Monday, June 21, 2010

Creamy Pasta Primavera

This is a Kraft recipe I came across, really easy and a good use for some garden vegetables.

Ingredients:
- 3 cups penne pasta, uncooked
- 2 Tbsp Italian dressing
- 1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1-1/2 cups cut-up fresh asparagus (1-inch lengths)
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:
- Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package.
- Heat dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and vegetables; cook 10 to 12 min. or until chicken is done, stirring frequently. Add broth and cream cheese; cook 1 min. or until cream cheese is melted, stirring constantly. Stir in Parmesan cheese.
- Drain pasta; return to pan. Add chicken mixture; mix lightly. Cook 1 min. or until heated through. (Sauce will thicken upon standing.)

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- I did use a little flour to thicken the sauce. It may have thickened after it sat for awhile, but I was ready to eat so I helped it along.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

I LOVE a good homemade chocolate pound cake, it is actually my favorite cake, but I don't make it often because it takes a while. This past week in our travels, we had this fabulous alternative that can fool anyone! (I give all credit for this recipe to my dear friend Susan Sawyer.)

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. oil
4 lg. eggs
1 c. sour cream
1 sm. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Sift together cake mix and chocolate pudding.
Add all other ingredients except chocolate chips.
Beat well, then gradually stir in chips.
Pour batter into greased and floured tube pan and bake 55 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- It really is that easy! Mine baked for right at an hour.
- Next time I might do mini chocolate chips instead of the regular size ones.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Carrot Orzo

I bought a box of orzo a while back and have been waiting for the perfect recipe to try it in. Turns out this is it! This is a recipe from Southern Living. It's almost like a risotto but easier!


Prep and Cook time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

8 oz. carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 2 cups)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1. Process carrots in a food processor 15 seconds or until finely chopped.
2. Combine 2 1/2 cups of water and chicken broth in a microwave safe measuring cup. Microwave on HIGH 5 minutes or until very hot.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until tender. Add orzo and garlic, and cook 1 minute.
4. Add hot broth mixture, salt, and pepper into orzo mixture. Cook, stirring often, 15 to 18 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
5. Stir in Parmesan cheese, chives, and thyme until blended. Serve immediately.

Notes from Kitchen of Reality:
-I cut this recipe in half and felt like it was about 6 servings. I can't imagine how HUGE of a serving you would get if you made the full recipe and made it into 6 servings.
-I used store bought pre-shredded Parmesan cheese.
-I didn't have fresh herbs so I omitted the chives and used a few sprinkles of dried thyme. I would LOVE to try it with both fresh but I didn't have them and didn't want to pay that much money for them either.
-This is an easy way to sneak veggies into picky kids diets because you can't even really taste the carrots, it just has a wonderful flavor.
-The recipe didn't really say what temperature to cook on once you added the broth mixture. I kept mine at a slow simmer (medium to medium high heat) and it worked well. Make sure you stir often because it will stick to the pot especially toward the end as the broth is absorbed.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Blackberry Cobbler

I can always rely on my cooking buddy Paula Deen for a great recipe. We had fresh blackberries in the fridge that we picked this past weekend so Mark has been begging for me to make a blackberry cobbler. I used Paula Deen's famous peach cobbler recipe, with the fruit switch, and it turned out great.

Ingredients:
- 4 cups fresh blackberries
- 2 cups sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup water
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- Ground cinnamon

Directions:
- Combine the blackberries, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Put the butter in a 9 x 13 baking dish and place in oven (heated to 350) to melt.
- Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir.
- Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup.
- Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon.
- Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- It is Paula Deen, so of course she'd use a whole stick of butter. However, I thought it was a little much, so next time I'll probably use 4-6 tbsps instead.
- My blackberries had a lot of syrup with them after cooking in the saucepan, so my actual cobbler took almost 50 minutes to bake. Just watch for the top to brown.
- The cinnamon was an optional ingredient in Paula's recipe, I think it is an AWESOME addition. Try it and see.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Japanese Pan Noodles

We ate at a Noodles & Company in Portland last summer and I fell in love!! Then a few months later, I notice that they are popping up on the east coast... I've now been to one in Charlotte and Raleigh. The Japanese Pan Noodles are my favorite and since I don't live around the corner from one, or have the budget to eat there as often as I'd like, I found a pretty good knock-off recipe. I tried it tonight for the first time, and it was quite yummy, although not exactly it because I couldn't get my noodles to "caramelize" -- I think it's because I don't have a wok! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:
- 3 cups hot cooked udon noodles (Japanese wheat noodles)
- 2-3 drops, toasted sesame oil
- 4 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil - divided
- 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
- 2 large cloves minced garlic cloves
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms (stems removed), sliced
- 1 cup Asian sprouts
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup (2-inch) julienne-cut carrot
- 1 tbsp blk sesame seeds
- 1 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Directions:
- Heat 2 tbsps vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
- To the wok, add the carrots and then broccoli. Stir fry 2-3 minutes and then remove.
- Add 1 additional tbsp vegetable oil, then saute the ginger & garlic.
- After a minute or so, add the well drained noodles and let caramelize.
- Add the red chili flakes, sesame oil, teriyaki sauce, rice wine vinegar and all of the other ingredients and toss to coat well.
- Serve hot.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- Good luck getting the noodles to caramelize. If you figure it out, let me know.
- A lot of the ingredients (oils/sauces) are not things you normally have, but now that I've bought them, my cost for making this recipe again-- which I will- is going to be much lower.
- I found all the non-typical ingredients in the international section at Ingles but I'm sure Harris Teeter carries them all too. I just know that Ingles is typically cheaper and has a great selection.
- I used canned stir fry mushrooms. Much cheaper than shiitake.
- I hate cilantro, so I left that out completely.
- My biggest disappointment was not being able to find udon noodles other than the dried version. They just don't plump up like the ones at Noodles & Company-- the dried ones are more like linguine. But next time I'm in the big city, I'll be sure to hit up an international food store to see what I can find.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

My friend Paige made this for us a year or so ago for the first time and we LOVED it. It is super easy to make and although the original recipe calls for a homemade chocolate topping-- which Paige does make for hers-- I am a slacker and go a much easier route. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients:
- 1 box graham crackers
- 2 boxes vanilla instant pudding
- 3 cups milk
- 1 8-oz container of Cool Whip- thawed
- 1 can chocolate frosting

Directions:
- Mix pudding and milk together, then stir in cool whip.
- Layer the following in a 9 x 13 pan: crackers, pudding, crackers, pudding, crackers, chocolate frosting.
- Refrigerate 3 hours or more before serving.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- Melt the chocolate frosting in the microwave for about 30 seconds and stir well-- you can then just pour it over the top and smooth it out. (Make sure you get all the foil wrapper off the can before microwaving...hehe!)
- Feel free to use fat free cool whip and pudding- they work fine.
- This is one of those desserts that I love to keep the ingredients on hand for. It takes like 5 minutes to make, so it's ready to go on short notice!