Sweet Oven Lovin'

Chicken Fingers Two Ways: Part One

2010-03-08T12:41:00.000-05:00

We all get our food cravings, right. Well when I get my cravings nothing will satisfy my palate...nothing, until I get what it is I'm after. Hubby enjoys his cookies, but for me (at least for now) it's all about the fried food. I don't know what it is, hopefully just a phase (for my waste line's sake) but it's going strong. My cure? Chicken fingers, who doesn't love a good ol' finger now and again?!

I love chicken fingers (only once in a while) because they are so simple. They cook super quick, go with a variety of sides and dips and are just as good cold the next day with a little mayo, lettuce and tomato slapped betwixt two pieces of bread (drool). And, as if that weren't enough to sell you on the deal, they are completely customizable. This recipe for extra crispy chicken fingers was made using an actual recipe but I promise you can make them yours (more on how to improvise your fingers later).

I like to start with fresh skinless, boneless chicken breasts and cut them down to size, as opposed to using the packaged tenders. I usually cut them about an inch wide by the length of the breast. Side note: if you're not into chicken breast just substitute with chicken parts. So what could be easier than tossing chicken strips into an egg bath then coating them in flour? Nothing I tell you (ok so next to nothing). So break out your shortening, or veggie oil, and let's cook!

Extra Crispy Chicken Fingers (adapted from Joy of Cooking)

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 breasts), cut into 'fingers'

2 eggs

1/2 C milk

3 tsp salt, divided

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

1 tsp black pepper

2-3 inches veggie oil or shortening

In a shallow dish (I use a pie dish) combine eggs, milk and 1 tsp salt.

In another shallow dish combine the flour, remaining salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a deep heavy pot while you're preparing the chicken.

Toss the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, then remove to the egg dish and turn until thoroughly moistened. One at a time, remove the chicken from the egg mixture, allowing the excess to drip off. Roll in the flour mixture again until completely coated.

Slip each piece into the hot oil. Fry for about 8 minutes, turning the pieces several times with tongs. Remove the pieces to a paper towel lined tray.
Serve with BBQ sauce, or honey, or ranch, or...you get the picture.

Mushroom Orzo Pilaf

2010-03-03T13:15:00.000-05:00

Once in a while Hubby winds up working late and doesn't make it home in time for dinner. And while I do miss him to pieces, I embrace those nights with open arms! This gives me one night to test a new recipe that I know he would never even consider consuming. Usually it's something with a new cheese or lots of veggies, because these are things he hates. I would have to say that the top most hated vegetable of his is the mushroom...any and all. I won't even get into his reasoning because it is that rediculous, but I never use them in a dish when he's eating dinner with us. Needless to say, mushrooms are on the top of the list for my once-in-a-while-whatever-I-want dinners.

This week I broke out a full tub of baby bellas (baby portobellos) for dinner. I am not shy of mushrooms and in this recipe I used double the amount. Simple, everyday ingredients are thrown together to mingle - and mingle they do. The onion became sweet and tender and the mushrooms turned out perfect and earthy. This recipe brought together my two favorite ingredients, pasta and mushrooms, so of course I couldn't resist. I looked forward to this dinner for days, tasting it's yummyness before I even cooked it up.

I ate enough to serve three people (I wish I was joking) and I'd gladly nibble at the rest for lunch tomorrow. This was the first time I had ever cooked orzo and it reminded me of a much quicker, less expensive risotto. Seeing as I can't resist a good risotto, this meal has quickly earned it's spot in my personal recipe book. I have to note here that I did not include fresh parsley in my dish. I went outside with scissors in hand only to find that my parsley has completely died off. Not wanting to ruin the perfectly blended flavors with dried stale parsley, I simply left it out but recommend adding it yourself if you can.

Orzo Pilaf with Mushrooms (adapted from Bon Appetit; Best Pastas, Vol. One)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bellas and doubled the amount, which turned out about a 50/50 ratio of mushrooms to pasta, mmm)
2 C low-sodium chicken stock
1 C orzo pasta
2 Tbsp fresh minced parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Stir in orzo; reduce heat to med-low. Cover and simmer until orzo is tender and has absorbed all liquid, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve Immediately.

FYI: Similar to the way I finish my risotto, I added a tablespoon of butter at the end and stirred in a good helping of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. If you do add the cheese, do it before you season with salt and adjust as needed.

Beer Cupcakes, It's A Date

2010-03-01T20:25:00.002-05:00

It's March, and you know what that means - hellloooo St. Patrick's Day. That means that pretty soon we all get to be Irish for a day. It's a magical thing that happens once every year, a day when we all enjoy green eggs for breakfast, Irish soda bread for snack and green beer for dinner, errr well you know. And to get this party kick started I've whipped up some beer cupcakes for you. They're not green, but they're made with Guinness, which is of course the best selling alcoholic drink of all time in Ireland...so that counts.

My husband said 'I don't know Hun'. My sister (hugs) said 'I don't know Ree'. But that sweet little voice inside my head said 'Do it, do it - beer. cupcakes. do it'. How can I say no to the sweet little voices? So of course I did it, and I'm glad I did, mmmm.

I'm not much of a beer chick, 'specially not the dark type that'll put hair on one's chest (a.k.a. Guinness) so I was afraid, if even for a minute, that these would be a little overwhelming. My Perfect Little Helper was right there with me, mixing and getting her hands dirty so naturally I couldn't tell her we were putting beer in the batter. Just didn't think it would sound too great on Monday morning when she'd be all set to tell everyone she had beer cupcakes...that could get hairy, so we called it 'liquid' - and she was mystified, mission complete. The batter came together very easily, a 2 bowl wonder, and you have to love that.

Gosh, they look so festive already now don't they. The original plan was to top these with a cream cheese frosting but that made these so sweet it ruined them (gasp) I said it - the frosting ruined the cupcake. The thing is, these gorgeous little suckers turned out so rich and decadent and not overly sweet that I didn't want to mast that with a mound of sugar. So instead I dusted the top with powdered sugar - perfect.

Beer Cupcakes (original recipe at foodnetwork.com)

3/4 C unsweetened cocoa

2 C sugar
1 C all purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 bottle beer *at room temp* (I used an 11.2 oz bottle of Guinness Draught)
1 stick butter, melted
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 muffin cups with liners (I got 18 full size cupcakes plus 24 mini cupcakes).
In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flours & baking soda.

In another large bowl, combine the beer *at room temp*, melted butter & vanilla. Beat in eggs until well combined. Mix in sour cream until smooth and incorporated. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

Divide the batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake about 24 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before turning out.

You may frost as desired but I found these perfect with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Guinness Beer Cupcakes

I'll Show You Mine...

