Bruschetta Pasta Salad

The best laid plans...

Today's post is being brought to you thanks to a generator the hubby set up. We are currently without power, and who knows why. At 5 this morning (not even in the middle of a heat wave or a thunderstorm) our power went out. As it's almost 7, it's been out for about 2 hours. I was especially irritated as I planned on leisurely getting up, making a cup of coffee, and hammering out a new recipe post. Making coffee was out, so the hubby and I ran down to the local convenience store to get me some store-made swill. He hooked up the TV and the Internet to our little Honda generator, so here I am!

Creamy Bacon Broccoli and Brie Pasta

This is really mac and cheese in disguise. A grown-up mac and cheese, if you will. Tender pasta tossed in a creamy cheese sauce flavored by brie, all mixed in with crispy bacon and bright green broccoli. The hubby and I went nuts over this, truly we ate more than we should have.  I couldn't believe when I discovered we (the two of us!) ate almost a whole skillet of that wonderful brie-coated pasta. 

Little piggies, I tell you.

25 Deliciously Cheesy Recipes

You guys.

We are less than 24 hours away from the hubby and I hitting the road to go pick up our little man. To say I'm excited would be an understatement of mammoth proportions. I'm counting down the minutes till it's 8 am here, and I can call the puppy's foster mother to finalize our arrangements. Not that it will help. My brain is all like, "Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy... Is it time to leave yet? No? Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy..."

Greek Pasta Salad

Bring on the warm weather, bring on the pasta salad. The two go hand in hand, don't you think? If there is one food item that epitomizes summer, it would be cold pasta.

And ice cream.

And seviche.

And gazpacho.

Ok, ok, scratch that. The correct terminology is probably more like "If there is one of many food items that epitomize summer, it would be cold pasta". But that doesn't sound as cool, does it?

25 Easy Chicken Recipes

Happy Friday! Happy March Madness! 

The NCAA tournament has been going as planned for the hubby, with Kentucky chugging right along. My bracket is looking awfully precarious, though I do have Kentucky winning it all. As long as Kentucky can keep on winning, I'm still in it. But barely, and by the skin of my teeth. I'm in 4th place in the family pool. Out of 5. I guess you can't win em' all.

Chicken Soup with Homemade Egg Noodles

Cabin fever has set in.

This snow is driving the dogs and me batty. My normally calm, 8-year old Haloti has taken to running through the house, scooping up any old toy, and running through the house growling and snorting at it like a puppy.

Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti

All right, before we get started talking about my favorite casserole ever... let's talk about other stuff. For one, I'm getting out of the house today. Finally! Ok, so it's only because I have a doctor's appointment for my back, but it's a start.

Broccoli Rigatoni

This dish is a lesson in simplicity folks.

There isn't much to this recipe. Olive oil, crushed red pepper, garlic, broccoli, pasta, and parmesan cheese. That's it. That's all you need. Somehow, someway this dish never fails to come together and send me into pasta overdrive.

Creamy Chicken, Tortellini, and Spinach Soup

Uh, as far as soup goes, this is hands-down delicious. 

Creamy, savory broth?  Check.

Chewy tortellini filled with cheesy goodness?  Check. 

Crammed with the green goodness of spinach and protein-packed chicken?  Check.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

-with Garlic and Crushed Red Pepper Linguine

 I had my first food fail of 2015 last night.

It certainly won't be my last.

I had this really great, yummy idea for flank steak with a gorgonzola sauce. It sounded delicious in my head. So I pulled the last steak from my now-empty meat supply, and took it out to defrost. I thought the date on it said 8/17/14. Which in vacuum sealing world is just about the point of no return. They say 6 months in the freezer for a vacuum sealed piece of meat. Therefore, I thought no big deal. I went about planning to roast some mushrooms and making a salad to go with the steak. I even went so far as to get out the lettuce and a colander to rinse the mushrooms in.

