m+m

Spinach + Mushroom Ravioli

2012-04-01T21:41:00.001-05:00

The other night I wanted to make a ravioli, but didn't want the mess of making pasta dough from scratch and wanted it somewhat light and healthy. I found this recipe of Giada's and it turned out really yummy! I made my own red sauce and made chicken with it, but totally didn't need the chicken. The raviolis were delish by themselves!

Chop up mushrooms. I, of course, used shiitakes and creminis :)

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil.

Thaw chopped frozen spinach in the microwave. And YES, this is a weird picture.

The mushrooms look done!

Add the thawed spinach and season. Saute for a few minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for a bit, or however long you need. Then place the mixture in a food processor.

Pulse until you get a course mixture.

Mix 2 eggs and 1 TBSP of water in a small bowl. This will be used to paint the wonton wrappers with.

Add mascarpone and parmesan cheese to the mushroom and spinach.

With a fork, mix until you get this. Season if needed. Don't forget that parm is salty!

Buy these handy lil guys from the grocery store.

Paint each square with the egg and place about 1 TBSP of the mixture in the middle of each one.

Cover with another painted square and then place on a floured surface (so they won't stick). I used a pastry cutter to trim the edges. If you don't have one, you can pinch the edges so they don't come apart while cooking.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt and a little bit of olive oil. Make sure the boil isn't roaring when you drop the raviolis. I made that mistake and the pasta shot to the side of the pot and stuck :(

These babies are done!

If you don't have one of these kitchen tools, get one! They are amazing.

Top with my homemade red sauce, your own sauce, or canned then sprinkle on some parmesan cheese. Delish!

Ina's Meatloaf!

2012-04-01T18:44:00.004-05:00

Believe it or not, I don't think I've ever made a full, real meatloaf! I've made "mini" ones before, so I decided to go with Ina's recipe because I watched the episode the other day. I think my favorite part was her tip for always getting a juicy, never dried out loaf! FILL A BAKING PAN WITH WATER AND PLACE ON THE SHELF UNDERNEATH THE MEATLOAF IN THE OVEN WHILE BAKING...and it worked!! We served the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans mixed with watercress. Enjoy!

I love the crispiness of fresh green beans.

Bring to a boil.

To start the meatloaf, saute onion and fresh thyme leaves.

When the beans are cooked, place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep the pretty green color.

Use ground CHUCK.

Sitting in the bowl waiting to get dressed :)

breadcrumbs

Adding worcestershire sauce

Add chicken stock

Add tomato paste

Crack open two eggs.

Chop up some green onions for the beans.

Fresh water cress

Saute the green onions in melted butter.

Add the beans and water cress leaves and season to taste.

My camera died while I was mixing the meatloaf together :( Here is the free-formed result!

beans!

We managed to safely transfer the loaf to a serving platter without it falling apart!

Yum!!!

BLT's and Chicken Noodle Soup

2012-04-01T17:43:00.000-05:00

I know it has been awhile since I blogged, but believe it or not, Marty was actually sick awhile back! So in honor of him being ill, I made a warm, throat healthy dinner--chicken noodle soup and BLT's. Yes, the bacon was crispy, but who turns down bacon? :) Marty loves avocado, so the Barefoot Contessa gave me the genius idea to add some to his sandwich.

These dishes are pretty basic, so I'm not adding any recipes...just follow the pics and enjoy!

Chop up 3 carrots and 2 celery stocks into whatever bite size pieces you like, oh and some onion too. Saute the veggies in some unsalted butter.

When the veggies have cooked for a little bit and the onions are translucent, add about 2 TBSP of flour and whisk until there aren't any flour chunks.

When the flour is whisked in, cook for a minute or so to get the flour taste out.

Next add a lot of chicken stock and a bay leaf for flavoring. Bring to a boil and then simmer for awhile.

While the soup is cooking, place the bacon on a wire rack and set on top of a baking sheet. Do this so the bacon grease doesn't drip into the bottom of your oven and set it on fire :)

Bake until crispy and beautiful!

While the bacon is cooking, chop up some fresh dill.

Next, dice up some chicken and add to the pot.

Then add some pasta. You can use whatever kind you like! I think soups are harder to eat with noodle pastas.

Then add the fresh dill and frozen peas. I love peas. All of the ingredients are now in the soup, so just simmer away until the chicken is good and season to taste!

For the BLT's get a pretty tomato...

...and slice.

If you want to add avocado to your BLT, de-seed and spoon out the flesh and slice.

Before you eat the soup, don't forget to remove the bay leaf! By now, the soup should be thick and delicious!

Marty's BLT.

My BLT (minus the avocado :). Oh and toast the bread if you like!

