Baked Eggs with Cheddar & Potatoes...

"No matter how experienced a cook you are, you eventually come to believe that simple is best." I have no clue who said that, but this recipe shows it's true. Simple, easy to throw together for a hearty and impressive breakfast. Oh and it's a one-pot meal!

I cut this in half since it was just two of us eating and eight eggs seemed excessive, but I'll include the full recipe for you.

3 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 lbs red-skinned potatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper, to taste
8 large eggs
1 cup shredded good quality medium or sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Melt butter in a cast-iron skillet or other oven-proof pan.
3. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
4. Add onions, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook until potatoes brown and onions are soft. Remove from heat.
5. Push potatoes aside, creating 4 little spaces or nests.  Crack 2 eggs into each nest.
6.  Bake until egg whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny, about 10 minutes.
7. Sprinkle cheese over eggs and potatoes and bake until cheese melts, 2-4 minutes.

*Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchens Cookbook.

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

When the weather gets cold, you  need to warm the house up by baking cookies.  These are a smash hit.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.

2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

*Thanks Martha Stewart!

Chicken Marsala with Garlic Butter Noodles

This isn't your typical Italian-American restaurant Marsala, where the meat cutlet is pounded flat and fried first and there's so much mushroom wine sauce that you aren't really sure what kind of meat it is.  No, this was far more amazing.  This traditional dish is extremely versatile, so if you have veal or pork on hand, then use those. We happened to have Chicken breast in the fridge.  You can also use whatever kind of mushrooms you like or can find at the store.  I used dried porcini mushrooms because I really enjoy their taste, but for a milder flavor you can even use fresh button mushrooms. 

Makes 4 Main Course servings
2 lbs chicken breast, trimmed and pounded flat
1 1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 oz dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted in boiling water for 5 minutes
1 large shallot finely chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 C sweet cooking Marsala wine
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3/4 C low-sodium chicken broth

1. Sprinkle the meat with 3/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. 
2.  In a large skillet, melt 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.
3.  Add chicken breasts and cook until golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side, remove to a plate and set aside.
4.  In same skillet melt 1 tbsp butter, add shallots and garlic until fragrant and soft.  Add mushrooms. 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Saute until mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes. 
5.  Using a spatula, scrape up all the brown bits and work them into the onion, garlic, mushroom mixture.
6.  Add Marsala and rosemary spring, simmer until the Marsala reduces by half, about 2-4 minutes. 
7.  Add chicken broth and simmer until reduced by half, 4-5 minutes. 
8. Add chicken back to the mixture and turn to coat the meat on each side, cover and simmer until cooked through.

Meanwhile....The Garlic Butter Noodles

Spaghetti, egg noodles or fettuccine
2 Tbsp butter
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Boil noodles in salted water until cooked al dente.
2. Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium heat.
3. Add garlic and stir until garlic and butter just barely turn brown. 

Serve a side of garlic noodles with a piece of chicken and drizzle sauce over noodles and meat.  Sprinkle with a little fresh parsley if you happen to have it.

Fresh Pasta Dough - Cheese Ravioli

Easy, peasy.  Seriously, it was so easy I was a little embarrassed. I made a cheese filling, but you could use ground beef or sausage, just make sure the meat is cooked first. Get sassy, puree some butternut squash and nutmeg, whatever floats your boat!

1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs, 2 for dough, 1 for sealing the ravioli
1/4 tsp salt
1 to 2 tablespoons water

Filling:
1 Cup ricotta cheese
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
salt & pepper to taste

1. In a food processor combine flour, 2 eggs lightly beaten and salt until smooth.  If it looks a little grainy and isn't forming a big ball, drizzle the water in while the machine is running.

2. Remove dough and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

3. While dough is resting, make your filling. I just stirred the cheeses and seasonings together until well combined.

4.  Divide dough into 4 small balls.  On a well floured surface, roll out the first ball until nice and thin.  This is where it would help to have a pasta machine, but I don't so I did it with a rolling pin.

