Pesto Farfalle

The inspiration for this yummy pasta dish came from my favorite item on the menu at Noodles & Company; Pesto Cavatappi. I normally order it with shrimp but for this attempt I used chicken. This dish turned out great but I didn't feel that the chicken did anything to add to the dish and eliminating it would not have taken away from anything. Next time I think I will skip the chicken and replace it with some more veggies. Perhaps, some yellow peppers for a nice color addition. This recipe was super simple and received rave reviews. It was not exactly like the dish from Noodles but it was very very good.

Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts
1 container of grape tomatoes halved
1 container of fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 to 3/4 cup of your favorite pesto sauce
1 pound of Farfalle
1/4 to 1/2 cup of heavy cream
splash of white wine
a little EVOO
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Preheat large frying pan and a couple of splashes of EVOO on medium high. Add the chicken and cook through. Remove chicken and set aside. Add the mushrooms and more EVOO if needed. Saute until done. Add the tomatoes and saute with the mushrooms until warm. Remove mushrooms and tomatoes and set aside. Wash skillet.

2. Cook Farfalle to your desired firmness. Drain and set aside.

3. Preheat skillet on medium high. Add chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes and pasta. Combine thoroughly. Add Pesto and stir until combined. Add a splash of white white; stir to combine. Allow to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and combine. Allow to cook for 4 or 5 minutes until a nice sauce is covering everything. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over dish if desired.

Fast and Fab Cornish Game Hens

I bought 2 Cornish Game Hens and had planned to roast them over beer cans. For some reason on the day of my meal it did not dawn on me until 4:15 that I should probably get my meal started. At this point the 2 and a half hour cooking time called for in my original recipe was way too long to have my dinner on the table at 5:30! I had my hens thawed and ready to go though so I had to do something with them! Luckily, we had nobody coming for dinner so I could afford to experiment. The result was a nice tender juicy hen with a perfectly seasoned crispy skin!!

I wouldn't really call this a recipe as much as a how to guide. Either way, here it is:

First, I cut the hens in half and removed the back bone. Which was easier said than done. Next time I may allow more time and leave them whole. I think that the backbone could have been left in if you wanted. I removed mine because it was not very nice to look at and I figured there was zero chance of my kids eating a piece of meat with an ugly gnarly bone protruding.

Next, I spread some olive oil in the bottom of my roaster pan. I would say about 2 tablespoons. I placed the rack in the pan and put some peeled halved carrots and a quartered onion over the rack. I placed the pieces of hen on top of the carrots and onions. I brushed some additional olive oil on the hens and sprinkled them with fresh ground poultry seasoning and pepper. I added a little Italian seasoning for good measure.

After this, I placed the hens uncovered in the oven preheated to 500 degrees. I cooked it for about 20 minutes, until it smelled good and started to sizzle. I then took about 1 and a fourth cup of chicken stock and poured it over the hens. I placed it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

Finally, I removed my delicious creation from the oven and served it to my very hungry family. Everyone loved it! I will make these again! Next time I might try adding some other veggies. I just used the carrots and onions because that is what I had on hand!

Parmesan Almond Crusted Tilapia

I found this recipe on the allrecipes website. Sometimes I cringe at the recipes on that site but this one looked really yummy so I figured I would give it a try. I basically stuck to the recipe but I used two eggs instead of one and a bit of extra seasoning. The one egg just didn't seem to be enough for all of the tilapia. I am glad I gave this recipe a chance. It turned out absolutely fantastic! I will make this again for sure!

Ingredients:

1 eggs 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper 1/2 cup ground almonds 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 4 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour for dusting 3 tablespoons butter salt to taste 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 4 sprigs parsley 4 lemon wedges

Directions:

1.	Beat the eggs with the lemon pepper and garlic pepper until blended; set aside. Stir together ground almonds with 1 cup of Parmesan cheese in a shallow dish until combined; set aside. Dust the tilapia fillets with flour, and shake off excess. Dip the tilapia in egg, then press into the almond mixture.
2.	Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook tilapia in melted butter until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium, and season fillets with salt if desired. Sprinkle the tilapia with the remaining Parmesan cheese, cover, and continue cooking until the Parmesan cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
3.	Transfer the tilapia to a serving dish, and garnish with parsley springs and lemon wedges to serve.

Sticky Buns

These are the easiest sticky buns ever! And they are oh so tasty! This is a must try recipe! We put them together on the eve of every holiday and enjoy them in the morning. I originally found them on the Food Network website but have since found similar recipes in various other places. I have always stuck to the original Paula Deen recipe I started with though. I usually try to use whole pecans but the recipe calls for chopped pecans so you can use whatever you have on hand. I used chopped for the one pictured because that is what the kids prefer. This cannot get any easier. I have even had the kids put it together!

Ingredients

• 16 to 18 unbaked frozen dinner rolls
• 1 (3-ounce) package regular butterscotch pudding mix, not instant
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Directions

The night before place frozen rolls in well greased Bundt pan. Sprinkle dry pudding mix over rolls. Sprinkle brown sugar over pudding mix. Sprinkle chopped pecans over brown sugar. Pour melted butter over all. To prevent the dough from forming a hard crust while its rising overnight, cover with a damp towel or tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Let rise overnight at room temperature, about 8 to 10 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Turn pan over onto a serving platter to remove. Serve by pulling apart chunks with forks.