Benvenuti's!

2012-04-01T17:07:00.000-05:00

Benvenuti's is hands down, the BEST restaurant in Norman....and one we frequent quite often :) It has amazing Italian cuisine and one of my favorite filets around. One of their staple entrees on the menu is the Mushroom Rigatoni. It is this delicious pasta dish served with an amazing pink cream sauce with truffle oil and a variety of mushrooms. When I order it, I get it with chicken and I LOVE it!

So lately I have been experimenting with the recipe at home and have pretty much nailed it! I've made it a few times and finally took pics. The first two times I cooked it, I made it with rigatoni pasta and chopped the chicken, but this time I decided to make it with gnoochi and the full chicken breast. Oh and I always use shiitake mushrooms--my favorite!! Every time, and any way, I cooked it, it tasted yummmmmmy.

beautiful shiitakes and cremini mushrooms

chicken breasts browning

de-stem and chop the mushrooms

mince shallot and garlic--gotta add flavor!

No, I did not make this gnoochi from scratch :) Store bought and not cooked yet.

chicken browned on one side

When the chicken is browned on both sides, add the butter to melt.

When melted, add the shallot and garlic and scrape up all the goodness on the bottom of the pan.

When the shallot and garlic have cooked for a minute or so, add the mushrooms.

When those are cooking, get some pretty fresh basil leaves

Roll up the basil (like little cigars) and chop.

The mushrooms are cooked!

Add the cream...

...and tomato paste and season with S&P to taste. This makes the pretty pink color :) Add chicken stock to thin out a bit.

Let the cream cook and then add the chicken and basil to the pan.

When the gnocchi is done cooking, place in a bowl and add butter and parmesan cheese...

...and fresh basil and S&P. Mix together...how easy is that?!

Lastly add the TRUFFLE OIL and mix. YUM

Enjoy!

Recipe:

10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced
5 baby portabello mushrooms (cremini), de-stemmed and sliced
about 2 tsp white truffle oil (a little bit goes a loooong way!)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 TBSP unsalted butter
4 TBSP tomato paste
3/4 C fresh basil, chopped
1 C cream
1/4 C chicken stock
1/2 lb potato gnocchi
about1/3 C shredded Parmesan cheese
4 chicken breasts, thinly cut
1 C flour
olive oil
S&P

Season the chicken breasts with S&P and dredge in a little bit of flour on both sides. Heat up a non-stick pan with olive oil on medium high heat and add the chicken. Brown the chicken on both sides and then set aside on a plate.

Lower the heat to medium and add 1 TBSP of the butter to the pan. When the butter is melted, add the shallot and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Next add the mushrooms. Stir together and cook for around 5 minutes.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the gnocchi. The gnocchi is done when it floats to the top.

Next add the cream and stir into the mushroom mixture. Bring to a slight boil and then simmer. Then add the tomato paste and S&P to taste for seasoning. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, add some chicken stock and stir. Next, add the chicken and basil and truffle oil and let the yummy sauce cook in to the chicken.

When the gnocchi is done, add to a small bowl and add the other tablespoon of butter and parmesan cheese. Stir together and the hot pasta will melt the butter. Season with S&P and add some fresh basil.

When the chicken has been simmering for about 5 minutes, it is done! Add to a plate and serve!

SPRINKLES!

2012-01-28T13:17:00.000-06:00

First off, I would like to dedicate this post to our first Westie, Sprinkles! Marty got Sprinkles for me in 2006 for my birthday. She was our first dog and a cutie. Sadly, she passed away at 11 weeks old and we will never forget her!

I named her Sprinkles because for some odd reason, I love rainbow sprinkles! I saw these chocolate sprinkle cookies on Pinterest and decided immediately to make them last night. I definitely prefer cooking over baking, but these were actually pretty easy to make AND I got to dust the cobwebs off my Kitchen Aid mixer and put it to use :) I just think these cookies are so adorable and they are very tasty! Here is the recipe and the blog from which I found them. I chose to use a little bit less butter and not make the filling to make them cute little sandwiches. For those of you that have little kids, I think these would be so cute at a birthday party!

P.S.- I forgot to mention that my most embarrassing kitchen mishap happened while making these cookies. See the pic below :)

Cute baby Sprinkles on the first day we got her.

Hello! Its been a looooong time!

As I was opening the cocoa powder, the seal wouldn't peel back, so I stuck my finger to make a little hole and the entire cover burst open and the powder went ALL over my face, arms, pants, shoes, countertops....you name it, it was covered in chocolate powder. That stuff isn't easy to clean up :)

Using the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium speed until creamy.

Then add the cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt.

Mix until it is all blended together. This btw- smells delish!

