The stuff dreams are made of...

Well my dreams anyway. Last year for Christmas my in-laws got me one of the best gifts anyone could ever give me...Betty. My red HOTT Kitchen Aid mixer. I have had a love affair with these thing ever since my parents bought one when I was maybe 12. She is just about the prettiest thing in my kitchen. I mix just about everything in Betty.

So this year with our Christmas gift from my in-laws I knew exactly what I wanted. An attachment for Betty. The newest attachment in a long line of attachments...the ice cream maker attachment. It is genius I tell ya! Mike and I made our first batch a few nights ago. Simple vanilla (recipe from the book that came with the attachment) but SO good. Mike said "I am still blown away that you made this" I asked why? he said "because you are suppose to buy ice cream in a store." Ahhhh sweet husband.

Here is a picture of Betty with her new friend. I think they look happy together!

Party Time with pictures!

My cousin must have felt bad for the blog because she gave me her old camera to use until mine returns from it's travels abroad. YAY Gail!

So our Christmas party was this past Friday. It is really just an excuse for me to cook for someone besides my husband. I had all the food ready at the same time. It was amazing really. Here are pictures of the food and a few of our fun guests.

We will start with dessert because it is most important you know?

The green cupcakes are chocolate with mint frosting.

The white cupcakes are red velvet with cream cheese frosting

These were a few people's favorites. Roast beef in puff pastry with horseradish sauce.

Balsamic BBQ chicken drumsticks

Pioneer Woman's Spicy orange garlic shrimp. These went very fast.

Brie and Aunt Gerry's Pomegranate Jam in Filo dough
Now for pictures of the guests, they will love me for this!

Lacie(left) and Kristan(right), Lacie hadn't had any drinks!Doug(left) and Mike(right). Mike had had a lot of drinks. Jason likes sweets...and he likes we I take his picture while he is eating, don't you Jason?

That is Lindsie there smiling.

The hostes' with the mostestsssess

Last one. My husband folks... I have NO idea.

Oye Vay..Latkes

Last year on the first night of Hanukkah Mike and I thought it would be fun to make latkes, no we aren't Jewish. They turned out okay. This year we wanted to do it again and we scored with a great recipe. Mike liked his with sour cream only. I liked mine with sour cream or apple sauce but not together.

From: Rachel Ray

1 (24-ounce) bag shredded potatoes for hash browns
1 large carrot, peeled (I left this out because I didn't have a carrot)
1 medium onion, peeled
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons matzo meal, cracker meal or all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil, for frying
2 cups chunky apple sauce
1 cinnamon stick (left out)
1 cup sour cream

Directions
Heat 1/2-inch oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. To test oil, add a piece of bread to the pan. It should turn golden brown in a ten-count. Adjust heat, as necessary.
Place potatoes in a large bowl. Using a hand grater, grate the carrot and onion into the bowl. Add eggs to the bowl. Add salt and baking powder, then sprinkle in meal or flour. Combine vegetables and meal with a wooden spoon.
Drop mixture into oil in 3-inch mounds, press down gently with spatula to form patties. Fry in batches of 4 to 6 patties depending on the size of your skillet, 1-inch apart, until golden, about 3 minutes on each side. Put chunky applesauce and the cinnamon stick in a saucepan over medium heat and warm for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain latkes on paper towels or parchment lined tray. Serve with warm applesauce and sour cream.

Sloppy Janes

No I have not up and joined the circus. My camera however, may have! I have lost it. I hate to post without pictures but I have been cooking A LOT lately and wanted to share this one because Mike loved this. I know that isn't too shocking expect that this is a wieght watchers type recipe. Mike loves sloppy joes. He was excited to hear I was making them but got confused when no manwich can was around. We both really liked this recipe. So much we took it for lunch the next day. I made a few mods to the recipe, they are below in red.

Sloppy Janes (from Hungry Girl)
Serving Size: 1 (very stuffed) sandwich
Per Serving: 5 WW points; 271 calories; 3g fat
Recipe makes 5 sandwiches

1 lb. raw extra-lean ground turkey
5 small hamburger buns
1/2 cup chopped onions (I used a whole medium onion)
1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers (I used a whole bell pepper)
Garlic (I added about 6 cloves..what!?!?! we love garlic)
1 cup canned tomato sauce
3/4 cup canned no salt added tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp Splenda (granulated)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I used about 2 tablespoons)
1 tsp steak seasoning blend, dry
Dash of salt

Spray large pan with nonstick spray and bring to medium-high heat. Add turkey to pan. Spread meat around pan and break it up.In small dish, combine Splenda, salt, and steak seasoning. Sprinkle this over the meat and continue to stir meat in pan. Once meat has browned, reduce heat to medium.Add onions, peppers, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar to pan. Stir and continue to cook for 5 minutes.Add tomato sauces and tomato paste to pan and stir well. Reduce heat to low and cook mixture for an additional 5 minutes.Toast the buns, if desired. Put one-fifth of the mixture in each bun.

