Chicken Bowtie Pasta

I tried coming up with a more creative name than that, but I'm having trouble thinking of one :).  Anywho... sorry it has been so long since my last post!  I've been cooking, baking, taking pictures, and doing lots of eating, but I just haven't gotten around to sitting down to post.  I hope you can forgive me :).

This is a brand new recipe that I came up with alllll on my own last night for dinner :).  I was trying to come up with something fairly quick and easy to make for dinner and this is the result :).  I hope you like it!  It really didn't take long to whip up, so as long as you have all the ingredients, it shouldn't be bad at all.  Also, in case you didn't gather from the title, this is NOT a healthy meal... I mean really, it's pasta with cream sauce ;).  That being said, let's move on:

Start by frying up about 4 pieces of bacon until they're nice and crispy.  Like I said, not healthy :).  While this is cooking, cut up a couple of chicken breasts or about 1 pound of chicken tenderloins.

Set the bacon aside to cool and put the chicken in the pan with the bacon grease (like I said, not healthy, but very yummy) :).  Add a dash of Rosemary... cook on medium-high heat.

While the chicken is cooking, put about 2-3 cups (or a box) of bowtie pasta into boiling water.

Keep an eye on the chicken and once it's done, scoop it out of the pan (with a slotted spoon or spatula/turner/whateveryoucallit) and put it into a large serving bowl.  Leave the bacon grease in the pan.  Chop up the bacon and add to the bowl.

Using the same pan with the leftover bacon grease, sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of flour over medium heat and stir until it's smooth and bubbly.  Add about 1.5 cups of warm/hot milk and continue to stir, making sure everything is thoroughly mixed together.  Add a dash of parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and parmesan.  Keep stirring until this sauce starts bubbling.  It will start to thicken quickly.  You can adjust all of the seasonings for flavor, but you'll probably end up adding more salt and pepper than the others... cream sauce just requires more salt or it will be very bland.

Once it starts bubbling and thickening slightly, add 1.5 cups of half and half or heavy cream.  Keep stirring, because this will thicken too.  Keep testing for flavor and make adjustments in the spices.  Once the sauce is nice and thick (think "alfredo sauce" thick), toss in about 2 cups of broccoli florets and stir them in so that they'll cook.

Cook them in the sauce (stirring occasionally) for about 4-5 minutes.  While you're waiting on the broccoli, test your bowtie pasta.  Depending on how you like it cooked (al dente or floppy), strain the pasta when it's done and throw it into the bowl with the chicken and bacon.

Once the broccoli is cooked, put the sauce mixture in the bowl with the pasta and meats.  Stir everything together and top with some parmesan.

Viola!  This turned out really really yummy.  It tastes almost like fettuccini alfredo, but the bacon adds a little bit of smoky flavor to it.  It has a lot of dimension, I guess :).  And it was quite filling!  As long as you have all of the ingredients on hand (I just had to buy bacon and half & half), it really doesn't take long to make.  I only used 1 pot and 1 pan to cook it and the bowl to serve it in.  From start to finish, I think it took me about 30 minutes to make.  And we ended up with some leftovers, which Jason and I were both grateful for :).

If you try this, please let me know how it turns out :).  Have a great weekend!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I meant to post this recipe a month ago (for Thanksgiving), but pumpkin is a Fall and Winter fruit in my opinion so I hope you have an opportunity to make these if you'd like :).  These cookies are a favorite in my family and my husband's family (and at church, and with friends, etc.).  Pretty much everyone who has tried them has loved them, so they're almost a 100% guarantee with any crowd :).

Combine:
3 cups pumpkin (this is 1-1/2 15oz. cans of pumpkin - I use Libby's)
3 cups sugar
1-1/2 c. oil
3 eggs

Mix together in a separate bowl:

6 cups flour

6 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp. salt

In another small bowl, mix 3 tsp. baking soda in 3 tsp. milk (sorry, I don't have a picture of this).

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, along with the soda/milk mixture.

Mix together well :).  More flour may be needed, but the batter will be very sticky, so I usually don't worry about adding any.

Stir in 3 cups of chocolate chips and 3 tsp. vanilla.

Bake at 375* for 10-12 minutes on a greased or non-stick cookie sheet.  I've found that 11 minutes bakes them perfectly for me, but you'll be able to tell after the first couple of batches come out of the oven if that's the right amount of time for you :).  Also, I use an ice cream scoop to put the batter onto the cookie sheet.  It helps a lot, since the batter is so sticky :).