Next, add the egg and vanilla.

Mix until well combined.

Then add the flour and mix until it looks like this. The recipe said that the dough shouldn't be sticky and it wasn't!

Pour the rainbow sprinkles into a small bow. So pretty!

Roll the dough into tiny tablespoon size balls. (See how non-sticky the dough is? It barely stuck to my hand)

Roll the chocolate balls into the sprinkles until they look like little delicious donut holes! Place on 2 baking sheets covered with parchment paper. After all of the sprinkle balls are made, put in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then bake in an oven at 375 degrees for 12 minutes until they crack a bit on top and look like.....

...THIS! Aren't they adorable?!

Just another fun pick I took :)

Muy Caliente!

2012-01-28T12:46:00.000-06:00

I love Mexican food but NOT spicy Mexican food. I love Thai food, but I order it with a spice level zero :) My husband, on the other hand, is obsessed with spicy, spicy food (and that is putting it mildly). So tonight he made some shredded chicken verde tacos and a salsa that I couldn't even attempt to smell, it was so spicy (let's just say it had 7 habanero peppers in it)! The tacos were delicious, but I could only handle two. I politely asked him to de-seed the whole jalapenos and add more chicken next time :)

Boil the jalapenos and tomatoes until the skins look like they are about to peel off.

I had to dice A LOT of onion for the tacos and my black beans.

When the peppers and tomatoes are ready to be removed from the boiling water, place in a bowl of regular temp water.

Place some of the onion into a food processor and add the peppers...

...and the tomatoes and some spices.

Pulse in the food processor until it looks like salsa. Taste and season to your liking.

Add some raw onion to a skillet and then add the salsa verde.

While the salsa is being made, saute a chicken breast (or two, or buy a roasted chicken) and shred into delicious pieces.

Add the chicken to the pan.

Stir together and simmer away for as long as you shall like!

For Marty's spicy salsa, add 5 or so habaneros and tomatoes to a food processor

Then add some onion, cilantro and avocado.

Pulse and add salt and pepper to your liking.

The prepared chicken verde with the black beans, oh and we also made some Mexican rice.

To prepare the tacos, put some rice on a corn tortilla and then pile on some of the chicken verde on top. Enjoy!

Recipe:

Tacos:

4 jalapenos, whole or de-seeded (Depending on the spice level you prefer)
2 tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
4-5 cloves of garlic
1-2 chicken breasts, shredded
1 bag of Mexican style rice (We use Vigo Mexican Rice with corn)
1 TBSP cumin
1 tsp olive oil
corn tortillas
S&P, to taste

Place the jalapenos and tomatoes in a medium size pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes or until the jalapenos are really soft and the skin on the peppers and tomato are peeling off. When done, place in a bowl of water.

Meanwhile, cook the chicken breasts (if you aren't using an already cooked roasted chicken). When the chicken is almost done, take off the skillet and place on a cutting board. Shred the chicken with a fork.

Dice up the onion and place all but a little bit in a food processor. Remove the peppers and tomatoes from the bowl of water and add to the processor along with the garlic, cumin and S&P. Pulse into a salsa. Next, heat a skillet on medium and add the olive oil and the rest of the onion. Saute for a minute or so and add the salsa. Bring to a boil and add the chicken. Lower the heat and simmer. Taste and stir every once in awhile and add salt and pepper if you'd like.

While all of this is cooking, make the rice according to the package directions and make the beans.

Enjoy!

Marty's Spicy Salsa

7 habaneros, whole
1/2 tomato, halved
1/2 avocado
1/2 onion, diced
1 handful cilantro
1/4 fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves
S&P, to taste

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse into a salsa. BEWARE! hehe....Enjoy.

Pot Roast & Potatoes!

2012-01-22T20:16:00.002-06:00

I make pot roast a lot, but tonight I decided to try a different recipe. Yes, it was one from the Pioneer Woman and no, I do not use her recipes all the time (although the past few posts, it seems like it :). I usually prefer to put potatoes in my pot roast along with some mushrooms, but the PW says not to :/ So trying things her way, I left the potatoes out and made some on the side. The potatoes were tasty, but I think they would taste better with other flavors than a pot roast. The roast was perfectly cooked and tender, but I think next time I will stick with putting the potatoes in the pot or make mashed potatoes. All in all everything was super yummy and was the perfect meal for days when you're home all day cooking and cleaning :)

Take two onions and cut each one in half.

Peel 6 carrots and slice into chunks.

Get a beef chuck roast. This one was around 3 pounds.

In a large dutch oven, sear the onions until they are browned on each side.

Like this.

Remove the onions and set aside. Next, add the carrots and do the same thing :)

Then brown the meat on all sides. So pretty!

