Macaroni and cheese, roasted brussel sprouts, please.

With the Chicago winter on its way, I have been craving all things comfort. Macaroni and cheese is one of those ranking high on the list. I have a tried-and-true recipe that involved Velveeta cheese (seriously, what middle class child of the 1980s does NOT like Velveeta, right?), but wanted to try something a smidge fancier. I asked one of my best friends who never steers me wrong for a good recipe. As expected, she delivered. I mean, winning an Emeril Lagasse challenge means something, right? I went with this bacon and cheesy delight of a recipe.

Stirring in the cheese.

Looking good already.

All baked and luscious. 

One important tip to note: Buy bricks of cheese, not pre-shredded. It melts better.

Of course, I needed a side dish that was lighter and cheese-free to cut the richness of the macaroni and cheese. I went with a good standby for winter: brussel sprouts. I found a recipe, but chose instead to do my own thing. I cleaned and halved the sprouts, tossed in some olive oil, salt, and pepper. I put them on a foil-lined baking sheet and baked at 400 degrees until they got nice and brown. Some turned a little black, but they still tasted awesome. Two thumbs up from my less than enthusiastic fan of brussel sprouts husband.

Chicken Alfredo, low-fat style!

Of course, I had tons of leftover chicken after my crockpot chicken. I'm never one to just eat plain leftovers, I like to get a little creative. Tonight? I went with a chicken alfredo recipe.

I used this recipe for the sauce. It's pretty basic. I ended up adding a bit more milk and cheese to the mix to stretch the sauce out. I also diced some tomato, and then put about one cup of the shredded leftover chicken in the dish. Next time, I think I will add some frozen peas or broccoli (you could really add whatever you had on hand.) I threw in a bit of sage for color and a little bit of a flavor kick, but I think this was a misstep.

I tossed the sauce with pasta, served with a salad and it wasn't so bad!

Leftover success!

Crockpot chicken.

The Friday following Thanksgiving, I awoke at an ungodly hour to go shopping. No, I wasn't in dire need of any Black Friday special. My family has tradition of where we get up and hit the mall at 7:00 a.m. We are at Chili's by 10:30 for an early lunch, then home by the early afternoon. It's great fun, and mostly a bonding experience.

I did, however, snag a fancy new crockpot for the low price of $19! (THANKS, TARGET!) I'd been wanting another one, and this one was slightly bigger than my old beat-up tried-and-true fella. Of course, I had to break it in immediately. I made gumbo on one night. The following night, I made a whole chicken.

I'd bought the chicken in anticipation of roasting it, but after perusing the small guide of recipes in the crockpot book, I knew I had to try it out.

The recipe for a whole chicken (per my adaptations and additions):
-1 whole chicken (4-6 lbs), rinsed, sans giblets
-half an onion, chopped
-one lemon
-butter
-thyme
-rosemary
-paprika

Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the chopped onion. Set the chicken in the crockpot base. Rub it all over with butter. Drizzle the bird with the juice of that  lemon. Sprinkle with the seasonings. (I don't measure, I just do it til it looks pretty.) I used fresh thyme because I had it on hand and dried rosemary, but any combination of seasonings to your liking would work. Cook on low for ten hours.

TADA!!!

On the side, I was in the mood for some fresh green beans.

Sauteed green beans recipe:
-Approximately one lb of green beans, cleaned and trimmed
-Half of an onion, chopped
-garlic, minced
-butter
-olive oil
-fresh grated parmesan

I boiled the beans in hot salted water for four minutes, then shocked them in cold water. While the beans were boiling, I melted one tablespoon of olive oil with one tablespoon of butter, then sauteed the onion and garlic. (I love a lot of garlic, so I used three smallish cloves, but you can do this to your taste.) After the onion began to appear clear, I tossed in the beans and sauteed for about 5-10 minutes. I like them still crunchy, not mushy, so cook until they are to your desired texture. I removed from heat, sprinkled with some sea salt and fresh grated parm, and it was delish!

Another Sunday dinner success!

A disaster, followed by victorious pasta.

