A Twist on Chicken Marsala

I am going to try and give you the best recap I can of this recipe but I definitely didn't measure much so it's all an approximation. Cooking is rarely precise so I am sure you can figure it out if you decide to replicate it!

Ingredients (may want to double mushroom and onion sauce)

Grilled Chicken Tenderloins (2-3 per serving)
Portabella Mushrooms
1 large vidalia onion
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp of roasted garlic
1/2 cup of marsala wine
1 cup of reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tsp of flour
2 sprigs of fresh thyme-chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Begin by heating olive oil and garlic on medium high heat. Add onions. Cook until beginning to brown and onions are softened.

Add half of marsala wine, half of chicken broth, mushrooms, and thyme. Keep cooking as mixture reduces. Add flour.

Slowly add remaining marsala and chicken broth continuously scraping the bottom of the pan to release flavor.

Meanwhile, grill chicken tenderloins. I marinated mine in balsamic vinegar, marsala wine, and a splash of pure maple syrup.

Top chicken with mushroom and onion sauce and serve with your favorite veggie!

Mini Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecakes

These were so wonderful and had all the flavors of the holidays! Adapted from Picky Palate

Ingredients


8 Oreos, finely ground in food processor

1 1/2 Tablespoons melted butter
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup pumpkin puree (Libby's)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1 package of low-fat or fat-free caramel dip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Combine ground oreos with melted butter in a bowl. Spoon into mini muffin pan to create a base of for the cheesecake. Press down to make flat. Partially bake for 10 minutes.

With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese,  sugar and pumpkin until smooth.  Beat in egg, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined.  Pour evenly into the mini muffin pan until about 3/4 way full.  Spoon about a teaspoon of caramel into the tops of each filled cup and swirl with a toothpick gently.  Bake for 25-28 minutes or until cheesecake is cooked through.  Let cool completely.

Remove mini cheesecakes from pan and top with an additional spoonful of caramel. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

So we haven't posted anything in FOREVER! It probably will continue to be this way since Colleen and I are both super busy with school and work. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here is a recipe I made a few weeks ago for delicious chicken enchiladas! Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients

1lb boneless skinless chicken breast (diced)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 tbsp olive oil
8 flour tortillas (8 inch size, I accidentally bough x-large)
2 cups of cheese (mexican blend or monterey jack)
1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup of flour
1 can of reduced sodium chicken broth
1 cup of light sour cream
1 can of chopped green chilies

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

Begin by cooking chicken and onion in pan until chicken is just done. Then fill tortillas with chicken and onion mixture, divide evenly between all tortillas. Add between 1-2 tablespoons of cheese to each tortilla. Roll tortillas and place seam side down in a non-stick 9X13 pan (may also want to spray with cooking spray).

Next in a saucepan over medium-high heat melt butter. Stir in flour to make a roux, continue stirring and cooking until bubbly. 

Next gradually add in chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring continually. 

Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and green chilies. Then pour sauce over rolled enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!!!

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!

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!

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!

Pressed Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Ingredients

1/2 Rotisserie Chicken (Shredded without Skin)

Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup of light mayo

3 thinly sliced scallions

2 teaspoons of hot sauce

2 tablespoons of fat free sour cream

Flour Tortilla Wrap 10-inch or 12-inch

Begin by shredding chicken and setting aside.

Mix together sour cream, mayo, green onion, and hot sauce.

Add chicken to sauce mixture.

Place tortilla on working surface. Top with a layer of cheddar cheese, leave about a half inch  of area around the tortilla. Then top with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture.

Roll up tortilla and place in a non-stick greased pan. Brown on each side (3-4 minutes/per side).

Serve with multigrain tortilla chips and your favorite layered mexican dip!

Butterbeer Cupcakes

A recipe replicated from The Pastry Affair

Butterbeer Cupcakes
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a cupcake tin with baking cups.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour (sifted), baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and butter flavoring.

Fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, 1/3 of the flour mixture, cream soda, and then the remaining flour. Folding in these ingredients will prevent over-mixing and will result in a fluffier, less dense cupcake. 

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the cupcakes are golden and spring back when touched. Cool completely before frosting.

Butterscotch Ganache
11 ounces (1 package) butterscotch chips
1 cup heavy cream

In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt the butterscotch chips into the heavy cream, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before using.

Butterscotch Buttercream
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup butterscotch ganache (recipe above)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
Pinch of salt
3-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Splash of heavy cream (as needed)

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the butterscotch ganache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt. Beat in the powdered sugar for 2-3 minutes, starting with 3 cups and adding more only if necessary. Add the cream a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved (I only needed 1 tablespoon).

To Assemble
Pour butterscotch ganache into a plastic squeeze bottle. Stab the tip of the bottle into cupcake and fill each cupcake with butterscotch ganache until it starts to overflow.

Fill a pastry bag with butterscotch buttercream and pipe onto the top of each cupcake. 

Drizzle on the butterscotch ganache.