Creamy Mushroom Pasta

I've been dreaming of Fall and cooler weather, instead Florida is currently very wet and muggy. At least with food I can create whatever season I want, so here it so being warm and full :)

Ingredients:

1 package of sliced portabella mushrooms
1 medium sweet onion diced
1 tbsp of roasted garlic
3/4 cup of regular cream
1/3 cup of chicken broth, reduced sodium
2-3 cups of spinach
1/2 cup of your favorite alfredo sauce (I used Classico's Mushroom Alfredo)
Pasta of choice
1-2 tbsp of flour
Olive Oil (or Grapeseed Oil, see below)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Being by sautéing onions, mushrooms, and garlic in oil until onions are softened and mushrooms are browning.

I choose to sauté with grapeseed oil because it has a higher smoke point and doesn't break down the fats in the oil when cooking at high temperatures... read more here: The Health Benefits of Cooking with Grapeseed Oil

Next add chicken broth, cream, and alfredo. Allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add flour to thicken as needed, allow to simmer while your pasta is cooked al dente. 

When pasta is ready get another pan and toss in desired amount of pasta and sauce together for your meal. Then add in desired amount of spinach, a few handfuls should be about right. This is the best trick to get your pasta to really come together. Cook sauce and pasta together for a few minutes over medium heat.

Transfer to a bowl or plate, sprinkle with parmesan and enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

We have our very first guest blogger! My soon-to-be-married and very-great--friend Ashley Hare!

Check out her delicious muffins below :)

Pumpkin Pie Spice Muffins

Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen- They were originally Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes, but I didn’t have a mini muffin pan, so I made them regular muffins. Also, the donut holes are rolled completely in the cinnamon sugar mixture, but I just dipped the tops of the muffins in it. It’s best to dip the muffins in the coating the same day you’re going to eat them because the muffin can make it a little soggy after a day or so.

Ingredients

For Muffins
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup low-fat milk

For Coating
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven 350°F. Spray each cup in a 24-cup muffin tin with baking spray or butter generously.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices (through cloves).

In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined- don’t over mix! !

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. For larger muffins, baking time may need to be increased. Mine took about 15 minutes.

While the muffins bake, melt butter in one bowl and combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in another bowl.

 Remove muffins from oven and cool for 2 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle. Dip each muffin top in melted butter, then dip in cinnamon sugar to coat the muffin top. Enjoy!

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

This recipe was adapted from Mangio da Sola

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup flour
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb fresh broccoli, chopped
1 cup carrot, shredded and chopped
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
4 ounces grated Colby jack cheese 
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter over medium heat. Remove the onions (you can actually leave the onions in there) and add in the flour, stirring constantly. Add in the half and half, milk, and chicken stock. Bring to almost a boil.
Add the onions back in, along with the broccoli and carrots. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.
Season the soup with the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cardamom. Stir in the cheeses (and you can play around with the amounts; use however much or little you like) and let simmer for 10 minutes longer before serving.

Roasted Tomato Soup

So, it has been awhile since I have posted anything and I am sorry, with having a new job and juggling school, Easton, and house work it has been a little overwhelming. I am finally getting on a schedule though so recipes should be coming more frequently now.

This recipe was adapted from Sprouted Kitchen
Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb. Ripe Tomatoes (about 4 Large Tomatoes)
1/2 Medium Yellow Onion
3 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp. Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
1 Tbsp. Chopped Parsley
1 1/2 Cups Low Sodium Vegetable or Chicken Broth
1 Tbsp. Organic Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream or Half and Half, optional
Fresh Oregano + Basil for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 350′. Cut the tomatoes and the half of an onion into wedges. Use your finger to push out some of the seedy parts of the tomatoes, but this is not a huge deal, just get out the big seedy parts, a bit intact is fine. Spread them on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle the salt, a generous amount of pepper, the chopped parsley and gently toss it with your hands. Tuck the garlic cloves somewhere in a tomato, so they don’t burn. Roast on the middle rack for 30-40 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and reduced to about half their size. Remove and cool slightly.
2. Warm the broth and stir in the tomato paste to dissolve. Add the all of the ingredients from the roasting pan into the broth and let it gently simmer for 5-10 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the bowl, or with a food processor or blender. The soup should be smooth, with some texture. If you don’t like any texture at all, you could run it through a fine mesh sieve. Return it back to the pot, and add the cream to taste, if using. Taste for salt and pepper.
3. Serve with some toasted bread, or broil a few slices with a piece of mozzarella on top. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and oregano.

Sautéed Red Potatoes

Ingredients (2 Servings)

3 Small Red Potatoes
1/2 tbsp of salt
1 tsp Oregano
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Light Butter

Begin by cutting potatoes into small pieces. Melt butter and heat olive oil in sauté pan. Add potatoes and season with salt and oregano. Cook for 20-25 minutes stirring frequently. Great when served as home fries with your favorite breakfast foods!

French Onion Soup

I have had a bit of a cold this weekend so I have been definitely craving soup. I finally found some cute crocks so I decided to try out a recipe for French Onion soup, one of my favorites!

Ingredients to make 2-3 bowls: (Double for 4-6 bowls) 

1.5 pounds of yellow onions (cut into 1/8 inch pieces)

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon of salt (more if needed)

A pinch of sugar

2 cups of water

2 cups of beef broth

1/2 tbsp of flour

1 tsp of thyme

1/4 cup of dry white wine

1 dry crusty baguette

4 slices of gruyere cheese sliced thick

Begin by melting butter in soup pot and sautéing onions for 10 minutes COVERED

Remove cover and continue cooking onions for approximately 45 minutes stirring frequently. 

