Fave soups & main dishes

This is about part three in a four-part series recapping my favorite recipes from our church's annual progressive dinner. You can read the first two posts here (appetizers and drinks) and here (breads and salads). Today I bring you soups and main dishes. You for sure need to try the two chilled berry soups. They are delish! Soup's on!


8 Can Soup
1 can (14 oz.) Veg-All
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (14 oz.) diced potatoes
1 can (14 oz.) vegetable soup
1 can (14 oz.) kernel corn
1 can (14 oz.) green beans, sliced
1 can (14 oz.) Hormel chili with beans
1 can (14 oz.) Hormel chili w/no beans

Mix all together and heat thoroughly. Serve w/grated cheese, sour cream and nacho chips.


Chilled Raspberry Soup
1 (32 oz.) nonfat raspberry yogurt
2 cups sour cream
1 cup Cran-Raspberry juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 whole cloves

Set yogurt and sour cream to the side and chill. Stir together remaining ingredients. Cook in crock pot for 15 min. and sugar dissolves. When done, strain out whole cloves and put juice on ice. Add the yogurt and sour cream just before serving. Whisk together until smooth. op with berries when serving.


Cool Berry Soup
1 (32 oz.)plain or vanilla yogurt
1 - 1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1 cup powdered sugar
Frozen berries

Combine all ingredients, whisk until all sugar is dissolved and is smooth. Serve with frozen berries on top.


Spicy Tomato Bisque
1 (28 oz.) can chopped tomatoes or tomato puree
1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup milk
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

In saucepan over medium heat, stir together tomato puree, red pepper flakes, black pepper, basil and sugar. Bring to a simmer, and cook 10 - 15 minutes. Whisk in cream cheese until well blended, then stir in the milk. Heat through without boiling. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches!


White Chicken Chili
1 tablespoon. oil
1 lb chicken, cooked and diced
1 med. onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans great northern beans
1 can chicken broth
2 cans chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup. sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream

Sauté chicken, garlic and onion in oil in a skillet. Place in stock pot or crock pot with remaining ingredients except sour cream and heavy cream. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add sour cream and heavy cream. Stir and serve. Serves 6. For a lighter version, add 1 cup of Fat Free sour cream instead and omit cream. Still just as yummy!


Oven Kalua Pork
4-5 lbs pork roast (pork or shoulder)
1 T liquid smoke
2 1/2 tablespoons sea salt, divided

Preheat oven to 325. Rub pork with liquid smoke and 1 ½ T. salt. Wrap pork several times with foil and seal completely. Place pork in roasting pan and bake for 5 hours. After baking, shred pork, sprinkle with the remaining salt. Serve with rice.


Parmesan Chicken
4-8 chicken breast halves
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix (dry)
1 cup crushed cornflake crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup butter, melted

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Mix all dry ingredients together. Melt butter in separate bowl. Dip chicken in butter and then in dry ingredients. Place in greased baking dish. Sprinkle remaining dry mixture on top. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until done.


Spinach Ravioli Lasagna w/Pesto Bread Crumbs
Note: all these ingredients can be found at Costco

1 (23 oz.) Alfredo Sauce, divided
1 (38 oz.) pkg. spinach & cheese ravioli, cooked according to directions
1/4 C. basil pesto
1 C. roasted red peppers, sliced into ½ inch strips

Pesto Bread Crumbs:
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup basil pesto
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray. To prepare the bread crumbs, mix all ingredients in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Smooth 1 1/2 cups of Alfredo sauce over the bottom of the pan. Layer 18 of the ravioli in slightly overlapping rows - 3 across and 6 lengthwise. Tuck any extra ravioli into this layer. Smooth 1/2 cup Alfredo Sauce over the Ravioli. Place red pepper strips evenly across the top. Sprinkle with Pesto Bread Crumbs.

Cover with foil and bake until the sauce is bubbling, about 35 minutes. Remove the foil and broil until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Let the Lasagna rest for about 5 minutes.


Taco Pie
1 can crescent rolls
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1/2 onion, chopped
1 sm. can tomato soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups crushed corn chips

Press crescent rolls into bottom and sides of a 9" pie dish for crust. Brown and drain ground beef. Add taco seasoning, onion and tomato soup. Layer into crust 1 cup crushed corn chips, meat mixture, sour cream, cheddar cheese and remaining corn chips. Bake at 375° for 20 - 25 minutes. Serve with chopped lettuce and tomatoes.

The only man who is really free is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse. ~Jules Renard

Image by Carol's Lines, shared via Flickr.

Fave breads and salads

Here are my favorite bread and salad recipes from our 2009 progressive dinner. For past recipes check out Monday's post and the bottom of this post. I won't stop until I've shared all my faves with you! But only a few at a time, mind you. This time of year it's all about portion control...

