Creamy Pasta Primavera

The marriage of two great recipes to make another fabulous one.  This was wonderful!  Omit the pasta water in the primavera, but roast the veggies.  Put them up on top and pour a bit more alfredo over.  Top with Parmesan cheese.  The kids all ate this up.  One of them liked the veggies more than the pasta!   Yum!

http://delectabledelightswithrebecca.blogspot.com/2011/07/roasted-vegetable-pasta-primavera.html

http://delectabledelightswithrebecca.blogspot.com/2011/02/lightened-up-alfredo-sauce.html

Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

With an Italian grandmother, I was exposed plenty to biscotti and I was never a fan.  Too dry and I just didn't understand how that could be a cookie.  Alas, I have grown old, and now I like it.  Funny how tastes change, isn't it? Well, even if you don't like biscotti, I dare you not to like this.  It is amazing!  Not going to lie, this was a bit time consuming.  Took me 40 minutes to make the dough.  Of course, with lots of interruptions like wiping noses (I washed my hands people!) and helping with schoolwork.  But, it was not difficult to make.  It smells amazing while cooking.  This recipe is my own version, a mix from a friends fabulous blog-- chasingsomebluesky, and a book Once Upon a Tart.  Enjoy!

PUMPKIN SPICE BISCOTTI

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 1/2 cups flour (I used at least 1/3 mix of whole wheat and oat flour)*
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature and separated
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 stick melted butter, cooled
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• scant 2/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 craisins
• 1 cup white chocolate chips and 1/2 tsp shortening

DIRECTIONS:

A bit of chocolate in each bite!

Remove eggs from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and spices.  Set aside.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Working with a mixer (or by hand if you are looking for some exercise), whisk egg whites until stiff peak forms and beat in about half the sugar.  In another bowl, beat yolks with remaining sugar until pale and sugar is incorporated.  Add vanilla, almond extract and cooled melted butter.  Gently fold in about half the egg whites, then the other half until combined.  Add raisins, craisins and almonds and fold in gently.  Add flour and mix gently until flour disappears.
Flour a surface and your hands and divide dough into 2 equal parts.  Form two somewhat flat loaves about 3" wide and 12 " long.  This is rough... not a science.  Transfer carefully to baking sheet (I put both on one sheet, but you can you 2 if you want) and bake at 350 for 40 minutes until just golden on edges.
Let cool for 30 minutes and slice with a serrated knife carefully on a slight diagonal, pressing down rather than sawing, making about 1/2" slices.  Spread on sheet pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, turning over, then baking another 10-12 minutes,  until crisp and golden brown.  Allow to cool on wire rack.  Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave and drizzle or dip into it.  Enjoy!

*HINT:  In my canister, I mix my all-purpose unbleached flour with oat flour and whole wheat.  At least half all purpose flour.  That way, when I make baked goods, I am doing part whole grains without even thinking about it.  And know what?  I can't even tell with any of the sweets.  They are still fabulous.

Angel Chicken (Crock Pot)

I made this once before and for some reason I did not love it.  Made it again and I loved it!  The chicken was super tender and very tasty.  I just tossed some steamed broccoli and pasta in the crock pot and tossed it up with the chicken.  The chicken is so tender it about falls apart when you touch it with a  fork.  I posted the original recipe with my changes listed after.  My kids all chowed this down. Who says easy can't be delicious!?


ANGEL CHICKEN
source: all over the internet, but my friend Mel first told me about it

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-6 skinless, boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed golden mushroom soup (I used cream of chicken)
• 4-6 ounces cream cheese with chives (I only had plain and added 4 chopped scallions and 1 tsp onion powder)
• 1 pound pasta (angel hair is suggested as the name suggests, but I did penne)

DIRECTIONS:

Turn the crock pot on.  Put the butter and cream cheese in and let them melt for about 15 minutes.  Dump in the wine, canned soup, Italian dressing packet and mix until well combined.  Add the chicken and let cook on high for 3 hours or low 4-5 hours. (I must have a really hot crock pot, because mine cooked in 2 hours on high, so I turned it to low for the next hour.)  Add some sauteed mushrooms or steamed broccoli if desired and serve with pasta or rice.  Top with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley, if desired.

Browned Butter Citrus Pancakes

 

 My son came into my room this morning while I was still in bed and asked me sweetly if I would make pancakes this morning.  I barked, "NO!".  Now I am not a morning person, or a breakfast lover.  I love breakfast foods, just not first thing in the morning.  My son is totally a morning person and by far, his favorite meal is breakfast.  So, as I lay in my bed, grumpy, I knew I could not deny my son of his request.  I don't want my child to feel deprived, so I dragged my lazy butt out of bed and whipped up these yummy pancakes.  