Noah is already 1?!?!?

I can't believe the little Noah bear is already a year old. He is growing so much and fast becoming the cutest little man ever! I was lucky enough to be the one to make his first birthday cake. He loved it once he figured out how to stuff it in his face.

Noah's #1 cake:

Noah's guests' cupcakes:

Noah getting his cake on:

Sarah's Shower

One of my Aunt's co-workers is getting hitched. She asked me to make a shower cake, in a day. Yes like she requested it Monday afternoon and wanted to pick it up on Tuesday night. I tend to work best under pressure, so I said sure. I am very pleased with the results. This is also my first time using fondant.

Happy # 6 Grace!

The Baking Bailey is actually making cakes for people other than her husband! The shock, I know! My cousin's daughter Grace turned the big 6 on November 15th. She had a princess party. My cousin, Gail, asked if I wanted to make her cake for her and of course I did. I made a giant cupcake and 2 dozen cupcakes for her friends.

Here is Grace with her cupcake:

Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp

The Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite blogs. She is funny and makes some of the best looking food ever. When I saw this recipe I knew Mike would love it. It is super simple too. We liked it so much we have it twice in one week.

From: Pioneer Woman

(Frozen) Raw Shell-On Shrimp (I used about 16)
3/4 cup Good quality Orange Juice
2-4 Cloves of Garlic (I used 4)
3 Tablespoons Salted Butter
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

Thaw and peel the shrimp. Run the frozen shrimp under cold water for a few minutes, then peeling away the outer shell. Dry the shrimp with a paper towel. Slice the garlic thin and add to the orange juice. Add the cayenne and old bay and stir. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan. Throw the shrimp in and cook for about a minute and flip. Once the shrimp are nice and pink remove them from the pan. Leave the pan on the heat and allow to get really hot. Add the orange juice mixture. Add the final tablespoon of butter to the sauce and after a few minutes of cooking and occasional stirring. The sauce will thicken. Once the sauce has thicken add the shrimp back into the pan. Coat the shrimp in the sauce. And that is it. We had ours over rice. SO good.

Macaroni and Cheese

Oh my this macaroni and cheese recipe is SO good and oh so easy. This recipe is super creamy and cheesey and took less than an hour and we have plenty of left overs. Giada De Laurentiis doesn't let me down often.

Butter, for greasing dish
12 ounces wide egg noodles
2 cups heavy cream
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (packed) grated Fontina
3/4 cup (packed) finely grated Parmesan
3/4 cup (packed) grated mozzarella
4 ounces cooked ham, diced, optional
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Butter a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Drain well, but do not rinse. Whisk the cream, milk, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl to blend. Stir in 1 cup Fontina, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ham, if using, and parsley. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Transfer the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish. Toss the remaining 1 cup Fontina, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup mozzarella in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the noodle mixture. Bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheese melts and begins to brown on top, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Super Simple Chili Verde

Chili Verde is my favorite Mexican food right after margaritas. I love it more than a person should. It seemed simple enough to make after I asked a co-worker how to do it. She told me there is a hard version and an easy version. I opted for the easy version and it is pretty darn good. This is a very easy weekday dinner.

2 to 2.5 pounds pork or chicken (pork roast)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic (or more if you love garlic like me)
1 16 oz bottle of salsa verde (I used La Victoria brand)
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper

Cut the pork into bite size cubes. Season pork with salt and pepper. Brown pork in a skillet. Slice onion thin and mince garlic. Next through browned pork, onion, garlic, salsa verde, and water in large pot. Cover and simmer for at least an hour stir occasionally. The longer you let it simmer the better it gets. I find it perfect after about an hour and a half. I top with jack cheese or sour cream, YUM!

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

I recently bought Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From my home to yours. It is baking porn for me! The book is full of tons of awesome looking recipes. I bought it on Amazon for less than 10 bucks, well worth the money. I joined some ladies online in picking one recipe a month and posting results. This month was the Quadruple Chocolate Brownie. They are insanely chocolaty and oh so good. I didn't add nuts and I left out the coffee because I wanted to, so there. My tips are in red.