2010-02-26T15:41:00.001-05:00

So I feel like after 3 months we should take our relationship to the next level. Well wait now, don't leave, hang around -- I just want to show you guys my pantry. It's no gem, but I thought it'd be a bit of fun. You see, a while ago I found The Perfect Pantry who does this Saturday segment on scoping out other people's pantries. Of course, since I'm such a ~~nosey~~ curious person, I fell in love right away! But it's not entirely fair for me to have all the fun, so now I'm stepping up and letting you all sneak a peek at my cozy little nook in the laundry room.

To start, my top shelf is dedicated to cereal. I'm a bit of a cereal freak...no kidding, I could eat it morning noon and night and be a happy gal - if only Hubby were so open minded. And thanks to the awesome people at General Mills and MyBlogSpark I was able to stock that shelf up! Back in January they sent me some amazing VIP coupons to try out some fabulous General Mills cereals. This was the first time ever that I tried Chex (I bought the Honey Nut kind) and oh my goodness oh my goodness - I'm hooked. But enough about my favorite meal of the day, moving on.

The second shelf usually holds various boxed staples, such as barley, tea, tortillas, syrup, etc. I say usually because...well things tend to get a bit shuffled when you ignore your household organizational duties. Eh, it happens. (see how I have to hide the chocolate in the pantry, out of sight out of mind folks).

The bottom shelf is for canned goods and small stockpiles. For example, I have enough Kraft BBQ sauce to last me until next summer - no kidding. Mayo, tomato paste, flour - nothing fancy. And on the floor I keep over flow items and my re-usable grocery bags. In the back left corner I have my stash of dishwasher tabs to assure my hands stay soap free for at least another year, ahhh the simple things!

Now next to my stove I have everything that I use on a regular basis. Bottom shelf is savory spices, salt and sugar (hey, how'd those kisses get there?!). The middle shelf I keep baking spices, chocolate chips, sprinkles, cupcakes cups...you know, all the fun stuff. And the top shelf holds the pasta maker I used once, ok maybe twice and the flour and bulk spices.

Well I hoped you enjoyed your little tour of my ~~mess~~ errr, pantry. Care to share yours? (remember how nosey I am!).

Peachy Peach Pancakes

2010-02-22T06:27:00.002-05:00

Ahhhh, National Pancake Day is only 1 day away and I'm so excited (as if you couldn't already tell)! We've already gotten ourselves started with the basic pancake mix that's hanging on our counters. Then we covered a fun and sweet lemon poppy seed pancake, de-lic-ious! We even threw in some simple syrup recipes to round it all out. And now I'll share with you my Perfect Little Helper's favorite pancakes; peachy peach pancakes. They are...well they're peachy, and super yummy!

I really only stumbled upon this recipe when I had an abundance of peaches lying around. Not wanting them to go to waste I figured making pancakes with them would be the perfect way to use them up, since the pancakes can in turn be frozen and enjoyed for weeks to come! Besides, who doesn't like a breakfast-for-dinner night once in a while?! What - it's National Pancake Day not National Pancake Morning so go ahead and set the dinner table! The great thing about making these for dinner, besides the bursting freshness of the ripe fruit, is that they're super quick - like all pancakes they whip up in a pinch.

There's something so summery and happy about bright orange peaches. I loved pulling out a few to pop in the toaster when the weather is nippy, summer in 60 seconds! The pancake itself is quite mild, not very sweet at all, so I went ahead and served these with some buttery syrup on top of the sliced peaches. The sweetness of the maple and the tartness of the peaches worked in perfect harmony.

When you can see the little fruity lumps in the batter you know it's going to be a juicy pancake!

Aren't they just so cute?! ~~I have to admit though, not~~ all of my pancakes turn out this perfect lookin!. With that precise crispiness around the edge and the gorgeous golden glow...I'm so not drooling right now...don't know what you're talking about...

HA! Now you're the one drooling. Ok, go on. Go make 'em and tell me they're not a good one to add to the list, I dare you.

Peachy Peach Pancakes (adapted from bettycrocker.com...again)
1 C whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
3/4 C milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp veggie oil
1/2 C peaches, diced (if you don't have fresh you can substitute canned, drained peaches)
1/2 C peaches, sliced (optional, I used as a topping with some butter-maple syrup)

Beat the egg in a large bowl until fluffy. Whisk in all of the remaining ingredients, except the peaches, just until smooth. Stir in the diced peaches.

Grease and heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat.
Pour slightly less than 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto hot skillet. Cook until bubbles begin to form on top and the pancake is puffed and dry around the edges. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown.

Top with sliced peaches and some syrup as you'd like.

Peach

You Want Some Syrup With That?

2010-02-21T08:57:00.001-05:00

If you givce a kid a pancake, chances are they're going to ask you for some syrup! I tend to get bored of plain old maple syrup so these two recipes are perfect to change it up a bit at the breakfast table. Serve these along with any pancakes you whip up and you're sure to have a happy crowd. This first recipe for lemon honey 'syrup' goes wonderfully with any pancake variety. Whether it's blueberry, whole wheat or lemon poppy seed pancakes this is a great match.

Lemon Honey Syrup (thanks to bettycrocker.com)

1 C clover honey
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
Mix the honey and lemon slices in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally until thoroughly heated. Remove lemon before serving.
(see how easy that was?!)
*FYI* This is delicious both warm and cold.

The next 'syrup' is chock full of blueberry flavor, accented by a hint of orange - yum. I would have been happy with a little more orange juice in this recipe, but it worked wonderfully and the flavors are bright and fresh.

Blueberry Orange Syrup (adapted from bettycrocker.com)

3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp orange juice
1/4 tsp orange zest (I used the zest of half a small orange)
2 C fresh or frozen (unsweetened) blueberries

Stir everything but the blueberries together in a medium saucepan until smooth. Stir in the blueberries. Heat to bubbling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nice and thick. Serve warm.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

2010-02-19T09:31:00.001-05:00

Only a few days left before National Pancake Day (hope you've all been preparing)! With the day getting nearer I wanted to share with you a couple of my favorite pancake recipes. The first one is a lemon poppy seed pancake. One of my favorite sweet treats is a lemon poppy seed muffin, so when I saw this recipe for the pancakes I just couldn't pass it up.

When I first started preparing for N.P.D. I started browsing around for some new, interesting pancake recipes. I have to be honest...pancakes don't normally give me a great thrill. When they're made like this, however, I could eat them everyday (ok maybe not every day, but a lot).The first place I started was bettycrocker.com because I knew she was bound to have something that would catch my eye.

The things I loved about this recipe were that I already had all of the ingredients and they were different and stood out (and the lemons...and the poppy seed). This is certainly one to add to the cookbook, a great Sunday rotation indeed. I urge you, go get a lemon, and poppy seeds if you don't have them already, and squeeze away. Mmmmm, you'll be delighted you did, plus lemons just look so happy! Go on, get started and enjoy!

Look at all the poppies, they're sooo cute! And there they are, all lemon-y and poppy-y. Goodness can you even stand it?!