These are very light and fluffy, as you can probably tell from the pictures, and they have an almost cakey texture.  They're amazing and they stay moist, even after sitting for a week (if they're not eaten by then!) :)

Please let me know if you make these and what you think.  Enjoy!!! :)

(Lemon) Poppy Seed Bread

I'm finally posting the requested and long-awaited recipe for poppy seed bread :).  I have a great recipe I got from my mother-in-law, but the request was for lemon poppy seed bread.  I'll give you the "classic" recipe first and then tell you how to add the yummy lemon flavor :).  I always make it into bread, but it can easily be made into muffins if you prefer.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
2-1/4 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1-1/2 cup milk
1-1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/2 teaspoon butter extract
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder (NOT soda)
1-1/2 Tablespoon poppy seeds

This is super easy to mix together.  Add about 2 ingredients at a time and use a whisk to stir thoroughly together after adding each pair.  For example, put the eggs and sugar in the bowl - mix.  Add the oil and milk, then mix.  Add the extracts and mix.  Add the dry ingredients and mix.  That way the batter is smooth and all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.  You can use an electric mixer if you prefer, but it's not really necessary :).

Here are the liquid ingredients (+ sugar) mixed together:

Here are all the ingredients mixed together, ready to be poured into the bread pans:

Pour into 2 greased (I use Pam cooking spray) bread pans and bake at 350* (Fahrenheit) for 1 hour (I've had to leave it in the oven for an extra 5 minutes so that the center is fully cooked).  It will be nice and golden on the top.  This recipe is really yummy, moist, and I get tons of compliments every time I make it!

To add the lemon flavor, here is what you need to do:
1 - add 2 teaspoons of lemon extract
2 - add the zest of one lemon (I use a small grater and grate the peel directly onto the batter in the bowl)

I tried to show myself grating the peel, but it was very difficult with only two hands :).

Here's the lemon zest, ready to be mixed into the batter:

If you don't have lemon extract, you can substitute 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice (or use the juice from the lemon you used for the zest).  Just know that the lemon flavoring won't be quite as strong this way.  Stir in the zest and extract/juice (whichever you choose) and follow the baking guidelines for the classic recipe above.

I just recently came up with the lemon option and when I brought the bread to church, I had multiple people ask me for the recipe :).  I'm relieved that I didn't ruin the recipe! :)

As an option for either recipe (classic or lemon), you can add a glaze to the top.  I've never done this, because I love the bread on its own, but I think it would compliment the lemon poppy seed bread nicely.


1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon butter extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Mix together in a small saucepan.  Boil for 3-4 minutes.  Pour hot glaze over loaves.

One more option I tried and enjoyed was adding raw sugar granules on top of the bread after it had been in the oven for about 45 minutes.  That way, when it's done there's a slight crunch on the top and it looks more like the muffins from Starbucks and other coffee shops ;).

FINALLY, if you'd like to use the recipe to make muffins instead of bread, you will probably only need to bake them for 40-45 minutes, but I haven't tried that yet, so you'll probably want to watch them closely and take them out of the oven when the tops are golden.

Here's the finished product, ready to be devoured, yum! :)

Sorry the picture is blurry, but I was probably so excited about it being fresh out of the oven that I couldn't contain my excitement! ;)

Ok, I think I covered everything.  If you have any questions or if I didn't make something clear, please let me know :).  This really is a simple recipe and as long as you have all the ingredients on hand, it takes very little preparation time.  Then you just throw it in the oven and viola! :)

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know if you try it (and what you think!).  Have a great day! :)

Upcoming Recipes

Hey everyone, I'm sorry for the delay in posting, but I have been swamped!  I just wanted to let you know that I have a few recipes coming up and I will start posting them tonight :).  Here are just a few of the ones on my list:

1 - Poppy seed bread (w/ the option to make it lemon flavored)
2 - Chicken parmigiana
3 - Shortbread (easiest & quickest recipe ever!)

Also, if you have any suggestions of recipes you'd like to see, let me know and I'll try my best to come up with a tasty one for you! :)  I love to experiment :D.  Have a great day and I'll be back tonight!

Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes!

