Basic Pasta

Pasta…it can be a very daunting concept but it doesn’t need to be. In my opinion, there is nothing better than the taste of fresh pasta. And really it is not that hard.

The recipe is really easy.

1 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1-2 Tablespoon water, as needed.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Form a well in the middle and add the beaten egg. Mix with a fork, bringing in sides of the well little by little. The dough may be dry. If it is, you can start to add the water a tablespoon at a time. Knead for 3-4 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. The resting is essential for a tender pasta as this allows the gluten to relax.

Using either a rolling pin or a pasta machine, roll out and cut to your desired thickness. Bring salted water to a boil and add pasta. Don’t walk away as fresh pasta does not take nearly as long as the dry variety to cook. Once al dente, drain and serve. Makes about 3-4 servings

Cheesecake Cupcakes

Okay I know what you are thinking. What? Cheesecake cupcakes? Yes and I’m telling you that they are soooooo yummy.

I have been craving cheesecake for a while and I told the hubby this. We were throwing ideas back and forth of what types of cheesecake to make when he mentioned these. I had made these a long while ago and they were good. So I set out to search through my plethora of cookbooks to find the recipe. (One could not have too many cookbooks.)

The basis of the recipe comes from The Cake Mix Bible. I made a few tweaks and I must say these were even better than I remember.

Cheesecake Cupcakes
Crust:
1 package classic yellow cake mix or chocolate cake mix
1/4 cup of butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Top layer:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup sugar

Fruit layer (optional):
2 cups fresh berries
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place foil or paper liners in 24 muffin cups.

For the crust, in a bowl combine the cake mix with the melted butter and mix until crumbly. You can use a mixer if you desire but I found it was just as easy to use a fork. Divide the mixture until the bottom of the muffin cups (approx 2 T each). Level the mixture but don’t press it down too much.

Now onto the cheesecake filling. Combine the cream cheese and the sugar at medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Now add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well for about a minute. Spoon evenly over the crust mixture. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes or until set.

While the cheesecakes are baking, make the top layer. Combine the sour cream and sugar in a bowl. Spoon evenly over the cheesecakes and return back to the oven for 5 additional minutes. Cool completely.

The fruit topping is totally optional but I highly recommend it. For this one I used blackberries. I smashed the blackberries and then added the sugar. Spoon over the cheesecakes and serve cold.

Every one loved the individual cupcakes. The picture above shows the different layers. The crust tasted like almost like a graham cracker crust (the chocolate cake mix tastes like an oreo crust) and it has a nice crunch to it. The cheesecake was smooth and creamy. The sour cream added a nice tang to it and the blackberry sauce was just the crowning touch.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

So the other day as the husband and I brainstormed our grocery list the subject of stuffed bell peppers came up. They sounded good and we hadn’t had them in quite a while. I dig around looking for the recipe I used last time but try as I might I could not find it. So okay let’s wing it. I know the basic ingredients…bell peppers, ground meat, rice…

I have to say what I came up with was rather tasty.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
4-6 green bell peppers (can use any color but the husband prefers the green)
1 1/2 cup of cooked white rice
1 pound of hamburger (or any ground meat really)
1 small onion – diced
1 T minced garlic
1 t salt
1/4 t cracked black pepper
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t Worcestershire
8 oz no salt added tomato sauce
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I recommend applewood smoke Gruyere)

Cook your rice. Honestly, I cheat and use 5 minute rice. It’s easy.

While your rice is cooking, add the garlic, diced onions and hamburger in a skillet and cook until meat is done and onions is transparent. Drain the grease and return to the skillet. Add the spices, Worcestershire and tomato sauce. (Now don’t look at me strangely for the nutmeg. It’s actually quite tasty in savory dishes. Just remember that a little nutmeg can go a long way. And if you can…Fresh nutmeg is best.) Add the diced mushrooms and let simmer on low for about 5 minutes or so.

While that is simmering, prepare your bell peppers. I prefer to cut my bell peppers in half versus keeping it whole. You get a higher filling to bell pepper ratio. Make sure to cut off as much as the inner membranes as possible without damaging the outer shell.

Add the rice to the meat mixture and give it a good stir. Spoon the mixture into the prepared bell pepper shells and place on a cookie sheet. Put into a preheated 350 degree oven and back for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, pull out and add the shredded cheese if you want and put back into the over for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Serve with a salad and enjoy! They turned out so good!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli and Cheese Soup
2 T butter
½ cup finely diced onions
2 tsp garlic (freshly minced preferred)
1-2 pounds of broccoli (fresh or frozen but I prefer to use fresh)
4 cups of chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups shredded cheese (can add more if you want)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a dutch oven pot, saute the onions and garlic in the butter until onions are nice and translucent. Add chicken stock and chopped broccoli. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until broccoli is tender.

