Friday August 10, 2012

This was a bit of an off week to try new recipes - the kids went away mid-week for their final trip of the summer.  So we didn't try that many new dishes, but managed to fit three, and all were voted keepers.  Hard to believe that it is August, with talk of back-to-school and the end of the summer approaching.  Even the weather has turned cooler the last few days, which has been a welcome relief.  I seem to recall the weatherman mentioning that we have had over 40 days in the 90's.  Needing a sweater tonight on the way home from a friend's house was refreshing!

We did find time to try a few new things: strawberry muffins, bacon-pepper mac and cheese with chicken, and lime cilantro chicken tacos.

I have been collecting Taste of Home recipes for years.  My grandmother-in-law gets the cooking magazine, and when I first met her she showed me it. There are a few different monthly titles by the same company (simple and delicious is another one), and for years I had a subscription and clipped the recipes that looked good.  One of the main reasons I started this blog was so that I would finally begin to test out the recipes I had been clipping for years and years.  Well, the strawberry muffin recipe is one of those recipes from Taste of Home.  We really enjoyed them, as did my friends, so perhaps they might earn a spot at your breakfast or brunch table.  as with all muffins, they are best served warm. 

When I go to the library I love to check out the cooking magazines and cook books.  I checked out a Betty Crocker cookbook in the spring when I had a long car ride (where I was the passenger, don't worry).  I marked down the recipes that looked good, and when I got home, I found them on the Betty Crocker website and saved them to one of my Pinterest boards.  This saved me from making a photocopy of the recipe, and of having to check the cookbook out again in the future.  This week, Hannah had a friend sleep over, and we decided to make a pasta recipe for dinner.  When she saw the ingredients for this mac and cheese, she decided we should make it. It was a hit at the dinner table.  Of course, there were more children than adults at the table, and how can you go wrong with bacon in your meal?

And where did I find the Lime Cilantro tacos?  I saw those on Pinterest, and they sounded fantastic.  They ended up being delicious, and the kids just loved these chicken tacos.  I would highly recommend the lime cilantro pesto recipe - different and very summery!  

Happy cooking!

New Recipes
Strawberry Muffins
Lime Cilantro Chicken Tacos
Bacon-Pepper Mac & Cheese with Chicken

Lime Cilantro Pesto for Chicken Tacos

Ingredients for Cilantro Lime Pesto
* 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (do not include stems)

* 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

* 2 tablespoons sliced, toasted almonds

* 3 tablespoons chopped, fresh garlic

* 1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice

* 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

* 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

* 1/4 cup chicken broth

Directions

Using a blender, mix together the cilantro, olive oil, almonds, garlic, lime juice, cheese, salt and chicken broth on low speed for 2 minutes.

Ingredients for Chicken Tacos
* cooking spray for sauteeing
* 2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 cup cilantro lime pesto
* flour tortillas
* preferred taco garnishes (salsa, sour cream, cheese, etc)

Directions
Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, saute chicken over medium high heat and cooked through. Toss cooked, seasoned chicken with the pesto. Fill tortillas with chicken and top with preferred garnishes.

Notes
The pesto recipe appealed to me because it used almonds instead of pine nuts, and cilantro instead of basil.  Ryan and I don't care for traditional pesto, but we love the ingredients in this pesto recipe.  And then using it for chicken taco - what a great idea!   I originally saw this recipe on Pinterest, but here is the direct link to the website with the recipe I used:  Cilantro Lime Tacos

Later in the week, I tossed the leftover chicken with pasta, and it was fantastic!  Next time I plan on making the pesto and using it with chicken and pasta so I don't have to wait for the leftovers.

Bacon-Pepper Mac & Cheese with Chicken

Ingredients

* 10 oz uncooked pasta

* 1/3 cup butter

* 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

* 4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

* 2¼ cups milk

* 4 to 5 slices bacon , cooked until crispy and chopped up

* 3/4  cup chicken (cooked and diced)

* 6 oz shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

* 4 oz Swiss cheese, shredded

* 1/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray  a 9x11 casserole with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

2.  Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the butter in small bowl. Stir bell pepper and onions into butter in saucepan. 

3. Increase heat to medium; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and mustard. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly. Increase heat to medium-high. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens, about 5 minutes. Gently stir in bacon, chicken and pasta.

4. Remove from heat; stir in cheeses until melted. Pour into casserole. 

5. Stir bread crumbs into melted butter in small bowl. Sprinkle over pasta mixture.

6. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are bubbly.

Notes

I used green and red peppers for color, which made the presentation a little nicer.  I also used about 12 oz of uncooked pasta – you definitely have enough cheese sauce to coat all of the ingredients. Hannah wanted me to use elbow macaroni, but you can use whatever pasta you like or have on hand in the pantry.  
I used a mixture of skim and 2% milk - I had both on hand. I added the ¾ cup of chicken because my goal was to make this more of a dinner.  Hannah was having a friend sleep over, and the kids just loved this mac and cheese! 

Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients

*  1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

*  3/4 cup sugar

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

*  2 eggs, lightly beaten

*  1/2 cup strawberry yogurt

* 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* 1-1/4 cups coarsely chopped fresh strawberries
* cinnamon sugar to dust on top prior to baking

Directions 

1. In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients.

2.  In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.

3. Fold in strawberries.

4.  Fill 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray or lined with paper liners.

5. Bake at 375° for 18-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve war.

Notes

You can use frozen unsweetened strawberries in this recipe - don't thaw them first, just fold them in frozen after giving them a rough chop.  The original recipe called for plain yogurt, but I only had strawberry yogurt on hand, and it worked well.  I also sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the tops of the muffins before I put them in the oven to bake.  My muffins took 19 minutes to cook  - use a toothpick to check yours before removing them from the oven.

August 3, 2012

I'm back!!!  Between vacationing, studying for class, painting furniture, and in general enjoying the summer with the kids, I took July off.  But, here it is August 3, and I have a few new recipes to share!

But, before we get to the recipes....Happy Birthday, dear Hannah!  Hard to believe that she is old enough to enter middle school this fall, but somehow it is true.  She is an amazing, thoughtful, caring daughter/sister/friend, and we are so lucky to have her in our family!  Once again, happy birthday my sweet girl!

So, back to the recipes...what did we cook this week?  We tried a few new recipes, and had three that were voted keepers.  Chocolate Mint Oreo Ice Cream, Thai Barbecue Salmon, and Egg Muffins.

Chocolate Mint Oreo ice cream - how can you go wrong?  Of course, if you don't like mint Oreos, then I suppose you won't like this, but if you do love those, then this ice cream is fantastic!  You can use the chocolate ice cream alone, or some other add-ins.  I am thinking of making Rocky Road for Ryan - his favorite!

We tend to have salmon on the weekly meal plan every week, so I love to try new marinades, seasonings, and ways to serve it.  The boys love salmon, and Hannah tolerates it, so I definitely serve it frequently in our kitchen.  The Thai Barbecue salmon is admittedly spicy - so likely not kid friendly.  We only made some salmon with the barbecue sauce, and the rest with a rub we like and use quite often.  But, it is an easy sauce with only 3 ingredients, so I would suggest you give it a try if you like heat!  I served it with our favorite side dish vegetable combo - cauliflower "rice".  The salmon and cauliflower in the same bite toned down the heat quite a bit for me.  It was wonderful together.  And I smile all dinner long when we have cauliflower rice - all the kids ask for a few helpings!  Amazing!!!

And finally, Egg Muffins.  On vacation my sister introduced me to "primal" eating, and these egg muffins fit in with her eating habits.  And talk about easy, delicious and they reheat beautifully - so no matter how you eat (primal, paleo, or none of the above) you probably will love these!

Yes, the blog is back, and our test kitchen is reopen and working hard again. See you next week!

New Recipes

Chocolate Mint Oreo Ice Cream
Thai Barbecue Salmon
Egg Muffins

Chocolate Mint Oreo Ice Cream

Ingredients

* 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)

* 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)

* 1 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)

* 2 large eggs

* 1 cup sugar

* 1 cup heavy cream, or whipping cream

* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup Mint Oreos, roughly chopped
 

Directions

1. Melt the unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. Gradually whisk in the milk and heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder, a little at a time, and heat until blended. Remove from the heat and let cool.

2. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and vanilla, and whisk to blend.
3. Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 2 to 3 hours, or even overnight.
4. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's directions. During the last 1-2 minutes of churning, add the chopped Oreos to mix into the ice cream. Remove from the ice cream maker and store in a freezer safe container. Freeze overnight to meld flavors and serve. 

 

Notes

I first saw this recipe on Pinterest, and then found the original site to be joelens.blogspot.com.  She has some good looking recipes over there, so you might want to check it out!  

 

This chocolate ice cream recipe is a great base to work with  - Ryan loves traditional rocky road (almonds, mini marshmallows), so I think I will try to make that for him since I still have more cream and 2% milk in the fridge!

Egg Muffins

Ingredients
* 6 eggs
* 1/4 cup shredded cheese
* veggies of your choosing (1/2- 3/4 cup, approx)
* ham or sausage, optional
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Beat the eggs.  Add in the cheese, veggies, and optional meat. 
2. Pour into sprayed muffin tins, or cupcake liners
3. Cook at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (use a knife to test for "done-ness" - if the knife comes out clean, they are ready!)

Notes
Not much of a recipe here, but what an easy and fabulous grab and go recipe!  This recipe makes 8 muffins for me, and they re-heat in the microwave well!  Mine was about 30 seconds to reheat one muffin.  I used some ham lunch meat that was in the fridge, some green and red peppers, and a few cherry tomatoes from the garden.  You just add the veggies and meat to the eggs until you think it looks "right".  Thick enough to have some body, but not too thick that it won't pour.

I made these twice this week  - once in sprayed muffin tins, and once in cupcake liners in the muffin tin.  I definitely preferred it in the sprayed muffin tin without the cupcake liner.  Just be sure to sray (or coat with butter) well so that the egg muffins will pop out!