December Re-Make Recap

It's hard to believe that 2013 is over. I feel like I just get used to writing, thinking, saying the current year and it's time to switch to the next one. 2013 was full of so many wonderful times for our little family and I can't wait to see what 2014 brings. We have a lot of fun things planned.

December was quite a hectic month, as it is for most people. I surprised myself by doing a good amount of cooking, relying on tried and true favorites to round out my meal plans.

This weeknight spaghetti and meatballs is, hands down, one of my family's favorite dishes. Whenever I ask SP for dinner ideas this is the first thing he suggests.

I revived this cheesy pearl couscous with broccoli one night when I wanted something a little different. We all love pearl couscous and you can't go wrong with broccoli, bacon and cheese. I forgot how good and cheesy this dish is.

This taco rice is one of my personal favorites. I use the beef recipe for regular tacos as well - it's the perfect blend of seasoning with a little bit of sauce. Delicious.

I wanted something easy one night when SP was out of town so I made a batch of these hot ham and cheese sandwiches with Brie. They were amazing - the melty Brie went perfectly with the mayo/mustard sauce. I have a stash in the freezer and, just like the last time I made these, I add a fried egg for breakfast.

These citrus chicken burritos are another one of my favorites from 2013. I'd make them once a week if they didn't take so much prep work.

As I've said in just about every recap, I can't make any Mexican meal without these homemade refried beans.

I like to keep these salted fudge brownies individually wrapped in the freezer to take out when I have a craving for something sweet. I finally ran out of my previous stash so I had to whip up a new batch.

SP really liked these chorizo and egg burritos so I had to replenish our freezer stash. I love the trick of heating them in a paper towel so they don't get soggy. Perfect every time.

This was the month of restocking my freezer stash since I also needed to make more sausage and spinach egg bake. This is my current favorite weekday breakfast with a little mayo mixed with hot sauce.

Our grocery store was out of broccoli the week I made this bacon broccoli mac and cheese so I made it with cauliflower instead. What a revelation. I think we liked the cauliflower more than the broccoli. We'll definitely be making it this way from now on.

SP always insists on these baked stuffed shrimp for Christmas Eve dinner. This year I made the filling ahead of time so getting them ready to go in the oven was a snap.

Christmas Eve dinner isn't complete without our favorite asparagus with fried egg and cheese. I always serve this as the first course while the shrimp cook.

This Christmas morning strata is what my mom made when I was growing up and even though my family doesn't like it I decided to make a batch this year. I ate the leftovers for breakfast until it was gone.

For SP and Baby Girl I made this overnight baked French toast. They both enjoyed it and there were enough leftovers, even with a half order, for them to enjoy during the week.

Once again I hosted Christmas dinner with roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, Yorkshire pudding and garlic bread. It was a huge hit and we all stuffed ourselves silly.

SP planned to make a roast chicken for Sunday dinner with my parents one week but the store was out of roasting chickens (the same week they were out of broccoli), so he switched gears to meatloaf. I told him he had to make Tyler Florence's ultimate meatloaf. We all loved this.

A few weeks later I made a roast chicken and decided to make potato gratin rather than the usual mashed potatoes. We love this recipe - so creamy and delicious. We always eat way more than we should in one sitting.

Restaurant Knockoff - Stonefire Grill BBQ Chopped Salad

Have you guys heard of Stonefire Grill? They've got locations throughout Southern California. I've never been to one but the day we flew to the West coast for Thanksgiving my stepmom got one of their salads for us for dinner. She tossed it all in a big bowl and, to look at it, it looked like a regular old salad. In fact, I didn't even try any of it at first because there was other stuff to eat. But my sister-in-law kept raving about how good it was so I made myself a small bowl. And then another and another, unable to comprehend how such ordinary ingredients could come together into something so amazing.

I went online to see if anyone had tried to recreate the Stonefire Grill BBQ Chopped Salad at home. Lo and behold, someone did. I finally got around to putting it on the menu and all I can say is wow.

