Penne in Vodka Sauce

If you know me, you know I have a husband who used to not like pasta. Yes, there was once someone out there who said they did not like pasta. And I married him anyway. Its been over a year now since the pasta break through, and here I am able to cook a 100% pasta dish for dinner. I'm still waiting for the vegetable break through, although that one I'm not too sure will ever happen.

This is a family recipe of my husband's and I'm so glad it was given to me to share. I think having the fresh basil and Romano cheese in the sauce makes this so mouth watering you're definitely going to want seconds or thirds.

Apricot and Mozzarella Crisps

Hi. Remember me? Sorry about the whole taking a month and a half off thing, I promise it won't happen again. Well, ok it probably will happen again. I wish I had a good excuse for you, like I've been busy traveling the world and am returning to you with scores of international cooking knowledge. But the real answer is I got really freaking lazy. Please accept this recipe as my peace offering.

I first read this ingredient list and went , "Huh?". Prosciutto, apricot, and cheese sounded like a strange combination...but sometimes those turn out to be surprisingly delicious. These turned out to be refreshingly delectable, and the flavors blend together quite well and don't taste as an odd match whatsoever. I guess I can't be too shocked, being that this is a Giada recipe I had a certain trust level in it to begin with. This is a great Spring/Summer appetizer being that they are light and not too filling.

Ingredients

-1 loaf French bread with sesame seeds

-EVOO

-4-5 tablespoons apricot preserves

-1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

-4-5 thin slice prosciutto

 1. Slice French bread loaf into thin crisps. Drizzle with EVOO and broil about 4-5 minutes until just slightly browned.

2. Remove from oven and top with shredded cheese. Return to the broiler and broil an additional 4-5 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbly. Remove and top with the preserves and a slice or two of the prosciutto. Server immediately.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis

Cajun Fried Rice

Now, no one died and made me the queen of blogging in their Last Will and Testament. Nor do I pretend to be an award winning food photographer (see photo below); however the endless hours I've spent over the past few years browsing countless blogs has led me to create my 6 Characteristics of Cringeworthy Blog Writing.

1. 5,261 photos of the same thing. When looking for a recipe, I have the attention span of a 6 week old kitten. If I have to scroll past photo after photo after photo of what appears to be the exact same photo to search for the ingredient list I've lost interest.

2. Giving me your hour by hour itinerary of what you did that day. If 10 paragraphs detailing every uninteresting minute detail of your day stand in the way of my eyes and the recipe I'm trying to get to, I'm moving on.

3. Being pretentious. When a phrase is written, crossed off, and followed by a rewording. Yes, I just did it; but I only did it to prove my point, jeez.

4. Making me click another link to get to the recipe. If there is more than one click involved I revert back to the attention span of 6 week old kitten. Much to the same tone if I have to sit through a :30 ad before a Youtube video I'd rather spend those :30 searching for one without an ad.

5. Blogs that try too hard. I have a distaste (no pun intended) when I get the sense that it is trying to hard to be coy or edgy with the content or writing style. Littering your posts with f-bombs doesn't make you edgy or unique, it makes you look annoyingly desperate.

6. Highlighting every DIY project. I love a good DIY project, but I have little desire to view and read about an adults equivalent of a 1st grader's macaroni art project. I once saw a tissue paper bouquet that looked like a box of Kleenex drank Pepto Bismol and then vomited.



Ingredients

-1 Andouille sausage

-1 red bell pepper, diced

-1 boil in a bag brown rice

-1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

1. Dice sausage and saute with the diced red peppers over medium heat about 7-8 minutes to brown.

2. Cook rice according to package instructions. Add cooked rice to pan with sausage and peppers. Add 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning. Cook over medium high heat 6-7 minutes to fry.

Easy Enchilada Chicken

I absolutely love enchilada sauce so I had an idea to make a deconstructed enchilada of sorts. This is incredibly quick and easy to throw together, but isn't lacking in flavor. This was so good I made it twice within one week. Do yourself a favor and keep a couple cans of enchilada sauce stocked in your pantry so you and whip this up whenever you want.

 

 

Ingredients

-2 boneless chicken breasts, butterflied

-2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs

-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

-1 tablespoon EVOO

-salt and pepper

-1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

-1 14oz can Old El Paso enchilada sauce

-1 teaspoon Texas Pete hot sauce



1. Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken breasts on baking sheet. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with panko bread crumbs, the drizzle with the EVOO. Bake 25-30 minutes.

2. Heat the enchilada sauce and stir in the hot sauce. Simmer.

3. Remove chicken from oven and top with the Cheddar cheese. Broil 5-6 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbly. Cover with enchilada sauce.