My parents were in town for our usual Sunday night dinner, so of course I had to make something special. I found this recipe for a seemingly easy crostini...carmelized onions, goat cheese, French baguette. Sign you up, right? Well, things were going swimmingly as I followed the recipe until I decided that a lovely touch would be to broil the finished bits.

Looking good to start, right?

The result of two too many minutes of broiling. Oops.

A little thyme? My dad still gobbled them up, serious burnt crust and all.

For the entree, I attempted to recreate one of my favorite dishes, rigatoni alla boscaiola, a pasta dish with Italian sausage, tomato, cream, and mushrooms.

This is pre-addition of the cheeses and cream. I eliminated the peas since both P.I.C. and my mom hate them.

Decadent and fabulous, right? I went with one of my favorite dishes and added some fresh sage.

Side salad to accompany? Add apples, blue cheese, and some walnuts and  it feels so fancy.

And what is a Sunday dinner without a lovely glass of wine to accompany?

My adjustments to the above recipe? Next time, I'd add more sausage, a spicier. When reheating the leftovers, we enjoyed throwing in some crushed red pepper for a little kick and I liked it better.

As for the appetizer? I'd be way more careful with the broiler.

Crockpot Gumbo!

With the chill in the air becoming ever more prevalent, my need to stew things all day long has become insatiable. I made chili last week, and have often taken to slow cook a roast, so I was up for something new. Gumbo was my random selection to which the husband said, "Yes please!"

I followed this recipe:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/gumborecipes/r/bl108c14.htm

Making the roux...I have this awesome whisk that is perfect for this purpose.

Practicing my photo skills with my ingredients.

Set it to low, cook for seven hours.

Served with rice, it was quite a hit in my house.

I used turkey sausage instead of regular which probably meant it didn't taste quite as good, but the use of chicken thighs was spot on. Delicious dark meat really rounded out the protein in this dish. I also added about two cups to the mix once I put it in the crockpot. I felt it needed some more liquid. I also cut the shrimp into smaller bites to spread them throughout the dish.

Two spicy thumbs up here!

Butternut squash and apple harvest soup.

After two lovely weeks spent traveling Spain and eating as many tapas as I could handle, I was ready to get back into my kitchen and make a mess, sans jamon iberico. Since we returned to gold and rust-colored leaves on trees and an undeniable crispness that could only be autumn, I opted for a soup and some squash. My recipe? Thanks to allrecipes.com, I found this one, a bisque chock-full of veggies and an apple for a little bit of an unexpected sweetness. As I am prone to do, I chopped all of my ingredients, then presented them to myself. (I do like to pretend I have my own cooking show.)

Lots of chopping involved in this one.

Such a pretty vegetable.

Soup cooking away, making the fruit and veggies soft and ready for the immersion blender.

The end result: soup and a salad, adorned with some more apple, goat cheese and some toasted walnuts.

Of course, some crusty bread on the side too.

Both P.I.C. and I relished our lovely dinner in our own kitchen made from my own hands. It was lovely to be back home. As for the soup? I highly recommend it. It tastes like creamy fall in a bowl. I used half and half instead of light cream and also added some shakes of cayenne pepper (per a reviewer on allrecipes) to add a little bit of a kick, and it was delightful

Dinner parties!

One of my newer great pleasures in life is cooking for my friends. Finding the perfect recipes, planning a menu, matching wine and kicking back for a lovely evening in our home, each step of that process puts a huge smile on my face. Since I have a new fancy camera, I have been taking photographs of the meals I make.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/summer-corn-salad/detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-garlic-artichokes/detail.aspx

Our lovely steaks, pre-cooking. I used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/filet-mignon-with-rich-balsamic-glaze/detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/personalrecipe/62286689/pear-goat-cheese-crostini/detail.aspx

The finished project.

Served with a lovely red wine, good conversations, and lots of laughs, it was a perfect evening.

Asparagus and Leek Risotto with prosciutto

I like to have a Sunday dinner with my husband. In our household, that means that I get a craving for some particular food and a definite itch to spend some time in our kitchen. I will research a recipe (usually something new and a bit more adventuresome than the recipes I make during the week), we will hit the grocery store for the ingredients and perhaps the liquor store for an appropriate bottle of wine.