This recipe is pretty much spot-on. Which is great because we live in PA and don't get out to CA very often. Now I can enjoy this salad whenever I want.

Stonefire Grill BBQ Chopped Salad
As seen on Come Fly with Me

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup black beans
3 ears fresh corn, cooked and corn kernels removed (or 1 cup frozen)
3/4 cup chopped red cabbage (I left this out)
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 large tomato, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken, tossed with BBQ sauce
3 tablespoons green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup crumbled tortilla chips/strips
1 cup bottled ranch dressing
2-3 tablespoons bottled BBQ sauce, to taste

Fill a salad bowl with a mixture of chopped lettuces. Place the beans, corn, cabbage, carrots, cheese, and tomato in sections on top of the lettuce. Pile the chicken in the center. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro and tortilla chips.

Combine the ranch dressing and BBQ sauce. Toss with the salad and serve.

Risotto with Caramelized Onions and Spinach

We were all so enamored with Leek and Pea Risotto I made for the last recipe swap, so when I had a bag of baby spinach in the fridge that needed to be used up I immediately thought of risotto. Not surprisingly, Mary Ellen had a few spinach risotto recipes on her blog. Since I love caramelized onions I decided to make her Risotto with Caramelized Onions and Spinach.

SP couldn't believe that the only seasonings in the dish were the salt and pepper I used for the onions. There is just so much flavor from caramelizing them and the taste really shown through. He couldn't stop raving about it and is now a true risotto convert.

Risotto with Caramelized Onions and Spinach
As seen on Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 large onion sliced into thin rings
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/4 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
6 cups low sodium chicken broth, warmed
1 6-oz bag baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 1 tablespoon each of the oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Stir the onions often so they brown slowly. This can take 30-40 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the onions from burning. I had to add a little water to the pan to keep the onions from burning and that helped pick up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove the onions from the pan and allow to cool before chopping into small pieces.

Add the other 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the rice and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the white wine and stir until it is absorbed.

Start adding the chicken broth one ladle-full at a time, letting it fully absorb before adding more. This process takes anywhere from 17-25 minutes.

Before you add the final ladle of broth, add the caramelized onions and spinach. Taste some of the rice to make sure it's cooked through. Turn off the heat and add the grated cheese and 2 tablespoons of butter.

Sponsored Post: Campbell's Dinner Sauces, Holiday Version

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

The folks over at Campbell's asked me to create another recipe using their Skillet Sauces. This time they were looking for a holiday theme, something I'd serve to my family for Christmas or New Year's. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I'd had a tough time choosing between the various Skillet Sauces (also available in Marsala, Toasted Sesame, Scampi and Thai Green Curry, which I chose the first time I reviewed these), so I was eager to try another variety.

I always serve fish or seafood for Christmas Eve. I happened to have two tilapia filets in the freezer so I chose the scampi sauce. Traditionally scampi is served with shrimp, but I knew the delicate white fish would go well with the white wine and garlic scampi sauce.

This is an incredibly easy dish that comes together in the time it takes to boil the pasta. I coated the fish in egg and flour before shallow frying it in vegetable oil. I drained off the oil and added the sauce to the skillet to heat through, added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and then tossed the cooked pasta with the sauce. You could also add the fish to the sauce instead, but I wanted to maintain that nice, crispy coating. The meal was on the table in 15 minutes and we all enjoyed this immensely.

You can check out Campbell's Dinner Sauces on their website and on Facebook.

Tilapia Scampi
Makes 2 servings

1/2 cup flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
2 pieces tilapia filets
vegetable oil
1 pouch Campbell's Scampi Skillet Sauce
freshly squeezed lemon juice
8oz spagetti, cooked according to package directions
2 tablespoons minced parsley

Place flour in a pie plate. Beat the egg and water in a second pie plate. Gently coat each tilapia filet with flour on both sides, then place in the egg wash, coating on both side, then put back in the flour and coat on both sides.

