No-Cream Mushroom Sauce for Pasta and Engagement Pics!!

11. January 2012 · 48 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, life, recipes, Savory, Side dishes, vegetarian · Tags: , , , ,

Ok, ok, I know I just posted a pasta recipe, but I promise this one is way different. Maybe as opposite as can be.

The other pasta was creamy but this one is buttery.

The other pasta had ham but this one is vegetarian!

The other one had a little escarole but this one is chock full of tasty mushrooms.

I used some crazy long spiral noodles for the other one, but this one uses rotini. Yum.

See, I told you, they’re completely different.

I’m always trying to stay semi-healthy around here. I’m also always looking for recipes that I can make and get on the table at a reasonable hour after I get home from work. This recipe fits the bill on both accounts!

And because I’m sure you all just got finished gorging yourselves on holiday foods, and have all made your new years resolutions, I’m hoping this recipe will be much appreciated.

The flour in the recipe is what thickens it, and there is enough butter to give it a richness without adding tons of calories.

Also, just to continue with the wedding updates that some of you enjoy…Nate and I had engagement pictures taken back in November and the photographer Jodi Miller did an AMAZING job. If you guys wanna check them out, head on over to her blog! After seeing how great these turned out, I am SO excited to see the shots she gets of the wedding :)


Pasta with No-Cream Mushroom Sauce
From TheKitchn

You can print this recipe from the original link

Makes enough sauce for almost one 1-lb box pasta, depending on how saucy you like it

1 1/2 ounce package wild mushrooms
1 cup chicken, vegetable or beef broth, boiling
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons butter, divided
3 8-ounce packages of white button or portobello mushrooms, washed and chopped
4 large shallots, minced
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped sage
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 lb pasta, cooked according to package directions

Crumble the dried mushrooms into a glass bowl or measuring cup and pour the boiling broth over them. Let steep for at least 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the drained liquid. Mix the drained liquid with the white wine.

Heat a tablespoon of butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped button or portobello mushrooms and let sit, without stirring, for about four minutes or until they have thoroughly browned on one side. Stir and let them cook on the other side – again, without stirring – for about four minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, sage and steeped wild mushrooms. Turn the heat to low, and cook until they are all fragrant and soft.

Add the second tablespoon of butter and, when melted, add the flour. Stir rapidly, letting the flour thicken with the butter into a paste. Have a whisk ready! Slowly pour in the mushroom broth and white wine, whisking rapidly. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking, until the mixture thickens. It should thicken to the consistency of a thick gravy.

Add the chopped parsley, stirring until wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately over pasta with plenty of fresh Parmesan.

A Quick “Summer” Meal for a Confused Autumn

21. November 2011 · 18 comments · Categories: Dinner, food, recipes, Savory

This stupid fall weather can’t make up it’s mind.

First it’s so cold that I pull out my hat, scarf, gloves, even crank up the heat. I’ve been walking around the apartment in my velour sweatpants and a sweatshirt I inherited from my mom that’s probably about as old as I am…and it has a hole in the armpit (I just typed airport instead of armpit. I’m obviously ready for a vacation).

Needless to say, Nate hasn’t been too pleased with my appearance. He told me that, according to Seinfeld, when you walk outside in sweatpants (which I may or may not have done to make a quick trip to the grocery store… They were velour!), that “you’re telling the world: ‘I give up. I can’t compete in normal society. I’m miserable, so I might as well be comfortable.'” And comfortable I was!

But the thing is, I don’t complain about the cold weather. I love being chilly and bundling up. I love piling on the comforter in bed and getting all snuggly. I mean, you can always make it warmer inside.

Then the weather got all hot again. Come on, autumn, make up your freaking mind. The stupid air conditioner in our apartment building got turned off because it’s not summer anymore. I go to bed with the comforter still on which feels right at the time and then in the middle of the night I kick everything off because I’m so hot. I toss and turn and then pull the comforter back on at 4am when I’m shivering, because the next morning it’s cold outside again. I’m so tired from this lack of sleep!

I think I need a better place for taking my photos…or a less nosy cat.

I figured I’d go along with the warm weather and pretend like it’s summer. So the other night I cooked up some pulled chicken bbq sandwiches. If you can’t beat the heat, you might as well embrace it, right?

Now if I could only get them to put on the A/C.


Black Pepper and Molasses Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Recipe from Cooking Light

Print this recipe!

serves 2-4

3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 (2-ounce) sandwich rolls, cut in half horizontally
12 dill pickle chips

Combine first 9 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 23 minutes or until chicken is done and tender.

Remove from heat; shred with 2 forks to measure 2 cups meat. Place 1/2 cup chicken on bottom half of each roll. Top each with 3 pickles and top half of roll.

Serve with coleslaw if desired.