They were great with the orange segments, which kinda surprised me, and they were also delish with berries on them.  A nice way to zest up the mundane.

BROWNED BUTTER CITRUS PANCAKES

adapted from  williams-sonoma

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbs. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 1⁄4 cups milk
• 4 Tbs. (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter, browned
• 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. finely grated orange zest 
• some lemon and lime zest
• 4 oranges, peeled and sectioned

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat butter and cook over medium heat for about 6-8 minutes, stirring or swirling pot continually.  Cook until butter begins to get brown bits in it.  It will burn easily, so as soon as it is brown, remove it from heat and pour into a dish to cool some while making the rest.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt over the eggs and stir to combine. Stir in the yogurt, milk, butter, vanilla and fruit zests until smooth.

Heat a griddle over medium heat. Lightly grease the griddle with butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Pour 1/3 cup of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and the batter is set, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 2 minutes more. Keep warm until all the pancakes are cooked. Repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the griddle as needed.

Apple Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

This is a very good cake.  Even my 4 year old, who seems to have an aversion to cooked apples, chowed this down several times.  The cake is very tasty, but I made 2 changes, as I think it needed them.  One, chunk apples instead of slice, to help it spread easier (this is an after the fact thing, it was a bear to spread).  It may not look as pretty, so if you are looking for "purtty", slice your apples thin.  The other thing was to add a bit of apple pie spice.  I do have an apple cake that I like better and I will post it in the next month.  

The browned butter frosting was awesome!  The butter gets a very nutty flavor and makes the butter flavor more pronounced.  It is a more grainy icing, but so rich and one I will make again!

FRESH APPLE CAKE

adapted from Southern Living

Total: 2 Hours

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cups chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp apple pie spice 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 4 large, 5 small), peeled and cut into 1/4 inch chunks

DIRECTIONS:

 Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
Stir together butter and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl until blended.
Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture, stirring until blended. Stir in apples and 1 cup pecans. (Batter will be very thick, similar to a cookie dough.) Spread batter into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan.

Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack (about 45 minutes). Spread your choice of frosting over top of cake.  Can garnish icing with pecans, if desired.

 

 

 BROWNED BUTTER FROSTING

adapted from: myrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk plus more
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, 6 to 8 minutes or until butter begins to turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat immediately, and pour butter into a small bowl. Cover and chill 1 hour or until butter is cool and begins to solidify.
 Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk, beginning and ending with powdered sugar. Beat mixture at low speed until well blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Minestrone Soup

This is one of my all time favorite soups.  It is so full of wonderful flavors, and packed with so much good for you stuff, it is like health in a bowl.  It is delicate, yet hearty.  I roasted 2 chicken breasts, and shredded them up and put them up over the top to add some extra protein, but it is not necessary.  It is a very versatile soup... you can throw in summer squash, or sausage, or whatever you fancy.  Chick peas would be good in the too.  I love the fire roasted tomatoes and the flavor it lends to the dish too.  Easy and delicious! 


MINESTRONE SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 sm/med onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 4 cloves garlic
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1 can diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
• 1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup pasta
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh basil
• chopped spinach (opt.)
• 1 cup green beans cut small or Italian green beans
• Parmesan cheese 
  
  

DIRECTIONS:

In a big soup pot, place oil, diced onion, celery and carrots.  Cook over medium high for about 5-7 minutes, until tender.  Add minced garlic and cook for another minute.  Add chicken broth, water, and zucchini, and cover and let simmer on med-low for about 20 minutes or longer (I cooked mine about 35 because I got busy).  Add all the beans, tomatoes, pasta and spices and spinach, if using.  Cook until pasta is al dente, about 15-20 minutes.  Season to taste.  Serve with lots of Parmesan Cheese.

To roast the chicken, preheat oven to 400.  Drizzle breasts with olive oil and season with season salt or a rub of some sort.   Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on thickness, until no longer pink.  Shred and put over soup.

Pumpkin Cornbread

 We all really loved this cornbread.  The kids were calling it cake.  It is great just slathered with some butter, or a bit of honey, or even honey butter.  This comes together quickly and is a winner cornbread.  Would go great with a cup of chili.  Pumpkin is chock full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants, so bake away!  BTW, I don't eat this obscene amount of butter on my cornbread... though I wish I could.  *sigh*

PUMPKIN CORNBREAD

 from yummly.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (more if you like a sweeter cornbread)
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
• 1 tablespoon molasses

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8×8″ cake pan or round cake pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, brown sugar, and cornmeal; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,or a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, and then stir in the pumpkin, oil, and molasses.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined, and then pour the batter into the pan, smoothing the top.
Bake 23-30 minutes (mine was 25 minutes and I would have like it a little less done) or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.