Does it get any better than that? Light and fluffy and sweet. Go...go now, cook.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes (adapted from bettycrocker.com)

2 C basic pancake mix

2 Tbsp sugar

1 C sour cream

1/2 C milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp poppy seeds (don't skimp!)

zest of 1 lemon
juice of half a lemon

2 eggs

Heat and grease a griddle or large skillet. In medium bowl mix all ingredients until blended.

Pour slightly less than 1/4 cup of batter onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles appear and edges are dry. Turn and cook until golden brown on the other side.

Serve with lemon-honey syrup and enjoy!

*FYI* These freeze remarkably well. Just lay them in flat layers separated by wax paper and freeze. When ready to cook simply pop them right into the toaster and you're good to go!

National Pancake Day, Are You Ready?

2010-02-17T10:15:00.000-05:00

Well we're only days away from National Pancake Day (at least according to IHOP), February 23rd. It's true, and I've been preparing for the day. I'm no pancake fiend, I just wanted to offer you guys some of my favorite recipes so you too can celebrate. Ohhh come on, I know I'm not the only one who celebrates food holidays (seriously...you do too, right??). So I figured I'll get us started with a basic pancake mix that you can make big-batch style so it's ready when you are. That's right, your very own pancake mix, say good-bye to Bisquick because this is sooo simple (and much tastier seeing as how it won't be sitting on a grocer's shelf for a year...or so).

I found a recipe that worked great for me, took it and multiplied it by a kajillion. You can store the mix in an airtight container for a super long time in the fridge. When you're ready for some yummy pancakes all you have to do is measure out to a single batch and you're good to go, it's that easy!

A little sneaky peeky into some lemon poppy seed pancakes...I'm such a teaser!

Ok so there's not much to it, now get flipping. And I want to see what all of you are making come National Pancake morning (I'm not kidding, don't disappoint me).

Basic Pancake Mix

8 C all purpose flour
1 C sugar
3 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp salt

Whisk all of the ingredients together to evenly distribute. Place in a large airtight container and store until ready to use (I have stored it at room temp, but I suggest storing a larger batch in the refrigerator to preserve freshness).

When you're ready to cook:

Combine 2 cups pancake mix with 1 1/2 cups milk, 3 eggs and 3 Tbsp melted butter (Optional - I often leave the butter out, but it's nice once in a while). I also usually add 1 tsp vanilla extract, but that's just what I like so it too is optional.

Grease and heat large skillet or griddle with non-stick cooking spray or butter. When the skillet is hot enough add 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Flip when bubbles appear at the top (about 2-3 minutes) and the bottom is golden brown. Flip and repeat until golden brown on the other side.

NOTES: Only flip each pancake once. The second side will cook in half the time the first side cooked, so keep an eye on it. And of course, this is just a basic recipe - experiment away and enjoy!

Gorilla Bread, Where It All Began

2010-02-14T18:31:00.000-05:00

There was once a time when Hamburger Helper was my 'homemade meal'. I really can't remember cooking very much...ok at all, until hubby and I moved out of our "bachelor pad" and got pregnant. I think one day it just clicked that real people cook real food all the time. I remember the very first time I watched The Food Network. The first show I watched was Paula's Home Cooking and it was love at first sight. Usually hubby rules the remote, but whenever I got a chance I had The Food Network on. This was my awakening, my kitchen calling, and I was hooked.

One of the very first Paula episodes I watched was the one where she made her Gorilla Bread. At first I thought, heart-a-ttack, but when hubby suggested we give it a go I wasn't protesting! The recipe wasn't daunting at all, with ingredients like canned biscuits and cream cheese, easy peasy. I gathered what I needed, which conveniently enough is usually stuff that I have on hand, and set to it. This is an ideal beginner's recipe for a home baked dish. It comes together in a snap, doesn't require any exotic ingredients and is large enough for a hungry family. The recipe is super versatile too, if you don't have light brown sugar use dark, substitute butter biscuits for the regular if that's all you have (and don't realize it until after you come home from the store with everything BUT the buttermilk biscuits!).

So if this whole baking thing is new to you then give this Gorilla Bread a whirl, you'll be glad you did...until you eat half of it in one sitting...what, just me?!

Gorilla Bread (adapted from Food Network)

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese (I used Neufchatel)
2 (12 oz/10 ct) cans refrigerated biscuits (I used half buttermilk, half butter flavored, but feel free to substitute here)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes.

Flatten each biscuit out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar mixture. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit and wrap the dough around the cream cheese, sealing all edges.

Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with several tablespoons of cinnamon sugar. Pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar and pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

Peanut Butter Cookies, Thank Goodness!

2010-02-08T18:46:00.000-05:00

Is it just me or does everyone have that "thank goodness" food that they look forward to? It could be a thank goodness that's over with or thank goodness I saved room for this. Lately I've been in my 'thank goodness it's almost summer' phase where I've been preparing as many meals with fruit as I can get away with. The other day hubby was having one of those days, you know - when everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Since I was home that day and I knew it was a thank-goodness-this-day-is-fi nally-over day I threw together his favorite snack, peanut butter cookies.

I've never been much of a peanut butter fan, I think it may have something to do with watching my younger brother eat it by the spoonful when we were young...ick. Or it could have something to do with its oily heavy goo of an existence...either way, it's not often used in my kitchen. When hubby found these cookies on the Betty Crocker website he fell in love, he had to have them (literally that day, no kidding). So I toughened up and bought a jar of Skippy. I was surprised at just how simple this dough is to whip together, even when I ignored the specific instruction to "cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm" (ok, side confession here, I hate doughs that need to be chilled and I will avoid this step if at all humanly possible).

These adorable little nibbles are sweet and simple and not too overpowering (plus they're just so cute!). I usually just use a tablespoon to measure out the normal sized cookies, but for My Perfect Little Helper I use a teaspoon and they turn out perfectly sized for a quick snack.

Peanut Butter Cookies (adapted from bettycrocker.com)

1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C packed brown sugar (I use dark)
1/2 C peanut butter
1/4 C shortening
1/4 C margarine, softened
1 egg
1 1/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

In large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed, beat sugars, peanut butter, shortening, margarine and egg. Reduce speed to low, slowly add in the remaining ingredients.

**This is where she recommends covering and chilling for 2 hours, do so if you wish...I just chose not to!**

Heat oven to 375F.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls (I used a standard tablespoon). Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten in criss-cross pattern with a fork dipped into sugar.

Bake 9-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on pan; remove from cookie sheets and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

FYI: I had some extra chocolate chips in the pantry, so with the last batch I made chocolate peanut butter cookie sandwiches by melting the chocolate and sticking two cookies together, mmmmm.

How To Make Soft Pretzels

2010-02-01T08:07:00.002-05:00

The perfect cure for a gloomy Sunday afternoon is a day in the kitchen. Today was that kind of day, so when hubby suggested making some homemade soft pretzels I didn't protest. I have had fresh soft pretzels on my list of must-make-in-my-lifetime for quite a while now, honestly I don't know why I've waited so long. Yes, the recipe requires some time dedication but it's not all that difficult really.

Of course I probably wouldn't be calling this easy if it weren't for my mixer, yes I've been spoiled. Even though it's not the end of the world, I'm always glad to hand the ten-minute-kneading over to Mrs. KitchenAid. So aside from the kneading this is a piece of pie; mix the dough, rest - beat the dough, rest - twist the dough, rest...see nothing to it!

There's something about the smell of homemade dough (any type really) that just melts my heart, ahhhh. So when I started at 11:30 I knew it was going to be a full day spent in the kitchen, but I don't mind when it smells this good! The twisting of the dough wasn't so difficult, although I couldn't master that professional twist technique that the Amish seem to be born with. My Perfect Little Helper even joined in and pinched the legs for me, we had a blast!

There were some many pictures to take, I chronicled a step-by-step guide for us all. But alas, this is not a picture book (so sad for me) so I will show you my last few. With a dozen pretzels I was able to get creative. I made 3 with sea salt, 3 with cinnamon sugar, 3 with garlic and parmesan seasoning and 3 plain (for those boring folks in the house, you know who you are). I couldn't wait for them to cool before I gobbled a nibble of each and every one (except the plain...pretty sure it was rather dull). And I was so excited they actually tasted like real pretzels, which is always a plus when that's what you're aiming for.

Soft Pretzels (from the Joy of Cooking)

1 C warm water (105-115F), divided
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 C bread flour
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8 C water (for boiling)
2 Tbsp 1 tsp baking soda

In large bowl of stand mixer add the yeast and 1/2 cup warm water. let stand about 5 min or until dissolved. Add the flours, butter, sugar and salt. Mix on low speed while slowly adding the remaining 1/2 cup warm water.

Knead with dough hook attachment for about 10 minutes on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more water or flour as needed. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1-1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. On an unfloured surface, roll each piece into a ball. Loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Grease 2 baking sheets. Roll each ball into an 18 inch long rope. To form the pretzels, lift the ends of the strip of dough so they meet and form an oval, but do not join the ends. Lift them and twist around each other about 3 inches from the end. Gently press the ends into the dough on each side.

Place pretzels on baking sheets, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 35 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F. Bring the 8 cups of water and baking soda to a boil in a big pot or deep skillet. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Using a slotted spoon, gently slide several pretzels at a time into the water. Simmer for 30 seconds, then flip and repeat another 30 seconds. Return to the greased baking sheets.

Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice (go on and get creative!). Bake about 15 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Blueberry Upside-Down Loaf Cake

2010-01-28T09:59:00.001-05:00

During the warmer months, we have a door-to-door peanut salesman (I kid you not) who pays regular visits to the office. On any normal day I would just direct him to the back to bug the guys, seeing as how I have little need for a 2 pound bag of peanuts. One morning though, he happened to wander by when my boss was in the office, a rare moment really, but his timing was spot on. I thought for sure boss-man would have a fit and order the man never to return, but it went quite the opposite really. Having little reservations about spending $5 for a pint of berries, (I would never) my boss went ahead and grabbed six bins from the man!

I don't think my boss quite realized what he had done until it was far too late. Being the good always-there-for-you employee that I am, I offered to take two pints off his hands for him. It's not that I'm such a fan of the tart little buggers but I can't pass up free produce, nor can I bare to see it go to waste. So home I went with two uber ripe ready to eat containers of fresh blueberries. I knew right away that one of the bins would be solely dedicated to a massive batch of mini blueberry pancakes that My Perfect Little Helper loves so much (they're fantastic really because they're so simple to make and they freeze up beautifully for quick weekday breakfasts). The other container had no home, no purpose in the fridge (yet) so I threw it into the freezer.

Obviously I knew I couldn't serve the frozen berries as "fresh" fruit and with blueberry season far behind us it was no surprise I just had to bake something with the cute little guys now, when I'm craving warm sunshine and sand between my toes. While thumbing through an issue of Cooking Pleasures Magazine, I caught a glimpse of a cherry upside down cake and knew that was the one. It screamed blueberry (even though it said cherry, it couldn't fool me) and in that very instant the remaining pint was out of the freezer and thawing over an open bowl. I have to say, this recipe was merely an inspiration as I have adjusted it so drastically it hardly resembles the original. I promise you though, it's a success and you'll never miss what was typed on those pages.

Blueberry Upside-Down Loaf Cake (inspired by Cooking Pleasures Magazine)

Cake:
1 C all purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 C butter; softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 egg
1/3 C sour cream

Berries:

2 Tbsp butter
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 pint blueberries (about 1 1/2 C, fresh or frozen & thawed)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a glass loaf pan, set aside. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt 1/4 C brown sugar with 2 Tbsp butter for 30-60 seconds or until thick and bubbly, stir halfway through. Stir in cinnamon. Pour into prepared baking dish and top with blueberries.

Whisk flour, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes on medium-high. Add egg and blend well. At low speed beat in flour in three parts alternating with sour cream just until smooth, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Gently spoon the batter over the berries and smooth. Bake 45-50 min or until cake is golden brown, a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and cake springs back when gently pressed.

Cool on wire rack 15 minutes. Run knife around edges of cake to release from pan. Invert onto cake platter.

Serve with fresh whipped cream or a nice scoop of ice cream and it just screams summer!

Spaghetti With Garlic and Lemon

2010-01-22T07:52:00.003-05:00

I have to admit, I'm really not enjoying this whole winter thing. I hate waking up shivering and seeing my breath in the air, ugh. And I'm not hiding the fact that I'm desparately trying to hold onto every ray of sunshine that I can get. Ok, I may be juuuust a little dramatic on the subject - it's not like we're seeing snow... I guess since moving to South Carolina I've become thin-skinned. Who am I kidding, I've always been a baby when it comes to being cold. I would much rather be starving than cold, but lucky for me I don't have to settle for either...not just yet at least.

This dish just screams (ever so subtly) it's summer - even when it's not. It's light and fresh and the perfect go-to when you're craving a not-so-heavy meal on a not-so-cool day. I urge you though, don't save this until next summer rolls around because it's that good. When I first found this recipe several years ago I hated it. In fact, I only made it because hubby ~~begged~~ asked me to. And even when I hated it more after I cooked, it he still ~~begged~~ asked me to put it in the keeper cookbook. And for some strange reason, that night I actually listened to the man (I know, odd right?!). Needless to say, the next time I cooked it I had zero expectations.

I don't know if perhaps, just maybe, I might have screwed up the first time I made it. I mean anything is possible right, not that I screw up often in the kitchen (HA!). The second time, and each there after, I love love loved this recipe more and more. It has turned into a perfect simple quick-fix meal. The other thing that's fabulous about this recipe is that I always have everything I need on hand. I always have garlic and there's a very rare occasion when I don't have at least one lemon within reach (you don't even have to ask about pasta, I'm an addict - it's true). So here's to light, quick & simple, summer-y even when it's not dishes that I crave oh so much when the temperature drops to the threatening 60s. Enjoy it, summer or not!

