Jenn and Food, Perfect Together

Panko Crusted Fish Sticks

2009-11-08T18:26:00.004-05:00

This is my second time making these courtesy of my friend Colleen at Cooking This and That. Emma loves them so I thought I'd surprise her this Sunday night after she was so good on our Turkey Trot walk this afternoon we did to help raise money for a local soup kitchen.

Once again, they were a huge success. They are easy, fast, crunchy and healthy. Instead of using tilapia as Colleen does, we use Alaskan Cod. It's a personal preference as I just like this fish better. And we don't bother with the sauce, we just use good old bottled cocktail sauce.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

2009-11-03T16:42:00.002-05:00

I have been searching for the last few days for a good broccoli cheese soup but none had all the elements I wanted. Some called for heavy cream or half and half and I just want to use milk. Some wanted me to use Velveeta. Sorry but no dice. So finally I came up with my own. I guess sometimes I'm afraid especially when it comes to exact measurements but I think I did really well with this one. It was a good blend of broccoli and cheese without all the fat of heavy cream.

4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
salt & pepper
1 large head of broccoli, about 4 cups chopped
6 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a medium sized pot, combine the chicken broth, water, milk, and flour (salt & pepper to your taste) and bring to a boil, stirring often with a whisk so the flour doesn't sink to the bottom and burn. Make sure there are no lumps too!

Once the liquid has boiled, add in the broccoli and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese and lower the temperature and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

With an immersion blender, blend the soup until there are no large pieces of broccoli left. Mix in the cheddar and remaining parmesan cheese. Again, add salt and pepper if needed.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Waffles

2009-10-31T09:41:00.004-04:00

In honor of Halloween, I made these delicious waffles for breakfast this morning. I found the recipe on Pennies on a Platter and then adopted to fit my pregnant needs (hehehe). The pumpkin and spices mixed so well with the chocolate. And they were light and fluffy, not hard and dense like premade waffles. Certainly a treat. This makes a lot of batter so it's great for a crowd or leftover snacks. Two were plenty for me for breakfast, and considering the amount of butter in them, that made me happy. :)

1 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs
2 cups 1% milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
Cooking spray for coating the waffle iron

Preheat waffle iron. Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk egg in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

Spray the cooking spray on the waffle iron and spoon batter (about 1 cups for each waffle) into waffle iron, spreading quickly. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Cavatelli with Veggies and Ricotta Sauce

2009-10-28T19:44:00.002-04:00

This I made based on some suggestions from fellow bloggers as to what kind of sauce to pair with the cavatelli and veggies. I decided the ricotta sauce would be best and it was certainly good. It was just enough cheese and sauce but not too much that it was overwhelming. It allowed all the other flavors to come through which I really liked

1 package frozen cavatelli, cooked to instructions
2 TBSP olive oil
3 slices turkey bacon, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 head of broccoli, chopped
5-6 baby bella mushrooms, sliced thinly
2 TBSP part skim ricotta
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 ladles starchy pasta water
Salt & pepper to taste.

Boil the water for the cavatelli and cook according to package instructions.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the bacon to it. Cook the bacon thoroughly. Drain and set aside.

To the same skillet, add the garlic, onion, broccoli and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

Add the bacon bacon into the veggie mixture. Ladle in two servings of the starchy pasta water. Add in the ricotta and parmesan cheese and stir well until everything is combined. Drain the cavatelli and add that to the skillet. Mix it all together and serve, topping with extra parmesan, salt & pepper if desired.

Chicken Pot Pie for a weeknight

2009-10-27T20:21:00.004-04:00

Okay for those who like things only from scratch, please stop reading here because I used (gasp) Bisquick Heart Smart in this one. We love it though anyway. Yes, I've made a chicken pot pie completely from scratch and if you do believe me, click here. But for a weeknight meal, it's just not possible. And this hits the spot for us. So if you aren't anti-some help, click here and try it out. I think you'll really like it!

Healthy Chicken Marsala

2009-10-20T14:16:00.000-04:00

Chicken marsala is usually made with lots of butter and cream. So it's delicious but not something I'm willing to splurge on when I'm making it at home. So I found this great recipe at Cooking Light that delivered both on taste and ease tonight. But since I didn't have any peas, I left that step out, as well as the half and half. The family still enjoyed it and we felt good about eating it.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Bolognese Sauce

2009-10-18T11:28:00.004-04:00

I got the inspiration for this meal from Proceed With Caution but I put my own spin on it. I prepared the dough a bit differently from her way because I didn't have quite long enough to bake the potatoes and I made my own version of a bolognese sauce with what I had in the house. I think they came out pretty good and I even froze the leftover gnocchi to use another time.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

1 large sweet potato
2 large russet potatoes
1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Scrub the potatoes thoroughly and submerge in a pot of boiling water for 30 minutes. Remove from the pot and cool. Removed the skins and shred each potato using a potato ricer into a large bowl.