Note: Here’s my take on the broccoli…I normally prefer using 2 pounds as I like my soup heavy on the broccoli (It’s yummy yo!) I normally use whole broccoli, willing to save some change and put in the time to chop up the broccoli. The stems are good flavor and will add body to your soup while you can reserve most of the crowns or florets.

Once broccoli is tender, pull out the florets you want to keep whole for the soup and blend the rest using a hand blender or food processor until it is nice and smooth. Add the heavy cream and let it simmer until the soup starts to bubble and thicken.(If the soup is not thick enough for your tastes, you can thicken it easily by mixing together a cup of COLD water and a tablespoon of cornstarch. Add the slurry to the soup and let it boil for a minute or two. Just keep in mind that the cheese also thickens the soup.) Slowly add the cheese, a handful at a time, stirring until it is completely melted before adding more. Salt and pepper to your taste.

Cheese Note: You can use any cheese…just keep in mind you want a cheese that melts well and smoothly. One of my favorite cheese combinations for this soup is 1 ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar and 1 ½ cup shredded applewood smoked Gruyere. So yummy.

Serve with a little extra cheese on top if you are like me. Add some crackers and viola! You have a wonderful meal! You will get 4 to 6 servings out of this, depending on the size of your soup bowl.

Pineapple Pie

So a good friend last week posted a recipe on Facebook for a Pinceapple Pie. She had seen then recipe from a friend of hers back east. The thought of a pineapple pie was intriguing…I’ll be honest in that I’ve never heard of it before. But it was a holiday weekend and it looked rather simple so we decided to give it a try.

Pineapple Pie
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell (not deep dish)

Directions:

Put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well. Don’t be suprised or alarmed if there are still little chunks of butter in the batter. It will cook out and into the pie. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake 50 minutes in 350 degree oven or until it sets and is brown. Note: Make sure to place the pie on a cookie sheet as it will probably bubble over.

That’s it! Let it cool…preferably cold before serving. And the verdict? Everybody LOVED it! It was so good, especially with some homemade whipped cream. Since there is not a lot of flour in the pie, the eggs become the main binding agent giving the pie a custardy feel. It was sweet but not too sweet and all that butter soaked down into to pie crust making it even flakier and yummier.

I really think it gets better. I made the pie on Sunday for that night. Tonight the hubby and I had another pie and the flavors melded even more. It was delicious! So I recommend making it a day before you want to serve or at least a good 8 hours so it can get nice and cold.

Hope you enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Bake

So a while back, my Grandpa got me a huge bag of broccoli. I mean HUGE. Since it’s just my hubby and me I had to ponder exactly what I was going to make with all that broccoli before it went bad…well besides steaming some for the pups. They LOVE broccoli, especially Bevo, and it’s really good for them. It makes for a healthy treat for them.

So anyways after looking at a lot of recipes one of the things we decided on was a cheesy chicken broccoli bake. I didn’t pull from any one recipe. I just pulled parts that I liked the best and came up with my own particular version. I must say that for the first time making it…it was quite yummy.

Cheese Chicken Broccoli Bake
24 oz lightly steamed broccoli
2.5 cups cooked rice (I used long grain rice cooked in chicken broth)
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs beaten
1.5 T minced garlic
½ chopped onion
2 cups shredded colby jack cheese (divided)
½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
Seasonings (Salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder)

Rice: melt 2 T of butter in pot and add 1 1/4 cups long grain rice. Cook until rice gets a golden brown, normally just a minute or two. Add in 2 cups of chicken broth (you can use water or both broth and water), add a ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp cracked black pepper. Mix well and cover. Simmer on low for 20-25 minutes. DO NOT check on it! Just let it set. If you lift the lid then you let heat and steam escape and it will take longer for your rice to get done.

Chicken: I used boneless skinless chicken breasts. Heat pan and add about a tablespoon of olive oil to pan. Season  both sides of the chicken liberally with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder (you can change the spices to suit your tastes. I just love this flavor combination on meat though.) Place chicken in hot pan and get a good sear on each side. Chicken normally takes 6-8 minutes depending on how thick the breast is. Once done pull off pan and cube into bite size pieces.

