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.

Margie's Pumpkin Muffins

I always have to search for this recipe so decided to post it here. They are so so good--and kids love them {and never know they're getting a vegetable!} Recipe from Margie Romney-Aslett.

Margie's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 Cups Oil
2 Cups Brown Sugar
4 Cups Sugar
(beat together)
8 beaten eggs
1 1/2 TB baking Soda dissolved in 1/3 C warm water
(add while mixing)
4 Cups Canned Pumpkin
(add to mixture)
Slowly add:
7 Cups Flour
2 TSPs Baking Powder
2 TSPs Salt
1 1/2 TSPs Ginger
2 TSPs Cloves
2 TSPs Nutmeg
4 TSPs Cinnamon
(mix)
1 Cup Warm Water
3 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
(can use Milk Chocolate)

Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, check on them at 15 minutes
This recipe makes a BUTT load...I cut it in half and get 4 dozen muffins...
ENJOY!

Go Bananas... b-a-n-a-n-a-s!

'












Banana Pudding...
2 cups of coconut (firmly packed)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks of butter

Mix above together until crumbly.
Place on a cookie sheet and backe at 300* for about 45 minutes.
Stir every 15 minutes to evenly brown.
Cool completely.

Prepare 3 packages of French Vanilla Pudding according to direction.

Place 2/3 of coconut mixture into bottom of a 9x13 pan
Spoon pudding on top of coconut mixture.
slice 3 large bananas on top of pudding. (I did 4 just to cover it all!)
Top with cool whip.
Sprinkle remaining coconut mixture on top.
Refrigerate.

ENJOY! :) This is GOOD STUFF! :)

You're so Cheesy...

Cheesy Mostaccioli
16 oz. Mostaccioli cooked and drained
1.5 lbs. Ground Beef (or 1lb. Groud Beef and .5 Sausage)
pepper (fresh ground to taste)
1 TBSP. Italian Seasoning
28 oz. Spaghetti Sauce (I use the Hunts cheap-y sauce and an 8 oz can of tomato sauce with it)
1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup
2 c. Mozzarella Cheese

Mix above ingredients together and place into baking dish.
Top with an additional 1 cup of Cheese.
Bake at 350* for 40 minutes.

I can pretty much guarantee that your kids will LOVE this... unless they're Cole and they hate cheese... :)

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

I LOVE these potatoes. They're the best I've ever made or tasted... I'm just sayin'.
Hope you love them too! Best part? They can be made days in advance. Perfect.

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
5 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed (I use Yukon Golds)
5 TBSP butter (divided)
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 c. Sour Cream
1/2 to 1 c. Milk
2 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender (20-25 minutes)
Drain well.
Mash with 3 Tbsp. butter.
Add remaining ingredients (except remaining butter) and mix well.
Spoon into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Melt remaining butter and drizzle over top.
Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.

Bake uncovered 350* for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
Sprinkle with Seasoning Salt (or pepper in our case) before serving.
ENJOY! :)

Cracked Corn and Cheese Square

(Pict coming soon, but remind me if I forget. LOL!)

Cracked Corn and Cheese Squares
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray via Gabby

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 4 + servings
User Rating:
1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix, mixed to package directions
Softened butter, to grease baking dish
1/3 pound Monterey Jack or pepper Jack, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with butter. Stir cheese, corn, and scallions into packaged mixed corn muffin batter.
Pour batter into baking dish and bake at 400 degrees F until golden, 18 minutes.

Pudding Bars...

Crust:
1 cup flour
1 stick butter
2Tbsp Sugar
1/2 c. Pecans

350* for 10-13 minutes
make sure it's just a tad brown.
You want it to be a bit crispy.

Layers:
8oz. Cream Cheese
1c. Powdered Sugar
1c. Cool Whip
Mix together and place on cooled crust.

2pkgs. Pudding
3c. Milk
Mix together and place on top of cream cheese layer

Top with remaining cool whip from a 16oz. container.
Let set up in refrigerator. ENJOY!

Broccoli Salad...

1 Bunch Broccoli- chopped
1/2 head Cauliflower- chopped
1/2 C. Craisins
1 lb. bacon crisply cooked and crumbled
1/2 sweet onion finely chopped
1/2 C. Sunflower Seeds
Dressing:
1 C. Mayo
1/2 C. Sugar
2TBSP Red Wine Vinegar

Stir together Broccoli, Cauliflower, Craisins, Bacon, Onion and Sunflower Seeds.
In a separate bowl stir together dressing ingredients and add to Broccoli Mixture.
Chill and serve.
YuMmY! :)

Heavenly Potatoes with Ham

These are super yummy... a great way to use up the leftover ham from Easter! :)
Ingredients:
5 lbs. red potatoes (I used golden yukons because the reds at Target looked yucky!)
16oz. sour cream
1/2 c. melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onion (I used a yellow onion sauteed with some mushrooms in a little olive oil)
2 c. chopped ham
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese flavored bread crumbs
1/4 c. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350* and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish

Quarter potatoes and place into a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil until slightly tender. Drain and transfer to a lg. bowl.

Mix sour cream, 1/2 c. butter, crm. of chicken soup, cheese, onions, ham, salt and pepper with the potatoes. Spread into 9x13 dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and drizzle with 1/4 c. melted butter.