Spaghetti With Garlic & Lemon

1 lb spaghetti (or pasta of your choice)
4 garlic cloves, minced (I use 5 because garlic never hurt anybody)
1/2 C olive oil
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1/3 C fresh parsley, chopped (I often sub in dried parsley to taste)
1/2 freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy water, drain pasta and return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over moderate heat. Add garlic and cook just until it begins to get golden (3-4 min) but don't burn it (yuck). Stir in the zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Bring to simmer and cook 5 minutes.

Toss pasta and parsley in with the sauce, adding more pasta water if needed. Top with parmesan and serve hot.

Oooo So Cute Mini Banana Cupcakes

2010-01-20T21:48:00.001-05:00

Several months ago I found Miss Bakerella while browsing around the blogosphere and I haven't been able to get her off my mind. She has the most adorable, most pinch-your-cheeks little creations...I could just eat them up. So, being totally inspired by her work, I just had to whip up a batch of cupcakes. I had bananas aging quite rapidly on the counter so I took the lead with her banana cupcake idea and ran with it. Of course the only thing that makes a pretty dessert better for me is a mini version of it (ooo so cute!) and since I had just bought a new bag of mini muffin liners I used it as my launching pad. Banana, cupcake, mini - got it.

I already had a yummy banana muffin recipe that I've been using for ages so I used that as my base. I love it because there is no softening of butter (precious moments required when I never seem to have any to spare, hate when that happens) and it instead uses veggie oil. You just whip up the eggs, sugar and oil to begin with and it makes for a super airy fluffy long lasting moist cake. Since I have used this as a breakfast muffin recipe I figured I should bump up the sugar a tiny bit for the dessert factor, but you could probably stick with the original 1/2 cup it calls for.

Of course having My Perfect Little Helper around makes things a lot more fun and adorable! She just loves throwing the peeled bananas into the running (low speed) mixer, it cracks her up - precious! I like to toss in my bananas whole and un-mashed because I like to get little nibbles of them in my baked goods, but feel free to mash yours all you'd like. The other key to a fantastically light and airy cake is the marriage of the wets and dries. Do not, I repeat do not over mix your batter. Pour the wets into the dries and just blend enough to get everything batter-y. Over mixing is a ticket on the fast train to dense cake, and who wants that?!

See how easy that was?! What'd we use, a mixing bowl, whisk (times 2), large bowl and a spoon to pour the batter...gosh, how could you not love this recipe? I went and filled my liners ohhh about 3/4 of the way full, popped them in the oven and eagerly awaited their adorable-ness! It doesn't take long for these little munchkins to bake so I stood by, ready for the moment they called. This recipe took my mini muffin pan twice around the block and worked out perfectly.

If you're not into icing a kajillion (...48) little sweeties you could make this in one regular cupcake tin, for 12 normal people sized cupcakes (boooring, no I'm kidding, it's fine, go ahead).

But why would you want to when you could have this little cutie-pie staring back at you?

Anyway (yes I was staring, you caught me) even though I did use my own banana cupcake batter I totally stole Bakerella's "super smooth and creamy cream cheese buttercream" and I'm glad I did. It was so easy to make, so hard to screw up and tasted so good. No matter what cake recipe you use, use this frosting recipe...trust me, just do it.

Oooo I felt so bad for that lonely little guy forgotten in the background. So I gave him some accessories....then I ate him -- it was love.

Ok I'm done, now go bake.

Banana Cupcakes

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 very ripe bananas (I used medium sized bananas because I like the extra flavor, but you can use 2 small)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 2/3 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or line mini muffin (or regular muffin) tin, set aside.

In a mixing bowl beat together the sugar, eggs and vegetable oil with a whisk attachment. With the mixer on low speed add whole (or mashed) bananas and vanilla extract until bananas are evenly broken up.

In a large bowl mix the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the pan onto a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Cool all cakes completely before icing.

Bakerella's Cream Cheese Frosting
**I only used half of this recipe for my little minis, but in all fairness not all of them lasted long enough to be frosted...soooo I can't say for sure whether or not half is enough.

1/2 C butter, softened
1-8 oz package of Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 lb confectioner's sugar (I didn't use this whole amount, I added it slowly until the frosting was the consistency I wanted)
yellow food coloring (optional, but how could you resist)

Beat butter and neufchatel in a large bowl until creamy and very well combined. Beat in vanilla and first scoop of sugar. Continue adding sugar until you reach the consistency you need. Beat in food coloring if using.

Now go ahead and have fun frosting!

Left Over Lovin': Short-Cut Cheese Ravioli

2010-01-16T21:50:00.001-05:00

I've been keeping up fairly well with this whole pantry challenge thing, which means we've been eating left overs. It's not that we have anything against left overs here, they're just...yuh know, boring after you've just had them. Because no likes a boring dinner I've had to get a little creative in the kitchen. I've previously professed my love for these wonderful little wonton wrappers and I had half a package of these babies threatening to go bad on me if I didn't use them up stat. So tonight we get to enjoy some left over lovin' ravioli.

I originally sandwiched the cheese filling between two wrappers then cut them with my circle biscuit cutter. I made it through about seven ravioli before I threw in the towel on this method and went to the wonton style filling method. The problem with the sandwiching and cutting was that it took sooo long, much longer than I had imagined. It also created a lot of waste and I hate waste...especially of the food variety. So I decided to take one wrapper, stuff it and fold it in half diagonally - voila. This worked perfectly, quickly and wasted nothing.

The filling was a great left over user too. I had some ricotta hanging out on the top shelf, a bag of frozen spinach that has sadly been neglected and tons of shredded cheese in the freezer. I had no plan really, I just started throwing things in a bowl - and it worked (love when that happens)! One container of ricotta would fill the whole batch of wonton wrappers if you carry on with the triangular ravioli method, but this would make an awful lot of pasta. What you can do is layer the filled (uncooked) ravioli on a wax paper lined baking sheet, pop in the freezer for a spell then get them into a heavy duty freezer zipper bag and you'll have them ready for a future meal. When you're ready to cook the frozen batch just pop them (still frozen) into some boiling water and carry on.

And easy as that we have a plate of semi-homemade ravioli ready to be devoured. Enjoy!

Short-Cut Cheese Ravioli

1-15 oz container ricotta cheese

1 C shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 C grated parmesan cheese

1/2 C frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or equal amount fresh, cooked)

1 pkg wonton wrappers - I use Nasoya wrappers

salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine all ingredients (except the wonton wrappers) until thoroughly combined.
Set the wrappers (4 at a time so they don't dry out) on a dry surface and wipe the edges with a finger dipped in water. Place rounded teaspoon of the cheese mixture in the center of each wrapper.
Fold each wrapper in half diagonally pressing the edges together to seal, making sure to press out any air bubbles. Set filled ravioli on a dry plate in a single layer.
*If you're planning on cooking half the batch, now is the time to get the other half chillin' in the freezer*

Add prepared ravioli to boiling water and cook just until the pasta is tender, only about 3-4 minutes. Remove to serving plates and enjoy with sauce of your choice (ours happened to be some tomato-basil cream sauce tonight, yum).

