Updates

Mmmm...I could really go for a Mojito right now.

• I've fixed the Apple Dumpling recipe, for some reason the copy & paste function went spastic and so the directions didn't show up, but they're there now!
• I can't find the chord to upload my pictures from my camera, so a few of my posts are pic-less. : (   But I'm working on it and once I do I'll be sure to add the photos on here.

Other posts coming soon: 

1. My famous Chicken Parmesan recipe (yes I actually measured it all out for once!) 
2. A few different types of icing for the Mascaporne cupcakes
3. Lemon-Thyme Cornish Game Hens
4. Lasagna Rolls
5. Carrot Cake
6. Stuffed Eggplant

Savory Herb-Stuffed Mushrooms

My very first experience with stuffed mushrooms made for a pretty tasty lunch today. I've been craving mushrooms for the past few days so I decided to look up a recipe, and since I can't resist cream cheese these caught my eye. The recipe is from Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee off the foodnetwork.com. 

The original recipe is actually for appetizers, so instead of 24 medium mushrooms I used 2 Portobellos. The only difference it really made was there wasn't as much of the mushroom stems in the stuffing as the recipe called for. I think it would probably be better with the more mushrooms as the original calls for...so the smaller mushrooms would probably be the way to go. However, I'm going ahead and posting what I did rather than the original recipe.

Notes:

• Next time I think I'll add some Mozzarella on top and allow it to melt in the oven 
• I could also go for some more cream cheese
• I eyeballed and taste-tested everything so I may be way off the original
• (from original) 24 medium mushrooms, about 1 pound
• (from original) 1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing croutons

Yield: Original recipe: 24 appetizers    With the Portobellos instead: 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 Portobello mushrooms
• 6 T reduced-fat stick margarine
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 t garlic powder, or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 oz. low-fat cream cheese, softened
• 3 T grated Parmesan (I did equal parts of Parmesan and Parmiggiano Regianno)
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley leaves, or 2 t drie parsley flakes
• 1/3 cup herb-seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove stems from mushrooms. Chop enough stems to make 1 cup (I didn't have enough). Melt 2 T margarine in saucepan. Brush mushroom cap tops with margarine, place top side down in shallow baking pan and brush undersides of caps. Heat remaining margarine in same saucepan. Add chopped mushroom stems, onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in cream cheese, combining with fork if necessary. Add Parmesan cheese, parsley and breadcrumbs/stuffing croutons. Mix thoroughly. Spoon stuffing mixture into each mushroom cap. Bake until heated through.

Tip: To make ahead, prepare as directed but do not bake. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake as directed.

Yummy Honey Chicken Kabobs

I first made these a few months ago when my friend Amber came to visit and they are delish! Extremely simple, but still extremely tasty. Would be great served on a bed of rice. Recipe is from allrecipes.com

So, you say you want you red bell peppers to still be crispy, but (obviously) want the chicken cooked through? Well then just follow this tip: Because each ingredient (veggies/chicken) cooks at different rates naturally, don't alternate ingredients on skewers, instead designate one kind of ingredient per skewer. Ex. skewers with only onions, skewers with only chicken, etc.

Notes:

• I just use my George Foreman grill - it cooks up much faster than original recipe allows.
• Of course you can use any veggies you like (I really wanna try it with mushrooms too. Yum!)

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 t ground black pepper
• 8 sk/bnless chicken breast halves - cut into 1" cubes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 5 small onions, cut into 2" pieces
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 2" pieces
• skewers

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (or overnight.)

Preheat the grill for high heat.

Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables on skewers.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12-15 minutes (only about 3-5 minutes on G.F.) until chicken juices run clear. Brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Apple Dumplings

So, I've been on a hiatus for a while because of school and everything, but I'm gonna try to get into a regular routine of blogging. This is all so new to me!

I made these for Scott and mine's little Christmas dinner for just the two of us and they were great! They were kinda like my mom's apple pie (which is delicious by the way) but I didn't have to buy a pie dish! I got the recipe from Taste of Home's Cooking for 2's website after discovering their little gem of a magazine in Border's. Sorry the pic isn't very good, I was just anxious to get started eating!

Notes:

• I pretty much followed the recipe to a 'T' besides cutting it in half.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 t salt
• 1 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 8 medium tart apples, peeled and cored (I used Golden Delicious)
• 8 t butter
• 9 t cinnamon-sugar, divided

SAUCE:

• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide into 8 portions. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until easy to handle.

Roll each portion of dough between two lightly floured sheets of waxed paper into a 7-in. square. Place an apple on each square. Place 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon-sugar in the center of each apple.

Gently bring up corners of pastry to each center; pinch edges to seal. If desired, cut out apple leaves and stems from dough scraps; attach to dumplings with water. Place in a greased backing dish. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar. 