Bran Muffins
1 cup boiling water
3 cups All Bran (divided)
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil OR 1/3 cup oil + 6 tabelspoons flax seed meal
2 eggs
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons soda

Combine water and 1 cup All Bran. Let cool then add 2 cups All Bran and buttermilk. Set aside. Cream sugar and oil. Add eggs, flax seed (if using) and molasses. Mix well then add dry ingredients. Stir in buttermilk/All Bran mixture until combined. Bake in greased muffin tins at 400° for 15 min.


Cornbread
3/4 cup melted butter
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups Bisquick
1 cup sugar
1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Stir together well. Pour into greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 350° for approximately 25 minutes.


No Knead Artisan Bread
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water

Mix all ingredients and let sit for at least 12 hours, preferably 18 hours. Dough will generally be loose and bubbly. Pour onto floured surface and fold over a couple of times. Let rest. Shape into loose ball and place on well-floured piece of wax paper or hand towel. Cover with towel and let rise 2-3 hours.

When dough has risen, place a covered casserole into oven and preheat to 450 degrees. You want the casserole dish to be very hot (no need to preheat the lid). Remove the dish from the oven, invert the dough into the dish, give a shake to center and place back into the oven and cover with lid. Bake at 450° for 35 minutes, remove lid and bake another 10-15 minutes until loaf is browned nicely. Remove from casserole and cool on wire rack.


BLT Salad
1 head lettuce
10 slices bacon fried crispy and crumbled
2 large tomatoes, diced
2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon onion, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix and chill sauce. Just before serving toss salad with dressing. Or you can toss it all and chill overnight.


Fruity Lemon Salad
1 small pkg. lemon Jell-O
1 small pkg. lemon pudding (cooked, not instant)
1 cup whipped cream or Cool Whip

Dissolve lemon Jell-O in 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Cool in fridge until almost set. Prepare COOKED lemon pudding, following directions on box (adding an egg); then cool in fridge. When pudding and Jell-O are both partially set, whip them together with electric mixer. Fold in whipped cream (or Cool Whip).

Add any combination of fresh, canned, or frozen fruit, such as bananas, grapes, strawberries, apples, peaches, pineapple tidbits (drained), pears, Mandarin oranges (drained), blueberries. Also add mini-marshmallows or nuts. Chill until served.


Potato Salad
6 large potatoes, cooked and peeled
6 hard boiled eggs
sweet pickles, diced small (as many as desired)

Dressing: Experiment with portions since it depends on how much dressing you like.

Miracle whip
Mustard - just a little bit!
Sugar to taste
A little milk just to make creamy
A shake of celery seed and pepper

Mix dressing ingredients with a wire whisk, then pour over potatoes and eggs and mix gently with wooden spoon. It needs to sit at least four or five hours and tastes really good the next day! (Note: add dressing while the potatoes and eggs are still a little warm - not hot. The flavors seem to blend better.)

Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, .... I could be eating a slow learner. ~Lynda Montgomery

Image by prettytypewriters, shared via Flickr.

I don't do Mondays

The first Monday of 2010 is off to a shaky start thanks to a nasty cold both my husband and son lovingly shared with me. I can think of no better way to face piles of laundry, towers of Christmas decoration boxes, handfuls of Honeycomb cemented to the counter and a to-do list a mile long than with a pair of pj's, a box of Kleenex and some Nyquil.

On that to-do list is a post for Rocky Mountain Moms Blog AND gathering my thoughts for my first ever post on my new site. My new site is the silver lining around my somewhat cloudy forecast for the week. Quinn is almost done with the design and it's about time I started writing. I hope to unveil the new site within the next couple weeks whether all the kinks are worked out or not. Whoo hoo! I'll be focusing all my caffeinated energy elsewhere this week so forgive me if my posts here are few if any. One of my resolutions for 2010 is to do less online and more IRL (in real life) so something's gotta give...and this ol' blog is one of them!

But I don't want to leave you empty handed--or stomached--today so here are a few of my favorite appetizer recipes from my church's 2009 progressive dinner. I'll post a few more later in the week (breads, main dishes, desserts, etc.). By the way, even though the holidays are over that cranberry salsa would make a great appetizer, especially for Valentine's Day with its super rich red color! Enjoy!

Cranberry Salsa
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 bell pepper
1 to 3 tablespoons jalapeno
1/4 to 1 cup onion
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 to 2 packages cream cheese

Chop everything separately then blend together in blender or food processor. Chill for at least 1 hour then serve over cream cheese.


Tortilla Pinwheels
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1 4 oz can diced green chilies
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Garlic, salt and Tabasco to taste
1 cup sour cream
1 4 oz. can chopped black olives
1/2 cup (or less) diced green onions
5 10-inch flour tortillas (flavored if you choose)

Mix all ingredients together until creamy (except tortillas). Divide evenly and spread an even layer of mixture on each tortilla. Roll into a log shape and chill for up to 24 hours. Slice each log into 1 inch pieces and serve with salsa or guacamole as an appetizer.