Add in the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, kneading the potatoes and the dough. At the end, knead in the parm cheese. The consistency should be sticky, not dry. Divide the dough into workable amounts (about 5-7 small balls) and roll them out between your hands and a cutting board into long, thin strands. Cut the gnocchi into bite-sized pieces and mark indentations in them with a fork. Place them on a floured cookie sheet to dry, approximately 30-45 minutes.

Boil a pot of water and place 1/2 the gnocchi in it and let them rise, about 3 minutes. Once they have risen immediately remove them with a slotted spoon and drain.

Sauce

2 large cans (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes with basil
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic diced
4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, chopped
Olive oil, 1 TBSP
2 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP dried basil
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot. Add in the onions, garlic and mushrooms and saute for approximately 5 minutes. Add in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and the spices and mix well. Bring to a low simmer and cook 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Cream Cheese Brownies

2009-10-13T09:20:00.004-04:00

I was bored Monday night and needed something to do. So I pulled out my Best of Cooking Light cookbook and made these fabulous cream cheese brownies. Unfortunately my oven is a little hotter than what the temp says because the cream cheese topping got a little browner than I would have liked. They still tasted wonderful though!

Barbecue Meat Loaf

2009-10-12T16:27:00.000-04:00

Another great Cooking Light recipe. Perfect for a Sunday dinner with family. I served it with Scalloped Potatoes and some broccoli and cheese. I am not posting a picture because the one I took was frankly gross looking. Meat loaf just doesn't photograph well for me so you'll have to use your imagination. But anyway, what a great way to end a beautiful fall weekend!

Scalloped Potatoes - Sunday Dinner

2009-10-11T16:21:00.005-04:00

These are courtesy of my friend over at A Taste of Home Cooking. I love scalloped potatoes and have made these before. Now that the weather is cooling down, I was ready to heat my kitchen up again with them. They are simple and delicious. The oven does most of the work. I do recommend having a mandolin slicer because without it, you will be doing a lot more work. With it, it's a dream!

2 1/2 pounds of russet potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup light cream
1-3/4 cups 1% milk
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove of minced garlic
Shredded cheddar cheese, 2-3 oz.

Combine all the ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 quart dish with cooking spray. Add the potato and milk mixture to the dish, spreading out the potato slices. Shred the cheese on top and cover with tin foil and bake 40 minutes. Then uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Foil Packet Potatoes

2009-10-05T19:44:00.004-04:00

I'm always a little leary of potatoes. I think it's because it scares me how long it takes them to cook. But I saw this recipe at Adventures in Home Cooking and it inspired me to try it on a weeknight. Well, we loved them. So thanks for helping me to conquer my fear!!

I did make a few changes and they are here below but really I bet they'd be good with anything!

1 potato per person
Sheets of tin foil
2 T. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter per person
1 or 2 T. milk
Salt and pepper (lots)
Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350 F.

Dice the potatoes.

Grab your tin foil and roll up the sides a bit to create a boat. Add the potatoes to the packet and top with pats of butter. Season generously with salt and pepper, and splash in milk.

Roll up sides of the packets and seal the edges tightly. Bake in oven for 60 minutes and top with the cheese and serve.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

2009-10-02T13:24:00.003-04:00

I had some pumpkin leftover from my last batch of muffins that I needed to use and I saw this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins in my google reader at My Baking Heart and knew I'd love it. I did make a couple small changes to make these a little healthier and they came out delicious. My brother actually ate 3 at once. I know there is a shortage of pumpkin out there but if you have some and need to use a cup, this is a great way to go.

Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip Muffins

1-1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan and set aside

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl; set aside. In a larger bowl whisk the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, milk, yogurt and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in the dry ingredients until moistened. Then add in the chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and cool an additional 5 minutes before serving.

Nothing in the House Baked Ziti

2009-09-29T19:48:00.003-04:00

I didn't even have mozzarella cheese! But have no fear, this baked ziti came out cheesy and delicious anyway. I even got a "you have to make this again!" Alright, you don't have to ask me twice and maybe next time I'll have mozzarella cheese.

