Emily's Cran-Apple Bake

I took this to my mom's holiday cookie exchange party and it was a huge hit! Thanks for the delicious recipe Em!

3 cups peeled, chopped apples (preferable Granny Smith)

2 cups fresh cranberries

1/2 cup four plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided use

1 cup sugar (this seemed like a lot of sugar and I think it would be just fine with a smaller amount)

3 packages cinnamon instant oatmeal

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the apples and cranberries with 2 tablespoons flour until coated. Add 1 cup sugar and mix well. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Mix the oatmeal, rest of the flour, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter together. Spoon topping over the fruit. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Colin loved this, but I'm not sure that's saying much since I think he has loved every version of chicken parm that he's ever tried!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

Seasoned breadcrumbs

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

8 slices mozzarella cheese (I used shredded since that's what we had and it worked just fine)
1 jar (16 oz) marinara sauce

Parmesan cheese

Whisk together the egg and milk. Dip the chicken breasts in mixture, then in breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides until golden, 3-4 minutes on each side. Set chicken in a baking dish. Put 2 slices of mozzarella on each breast. Pour sauce over all. Sprinkle with Parmesan and a little more mozzarella and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This was good and it was fun to try an asian recipe but I'm not sure it was worth all the time and effort. Next time I want sweet and sour chicken I may just head to Pei Wei...

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Season chicken chunks with salt and pepper. Dip chicken into cornstarch, then egg. Fry in a little oil until brown, but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken. Bake for 1 hour at 325, uncovered. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Orzo with Yellow Squash and Mushrooms

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large shallot, chopped

1 1/4 lb. yellow squash, cut into 1/3 inch cubes

1/2 lb. mushrooms, cut into 1/3 inch cubes

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups orzo

1/2 cup Parmesan

1/4 cup whipping cream

4 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley, divided

1/3 cup pinenuts, toasted

Melt butter with oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot; saute 2 minutes. Add squash. Increase heat to medium-high; saute until softened, about 3 mintues. Add mushrooms, saute until tender, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, cook orzo in boiling salted water until just tender but firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup pasta liquid. Mix orzo, cheese, cream and 3 tablespoons parsley into veggies in skillet. Stir over low heat until creamy, adding some reserved pasta liquid if dry, about 3 minutes. Mix in pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Source epicurious.com

Black Bean Soup

Obviously black bean soup doesn't photograph well but this was so good! Lots of flavor and it was really pretty easy too.

1 medium red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons oil
3 cans (16 oz.) black beans, undrained
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth (could easily use veggie broth to make this a truly vegetarian recipe)
1 jar (16 oz) chunky salsa
1/2 cup sour cream

Cook and stir onion, garlic and cumin in oil over medium heat in a large saucepan for 3 minutes. Place one can of undrained beans and half of the broth in a blender or food processor and cover. Blend until pureed. Add to ingredients in saucepan. Add remaining beans, broth and salsa to saucepan; mix well. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Served topped with a dollop of sour cream.

Source kraftfoods.com

Weekly Menu 12/14-12/20

Sunday:
Turkey and black bean nachos
Veggies with ranch dip

Monday:
Baked Chicken Parmesan
Olive Oil and Garlic Pasta

Tuesday:
"Hurry Up" Pot Pie
Salad

Wednesday:
Chicken salad on enlish muffins
Salad

Thursday:
Cheese ravioli with marinara
Pesto veggies

The rest of the week is literally filled with various Christmas parties so I don't think I'll have time to do much more cooking!

Turkey and White Bean Chili

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb. ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

4 teaspoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes in juice, chopped

1 can (15 oz.) white kidney beans (cannelli), rinsed and drained

1/2 cup light sour cream

Source delish.com

In a 12 inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat until hot. Add turkey and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook 6-8 minutes, or until turkey loses its pink color. Add onion and cook 4 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin, cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes with their juice, beans and 1/2 cup water. Heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cake

This was Colin's request for his birthday cake and he loved it!

1 box yellow cake mix

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can milk chocolate frosting

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Mix cake mix as directed, beat in peanut butter. Stir in melted chocolate in marble style. Bake in a 9x13 pan according the cake mix directions. Spread chocolate frosting over cooled cake and sprinkle chopped peanuts over top.