Pumcakes?  Pumcups?  Kincakes?  I think I like pumcakes best :).  Anyway, I was on twitter the other day when TiffanyD (a youtube beauty guru & blogger) posted a recipe for pumpkin cupcakes.  Since it's Fall and I love learning new Fall-y recipes, I decided to try this out.  Except, as with most recipes I try, I had to change it to suit my mood :).

Start out with a box cake.  She used a basic yellow cake, but I felt like using a spice cake.  I just thought the flavors would compliment each other nicely :).

Mix the cake as directed, except substitute one 15oz. can of pumpkin (I like Libby's best) for the water.  Also, add 1/2 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice and mix all together.  My mix called for 1/3 cup of oil and 3 eggs, so to spell it out plainly, here are the ingredients I used:

1 box spice cake mix
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs
15oz. can pumpkin
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Spoon the batter into muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes in the oven preheated to 350*.

When they're done baking, put them on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes or until cool.  Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Eat... and enjoy! :)

p.s. - sorry for the poor picture quality... I took them with my iphone because our camera battery died... and I'm too lazy (forgetful?) to recharge it :).

More recipes to come soon!!!  If you have any requests, let me know :).

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I was never a fan of bell peppers.  Something about the unique taste just never appealed to me until Jason's mom (my mother-in-law) made this recipe.  I still don't eat red or yellow bell peppers, but I really enjoy green ones now, all because of this delicious and filling recipe.

I have to add that I've tried a couple of other stuffed peppers (that other people made) and they didn't taste nearly as good as these :).  So... on to the recipe.  It's fairly simple, but you'll see that there are quite a few steps and it is time consuming.  So make sure that you plan ahead to make these on a night that you have plenty of time.

Here are the ingredients... I'll explain what to do with them as I go along :).

6 peppers

1 to 1.5 lbs ground beef

2 Tablespoons onion (yuck, I either use onion powder or minced onion)

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

2-3 cups cooked rice

2- 15oz cans tomato sauce

1-2 cups shredded cheese

First, you need to cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the insides.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Boil the peppers for 5 minutes and set aside in a baking dish.

Make enough rice to have 2-3 cups cooked.  Brown the ground beef.

Once the rice and beef are cooked, I combine them in the large pot that was used to boil the peppers.  Add one can of tomato sauce and the seasonings & stir together.  Taste the mixture to make sure it is seasoned to your liking and add more if needed.

Stuff the peppers (Jason likes them overstuffed) and place back in the baking dish.

Pour the other can of tomato sauce over the peppers.

Cover with foil and bake at 350* for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and cover peppers with cheese.  Cook for another 15 minutes.

Enjoy!  One pepper is usually more than enough for a meal for me and Jason usually eats two... then we have enough left for lunch the next day :).

Buttermilk Raspberry Cake

Growing up, my mom had a large raspberry "patch" (as well as strawberries and rhubarb) behind our house.  Every summer, we would have to go out each day to pick a bowl-ful of fresh raspberries.  Whenever she sent me out, she was lucky I brought any inside, because I loved to just eat them as I picked!  Anyway... anytime I come across a recipe that involves raspberries, strawberries, or rhubarb, I jump at the chance to make it because I really really really love the taste of them!

This cake isn't like a "birthday" cake or anything like that.  It's more like a breakfast/coffee cake and it's oh so delicious!!!

Start out by mixing the following ingredients together:
1-1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil (vegetable or light olive oil are what I usually use)
1 egg

After mixing the above together well, add and mix the following:
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla

Add the following dry ingredients to the above "concoction" and mix together:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp salt

Pour the batter into a 9x13" cake pan.  Spoon 2 cups of raspberries on top (you can also use strawberries, blackberries, boysenberries, etc.).  Sometimes I put the berries on whole, other times I like to mash them up and put them on like that, which is what I did this time.

In a separate small bowl, mix the following together:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Sprinkle this on the top of the cake and bake it at 350* for 40-45 minutes.  The cake will probably look a little odd when it's done cooking, because the berries usually move away from the edge of the dish.  But don't worry!!!  It will still taste super delicious :).  This is one of my favorite dishes to make for brunches & breakfasts :).

Good luck and let me know if you try this!

Kitchenaid Stand Mixer!

