Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Have you been to Annie's Eats? If not, make your way over there.
http://annies-eats.com/ Maybe start off with her best of 2009 posts-you will want to make everything on it.
I am apparently a blog stalker b/c as I was putting together my menu for the week I noticed I had 3 recipes from Annie's Eats. And I have at least 10 more tagged "to make".

First up, Chicken Tortilla Casserole.
I had been wanting to make this one b/c I had about 1/2 bag of tortilla chips and my son eats casserole type dishes better than anything.



We loved this. Putting it in the repeat pile-which is rare for me. What surprised me the most was that my 9 month old apparently like spices dishes. He was kicking the highchair every time he wanted more.

On tap, for this week Baked Ziti & Chicken Gyros!

Christmas Eve

Ever since my husband and I were married, we let our family know that Christmas eve is reserved for us. With our latest addition to the family, I am so thankful that we have set aside this time for us. Christmas can be so full of hustle & bustle that being able to spend the night as a family is worth more than any presents Santa brings.

I like to make a nice dinner on Christmas Eve. This year we decided to have steak, baked potatoes & Caesar salad. These three things are super easy, so I picked a rather difficult dessert. I wish I had a picture of my husband grilling steaks on the patio with a foot of snow falling. But they sure did taste good!

I am a big fan of Annie's Eats, I have noticed lately that I am starring her recipes on my google reader. She makes some of the prettiest things I have ever seen. We picked the caramel apple cheesecake pie.
This was time consuming, I am not going to lie. Start to finish was about 2 hours, then you have to let it cool for 4 hours. So plan in advance (i did not,thus we had this for breakfast on Christmas Day-what??? it has fruit in it!)

Anyway, mine is not near as pretty but was quite tasty. I didn't make my own caramel sauce though. I just bought sauce at the store.

Cookies for Santa!

This being the first year with our son, I wanted to start a cookies for santa tradition. I had been baking & cooking for 2 weeks & really didnt want to even make cookies on Christmas Eve. But the snow started falling, I was going to be stuck in the house & I really wanted to try royal icing.



I made these sugar cookies. They were delicious! Just plan ahead b.c they have to chill for 3 hours.

I used this recipe for the royal icing. Now I didnt have enough powedered sugar to make a lot of frosting, but I also didnt make very many cookies. I wish I had had more frosting though & better tools.

Annie has a great post on tips for using royal icing. I am looking forward to trying out royal icing on other cookies. I really like how it looks in the end and maybe I can convince the hubs that I need some new tools. After the mess that was our kitchen table post cookie decorating I think I have it in the bag :)

Festive Appetizer

My cousin made this dip while we were visiting in Chicago. I was in love with it (as was my munchkin)

Its so easy and has the red, green & white colors you need for your Christmas Dinner, open house, etc...


You'll need
Sun dried tomatoes-jarred in oil, preferably diced or sliced
pesto- you can make our own or buy the premade kind, about 2 cups
cream cheese- 1-2 boxes, so I think 16 oz?

So, I let the cream cheese sit out until softened, then I whipped in it the kitchen aid. Once that was done, I spread it on a serving dish.
Next pour on the pesto, spread it all over the cream cheese.
Then layer with the sun dried tomatoes. You'll want to keep some of the oil, not all of it though.

And you are done. Serve with ritz or club crackers.

Help!!

So last holiday season I made some kind of red pepper topped ritz crackers-does anyone know what this is???


In the meantime, here are few recipes I have made

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes- SO GOOD!!! If you haven't made some form of chocolate pb cupcakes, do so now. You will not be sad.

Beef Enchiladas --> I have always wanted to make my own red sauce, mostly b/c I felt like I always had the ingredients on hand, but i could never find an easy recipe to do this. Now I have one that I will use for every enchilada I want to make. To note, on this recipe, I omitted the rice.

And of course one big fat fail recipe. If anyone can explain how I messed this up, I would love to hear it. Pumpkin Pie Squares. The whole "top" stuck to the dish & it was all wiggly and looked like uncooked pumpkin.

Holiday baking is going to start this Sunday, if I have time. I have to go to the store first-any special requests?? Any favorite holiday recipes you like to make?

Oh the excuses...

Daylight savings adjustment, a new baby, the holidays, I can't my pictures to upload. Oh I could go on & on, but we have heard them all before.