Grilled Ham and Cheese with Dijon Rosemary Spread

Here's your perfect way to use up that Easter ham. A pleasant blend of sharp Cheddar cheese, ham, and a cool Dijon, mayo, and rosemary spread. I whipped this up using some leftover ham and it was the perfect quick and easy dinner! The Dijon spread gives it a gourmet taste and sets this melty bad boy apart from your everyday grilled cheese.

I could bore you some commentary about my day or my weekend to come, but honestly I don't feel like typing anymore this evening. So here's a funny picture:

Ingredients- Yields 2 sandwiches
-4 slices whole wheat bread
-1 tablespoon butter
-several slices from a spiral ham
-2 thick slices Sharp cheddar cheese
-2 teaspoons mayo
-1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1. Butter all sides of each slice of bread. In a frying pan, cook until browned, then flip each slice, cook 3-4 minutes until browned.

2. Place ham and cheese on one side of bread, and top with the remaining slices. Cover and cook 4-5 minutes until cheese melts.

3. In a small bowl, combine the mustard, mayo, rosemary, and garlic powder. Spoon over cooked grilled cheeses, serve immediately.

Individual Mac n' Cheese 3 Ways

What's better than an adorable personal ramekin of mac n' cheese? 3 types of individual mac n' cheese! Yes, what you see below is classic, BBQ, and spicy mac n' cheese. While I loved all three, my personal favorite was the BBQ sauce one. I've always loved to mix some of my BBQ sauce with mac n' cheese and figured, what the heck, give it a whirl making it that way from the get go! Delicious.

Being that I'm still shivering from the cold, I decided to write an open break-up letter to Winter in hopes of bringing in Spring a bit quicker.

Winter,

After several weeks of thinking, this relationship needs to come to an end. At first, your light flurries and brisk air were a welcomed  sign that the Holidays were right around the corner. Curling up with a cup of hot cocoa as I was kept warm by the humming heater wasn't a bother at all. Now, as we're well into Spring, your gusts of cold air that blow my bangs straight up are downright annoying. I can't pretend anymore to like waking up to a 50 degree apartment, and opening my $200 electric bills is something I can't tolerate any longer. I need space. I need a break. This isn't good-bye forever, I promise we'll be in touch and see each other again in a few months. Who knows, maybe in a few months my feelings will change.

Warmest regards,
Chilly in NJ

 

Ingredients- Yields 4 Ramekins

-1 egg

-1 cup dried elbow noodles

-5 tablespoons evaporated milk

-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/8 teaspoon pepper

- 1 1/3 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

-3 tablespoons BBQ sauce

-3 teaspoons hot sauce

1. Cook pasta. Preheat oven to 375. Generously coat with cooking spray 4 ramekins and place on a baking sheet.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg, evaporated milk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

3. Assembling:

• Classic: Place a small layer of cheese in the bottom of the ramekin, alternate layers of noodles, then cheddar cheese, then noodles, then cheddar cheese. Making sure the final layer is cheese, and making sure each layer of cheese fully covers the noodles. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the milk mixture into ramekin.

• BBQ: Place a small layer of cheese and BBQ sauce in the bottom of the ramekin, alternate layers of noodles, tablespoon of BBQ sauce, then cheddar cheese, then noodles, then BBQ sauce then cheddar cheese. Making sure the final layer is cheese and some BBQ sauce, and making sure each layer of cheese fully covers the noodles. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the milk mixture into ramekin.

• Spicy: Place a small layer of cheese and hot sauce in the bottom of the ramekin, alternate layers of noodles, tablespoon of hot sauce, then cheddar cheese, then noodles, then hot sauce then cheddar cheese. Making sure the final layer is cheese and some hot sauce, and making sure each layer of cheese fully covers the noodles. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the milk mixture into ramekin.

4. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. The broil 5-6 minutes until cheese is bubbly and browned.

Sweet Sixteen

In honor of March Madness, I give you my Sweet Sixteen: a collection of sixteen of my delicious desserts. I do say, this sweet sixteen was a lot easier than my bracket. I'm honestly not sure if I even picked any of the 16 teams correctly. I haven't been paying much attention since Gonzaga was beat, which I shouldn't be too surprised being that I only picked them because it reminded me of Gorgonzloa cheese.

Enjoy!

Reese's Brownie Bars

Frozen Chocolate Mousse Pie

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ganache Cookies

Indoor S'mores

Bailey's Molten Lava Cakes

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Cookies

S'more Brownies

Oreo Truffles

Coffee and Nutella Cupcakes

Nutella Brownies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Molten Lava Cakes

Baked S'mores

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie Bars

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies