Cheater Bruschetta

So one time I was in Chicago & after shopping at Windy City Scrapbooks, I asked the sales clerk where we should eat lunch. She suggested we walk to the restaurant two doors down. It was there that I had the 2nd best Chicken Parm of my life and also where the idea for my bruscetta was born.

There, they brought us an appetizer of thinly sliced eggplant and a delicious mix of fresh tomatoes, roasted red peppers, onion, olive oil & balsamic to serve atop crusty bread. It was, in a word, amazing. I came home with that meal replaying in my head & decided to try to recreate it immediately.

Cheater Bruschetta
fresh tomatoes, diced--in the winter, I used canned tomatoes & drain most of the juice off
roasted red peppers (I use jarred...if you can do this yourself, I'm sure it would make the recipe even better)
balsamic vinegar--be sure this is a good-flavored vinegar, one you particularly like
loaf of crusty french bread, sliced

Combine the tomatoes, a few diced red peppers (I drain off most of the oil they're packed in) and top with balsamic. We personally love vinegar so we use a LOT but if you don't, you could just use enough to flavor the tomatoes & peppers. You can also use fresh basil or dried Italian seasoning but I don't because, well, I think basil is nasty. The original recipe had olive oil in it but I don't see any reason to add it--the little bit that sneaks in on the peppers is enough for me. Combine & let sit for several hours to let the flavors meld. Serve with a nice Italian bread.

Deconstructed Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

(Pict from blog - link below)

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 T. butter or margarine
• 2 T. flour
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• 1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, cubed or shredded
• 2 c. frozen broccoli
• 1/2 t. thyme
• 2 T. butter or margarine
• 1 c. breadcrumbs

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place in small casserole dish (8×8 or 9×9).

2. In a small saucepan, melt 2 T. butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to a boil and cook until thickened to gravy consistency. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Add the broccoli. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Pour over chicken.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

4. Melt 2 T. butter or margarine and combine with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over chicken and return to the oven. Bake for 5-10 minutes, or until browned and chicken is fully cooked.

http://stolenmomentscooking.com/deconstructed-broccoli-cheese-stuffed-chicken-breasts/

Strawberry Sunrise Scones

(Pict is from the blog where I found the recipe - link below)

Scones

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, cold

6-oz (1 container) orange-flavored yogurt
(I have used whatever yogurt I have on hand. Dora and Trix yogurt tastes especially yummy in them! LOL!)

1 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen

Drizzle 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 2 tbsp [fresh] orange juice

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a food processor. Pulse for 5 seconds to combine. Cut butter into 4 or 5 pieces and add to food processor with flour mixture. Process for 10-15 seconds until no large pieces of butter remain.
(I don't have a food processor so I just use a fork to mix the dough and a spoon for the rest.)

Add yogurt and frozen strawberries to food processor. Pulse for 10-15 seconds until mixture comes together into a ball. Divide dough in half and shape into two balls. Place the balls on the baking sheet and press down until dough is 1-1½ inches thick. With a knife, cut a cross into the dough so that each disk is divided into 4 pieces. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until scones are lightly browned. Let the scones cool on the sheet for 5-10 minutes. Divide the scones along the lines you cut before baking and remove to a wire rack to cool.

While scones cool, prepare the glaze. Combine powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. When scones are cool enough to touch (it’s ok if they’re still a little warm, especially if you still want to serve them warm), drizzle glaze onto scones with a fork.

Makes 8 scones.

http://bakingbites.com/2008/04/strawberry-sunrise-scones/

Cha Cha Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple
• 2/3 cup orange-flavored sweetened dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped roasted, salted almonds
• Garnishes: fresh herbs, blackberries, raspberries, sliced peaches

Preparation

1. Whisk together cream cheese and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in chicken, pineapple, and cranberries just until blended.

2. If desired, spoon mixture into a plastic wrap-lined 8-inch round cake pan; cover and chill at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Invert chicken salad onto a cake stand, and remove plastic wrap. Gently press chopped almonds onto sides of chicken salad. Garnish, if desired.

Patricia Greene, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Southern Living, JUNE 2007

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 tablespoons brown sugar 4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 5 tablespoons white sugar 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons chopped pecans

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups white sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin 1/3 cup olive oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.
2.	To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, then set aside.
3.	For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
4.	For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil and vanilla. Beat together until smooth.
5.	Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.
6.	Bake at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Confetti Egg Strata!

This is the egg dish served at Becca's shower. :)
12 eggs, beaten
3 1/2 cups milk
1 T. dry mustard
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
12 slices white bread, cubed
1 1/2 c. cubed ham
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. chopped red pepper
1 jar (4oz) sliced pimentos (I leave these out and use the red pepper instead)

Preheat oven to 350*
Beat eggs, milk and seasonings in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients
and stir to combine. Pour into lightly greased 9x13 baker, cover with plastic, and refrigerate
overnight. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until set and golden on top.
Yield- 10-12 servings

Gigi's Pumpkin Pasta

I got this recipe from my girl Gigi Kennedy and we LOVE it.
I use more of the canned pumpkin rather than less--usually I make Margie's Pumpkin Muffins and used whatever's left from the can for the pasta. Mmmmmmmmm....yummy.
Enjoy!

Gigi's Pumpkin Pasta
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pound package of Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage (removed from its casing)
2/3 cup to 2 cups pumpkin puree (depending on your personal taste)
1 can chicken broth
¼ cup half & half
½ cup sour cream (low-fat or fat free)
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
1 tsp sage
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
¼ cup Romano Cheese, shredded
1 pound penne or rotini pasta

In a large skillet sauté the garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. Add the turkey sausage and cook until no longer pink, breaking the meat up with your spoon as you cook it. Remove turkey sausage and garlic from the skillet. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet and deglaze the pan using a wire whisk, to bring up all of the flavors stuck to the pan. Whisk in the half and half, sour cream, pumpkin, and seasonings. Simmer for ten minutes. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain pasta and stir into the pumpkin mixture along with the turkey sausage, simmering for another three minutes or until the sauce thickens and hugs the pasta. Stir in parsley and garnish with Romano and more parsley.

Side Note- If the sauce is too thick, thin it with a little addition of chicken broth until you get it to the right consistency.