Goulash with a Pan Roasted Tomato Sauce

An easy lazy rainy day comfort meal.... what more needs to be said?

Ingredients:

3 or so cups of prepared pasta (I was using up leftovers)

1/2 pound of ground beef sauteed with some peppers, onion and garlic

1 cup or so of cherry tomatoes whole

8 oz can of tomato sauce (unflavored. I used Muir Glenn Organic)

5-6 leaves of fresh basil chopped finely

Salt

Pepper

1 tsp of sugar

1 tsp garlic paste (found in produce section with fresh herbs)

Cheese to sprinkle on top (I used fresh Parmigiano Reggiano)

In a stainless steel pot, heat up the cherry tomatoes, on medium to high heat, until they char and begin to burst open. Heat for 10 minutes or so. Stir once in a while around the bottom of the pot. Once they are crackling and popping add in the the already cooked beef and mash down the tomatoes with any wooden spoon or spatula. Be careful, they really burst open and they could burn you. Stir in the tomato sauce, salt, pepper,garlic paste and sugar. Stir in cooked pasta and basil leaves. Continuously stir on low heat and allow flavors to blend for a minute or so on the heat. Top with cheese and enjoy!

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Casserole

An afternoon with some other mommies and their kids was the plan for the day and making a one dish kid friendly meal was essential. It allowed for us women to get the kids fed and move on to the important things in life.... coffee and chatting! And during this, what seems to be, neverending wintery weather, a warm gooey meal filled our tummies with comfort. This casserole was simple, healthy and fulfilled its purpose. Lots of coffee and conversation was had!

Ingredients:

3 small chicken breasts cooked and diced (I had boiled mine in broth)

1 box of whole grain pasta

1 crown of broccoli diced very small

1/2 of a small onion diced very small

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

3 Tbsp flour

3 cups of milk

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

salt

pepper

nutmeg

garlic paste (I found this in the produce section in a tube)

Boil Pasta until just starting to soften. Drain and set aside.

Sautee the onion and broccoli in a bit of olive oil. Add in cooked chicken to blend and flavor. Set aside.

Now onto the alfredo sauce. Heat the 3 Tbsp in the same pot used for the pasta. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for a minute. Whisk in milk and heat on medium high whisking frequently. While heating sprinkle in desired amount of salt and pepper, I used 1 tsp of each, and dash of nutmeg. Also whisk in garlic paste. Once the white sauce begins to boil and thicken whisk in the parmesan cheese and continue to heat. Once boiled and thickened add in the noodles and broccoli mixture. At this point it can be served OR....

I finished mine with bread crumbs, freshly grated parmigianno reggioano and cheddar cheese. Baked it at 450 degrees until the topping was browned nicely. You could simply skip the bread crumb crusty topping, but who really doesn't love a crunchy yummy crust!

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

 

A day of girls having fun at a purse party needs just one thing... chocolate! I have been needing a reason to make this cake again and my Thirty One Gifts party was the perfect excuse! And altough I have never made ganache before, it was so easy it didn't require any experience. This cake is moist and dark and perfect! And I hope you make it and enjoy every lovely smile provoking bite...

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Prepare the boiled cup of water

Ingredients:
2 cups of sugar
1 3/4 cups of unbleached flour 
3/4 cups of cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup of boiling water
1 10 oz jar of raspberry jam (I used Smuckers Simply Fruit)

Ingredients for Ganache:
1 bag of chocolate chips (I used Ghiardelli dark chocolate)
1 1/2 cups of Heavy Cream

Mix up the dry ingredients with a whisk until well combined. Make a small well in the center and whisk up the wet ingredients, then stir it all to combine. Stir in the boiled water and there you have it. The batter will be very watery, but it's okay. It bakes up beautifully! Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes. Cool the cakes completely. Stir up the jam in the jar to loosen it. Transfer one cake to the serving plate, spread the whole jar of jam over the cake and top with the second cake. It may seem like a lot of jam, but it seems to need the whole jar.

To make the ganache simply simmer some water in a pot and place a bowl over the simmering water. Pour the chocolate chips into the bowl to melt. Once melty, stir in the heavy cream until combined. Let cool to room temperature. At this point I simply poured over my cake and let it drizzle down the sides. It could also be whipped up into a whipped ganache and I will be trying this sometime for sure!

YUM! This got lots of "Oh my goodness" reactions. My sister, who is pregnant, got us eating it with that fruit in the background. It is simply a fantastic cake! 

Herbed Tomato Focaccia Bread

I had a request and needed to fulfill the need!

This was a wonderful addition to our Lemon Basil pasta and so so easy! You can, just as yummily, make this on a pizza stone or a cookie sheet. And yes, I did just make up the word yummily! This dough can also morph into a loaf of herbed bread or pizza dough. Get out your muscles and knead some stress away....

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of very warm water

1 TBSP of yeast

1 TBSP of sweetener (I use honey)

1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour (or unbleached white whole wheat)

2  1/2-3 cups of unbleached flour

2 tsp salt

1/4 cup of Olive Oil

1 tsp of dried basil (or fresh if you have it)

1/2 tsp of dried oregano

1/2 tsp of garlic powder
Garlic Salt
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of Mozzerella cheese


In a large (and wide) mixing bowl, pour in the water, yeast, and sweetener and mix until well combined. Add in the unbleached flour, salt, basil oregano and garlic powder. Stir until combined. Begin to sprinkle in bits of the whole wheat flour until the dough begins to come together. Knead the dough right inside the bowl. Sprinkle in more flour as needed until the dough is not sticky any longer. Continue to knead for up to 5 minutes.

Allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Heat oven to 450 degrees

Divide the dough in half. Press one half out into an oiled cast iron skillet or onto a pizza stone. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt and partially bake for 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Top it with  parmesan cheese, tomatoes then the mozzerella cheese. (Yes, in that order!) Bake again until the crust and cheeses are brown and lovely..... and enjoy!

~This only used half the dough. I allowed the other half to raise for a while, pressed it out onto a pizza stone and partially baked it for 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Allow to cool and wrap in plastic wrap and store in fridge for a quick homemade pizza in the future~

~ You can use 100% whole wheat or 100% unbleached flour. Whichever your family prefers. We enjoy the mix. As long as you have 3 1/2 -4 cups of flour. ~

~ You can also use a stand mixer for this dough. Since I was stretched for time and not even letting the dough raise for a long amount of time, I just didn't bother with getting my mixer dirty.~

~ For a loaf of bread, form dough into a greased loaf pan or just in the shape of a loaf on a stone or cookie sheet. Let raise for an hour or so. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Top will be browned and it will sound hollow when you tap on it~

Simple Lemon Basil Pasta

What's better than basil? Basil and lemon warmed in olive oil oozing over delicious multigrain pasta! Here's how I did it.... oh and my family actually applauded after the meal so I think it's a good one!

Ingredients:

1 Lemon

1 bunch or tube of Basil (both can be found in the produce section)

3/4 cup of Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Clove of garlic or 1/2 tsp of garlic powder

1 box of Multigrain Bow Tie Pasta

Cook the pasta according to the directions, drain and set aside. Add the olive oil into the same pasta pot. Zest and juice the lemon into the oil (juice over your hand so the seeds don't go in) Add half a tube of the pesto paste or half of the basil bunch finely chopped. Sprinkle liberally with sald and pepper and add the garlic. Heat oil and add in the pasta. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning to your taste. Top with cheese and serve.

The proof is on her face! Your family will love this!



Sort of Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie

Good old Pennsylvania winter...

This meal was planned to be a crock pot meal. To bubble into perfect yumminess while we were away at church but, as is becoming too common, it snowed and we were home from church. We braved it out to my parent's home to still eat as a family, but this ended up going into the oven for time and our belly's sake. SO I'm calling this a crock pot meal because it is in it's destiny to be one! It does require a few minutes in the oven before serving to spare your family from a soggy topping of stuffing. But it's totally worth the wait! The epitome of comfort food topped with a crunchy yet moist topping of stuffing. A comforting meal in one helpful and trusty crock pot!

Ingredients:

1 small onion

4 stalks of celery

1/2 package of baby carrots

2 chicken breasts

4 cups Chicken broth (this amount will be split 4 ways)

4 red potatoes

Olive Oil (your own desired amount for sauteing the onions)

Salt

Pepper

1 package of Pepperidge Farm Herbed Seasoned Stuffing

6 TBSP butter

1 box of Campbells V8 Garden Vegetable Soup

Boil chicken in the chicken broth for 10-12 minutes. While that's boiling, dice up vegies and sautee onions in olive oil on medium low. When they begin to soften add in the celery and carrots. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sautee for 10 minutes. Dice up potatoes and place in crock pot. Remove chicken onto cutting board saving the broth. Shred the chicken and add into your crock pot with the potatoes. Once the vegies have sauteed stir them into the chicken and potatoes to combine.

Add in the box of vegetable soup

This is the stuffing I used because of it's lack of unwanted ingredients

Remove 2 cups of broth from the pot and set aside. With the remaining 2 cups of broth still in the pot, melt in the butter on medium heat. Stir in the stuffing package and the remaining sauteed vegetables. Place in a air tight container to store in refrigerator until use. (If you're making this in the oven right away, you can just set the bowl of stuffing aside)
 

Pour one cup of the reserved 2 cups of broth into chicken, vegetables and vegetable soup

At this point, you could store both of the components of the meal in the refrigerator until the next morning. You would hold off on putting the stuffing on until you were home and preparing to eat.

Once the stuffing is removed, using the same pot, we're going to make a rue for thickening the pot pie. Heat up a couple of TBSP of olive oil and sprinkle in 2 TBSP of flour. Cook out for a minute. Whisk in the remaining 1 cup of broth. Whisk until it comes to a boil and thickens. Once thickened pour over crock pot mixture. Stir until well combined.

In the morning, simply prepare your crock pot and cook on high while you're gone. Before serving spread the stuffing on and bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Until brown and beautiful.... just enough time to get the table set.  

If you wanted to skip the plug in crock pot, you could bake this in the oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Raise the heat to 450 degrees. Spread on the stuffing and bake for 10-15 minutes until stuffing was browned.

         This reads as a lot of steps but trust me it's simple and delicious!

*Ingredients can easily be traded to make this into a vegetarian meal. Simply use vegie broth and cut out the chicken part. A great substitute for the chicken could be gnocci or white beans. Just add them into the crock pot with the raw potatoes and continue with the rest of the recipe*



"Oh My Goodness" Brownies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Ingredients:
3/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cups of butter
6 TBSP cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
2TBSP water
1 package chocolate chips (I prefer dark, but semi-sweet would work too)
2 tsp brewed coffee (or vanilla)
2 eggs

Combine dry ingredients, including almost half of the chocolate chips, in a small bowl. Set aside. Melt butter with sugar, vanilla and water. Allow to heat until the boil just begins. Remove from heat. Melt in the remaining chocolate chips. After the chocolate chips are melted and well combined whisk in each egg seperately until well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture. Pour into greased 9x9 pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

*Sometimes I put these into muffin tins and make mini brownie cakes. They will only bake for about 15 minutes so make sure to keep an eye on them*