Tomato Oil

This beauty may look like tomato sauce but it is definitely not. We were watching Diners, Drive ins, and Dives and saw the episode in Syracuse at Pastabilities. We had to try it!  I had some homemade sauce on hand so we used that as a base.  We boiled 6-7 sliced garlic cloves in 1.5 cups of olive oil. Then we drained the oil into the sauce, added in 2 heaping tablespoons of sirachi sauce, 1/3 cup of honey, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and then added back in the cooked garlic. Blended it all together with my immersion blender and voila! It's got a strong tomato taste in the front but on the backside is just enough sweetness and heat that is original and delicious. It was hard to put the bread down!  I recommend everyone make this...soon!

Sundried Tomato and Pesto Risotto with Spicy Turkey Sausage

I haven't made risotto since before my son was born. And for good reason. It's tough to stand there for 30-45 minutes with a hungry baby hanging at your leg. Thankfully my husband was able to pry him off me and I was able to make this completely delicious meal. I also had made butternut squash soup earlier in the day so we had a rich, comforting dinner. Too bad it was also 80 degrees out in the middle of October. That's ok, we still enjoyed it!

2 cups of arborio rice
1 small onion, chopped
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes (I prefer the dry-packed ones)
1/4 cup homemade pesto
3 hot italian turkey sausages, sliced, casings on
Salt & pepper

Cook the turkey sausage, browning on each side. Set aside.

Bring the water and chicken stock to a simmer in a separate pan.

Heat the olive oil in a large deep pan. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Stir in the rice until it becomes opaque but not browned. Mix in the garlic and saute 30 seconds, then pour in the wine and cook until the wine is absorbed. Add in the sundried tomatoes

One ladle at a time, stir in the broth until it is absorbed by the rice, being sure to almost constantly stir the rice until it is thick and soft. The rice and broth should continue to simmer throughout the process which takes between 35 and 40 minutes. When it is ready, stir in the pesto, sausage and salt & pepper to taste.

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Calzones

I love buffalo chicken anything but I also need to be healthy so I usually forgo wings or anything like that when I'm out because I know they'll be fried and oh so bad for me. I do like to make buffalo-flavored dishes at home though because I'm in control of how they are made. So instead of pizza the other night, I decided to do a calzone. These were made easy by using a rotisserie chicken and shredded it--something I actually do quite a bit to save time. These were great and of course, we had leftovers the next day for lunch!

1 small can tomato sauce
3 TBSP Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1/4 cup light ranch
1 TBSP butter
Whole wheat pizza dough
4 oz. Shredded mozzarella cheese
12 oz. shredded chicken
1 egg, beaten

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Add the other 3 ingredients and bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Mix the chicken in the sauce well to thoroughly coat. Divide the pizza dough into 4 equal portions and roll out into a circle. Equally divide the chicken mixture among the 4 circles. Top with mozzarella cheese. Fold the dough over and pinch closed. Brush with the egg to brown the dough. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Garden Veggie Lasagna

This is one of my all time favorites. It's very labor intensive though and creates a lot of dishes. But the end result is just soo good and sooo satisfying. It's worth the work. Plus now I've got it down to a science and am able to put it together easily and fairly quickly. The recipe comes from Cooking Light however I also add baby bella mushrooms to it which I mix in with the squashes. It gives it even more flavor and since I love mushrooms, it just seems natural to have them in there. I recommend making this the next time you have a free hour or so on a Sunday afternoon. It is filling, gives you lots of leftovers and is pretty darn good for you!

Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Broccoli

I saw this recipe while reading Parents magazine and it really was right up my alley. Pasta - check! Chicken sausage - check! Easy - check! I've made it twice and although I made a few minor changes to it, it's a great meal for a weeknight and to have as leftovers for lunch. And of course, the 18 month old and 10 year old were very happy with it and that means success to me!

Ingredients

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 13 oz. tricolor pasta
  
• 1 10 oz package frozen broccoli
  
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 links (6 oz.) cooked chicken sausage with Italian flavorings, sliced
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 TBSP crushed red pepper (optional)
  

Directions

1. Bring chicken broth and water to boiling in a large pot. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Four minutes before the pasta is finished add the broccoli to the pot. Just before draining, reserve 2-3 ladles of the cooking liquid. Drain and return the pasta and broccoli to the pot.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the sausage slices until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add the sausage and any olive oil in the pan to the drained pasta mixture. Stir in the lemon juice, salt, and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Mix in the cheese and red pepper flakes. Makes 6 servings.

