Bow Tie Pasta with Sausage

This is one of the first meals I learned to make.  Actually, the recipe is from the first cookbook I ever owned.  The hubby requests this dish more then any other, I could probably make it blindfolded (Hmm, I'm gonna have to try that).  Its really tasty and easy to make which makes it perfect for a week night.  Its especially good with Maglios sausage, if you can find it.

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz Bow Tie pasta

1 pound Italian rope sausage

2 large sweet red peppers, seeded and sliced into 2 inch strips

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, cut sausage into 1 inch pieces.  In a large skillet over medium high heat cook sausage and red peppers until sausage no longer pink, about 10 minutes.  Drain well.  Stir broth and pepper into skillet.  Bring to boiling and cook, uncovered about another 5 minutes.  Drain pasta and return to pot.  Pour sausage mixture over pasta, add basil and toss gently to coat.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Is there a better combination of foods then Potatoes and Cheese? I really don't think so. Take any type of potato, prepared any way, and top it with some cheese, and you are guaranteed to enjoy it.  What are your favorite food combos?

INGREDIENTS:

4 medium baking potatoes

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

2/3 cup bacon, cooked crispy and chopped

1 - 2 tbsp milk

1/4 cup chives, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Scrub potatoes with water and pat dry.  Prick potatoes with fork and bake at 425 degrees for 40 to 60 or until potatoes are soft when pricked with a fork.  Let potatoes cool for about ten minutes or until they are cool enough to handle.  Cut a lengthwise slice off the top and discard.  Scoop the pulp out of the potatoes and place in a bowl.  Mash the pulps with a masher.  Add the sour cream, garlic salt, pepper, and milk and stir until smooth.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese, the bacon, and chives.  Divide evenly among the potato shells and place in a 2 quart baking dish.  Bake, uncovered in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for another 2-3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

The smell of this cake baking in the oven was AMAZING!  My entire house smelled like apples and cinnamon and all of the different spices.  This is a great recipe for Fall.  It made me want to carve a pumpkin or go for a hay ride!

INGREDIENTS:

Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 3/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, coursely grated (2 cups grated)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and place rack in the center.  Spray a Bundt pan with with nonstick cooking spray.  Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice into a medium bowl.  Drain grated apples to remove excess moisture.

Beat butter, both sugars, and lemon peel in a large bowl until fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Mix in vanilla and lemon juice.  Beat in flour mixture.  Mix in grated apples and transfer mixture to pan.  Bake the cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour.  Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. 

While cake is cooling, prepare glaze.  Stir sugar, butter, cream, vanilla, lemon juice and salt in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook stiring frequently until sugar disolves and mixture is boiling.  Reduce heat to medium and whisk until glaze is smooth, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat. 

Invert cake onto a rack over a baking sheet.  Using a small skewer, pierce holes all over top of warm cake.  Pour hot glaze over top, allowing it to absorb before adding more.  Cool cake for 30 more minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cheesy Potato Gratin

So as I started this entry, I asked my husband how "potatoes" is spelled.  He said  it is spelled
p-o-t-a-t-o-s.  As I was typing it out, I realized it didnt look right to me...so I asked him if he was sure. 

He insisted this spelling was correct.

We talked about the Dan Quale incident where he misspelled "potatoes" at a spelling bee and my husband laughed about the fact that the vice president could not spell a word as simple as
p-o-t-a-t-o-s.  I asked again if he was sure.

He continued to insist.

When I question him one last time, he began to feel the need to prove it to me.  So he goes into the kitchen and gets a bag of potatoes.  He reads the front of the bag. 

"Oh crap...you were right...its spelled p-o-t-a-t-o-e-s"

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 5 cups sliced)
1/3 cup sliced green onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 cup whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 2 quart square baking dish.  Wash the potatoes thoroughly and slice into thin slices (no need to peel the potatoes).  Layer half the potatoes in the baking dish and cover with half the salt, pepper, garlic and onions and cheese.  Repeat layer and pour whipping cream over top.  Cover and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Uncover and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

Heavenly Cheesecake

This rich and creamy New York style cheesecake was undoubtedly triumphant!  Now, I will admit,  I poured my heart and soul  into this cheesecake (I also accidentally poured half a very large bottle of vanilla extract all over my kitchen...but thats another story).  Well, it all paid off in the end.
     One word of advice though...dont rush the cooling process! After 5 hours in the refrigerator my husband (fairly easily) convinced me to remove the cake from the spring form pan and give it a try.  While it was certainly tasty, it definitely was not fully set.  So the lesson for the day is: Good things come to those who wait!

INGREDIENTS:

Crust

• 2 packages Graham crackers
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter

Filling

• 2 pounds cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the oven rack in the bottom third of oven.  Gently wrap the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan with two layers of heavy duty, 18 inch aluminum foil.  Be very careful when wrapping the pan not to tear any holes in the foil.  Gently crimp the foil around the outer edge of the pan. 