Ranch Vegetable Bruschetta
1/2 cup Ranch Veggie Dip
1 loaf French bread, sliced diagonally into 1-inch slices
1/3 C. olive oil
1/2 English cucumber, diced
2 med. tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
fresh dill springs

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Arrange bread slices on a tray. Brush each slice with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt. Toast bread 4 - 5 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely. Spread each slice of toast with veggie dip. In medium mixing bowl combine cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. Spoon mixture onto each toasted slice of bread. Garnish with fresh dill sprigs.

There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won't, and that's a wife who can't cook and will. ~Robert Frost

Bite-size brownies with peppermint frosting

I'm all about easy when it comes to the holidays, and that includes holiday treats. Don't get me wrong, I love a made-from-scratch spinach and artichoke dip, tomato bruschetta or chocolate trifle, but sometimes you need something quick, easy and tasty. That's how I came up with these simple yet sweet (both in taste and presentation) treats that would work easily for both neighbor plates and holiday parties.


Take the idea and run with it! You could use white frosting with green and red sprinkles, or I even thought of making a peanut butter-flavored frosting and using semisweet chocolate shavings instead. I started experimenting with different designs, including a Christmas tree shape (middle). You can't beat Costco's brownie bites for quick and easy and they taste yummy too!



Bite-size Brownies with Peppermint Frosting
1 package Costco brownie bites
Mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 recipe peppermint frosting

Peppermint frosting:
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
2 16-oz. packages powdered sugar
2 teaspoons peppermint extract (not oil)

For frosting, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and peppermint extract and beat until thoroughly combined. Use a piping bag with your favorite tip (I used the small circle tip in the photos) and pipe the frosting on top of each brownie bite. Sprinkle with semisweet chocolate chips. How easy is that?!?!

My little ones loved helping sprinkle the chocolate chips and then they had to sample their work:

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Recipe wrap-up, part 2

Last week I went through and put together a list of ten bookmarked recipes in an effort to get through the extensive collection of bookmarked pages in my browser. This week I'm giving you ten more...and it looks like I'll have enough for a part 3! Hopefully you'll discover some new recipes to try, new blogs to read and new indulgences to, well, indulge in. Happy browsing!

• Sarah's Cucina Bella: Bread Machine Olive Oil Bread (I love any dough you can do in your bread machine--it's all about multitasking!)
• Cheat Day Cafe: Nutter Butter Eggs (I know it's not Easter but you could easily turn these into a holiday treat by piping green leaves and adding a red hot or two for some "berry" merry goodness!)
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Fried Zucchini Strings (Though not as plentiful now as it is in the summer/fall, you can still find zucchini in the produce section. Wouldn't this make a fun alternative to green bean casserole?)
• The Healthy Pantry: Healthy Baking Substitutions (Not a recipe per se but this is something super handy so print it out and slip it into your favorite cookbook. Oh, and check out The Healthy Pantry's meal kits. We've tried a few and they're super yummy and great to have on hand for last-minute meals!)
• smitten kitchen: ranch rugelach (I adore smitten kitchen and her recipes. I think I can feel my thighs getting larger just looking at the photos for this one!)
• Real Simple: Caramelized Pineapple with Coconut Sorbet (You'd think it were a summertime treat but I'm happy to enjoy pineapple and coconut all year long.)
• Tongue-N-Cheeky: NieNie's Mud Cake Magnifique (Touted as "the perfect chocolate cake" I can believe it when you're talking a fudgy chocolate cake with "chocolate mascarpone mousse & ganache bittercream". Um, YUM!)
• I Never Grew Up: Perfect Potluck Item (Have you lost count of how many potlucks you've been to and are going to this month? If you need a new idea for a dish, try this one!)
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Lazy Chile Rellenos (Another great idea for a potluck dish or appetizer...and I'm all about lazy when it comes to the holidays. The less work I have to do the better!)
• smitten kitchen: homemade oreos (I'm including this one because I have Oreos on the brain thanks to the huge one I just ate from Dippidee's, a local bakery in American Fork. Oh, and these would make a great addition to your neighbor goodie plates!)

After part 3 next week I'll be posting some of my favorite recipes from this year's church progressive dinner. You can find all my faves from 2008 here:

• cranberry punch, zesty cheese spread and coconut bread
• red hot christmas slush, cranberry orange scones & mediterranean hummus bars
• chile verde, chicken & corn chowder and sweet tortilla soup
• zuppa soup, cafe rio style chicken and chicken enchilada casserole
• chocolate eclair cake, chocolate mint bars and chocolate peppermint candy cookies

And here's one from 2007:

• good food and good friends make for a great night!

If you have any tried and true recipes perfect for the holidays I'd love for you to share them in the comments below. I always need new ideas for holiday potlucks and parties!

A very blue Blue's Clue's

And by "very blue" I mean her color, not her state of mental well-being. While in California it was Livi's 2nd birthday so we celebrated with a barbecue (Dad, those burgers and dogs totally rocked!) and a Blue's Clue's cake. Livi is way into Blue's Clues right now, which seems pretty typical for her age. I think all my kids have gone through a BC stage!