Remove the beef and deglaze the bottom of the pot with red wine. Scrape up all of the little bits of goodness!

Then add everything back to the pot along with some fresh thyme and rosemary and beef stock.

While the roast is cooking, peel 3 russet potatoes and cut into "rectangles".

Then thinly slice each potato.

Thinly slice an onion.

Melt some butter in some olive oil.

Add the onions and some garlic until the onions are translucent.

When the onions are cooked, add the potatoes.

Then add chicken stock, white wine, paprika, and some S&P. Cover the pan and simmer.

The pot roast is done and looks delicious!

Remove the meat and see how tender it is?!

Serve the roast and veggies however you like!

Yum.

Marty's beer of choice :)

Dinner with Friends!

2012-01-22T19:56:00.000-06:00

So tonight we had Ashlee and Sean over for dinner and made pork chops, burgundy mushrooms and mac n' cheese! For the mushrooms, I made the Pioneer Woman's recipe that I also made for Christmas dinner and let me just tell you that these are AMAZING. Seriously. Her recipe calls for the cook time to be 9 hours, but like most of you, I don't really have 9 hours in a day to cook mushrooms. So, I half the recipe and cook for around 4 hours. TRY IT! For the mac n' cheese I used Ina's recipe, but I didn't add the tomatoes to the mac. Oh, and Marty made a maple glaze for the chops!

When we have guests over for dinner I don't usually take pics of our cooking because I'm too busy chatting and sipping on some vino, so I only have a few pics from tonight...a little sneak peek :)

Basically, you just add all of the ingredients for the mushrooms in one big pot and bring to a boil. I mean, what isn't going to taste good with red wine and butter?!

Cover the mushrooms and let simmer for hours and hours...

Then uncover the mushrooms and let simmer for more hours....the color eventually turns into this awesome deep, rich red. Sooooo good.

This is what the mac n' cheese looked like before we put it in the oven. It was basically a delicious soup of pasta and cheese.

Oh, and these little guys were anchovies that Marty and Ashlee were munching on with some cheese and olives before dinner :)

Chili Time!

2012-01-22T19:35:00.001-06:00

Lately I have been trying out a few of the Pionner Woman's recipes...this was my first. I loved her idea of putting masa in the chili. It really did make it super delicious! Plus, these Frito chili pies would be great for a fun little dinner party!

Mince up some garlic.

You will need some masa.

In a large pot, add ground sirloin and the garlic. Cook until browned.

Rinse of some beans. My favorite bean is black, so we made this chili with black beans and kidney beans.

The sirloin browning away.

When the beef is cooked, add tomato sauce, rotel, cumin, oregano, salt and chili powder.

Stir and cook for a bit and then add some warm water.

Dice up some red onion for some toppings.

More toppings...

This is the masa...put in a mixing bowl.

Add in the beans!

Add a little bit of water to the masa and stir.

Add the masa to the chili.

Buy individual bags of Fritos and cut open on the length side.

Yummm look at that chili!

More toppings....

yummy Fritos

Add the chili to the Frito bags.

Then add whatever toppings you want!

Yummmmmy

Marty's beer of choice that night.

Chicken, Mushrooms and More Mushrooms

2012-01-22T19:03:00.002-06:00

This particular day we had been shopping at Williams-Sonoma and I bought some kitchen twine (amongst other goodies). I know this is super cheesy, but I was so excited about the kitchen twine that I just had to cook something that night using it! I found a recipe that was chicken rolled up with goat cheese and mushrooms and topped with a mushroom sauce. We served it with asparagus and potato gratin. Yum!

Put some baby bella mushrooms in a food processor (around 7-8 cleaned mushrooms).

Pulse into tiny bits.

Melt some butter in a small skillet.

Add the mushroom bits to the melted butter.

Add a little bit of onion and garlic to the mushrooms (I used just 1/4 C of onion and about 2 cloves of garlic).

Cook until all of the liquid is absorbed. I know the color looks kind of iffy, but ignore that haha. This mushroom mixture will be for the stuffing. Set a side.

For the sauce, clean off and de-stem some beautiful and delicious shiitakes. Because of this sauce, shiitakes are my current favorite mushroom!

Slice the shiitakes.

To prepare the chicken, cover the breasts with plastic wrap and pound until thin.

Next, spread the goat cheese over one side of each chicken breast.

Saute the shiitakes in some butter and cook for a bit.

Next, add some chicken stock and white wine.

To the chicken, add the mushroom stuffing.

Then carefully roll up each chicken breast length-wise.

Just a pic of Marty rolling up more chicken :)

And now time for the kitchen twine! Tie up each breast with 2 pieces of twine...

...like this!

