Thursday, April 28, 2011

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce


I made this for dinner tonight. It was super tasty! The boys REALLY liked it. It was so easy! It tasted quite similar to the Rose Sauce from Superstore. I used whole wheat noodles, substituted the cream for half/half, and I just used dried basil because I didn't have fresh and the recipe turned out great. I got the recipe from Pioneer Woman (thanks to Krystyn for introducing me to her blog).


Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce


Ingredients

* 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 2 Tablespoons Butter
* 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced (I only used about 1/4 onion)
* 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
* 2 cans (15 Ounce Each) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
* Salt And Pepper, to taste
* Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste)
* 1 cup Heavy Cream
* Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste
* Fresh Basil, Chopped
* 1-½ pound Fettuccine

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Citrus mania


Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta (from pioneer woman)

Ingredients

  • 4 whole Grilled Chicken Breasts, Sliced
  • 1 pound Penne Pasta, Cooked Until Al Dente
  • ½ sticks Butter
  • 3 whole Lemons, Juiced
  • ¾ cups Heavy Cream
  • ¼ cups Half-and-half
  • 1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano)
  • Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
  • 20 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander.

In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 3 to 4 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-heat. Whisk until hot. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.

Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts. Serve immediately!

I made these cupcakes for dick's Birthday, and i don't know about the rest of my family, but i thought they were pretty amazing! I followed the directions precisely and they turned out SOOOOO good! mmmmmm, lime:)))

Lime Margarita Cupcakes

Margaritta CUpcake (3)

Ingredients:

2 C. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp instant milk powder

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 C sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 C margarita mix (or any basic sweet and sour mixer)

5 egg whites, at room temperature

4 oz. light cream cheese, room temperature

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

zest and juice of 1 lime

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch salt

2 C powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 cupcake pans.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, instant milk, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high until light (about 3 mins).

Beat in the vanilla extract, then margarita mix.

Reduce the speed to low and beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with clean, dry beaters and set on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the beaten whites into the batter just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the cupcake molds.

Bake about 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.

Meanwhile, in bowl of stand mixer combine cream cheese, butter, lime juice, and zest, vanilla extract and beat on high until light and fluffy.

Slowly add in salt and sugar mixing until combined thoroughly.

Place bowl in fridge until cupcakes are cooled and ready to frost.

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, remove icing from fridge, frost, and decorate to your liking.

Makes about 24 cupcakes

Have fun!!

Krystyn

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Slow-Cooker-Lemon Garlic Chicken

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. It's another tasty one. I like to make this with roasted potatoes or rice.

Ingredients

* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1/4 cup water
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
* 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix the oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture into chicken. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Brown chicken in butter for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Place chicken in a slow cooker.
2. In the same skillet, mix the water, lemon juice, garlic, and bouillon. Bring the mixture to boil. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker.
3. Cover, and cook on High for 3 hours, or Low for 6 hours. (this is what the recipe says...but it takes WAY less time to cook...I think because you pre-brown the chicken. I put it on Low and it was finished in about 2 hours). Add the parsley to the slow cooker 15 to 30 minutes before the end of the cook time.