Asparagus Casserole from Gooseberry Patch’s Quick & Easy Christmas

 Recipes  9 Responses »
Oct 262011
 

My husband and I love asparagus but aren’t that crazy about green beans.  That means that a holiday staple – Green Bean Casserole – is off the menu for us.   So I was excited to find Asparagus Casserole recipe in the Gooseberry Patch Quick & Easy Christmas cookbook.

We decided to give it a try tonight as a pairing with chicken cordon bleu.  Generally we make Parmesan roasted asparagus to go with it but the fresh asparagus in our area hasn’t looked too hot lately and this recipe called for frozen, so it was a good fit. Continue reading »

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

 Recipes  4 Responses »
Oct 192011
 

Tasty Tuesday: Peanut Butter Cookies

I was in the baking mood over the weekend and felt like baking some cookies.  I knew if I made chocolate chip cookies I’d end up eating more of them than I wanted to, so I decided to make peanut butter cookies, which are a favorite of my husband.  I like them, too, but not so much that I’d be too tempted. They also fairly fast to pull together, and I always have the ingredients on hand.  Definitely a vote in their favor.

This is my Mom’s recipe for peanut butter cookies (they’re also a favorite of my father’s so she’s baked a few dozen in her day).  Not sure where she got it from, but it’s probably a fairly standard cookie recipe.
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Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 5 dz
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • 1 T milk
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Whisk together the flour, both sugars, salt and baking soda.
  3. Beat in the eggs, milk, peanut butter and shortening until dough pulls together.
  4. Roll into small balls then roll the balls in sugar; place on a baking sheet. Press down slightly with tines of a fork.
  5. Bake for 12-14 minutes until cookies start to brown. Cookies will continue to cook a little while cooling.

 

They’re also very yummy when you turn them into Peanut Butter Blossoms.  Just press an unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each cookie as soon as they come out of the oven (the tops will crack a little).

Tasty Tuesday – Individual Homemade Pizzas

 pizza, Recipes, tasty tuesday  No Responses »
Oct 052011
 

We’re getting a late blast of summer weather here (last week it was in the 40s and 50s; this week we’re supposed to have several days in the 80s) and we’ve been trying to enjoy it.  Today I took care of a handful of errands and then we took a nice walk.  By the time we were home and settled in for the night I wasn’t in the mood to get involved in a big, heavy meal (I had been planning chicken and dumplings).  No one could come up with a suggestion so I decided to fall back on a simple, quick and easy meal: individual homemade pizzas.  An added bonus is that because they’re individually-sized, everyone gets to customize their own to their own tastes.

I started with some dough that I had left from a batch of bread.  After I let it proof a little, I dusted my counter-top with cornmeal, rolled out the individual crusts and pre-baked them in a 475 degree oven for 4 minutes each on a pizza stone (if you don’t have a pizza peel, consider investing in one like this one; it makes it much easier to slide in and out of the oven).

From there we loaded them up with sauce, shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and toppings (pepperoni, mushrooms, and some fresh oregano and basil for me; pepperoni and bacon for the hubs).  Turn the temperature down to 450 and put them back in the oven for  7-8 minutes each, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.


Sorry that there is no “baked” picture to share with you; the batteries in my digital camera died and my stomach said that waiting for them to recharge wasn’t an option.

Again, a very simple meal, but great for those nights that you just don’t have the time or energy (or desire) to get to fancy or creative.  Plus it’s very healthy!
Do you have a recipe or cooking-related post you’d like to share?  Please link them up below!

Tasty Tuesday – Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

 macaroons, Recipes, tasty tuesday  1 Response »
Sep 272011
 


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My husband has a bit of a sweet tooth, especially when it comes to baked goods.  It’s not uncommon to hear, “You know what would really hit the spot?” followed by either peanut butter cookies, brownies or red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  That’s basically his way of saying “Any chance you might walk into the kitchen and then magically make something appear?”
I totally do not mind these requests since I love to bake, especially for him.  Every once in awhile, though, he asks for something a little bit different – like macaroons.  The first time he asked for them I had to go searching for a recipe; I wasn’t a huge coconut fan when I was younger so I hadn’t made them before.  I found one on Brown Eyed Baker that is fairly easy to make (if you don’t read her blog, you should; yummy!) and it has become my go-to macaroon recipe.