Use a food processor to grind the Graham crackers into course crumbs.  Put in a bowl and stir in sugar and salt.  Stir in the melted butter.  Make a crust in the spring form pan by firmly pressing cracker crumbs evenly throughout bottom of pan only. Bake in oven for 10 minutes.  Remove crust and let cool.  Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees.

Cut the cream cheese into several pieces and place in large bowl.  Use an electric mixture to mix on medium setting for 4 minutes.  Add the sugar and beat for 4 more minutes.  Add the salt and vanilla and beat until combines.  Add each egg one at a time and beat mixture for 1 minute after each addition.  Add the sour cream, beat until combined.  Add the heavy cream, beat until combined.

Place the spring form pan into a high sided roasting pan. Boil two quarts of water.  Pour creamy mixture over the crust.  Smooth top with a spatula. Set in oven on lower rack and fill with boiling water until 1/2 way up side of  spring form pan.  Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Turn oven off and crack the oven door about 1 inch.  Allow cake to cool in oven for about 1 hour.  This will prevent the top of the cheesecake from cracking.  Take cheesecake out of oven and allow to cool completely.  Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate over night.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and take off the aluminum foil.  Run the blunt side of a knife around the edge of the pan to loose.  Remove the spring form pan and serve.

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken, tomatoes, corn, and cilantro, wrapped in a corn tortilla and smothered with enchilada sauce and topped with gooey cheesy goodness.  What could be better then that?  I have tried many enchilada recipes and this is by far my favorite.  I adapted this recipe from an episode I saw of Tyler's Ultimate Cooking.  The original recipe calls for a can of Chipotle peppers, but these are way to spicy for me so I leave them out.  If you like spicy flavor, you could certainly add them or any other pepper you might prefer. 

Cooking Tip: 
Don't overfill the tortillas as they might fall apart during cooking

INGREDIENTS

1 pound boneless chicken breast
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flour
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can corn, drained
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 roasted whole green chiles, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
12 corn tortillas
1 10 ounce can enchilada sauce
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp Mexican seasoning


To make your own Mexican seasoning, combine a pinch of each of the following:
onion powder
garlic powder
paprika
cumin
oregano
chili powder

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Flatten chicken with a meat mallet for even cooking.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add chicken and season with cumin and Mexican seasoning.  Cook until no longer pink, about 7-8 mins.  Remove chicken from pan and shred with a fork.  In same pan add onion and garlic.  Cook until softened, about 3-4 mins.  Add corn, cilantro, peppers, and tomatoes.  Cook until heated through.  Add shredded chicken and cook for another 2-3 mins.  Add 1 tbsp flour to thicken mixture and stir well.  Pour enchilada sauce in a shallow dish.  Wrap tortillas in two damp paper towels and microwave until soft, about 30-45 seconds.  Dip tortillas in enchilada sauce and place on a flat surface. Fill tortilla with chicken mixture while being careful not to tear it. Roll tortilla and place in 13x9 baking dish.  Continue with remaining tortillas.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas.  Cover with cheeses and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle top with cilantro and serve with sour cream if desired.
Serves 4

Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Italian Sausage Sauce

This recipe is sooo good!  I found it on http://www.simplyrecipes.com/ which is my absolute favorite place to look for new recipes.  The sauce is very creamy and flavorful and the half pound of  spicy sausage gives the dish just the right amount of heat. This one will definitely go in the recipe box to be repeated many many times!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 2 large garlic gloves, chopped
• 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 Tbsp dried sage
• 3/4 pound fettuccine
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add shallots and garlic and saute until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add sausage and saute until no longer pink, breaking sausage up.  Add cream and simmer about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes with juices.  Add sage.  Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions or until just tender.  Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Return pasta to same pot, add sauce.  Toss to coat.  Add reserved liquid if mixture is dry.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Chicken Noodle Soup

So, I roasted a chicken on Sunday night (only the second time I have attempted such a feat).  The chicken turned out marvelous but the hour long process was extremely nerve racking!  The butter in the bottom of the roasting pan kept sizzling and smoking, causing havoc with the smoke detector in my kitchen!  My husband laughed at me as I stood by the stove with our fire extinguisher ready in case my stove caught fire!  Needless to say it did not, and actually the chicken was delicious.  Anyhow, I had tons of chicken left over (my husband and I are a small family of two) and decided to attempt chicken noodle soup with the left overs.  I found this very tasty recipe in "Anyone Can Cook". It is very basic, I added some extra oomph for flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
• 1 cup chopped carrots (about 3 med. carrots)
• 1 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups wide egg noodles
• salt to taste (the recipe did not call for salt, but I added it for more flavor)

Directions:

Place carrots, celery, onion, and chicken broth in large pot.  Add oregano, bay leaves, and pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cover, simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add the egg noddles and bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until noodles are done, about 8-10 minutes.  Add chicken and cook until heated through, about another 5-6 minutes.  Ladle and serve.  Serves about 4 main dishes.