Brownies:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate coarsely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tbs strong coffee (I left out)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips (I used chips)
1 cup chopped nuts (I left out)


Glaze:
6 ounces premium quality white chocolate, finely chopped or 1 cup store bought white chocolate chips (I used chips)
1/3 cup heavy cream

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt. Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and chocolates are melted-you don't want the ingredients to get so hot they separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes. (I melted the butter and chocolates in the microwave for about 2 minutes because well I am lazy.)

Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don't beat too vigorously-you don't want to add air to the batter-and don't be concerned about graininess. Next, stir in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If you're not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and the nuts. Scrap the batter into the pan.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes.(I would wait longer) Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack-the foil becomes the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely. (I would have left the foil on to put the glaze on to keep the glaze from running all over)

Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. (I used the microwave for this too) Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. Hold a longer metal icing spatula in one hand and the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and using the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don't worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for about 20 minutes to dry the glaze. (I would cut into SMALL pieces because a couple bites will put you in a brownie comma)

Strawberry Strata

I had no idea what a strata was before I saw Giada De Laurentiis make one the other day. It looked like bread pudding and Mike said he thought it looked good. I gave it s try and it is really a cross between a French toast bake and cake. I topped it with homemade whip cream. It was good and different.

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (about 1/2 cup)
4 ounces ricotta cheese, room temperature (about 1/2 cup)
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained (about 10 ounces)
1/2 cup honey, warmed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12 to 16-inch) ciabatta loaf, crust removed and cut into 1-inch cubes

Place the cheeses in a large bowl and stir together with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing until completely incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the milk, strawberries, honey, cinnamon, and bread. Pour into an 8 by 10 by 2-inch casserole dish. If freezing, cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 day and up to 1 month.
To bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake covered with foil for 45 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Remove the foil and continue baking for 30 to 35 minutes.

Mock Fried Rice

I have recently started eating low carb and low sugar. For me it is proving to be very effective for losing some weight. Last night I made "fried rice" I was a little worried about mom and Mike liking it but they loved it. Even my dad ate some (shocking, really) SO good! This recipe says it serves 4 but I think it is more like 2 so double it up.

1/2 head raw cauliflower (grated- I used a food processor)
3 green onions sliced (white and greens separated)
1 clove garlic minced (I probably used 3)
1/2 teaspoon ginger minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 eggs beaten
Olive Oil
Any cooked meat you like ( I used chicken but you could use beef, pork, shrimp, etc)

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil. Saute white parts of onion and garlic for 1 minute. Add grated cauliflower and fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add soy sauce, ginger, green parts of onion and meat (if you are adding meat). Push "rice" mixture to one side add beaten eggs. Mix eggs and "rice" together. Once the eggs are no longer wet you are done. Grab and fork and get to it!

Croissant French Toast

I love French Toast more than a normal person should. I made this one night when I wanted French Toast but had no bread. I did have a croissant. So this is what came about. This is for one person so just multiply for the number of people you are making it for.

1 croissant
1 egg
1 teaspoon sugar
Splash of milk couple drops of vanilla or any flavored extract you like
You can add cinnamon if you like I just didn't have any.

Crack the egg in a bowl big enough to fit the croissant in and whisk egg. Add sugar, milk and vanilla and mix together. Slice croissant horizontally into 3 slices. Drip the slices into the egg mixture, coating both sides. Place in hot butter pan. Cook on each side 2 to 3 minutes or until the egg is no longer wet. Top with powdered sugar and warm syrup.

Soda Cupcakes

I saw a similar recipe on Pepper Please. I thought I could make them a little bit my own by using Rootbeer and orange cream soda.

1 box of vanilla cake mix
1 can of Rootbeer or orange cream soda
1 tablespoon of margarine
Milk
Powdered sugar
3 drops of Rootbeer concentrate or orange extract

Pour the box of cake mix into a bowl and add the can of soda. DO NOT add the eggs, oil etc. as directions on the box state. Bake as directed on the box. Allow to cool. Combine margarine, icing sugar, milk, concentrate/extract to make the icing. I used 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tablespoon milk, and about a teaspoon of which ever flavoring you choose and add in the powdered sugar until you get a consistency/flavor you like. Mine turned out more like a glaze which made the cakes look fancy.