Hurricane Food

As I'm sure everyone in the western hemisphere knows, the east coast was hit with a hurricane. In preparation, I made sure we had some yummy eats to help comfort us. I made Pioneer Woman's Cheddar Puffs along with my BBQ Turkey Meatballs. They hit the spot. Comforting, delicious and VERY filling! I even have extras in my freezer for another rainy day.

Pioneer Woman's came out darker, I was afraid of burning them so I think I took them out a tad too early. But they were still awesome! Even my 18 month old ate them!

Ingredients

• 1 loaf Crusty French Bread, Cut Into 1-inch Cubes
• 1/2 stick Butter
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Shallot, Minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 8 ounces cream cheese
  
• 1-1/2 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese ( I used sharp white cheddar)
  
• Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• 2 whole Egg Whites, Beaten

Preparation Instructions

Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add Dijon and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low.

Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Add grated cheddar and stir until melted. Turn off heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fold in egg whites.

Dunk bread cubes in cheese, coating thoroughly. Place on a nonstick baking mat or sheet of waxed paper and freeze for 20 minutes, uncovered. Remove frozen chunks from tray and place into a Ziploc bag. Store in the freezer.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place frozen cheese puffs on a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper, and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Bolognese Sauce - my version

I love a slow cooked, homemade, thick sauce. It kicks jarred sauce ass any time! But life with 2 kids and 2 full time working parents it doesn't always happen this way. However my baby boy was home sick recently and during nap time I was able to get the sauce going. And after melding for a few days in my fridge it was delicious! The prep time really isn't that bad. It just has to cook 2-3 hours (at least) so you can't really plan to go anywhere but on days when you are home with a sick baby, this is a good day to do it.

2 TBSP olive oil
2 shallots, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 large can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP dried basil
Salt & pepper
1 lb. ground beef (90/10)

Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron pot. Add in the carrot, celery and shallots and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add in the garlic and shallots, cook another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile in a separate pan, brown the ground beef and drain. Set aside.

In the pot, mix in the tomato paste and water in with the vegetables and cook 7-10 minutes on a low heat.

Once the tomato and vegetable mixture has thickened a bit, add in the two large cans of tomatoes and dried herbs, and salt & pepper to taste. Stir everything together and cook for one hour on a low heat, barely simmering. Stir every 15 minutes or so.

After an hour, add in the ground beef and cook another 1-2 hours until desired thickness.

It's best if you let the sauce sit at least overnight before serving to really get everything mixed together.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Finally something new I wanted to make. I saw this recipe for Chicken Enchilada Casserole in March 2011's Cooking Light. However it had WAY too many steps for what really should be something quicker and easier. So I made it quicker and easier! I changed up some ingredients and reduced steps and came up with my version which was very tasty according to the oohs and aahs I got from my family. I would definitely suggest my version over theirs if you are looking to save time and still have a great meal.

1 whole roasted chicken, skinned (buy at the store!)
1 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup low fat cream cheese
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
1 shallot, chopped
4 tsp jarred garlic
1 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup salsa verde
1/4 cup water
6 large tortillas, quartered
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Shred the roasted chicken and place in a large bowl. Mix in the cream cheese, corn and spices and set aside. In a pan, saute the half of the chopped shallots for 1-2 minutes, mix in 2 tsp garlic, saute another 30 seconds and remove from heat. Combine with the chicken mixture.

Combine the remainder of the shallot and garlic in a saucepan with the broth, salsa, and water. Simmer over a medium heat for 15 minutes. If you want, you can then blend the mixture in a food processor or blender or leave as is.

Spread a half cup of the salsa mixture on the bottom of an 8x8 saucepan, top with about 6 tortilla quarters or enough to cover the bottom. Scoop about 1.5 cups of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, top with the salsa and repeat until you end with tortillas and any remaining salsa you may have. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

We had an ice storm last night so work gave us a delayed opening giving me plenty of time to put together my little crockpot chicken fajita creation. While putting it together I was getting so excited to eat it and kept wishing 5 pm would come fast!