Top Recipes of 2014

Well peeps, it's almost 2015. Only 2 more days. 2 days that are holidays to me every year. 2 days, you ask? Yes. Today is my birthday (!!!) and tomorrow is, of course, New Year's Eve. I coast right into the new year every year after 2 lively days of celebrating.

Oh my gosh, typing that sentence just brought Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song" to mind. "Instead of 1 days of presents, we get 8 CRAZY nights". LOL. Instead of 1 night of celebrating on New Year's Eve, I get 2 crazy nights :)

Creamy Shells and Cheese

-with broccoli and grilled chicken

If December were to call for any kind of food, I would think it would call for comfort food.

Yes, December is a month for indulging in all things food, it's true. However, you also have to keep in mind that December brings cold, cloudy, gloomy weather. It always seems to bring a time crunch. I mean, doesn't it seem there is never enough time this month? Between shopping for gifts, baking and cooking, relatives in town you only see but once a year, Christmas decorating, Christmas recitals and pageants... Where's the time to breathe? To sneak in some yoga? To calm down? There's not a lot. My advice? Slow it down at dinnertime a little bit. This recipe is super-quick and easy, but it's guaranteed to get your family in the kitchen to enjoy it. What's not to love? It's a one pot meal slathered in delicious cheese sauce. Yep, sure to be a hit :)

Call me crazy, but I enjoy grilling year round. I may not sit around on the patio in the snow and sleet while the meat cooks on the grill, but I'll run in and out of the house to do some flipping. I just set my timers, and run. This year is a lot better than last though, because I have a garden path to run along to the grill. You know, instead of running and tripping through mud. Grilling is my preferred method with chicken. It gives it the best flavor, and comes out juicy every time. 

The pasta is customizable. Throw in your preferred shape. I'm obsessed with mini-pasta right now. I used these mini-shells for this dish, but I am pretty preoccupied with mini-farfalle right now too. 

While you can definitely use fresh broccoli, I use frozen most of the time. I have frozen broccoli on hand 100% of the time, making this recipe a complete pantry recipe for me. Something I can always throw together without having to make a trip to the grocery store. I steam the broccoli in a little steamer basket over the boiling pasta, it's a complete time-saver. I love steaming broccoli whenever I make pasta simply because of that reason- two things cooking at once. With relative hands off-ness. 

Here's another benefit of making this dish- Just as the pasta is customizable, so is the rest of the recipe! You could sub in a different vegetable, such as cauliflower, zucchini, asparagus, or even something like spinach. And you could totally use a different protein, such as shrimp, pork tenderloin, ground beef or turkey, or even something vegetarian like tofu. Or heck, you could even make the shells and cheese with no protein or veggie. Call it a side dish and watch the kids go nuts.

I cannot guarantee the kids won't turn up their noses and ask for Kraft mac-n-cheese, however. Only because I know that's what I did as a kid :)

It's Friday! Another week of Christmas shopping in the record books, though I can't say I've done any. Procrastination is my Christmas game, although I will be starting cookies probably on Monday. I can't wait! The hubby is working this lovely, sunny weekend so here's my agenda:

1. Run today, rest tomorrow, yoga and toning on Sunday.

2. Bake cupcakes (Vanilla Bean with Eggnog Frosting, yum!).

3. Take beautiful pictures in the sunlight of said cupcakes and the Salted Caramel Milkshakes I created (double yum!).

4. Finish my gosh-darn library books to leave my end-of-year book list at 24. Which would mean I averaged 2 books a month in 2014. A good jumping off point for 2015. 

