Savory Cheese and Chive Bread

This week I joined an online cooking group called French Fridays with Dorie. The group is dedicated to Dorie Greenspan's newest cookbook, Around My French Table. Now, according to the rules of their group, I am not allowed to post the recipe so you won't be seeing that in this post. BUT - if you are interested in it, I have a copy on my computer that I can e-mail to you. For those friends of mine that love cheese as much as me, I'll be awaiting your e-mail. HEHE

This bread is savory, not sweet, so to me that means you can eat it for any meal of the day. I happened to have some with dinner last night and then again today for "brunch"? It seems to be a good bread to eat with a nice warm bowl of soup (next time). The thing I liked is that this was extremely easy to prepare. The ingredients come together in just two bowls and it needs no time allotted for rising and all that jazz. You can use any type of cheese you'd like and I chose Vermont Sharp White Cheddar - yum. I am a cheese freak so I may or many not have put in a little extra cheese than required but it was a delicious choice. Every bite had a nice little hint of cheese for your tongue's pleasure because the recipe called for both shredded and diced cheese. The shredded cheese melts throughout the loaf and the diced cheese creates texture in the bread - and not to mention pockets of goodness in your mouth.

Overall this bread was very warm and comforting - everything bread should be!
Tutti Mangia!

S'mores Cookies

Have you ever gotten a craving for S'mores? How about a craving for campfires? Maybe another 4 inches of snow inspired me to create a taste of summer? Whatever it happened to be - I'm glad I made these cookies! Cooking and baking reminds me of family, since that is where my love of food came from - my home kitchen.... that is why I am happy to say that my sister Victoria helped me make these scrumptious cookies while she was visiting this past weekend. Honestly, nothing makes me happier than making yummy memories in the kitchen with someone you love!

This recipe came from a fellow blogger. I have recently become extremely fascinated with other people's blogs. They are inspiring me to make my posts even better and more popular! Make and Bake is a fun blog to look into if you have time... not that I am friends with this person in real-life - I just "follow" them. I have seen many other variations of these cookies on other blogs and even on Martha Stewart's website but I am sticking to this one because it worked for me!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup softened butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
2 Hershey bars, chopped up
(you need 3, let's be serious)

Directions:Preheat oven to 375F. In a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars until fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, graham crackers, salt and baking soda, and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheets (use parchment paper or cooking spray). Bake for 8 minutes and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of Hershey bar into each cookie. Return to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes until fully cooked. The timing was only about a minute off with my oven. Very easy. I did turn the cookies halfway between baking to make sure that both sides got golden brown. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

You get a taste of all the necessary flavors when you bite into these cookies - graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate! Not to mention that they are basically a regular chocolate chip cookie on steroids. These cookies really is a great substitution for S'mores when you can't get a campfire going with all that snow out there!

Speaking of campfires, is it summer yet? Tutti Mangia!

Country Skillet Supper

I was looking through my pantry the other day and found a few cans of Campbell's condensed soups. Since we are mid-winter here in New England, I am a little souped-out. I decided to look through my "Campbell's Collection" cookbook to find a recipe to use up one of those cans of soup. I found the Country Skillet Supper which looked great on paper and tasted amazing when dinner was ready!

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (I used ground chicken)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/8 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (10.5 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 can (10.5 ounces)     
beef broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 small zucchini, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 (8 ounce) package of chopped mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 1/2 cups uncooked corkscrew macaroni (about 1/2 box)
Shredded cheddar cheese (to taste)

Directions:
1. In medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned, stirring to separate meat. Pour off fat.This is actually the time I added the zucchini and mushrooms to the pan, instead of when the liquids went in, so they had a change to brown up a little. 

2. Add soup, broth, tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms and thyme. Heat to a boil. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat to low. Cook 15 minutes or until pasta is done, stirring often. Serves 4. Of course I tried to be difficult and cooked the pasta ahead of time. So all I did was simmer the sauce and add the paste in at the end to heat through. Next time I won't do this because I think the sauce will be thicker by adding the uncooked pasta.

Could this recipe be any easier? It only has two steps! This is a great one to make on a weeknight. It is a hearty dish you can make it one pan - you get meat, veggies and starch all combined. Shaun and I had a ton of leftovers so we ate it for lunch the next day and it was just as good. I added some shredded cheddar cheese on top when re-heating it in the microwave which was a smart idea on my part! On the side I used store-bought cornbread mix and added in a few scallions to make Scallion Cornbread. It was good to have something to soak up the liquid. Tutti Mangia!

Brayden's 1st Birthday

This month was my soon-to-be nephew's 1st birthday and I had the honor of making his birthday cake. He LOVES Mickey Mouse so of course I took that theme and ran with it. I think he liked it!
















Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure... I used a Mickey Mouse cake pan from Wilton and funfetti cake mix (as requested by his mommy). I ended up using two boxes of cake mix so I could make a "smash cake" for him.

This little cake was strictly for Brayden - he could put his hands in it all he wanted. He actually spent a lot of the time trying to first touch the lit candle and then picking off all of the red spots he saw! SO CUTE!

Orange Pork with Scallions

I adore salty foods - probably more than sweets - so from time to time I get cravings for stir-fry. This recipe, adapted from Cooking Light, is really easy to make and can easily be modified with what is in your fridge and pantry at the moment. Of course I changed a few things, but when don't I? It is important to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go when you begin this recipe. Stir-fry recipes come together very quickly and you can't be stuck scrambling in the fridge or chopping ingredients. That is exactly why this recipe is a good one to make on a weeknight after work!