I Heart You Pioneer Woman

2010-01-14T13:23:00.000-05:00

I, like so many others out there in the foodie world, adore Ree a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman. Even if I couldn't physically cook for the rest of my life I would read her recipe posts, because I heart her - I heart you Ree! Visiting Ree's site gives me that welcome-home feeling that I really need every now and again. Anyway, I was on my morning ~~stalk~~ uhhhh...stroll over at the Pioneer Woman and I didn't even stop in on the kitchen because this caught my eye. Can you believe that as awesome as PW is she just keeps getting better?!

So I beg of you, head over to her post - read it (you'll like it, it'll make you feel all warm and cozy inside) then COMMENT!! For every comment posted, Ree herself is going to donate $0.10 to charities helping those effected by the earthquake in Haiti. On top of that, two random commenters will be selected and $500 will be donated to each of their charities of choice...did I tell you she is amazing or what?!

Apple Carrot Orange Muffins, Just For You!

2010-01-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

Today is My Perfect Little Helper's birthday!! It's sort of a bittersweet moment when your baby turns 4, so you'll have to excuse me ~~huddling in the corner weeping~~...being distracted. Since she really wants to go to Apple Bean's (aka Applebees to the rest of the nation) for dinner, we won't be doing cake tonight. So to start off the day on a special note I stuck a candle in a pretty little apple orange carrot mini muffin (which just so happened to fall into the bag of sprinkles...oops!). She loved it and she got to make her wish at the beginning of her day...here's to hoping she wished for a hamster.

So, you want the skinny on these muffins? Of course you do. I had these two apples that were slowly being forgotten on my kitchen counter. Even worse, I had one single large sneaky carrot hiding in the waaaaay back of the crisper. Unable to bear the thought of them losing the battle against decay I was determined to make something with them...together . Well why not, carrots are mild enough and both have just enough sweetness to get along famously. Plus, they're cute and colorful together. See, the science of it all, can't go wrong! And that, my friends, is how apple orange carrot muffins were born (ok, I threw in the orange part, I never have $1.51 oranges sitting long enough to rot...that would be utterly tragic).

A long while back, when we used to be spoiled with farmers' markets and apple picking, I bought a cookbook that highlights "Jersey Fresh" produce. It's one of those cook books that you might see as a fundraiser. You know - the kind with personal recipe submissions a.k.a. NOT American Test Kitchen-ed. So I was a little nervous about buying it because you really never know what you might get (I once had a church cook book that led me in all the wrong directions, just awful). After the first couple of recipe successes (zucchini bread and lemon basil chicken, 'cause I know you were wondering) I decided this book was a keeper.

The recipe I used from this lovely little book was really just a rough guideline. It started with New Jersey's Best Apple Cake and turned into....well you see, apple orange carrot muffins are kinda a long cry from apple cake. Oh well, it worked and that's all that matters! These are a wonderful, naturally sweet treat that I could eat around the clock. They make fantastic breakfast muffins, perhaps even toasted and smeared with a dab, just a dab, of butter. Oh goodness, I may have to make another batch right now...yup I just might.

The end result is a super yummy, moist muffin just packed with flavor - seriously, hold on to your hat...that much flavor.

Apple Orange Carrot Muffins

2 eggs

1 C sugar

1/2 C butter (1 stick), softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 apples - use whatever variety you'd like- peeled & grated (watch that core!)
1 large carrot, peeled & grated
zest of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease or line muffin pan (my batch yielded about 18 muffins).

In small bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time until well blended. Add zest, apples, carrots & vanilla, mix well. Slowly add the flour mixture.

Pour batter into prepared muffin tins until about 3/4 the way full.

Bake 25-30 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Remove to wire rack to cool. And then all you have left to do is enjoy!

Easy Asian Style Chicken Dumplings

2010-01-06T21:37:00.001-05:00

I loooove me some dumplings and I get some pretty serious cravings for Chinese food, cravings like no other. Back when Hubby and I were poor though, we had to sacrifice and improvise. Improvising was really just a nice way of saying we couldn't afford to pay someone else to cook our food...and that was ok, once I figured out how to make it myself. I originally made these dumplings with a dough from scratch (really, it's not as impressive as it sounds) but today these are easy dumplings. You see, now that we're slightly less poor we can indulge in silly little things like wonton wrappers. I looove wonton wrappers - really there's no reason for it, they're cute and convenient and well they make things easy...like dumplings.

This is one of the very first recipes that made it into our keeper cookbook and we really do love it. We love it so much that we're giving it to you so you too can love it! Ok, the meat filling is supposed to be pork but last night I had some ground chicken, so I used that instead (thanks for the suggestion Hubby) and it worked just as well as the pork really. Ok, so here's how make these wonderful little bundles of...meat.

Mix the ground meat of your choice (pork and chicken are great but I don't think I'd use beef) with some soy sauce, oyster sauce and greens onions (feel free to expand here - minced fresh ginger and garlic would be de-lish. Also, if you don't have oyster sauce handy it will be fine substituting with all soy sauce). Do not use salt to season as the sauces are quite salty themselves, even using the low-sodium soy sauce. Then I get a little bowl of water and I set up my assembly line of wonton wrappers. Work with just a few wrappers at a time, I use 4 because they are fickle little suckers and they will dry up on you rather quickly.

Once you have your little army lined up, dip your finger in the water and brush the edges of the wrapper, this will help them seal closed. Fill with rounded teaspoons of the meat mixture. Don't over stuff them, tempting as it may be, or you risk splitting your wrapper during folding...and that's not pretty. Fold over diagonally and press the edges together, trying to squish out any air bubbles that me be cozy-ing up with the filling. Set them on a plate once they're all stuffed.

This is a good time to get these puppies into the hot tub. Boil them about 5 minutes or so until the meat is cooked through - I always tend to cook them an extra minute just because no ones wants to bite into a raw dumpling, eeewy. Usually two batches works out well for me but you don't want to over crowd the pot. And there you have it, perfect little Asian style dumplings mmmmmm.

(they look a little brain-like don't they?! adorable!!)

Easy Asian Style Dumplings

3/4 lb ground chicken (or pork)

1 1/2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 or 2 greens onions, chopped (I usually just use 3-4 scallions, which are a bit smaller than the green onions, but adjust to your tastes)

wonton wrappers - I use Nasoya wrappers and tend to get about 20-25 dumplings out of this recipe, but I just go until I run out of the meat mixture so the amount may vary

optional: minced garlic or ginger

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the chicken, soy sauce, oyster sauce and green onions until thoroughly combined.

Set the wrappers (4 at a time) on a dry surface and wipe the edges with a finger dipped in water. Place rounded teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center of each wrapper.