The sunshine is making it soooooo easy to love life today :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 chicken breast

salt, pepper, garlic powder

8 oz mini shell pasta

12 oz broccoli florets

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp flour

2 cups milk (I used 1%)

3/4 cup cheddar cheese

3/4 cup white cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Season chicken breast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Heat gas grill over high heat. When hot, turn middle burner down to medium. Place chicken on grill, grill for 4 minutes with lid closed. Flip chicken, and grill another 4 minutes. Flip chicken again, grill for 2 more minutes. Flip chicken one more time, and grill for a final 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to rest while preparing recipe.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta to water, stir. Place broccoli in a steamer basket, place over pasta water. Steam broccoli for 4 minutes, remove from heat and set aside. Continue to boil pasta for another 2-3 minutes or until tender. Drain pasta, and set aside. Add a little olive oil to pasta to keep from sticking.

3. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. When melted, add flour and cook down for 2-3 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk in 3-4 additions, whisking constantly. When milk/flour mixture is smooth and slightly thickened, add cheeses, salt, mustard, garlic powder, and pepper to skillet. Stir constantly until cheese is completely melted. 

4. Chop up chicken breast into bite-size pieces. Add chicken and broccoli to pan, toss to coat with cheese sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until everything is heated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Eat, Live, Run. 

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Garlicky Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta

Orecchiette with Roasted Peppers and Spinach

Porcini Mushroom Risotto

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Treasure Box Tuesday

25 Winter Soup Recipes

Hap, hap, happy Friday folks!

I know, I know, I told you I was either bringing you a pumpkin recipe or DIY gift idea today. Well, guess what? I lied! Both posts need more work, so I'm here with another round-up. I think I'm going to be doing round-up's once a month from now on, they have been going over really well. People seem to like them, and I'm going to keep giving the people what they want. And as we march further and further into winter, soup becomes a very popular menu item. I can't count how many times the hubby has come home from a very cold day, and been utterly delighted to find cozy soup and crusty french bread for dinner. Indeed, I think we have soup and bread at least once a week in the winter. I end up making tons of soups to freeze, and then I pretty much just pull a meal from the freezer once a week. I love it. 

Soup is one of those things that pretty much anyone can make. You don't need to be a gourmet chef. It doesn't take much technique. In fact, I've found almost every soup has a similar preparation process. For most soups, you heat a little bit of oil or butter to sauté your mirepoix. Mirepoix is French for "onions, carrots, and celery". Not every soup has that exact combination, but almost every soup starts out by sautéing some vegetables. It could be onions and peppers. Onions, carrots, celery, and shallot. Garlic. You name it. After sautéing the mirepoix, it seems everything else goes. Except if it's dairy based. I'm talking wine, broth, vegetables that aren't as hard as onions and carrots, beans, meat, spices. After you throw everything else in, you simmer for any given amount of time. Next would come the aforementioned dairy, if you are making a creamy soup. And last, but certainly not least, you would throw in any fresh parsley, basil, or cilantro you would be using. Again, if any. It's really pretty simple. Never fear the soup recipe, my friends. 

Another benefit of soup--It can be prepared early, or even a day in advance. Soup always seems to come together the day after it's made to make extraordinary flavors. 

One more thing before I go... Most of you know I link my weekly recipes at the end of the week to several different "linky" parties. All in the hopes of driving traffic. I have a near-constant goal of getting featured on said parties, and sometimes, I reach my goal. Today is one of those days! My General Tso's Chicken was the most viewed recipe of the week over on The Country Cook's Weekly Potluck! This is huge honor, as the last time this happened (for my Pecan Pie Cake) I ended up with a ton of new readers, followers on Pinterest, and FaceBook likes. For the smallest of small blogs, this is  super-exciting and keeps me in a tizzy all weekend. I'll have a smile on my face for the next couple of days for sure! :)

There you have it folks. I'll leave you with 25 scrumptious soup recipes to try. Have a great weekend!