Birthday Banana Bread

Colin made a request for banana bread, so I figured that it would be the perfect breakfast to start the celebration of his 29th birthday!

One Pan Banana Bread

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3-4)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

2 1/3 cup Bisquick

1 cup sugar

(I also added some pecans)

Preheat oven to 350. Generously grease the bottom of a loaf pan. Stir all ingredients in a bowl with a fork until moistened; beat vigorously for 1 minute. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes.

Colin usually likes his banana bread with plain old butter, but I also made some maple whipped cream to go with the bread and it was really tasty!

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon pure maple sugar

1 pinch nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and beat until soft peaks form.

"Chicken" Noodle Soup with Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

There's not any actual chicken in this soup, which is a little bit strange, but it still has plenty of good flavor and is cheaper and easier without the chicken anyway.

2 tablespoons olive oil

76 oz. chicken broth

Roughly chopped veggies: 1/2 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk

Finely chopped veggies: 1/4 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk

2 sage leaves, finely chopped

Pinch of dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

8 oz. egg noodles

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add roughly chopped onions and garlic, saute 3-4 minutes. Add roughly chopped carrots and celery; add sage. Stir for 2 minutes and then add broth, dried thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then keep at a simmer until veggies are soft. Turn heat to low, remove bay leaf and puree veggies using a handheld immersion blender (I think I may skip this process next time and just chop all veggies to a medium size). Add finely chopped veggies to the broth and simmer until soft (this step would be skipped if all veggies were chopped to the same size and added all at once). Cook egg noodles separately and add to each serving of soup (cook them separately so they don't soak up too much of the broth).

Garlic-Cheese Biscuits (otherwise known as the "Red Lobster biscuits")

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

2/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon parsley

Makes about 12 biscuits

Preheat oven to 450. Mix all ingredients until moist. Drop onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden.

Weekly Menu 12/7-12/14

Sunday:
Chicken Noodle Soup
Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

Monday:
Turkey and White Bean Chili

Tuesday:
Pasta with Tomato-Cream Sauce
Garlic Spinach

Wednesday:
Orzo with Yellow Squash and Mushrooms
Salad

Thursday:
Spinach and Pesto Pizza
Caprese Salad

Prosciutto Wrapped Breadsticks

This is just as easy as it sounds but still manages to seem a little bit snazzy. I baked the refrigerated breadsticks then spread a little bit of garlic-herb cream cheese on a piece of prosciutto and wrapped it around the breadstick--delish!

Chocolate Raspberry Truffles

Makes about 2 dozen

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3 tablespoons seedless raspberry preserves, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cup ground almonds

In a medium saucepan, bring cream to boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; whisk in chocolate chips, preserves and almond extract until combined. Chill for for at least 2 hours. Shape chocolate mixture into 1/2 inch balls. Roll each ball in ground almonds. Chill truffles until ready to serve.

Source Taste of the South: Parties Edition

Dark Chocolate Almond Fudge

3 cups high quality dark chocolate, chopped fine (60% cocoa)

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped

Line an 8x8 pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. In a double boiler over medium-low heat, combine dark chocolate and evaporated milk, stirring constantly. Once melted smoothly, remove from heat and add in vanilla and almonds, stirring to combine. Scrape chocolate mixture into prepared pan and smooth top. Place into fridge and cool completely, about 2 hours. Remove from fridge, remove from pan and remove foil. Cut into pieces and store, covered at room temperature.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This is my go-to party appetizer and I absolutely love it every time I make it!

1/2 sweet yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, pressed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (10 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach

2 cans artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsely chopped

2 packages cream cheese, softened (I use light or fat free)

1/2 cup sour cream (I use light)

1/2 cup mayo (I use light--I'm making a real effort to make this a slightly healthier version!)

2/3 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup mozzarella

Few pinches of red pepper flakes

Salt

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil, set aside. Cook spinach according to package directions, drain. Mix spinach, onion and garlic in a large bowl. Add cream cheese, mix. Add mayo, sour cream, cheeses, red pepper flakes and salt. Mix well. Add artichoke hearts, mix. Transfer to a baking dish top with a little more mozzarella. Bake at 350 until bubbly and slightly browned on the top, about 25 mintues. Serve with tortilla chips or raw vegetables.