#squashlove!- Indian-Spiced Chicken and Butternut Squash Stew

05. November 2011 · 100 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory · Tags: , , ,

Have you been feeling these cooler temperatures? I guess it depends where you live, huh. Well I gotta say that I much prefer the colder weather even with some rain drops than that awful heat and humidity. I was definitely ready for fall.

And nothing quite screams fall like squash: pumpkin, acorn, butternut. There are so many things you can make with this versatile ingredient, from sweet treats to savory suppers.

So when my blogger friend Junia at Mis Pensamientos organized a #squashlove bloghop for the month of November, you better believe I was in!

As I mentioned in my other post, I made a delightful stew to go along with that awesome cilantro flatbread last month. When I was deciding what I should make, I knew it would have to be something with some Indian spices to complement the flatbread.

I had made a great cauliflower/potato mixture with Garam Masala a few nights before for myself. Nate would’t dare touch cauliflower. All the more for me.

Anyway, that dish turned out so well that I wanted to make something with the same flavors that he could enjoy as well.

I settled on using chicken but thought that some butternut squash, diced tomatoes and yogurt would be amazing together. So that’s what I did. This whole dish really didn’t take too long to make.

I call for chicken thighs because I personally believe they stay extremely moist to the point that you can’t really overcook them. If you like dry meat, then go for the breast, but that’s not my thing. And for those calorie-counters out there, there are 110 calories in boneless skinless chicken breast vs 130 calores for boneless skinless thighs,  for the same 4 ounces. I really don’t think 20 calories are worth sacrificing moisture and flavor. But that’s just me ;)

The link below is powered by Linky Tools.
Click here to enter your link and view this the recipes that are part of #squashlove!

I am co-hosting this #squashlove! bloghop with the following fine chefs:

Baker Street | Anuradha : @bakerstreet29
Bloc De Recetas | Salomé : @blocderecetas
Bon à croquer | Valerie : @valouth
Cake Duchess | Lora: @cakeduchess
Cafe Terra Blog | Terra : @cafeterrablog
Food Wanderings | Shulie : @foodwanderings
Hobby and More | Richa : @betit19
Mike’s Baking | Mike : @mikesbaking
Mis Pensamientos | Junia : @juniakk
My Twisted Recipes | Dudut : @mytwistedrecipe
No One Like Crumbley Cookies | T.R : @TRCrumbley
Queens Notebook | Elizabeth : @mango_queen
Simply Reem | Reem : @simplyreem
Skip To Malou | Malou : @malou_nievera
Teaspoon Of Spice | Serena : @tspcurry
The Daily Palette | Annapet : @thedailypalette
The Professional Palette | Regan : @profpalate
The Spicy RD | EA : @thespicyrd
Vegan Miam | Rika : @veganmiam

Indian-Spiced Chicken and Butternut Squash Stew

Recipe by me!

Print this recipe!

Serves 4-6

1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1.5 Tbsp Garam Masala
1 tsp tumeric
1 cup lowfat plain yogurt (not greek style)
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 3/4″ cubes (weight after chopping)
2 cups onions, thinly sliced
1 Tsbp vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh ginger, minced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

 Combine first 4 ingredients in bowl and let marinate 30 min.

Heat the oil over med-hi heat. Add onions and saute 5 min or until soft. Add ginger and garlic and saute 1-2 minutes.

Add butternut squash to pan and saute 1-2 min. Add chopped tomatoes with juice. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Add chicken. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 10 min, covered. Uncover and cook an additional 5 min.

Take 2 Tbsp or so of cooking liquid and put in a cup. Mix with the cornstarch and whisk to dissolve. Add cornstarch mixture back into chicken mixture and stir. Cook another few minutes until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stir cilantro in and serve.

Speedy Supper: Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Braid

20. October 2011 · 34 comments · Categories: Baking, Brunch, cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory · Tags: , , ,

Broccoli Chicken Cheese Braid ~ ElephantEats.com

I’ve been hoping I’d come across a recipe to use that leftover chicken breast I had from a different recipe that was all cooked and chopped in the freezer.

So when I was doing my usual browsing on Pinterest yesterday and came across a pic that looked tasty, I was excited to see its main ingredient was 2 cups of chopped chicken!

I checked out the rest of the recipe and it seemed like it couldn’t be more simple. It was 6 ingredients and only took 30 min to bake.

Broccoli Chicken Cheese Braid ~ ElephantEats.com

Since you all know I’ve been super busy and short on time, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to finally get a blog post up.

Broccoli Chicken Cheese Braid ~ ElephantEats.com

This turned out totally delicious and I think it’s extremely kid friendly! I hope you enjoy :)

P.S. Sorry the color in my pictures stinks. For a more appetizing view of this recipe, click on the Food Family Finds link below.


Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Braid

Adapted from Food Family Finds

Print this recipe!

serves 5

Ingredients
2 cans Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls or 2 cans Pillsbury seamless sheet
2 cups chicken chunks, cooked
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 10-oz box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, spread both cans of crescents, sealing the long edge of one sheet to the long edge of the other.

Press each of the seams to form a single layer of dough.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, cheese, broccoli and mayonnaise

Spread mixture over the center of the croissant dough evenly to create a log. It should be in a rectangle perpendicular to the seam.

Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut horizontal strips 1 inch apart down each side of the crescent dough bordering the chicken mixture.

Fold the end up and over the chicken. Then fold the dough strips over the top of the chicken mixture, alternating left and right to create a braid.

Brush the top of the braid with a beaten egg yolk.

Bake for 28 – 30 minutes until golden brown. 

#applelove: Sweet Potato Flatbread with Carmelized Onions, Apples, Cheddar and Rosemary

01. October 2011 · 63 comments · Categories: Appetizer, Baking, Bread, cooking, food, recipes, Savory, Side dishes, vegetarian · Tags: , , , , , ,

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

Well, that’s what they say. I’m not sure how true it is, though, because I eat an apple almost every single day and I get sick way more than Nate. Although, come to think of it, Nate eats an apple every.single.day with his lunch (I told he he’s a creature of habit!). So maybe the old saying IS true :)

Regardless, I think apples are pretty tasty. As soon as fall comes and the air starts gettin chilly, I do a lot of apple-eating. So when October’s #lovebloghop got announced with the ingredient-of-the-month as apple, I was pretty pleased.

Since I’ve been on a flatbread kick, I decided to do a little experimenting. I don’t how this zany little idea got in my head, but I wanted to make a dough out of sweet potato that wouldn’t require yeast.

Because the dough would hopefully have a nice sweetness to it, I wanted a topping that would complement it. I settled on sauteed onions and apples with rosemary. I just felt that those flavors would all meld so well together.

And then, I added cheese. Cheese? Yes, please.

You know what else they say about apples? An apple pie without the cheese is like a hug without the squeeze.

Ok, so I’ve never actually had apple pie with cheese, but I’m told that putting a little cheddar in the crust or on top is just delightful.

I’m not usually a recipe-creator, but I thought I did a pretty good time this time around.

October is #applelove month!  Hosted by:

Baker Street http://bakerstreet.tv/
Bloc de recetas http://blocderecetas.blogspot.com/
Bon a croquer http://www.bonacroquer.com
CafeTerraBlog http://www.cafeterrablog.com
Cake Duchess http://www.cakeduchess.com
Elephant Eats www.elephanteats.com
Hobby And More http://hobbyandmore.blogspot.com/
Knitstamatic http://knitstamatic.wordpress.com
Mike’s Baking http://www.mikesbaking.co.uk
Mis Pensamientos http://juniakk.blogspot.com
My Twisted Recipes www.mytwistedrecipes.blogspot.com
Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives http://lisamichele.wordpress.com
Queen’s Notebook http://www.queensnotebook.com
Skip to Malou http://www.skiptomalou.net/
Teaspoon of Spice www.teaspoonofspice.com
The Daily Palette http://www.thedailypalette.com
The Spicy RD www.eastewart.com/blog
Vegan Miam http://www.veganmiam.com
Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen http://versatilekitchen.blogspot.com

Please join in on the #applelove fun by linking up any apple recipe from the month of October 2011.  Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #applelove event. The twitter hashtag is #applelove :). 

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Yeast-Free Sweet Potato Flatbread with Apples, Carmelized Onions, Cheddar and Rosemary

Recipe by Me

Print this recipe!

Serves 6 as an appetizer

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 small onions, thinly sliced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
s+p to taste
1 cup mashed sweet potato (about 1-2 small potatoes)
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup shredded cheddar (or more if you like things cheesy)

Heat oil in saucepan over med-hi heat.

Add onion and cook 10 min or until soft.

Add 1 tsp vinegar to deglaze, scraping up all stuck bits, and add apples and rosemary.

Cook 5 min or until soft. Add rest of vinegar and sugar and cook 5-10 min more.

Bake (or microwave) sweet potato until soft. Remove skin and mash. Combine sweet potato, flour and baking soda in a small bowl and combine well. Add more flour as needed. Knead until dough forms into a ball. Dough will be slightly sticky.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle (or desired shape) until 1/4 inch thick. It should fit on 1/2 of a baking tray.

Bake for 20 minutes at 375.

Remove from oven. Sprinkle with more olive oild and spread apple mixture and cheese on top. Bake 5 more minutes at 350 or until cheese melts.

Cut into squares and serve immediately.

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