Fold each wrapper in half diagonally pressing the edges together to seal, making sure to press out any air bubbles. Set filled dumplings on a dry plate in a single layer.

Boil dumplings in batches of about 10 dumplings (don't over-crowd the water) until the meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove to serving plates and enjoy with a dipping sauce of your choice (mine is ranch dressing...hey don't knock it until you've tried it!).

Ten In 10 & Pantry Challenge...You're On!

2010-01-03T17:12:00.001-05:00

This weekend was a great start to the new year. The Christmas things are packed up, house is slightly less cluttered and I took on 2 challenges - yup I did! I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions, they put too much pressure on our already hectic lives and I think we all really tend to set the bar too high for ourselves. But when I read about this Ten In 10 challenge and the Eat From the Pantry Challenge I thought oh I can so do that. So I am, I went and signed up, put my name on paper and now there's no excuse.

My Ten In 10: There are about a kajillion others who have hopped on the wagon and pledged their way to bettering themselves in ten weeks (and beyond of course). Check out Recipe Girl to get in on the action too. Like our host, I'll be posting anything related to the Ten In 10 challenge on the weekends and continue with regularly scheduled programming during the week. If you care to pop in and see how I'm doing with the challenge then come one in, if not - ignore me on the weekends (it's ok, I won't hold it against you). I set three easily acheivable goals (I know, I'm so lazy) and hopefully I can stick to them.

1) I want to cook healthier meals for my whole family. Since they have no choice but to eat what I make I think it will be easy enough to get them to eat healthier if I cook healthier.

2) I am planning to resist the urge to order lunch out at work...even when free lunch makes it sound that much tastier.

3) I'm hoping to get my butt back into a regular exercise routine, mostly walking - ugh, no promises on this one.

On the side, I'd also like to start making dessert a once a week thing rather than once a day...I know - I'm nuts.

My Eat From the Pantry Challenge: With all the junk falling out of my pantry every time I open it, there's really no reason not to take on this challenge. Plus I bet it will be a lot of fun...the whole not having to shop every week thing that is. Yay, I'm excited about this one! I plan to go to the grocery store maybe 2-3 times, this will be for dairy (milk, eggs, ect), fruit and bread. Other than I'll be all set to go, although I sense a lot of pasta in our future. Head over Money Saving Mom to get the skinny on the challenge.

So there you have it. Join in with the rest of us if you're up for a challenge! If you're not into joining then enjoy watching me suffer through it...week after week...

Penne With Chicken, Spinach and Parmesan Cheese Sauce

2009-12-31T20:31:00.002-05:00

I really can't even tell you how many chicken and pasta dishes I have made. It seems like those two items are our trusty dinner go-tos. We really never seem to get tired of the rotation though...ok so never say never, but there's enough variety to keep us happy. It's a very rare occasion that neither of us will be in the mood for a hearty chicken parmesan with spaghetti or lemony chicken francese over linguini. The truth is that there is just so much variety amongst those two ingredients alone that the possibilities are endless.

Truth be told, I'm a sucker for pasta and I'm not picky. I've mentioned before that I'm not a big meat-eater, I could eat pasta every night and be wonderfully happy. I have this mental security that as long as pasta is served along with dinner I know I'll like it -- and if not I can always pick around everything and just eat the noodles! So when I found this recipe I had absolutely no reservations about adding another chicken and pasta dish to our kitchen. And I have definitively concluded that anything with the phrase 'parmesan cheese sauce' just has to be good!

This dish will go into our regular week night rotation because it is just that quick and easy to throw together. The sauce whips up in a snap while the pasta is cooking. By the time I had the pasta drained and back in the pot it was time to toss everything together, and I love it when a plan comes together seamlessy (especially when I spent just a tad too much time browsing the fresh produce section and wound up getting home 20 minutes late). Not only is this recipe a speedy one, but all of the ingredients were on hand, straight forward and nothing special. So I say get to cooking, this one is a plate licker (no I didn't lick my plate, come on now).

Penne with Chicken, Spinach and Parmesan Cheese Sauce (adapted from the Big Book of Easy Suppers)

8 oz penne, or any other pasta you have on hand
2 C cooked chicken breast, cubed
5 oz frozen spinach, thawed and well drained

Parmesan Cheese Sauce

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 C whole milk (I used 2% and had beautiful results)
1/4 C chicken broth
1/4 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C sour cream
pinch of pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot. Stir in chicken and spinach and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until bubbly. Add milk and broth and stir until smooth and thickened, about 2 min. Add the cheese, salt & pepper. Stir until cheese is melted, about 1 min longer. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.

Add hot cheese sauce to pasta pot and toss to blend all ingredients. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately.

FYI: The recipe says it serves 4 but I halved it and it generously fed 2 1/2 with plenty of leftovers.

Why I Shouldn't Grill Inside...Ever

2009-12-29T20:50:00.001-05:00

I don't know why on earth it ever seemed like a good idea to start grilling inside. Why...why did you give me that cast iron grill pan, pretty as it may be? Well folks, indoor grilling has officially been banned at my house. Mainly because we're afraid that the next time I try, the fire department will be knocking on my front door...demanding the grill pan be handed over. I don't think I've ever had one successful grilling experiment inside the walls of this very kitchen. Here are the top reasons why I should be mailing that pan to my sister, first thing in the morning, over-night express.

1) Everything I try winds up taking twice as long to cook as it's supposed to. Then it turns out only half edible...on a good day.

2) I have the world's most sensitive (and loudest b.t.w.) smoke detector...EVER. I'm not kidding, the neighbors know when I'm grilling inside - I think they've become immune to it.

3) In all fairness to the smoke detector, I really can stir up quite a bit of smoke. I'm talking me and Hubby frantically waving dish towels around with all of the windows open...in the middle of the winter. Nooo, I didn't burn dinner again...we're practicing a new dance.

4) It burns...I try to save it and it burns.

Ohhh but on a more positive note, mine turned out perfect (because I take mine off before it has a chance to char)!

5) Lastly - that pan, thick with burnt on marinade goo, will likely remain right where it sits for the next couple of days...or a week.

I smell like smoke, dinner was 3 hours ago...I curse my indoor-grilling-curiosity.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

All of the presents are under the tree and the stockings are stuffed...so am I - Santa can't eat another cookie...well not tonight at least.

Merry Christmas to you and yours from me and mine!

Cocoa Spritz Cookies

2009-12-24T21:45:00.000-05:00

We can't forget about Santa this fine Christmas Eve. My Perfect Little Helper and I whipped up these super simple, super yummy spritz cookies for the jolly ol' fella tonight. I was suuuure Santa didn't want another plain old sugar cookie (not that there's anything wrong with them)... change is nice. Last year (seriously a year ago) hubby got me a Martha Stewart cookie press on clearance at K-Mart. I don't know people, I have no reason why it sat in the baking cupboard for an entire 11 months, it escapes me. But tonight that puppy got broken in, I imagine the whole technique takes a little getting used to, but for my first whirl it wasn't too bad.