Apple Pecan Cheesecake

This was my first attempt at cheesecake and I was making it as one of the Thanksgiving desserts, so I was feeling a little nervous about it. Then as I was about to pop it in the oven, I realized that I had used regular sugar when I was supposed to use brown sugar! It ended up turning out really good anyway and I got lots of compliments on it, so even with the mini-disaster, my first cheesecake was a success!

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

4 packages cream cheese, softened (I used 2 regular and 2 fat free)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)

4 eggs

4 cups chopped, peeled apples (about 3)

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 325. Line 9x13 pan with foil. Mix crumbs, butter and 2 tablespoons sugar; press onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add sour cream; blend. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust. Mix remaining 1/2 sugar, apples, pecans and cinnamon; spoon over batter. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes. Cool. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Use foil to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.

Makes 16 servings

Source Jello ad in Everyday by Rachael Ray magazine

Menu 11/29-12/7

Sunday:
Dinner at my mom's for my sisters' last night in town :(

Monday:
Black Bean Soup
Turkey tacos

Tuesday:
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Rice
Veggie Eggrolls

Wednesday:
Chicken Noodle Soup
Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

Thursday:
Smothered Mushroom Chicken
Garlic Spinach

Apple Pancake Disaster

So you would think it would be easy to make pancakes from a mix, but apparently not so much. These were still tasty even after they were mangled (and I must add that my lovely husband was in charge of the pancake flipping) and Colin was pretty impressed that I managed to just "whip up" some real whipped cream!

Taco Soup with Jalapeno Cornbread

Ok, I think I have a slight soup obsession! I always find recipes for soups that sound so good and they're usually so easy and filling that it's hard to resist! I know pretty much everyone has a version of a taco soup recipe, so here's mine.....

1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1 can (15 oz.) whole kernel corn
1 can (14 oz.) stewed tomatoes
1 can (6 oz.) tomato sauce
2-3 cups water
1 can (10 oz.) Rotel tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning
1 package ranch dressing

Brown meat in Dutch oven. Add all other ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes. Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocados and crushed corn chips.

Before I made this cornbread Colin made sure to tell me that he didn't like it when cornbread was "too dry". So, lucky me, I came across a recipe for "extra moist" jalapeno cornbread and figured Colin would love it. Well, turns out he also doesn't like it when cornbread is "too mushy", go figure! Either way I thought this was super tasty and will definitely make it again!

Extra Moist Jalapeno Cornbread
3 (7 oz.) packages of cornbread mix (if using Jiffy, omit the sugar from the recipe)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cups shredded Colby or Monterey Jack cheese (I only used 1 cup)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups whole or buttermilk (I used 1% milk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sugar
1 (15 oz.) can cream-style corn
6 oz. chopped jalapenos

*This made a huge amount, so I'll probably half it next time

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9x13 pan or cast iron skillet. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes (I ended up baking it for closer to an hour).

Parmesan Orzo with Pesto Vegetables

Colin used to say that a meal wasn't really a meal without meat, but ever since our "Month Without Meat" last year, he's been a total convert to vegetarian-ish meals. He loved this and made sure to take all the leftovers with him for lunch the next day too!

Parmeasan Orzo

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup orzo

1 1/4 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth

1 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add orzo and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper

Source Cooking Light

Red Potatoes and Green Beans with Pesto

1 pound small red potatoes, quartered

1/2 pound green beans, trimmed

1/2 cup pesto (I kept it simple and used store-bought)

1/4 cup goat cheese, optional (I skipped this)

Handful of thin red onion slices

Salt and pepper

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and season with salt. Simmer until potatoes are nearly tender, about 12 minutes. Add the green beans to the pot and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Drain the vegetables and toss with the pesto (and goat cheese, if using). Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with sliced red onion.

Cheesy Muffins

I made these for both my work Thanksgiving lunch and real Thanksgiving and they were enjoyed at both!

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups shredded colby jack cheese (I only use 2 cups and they are still plenty cheesy!)

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375. Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Mix together and bake in 12 greased muffin tins for about 15 minutes.