Eeeeeeee, I'm so excited!!! My (3rd) wedding anniversary was September 2nd and my husband bought me a KitchenAid food processor (which is what I asked for, really!). He said it was a smaller model than he wanted to buy, though, and that he was originally going to buy me a stand mixer. He told me that I should take the processor back to Target and exchange it for whichever appliance I wanted more, so after a few days of thinking, I returned it and came home with this baby:

I'm so excited to start using it! I'll have to bake something just so I can use it :).  I'm even more excited because I was able to get a special "Cook for the Cure" edition, which means a $40 donation will be made to the Susan G Komen (breast cancer research) foundation from my purchase.  I got it on sale because it was on closeout, but I think it's really cool... it has a pretty pink stripe on it :D.

Anyway, I just had to share this with you and thank my amazing husband for this great gift.  I originally had this on our wedding registry and since then it's been on every birthday and Christmas list for the past 3 years :P.  Having this will make baking so much easier, especially when Thanksgiving and Christmas come around, because I always find myself trying to make about 10 different things at the same time :).

What's your favorite appliance or tool to use when baking?  Do you have a favorite brand?  I've been really pleased with the quality of KitchenAid products so far :).  I hope this lives up to my expectations!

Mom's Sugar Cookies!

I have made these quite a few times this year for church events and other get-togethers and they're always a huge hit :). They take some time and work, but they're worth it!!!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter - softened
1/2 cup shortening (I didn't say they were healthy)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1-1/4 tsp. lemon extract (the secret ingredient!)
5 cups flour
2 tsp. baking POWDER (not soda!!!)
2 tsp. salt

This makes a lot of cookies so cut it in half if you'd like :).

Blend butter & shortening, sugar, eggs, and lemon extract. Stir in flour, baking powder, & salt. Cover & chill for at least 1 hour.



Roll out on a flour-covered surface (I use my kitchen countertop), and use cookie cutters or a round cup to cut into shapes.



Bake in the oven at 350* for about 9-11 minutes or until they're starting to get golden brown around the edges. If they cook too long, they will be crunchy and not quite as good, so keep an eye on them.



Allow them to cool before frosting. My mom makes her frosting out of powdered sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and food coloring, but by the time I'm finished mixing and baking the cookies, I usually resort to using a container of Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines frosting and I also like to add sprinkles :D. They make me feel like a kid again!

Lex's Famous Seak Rub

Well... it's famous in our house :). I've been experimenting with marinades and rubs for the past 6 months or so and this one really is a winner. I was a little worried about the ones I made with a significant amount of brown sugar, but this one doesn't seem to thicken or stick to the pan/grill really at all.

Here are all of the spices needed for the rub... very simple!

Just in case you can't see all of them (sorry for the poor picture quality), they are as follows: minced garlic, black pepper, Lawry's Seasoning Salt, Onion Powder, Parsley flakes, and Brown Sugar. I usually just throw things into a bowl without measuring, but for the sake of sharing it with you, I tried to estimate amounts when I made it for tonight's dinner :).

For 2- 10oz. steaks or 1- 22oz. flat iron steak (what I made tonight):

1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/8 tsp. (or less = a "dash") black pepper

I stir all of this together in a bowl with a fork and this is how it should look:



In a baking dish or tupperware or any other container you can seal, place the steak and sprinkle half of the rub on one side. Use your fingers to massage it into the meat, taking care to cover the entire surface. Turn steak over and use the rest of the rub.


Seal the steak (tupperware lid, plastic wrap, and foil are all good options) in the container of your choice and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. When it's ready, cook to your desired done-ness (yes, I just made up the word), and eat. Our favorite ways to cook it are 1) on our gas grill outside (amazing flavor!), and 2) broiling in the oven for 15 minutes (without turning the steak - will be on the rare side of medium-rare).



Good luck! Let me know if you try it and what you think :).

Basic Spaghetti Sauce

Hey everyone, I hope you're having a splendid week. Yay for Friday! I wanted to post a super easy recipe that I use almost weekly for a variety of dishes: basic spaghetti sauce. I use the smell test for this (smell test = smell spices and add whatever smells like it would taste good in the recipe) and have come up with what I think is a good combination of ingredients :).

Start with a can of tomato sauce... I always use Hunt's brand. You can use a small can or large, depending on what kind of pasta you're making the sauce for. It's all up to you! Let it warm up a bit, but don't put it on high heat or you'll have sauce splattering everywhere :).