4 chicken breasts, about 12 oz.
14 oz. can no salt added diced tomatoes
4 oz, can green chiles, diced
1 packet taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
8 oz. block low fat cream cheese
1 cup frozen corn

Place the tomatoes, chiles, taco seasoning, corn and water in the crock pot. Stir together well. Top with the chicken breasts but make sure to push them into the liquid so they can absorb the flavors as it cooks. Top with the block of cream cheese. When finished stir it all together and shred the chicken. Place in a tortilla, top with sour cream and eat up!

Cheese Stuffed Chicken Patties

This is a version of Turkey Polpettone sandwiches that I made this past weekend. I started out thinking I'd make chicken parmesan but after thinking about it, I wanted to be more creative than that. It's not often I get more than 15 minutes to make dinner so I wanted this to be a little bit different than our norm. So I ground up the chicken and just went with it. I did make the patties way too big so we all had a half... way more portion-sized friendly. The great thing about these is everyone liked them, even my 11 month old ate one!

1 lb. ground chicken
2 cups fresh whole wheat bread crumbs
1 egg
1 TBSP worcestor sauce
2 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP dried basil
4 oz. mozzarella cheese
10 oz. Pasta sauce, homemade or jarred
1/4 cup of olive oil

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl and form into 12 patties. Place about a TBSP of mozzarella cheese on half the patties and then top with the remaining patties. Pinch then ends closed to keep the cheese from melting out.

Heat the olive oil in a pan. Place the patties in the pan and brown each side, approximately 6-7 minutes per side. In a separate pan, warm the sauce. Transfer the browned patties to the sauce, top with a little more cheese and cook til melted. Serve on a bun or eat on it's own.

Mexican Beans and Rice

I am a bad blogger. I can't believe it's been so long! I've made stuff but I just haven't taken the time to blog. But I do want to be better so here's to starting back up. I got a new slow cooker for Christmas. My old one was only cooking on high which meant it was burning a lot of stuff. This recipe for Mexican beans and rice comes from my friend Colleen at Cooking This and That. I did my best at replicating it but due to our blizzard and the fact that I had no desire to go out, I substituted and I will say it came out great. The chipotles in adobe sauce gave it that smoky heat Dave and I both love. This was a big hit and very filling with lots of leftovers.

1 cup uncooked regular long-grain brown rice

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (15-ounce) spicy chili beans or black beans, undrained

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained and chopped

16-18 oz. low sodium chicken broth

2 chipotles in adobe sauce, chopped with about 2 TBSP of the sauce
1/4 cup green salsa

Combine all remaining ingredients except cheese in 4-quart slow cooker. Mix well. Cover; cook on low setting at least 5 hours.

After 5 hours, stir mixture, top with sour cream and sprinkle with Cheddar cheese.

Rotini with Cheese

This is from the November 2010 Cooking Light magazine. I love this magazine but haven't been making too many recipes from it lately because of time and not always having all the ingredients on hand. But this one was easy and I had it all. I did make a few changes to it to suit my tastes. It was good but not great. However for an easy, quick weeknight meal, I'll take it!

• 3 turkey bacon slices
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  
• salt & pepper
• 5 cups hot cooked rotini (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)
• 3/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed

1. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Increase heat to medium-high. Add butter and oil to drippings in pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add flour, and sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently. Gradually add 1 cup milk, stirring constantly with a whisk, and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Let stand 3 minutes. Add cheeses, salt, and pepper, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

2. Place pan over low heat. Stir in bacon, pasta, and peas; cook for 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, tossing to coat.

Rigatoni di Gregorio

I saw this recipe on Annie's Eats in my google reader and it was right up our alley. And it was a score. We love pasta but this was different and delicious. I will say I have only been to Maggiano's once in my life so I have no idea what this dish tastes like in the restaurant but I do know we all loved it at Chez Jenn.

I made a little more so we could have leftovers and I substituted the heavy cream with light cream. I didn't have fresh herbs so we made due with the dried version. Annie's picture is WAY better than mine but in my defense, my camera is giving me trouble today. Still, this was a great meal, so thanks Annie!