I was in a bit of a rush when I made these, so they’re not overly beautiful – but they certainly are tasty (they taste kind of like a grilled Almond Joy bar).  Generally I take my time and make them a little smaller which increases the prettiness factor.

Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 lg. egg white
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

  1. Preheat oven to 325; line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, egg white, vanilla and salt.  Stir in the coconut until well-combined.
  3. Drop dough by small tablespoonfuls onto the parchment-lined baking sheets.  Space the macaroons about 2″ apart.  With wet fingers, shape the dough into haystacks.  Continue to wet fingers as necessary if they start to get sticky or hard to shape.
  4. Bake one sheet at a time for 15-20 minutes, or until they turn a light golden brown.
  5. Cool on cookie sheet for about 2 minutes, until starting to set.  Use a metal spatula to move the macaroons to a wire cooling rack.  Cool for an additional 30 minutes, until they reach room temperature.
  6. Melt 8 ounces of the chopped semi-sweet chocolate (I did mine in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between, but you can also melt it in a heat-proof bowl set over a bowl of barely-simmering water).  Once melted and smooth, add in the remaining 2 ounces of chopped chocolate, and stir until smooth.
  7. Holding the tips of the macaroons, dip the bottoms and 1/2″ up the sides of the macaroons.  Scrape off excess chocolate, and set back on the parchment-lined baking sheets to set.
Makes 24-36, depending on how big you make them.

Do you have a recipe or food-related post you’d like to share?  Please link them up here!

Chicken Recipes: Buffalo Chicken Mac ‘n Cheese

 Recipes  No Responses »
Sep 142011
 

Chicken Recipes: A New Take On Wings

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that doesn’t love mac & cheese.  It’s an iconic comfort food, all warm and creamy and cheesy.  When I ran across this recipe in a magazine (I believe it was Taste of Home) that crossed mac & cheese with the classic flavors of buffalo chicken wings – I knew we had to try it.  I’m so glad we did!  This was scooped up quick, with just a little taste left for lunch the next day.  It can be hard to find new chicken recipes and it’s nice to have a new favorite to add to our rotation.

Buffalo Chicken Mac ‘n Cheese

7 T butter
1 lb. pasta (cavatappi is my favorite, but you can use elbows or any similar pasta)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
2 gloves garlic, minced
3/4 C hot sauce
2 T flour
2 tsp. dry mustard
2 1/2 C half & half
1 lb. yellow sharp cheddar, cut into 1″ cubes
8 oz. shredded Monterey jack cheese
2/3 C sour cream
1 C panko
2 T chopped fresh parsley

  1. Preheat oven to 350; butter a 9×13″ baking dish.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta and cook for about 7 minutes.  Drain.
  2. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 more minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
  3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Whisk in the half & half, the add the remaining 1/4 cup of hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses; whisk in the sour cream until thick, around another 2 minutes.
  4. Spread 1/2 of the cooked macaroni in the buttered dish; top with chicken and then the rest of the macaroni.  Pour the sauce over the entire thing.
  5. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet and mix in the panko and parsley.  Sprinkle over the sauce.  Bake until bubbly, 30-40 minutes.

As you can probably tell, this isn’t health food.  And while we generally try and eat healthily, I really think that every now and then everyone needs something creamy and cheesy.

Chicken Recipes - Tasty Tuesday

About the hot sauce: 3/4 cup sounds like a LOT of hot sauce and I was a little scared.  But it really didn’t end up being too much at all (though I do reduce it to about a half cup when I’m making it for the kiddos).  You can even use a combination to get different tastes.  Recently I had partial bottles of both Texas Pete’s Original Hot Sauce and Garlic Hot Sauce so I used a 1/4 cup of the garlic and 1/2 cup of the regular and it was quite tasty.

Do you have a chicken recipe you’d like to share?

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