Red Velvet Cupcakes

This is a seriously fun recipe to both make and eat, and you even get to use food coloring! The cupcake itself was a little dry; it may have been over baked by a minute or two. The frosting more than made up for this though, it was fantastic. Red Velvet cupcakes sound fancy, but they are really not that complicated – go ahead and impress people with a batch.

Apple Stuffed Chicken

I really like pairing apples with either chicken or pork this time of year, so I tried this recipe for stuffed chicken. It took four of us to conquer the challenges along the way – cutting the perfect horizontal pocket in the chicken breast, pinning it closed with toothpicks, and navigating the spatula around the toothpicks to brown the chicken on both sides, while also averting a kitchen fire, putting hot soup through a food processor, and trying to calm a screaming 3 week old….oh, that’s not part of the recipe, but nevertheless was a challenge.

I did really enjoy this dish when it was finally time to sit down and eat. The apple cider simmered down to a nice sauce which was just the right amount of sweet. Next time though I may try a recipe which calls for cooking the meat and stuffing separately, and serving them together. In fact, I’ll try any recipe that doesn’t require toothpicks!

Roasted Broccoli

No one was harmed while making this recipe, but there was quite a bit of smoke coming from the oven! You definitely want to keep a close watch when your oven is at 500F. The end result though was a great broccoli dish, which is still simple and yet a few steps fancier than my typical steamed variety.

1 lb. broccoli florets
2 T olive oil
Salt
Pepper
2 T unsalted butter
1 t minced garlic
1/2 t lemon zest
1-2 T lemon juice
2 T pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 500F. Toss broccoli with oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange on a single layer on a baking sheet, and roast for 12 minutes, turning once. Place broccoli in a serving bowl.

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add garlic and lemon zest and heat for 1 minute. Cool slightly, and add lemon juice. Toss mixture with the broccoli and add pine nuts.

Pumpkin Tomato Soup

My Mom and sister asked me to try to replicate the pumpkin soup they enjoyed from Au Bon Pain, and Halloween night seemed like a good time to try. I used this recipe, and substituted half and half for the heavy cream. The result was still a rich and flavorful soup, with a smooth texture.

We did note that the tomato overpowered the pumpkin, and next time I would use half the recommended amount of stewed tomatoes. I would also put the tomatoes in the food processor before adding them into the pot to avoid having to puree the soup later. Overall though this is a good recipe, and pumpkin soup may become the new Halloween tradition.

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli

This was an easy weeknight dinner, using one of my favorite products, Laughing Cow Light. You could serve this over rice, pasta, or another grain.

8-10 oz. boneless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 (12 oz.) package frozen broccoli, steamed and drained
1/2 c. skim milk
2 Laughing Cow Light wedges
1 T flour
1 T Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

Brown chicken pieces in a large frying pan, and then continue cooking over low heat until chicken is done.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat milk. Add Laughing Cow cheese, flour, and Parmesan cheese, and stir with a whisk until smooth. Continue cooking on low heat until mixture is thick and just begins to bubble. Add a dash of salt and pepper.

Add both the broccoli and cheese sauce to the chicken, and stir together in the frying pan until mixed and heated through.

Susan’s Tomato Sauce

Some readers requested a good tomato sauce recipe*, and I couldn’t offer much help since I usually just open a jar of Ragu. My friend Susan cooked a wonderful pasta dinner months ago, and I remembered her great homemade sauce. She happily provided the recipe, and I finally got a chance to make it for myself. Wow – there IS a difference between homemade sauce and the kind from a jar. Of course I ‘knew’ that before, but I was reminded of just how much better it is. And now that my freezer is stocked, it will be quick and easy to defrost a container when I need it.

I enjoyed the sauce in a few different recipes this week, including a traditional bowl of pasta and English muffin pizzas. But my favorite was this baked Portobello mushroom topped with tomato sauce and shredded Parmesan.

*Vegetarian readers, please be patient and next time I make this, I am going to try a meatless version.

1/2 c. olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 onions, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
3 lbs. canned diced tomatoes with juice (I used 56 oz.)
1 (12 oz.) can tomato paste
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1/4 c. water
2 t oregano
1 T salt
1 t pepper
1 t celery salt
1 T sugar

In a large pot, heat oil, and saute garlic and onions until softened. Add ground beef, and cook until meat is completely done. Add all other ingredients, and simmer for 2-3 hours on low heat, stirring regularly. Add more sugar if sauce is too tart. Add more water if sauce is too thick. (I added at least a half cup.)

Schiacciata con l’uva (Flatbread with Grapes)

You know that every once in a while, I like to share my mishaps in the kitchen. My Mom sent me this recipe she had seen in the newspaper. I like bread, and grapes, and cheese for that matter, so this seemed promising. But I decided to try a quarter batch first, to test things out, using some whole wheat dough I had on hand, and standard red grapes from the produce market.


I rolled out the bottom part of the dough and placed it in a greased loaf pan. I cut some grapes in half to lay on top, sprinkled a little sugar, and then rolled out the second portion of dough. I ran into some trouble right away because I didn’t really have enough dough to cover it and there were several holes evident before it went into the oven. I let the dough rise for an hour, but didn’t see any real progress, so I went ahead and baked it for 20 minutes. There just wasn’t enough dough for the grapes to get settled, so many of the grape halves came tumbling out when I went to cut the pieces. I salvaged them of course, for the top. Here is the final product, which actually tasted pretty good, when eaten with a knife and fork. I will give this one another shot sometime soon and let you know how it goes, because this would make a great holiday appetizer.

Green Soup with Ginger

This soup isn’t just green, it’s three different shades of green (leek, chard, and yes, more spinach) accented by bright orange sweet potatoes. The recipe was posted by Heidi at 101 Cookbooks. As Heidi also pointed out, the original recipe indicated the soup should be blended at the end, but it’s really optional in this case. I am far too lazy to puree a soup that already looks this nice. The flavor is very light, and it definitely needed a bit of salt and pepper at the end, but the vegetables get a chance to shine here.

Spinach and Feta Muffins

You have probably already caught on to my habit of putting spinach in, well, everything. I found this recipe, got out my trusty calculator to do all the conversions from grams to ounces and cups, rounded the numbers a bit, and was rewarded with these fabulous muffins. This made about 14 muffins, and since I have a 12 muffin tin, the last two were baked like scones which worked just fine. They would be perfect for a brunch gathering!

1 (10 oz.) package chopped spinach, thawed and drained
3 c. whole wheat flour
3 t baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 c. oil
1 c. skim milk
6-8 oz. fat free feta, crumbled

Mix flour and baking powder in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix eggs, oil, and milk using a hand blender. Add flour gradually, to form a smooth dough. Gently mix in spinach and feta. Place dough in greased muffin tins, or shape like scones on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.