Bake for 30 minutes and serve.

Pistachio Bread

Pistachio Bread
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
2 small pkgs. instant pistachio pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/8 cup water (may omit--but I always use it)
1 cup sour cream
pecans, optional

Mix all ingredients together on low with electric mixer. The mixture will be very thick & sticky. Grease the bottom of two loaf pans, then cinnamon & sugar them. Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. You can also do this in one bundt pan or in mini loaf pans or cupcake liners--bake until they're golden and cooked in the center.

Banana Pumpkin Bread...

This is a recipe that I found in a Midwest Living magazine... it's amazing. Not too pumpkin... not too banana... :) It's "just right"! Enjoy...

Banana Pumpkin Bread

2 c. Sugar
2/3 c. cooking oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps. baking soda
1 1/2 tsps. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2/3 c. water
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1/2 c. mashed ripe banana (1 large)
3/4 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350* and grease the bottom and 1/2" up the sides of TWO 9x5x3 loaf pans.
In a large mixing bowl beat sugar and oil with electric mixer on medium speed until combined.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; set aside.
In another large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger.
Alternately add flour mixture and water to the sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
Beat in pumpkin and banana. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

Mexican Lasagna

I found this on the Pioneer Woman's blog, but when I made that version I had WAY more fillings than my lasagna dish could hold. So here's my modified version. Wilson said it was like a party in his mouth! LOL!

2 cups rice
3 cups chicken broth
3 tomatoes
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 lb beef
2 8 oz bags shredded Mexican cheese
2 cans corn (drained)
1 can black beans (optional)
2 16 oz jars salsa verde
1 8 oz jar enchilada sauce
1 1/2 - 2 pkgs taco seasoning
12 (or so) tortillas
cilantro
sour cream
butter

Prepare rice using chicken broth.
Chop tomatoes, onions and garlic, and saute with 1 tablespoon butter.
Add 1/2 or 1 package of taco seasoning (or make your own seasoning with chili powder, paprika and cumin to taste).
Add black beans
Combine rice and tomato/onion/garlic mixture.
Brown beef and add taco seasoning.

Spread one container of salsa verde in the bottom of the casserole dish.
Layer on tortillas covering the salsa verde. (Some overlapping is expected.)
Spread 1/2 of rice mixture on top of tortillas.
Spread one bag of shredded cheese on top of rice.
Next add another tortilla layer.
Spread enchilada sauce on the tortillas.
Next is a layer of the ground beef.
Then add 1 1/2 - 2 cans of corn.
Spread the remaining rice mixture onto the corn.
Then add the remaining salsa verde.
Top with second bag of shredded cheese.

Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes
Serve with sour cream and cilantro garnish

and you and you...You're Gonna Love Me.

Trust me, you'll be singing Jennifer Hudson too when I give you this recipe.
Carrie sent an email late last week and I knew immediately I would share it here. I have NOT tried this myself but I'm anxious to..and now I'll need to try to make the rye croutons. Yummers.
Anyway--Carrie said she made a few adjustments but I assume those changes are reflected there.

You're welcome.
: )


Upstream’s Smoked Gouda Cheese Soup

½ onion diced
2 garlic cloves pressed
1 cup corn (I used frozen corn cut from the husk last summer… the creamy sweetness made the soup!)
½ red bell pepper (pureed in processor)
¾ cup carrots (pureed in processor)
2 bottles of Ale (I used one Blue Moon and one Boulevard Pale Ale)
2 cans chicken stock
2 cups chopped red potatoes
4 cups heavy cream
1 ½ lbs smoked Gouda cheese (shredded)
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 teaspoons Beau Monde seasoning
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp (give or take) sea salt
¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper

In 2 Tbsp olive oil sauté onion until clear (I used a 7 ¼ qt Le Creuset). Add garlic stir in for one minute. Add pepper and carrot puree, and sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with beer. Add stock, stir and add potatoes. Bring to boil and then simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.

Reduce heat to low, stirring constantly, add cream. Sprinkle cornstarch over cheese, toss to mix (starch will somewhat lightly coat cheese). Add cheese mixture in SMALL batches into soup stirring to melt. Do not overheat.

At this point use an emulsion blender to CAREFULLY puree potatoes and any large onion pieces that have yet to cook down.

If soup is too thick, add more beer. Next add Beau Monde, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

ENJOY!!!

Corn Casserole

Corn Casserole
12oz. Egg Noodles- perpared according to pkg directions
(cook while you’re mixing up the rest of the casserole)
2 pounds ground beef- browned and drained
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 cans Corn
1 can Cream Style Corn
Mix soup and corn with ground beef and add in cooked noodles.
Pour into casserole dish (I use the BIG Pampered Chef Stoneware Bowl)
Melt one stick of butter and stir in one sleeve of crumbled crackers.
Spread on top of casserole and bake at 350* for about 30 minutes until
hot and bubbly. Enjoy!

My mom was the queen of the "one pound of hamburger to feed an entire family" meals when I was growing up. I've added an additional pound of ground beef to it since I need protein and an additional can of corn so there's enough liquid for the extra meat. It's a good basic meal. Nothing fancy but it's comfort food for me.

Sorry about the icky perspective on the photo. I was playing with the white balance and I should've also been paying attention to the composition of the shot. Oops!