12 oz. rigatoni
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 3 oz. each
½ cup chopped yellow onion
4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup Marsala wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup light cream
1 TBSP dried basil
1 TBSP dried oregano
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. butter

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts to the pan and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. If necessary, turn down the heat to medium-low so the outside doesn’t brown too quickly. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside. When cool enough to handle, cut into bite-size pieces.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan with the heat on medium-high. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and continue to cook until most of the liquid has been released and the onions are softened, about 5 minutes more. Mix in the garlic and sauté just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and add the wines, scraping with a spoon to deglaze the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the chicken broth. Return Bring to a simmer, lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half. Stir in the cream, herbs and chicken and cook until heated through. Add in the Parmesan cheese and butter; mix until well blended and the butter is completely melted.

Add the cooked rigatoni to the pan and toss with the sauce. Serve immediately with additional grated Parmesan as desired.

Broccoli Mac & Cheese

To go with the meatballs I made broccoli mac & cheese. I need to get veggies in our dinner so without making another side, I went this route. It turned out pretty darn good and the family definitely enjoyed it.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
7 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
4 oz. swiss cheese
13 oz of rotini, penne or macaroni
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1/3 cup panko
2 TBSP Smart Balance butter
1 head of broccoli, chopped and steamed

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 swiss 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. Mix in the broccoli. Top with the remaining extra cheddar cheese and the panko and dab the butter on top. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Crockpot BBQ Meatballs Take 2

I've made these crockpot BBQ meatballs before and they never fail to be delicious. This time I changed it up a bit so here's the updated version.

1 lb. lean ground turkey
3/4 cup no salt bread crumbs
1 egg
1 packet veggie soup mix
1 TBSP worcestshire sauce

Roll into meatballs and bake in the oven for 30 minutes on 375.

Sauce

Sauce:
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans tomato paste (12 ounces total)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chicken broth

Add all sauce ingredients to Crock Pot and stir well. Add meatballs and cook, covered, on low 3 hours.

Farfalle with Vodka Sauce and Grilled Chicken

I love un-jarred sauce but life isn't always cooperative so sometimes you gotta just use it. However on Saturday I took the time to make us a nice sauce at home. Dave said it was my best one yet. Go me! I didn't have a lot of cream so it's a dark sauce but still so delicious. Add more cream for well, a creamier, sauce.

1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 cup vodka
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
1 pint light cream
1 TBSP dried oregano
salt & pepper

Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Pour in the vodka and cook another 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked out. Add in the 2 cans of tomatoes and salt and pepper (to your taste). Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Pour in the light cream and simmer another 30 minutes. Add in more salt & pepper and dried oregano during the final simmer.

PW's Bacon Wrapped Japalenos

Finally after probably a year of wanting to make these, I did it. And she was right, bacon wrapped jalapenos rock. Dave did suggest some sort of a dipping sauce next time. I'm thinking something sweet and sour to balance the spicy-savory of the appetizer. I'll have to do some searching but in the meantime, MAKE THESE for your next party. They will go fast though so make extra!

Chicken Milano Sandwiches

One of my favorite restaurants, the Dunellen Hotel, makes these great sandwiches--grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella and pesto. We don't get there as often these days so I don't get to enjoy all their yummy sandwiches. However, I did recreate their Chicken Milano and I think I did a pretty damn good job. I used pesto I had made and frozen and then put it all together easily. Voila! A great dinner!

Baby Food--Avocado

I was lucky enough to have been given this Kid Co. electric food mill to puree baby food at home. Of course a regular food processor would work but this little contraption is smaller and easier to clean up and use. I've experimented so far with sweet potatoes, bananas and now avocados which were a winner. Just ask Owen! There's no real recipe which is why I think it's a wonderful idea to make it at home. I just used two avocados and about 1/4 cup of water and blended it all together. I froze the leftovers in ice cube trays so we can have avocados in about 30 seconds! I do wonder why baby food companies don't make avocado...but I digress. So go ahead and try it! I think your baby (and your wallet) will thank you!

Pasta with Walnut Pesto

Fresh basil, mmm. Nothing like a good pesto. Unfortunately sometimes I just can't bring myself to pay the astronomical price of pine nuts, so this time I bought walnuts. I think it is just as fabulous.

Pesto:

2 cups basil leaves
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 TBSP butter
1 garlic clove
3 TBSP parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
olive oil ~1/4 cup

Cook rotini pasta according to the directions, reserving 1 ladle full of the cooking water to add to the pesto.
Combine all the pesto ingredients, except for the olive oil, in a food processor. Blend, pouring in the olive oil as it goes, creating a paste-like texture. Combine the pesto, pasta and pasta water in a large bowl and mix together.