Breakfast Casserole

I have wanted to make a breakfast casserole for a while and my office was having a birthday party breakfast so I thought it was the perfect time. This can be made is about a million different ways and all would be awesome. Basis: bread, meat, eggs, cheese. I made it as neutral as possible but if I was making it for myself I would have added a couple veggies like asparagus and onion.

4 store brought croissants (you can use biscuits, rolls or bread)
8 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and chopped (any breakfast meat would be good or none if you like that scene)
8 oz grated cheddar cheese (yes that is a lot of cheese=)
Salt and pepper

Butter the baking pan. Cut or pull the croissants into bit size pieces. Crack eggs in a bowl and salt and pepper as you like and whisk. Sprinkle chopped bacon over croissants. I also spread a little cheese over the croissants. Pour eggs over everything. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top. Cover with foil and back at 350 degrees for about 20 mins or until the eggs are set up and not running in the pan. I refrigerated and heated back up the next day in a toaster over for about 20 mins. There were no left overs at work.

GIANT Cupcake

No your eyes are not playing tricks on you that is a GIANT cupcake. I have seen the special giant cupcake pan a few times at different places. When my brother had a BBQ for his passing the CPA exam I knew ordinary cupcakes would not due and the giant cupcake pan would need to be added to my kitchen collection. The picture above was the test run and a comparison to a regular size cupcake liner. I used a cake mix and store bought frosting (so sue me) The pan in a top and a bottom and once baked you pop the top on to stump. I pulled out some cake from the bottom to fill with frosting to increase the cake to frosting ratio because I knew this would be my papa's main concern (the man loves his frosting). It was a huge hit with my brother and the kids at the party.

Scramble!

I LOVE breakfast. I love cooking it and most of the time I only cook something for breakfast on the weekend so that makes everything better! I learned this method of "throw in some stuff with eggs" from my papa (actually I learned a lot of my cooking skills from him). I made this for just Mike and I so if you are making it for more than 2 adjust the quantity.

1/2 pound breakfast sausage
5 eggs
Handful spinach (about half a bag)
Grated cheddar cheese (or any cheese you like, pepper jack would be really good)
Salt and pepper

Brown sausage in large skillet. Crack eggs in bowls with salt and pepper to you liking and whisk. Add eggs to browned sausage and cook until eggs are still slightly wet (eggs continue to cook after heat is off). Turn off heat and add spinach. Fold spinach in until wilted. Add grated cheese over the top and enjoy! Easy and OH so good!

The Perfect Blondie...just like me ;)

I have never had a blondie brown so I thought I would give them a try and I LOVE them.

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups butterscotch (you could also use peanut butter chips) optional
1/2 cup chopped pecans (you could also use walnuts) optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray or grease and flour.

Put the sugar in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a small skillet or in the microwave in a glass measuring cup. Stir the butter into the sugar until smooth, cool to room temperature.

In another medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

Beat the eggs into the sugar mixture. Add the flour mixture a bit at a time and mix until a smooth thick batter forms. Fold in the chips, as desired. The batter will be very THICK

Spoon the batter to the baking dish and spread to evenly. Bake until the blondies are light brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Mom's Macaroni Salad

My mom makes the best macaroni salad. I don't think she has a technical "recipe". She just makes it. It is really light compared to the usual macaroni salad that is drenched in mayo. I know what goes in it so I gave it a go and I think I got pretty close. The best part of this recipe is that you can add more or less of the things you like and don't like. This is my list of ingredients feel free to change to your liking.

4 hard boiled eggs diced small
1 medium red onion diced small
3 stalks celery diced small
big handful bread and butter pickles diced small (you can also use relish or sweet pickles)
1 to 2 tablespoons pickle juice (optional)
1 pound macaroni pasta cooked
1/2 to 3/4 cup mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. Simple and oh so good.

Champagne Risotto

I have never made risotto because I heard it was hard. It is a lot of work but not hard at all. We got a lot of champagne as wedding gifts and we really don't drink it so I found this recipe to use some of it and it was worth the work my arm went through stirring non-stop. I also added shrimp sauteed in olive oil and garlic.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (I needed 4 cups)
12 asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 shallot, finely chopped
3/4 cup Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
3/4 cup Champagne (I used 1 cup)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (I used 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Blanch the asparagus in the chicken stock for 2 minutes. Remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon. Set the asparagus aside and keep the chicken stock at a low simmer.