In a large saucepan, combine sauce ingredients. Bring just to a boil, stirring until blended. Pour over apples.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until apples are tender and pastry is golden, brown, basting occasionally with sauce. Serve warm.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Gooey cream cheese goodness! These have consistently been a good hit w/ my family and friends. I originally got the recipe from my friend Nicole a long time ago, but the recipe is actually on the back of the Old El Paso Green Chile Enchilada Sauce can. 

To illustrate how much I love these, since Scott is an uber-picky eater and won't eat anything green, I will actually go through the trouble of making 2 separate meals for the two of us when I want these. I'll make him some really simple meat burritos and make these for myself. They also make excellent leftovers so I usually eat on them for a few days and are always sad when they're gone. So enough babbling, here's the recipe!

Notes:

• You can make the chicken however you prefer. I've boiled sk/bnless chicken breasts and chicken pieces (such as thighs we had on hand) and shredded the meat, but what I usually do is just cut the breasts into really small pieces and cook in a skillet b/c it's just easier and faster for me.
•  I usually fill my enchiladas up pretty good so all mine will fit in a 8x8 or 9x9. So the amount of enchilada sauce you need to use depends upon the size of the pan. 1 can (even less actually) is enough for that small of a dish, but if you use a 9x13 you need the two.
• I like Old El Paso chopped green chiles much better than generic brands.
• I use the four cheese Mexican blend of shredded cheese instead of just cheddar.

Yield: 12 enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. uncooked chicken breast strips
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 can (4.5 oz.) chopped green chiles
• 1 package (10.5 oz.) flour tortillas (6 in.) 
• 2 cans (10 oz. each) Old El Paso green chile enchilada sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (3 oz) 

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease 13x9 (or any other size) baking dish.

In nonstick skillet, cook chicken over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink in center. Add cream cheese and chiles; reduce heat to medium. cook and stir until blended and cream cheese is melted.

Spoon chicken filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam sides down in baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over top; sprinkled with cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes until hot and cheese is melted.

Ultimate Spaghetti & Meatballs

I made these when my friend Trenton came over and they were a hit! They took a lot longer than I expected, probably because I tend to be super careful and picky when I first try out a recipe, but they were worth it. I got the recipe from an episode of Tyler's Ultimate. I made the Pomodoro Sauce he includes but didn't really care for it as much, so I'm not going to take the time to write out the recipe on here. But if you want it it's on the link. They also made good leftovers, but again would have been much better with a different sauce IMHO.

Notes:

• Again, didn't really like his Pomodoro Sauce.
• Don't know if this is right, but for the firm white bread I just let some Texas size bread that I had in the pantry sit out for about 30 minutes to get firm before soaking in the milk.
• I used a more authentic fresh mozzarella cheese that I found at Reasor's. It was nice and soft instead of hard like the usual packaged kind. I sliced it and put about one slice on each meatball.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 Tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 cup milk
• 4 thick slices firm white bread, crust removed
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground pork
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups heated Pomodoro Sauce, or good quality jarred tomato sauce
• 1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, cut into chunks
  
• Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh basil
• 1 lb. spaghetti

Directions:

Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. Heat 3 T oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook until the vegetables are soft but still translucent, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let cool.

Pour enough milk over the bread in a bowl to moisten and let it soak while the onions are cooling. Combine the meats in a large bowl. Add the egg and Parmigiano and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to squeeze the excess milk out of the bread and add that to the bowl along with the cooled onion mixture. (Hand onto the pan - you'll need it to cook the meatballs.) Gently combine all the ingredients with your hands or with a spoon until just mixed together. Don't overwork or the meatballs will be tough. Divide into 10 equal pieces and shape them into 10 nice looking meatballs.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a 3-count of oil in the frying pan over medium heat and brown the meatballs on all sides, about 10 minutes. Put them into a baking dish and spoon about half of hte tomato sauce over. Shower with the mozzarella and drizzle with the olive oil. Put the meatballs in the oven and bake until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in the boiling water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and put it onto a large serving platter. Pour on the rest of the sauce and mix well. Spoon the meatballs on top of the spaghetti and garnish with basil leaves. Serve immediately along with extra cheese.

Golden Applesauce

No pic for this one. : (

I love apple desserts. So because this is so easy, I enjoy making it to eat on it for a few days as a dessert for lunch. It's really easy and very tasty. I got it from an episode of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals.

Notes:

• I haven't been able to find the golden raisins and it tastes fine without.
• I also smash the sauce right at the end with a spoon just to make it more like a puree than a chunky sauce.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 golden delicious apples, peeled and chopped
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 oz. golden raisins, a handful (I haven't been able to find any and it is still tasty w/o)
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger root
• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 cups all natural apple juice or cider 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

 Combine all ingredients in a medium pot placed over medium high heat and cook until chunky sauce forms, 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. If sauce begins to spatter as it bubbles, reduce heat back a little, but it shoul be allowed to reduce and form quickly. Once apples are soft and sauce forms, remove it from the heat.