1/2 box farfalle, prepared as directed
1 container part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, divided
1 jar pasta sauce (or 16 oz. homemade)
1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained

Cook the ground beef and add the sauce to it to warm. Add the cooked pasta into the beef and sauce, then transfer to a 9x12 baking pan. Mix in the ricotta cheese and half the parmesan cheese until well-combined. Top with the remaining parm cheese and cook on 350 for 25 minutes covered with aluminum foil. Voila!

Apple Crisp, Still Better Than Apple Pie

2009-09-21T09:30:00.001-04:00

And easier too! It's fall and time to bring the apple crisp back. The family loves it, guests love it, I love it... Need I say more? This is easy to make and can be doubled/tripled or whatever if you wanted to make this and take it to a party. I will be doing that for sure this holiday season. But if you find you need to make this sooner and try it out, you really should.

Easy Cheesy Chicken Divan

2009-09-21T09:30:00.000-04:00

I've made this before but this last time I put a little twist on it... adding in artichokes. It was a great idea! It added some tang to balance out the cheese and creaminess. My husband and his friend ate it right up. Barely left enough for me for lunch today but there was and I enjoyed it again.

Cooking spray
2-3 cups broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
9-12 oz. chicken breasts, cut into chunks and cooked.
2 cans cream of chicken soup (low fat)
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
3/4 cup light mayo
3/4 cup Panko (or bread crumbs)
2 tsp I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (or any other light butter)

Cut the broccoli into bite size pieces and layer the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish with it. Top it with the artichokes and cooked chicken. Combine the soups and mayo in a bowl and spread it on top of the chicken and veggies. Pour the soup mixture onto the chicken and broccoli. Melt the butter on the stove. When melted add the panko and saute one minute. Spoon on top of the casserole. Bake on 350 for 30 minutes or until the panko is nicely browned.

Baked Cheesy Macaroni and Cheese

2009-09-19T16:44:00.008-04:00

Mac & cheese while watching my favorite team the New York Giants play just makes me happy. So last Sunday I made this to go with my BBQ crockpot meatballs for the perfect game day dinner.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
7 oz. shredded sharp cheddar, divided
5 oz. shredded Jarlsberg light cheese
13 oz of rotini
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1/3 cup panko

Preheat oven to 375°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a large saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick (about 8 minutes), stirring constantly. Add 5 oz of the cheddar cheese and all of the jarlsberg light cheese; cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in macaroni and salt and pepper liberally.

Spoon mixture into a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with the remaining extra cheddar cheese and the panko. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

2009-09-12T13:48:00.004-04:00

My friend at Cooking This and That made this cake for few of us at a get together about a month ago and I loved it so I knew I'd be making it. Perfect opportunity came when my sister-in-law hosted a meet and greet with our family and her boyfriend's family. The cake came out great and was a bit hit with everyone. Thanks Colleen!

Pumpkin Raisin Oat Muffins

2009-09-12T11:20:00.004-04:00

I'm baaaaccckkk!! The weather has cooled off. I'm out of my first trimester so I'm feeling good. All I want to do is cook and bake so that's what I did this weekend. After a search on allrecipes.com for muffins I found a recipe I liked but I really wanted raisin ones so I made some small changes. These include whole wheat flour for a little added health benefit. Add to that the oats and pumpkin, I think we have something good here. And if you want to eliminate the butter, sub in some yogurt. I think they'd still come out most and delicious.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
2/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
Mix the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl until evenly blended. In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin, milk, egg, and butter. Gradually stir in the flour mixture, just until all ingredients are moistened. Fold in the raisins. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling to the top.
Bake in preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes.

Penne with Pesto and Sausage

2009-09-11T09:23:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick dinner I threw together with some pesto I had frozen a couple of weeks ago made from my very tall and growing way too fast for me to keep up basil plants. I added in 3 links of turkey sausage crumbled and whole wheat pasta to round out our meal. Another quick and well-rounded dinner for us on a weeknight.

Banana Bread - Low Fat

2009-09-10T09:11:00.003-04:00

I had two very large ripe bananas so instead of throwing them out I made banana bread. It's finally cool enough that I can turn my oven back on and banana bread is really so easy to throw together. I like this recipe because there is no oil or butter or eggs. The only really bad thing is the cup of sugar but I can accept that and you can even sub in Splenda to make it even less calorie-laden. The bread came out moist and delicious. It's a winner in our house.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large or 3 small very ripe bananas mashed
1 cup sugar (or splenda)
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup light sour cream or low fat plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg whites

Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium size bowl and mix together. In a separate medium sized bowl, mash the bananas and then add the remaining ingredients. Whisk them together until well-combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (I do it in thirds) and combine with a wooden spoon until the ingredients have been incorporated but don't mix too much or it will become gluey. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out dry. Let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack before removing the bread from the pan.