Whoopie Pies

This wonderful little pies were easy to make and fun to assemble. The sandwich part lies somewhere between a cookie and a cake or brownie and the inside is marshmallow of course! My only complaint is that the recipe said I would end up with 18 sandwiches and I only got 12. I suppose I could have made them slightly smaller but the marshmallow to sandwich ratio seems prefect as is so I think that had I made the cookies any smaller there would have been to much marshmallow and too little sandwich. Next time I intend to double the batter. I may also do some experimenting next time too. Right after the pie is assembled and the marshmallow is still soft it would be fun to roll the sides in candy cane bits, graham cracker bits, nuts or whatever else strikes your fancy. I followed the recipe exactly, though some of the comments posted said they had used all semisweet chocolate rather than a combo so that is an option too. My one word of advice is to stir this one by hand. I generally like to use my Kitchenaid for everything but for this I resisted. Some of the reviewers mentioned that their cookies ended up flat and hard rather than fluffy and soft, this in combination with the recipe saying "take care not to over-mix" told me to skip the mixer and make sure my pies ended up fluffy. These truly do only take a minute to mix anyways so the mixer really is unnecessary. This recipe is from the Food Network website.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's or Scharffen Berger
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons fine salt
• 18 large marshmallows, (not minis)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet.

Put the unsweetened and semisweet chocolates and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl; heat at 75 percent power until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir, and continue to microwave until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. (Alternatively, put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching the water, and stir occasionally until melted and smooth.)

Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until smooth.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into another bowl. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until moistened. Switch to a rubber spatula and finish folding the batter together; take care not to over-mix.

Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto the prepared pan. Repeat to make 36 cookies, spacing them about 1-inch apart. Bake until the cookies spring back when lightly touched, about 6 minutes.

Cool the cookies slightly. Transfer half of the cookies to a rack. Turn the remaining cookies on the pan over, so they lay flat side up. Place a marshmallow on top of each flipped cookie and return pan to the oven. Cook just until the marshmallow begins to soften and puff, about 3 minutes. Cool marshmallow topped cookies slightly, about 2 minutes. Top with the remaining cookies, pressing lightly to make sandwiches. Cool whoopee pies completely on wire racks. Serve.

Store in tightly sealed container for up to 1 week.

Peaches 'N' Cream Pie

This pie was super simple to make and turned out absolutely delicious! I even used frozen peaches and refrigerated pie crust. Everyone should whip one of these things up! I found the recipe on the Taste of Home website. I followed the recipe as it is written.

Ingredients

• Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca
• Dash salt
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sliced fresh or frozen peaches, thawed
• Additional sugar

Directions

• Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; trim pastry even with edge of plate. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, tapioca and salt. Set aside 2 tablespoons cream. Combine remaining cream with vanilla; add to the sugar mixture. Add peaches; toss to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes.
• Pour peach mixture into crust. Roll out the remaining pastry; make a lattice top crust. Seal and flute edges. Brush with reserved cream; sprinkle with additional sugar.
• Bake at 400° for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.Cover edges with foil during the last 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Cool on a wire rack. Store pie in the refrigerator. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Dark & Rich Chocolate-Cranberry Cake

As I was making this cake I was unsure of how popular it would be or even if anyone would like it at all. I made a second dessert to be on the safe side. As it turned out everyone loved the cake. It is a very rich and heavy cake though so a sliver is all anyone needs. Next time I make this cake I am going to experiment with a different kind of filling. I was thinking raspberry or mint would be really good. I found the recipe in a Women's Day magazine and it can also be found on their website. I pretty much followed the recipe. They did suggest frosting the sides of the cake first but since the chocolate is warm and melted I decided to waste less and do the top first. I had the cake on wax paper to frost it. Once the chocolate was cold and hardened I cut around the bottom of the cake with a knife to release it from the wax paper. It was super simple to transfer it to the plate because this cake is so dense and heavy.

INGREDIENTS

Cake
8 oz quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup sugar
5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Cranberry Filling
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Glaze
6 oz quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 Tbsp orange liqueur or dark rum

PREPARATION

1. Cake: Heat oven to 350°F. Grease sides of a 9 x 2-in. round pan or springform pan with baking spray; line bottom of pan with parchment. Melt chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth and emulsified; remove from heat. Whisk in 1⁄3 cup of the sugar, the egg yolks, flour, vanilla and salt until thick and smooth.

2. In large bowl of stand mixer, beat egg whites until frothy; add cream of tartar and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 1⁄3 cup sugar. Beat on high speed until stiff yet billowy peaks form when beaters are lifted. Stir about 1 cup of the whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen, then gently fold in remaining whites until evenly blended. Spread into prepared pan.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a pick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes; invert onto small wire rack and remove parchment. Cool completely (as cake cools, the center will sink slightly).

4. Filling: While cake bakes, bring filling ingredients to a full boil in a medium saucepan; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and scrape mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl; discard skins and seeds. Whisk the jelly smooth. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of jelly and let cool to room temperature.

5. Spread jelly over top of cake in an even layer. Refrigerate cake (keep it on the wire rack) until jelly firms up.

6. Glaze: Combine chocolate, butter and corn syrup in small saucepan over low heat. Stir gently until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in liqueur. Remove cake from refrigerator and place over a sheet of wax paper. Using a small metal spatula, spread sides and top of cake with a thin layer of the glaze to cover. Rewarm remaining glaze, then pour it over the top of the cake, allowing it to run off and coat the cake in an even, shiny layer (if there are any bare spots, use runoff glaze from wax paper to patch them). Refrigerate to set glaze. Transfer cake to a serving plate.

7. To serve: Let cake stand at room temperature at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish top with sugared cranberries and mint sprig, if desired.

Note: Cake can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated.