stir in squash. fold in thoroughly, and sprinkle the cheese in, stirring until melted.

pour sauce over cooked pasta, evenly coating all noodles. transfer the macaroni to an oven-safe dish, and bake for 15 minutes until bubbly. (at this stage you can sprinkle the top with extra cheese and breadcrumbs)