Orange Brownies

I can officially say these are award winning brownies. kind of... So, my Aunt Janet puts together this big event every year called "The Games Party". It began at her house more than 20 years ago with family and close friends competing in multiple board games. It has since progressed into a huge ordeal that usually includes almost 200 participants. She now rents a hall to hold everyone. There is always a theme and each team of 8 is assigned to bring 4 pot luck dishes that relate to the theme of the year. This year's theme was Florida and my team was assigned to make desserts. Is key lime pie the first thing that came to mind? I'm pretty sure that's the first thing that came to everyone's mind, so I tried to think of a more original Floridian dessert. I figured anything orange or citrus would work, and low and behold I came across a very interesting Paula Dean recipe for orange brownies. I added a graham cracker crust, but other than that I stuck to the original recipe. The topping was a bit messy and goopy and in my opinion they didn't look so hot, but I had to bring something. I was running late as usual so there wasn't any time for other options. Our team didn't do so great in the games portion of the night, but we still had a lot of fun. I was shocked when I started getting complements on my brownies. Someone even asked me for the recipe and I found out someone else (who shall remain nameless), took an extra one home so his wife could try it. My brownies won third place overall out of 100 dishes! I was super excited about that. I think the "Girls Gone Wild" dessert beat me, but how could I compete with jello shots??

I looove my mixer! Thanks Mom! 

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure orange extract
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

Glaze:

nocoupons

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

• For the crust: In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. Press  mixture firmly into bottom and sides of 13 by 9 inch pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.

• In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, eggs, orange extract, and orange zest and beat with an electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown and set. Remove from oven and pierce top of entire cake with a fork.

nocoupons

• Glaze:

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Pour glaze over cake. Cool cake and cut into squares. 

Source: adapted from Foodnetwork.com

Lasagna

A few weeks ago Dave had the great idea to have a family style Italian dinner with me, him and the neighbors. I made lasagna, Erin made some kind of amazingly delicious Orzo salad dish (which I still need to get the recipe for) and Erica did a wonderful job of cutting up cucumbers and opening the veggie dip. The recipe I used was called "World's Greatest Lasagna".  I'm not sure it was the world's best, but it was pretty good. The best lasagna recipe I've tried so far. I made some modifications to the original recipe for next time though. I thought it could use more ricotta so I doubled it from 16 oz to 32 oz. So, if you prefer a slightly healthier version, stick with the 16oz of ricotta and one egg mixture. Definitely worth trying and like most everything I make, it's even better reheated. I think Dave and his room mate lived on the leftovers for a week. Next Sunday dinner is Mexican. My favorite. Can't wait!

Thanks to Dave for taking the pictures!

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 32 ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with eggs, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. 

Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

Chocolate Preztels

I hosted a book club/wine tasting night at my apartment on Tuesday. My second time hosting a get together at my new place and it was definitely a success. Lots of wine, lots of great people, and a good discussion about the book. Everyone brought a bottle of wine and I made wine scorecards so we could keep track of the ones we really liked.  I wish I had remembered to take pictures of everything else I made, but I was in a bit of a rush to get it all together before the guests arrived. I made sweet and sour meatballs, spinach and artichoke dip (big hit), an onion and garlic dip, and southwest egg rolls,which fell apart and I decided to not even serve. They tasted great, but I'll have to work on that recipe for next time. I did take pictures of the chocolate pretzels I made. They're really simple to make, super cute, and yummy. I've seen other variations of these using Hershey's Hugs or mini Resee's cups. You can also use the special holiday M&M's to for a more festive snack during Christmas or Easter, etc.

Ingredients

• 48 pretzel rings or mini twists
• 1 (8 ounce) package milk chocolate kisses
• 1/4 cup M&M's

Directions

1. Place the pretzels on greased baking sheets; place a chocolate kiss in the center of each ring. Bake at 275 degrees F for 2-3 minutes or until chocolate is softened. Remove from the oven. Place an M&M on each, pressing down slightly so chocolate fills the ring. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Store at room temperature. 

  Source: Allrecipes.com

Chicken and Broccoli Braid

I love casseroles and any type of one-dish meals. They're probably my favorite things to make and I don't have to make side dishes because your meat, starch, and veggies are all together. I have recently discovered an amazingly brilliant creation: the braid. It's basically a casserole rolled up into a giant crescent roll. It's so pretty and tastes great too. My first attempt using the braid was for a breakfast dish; bacon and eggs wrapped in crescent dough. It didn't look so good so I didn't bother taking pictures, but it was tasty. The chicken and broccoli braid turned out much better and it's one of my favorite dishes so far. Delicious! I also loved the fact that the recipe called for dill. One of my favorite flavors of all time.

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced, cooked chicken meat
• 1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 egg white, beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees F).
2. In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, red bell pepper, garlic, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, dill weed, salt, almonds and onion.
3. Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side. Spread the chicken mixture along the center strip. Fold the side strips over chicken mixture, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal.
4. Brush braided dough with the egg white. Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown. 