In a non-stick pan, sear the chicken in some olive oil.

Yummy.

When the chicken is cooked, place on a cutting board and slice each breast until around 1 inch pieces. Oh yeah, don't forget to take the twine off :)

Serve with the shiitake sauce and enjoy!

Recipe:

7-8 baby bella mushrooms, cleaned
3 TBSP unsalted butter
1/4 C onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 C fresh shittakes, cleaned
about 6 oz goat cheese, softened
1/4 C white wine
1/4 C chicken stock
4 chicken breasts
2 TBSP olive oil

Put the baby bella mushrooms in a food processor and pulse into tiny bits. Melt 2 TBSP butter in a small saute pan and add the mushrooms and the onion and garlic. Saute until the liquid has been absorbed, season with S&P and set aside.

Next, place the chicken on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Flatten each breast until thin. Then spread the goat cheese on one side of each chicken breast. Next, put some of the mushroom mixture on each breast and roll each on up length wise and tie with kitchen twine.

In a medium size skillet, add the olive oil and add the shiitake mushrooms. Let them cook for a few minutes. Then add the white wine and chicken stock. Let the liquid reduce then take the pan off the heat. Add the remaining 1 TBSP of butter into the pan. Stir until the sauce is nice and glossy. Set aside.

Heat a non-stick pan of medium high heat with olive oil. Add the chicken breasts and saute until golden brown and cooked on all sides, turning of course! When the chicken is done, remove the twine and serve with the sauce on top. Garnish with parsley if you want.

Enjoy!

Great party dip!

2012-01-22T18:40:00.001-06:00

This SWISS & BACON dip is an easy go-to appetizer I like to take to holiday get togethers and parties. Its super easy to make and deeeelicious. I first found this Rachael Ray recipe years ago and changed a few things. I add onions and do not add any nuts. I'm sure both ways are yummy! I apologize that I forgot to take a pic of the end result, as I was in a hurry and running out the door! But trust me, make this and you will find out yourself! Serve with toast points or crackers.

Dice up some bacon into small pieces.

Soften a block of cream cheese.

You will need some swiss cheese of course!

Brown the bacon bits.

While the bacon is browning, dice up some onion (I use about 1/2-1 C).

When the bacon is browned, set aside on a plate covered with a paper towel. Bacon is so pretty.

You will also need some mayo.

In a mixing bowl, add the cheese, cream cheese, mayo, onion and some dijon mustard.

Mix all together with the bacon to get this creamy, cheesy goodness.

Add the mixture to a small baking dish. You will then put in an oven and bake until bubbly and golden brown and then serve!

Shepards Pie

2012-01-22T18:27:00.000-06:00

I'm a meat and potatoes kind of girl, so what's better than a dish full of meat, veggies and potatoes?! We make shepards pie occasionally, so I decided to take pics this time...now I'm kind of wanting one right now :)

Dice up some onions and carrots.

Slice up some mushrooms.

Brown up some ground beef.

When the beef is browned add the onions and carrots.

When the onions have become translucent, add the mushrooms.

While the mushrooms cook, make a roux in a separate small pan by melting some butter and whisking in some flour.

When thickened, it should look like this.

Add some beef stock to the roux.

Next, add the beef stock mixture to the pot and add some frozen peas. I love peas.

Let the beef and veggie mixture thicken up a bit and then add to a baking pan.

Of course while all of the beef was cooking, we made some mashed potatoes. Add the potatoes to the top of the beef and veggies.

We drank some of this wine with the pie. It was a cute tiny winery we visited on our honeymoon!

Put the pie in the oven and cook until bubbly and brown. YUUUUUMMM!

My Favorite Kind of Food...

2011-10-23T21:40:00.001-05:00

...Comfort southern food! Since the weather has been cooler and actually feeling like fall, I decided to make some comfort food. I decided to make one of my favorites (which I had never actually made before), chicken fried chicken! The breading was the best ever. I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was delish!

Snap off the ends of the green beans and rinse.

Put crackers in a zip lock.

Use a rolling pin and crumble up the crackers.

Cracker crumbles

In one breading bowl, combine the crackers, flour, S&P, cheyenne pepper and baking powder.

In the other breading bowl, combine eggs and milk.

Whisk together.

The cracker combo.

Cover the chicken breasts in the cracker combo, then the eggs, then back in the crackers.

I used our iron skillet.

Fry up the chicken!

Isn't the breading gorgeous?!

Make a white cream gravy in the iron skillet with the left over chicken bits.

Boil the green beans until slightly crispy.

When done, put in an ice bath.

Melt some butter and add garlic.

Saute the green beans so they can soak up the butter/garlic goodness.