Due to wedding-related activities and a general busy-ness with life, we haven't had a Sunday dinner since my Easter dinner endeavor of a ham. Luckily, today changed that. I wanted risotto. I wanted summer. I wanted it all on my plate stat. So to epicurious.com I went. I made this recipe. It was delicious. I followed it nearly to the letter with one small exception: per the other commentators, I blanched my asparagus in the boiling chicken broth. I am all about less dishes (as is my husband, who generally maintains dish duty in our house).

Here's the work in progress. (Note my little bowls. I like to do the prep work and then pretend as if I am on a cooking show. It's so fun. Tonight my husband helped out too. We have fun together in the kitchen.)

The finished product?

We loved it. It tasted all sorts of summery delicious. I served it with a mixed green salad with a bit of the fresh grated Parmesan and some bosc pears (topped with a balsamic vinaigrette).

The wine? It was a Gruner Veltliner from Fred Loimer called Lois. It was very tasty and perfect on this warm summer night.

For dessert? Well, if I spend a decent amount of time chopping, stirring, and standing at the stove, odds are good I'm not baking anything for dessert. Tonight was no exception. We did strawberry shortcake. I did, however, whip my own cream. It just tastes better.

Veggie Wraps.

My "wedding diet" really wasn't a diet. Basically, the man and I wanted to make a life change to be healthier. Of course, shedding some pounds was a by-product of that, so no complaints here. However, anyone who has either gone on a diet or made a serious diet overhaul knows that it is difficult to come up with menu options that are easy, filling and healthful. The desire to add butter (YUM) or cream to things can sometimes me overwhelming just to make that meal stick to your ribs.

However, a very cool friend of mine who has been very successful at making a big lifestyle change offered up this recipe that, while sounding simple and unexciting, is absolutely delicious. Both my husband and I enjoy this tremendously.

Ingredients:
-1 bell pepper (orange or red makes for a prettier mix, but I've used green too)
-1 zucchini
-1 yellow squash
-1/2 red onion

(Marinade)

-1/4 cup lime juice

-1/4 cup olive oil

-1 T. garlic

-1 T. Worchestershire sauce

-1 T. chili powder

-1 1/2 tsp. cumin

-1 tsp. pepper

-salt

How to:
-Chop all vegetables into thin, fajita-like strips.
-Mix together marinade ingredients.
-Pour marinade on veggies and let them marinate for about 15 minutes. (Longer is OK too.)
-Sautee veggies with the marinade until they're cooked through to your liking.

Serve with a can of black beans, drained. We also like low-fat sour cream (or low-fat Greek yogurt works really well too) and light grated cheese too. Salsa also works well with this dish.

With the black beans and additions, we can get two dinners (for two) out of this recipe.

My friend likes to keep this virtually carb free (aside from the beans) by serving a la PF Chang's lettuce wraps by using iceberg lettuce as wraps. This is a great option, but can be messy. My lettuce does not peel off as well as they do it at P.F. Chang's, I will tell you that. But it's very tasty.

The first time, we didn't have iceberg lettuce, so we made up some quinoa and treated it more like a burrito bowl. That was mighty tasty too. Use whole wheat quinoa and feel good about the carbs.

(P.S. I do not lead a carb free existence. I just like to save my "bad carbs" for the really good stuff!)

White Bean Chicken Chili

To counteract the horrific mid-May temperatures we've been having (seriously...40 degrees and rain on Sunday. I vote NO to Mother Nature's power these days), our menu planning turned to incorporate a little chili. White bean chicken chili, to be precise.

We recently bought the Cook This, Not That cookbook in an attempt to make healthier meals. I'm not going to lie, we have really enjoyed everything we've made from this book. The recipes are simple, uncomplicated, and quite tasty. Speaking of those three things, here is the recipe for the White Bean Chicken Chili from that cookbook. (I add my own tips as well.)