I love making theme cakes for my kids—at least until they turn 8 and then it's just their favorite type of cake, theme not included. I've done everything from a princess castle to a multi-car train to a spider complete with ooey, gooey guts. Sometimes they are works of art, other times they're just work; either way they always taste good!

Had I been better prepared and taken more time and energy to plan, Livi's BC cake would've turned out a bit differently. Perhaps the cake itself would've been shaped like Blue or we'd have accompanying paw print cupcakes, but with the flu making its way through just about everyone and her being my fourth child (I admit it...after four children their birthdays have gotten progressively lamer) I was happy working with what was at hand. It may not look like the Blue we all know and love, but at least it was blue. The true test came when Livi saw her cake and said, "Ah, Boo!" That's all I could've asked for!

So here's how I made Livi's Blue's Clue's cake. We're big chocolate fans so we went with a more non-traditional fully chocolate cake. Feel free to try it for yourself, though I'd go with white frosting so you can tint it a better "Blue." You can also Google "Blue's Clues birthday cake" and you'll find lots of other great options. Have fun!


Ingredients

1 chocolate fudge cake mix baked in a 9x13" pan
1 can fudge frosting (we're all about the chocolate in our family)
1 tube blue decorator frosting
1 small container blue sprinkles
1 T or so pink sprinkles
2 chocolate chips
Blue's Clue's pattern from this website (I used the small 8.5x11" version)

Directions

1. Cut out the Blue's Clues pattern and tape the ear pieces together. Lightly place on top of the cake and use a toothpick to lightly trace around the pattern.

2. Use the chocolate frosting to frost around Blue's silhouette. I used a large toothpick to fill in the skinny areas between Blue's ears and head and around the outside of the ears.

3. Cut out the spots, eyes, nose and tongue from the pattern and place in the correct areas on Blue's face, then use the blue decorator frosting and a star tip to frost around the cutouts. I used another toothpick to make it look more like real puppy fur, though I guess in hindsight Blue really isn't that furry.

4. Remove the cutouts except for the eyes and frost in those areas with chocolate frosting (it helps to use a toothpick here too). Why not use the blue frosting? Two reasons: one, I had about run out and two, we really like chocolate.

5. For the spots and nose use the blue sprinkles and for the tongue use the pink. I know, you could've figured that out yourself but hey, these are "directions." I dumped a small pile of sprinkles in the center of each spot and then used a toothpick to spread them so they fully covered the chocolate frosting. I did leave a little trim of chocolate around the nose to help it stand out.

6. Take each chocolate chip and place a little frosting on the bottom. Stick those puppies (how appropriate is that?) on top of the cutouts and voilà! You're done! Just remember to remove those cutouts before eating. Of course kids have been known to eat paper and survived so no worries if they get devoured before you can remove them.


You can seem the resemblance, right? RIGHT?!?! --Emily

Happy School Year's Eve!

Celebrating New Year's Eve is, well, a yearly tradition in our home. Though we're not in Times Square with the rest of the world, we enjoy good food, family and some serious game playing to celebrate the new year. But for most families the "new year" really comes around the middle or end of August when the class lists go up and school shopping begins. The first day of school is truly a "new year" for kids and families alike.

So in true party fashion, Cookie magazine and PTA have teamed up along with GAP, KinderCare, Children's Zyrtec and Hot Moms Club, the celebrate the newest school holiday, School Year's Eve! This new holiday was created to help get families ready and excited about the new school year. (We could use some help with the excitement some years more than others depending on the outcome of those class lists!)

Who's invited to the School Year's Eve bash and when is it? Everyone is invited--families, schools, and PTAs all across the country are encouraged to celebrate. Cookie and PTA will ring in the new school year (and the new national holiday) on August 30th. What if your school starts earlier or later? Just celebrate whenever school begins for your children and do whatever works best for you. You can have the party at home, put together a larger block party or even check with your school and ask for help from your local PTA and principal to host it there!

For party planning tips and ideas you can check out the Party Planner section of the School Year's Eve site for ideas, links and downloads. The site also has a Style File for cool back-to-school looks, resources for parents with advice from Cookie, PTA and parenting experts and recipes for yummy School Year's Eve party treats!

And to make your School Year's Eve party truly fabulous, Cookie and PTA are offering partygoers the chance to win $1,500 for their school or PTA unit. Just post pictures from your School Year's Eve bash after August 15th for your chance to win!

Oh, and the site also has some great money-saving coupons from companies like momAgenda, Y WATER, Birthday in a Box and Sharpie.

With only 17 days and counting until August 30th you'll want to start planning your School Year's Eve party now! For more details visit the official School Year's Eve site here. Happy countdown! --Emily

Farmers Market Zucchini Salad

A couple Saturdays ago my good friend Vanessa over at I Never Grew Up introduced us to the Salt Lake City Farmers Market. We had so much fun pushing a double-wide stroller through the crowds that we only made it halfway around the park. Looks like we'll need to head back for part two in a couple weeks. We did manage to pick up some super fresh zucchini, basil, cantaloupe and of course tasty treats like pastries, asiago cheese bread, kettle corn and honey butter (which I swear I could eat with a spoon).