YUM YUM YUM

Chicken Recipe:

4 chicken breasts, thinly cut
2 eggs
about 2 cups of milk
1 package Saltine crackers
about 1 1/2 C flour
a pinch of cheyenne pepper
a pinch of baking powder
S&P to taste
about 2 TBSP vegetable oil

Place the crackers in a zip lock bag and seal. Take a rolling pin and crush the crackers into tiny pieces.
In breading pan, combine the eggs and milk and whisk together. In another breading bowl combine the crackers, flour, cheyenne, baking powder, S&P. Combine.

Next place the oil in a cask iron skillet and get it very hot. Dredge the chicken in the cracker mixture and then dip in the milk mixture and back in the crackers. Place in the hot skillet and fry on each side until golden brown.

Next, make a cream gravy however your little heart desires :)...in the same skillet of course to use all of the delicious pan drippings! Don't forget to drain some of the oil before.

I added milk, flour and more seasoning.

Oven Roasted Chicken with Crispy Kale

2011-10-23T21:23:00.001-05:00

This was a very easy roasted chicken recipe I watched Rachel Ray make on the Cooking Channel...I have to admit that she is not one of my fav celebrity chefs, but her recipes are usually fairly simple. This one, in particular, caught me eye because I have been wanting to roast a chicken, but not a WHOLE chicken, plus, I didn't have the time. As far as the kale goes, I had never made kale and it was DELISH! Of course the Homeland by our house didn't have the exact kind of kale that I needed, but thanks to the new Whole Foods in OKC, I can find amazing ingredients that our grocery store never has!

Combine chunks of veggies, herbs and bay leaf in a dutch oven.

Add potatoes and oil.

Add the seasoned chicken. I used 2 breasts and 2 thighs- skin on! You want to leave the skin on to get a nice golden crust!

Add fresh slices of lemon- this pic is out of order :)

Rinse kale leaves and plac on a wire rack that is on top of a baking sheet.

Once the chicken has been cooking for awhile, add white wine to deglaze the pot and add flavor.

Hi pretty girl Sophie!

Season the kale with olive oil, S&P and grated nutmeg.

Look at the nice golden skin!

Roast the kale in the oven and voila- beautiful!

Special Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-10-23T21:13:00.001-05:00

I came across this Tyler Florence recipe and just had to try and make it! It turned out really delicious and was definitely a filling soup!

Chop up your basic ingredients- carrots, celery, onion, garlic and fresh thyme.

Saute in a stock pot.

Add chicken broth.

Saute some onion that will be used in the meatballs.

Combine the chicken/apple sausage with parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, egg and the onion in a food processor.

Pulse until you get this!

Form little meatballs.

Add store bought mini cheese tortellini.

Saute the meatballs in a non-stick skillet. These were starting to crumble and fall apart (which I thought it was odd that the recipe didn't call for breadcrumbs), so we stuck them in the oven to continue cooking.

Going into the oven on the silpat.

Once cooked, add to the soup!

Garnish each bowl of soup with fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese! Enjoy!

Chicken Empanadas!

2011-10-23T21:02:00.001-05:00

I used a Paula Dean recipe for these and they turned out so yummy and so easy to make! I served them with my black beans and rice. These would be awesome little appetizers for a party!

Combine the cheese, cream cheese, jalepeno, red bell pepper,, cumin and S&P in a bowl.

Cook 2 chicken breasts.

Shred the chicken with a fork.

Add chicken to cheese mixture.

Roll out store bought pie crust and cut into little circles.

Place the cheese and chicken mixture in the middle of each pie crust.

Fold each circle in half and tighten the opening with a fork.

Place on a baking sheet.

So cute and yummy!

Pasta Coronado

2011-10-23T20:52:00.001-05:00

My favorite dish at Cheever's was the Pasta Coronado. Unfortunately, they took it off the menu awhile ago, so I decided to try and make it at home! It was a yummy, creamy, sun-dried tomatoey beef dish.

Husk 2 ears of fresh corn.

Hold each ear over a bowl and shave of the kernels with a knife.

Place the corn on a baking sheet and add cumin, S&P and oil or any other seasonings you wish. I LOVE the smokey flavor of cumin and use it whenever I can. Roast in the oven until golden.

Slice up the meat and marinate. I marinated the beef in the same liquid as our street tacos- orange juice, onion and worsheshire.

Slice up sun-dried tomatoes.

Cook and brown the beef in a skillet.

Use very little of this because it is spicy! I only used the juice from the can, not the actual peppers.

Slice fresh corn tortillas and place on a baking sheet.

Yummy brown beef.

Saute onion, garlic and sun-dried tomotoes.

Add cream and the adobo sauce.