Add vegetable oil to a large skillet, about 1/2-inch deep. Heat over medium heat. Place tilapia in skillet and cook for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the fish from the skillet and drain off the oil. Wipe the skillet clean. Add the Scampi Skillet Sauce and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce, then add the fresh parsley.

Divide the pasta between two bowls. Add one tilapia filet to each bowl and serve.








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Creamy Noodles

This post has been sitting in my draft folder for ages and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to share it with you.

Awhile back I was looking for an easy side dish, something a little different, and I came across Stephanie's Creamy Noodles. Stephanie is a genius, pure and simple. She took one of my favorite childhood indulgences - those noodles and sauce packets where you just add milk - and made a homemade version.

Unfortunately I didn't have any spinach (not even frozen) when I made these, but they were still delicious. I can't wait to make them again.

Creamy Noodles
As seen on Stephanie Cooks

2 cups egg noodles, uncooked
1 cup baby spinach, cut into thin ribbons
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons light cream
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400.

Cook the egg noodles. Drain and put them into a small baking dish. Add the spinach and stir.

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, flour, light cream, grated garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and onion powder. Stir well until the flour is no longer clumpy. Pour the sauce over the noodles and spinach, stirring well.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, uncovered, stirring halfway through. The broth should thicken up and coat the noodles. Serve.

Angel Hair with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, and Spinach

My supermarket had a coupon for butternut squash recently. I've never cooked with butternut squash (I know, crazy) so I asked the ladies on my cooking board for recipe ideas. Coleen suggested this Pappardelle with Squash, Mushrooms and Spinach. I decided to swap out the pappardelle for angel hair (my current favorite) and hoped the mushrooms would win SP over.

You guys, this was incredible. Simply amazing. For such a simple recipe this really packs and flavor punch. Everything works so well together. And it's a beautiful plate of food with the orange squash, brown mushrooms and green spinach. More fall colors than winter, but I guess it's still technically fall.

I've mentioned before that Baby Girl is a good eater, but she surprised even me with this one. She had three servings. Three.

Angel Hair with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, and Spinach
As seen on The Redhead Baker, slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

8 ounces angel hair
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2" cubes (about one pound)
8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded, caps sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage (6 to 8 leaves)
6 ounce package baby spinach
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Reserve one cup of cooking liquid from the pasta pot, then drain.

While pasta is cooking, place 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the butternut squash to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, about 6 minutes or until the squash starts to soften.

Add the remaining butter and oil to the skillet, then add the mushrooms and the sage. Cook another 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until mushrooms soften and the squash is fork-tender.

Add the spinach to the pan and toss until the spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the pasta to the skillet. Toss to coat, adding 1/4-cup of the cooking water at a time to make a sauce.

Divide the pasta and veggies on four plates, and top each with more of the remaining grated Parmesan cheese.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Baby Girl was home with me one day when her school was closed for a teacher in-service. We had bananas ripening on the counter and she'd been watching too much TV while I was working, so we took a baking break. My friend Mary Ellen had recommended these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and I couldn't wait to try them.

The ones in this picture are from the second time I made this recipe. The first time (with Baby Girl) I cooked them for 22 minutes and they were very dark and a little more done than I wanted. I have a new oven (and no oven thermometer) and I'm pretty sure the oven runs hot. The second time I made a few substitutions because I didn't have all the ingredients and cooked them for 20 minutes instead and they were perfect. I loved the combo of the sour cream and vanilla yogurt. Definitely use mini chips - they aren't as heavy as a regular chip so they don't sink to the bottom of the batter. There was a nice, even distribution of chips in these.

Baby Girl positively loves these. She asks for one for breakfast every morning and, because she's a bit crazy, she eats them cold straight from the freezer. When I can sneak one away from her, I like to microwave them to get the chill off and then toast them up a bit. I can't wait for more bananas to over ripen so I can make more.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Slightly modified from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations
Makes 16 muffins

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium-large over ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt, sour cream and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the bananas and chocolate chips.

Line muffin cups with paper wrappers or spray with cooking spray. Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cups two-thirds full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine were perfect at 20 minutes) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from the tins to a cooling rack.