1. Roasted Fennel, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup

2. Winter Minestrone

3. Vegetable Beef

4. Creamy Broccoli and Cheese Soup

5. Creamy Chicken, White Bean, and Green Chile Soup

6. Semi-Homemade Chicken and Dumplins'

7. Chickpea Minestrone

8. Caprese Soup

9. Chicken Soup with Egg Noodles

10. New England Clam Chowder

11. Chicken Soup with Shells and Kale

12. Chicken Taco Soup

13. Eggplant and Orzo Casserole Soup

14. Loaded Baked Potato Soup

15. Lentil Soup with Spicy Sausage and Kale

16. Oktoberfest Stew

17. Pasta Fagoli

18. Skinny Potato Soup

19. Roasted Cauliflower Soup

20. Smoky Black Bean Soup

21. Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

22. Spanish Rice Soup

23. Turkey Pumpkin Chili

24. Tortilla Soup

25. White Bean and Spinach Soup

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Treasure Box Tuesday

Farfalle with Portobellos and Kale

We've all made it to the week of Thanksgiving! You know, that week where we're all constantly daydreaming about turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie... or maybe you're even prepping already. Whatever the case, this is the one week above all others where you probably don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Or maybe you don't want to eat heavy this week. Either way, this incredibly simple pasta dish is super fast and also fairly light. It's chock-full of yummy portobello mushrooms and kale. A light dusting of parmesan is all you need to top this dish off. Serve alongside a side salad, and you have a tasty, light dinner. Or serve it alongside your favorite protein for a heartier meal.

You all might already know I'm obsessed with pasta salad. I call it pasta salad, but you might as well call it what it is- cold pasta. This dish is no different. I've been eating the leftovers cold, straight from the fridge. And I'm partial to it! There's something about the texture of cold pasta that draws me in. Like Walkers to the sound of gunfire... 

Sorry, the hubby and I've been binging on "The Walking Dead". What can I say? :) 

If you do have leftovers after making this dish, my advice is to try it cold. You might like it. You might even love it.

As for serving it the first time, it is a hot dish. The kale and mushrooms are braised in a yummy butter-garlic-white wine sauce before combining everything with fresh cooked pasta. I used farfalle, but as I was making this, it occurred to me that this dish would also probably be a hit with orecchiette.  I think you could even sub in a curly pasta like rotini if you were so inclined. I just so happen to love those little bowties.

Without taking too much from a future "pie" post, I did manage to complete my pumpkin pie yesterday. My second batch of dough rolled out with only a few minor problems. Problems I have since researched and I think I can correct before I make my Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving. As I mentioned yesterday, I have plenty of "don't!"s to share with everyone. Soon!

Yesterday, the hubby and I attended our niece's very first cheerleading competition. Her team ended up getting 1st place in their division which means they get to move on to the state competition! She's only 6, which I think is pretty darn cool. If she keeps up with this, she's going to be very, very good by the time she reaches high school. The whole experience took me back to high school dance team. I only wish I'd started dancing when I was 6. I didn't start dancing until I made the dance team my sophomore year of high school. I can't imagine how much better I would have been if I'd started early. So I'm proud of her! I really hope she sticks with it, I realized yesterday I kind of miss going to these competitions. 

Well, I have a busy day on tap, sooooo.... Adios!

Have a great Monday everyone!

Ingredients (makes 4 generous portions):

8 ounces dried farfalle pasta

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups portobello mushrooms, chopped (you could sub another type of mushroom!)

4 cups kale, chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

garnish: shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta- cook pasta according to directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta, and set aside. 

2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When warm, add garlic. Sauté 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until garlic has begun to toast. Add wine to the pan. Allow wine to reduce to about half (2-3 minutes). 

3. Add mushrooms and spinach to the pan. Sauté until vegetables have begun to soften, about 5-6 minutes. Add pasta, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pan. Toss to combine. If pasta is too thick or seems too dry, add as much of reserved pasta water as desired. 

4. Divide pasta into bowls, and top with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Recipe.com.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these pasta dishes-

Whole Wheat Tortellini with Corn and Tomato Relish

Garlicky Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

Udon with Thai Pickled Cabbage and Grilled Chicken

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesdays, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party