In another medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallot and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat in the butter. Continue toasting the rice, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes more. Add the Champagne and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in the asparagus, remaining butter, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately.

Cucumber Salad

In my on going quest to get Mike to eat more veggies I made this cucumber salad. It is like a salad we get when we go out to sushi and he likes. I could eat it all day.

1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cucumber
1/2 carrot (I used a whole carrot)

Mix the white vinegar, black pepper, red pepper flakes and vegetable oil in bowl with sealing lid. Slice cucumber as thin. You can slice or grate the carrot, I grate it. Once everything is in the bowl put the lid on and shake to combined everything. It just gets better the next day. I like to try and make it the day before we are going to eat it.

Vicki's Mom's Pistachio Cake

I stole this recipe from Vicki's blog. Very much worth stealing.

Ingredients for Cake:

1 package yellow cake mix
1 package instant pistachio pudding
3 eggs
1 cup club soda
1 cup oil

Ingredients for Frosting:

1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 package instant pistachio pudding
1 envelope dream whip

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all cake ingredients together, mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan (I made them in regular sheet cake form and cupcake form). Bake for 50 minutes (see cake package for baking times on cake or cupcakes). Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn onto rack and cool completely. Blend all frosting ingredients with an electric mixer and beat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Cut the cake into 2 layers, frost in between layers, then reassemble the cake and frost the outside. Keep cake refrigerated

Artichoke Chicken

I am trying to get Mike to eat more veggies so I tried this artichoke chicken and he loved it!

1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I used 1 cup)
2/3 can of artichoke hearts, chopped roughly
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used 1 tablespoon)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Mix mayo, parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts and garlic powder in bowl.
Spread over chicken and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until top browns slightly.

Roasted Asparagus

I love asparagus and roasting is it is really easy!

one bundle asparagus
olive oil
salt
pepper

First bend one spear of asparagus until it breaks on it's own toward the bottom. Trim the rest of the spears to match. I also peel the asparagus. Arrange on cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15- 20 minutes.

Turkey Florentine Meatballs/loaf

I have made this recipe in meatloaf form and mini meatball form for parties. Both are great. The meatballs are also really good with spaghetti.

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted in the microwave
1 1/3 pound (1 package) ground turkey breast
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large egg
1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup bread crumbs, 3 handfuls
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 palm fulls
Coarse salt and black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Wring defrosted spinach dry in a clean kitchen towel. Place turkey in a bowl. Add the spinach, onion, garlic, 1 large egg,1/4 cup milk, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix well. Form into 12 large balls, tons of mini balls or meatloaf. Arrange on a nonstick cookie sheet and roast 20 minutes (meatloaf will take longer), or until cooked through. I add marinara sauce for dipping.

Chicken Salad Wraps

This is one of my favorite recipes ever. Very simple to make if you have a small food processor or some of time to chop. Very much worth it. It is designed to be a wrap but is also good as a sandwich.

10 cups coarsely shredded coocked chicken (from about 3 store bought roasted chickens)
2 cups roasted red, drained, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups paper-thin slices red onion
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups (about) Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground pepper
24 butter lettuce leaves (from about 3 large heads)

I usually chop the bell peppers, and onion in my mini food processor. Place shredded chicken in large bowl. Add chopped bell peppers, red onion, almonds, caper in bowl and mix until well combined. Season with salt and pepper as you like. Dress with red wine vinaigrette as desired. Remove butter lettuce leaves from head and place spoonful of salad wrap and enjoy!

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually add the oil and blend until emulsified.

Chicken-Chorizo Stoup

I honestly can't stand to listen to Rachel Ray talk but I really like some of her recipes. I found this one while looking for something with chicken and roasted red peppers. I really scored here! YUM

1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bit size pieces (I used chicken breasts)
Salt and Pepper
3/4 pound chorizo sausage, diced (the kind I usually buy was all gone so I got chicken andouille)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic roughly chopped (I used more because I LOVE garlic)
1 red bell pepper, chopped (I used roasted red peppers)
1 medium onion, chopped
6 small red potatoes, diced (I used yukon golds because that is what I had)
1-15 ounce can fire roasted chopped tomatoes
1-15 ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 quart chicken stock

Heat olive oil in large stock pot. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to olive oil. Lightly brown chicken for 2 to 3 minutes. Add chorizo and garlic. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Add peppers, onions and potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, then stir in tomatoes and kidney beans. Add chicken stock and bring soup to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 5 additional minutes. Top with cheese if you like, I do!