We manged to finish off the cantaloupe before it became too ripe but the golden zucchini suffered the fate of most of the fresh veggies in my veggie drawer (i.e., mushy, moldy and inedible). I knew I had to do something with the rest of the zucchini and quick, but at the same time I didn't want to eat a whole pan of zucchini brownies and a couple loaves of chocolate zucchini bread myself. (Okay, I wanted to but knew it wouldn't be very good for me to do so.)

So what I ended up doing was taking three of the four zucchini, shredding it with my food processor and freezing it in two-cup portions, the perfect size for most any zucchini recipe. I plan on using some of it in a Pineapple Zucchini Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, a new recipe I found on The Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site. Can't wait for that one! As for the remaining lone zucchini, I created this simple salad using some leftover tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil--also a yummy find at the Farmers Market.


Here's a simple recipe; feel free to tweak it as you like. It's actually a take on my Quick & Easy Italian Salad:

Farmers Market Zucchini Salad
1 zucchini, sliced and quartered
2-3 roma tomatoes, sliced and quartered
1/2 to 1 cup diced mozzarella
10 to 12 basil leaves, chiffanade
1/4 cup or so of Wild Harvest organice Rustic Italian dressing (my all-time favorite Italian dressing)

Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss with dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill and intensify the flavors.

This was even better the next day--yummy and refreshing and not nearly as blurry in real life! (Sorry, Quinn...I just don't have your food photography skills.) You can add a little red onion, olives, cherry tomatoes or even a variety of tomatoes. And if you have a non-mushy golden zucchini, throw that in there too! --Emily

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." ~Jim Davis

Phe.mom.enom snags my fave recipe...

...and reviews our fabulous caterer for the Moms Who Make It conference in her recent post. I've taste-tested Utah Celebrations Catering twice now and each time I find my lips chapped from licking them so dang much! The food is fresh, yummy and the most flavorful I've had from a local caterer. Holly (aka @phemom) does a great job recapping the latest Backstage Blogger tasting event on location at Utah Celebrations Catering in Orem. And being a food blogger, her photos and description of the evening are as tasty as the food!


What made me absolutely adore Holly more than I already do (if that's possible) is she somehow managed to wrangle Chef Steven's recipe for his Chicken Marsala. If this dish isn't famous yet, it will be very, very soon. It melts in your mouth, delights the tastebuds and pretty much changes your life. I can't wait to make this recipe at home!


Chicken Marsala
Source: Utah Celebrations Catering, Chef Steven Swallow

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
2 teaspoons salt
Flour for dredging

2 T unsalted butter
1 T garlic, minced
1 T shallots, minced
1 C sweet marsala wine
1 C heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 T fresh basil, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Season chicken breast with the salt and dredge in the flour. In a saute pan on high heat, melt the butter and add the chicken. Sear till the outside is golden brown, remove from the pan, place the chicken in a baking dish and place in the oven to finish cooking through, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

In the same pan the chicken was seared in, saute the garlic and shallots until just slightly golden brown over medium heat. Add the wine to the pan with the garlic and shallots and deglaze and reduce till a syrup consistency is reached. Add the heavy cream and reduce the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon and leaves a line when a finger is drawn through the sauce. Add the Parmesan cheese and basil and salt to taste. Pour sauce over the chicken and enjoy.

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." ~Luciano Pavarotti

All images from Phe.mom.enom

Stephmodo's take on Living's Tex-Mex

Another fabulous blog to follow: Stephmodo. She has drool-worthy recipes along with drool-worthy designs, crafts and the most fabulous story about her family's adventure remodeling a French cottage (as in located IN France). Though I will never be as chic and sophisticated and creative as the woman behind Stephmodo (I'm so totally challenged that way) I can try some of her recipes without an overwhelming fear of failure.

I love her recent post featuring some yummy Mexican recipes out of Martha Stewart's Living, including Salsa Picante, Spanish Rice, guacamole and a Southwestern Salad. Having tried the recipes a few time she has some great pointers for the rest of us. And I love the idea of changing things up a bit with a backyard fiesta in place of the typical backyard BBQ!

So check out Stephmodo's take on traditional Tex-Mex and fall in love with the rest of her blog while you're at it! Olé! --Emily

First image from Stephmodo
Second set of images from Martha Stewart

Head outside for some fun summer games!

Thanks to a fun #gno on Twitter Tuesday night many of us discovered some great outside games to play with our families. And also thanks to #gno, I'm sure we missed a few. (The tweets are always fast and furious!) If it weren't for @WebAnna I might not have remembered many of these fun ideas. She's compiled a list from Tuesday night's #gno into a post on her blog. Thank you, @WebAnna!

Here are a few of my favorites, but you'll want to read the full post for the list of wonderful outdoor summer games.