Bake the tortilla strips until they look like this!

Add black beans and the beef into the creamy goodness.

Cook any type of pasta you wish- I prefer penne or bowtie for this dish.

Garnish with the tortilla strips and enjoy!

Lemon Roasted Pork Tenderloin + Sesame Green Beans + Home-made Apple Sauce

2011-10-23T20:35:00.001-05:00

Snap the ends off the beans.

Place in water and bring to a boil.

Zest 2 lemons.

That is a lot of yummy zest.

Peel and chop up 3 apples- removing the core of course :)

Apples in about 1 inch cubes.

Save the lemons because you will need the juice.

Melt some butter....

Add the apples.

Rub the lemon zest all over the pork tenderloin.

Add some honey to the apples.

Saute until golden brown.

Saute the loin...

...until brown on all sides.

Drain the green beans.

In a small skillet, lightly toast the sesame seeds over a very low heat. Don't burn them!

Add some oil to a skillet and lightly saute some red pepper flakes.

Add the sesame seeds and the beans.

Mash up the apples. If you like it chunky, don't mash too much :) P.S.- this potato masher is from Williams Sonoma and is an amazing little tool!

Ta-da!

Mini Meat Loaf

2011-10-23T20:19:00.001-05:00

Chop some green onions that will be added to the potatoes.

Chop some red potaotes in half, or quarter them and place in salted water and bring to a boil.

Make the meatloaf goodness with ground beef, chopped onion, egg, breadcrumbs, tomato paste and S&P.

Form into 4 cute little loafs.

Cook them in a non-stick skillet and brown on both sides. Make a little tent out of foil and lower the heat once browned to cook.

Drain the potatoes once they are fork tender.

Pretty little meatloaves :)

Remove from pan and add butter to make a gravy.

Add the potatoes back to the pot and add sour cream.

Add onion and garlic to the butter and then add flour to thicken up the sauce.

Whisk in beef stock.

Add the green onions and season to taste.

Add the meat back to the pan to soak up the sauce.

I served with the potatoes and thyme carrots. YUMMY!

Whole30

2011-08-17T14:48:00.000-05:00

I know its been awhile since I blogged, but unfortunately there will not be many posts for awhile. Marty has convinced me to start a new diet with him called the Whole30 that he found out about at Crossfit. If you don't know what it is, google it, but basically we can only eat meat and veggies for 30 days. We are not allowed to have sugar, dairy, carbs, grain, processed foods and can only drink water...so basically this blog would be B-O-R-I-N-G for the next 27 days :)

I can no longer cook with the goodness of butter or any type of oil except for olive oil. If you follow my blog you know I LOVE cream sauces, which are out of the picture as well. Grocery store shopping has been depressing, but a bit enlighting as well. You would be surprised what few NATURAL items you can find at the store. It has definitely taught me to start reading labels, which trust me, I have never done before :)

So on that note, Farewell!
   ....to pasta
         ...fast food
               ...bread
                    ...pizza
                         ...Diet Coke
                                ...and last but note least- WINE

Marty's Home-made IPA!

2011-07-12T21:27:00.001-05:00

For Marty's birthday I got him what he has been wanting for a long time- a home beer brewing kit! So we went to the city and found the perfect one ;) (I guess it's kind of like picking out the perfect handbag haha) He started brewing it about a month and a half ago (I think...) and it is done! Our guest bathroom, (where he stored the brewing beer) smelled like someone had just been smoking weed in it for about a week, but other than that, he and his friends say it tastes pretty good! Here are some pics of the process...

Some of the ingredients...

The "instructions" that were not very good!

Add caption

The poor man's bottle capper :)

Beginning to look like beer...kind of... :)

Sanitizing old bottles.

A lot of clean bottles!

Sophie LOVED the smell of the beer!

Bottling the beer.

Coq Au Vin!!

2011-07-12T21:02:00.001-05:00

Last night I decided to make a french chicken dish- Coq Au Vin! It was my first attempt and it turned out DELICIOUS! For those of you who don't know what this dish is, it means chicken cooked in wine. To go along with the chicken, I made some dill roasted fingerling potatoes (courtesy of Ina Garten). Yummy!

Ina's Coq Au Vin recipe called for sliced carrots and mushrooms.

Diced pancetta MMMMMmmmmmm!!

A little bit of cognac.

Brown the pancetta.

Brown the chicken. I used 2 thighs and 2 breasts.

Carrots and sliced onions sautéing.

Rinsed off fingerling potatoes.

Fresh thyme for the chicken.

Add the chicken and pancetta to the carrots and onions.

Pour in the cognac and half a bottle of dry red wine and chicken stock.

Chopped fresh dill for the potatoes.