 

Source: Allrecipes.com 

Creamy Cajun Gumbo

This past Thanksgiving my family rented a house in Lake Gaston, NC for the week. Dave and I drove down for the weekend and had dinner with everyone at the Waterview Restaurant. We got the creamy cajun gumbo and it was outstanding! We've been talking about it ever since, so of course I had to at least try to recreate it for my blog. I think it turned out pretty good and Dave gave it rave reviews as well. I looked at their menu online and found out it's made in a Sambuca cream sauce. I didn't have Sambuca on hand, so I used anise extract instead. I made the sauce a bit too thick, but that can be prevented by not dumping a giant handful of flour into the sauce. I panicked when it looked too milky and thin. Add small amounts of flour and stir and wait before you add more. I would definitely make this recipe again, and next time I think I'd like to add some shrimp to the mix. The restaurant version had shrimp but i forgot to get that at the grocery store. ooops.

I usually don't measure anything or write anything down as I'm cooking so I will try my best to remember everything!

Ingredients

• 1 pound Hot Italian pork sausage, sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium chicken breasts chopped 
• 1 medium green pepper cut into short strips
• 1 medium onion chopped
•  2 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons of anise extract
•  1 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 box of Penne pasta

Directions

1. Boil the chicken breasts and cut into small pieces
2. Cook the Penne pasta in boiling water for approximately 7 minutes, drain, and set aside 
3. Cook the sausage in a skillet until well browned, stirring often. Stir in the pepper, onion and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender. Add cooked chicken and stir in Anise extract. Simmer until cream sauce is ready.  
4. Heat the butter and heavy cream over medium heat in a separate pan, add garlic powder and cheese and stir until melted. Add 2 tablespoons of flour as needed to thicken the sauce. Stir until flour is fully dissolved.  
5. Pour Sausage, chicken, and veggie mixture into the cream sauce and mix well. Serve over Penne pasta. 

Stuffed Peppers

December was such a crazy month and I didn't get a chance to post much. I'm hoping to be more productive in the kitchen this month, considering I now have my very own kitchen! I just moved into my own apartment. Woohoo! so very excited about it. I decided that stuffed peppers would be the dish to christen my kitchen. My mom makes them  for me occasionally even though she hates peppers. I still think hers are better, but these turned out really good too. I used a mix of ground beef, veal, and pork. Next time I'd like to try Italian sausage. Mmmmmm.

I was so excited to use my kitchen for the first time and have Dave over for dinner but... things did not quite go as planned. I made the salad and started making the salad dressing and realized I didn't have any oil. I got resourceful and used cooking spray. That's kind of the same thing, right? It made the dressing super foamy and weird but it still tasted alright and Dave didn't seem to notice anything was off.  My mom came over to help me light my gas oven, so that I wouldn't accidentally blow myself up. As much as we tried, we couldn't light the pilot light and it didn't seem like the gas was working. so.. no oven. great....

The stove top still worked so I did most of the prep work there and then had to cook them in the microwave, which was upsetting to me, but I was starting to get over it and be thankful I picked a dish that would even work in the microwave. Dave called and was on  his way so I went to heat them up and.... The microwave wasn't working either. I almost cried. I thought for sure I would have to either cancel my dinner or figure out a way to cook them on the stove top. Turns out the microwave just wasn't plugged in, so once I figured that out it was smooth sailing. Dinner turned out great! The repairman came yesterday to fix the oven. He left a note saying it was working fine and that I just had to leave it on for a couple minutes and let it warm up. Didn't even have to light the pilot. Oops. Oh well, you live and you learn.

Ingredients

• 6 green bell peppers
• salt to taste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup
• water as needed

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.
4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Source: Allrecipes.com 

Easy Stuffed Shells

I made this for dinner earlier this week . I wanted to try something Italian but really didn't have the time to make the sauce from scratch and let it simmer in the slow cooker all day. So this is a super simple and quick way to do Italian. I think it took me about 25 minutes to prep and only had to cook for 30 minutes. A delicious dinner in less than an hour! Dave gave this one a rave review. I'll definitely make it again!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 pound ground spicy Italian sausage
• salt to taste
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 box of jumbo pasta shells
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 jars of pasta sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1-2 cups Mozzarella Cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent. Saute garlic for 1 minute and stir in ground beef. Cook until well browned and crumbled. Season with salt and set aside to cool.
2. Cook spinach according to package directions. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add  shells and boil for half of the time recommended on the package. Drain and cover with cool water to stop the cooking process and prevent the shells from cracking.
3. To the ground beef mixture add the cooked spinach and ricotta cheese. When the mixture is cool, add the beaten eggs. Spread 1 jar of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Gently drain the  shells and carefully stuff each one with the meat and cheese mixture; place shells in prepared dish. Lightly cover the dish with plastic wrap or a clean, damp towel to prevent shells from cracking.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
5. Stir the basil and parsley into the remaining spaghetti sauce. Carefully pour or ladle spaghetti sauce over the shells.
6. Top with Mozzarella Cheese
7. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. 

 Source : Adapted from Allrecipes.com