Tallarene

2009-09-02T21:15:00.003-04:00

This blog has become the "I'm pregnant and hungry so feed me something good and quick" blog. Which is fine because maybe it'll bring some fast and easy recipes to others like me. Tallarene is something I had growing up and I love it. My Mom has since stopped making it but silly her doesn't know what she is missing. So thanks for passing it on Mom, you should really start making it again!

8 oz. whole wheat noodles
1 lb. lean ground turkey or beef
1 shallot, diced
1 can corn
1 can of string beans
1 can tomato soup
1 cup of water
Salt to taste

Brown the meat and onion together in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Drain. Add in the remaining ingredients and cook over a low heat, covered, for 15 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Yes, that's it!

Chicken and Avocado Quesadillas

2009-08-30T10:16:00.003-04:00

These are very simple to make but the flavors go so good together. Plus it's a quick weeknight meal and easy for just a couple.

2 chicken breasts, about 3-4 oz. each, chopped small
1 avocado, sliced thinly
4-5 oz. shredded mexican cheese
4 tortillas

Cook the chicken on the stove top. I used a garlic tex/mex spice mix to flavor it. Top a tortilla with 1/2 the chicken, 1/2 the avocado and half the cheese. Place the other tortilla on top and cook either on your stovetop until the tortilla is crispy and the cheese has melted or if you have a Quesadilla maker, it will do it for you. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Spicy Vodka Shrimp

2009-08-23T20:20:00.004-04:00

I thought of making this for dinner tonight while lying in bed this morning. It sounded so good and I knew I had everything I needed and it would be easy. It was. We had my brother over for dinner and this served us three with leftovers. Definitely one to try.

I do have to add that using uncooked, unpeeled shrimp is much better in my opinion than the precooked ones. They come out way less tough and chewy.

18 frozen, unpeeled, uncooked shrimp
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp butter
3 cups of vodka sauce
2-3 TBSP red pepper flakes
8-10 oz whole wheat spaghetti

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Place the frozen shrimp in a bowl of very cold water with some salt for about 30 minutes or until they have defrosted. Remove and peel the shrimp. I also cut the tails off to make them easier to eat. Pour about 1 TBSP of olive oil into a pan and cook the shrimp until pink, 2-3 minutes on each side. Add in the butter and garlic into the pan and saute about 1 minute. Stir in the vodka sauce and red pepper flakes and heat through. Serve over the pasta.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

2009-08-17T20:04:00.003-04:00

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It's my turn with these. They've been floating around the What's Cooking board and blogs I visit so I figured it was time to try them. They were great. The recipe I got was from Elly Says Opa but I did change it a bit to suit what I had in the house. Today was about 95 degrees so I grilled them on my indoor George Foreman grill and it was a success. Definitely an easy grilling dinner.

Burgers

1 lb. ground chicken breast
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp chopped garlic

2 TBSP pasta sauce per burger
Shredded mozzarella or sliced mozz or provolone (4 slices)

Mix together the burger ingredients. From into 4 patties and set aside to let the flavors meld. I let mine sit in the fridge for about 5 hours.

Grill on each side about 7 minutes. Top with the cheese and melt. Top with the sauce and enjoy!

Blueberry Pancakes

2009-08-16T19:42:00.002-04:00

This morning my stepdaughter Emma and I made some homemade blueberry pancakes. I am normally a pancake-from-a-box person but I wanted to make the effort to be more natural and have some fun with Emma so I found this recipe on the Cooking Light web site and it was perfect. It made 6 large pancakes for us. They were juicy and filling and we paired it with some scrambled eggs just to balance out breakfast a little. I did make one change, using fat free organic blueberry yogurt instead of plain and that just made it even sweeter. I also mixed the blueberries right in, instead of topping the pancakes with them on the griddle.

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup vanilla fat-free blueberry yogurt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh blueberries

Combine the dry ingredients (first 7) in a large bowl and stir well with a whisk. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except the blueberries, and mix well together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and combine with a spatula until there is no loose flour. Add in the blueberries and mix well.

Heat a griddle and cook until the pancakes are dry on the inside. There's nothing worse than a raw pancake! Sorry for the picture, I forgot to take one until right before we were going to eat!