• @MobiMom: Night games are great. We put those snap-glow bracelets on the little ones so we can find them easier.
• @inevergrewup: My little girl is a future photographer, we go on “photography walks” almost every week! She just loves it
• @startupprincess: another fun idea is to let your kids decorate their bikes/scooters/etc with streamers, balloons, etc and have a parade

Do you have any other ideas to add to the list? You can comment on the original post and/or leave an idea or two here. We'd love for you to share so all of us moms can survive the summer! --Emily

Quick & easy homemade salsa

It's 1:48 a.m. Friday morning and I'm in a hurry to get to bed, so in the spirit of hurrying here's a quick-and-easy salsa recipe from LeShan's recipe box. It's actually her mother-in-law's recipe so I hope she doesn't mind if I share it with you! She made this when I was out there for a little R&R and it was so dang good I've already made it once since I've been home (where it was promptly finished off by my family) and plan to make it once more this weekend. Enjoy!

The "Mother-in-Law of All Salsas" salsa
1 10-oz can RO*TEL (your choice), drained
1 14.5-oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 red onion cut into large pieces
1/2 green pepper cut into large pieces
Cilantro to taste (LeShan and I both used about 1/3 of a bunch)
Juice of 1 lime
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it is the desired consistency.

"If life gives you lemons, make lemonade; if it gives you tomatoes, make salsa."

Image by mhaithaca, shared via Flickr.

TGFF: Thank goodness for fries!

I consider a small McDonald's French fry equivalent to one serving from the fruit and vegetable group. A medium is two. They're made from potatoes and potatoes are a vegetable (though they probably ought to be in the starch category). On the rare occasion I actually eat at McDonald's, at least I know I'm eating healthy. (A Big Mac is a good two servings from the protein group, one serving from the bread and cereal group and another serving from the vegetable group--pickles and lettuce...hello!)

I tend to get sidetracked when I start thinking about McDonald's. Back to the fries. A hot item on a lot of local Utah menus, from Rumbi to Blue Lemon to Salt City Burger Co. are sweet potato fries. I tried to make these once at home using the fresh-cut sweet potatoes from Costco's produce section and it was a disaster. But after seeing these tasty recipes I might have to give it another shot. And of course I had to throw in a good steak fry recipe. (Dang! Now I'm thinking about Red Robin's bottomless, scrumptiously seasoned steak fries!)

All of these recipes come from Sarah's Cucina Bella, another must-subscribe-to food blog!


Chipotle Cinnamon Sweet Potato Fries from Sarah's Cucina Bella

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into fry shapes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground chipotle pepper (available in spice section of the supermarket or through Penzeys)
1 tsp kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Combine all of the ingredients in a resealable bag or container (you need room to spare) and shake until well coated. Spread the fries out in a single on a jelly roll plan that has been covered with nonstick aluminum foil (I use Reynolds brand). Avoid overcrowding.

Place the pan in the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes, flipping the fries every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Serve immediately.


Parmesan Rosemary Sweet Potato Fries from Sarah's Cucina Bella
(You'll want to click on the link for the original recipe to view her step-by-step photos.)

About 1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (preferably the easy release kind).

Peel the sweet potatoes. Cut into strips that are about 1/4 inch wide on each side.

Place the sweet potatoes into a large bowl. Add oil, salt, and rosemary. Stir well to thoroughly coat the fries. Stir in 2/3 of the Parmesan. Spread out onto the baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.

Cook for 20-25 minutes, turning about halfway through. Fries are done when they are browned around the edges. Transfer immediately to a paper towel lined plate and serve warm.


Asiago Pepper Steak Fries from Sarah's Cucina Bella

4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed clean (2 1/2-3 inches in diameter at the fattest part)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese
1 tsp black pepper
sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the potatoes into 8 wedges each. Combine the potatoes, oil, asiago and pepper in a resealable bag and shake well to coat.

Spread the wedges in a single layer on a jelly roll pan that is either topped with nonstick aluminum foil or sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Lightly sprinkle with salt.

Slide the tray into the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450 and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, flipping every five minutes. The steak fries are ready when they are golden brown on the outside.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt again. Serve immediately.

Devour.

(And devour I will!)

First image by food_in_mouth, shared via Flickr.
Second image by Sefu Renka, shared via Flickr.

Do you have a favorite recipe for sweet potato fries?
Better yet, do you have a recipe that would convert even the most anti-sweet-potato person, namely me?

Cheat Day Cafe: Oreo Cookies and Cream Frosting

I've stumbled across a wonderful food-related blog, and you're going to wish you'd stumbled across it sooner after you check out today's recipe. Don't worry, I'll be featuring a few more Cheat Day Cafe recipes here on food for thought friday. They're just too good not to share! Take today's recipe for Oreo Cookies and Cream Frosting...I think I'll be whipping some of this up this weekend. Whether or not it ends up on top of a cake before inside my stomach has yet to be determined!

Oreo Cookies and Cream Frosting
1 large package cookies and cream instant Jell-O pudding mix
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 c cold skim milk
1 (8 oz.) container Fat Free Cool Whip

Combine the pudding, powdered sugar and milk in a mixing bowl. Beat for about one minute until well blended. Fold in Cool Whip and spread on cooled cake. Keep refrigerated.