(a tired little cookie press, poor thing)

My new favorite thing is baking with cocoa mix. You see, a while back the family and I loaded up the car to go "camping" and while we were there we thought Hmmmm, how super would it be to light a real fire and sip cocoa - so light and sip we did. Turns out a family of 2.5 with only 1.5 cocoa drinkers doesn't quite consume as much cocoa as you'd think in a 4 day stay in a cabin. So the car ride home was 1 box minus 2 packages of cocoa mix heavier. Not wanting it to go to waste I tried using it in the cookie recipes I was testing out this season. Sadly, the first batch - amazing as it was - never survived long enough to be photographed and shared with the world. But don't you worry, because you have these Cocoa Spritz Cookies just for you (and Santa).

So this (cocoa mountain that made the Perfect Little Helper burst into giddy laughter)...

Plus this (ordinary but still delicious spritz cookie base)...

Equals this! Mmmmm, cocoa-y

I love them - I really really love them, which is why it is my duty to share them with you. It may be too late to set these out for Santa but that's no reason to wait to try them. Make them for your Christmas dessert spread, they're so easy you won't sweat adding them on. And if you can't even squeeze them in for Christmas then make them when everyone has left and you finally get to sit down, kick your slippers off and say 'ahhhh'...ok so I recommend making them before you get to kick your feet up. Whichever method you prefer just do it, you'll be happy - I promise!

Cocoa Spritz Cookies

This recipe yields about 40 cookies, I imagine it depends on the size of the cookie press mold. You can simply double the recipe if using this for a cookie exchange or party.

1/2 C (1 stick) butter; softened

1/3 C sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large egg yolks

1 C all purpose flour

2 pkgs cocoa mix (I used the marshmallow lovers variety simply because that's what I had on hand, but I don't recommend it because the mini-mallows kept getting stuck and clogging the disks)

optional: sprinkles for decorating, but keep it simple

Preheat oven to 375F.

Combine the cocoa mix and the flour, set aside.

In bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla until very pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, until thoroughly incorporated.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and beater. On low speed, add cocoa/flour mixture and mix only until all of the dry ingredients are blended. Finish the mixing with a large spatula if needed to prevent over-beating.

Prepare your cookie press and fill it with half of the dough at a time. Press onto ungreased cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart.

Bake about 8 minutes (mine only took 6 min) until edges just start to turn golden.

Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Enjoy!

My Fancy Challah Grilled Cheese

2009-12-23T12:18:00.001-05:00

Not too long ago I decided to make my own homemade challah bread. I was the happiest girl on the block with my fresh fluffy loaf! So after devouring ohhhhh, half the loaf on my own -- I kid you not -- I was determined to find other uses for my bread. Of course you can go the baked french toast route, and why wouldn't you, but I wanted something different. Yes I have to be that difficult.

I prodded around my fridge, looking for inspiration for dinner. I have to tell you, there was little to work with folks, utterly pitiful. I had some sliced baby bella mushrooms, yum, the tail end of a smoked Gouda ball, double yum, and a few remaining slices of Havarti. Separately these things are mmmmmm in my book, but I questioned whether it would be a harmonious marriage. Eh, what did I have to lose?

Oh my my...try it, do it now, you'll be happy you did. The smokyness of the gouda and the mild saltyness of the Havarti....mmmmm - oh and the earthyness of the mushrooms, my goodness. Even though I was simply cleaning out the few remaining goodies in my fridge, I'd easily get all of these items to re-unite them once again and I urge you to do the same.

Not only is this sammy super scrumptious, it's also super simple.

Not-So-Recipe: Saute the mushrooms, which I bought pre-sliced, in a touch of olive oil. Lightly butter the slices of challah (not too thick) on one side and set in a frying pan open-face style over medium heat. Layer the cheese slices, havarti on one slice of bread and gouda on the other, and let them start to melt while the mushrooms are doing their thing. Once the mushrooms are nice and tender, place them over one slice of the bread. As soon as the cheese starts to melt and the bread is nice and golden sandwhich them together. Now you have nothing more to do but savor the gooey goodness!

How To Make An Easy Pie Crust

2009-12-19T20:14:00.001-05:00

I have a confession, I have never really been much of a pie person. The Thanksgiving dessert display of 9 different fruit pies held little appeal to me growing up. For a long time I was repulsed by the thought of soggy fruit soaking in sugary syrup. Soooo I avoided pies for as long a I possibly could. It was only under the persuasive powers of my husband that I ever even thought about baking my own.

Apparently he is a fan of pie, cherry to be exact, and he has his cravings. After listening to the begging (who doesn't enjoy a little begging once in a while really) I finally caved. I broke out my cookbook and set to work. I have to admit, I cursed that dough every second of the process. I vowed to never EVER touch another pie crust or pie recipe again.

Of course things have a way of changing, and I have been known to waiver with my set-in-stone decisions. I'm not sure what pie it was that changed my mind, or even if it was successful, but I do know that I've found a super easy, perfectly simple pie crust recipe. This one works, I promise, so even if your attempts have otherwise failed give it one last go. It was so easy to throw this dough together that I did it while I was working, I'm not even exagerating. So go for it, you have nothing to lose.

Double Pie Crust

2 1/2 C all purpose flour
2 Tbsp granulated sugar (feel free to use 1 Tbsp, I just like a sweet crust)
1 tsp salt
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, COLD & cubed
3/4 C ice cold water

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Sprinkle the cubed cold butter over the top of the flour mixture. With a pastry blender (which makes the job so much easier than using your hands) combine the butter into the flour until its about the size of small peas. Don't over work the butter, it will result in a dull, not-so-flaky crust...and who wants that.

At this point add 1/2 C of the ice cold water and work it into the flour mixture with a large wooden spoon. When large clumps of dough have formed add more water, by the tablespoon, as needed. Towards the end work the dough together with your hands until it holds in large ball.
Separate the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, forming flat disc shapes. Chill in the refrigerator 1-2 hours until firm.
Pre-heat oven to 375F. Working with one disc at a time, remove from plastic wrap and roll out on a well floured board to form your pie crust. Now this is where you fill in the blanks. Roll to a round, rectangular or individual pie and fill with your own selection of yummyness. Brush the top of the assembled pie with an egg wash and/or sugar if you so desire. Bake for about 35-45 min until your filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown.

**NOTES**
Try to avoid using your hands to work the dough as much as possible so you reduce the risk of softening the butter too much.
Also, I used margarine the first time I made this dough, for no other reason than that's what I had on hand, and I don't recommend it. While the flavor is fine, the margarine doesn't hold up as well as butter, resulting in a less flakey crust.
Finally, if you're impatient like me, you can chill the dough in the freezer for about an hour to speed the process along.
This dough will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge and even longer in the freezer (just make sure to double and tripple wrap it to preserve freshness) for you plan-aheaders!