5.  Press dough into a ravioli tray and fill each well with a small dab of cheese.  Roll out another ball and lay across the tray.  Using a rolling pin, carefully press each row so that they seal and cut. 

****If you don't have a ravioli tray*****
5.  Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water.  Brush across your first rolled out sheet of dough. Place filling at 1 inch intervals.  Roll out 2nd sheet of dough and lay over the top of your filling. Using a knife, cut into strips, then into squares.  Use a fork to create crimped edges along each ravioli. This will help the edges seal and prevent leakage during cooking.

6.  Gently place ravioli in salted boiling water.  When the float to the top, they're done, about 2-4 minutes depending on how thin you rolled out your dough.

7. Top with your choice of sauce and serve!

Bosco's Birthday Cake

Yes I make my dog a birthday cake every year.  They aren't hard and don't have to look pretty, but they do have to be healthy for animals.  Yes, I taste them every time.  This one was pretty delicious.

Peanut Butter Carrot Cake for Dogs

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1 cup white or whole wheat flour 
1 tsp baking soda 
1/4 cup peanut butter 
1/4 cup vegetable oil 
1 cup shredded carrots 
1 tsp vanilla 
1/3 cup honey 
1 egg

Mix together flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a cake pan sprayed with a nonstick spray and bake for 30- 40 minutes until cooked through.

While cake is baking, make your frosting! 

Cinnamon Frosting:

Combine the following ingredients and blend thoroughly: 
12 ounces nonfat cream cheese (room temperature) 
3 tsp cinnamon 
1 tsp vanilla 
1 tsp honey

Allow cake to cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.  Decorate and serve!

Easiest Chicken Pot Pie Ever

My husband really like chicken pot pie and always asks me to make it. Every time I try I ended up with something more like chicken soup with a half cooked crust on top.  I try to be healthy so look for recipes that are low in fat, skipping a lot of the key ingredients to make it think and creamy. Finally I came up with my Holy Grail on my own and was extremely delighted at how easy and delicious this was.

1 grocery store rotisserie chicken, shredded
2 cans low-fat cream of chicken soup
1/2-3/4 Cup frozen mixed vegetables, like carrot, peas and green beans, or you can get sassy and try a summer blend with zucchini and squash
1/4 Cup Chicken stock
1 package of refrigerator crescent roll dough, unrolled
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray or wipe with oil, we used a glass bread pan
3.  In a large bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, your desired amount of frozen vegetables, chicken stock to thin the mixture slightly and salt and pepper.
4.  Add shredded chicken and stir to combine.  Pour mixture into casserole dish.
5. Lay unrolled dough across the top, slightly tucking it in on the sides or patching any holes.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the dough is golden brown and the soup mixture bubbles.

Braised Chicken Gumbo (kind of) - Leftovers from Wine & Tomato Chicken dinner

Did you make the crock-pot Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken and now have you have a butt-load of left overs? I did. Good thing there's a recipe for that...

I lived in Louisiana for a little while and know some good gumbo.  This isn't really what I'd call gumbo, but it kind of has that flavor and it's a lot easier. 

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red or green bell pepper diced ( I did NOT use this because I hate bell pepper more than anything)
2 tbsp flour
2 Cups leftover shredded chicken from Wine & Tomato chicken
2 Cups left over sauce from Wine & Tomato chicken dinner
2 Cups chicken broth
1 Cup frozen okra
3/4 C instant brown or white rice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or hot sauce

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. 
2. Add peppers and flour, stirring until peppers soften and the flour turns golden brown, about 2 minutes.
3. Add chicken, sauce, broth, okra, rice and hot sauce.  Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and bring to simmer until okra is tender and rice is cooked, about 10 minutes. 

Add more hot sauce to taste. I like mine spicy. You'll still end up with a lot of leftovers, but hey they make great lunches for work.