In a big bowl combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk, sour cream, garlic, eggs, onion, and 1 cup of cheese. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Mix in the steamed broccoli, chicken and rice. Mix well and then spread out into a 9 by 13 cooking dish. Top with the remainder of the cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and continue to cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown.

And there you go! Enjoy!

Shepard's Pie

1# ground beef
1/2 onion diced
2 cans of corn, drained
3-4 cups of mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cup shredded colby jack cheese, divided
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef with diced onion, salt and pepper and drain. Place ground beef into a 9″ pyrex pie dish. Add the drained corn on top. Cover with 1/2 cup of cheese. Make mashed potatoes (you can totally use instant if you are short on time). I use 3-4 cups but I also like it potato heavy. You can cut it down to 2 cups if you so desire. Spread the potato on top, making sure you cover all the meat, corn and cheese. Add a little bit of salt and cracked black pepper to the top and then cover with the remainder of the cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is a nice golden brown. Serves 4-6 depending on portion size.

Pasta Primavera

Pasta Primavera (My own take on a classic)
Pasta Primavera is one of those classic pasta dishes from the 80’s or if you’ve been to many a hotel hosted conference like I have. It is full of veggitables and has a light sauce, sometimes creamy sometimes not. I poked around the recipe world and read so many different takes on it I ended up shaking my head and pushed away my laptop and decided on how I wanted it to taste.

1# spaghetti noodles
2 cups cubed ham (you can use chicken or shrimp if you want meat or leave it out to keep it meat free)
1 diced red bell pepper
1 diced green bell pepper
1 cup diced mushrooms
2 T garlic (can use less if desired)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 parmesan cheese (or a romano parmesan blend)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
pinch of nutmeg

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta per directions on the packet. Reserve a cup of the cooking liquid.

While pasta is going, brown the ham to a large skillet until lightly seared. In same pan, add the butter, bell peppers, garlic and mushrooms. Sautee the ham and veggies until the veggies are slightly al dente. Add heavy cream and seasonings and cook over medium heat until sauce is bubbly. Add Parmasen cheese and stir. Taste sauce to make sure the seasonings are to your liking. Pour over drained spaghetti and toss gently. If the sauce is too thick for your taste, you can add some of the reserved cooking liquid to thin it out.

Makes 5 6 ounce servings. Add a little bit more cheese to each serving.

Monkey Bread Muffins

My hubby and I love monkey bread. The only problem is that we have this compulsion to eat it all when I do make it normally in a bundt pan. So why not make it into muffins? We can eat a little at a time…when we want another one it is just a quick 30 second pop in the microwave to warm it up.
And it sounded so good! So I got everything together and went at it.

Monkey Bread Muffins
1 can of Grands Buttermilk Biscuits
1 cup Sugar
2 T Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
2 T Butter, melted

Mix the Sugar, Cinnamon and Nutmeg into a bowl. Cut each biscuit into eight pieces. Dip the pieces into into the butter and then coat with the sugar mixture. Place 5 or 6 pieces into a muffin tin (spray the muffin tray with Pam first). Top each muffin with any extra sugar mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 13-17 minutes. You want make sure that the bottom pieces cook well.

Cool for a few moments before gently taking out each muffin. And then enjoy!

Mexican Mocha Mousse

 

There is this Mexican restaurant that my family used to love to go for Sunday Brunch when I was younger. They had this wonderful mousse that I always had to have for dessert. It was light, airy, slightly chocolately, slightly coffee and oh so yummy. Even when we pretty much stopped going there, I still remember that mousse. Finally one day I started to tinker around the kitchen and came up with this. Imagine my surprise when I took a taste of the finished product and was immediately transported to that Mexican restaurant and those times with my family. It has since become a favorite of mine and my hubby’s. Enjoy!

Mexican Mocha Mousse
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 T Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 T prepared coffee (I normally just make a small cup of really strong instant coffee)
4 T sugar
2 T unsweetened Cocoa (powdered)
Additional cinnamon (optional)
Dark Chocolate shavings (optional)

Place the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and coffee in a mixing bowl and start to whip lightly. Once there is a little bit of air into the whipped cream, add the cinnamon, sugar and cocoa. (Note: I normally do this so the dry ingredients don’t sink to the bottom. I just find it mixes better.) Whip until there are stiff peaks.

Keep refrigerated until serving time. Portion out into 4 4oz servings and garnish with cinnamon and dark chocolate shavings (optional). I normally serve with cinnamon sugared pita chips or cinnamon sugared tortilla strips. Enjoy!