Ingredients:
1 pound pork tenderloin  
(I used chicken)
2 tbsp cornstarch, divided
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup orange juice  
(I doubled this)
2 tbsp soy sauce  
(I doubled this)
1 tsp chili garlic sauce  
(I omitted this)

1/4 tsp salt
Cooking spray
1 1/2 tsp canola oil
2 cups matchstick-cut carrots
1/4 cup water
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup sliced green onions



Directions:
Cut pork into 2 x 1/4-inch-wide strips. Combine pork and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a bowl; toss well. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch, broth, and next 4 ingredients (through salt).

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. I used a little olive oil because my wok is not non-stick. Add pork to pan; saute 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness (if you use chicken, this needs to be cooked until white on the inside); stir frequently. Remove pork from pan.

Heat oil in pan. Add carrots, 1/4 cup water, ginger, and garlic to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return pork to pan. Stir in broth mixture; bring to a boil. Cook 30 seconds. At this point I put a lid on the pan to trap the heat in so that my carrots would steam. I don't like them too crunchy. Stir in 1/3 cup onions. Serve immediately. Garnish with sliced onions, if desired. Serves 4.

This recipe is from Cooking Light, another healthy recipe - only 214 calories and 6.9g of fat if you follow the recipe exactly. It may be fewer calories than ordering take-out but it does not lack in flavor. The orange juice becomes concentrated after being cooked so you taste a nice hint of orange. I have a feeling adding orange zest next time will make it even better. The soy sauce of course contributes to this dish's saltiness which I adore. The cornstarch really helps to thicken up the sauce and coats the chicken nicely. I served this dish over white rice (that I made in my awesome rice cooker from my awesome brother Michael). Two thumbs up!

Let me know your favorite stir-fry recipe or your favorite take-out place - post your comment on this blog!

Tutti Mangia! 

Turkey Mini-Meatloaf Muffins

I had a craving for meatloaf - big time. Meatloaf is the ultimate comfort food - I'm sure many of you ate it growing up. I did, but certainly not with ingredients found below. Traditionally it is made with ground beef but I lightened it up by using ground turkey instead. This recipe was adapted from the Cooking Light website. I had to make quite a few variations to the ingredients in this recipe because I had a 20 ounce package of ground turkey, not 8 ounces.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 cup)
1 carrot, shredded
3 tbsp dry breadcrumbs (1/2 cup)
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (4 tbsp)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (2 tbsp)
1/4 tsp salt (use more to taste)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper (use more to taste)
8 ounces ground turkey breast (20 ounces)
1 large egg white (1 whole egg)
3 tbsp ketchup, divided (8 tbsp)
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. I used a little bit of olive oil in the pan. Add onion and carrot to pan; saute 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Combine onion/carrot, breadcrumbs, and next 7 ingredients (through egg white) in a large bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons ketchup. Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture into each of 3 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; place muffin tin on a baking sheet. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon ketchup and hot pepper sauce in a small bowl. Brush ketchup mixture over meat loaf tops. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165 degrees. Serves 3. Because I more-than-doubled the original recipe, I made 12 muffins total and they took about 45 minutes to cook.

The Worcestershire sauce used in this recipe really enhances the flavor of the turkey. I have to admit, I like using ground turkey because it adapts itself to any flavor you add into it. It is almost like a blank pallet, unlike beef, which has a very distinct taste. One problem with turkey is that it has a tendency to dry out easily, but adding Worcestershire sauce and shredded carrot solves this problem. One step not to skip is sauteing the onions and carrots before-hand; it brings out the flavor in them.

Can you say YUM?

If you follow this recipe exactly, each serving is only 142 calories and 1.5 grams of fat - nice and healthy! Even with the adjustments I made, it is still a very healthy meal. I served these cute little meatloaf muffins with tater tots and a salad made with Boston Bibb lettuce. During the week, I like to pair easy sides with a yummy meal that might take me a little longer to whip up. It doesn't get easier than putting frozen tater tots on a baking sheet and browning them up, that's for sure! Tutti Mangia!

Chicken Piccata with Orzo

Happy Valentine's Day! Yesterday we celebrated St. Valentine - the saint of lovers and yesterday I made chicken piccata for dinner. It was my gift to Shaun and honestly it was all I could do after the amazing steak dinner he bought me at Mooo in Boston Sunday night. I gave him the option to have any meal he wanted me to cook for him - and he chose chicken piccata.

This specific recipe was adapted from Cooking Light but I usually just wing it when I'm in the kitchen making it... which is why you will see a few additions below. If you run a general Google search you will find TONS of different recipes for this dish. Chicken piccata is a traditional Italian dish and sometimes made with veal (also delicious). The word piccata translates to mean spicy or piquant which is a result of the salty capers and tart lemon juice.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked orzo
2 tsp grated lemon rind
4 (4-ounce) chicken cutlets
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup flour 
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp capers

Directions:
1. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain. Stir in rind. (I added the rind into the sauce, which in turn was spooned over the orzo.)
2. While orzo cooks, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. I also pounded out the chicken nice and thin and dredged it in flour before putting it in the pan. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.
3. Add wine; cook 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates, scraping pan to loosen brown bits. Add broth and lemon juice; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until reduced to 1/2 cup. Remove from heat; add butter; stirring until butter melts. Stir in parsley and capers. Serve over orzo. I doubled the sauce ingredients because we both LOVE to soak the orzo with the sauce.

I served this chicken dish with arugula (dressed with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper) alongside roasted asparagus. I think this is a restaurant-quality meal that anyone can make at home and it is just as delightful! It is a simple dish to add into your repertoire - along with some other classics - Scaloppine, Rollatini and Saltimbocca. Believe me, it is easier to make the dishes than say them in Italian. Look out for those in later posts - Tutti Mangia!