Ingredients:
-1 lb ground chicken
-1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
-2 yellow onions, diced
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 7-oz. can of roasted green chilies
-1 can of white kidney beans (aka great northern beans or cannelini beans, usually 14-16 oz.)
-4 cups of chicken stock
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp dried oregano
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
(Optional garnishes: diced jalapeno, cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro)

How to:
-Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot (I never measure, just use enough to coat the pan).
-Add the onions and garlic and cook for about three minutes.
-Add both kinds of chicken, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and chilies. (We actually bought thighs with skin and bone, but my husband was kind enough to cut these all up. If you bought boneless/skinless thighs, this dish would be so much easier. Additionally, I just used two four ounce cans of the green chilies. I couldn't find the 7 ounce cans.) Cook for about eight minutes, or until chicken is mostly cooked.

Looks pretty good already, right?

-Reduce heat to low and add the chicken stock and beans. Simmer for twenty minutes. (Or longer, if you can be patient. We did about 30 minutes, but I feel like this would be a good dish for slow cooker. The longer it sits together, the better it tastes.)
-Garnish with whatever you like. (We added corn chips too for a good little crunch. Also, a squirt of lime juice is DELISH.)

(Recipe says it serves eight, but I'm guessing it's more like four for an entree. We likely will get two dinners out of this.)

Enjoy!

Te gusta mi salsa?

Well...you most certainly SHOULD. I make pretty damn good salsa. And because Amie requested it, you can make damn good salsa too. Pay no attention to the fact that my last name is not Bayless, nor that I am of Irish and German heritage. You will like this salsa.

Ingredients:
-Tomatoes (I use whatever looks good)
-Onion (I generally go with the sweet onion, but sometimes I'll use red)
-Garlic
-Jalapeño
-Cilantro
-Lime juice
-Salt

How to:
-Chop the tomatoes and onions together in a bowl.
-Salt liberally and douse with lime juice.
-Add the garlic (I usually just mince it with my garlic press) and jalapeño (chopped finely) (I do it to taste by adding a bit, then tasting, then a bit more).
-Add the cilantro.
-Throw the mixture into a blender or food processor.
-Blend.
-Taste.
-Add more of whatever is missing.

I didn't put any amounts in the ingredients because I usually just guess based on how much salsa I am making. So much of the salsa is how you prefer it (spicier, or more onion-y), so I just named all the ingredients and then you can do your thang. As a general rule, use more tomatoes than onions, and add the garlic and jalapeno sparingly 'til it's at your desired heat.

Also, it tends to taste better the next day after it has sat together overnight.

I recommend serving the salsa with this recipe for margaritas. Rick Bayless definitely knows his drink stuff. My tip on that margarita recipe? Make the water/sugar into a simple syrup so the sugar is fully dissolved before you mix it with the lime juice. Also, making a batch times SIX is a great way to spend a Thursday night.

Voila. Now you, too, can have a fiesta, like this one:

Pasta Primavera...MY way (or the highway?)

So, I've been stuck on making shrimp risotto lately. It's fancy-sounding, it tastes good, and it enables me to consume a whole lot of wine as I make it. Basically, it is winning for me in all respects. Not to worry, I will be making that on Sunday night for my good friends when they come over. Tonight, however, I was faced with a dilemma: fix something good out of stuff we have.

My solution: Pasta primavera. I had leftover veggies from earlier in the week and wanted to do something a little light since we are watching out eating (impending wedding and whatnot)...so this is what I concocted.

Ingredients:
small yellow squash
small zucchini
red bell pepper
green bell pepper
garlic
onion (or shallot, which is what I used)
can of tomatoes, diced
dried oregano
dried basil
frozen seafood mix (from Trader Joe's)
Whole wheat pasta
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

I had about half of the squash, red and green bell peppers leftover from the other night, so I just used those. I sauteed the shallot and garlic in some olive oil, then tossed in the veggies, cooking them slightly. I threw in the frozen seafood mix (about a half a bag) and cooked that too. I put in a few pinches of the oregano and basil and some crushed red pepper, and a little salt, cooking through. When the seafood looked mostly cooked, I threw in a can of tomatoes. I let that all simmer and cooked some whole wheat spaghetti.

The result:

We topped with some fresh grated Parmesan and enjoyed. This made about three servings. Also, notice the beautiful white serving bowl. (Thanks, Erin!)