Begin adding a tablespoon of water and stirring every 5 minutes releasing the brown coating on the bottom of the pan. Do this for approximately 20 minutes. Then add flour and stir for 2 minutes. Next add water and beef broth and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes.

Add dry white wine and simmer for 10 additional minutes. Turn on broiler. Add more salt to taste and transfer to soup crock. Top with 1-2 slices of the crusty baguette and cheese to coat. Then place under broiler until cheese is bubbling and browning. 

Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This dip is also known as Crack Dip because it is just that addicting!

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast cooked and shredded
1/2 bottle of Frank's BUFFALO Sauce
1 & 1/2 block cream cheese at room temp
1 cup ranch dressing
2 cups of cheese split into 1 cup portions

1. Add shredded chicken and buffalo sauce to a sauce pan on medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes until chicken absorbs most of buffalo sauce. Next add cream cheese in chunks until it all has melted down and mixed well with chicken. Add ranch and mix, remove from heat and add 1 cup of cheese immediately 

From here you have two options my favorite would be the crock pot. Put your crock pot on low add your dip and stir every so often. (Using the crock pot you only need one cup of cheese not two)
Option two, add to a casserole dish top with cheese and bake for 20 minutes until cheese is fully melted. 

Serve with Corn Chips and ENJOY!

Baked Zucchini Fries

Important things to know about my cooking and eating habits. I could live off of mushrooms and zucchini, well I basically do. Sorry if my recipes are boring, haha.

I made these to dip in the Comeback Sauce (seen below). Again, credit goes to Cody for the photos.

Ingredients:

2 medium-large zucchini
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese (the cheap kind is fine here)
1-2 eggs beaten

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Pretty simple recipe. Slice zucchini into strips, try and make them about the same thickness for even cooking.

Simple dip pieces in egg and then roll in breadcrumbs. Best to do each one individually rather than the shake and bake method so that the breadcrumbs really coat the zucchini. Time consuming but definitely worth the extra effort.

Bake for 12 minutes then flip zucchini fries and bake for an addition 10-12 minutes or until they are browned.

Comeback Sauce

I found this recipe on pinterest which is so AMAZING by the way. If anyone needs an invite let me know. There are so many recipes and beautiful things to be seen. This apparently is the sauce they use at restaurants like Outback that serve bloomin' onions. I've never eaten that so I can't compare but it was a pretty good sauce that seems like it would go with a lot of different foods, especially finger foods!

P.S. My brother was in charge of taking pictures so they are sparse to say the least.

Please find original recipe at http://syrupandbiscuits.wordpress.com/comeback-sauce/

Ingredients:

1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise (one of my Favorites)
1/4  cup Heinz Ketchup
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup light olive oil
juice of one lemon

Mix all ingredients together. Best to let sit overnight before using.

Zucchini Cakes

Ingredients

2 small shredded zucchini (Place in paper towels and press out as much water as possible.)

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese 

3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs

A pinch of red pepper

1/4 cup of egg beaters

Olive Oil

Mix together zucchini, parm cheese, bread crumbs, pepper, and egg beaters. Then patty and cook in heated olive oil until brown on both sides. I served mine with a sandwich since I made small patties. They would also be great on a sandwich if you made them larger!

Oven Chili Dog's

Oven hotdogs? My husband said the same thing. His exact words, "Why are you wasting your time just boil the hotdogs and top with cheese and chili." But after eating one he gave me a sincere apology and said, "This is the most amazing hotdog I have ever ate." There is something about cooking them in the oven that makes these hotdogs amazing. Lets just say I will never settle for a boiled hotdog again!  

Ingredients:
4 hotdogs
4 buns
1 can hotdog chili
Relish
Mayo
Mustard
Cheddar Cheese
Diced Onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put mayo, mustard and relish on bun. Place hotdogs in bun and top with chili and plenty of it.

 Top with cheese

 And Onions. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

 You will need a knife and a fork for these bad boys!

 Enjoy!!!

Ham and Cheese Sliders

Ingredients:
12 Dinner Rolls  (I used Hawaiian sweet rolls)
12 pieces of honey ham (I used Winn-Dixie Honey Ham of the Bone from the deli)
3 pieces swiss quartered to make 12 equal pieces
Mayo

Poppy Seed Topping:
1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 stick butter melted
1/2 tbsp honey mustard or yellow mustard
1/2 tbsp onion powder or 2 tbsp on minced onions
1/2 tsp Worcestershire

Preheat oven 350 degrees
Cut in half leaving the bun connected. Mayo your buns and place your ham and cheese  on them.

 Place sliders close together on a baking sheet.

 Mix together poppy seeds, butter, onion, Worcestershire, and mustard together and pour on top of sliders. Let set for10 minutes to allow time for the butter to set.

 Cover with foil and bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese has melted. Enjoy!

Cheese and Herb Stuffed Bread

Ingredients:
1 loaf of freshly baked bread from local bakery of yourself
2 tbsp of fresh parsley, basil, and green onions
1 cup of mozzarella cheese
1 tsp on minced garlic

Preheat oven to 350. Cut bread in half and scoop out some of the insides to make room for the stuffing. Then put on your parsley, basil, green onions, and garlic.

 Sprinkle with cheese. Out the top back on the bread wrap in foil and bake for 30 minutes.

 Let set for 5 minutes then cut  and enjoy!