It looks like she took a few Oreos and crumbled them on top before serving (and maybe even mixed a few into the frosting). Yum! Not sure how many Oreos I'd have for decoration since it's always the "one cookie for the dessert, two cookies for me" rule when I bake!

"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already." ~Dave Barry

Posting, schmosting

Even my very red, very Type-A personality needs to take a back seat to life sometimes, and right now is one of those times. I failed to write a couple new posts last week and am skipping out on today's post as well. Why? Well, family's been in town all week and as much as I love it when they visit (it's always a PARTY!) a few things always fall by the wayside. But I have really good excuses for not posting last Thursday and Friday. Actually, I hope I can use these excuses again when they come for another visit in June!

For one, I spent some quality time with my mom and sister for our very first--and hopefully not last--girls "overnighter" out. We spent Thursday evening at The Gateway, eating at California Pizza Kitchen, shopping and catching Duplicity on the big screen. Then we checked in at a local hotel and stayed up until 2am suffering from serious fits of giggles. The next day was Home Again (really cute consignment store), Gardner Village, Tai Pan, Old Navy, and the mall. We got home with about 2 hours to spare before the adults went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and caught the 7:30pm showing of Knowing. Saturday was the Mom It Forward service project, a long nap and then a last night out with family.

My parents left this morning and now it's time to catch up on everything (except my blog) that fell through the cracks while we played. The main things? Laundry, toilets and taxes. Hopefully I'll be posting again very soon! --Emily

Sausage, tomato & cream pasta plus easy Italian bread

It's food for thought friday and time for another pairing of tasty recipes. Today's recipes feature a bow tie pasta dish I discovered on a great blog called The Motherload plus a delicious bundt-pan bread from my good friend Becky. I haven't yet tried the bow tie pasta dish but I am definitely going to soon. I have tried the Italian bread--and can eat half a bundt pan all by myself! Hopefully you have stronger willpower than I. Enjoy!

Bow Ties With Sausage, Tomato, & Cream
1 (12 ounce) package bow tie pasta
1 T olive oil
1 lb Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage (removed from the casing)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (can omit/decrease if your family doesn't like spicy dishes)
1/2 c diced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 c heavy cream (or half & half to save on calories)
1/2 tsp salt
3 T minced fresh parsley

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir cooked pasta into sauce and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.


Easy Italian Bread
4 1/2 to 5 1/4 c of all purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 pkg. active dry yeast
1 c milk
1 c water
1/2 c margarine or butter
2 eggs
2 T grated Parmesan or another Italian cheese

Filling
1 c mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp dried italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c margarine or butter, softened

In large bowl combine 2 1/2 cups flour, sugar salt and yeast; blend well. In small saucepan heat milk, water and 1/2 cup margarine until very warm. Add warm liquid and eggs to flour mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in remaining 2 to 2 3/4 cups of flour. (I used my Kitchen Aid for this entire process.)

Generously grease bundt and sprinkle with cheese. In small bowl combine all filling ingredients; mix well. Spoon half of batter into greased pan; spoon filling mixture evenly over batter to within 1/2 inch of sides of pan. Spoon remaining batter over filling. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or cloth towel and let rise in warm place until light and doubled in size, about 30 min.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover dough and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove from pan; cool on wire rack. Serve warm or cool.

NOTE: Seriously grease that pan! If you don't the loaf will break in half along the cheese line and you'll be left scraping the bottom half out and trying to align it with what's already on the cooling rack. Trust me, it's not fun. Also, you could do some really fun variations on this recipe, like add chopped pepperoni or try a different cheese like cheddar or pepper jack.

"If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry?" ~Author Unknown

Photo by The Motherload

"The Fab Fifteen for Foodies" is one tasty post!

You will see me featuring posts from MomDot quite often. It's one of my favorite blogs and it always has great posts. For quite a few weeks now my food for thought friday posts have been actual recipes. It's about time I offered a side dish dedicated to some yummy food-related sites. Fortunately MomDot has already done a great job compiling a list of tasty sites, most of which I'd never heard about before. Nothing whets the appetite like discovering an array of new recipes!

In "The Fab Fifteen for Foodies" Victoria (from Life Starring Ellie and Eve) has compiled a list of fifteen fantastic foodie sites: "If you didn’t know, I love food…but since I am not a cook, the closest to gourmet we are going to have in my house are the pictures I can pull up on the Internet. So, who’s hungry?" (That would be me raising my hand in response to Victoria's question...)

It is totally worth your time to check out all fifteen sites. They are all very different, and we all know variety is the spice of life! Here are my favorites from the list:

• A Year of Crockpotting--Yes, a crockpot recipe for every day of the year! (And no, I didn't know "crockpotting" was a word!)
• Chocolate and Zucchini--Okay, I admit it. The main reason I love this site is its name. Chocolate zucchini brownies are one of my favorite desserts!
• Lunch in a Box--Right now my kids' lunches are more "hot lunch from the cafeteria" rather than homemade, but I've always been intrigued by bentos and this site is a great resource.