Salt and pepper the potatoes and place in a dutch oven in a little bit of butter. Cover and let them cook in their own juices!

Mash together flour and butter to add to the chicken.

Along with frozen pearl onions.

Saute the mushrooms in butter and oil til browned.

Add to the chicken.

Don't these potatoes look amazing?!

Coq Au Vin! Bon Appetite!

Ina's Coq Au Vin Recipe:

4 oz pancetta, diced

1 (3 to 4 lb) chicken, I used 2 thighs and 2 breasts

S+P

1/2 lb carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 tsp chopped garlic

1/4 C Cognac or good brandy

1/2 bottle good dry red wine such as Burgundy

1 C chicken stock

10 fresh thyme sprigs

2 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temp, divided

1 1/2 TBSP flour

1/2 lb frozen small whole onions

1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add the pancetta and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the pancetta to a plate and set aside.

Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with S+P. When the pancetta is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the pancetta and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.

Add the carrots, onions, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minutes. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken and any juices from the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30-40 mintes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 TBSP of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 TBSP of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Dill Fingerling Potatoes

2 TBSP unsalted butter

1 1/4 lb fingerling potatoes, rinsed but not peeled

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 4sp freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 TBSP chopped fresh dill

Melt the butter in a dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the whole potatoes, S+P and toss well. Cover the pot tightly and cook over low heat (if you dont' have a gas flame, cook on medium heat) for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are just tneder when tested with a fork. From time to time, shake the pot without removing the lid to prevent the bottom potatoes from burning. Turn off the heat and allow the potatoes to steam for another 5 minutes. Don't overcook. Toss with the dill and serve hot.

Stuffed Artichokes

2011-07-12T20:49:00.001-05:00

I am a really big fan of artichokes, but I never think to buy them in the store. I love eating steamed artichokes with a simple butter dipping sauce for the leaves. But the other day, as I was sick on the couch and watched WAY too many cooking shows, I saw Giada make some amazing bacon, cheese and mushroom stuffed artichokes! I found the recipe and cooked them the other night! Mine needed a little more cook time than the recipe called for, but they turned out really yummy!

Cut the stems and tops off and trim the leaves.

Saute the bacon.

Add the mushrooms, shallot and garlic.

When cooked, set aside in a bowl and add the parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsely.

Stuff the mixture in between the leaves!

Place in the same dutch oven, add water and white wine and let the steaming begin!

Ready to eat!

The sad left overs :)

Giada's Genovese-style Artichokes

(makes 4)

3 TBSP olive oil, plus 1/2 C

1 lb button mushrooms, trimmed and chopped (abotu 4 cups)

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

4 slices prosciutto, chopped (I had bacon on hand and used that)

2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/2 C grated Parmesan

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4 fresh artichokes, trimmed and cleaned

2 C white wine

In a large dutch oven heat 3 TBSP olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, onions and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently until the mushrooms are tender and the onions are golden. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a medium bowl and let the mixture cool slightly. Add the prosciutto, parsley, Parmesan and S+P and stir to combine. **Since I used bacon, I cooked it first, removed and then cooked the vegges.**

Gently pull apart the leaves of the trimmed artichokes to slightly widen the spaces between the leaves. Stuff the mushroom mixture in the spaces between the artichoke leaves. Place the artichokes in the dutch oven so they fit snugly enough to stay upright. Pour the wine and 1 C of water into the bottom of the pan. Pour the 1/4 C of olive oil over the top of the artichokes. Place the pan over medium-high heat. Cover the pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, until the artichokes are tender. Remove from othe pot and serve immediately.

Tequila Twist!

2011-07-12T20:40:00.000-05:00

So usually Marty is the one to think of creative new drinks, but this time it was my turn! I am not a tequila shot taker, but I am just going to go out on a limb and say that most of my friends are :) We were cooking Mexican food the other night and Marty had halved and de-seeded a couple of fresh avocados. As I was looking at them, I thought hmmmmmm...those would make really cute shot glasses for tequila! So Marty sprinkled some salt around the flesh of the avocado, poured some tequila where the seed was and drank the shot, while scraping off some avocado! He said it was delicious! I also think these would make awesome dinner party treats!

Good idea, huh?!

Taco Night!

2011-07-12T20:34:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we had some friends over for a little taco fiesta! We made beef street tacos, black beans, guac and salsa. Sorry for not having that many pictures, but here are a few...

Oh, and I will post Marty's recipes of his awesome homemade guac and salsa at a later date! Trust me, you will want to make these at home!

Boil the tomatoes and peppers until they look like...

...this!

Black beans rinsed, waiting to be cooked!

Salsa in the making.

Mmmmmmm

Grilled flank steak.