While it's in a pot on the stove, I add the following spices:
*Minced Garlic (1/2 tsp?)
*Oregano (1 tsp)
*Parsley (1 tsp)
*dash of salt & pepper
*Grated Parmesan cheese (Kraft or whatever brand is fine) - I eventually add probably about 1/8-1/4 c.

Add the spices and stir... I sprinkle a little of the Parmesan cheese into the mix until I get a taste I like. I like my sauce to be a little cheesy :).

So basically, here's what I do for meat spaghetti:
Brown the beef and drain.
Add tomato sauce.
Add spices and stir, taste.
Add more spices/cheese, stir, taste.
Add more cheese, stir, taste.
Add more cheese, stir, taste.

This continues until I think it's yummy enough to serve :). This sauce goes great with spaghetti noodles, angel hair noodles (our favorite), and tortellini (another favorite).

If you want to try the tortellini, I highly suggest this recipe:
Dice up raw skinless & boneless chicken breasts. Put olive oil in a pan, add chicken and cook until you can cut a piece easily with the turner/spatula. Then, you can either make the sauce (basic sauce recipe above) in the same pan as the chicken or make it in a separate pot and dump it in with the chicken when you're done.

In a separate pot, boil about 4-6 cups of water and add the tortellini. Our favorite brand is Buitoni and we usually get the "three cheese" kind. Put the tortellini in the water and boil for about 10 minutes, or until it's soft enough to eat. Combine the chicken, sauce, and pasta together in a bowl and serve! This is also yummy with some sweet corn added :).

Anyway, that's about it for the sauce :). I posted 3 recipes in the same post!!! Good luck and please let me know if you try any of them :). Have a great weekend!

Julie & Julia

I've been psyched out of my mind since I saw the previews for this movie. And today I came across Julie's actual blog!!! How cool is that?! :) I added it in the sidebar (my favorite blogs), but I'll post it here too :)

The title is "What could happen?"
http://juliepowell.blogspot.com/

Also, at the bottom of my blog list, you'll see the link to her original blog, from 2002-2004 :).

Happy cooking!

Swedish Meatballs!

This was one of my favorite meals when I was growing up. Whenever mom made it, she would just use a packet of seasoning for the meatballs and the sauce/gravy. Well... I was at the grocery store tonight and I realized I hadn't eaten SM's in years and it sounded really good, but I couldn't find a seasoning packet anywhere! "Oh well, that's ok" I thought... "I'll just find a recipe!", which is one of my favorite things to do :D. Besides, I'm about 25% Swedish, so I was feeling confident :D. I found a couple recipes on www.allrecipes.com that I kind-of combined (and added my own personal flair to) and the details are below :).

First thing to do is make the meatballs:

*1.25 lbs of ground beef (I use 93% lean)
*1 cup bread crumbs (you can use regular bread crumbs or I used Italian seasoned ones that were store-bought)
*4 Tbsp. evaporated milk
*1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
*1 tsp salt
*1/4 tsp pepper
*1 egg (beaten)
*1/2 tsp onion powder
*1/4 cup dried minced onion
*1/4 tsp parsley

In one bowl, put the breadcrumbs and evaporated milk together, stir. In another larger bowl, put the beef, nutmeg, salt, pepper, onion stuff, parsley, and egg. Add the bread crumb mix and knead with your hands until all mixed together. Grab about 2 tablespoons worth of meat mix and roll it up in your hands to make a meatball. Set aside on a cookie sheet/wax paper/or some other non-stick surface. Roll up the rest of the meatballs.

In a non-stick pan, put about 4-6 Tablespoons of butter and put on stovetop at medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add about half of the meatballs and allow to brown thoroughly. Shake the pan slightly to turn the meatballs until they're uniformly brown (I also had to use a pair of tongs, because the shaking didn't do the best job). Cook the other half of meatballs and set all aside.

Sauce:

*Rest of the can of Evaporated Milk
*1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
*1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
*Dash of Pepper
*1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)

Put in small pot and cook on low-medium until smooth and hot. I stirred with a whisk to help it all mix together :).

Finally, cook up some egg noodles or rice. Most people eat Swedish Meatballs with noodles, but I grew up eating them on rice. I just realized tonight that that's probably because my dad hates noodles, but I like them both ways :). Here's a picture of the final result:




Let me know if you have any questions and if you try to make this yourself! Good luck :).