Of course there are twelve others on the list, so visit them and see if any of them tempt your tastebuds. I'll get back to posting recipes next week. I have a few you just have to try! --Emily

"Most vegetables are something God invented to let women get even with their children. A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something brussels sprouts never do." ~P.J. O'Rourke

orange blueberry scones & creamy chicken noodle soup

Okay, so those two recipes aren't meant to be served together but I'm posting both of them on today's food for thought friday anyway because I tried each one for the first time this past week and loved them. If I didn't post them today I'd totally forget about them and you'd miss out on two very yummy recipes!

The orange blueberry scones were originally lemon blueberry but I only had oranges on hand so I improvised. (I found this recipe when looking for some way to use up the Costco-size bag of dried blueberries no one was eating.) I think the result was even better than expected! They were tasty served with scrambled eggs and bacon. (I love the large Costco bag of precooked bacon pieces. Just whisk your eggs with some milk then throw in the bacon and some pepper. Scramble and voila! Breakfast is served!)

The creamy chicken noodle soup is my good friend Kim's sister's recipe. It was a hit with the family and made a TON. The original recipe did not have the basil and oregano but it needed a little something for flavor. The added spices were perfect! Also, on the roux I used the soup base/broth to thin the roux rather than milk before adding it back into the pot. I also suggest cooking the noodles even more firm than al dente so they don't get too soggy in the soup. That or wait until the very last minute to add them. Lastly, I found my crock pot was too small for the soup so I transferred it to a large pot on the stove when it came time to add the cream of chicken soup and evaporated milk. Just FYI!

Orange Blueberry Scones
3 c self-rising flour (see recipe below)
1/2 c plus 1 1/2 T sugar
3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 c dried wild blueberries (about 10 ounces)
1 c plus 1 T buttermilk
1 1/2 T finely grated orange peel

Self-rising flour
3 c flour
1 1/2 T baking powder
1/2 T salt

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk self-rising flour and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl. Using fingertips, rub in chilled butter until pieces are size of small peas. Add dried wild blueberries and toss to coat.

Mix 1 cup buttermilk and finely grated lemon peel in glass measuring cup. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and stir until dough begins to form (some of flour will not be incorporated). Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and gather together. Knead dough briefly, about 5 turns. Divide dough in half. Form each dough half into ball and flatten into 1-inch-thick disk. Cut each disk into 6 wedges.

Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Brush tops with remaining 1 tablespoon buttermilk and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until scones are golden brown on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.


Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
3 frozen chicken breasts (a great way to use your Costco chicken!)
3 14-oz. cans chicken broth
2 c carrots, sliced
2 c celery, chopped
1/2 an onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can evaporated milk
4 c cooked egg noodles (add last)
1/4 c butter
1/2 c flour
Milk to thin to desired consistency

Using a large crock pot put chicken breasts and chicken broth in crock pot. Heat on high until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken and cut into cubes. Put chicken back in crock pot and add carrots, celery and onion. Cook on high until veggies are tender. Add cream of chicken soup and evaporated milk; cook on low until ready to serve. On the stove top, make a roux with butter, flour and milk (or soup base). Add this to the crock pot mixture. Cook noodles separately. Add to crock pot 30 minutes before serving (or wait a little longer than that!).

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." ~Harriet van Horne

Make and Takes: cute blog, cute crafts & great ideas!

It's wonderful web wednesday and I have a wonderful blog for you. Make and Takes, a blog with "ideas & crafty tidbits for home, family & fun," is full of so many fun ideas and crafts you'll have to schedule them on the calendar to make sure you do them all!

I was lucky enough to meet Marie, the woman behind the blog, at a focus group for Today's Mama back in January. She has just as much energy in person as her blog gives off virtually! Marie is a stay-at-home mom with a teaching degree in Early Childhood & Elementary Education. She taught four years of kindergarten, and though she misses the classroom she now brings the fun and learning into her home. Her children serve has guinea pigs for a lot of her projects so you're sure to see them in many of her posts. Check out her picture--what a cute family!

I haven't been a Make and Takes subscriber for long but I am loving it so far. Take Marie's Scrabble tile pendant tutorial. I've always loved those tiles on Etsy and after reading her how-to I'm thinking even I, the non-crafty one, could make a few as gifts. I've also heard about turning your broken crayons into super cool "new" crayons. She has a post on that as well but now you can watch step-by-step how to make your own set of recycled chunky crayons. But it's not all paper and glue. Marie also features some great recipes on her blog, like this recent one for rosemary peasant bread.

I know, I know, you're thinking you already subscribe to a few too many blogs but do they tell you how to make semi-homemade donuts or the most darling and easy baby burp cloths? I didn't think so. If I'm recommending a crafty how-to site, you better believe it's a good one! --Emily

Photos from the Make and Takes website.