I am still cooking & baking. I don't take many pictures b/c while I have a light box, I don't have a light for said light box. And nothing is more unappetizing then seeing a nasty picture accompany a great recipe.

However, I wanted to share a few recipes I have made lately that I have been really impressed with.
Pizza Pasta--> Loved this recipe b/c it was quick & quite versatile, use whatever you have on hand, oh and it makes a lot!
Breakfast Casserole--> what a genius idea on how to use up leftover hot dog buns!
Pumpkin Cupcakes--> Great idea for yellow cake mix! And great for this holiday season!! The hubs said these were great-very dense & moist. (plus cake mix right now is like $.77 box-super cheap dessert for a potluck!)
Tiramisu Cupcakes--> My friend Nemmie, over at Cast Sugar, brought these beauties to our Halloween party. They are to die for & really not THAT hard to make. Just a little time consuming. A few notes on this recipe: use Kahlua over Marsala for the coffee syrup. Also, did you know cake flour is just AP Flour & Cornstarch? Genius!

And of course, a few pictures of why I never blog anymore!



So that is all I have for now. I hope to at least be able to put up some links to recipes I have tried recently, if not pictures.

I will try to be better

I could come up with a million excuses on why I haven't updated my blog. Ones I am sure we have all heard before. But now that we are back from a nice trip to Hawaii, I will have some more time on my hands (at least I hope to!)

I cannot believe I have never posted this recipe before. When I first met my husband, this was my go-to impress everyone dinner. I think my favorite vegetable is artichoke, so I pretty much love any recipe that includes artichoke hearts in it. Each time I make this recipe I change it up a bit, but the basics behind it make for a great meal. I also changed quite a bit of it so its not so complicated.

Chicken Saute w/Artichoke Hearts
Williams-Sonoma
Fresh artichokes taste best in this dish. If they are unavailable, use about 1 1/2 cups thawed, frozen hearts or drained, marinated hearts and add them with the tomatoes.

Ingredients:
1 lemon, halved
1 lb. small artichokes
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
4 skinless chicken breast halves
2 Tbs. pure olive oil
Salt and freshly ground white or black pepper, to
taste
4 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
1 shallot, cut into slivers
1 Tbs. minced fresh basil
1 Tbs. minced fresh tarragon
1 Tbs. minced fresh chervil
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 cup Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 or 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
Have ready a bowl three-fourths full of water to which you have added the juice from 1/2 lemon. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, cut off the stem even with the base. Cut off the top one-third of the artichoke. Starting at the base, break off 3 or 4 rows of the tough outer leaves, snapping them downward, until you reach the tender, pale green inner leaves. Trim away any dark green areas around the base. As you work, rub the cut surfaces with the remaining lemon half to prevent darkening. When the artichoke is fully trimmed, cut in half lengthwise and, using a sharp spoon or knife, scoop out and discard the prickly choke. Then cut each half in half again to create quarters and add to the lemon water. Set aside.

Spread the flour on a plate, then lightly coat both sides of each chicken piece with the flour, shaking off the excess. In a fry pan over high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the chicken pieces and sauté, turning once, until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Pour off all but 2 Tbs. of the fat from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic and shallot, and sauté until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the basil, tarragon, chervil and mustard. Increase the heat to high, pour in the wine and broth, and deglaze the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the pan bottom. Return the chicken to the pan and add the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook turning the pieces occasionally, until the chicken is opaque throughout and the juices run clear, about 20 minutes for the breasts and 30 minutes for the thighs and drumsticks.

About 10 minutes before the chicken is done, drain the artichokes and add to the pan. Transfer the chicken pieces to a plate as they are done, then just before the remaining chicken is done, return the cooked pieces to the pan to warm briefly.

Transfer the contents of the pan to a warmed serving platter and garnish with the parsley. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Series, Casual Entertaining, by Joyce Goldstein (Time-Life Books, 1998).


*** My Changes--> I used only chicken breasts, the original recipe calls for drumsticks & thighs. Since chicken breasts have less fat, you will need to add some more olive oil to the pan to saute the garlic & shallots.
If I don't have fresh herbs, I just used dried.
If I don't have wine, I just use more chicken broth. Sometimes I use marsala in place of the white wine.
Sometimes I add tomatoes, other times I don't. Other good additions are mushrooms, black olives & toasted pine nuts.
I usually serve this over whole-wheat pasta and top it off with some grated parmesan cheese.

--> Pictures are not working right now so I will add them later