Bourbon Pecan Tart

I swear Cooking Light is the best thing ever!! Why would you make a full fat dessert when you have an even more delicious one with a Cooking Light recipe?? the hubs boss was selling pecans for some fundraiser, so we picked up 2 bags & I wanted to make a pie or something. I had never made pecan pie so this was going to be an experiment.

Bourbon Pecan Tart with Chocolate Drizzle
Ingredients
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
2/3 cup pecan halves
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pilsbury)
Cooking spray
1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 10 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in pecans. Roll dough into a 13-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray. Trim excess crust using a sharp knife. Spoon sugar mixture into prepared crust. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Drizzle chocolate over tart.

Yield
12 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 277(32% from fat); FAT 10g (sat 2.7g,mono 3g,poly 1.5g); PROTEIN 2.4g; CHOLESTEROL 39mg; CALCIUM 32mg; SODIUM 156mg; FIBER 0.7g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45.2g

My husband was so excited to try this that I didn't even get a chance to drizzle the chocolate over the top. It was so good and I no longer fear the pecan pie!

Drewie + Nemmie=YUMMY

My two friends, Drewie & Nemmie created dinner for us tonight. I said "This is good" Hubs said "Don't use the g word, its yummalicious" then proceeded to tell me this was the best rabbit food he had ever had. So, what did we have??

Drewie's Gorgonzola Chicken Alfredo & Nemmie's Chopped Salad(with some adjustments)

Nemmie's Chopped Salad

I won't post the recipe, but the salad dressing was amazing, I will use it again for sure. I omitted the pasta & chicken, since we were already having that in the main dish. And I didn't add green onions b/c we don't like raw onions.

Drewie's Gorgonzola Chicken Alfredo

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts2 cups cooked penne pasta

1 pkg sliced baby bella mushrooms

1 jar Alfredo sauce (or you make your own)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp Gorgonzola cheese crumbles

1 Tbsp butter

Cook the pasta according to directions.
Preheat oven to 350F.

Season the chicken with some S&P, saute in olive oil until done, then cut into strips. I cut into strips first then sauteed them. Remove from pan.

Saute mushrooms in the same pan you cooked the chicken in, until deep brown color. Remove mushrooms from pan.

Melt butter in the pan & add garlic. Cook until tender.

Add Alfredo sauce to the butter & garlic, add Gorgonzola cheese and stir until the cheese is completely melted.

Stir everything together & pour into casserole dish.

Bake for 20 mins.

On a side note, I can not wait to get my photobox so my pictures don't look yellow! Eating in the midwest any time after 5pm means no natural light, so my pictures are looking yellow :-(

Cheese & Sausage Strata

My husband & I really like warm breakfast, cereal won't do in our house. It causes a few issues though, either we eat out for breakfast because their isn't enough time to make something, or I get up extra early and, well, that makes for a bad day for me. Normally, I try to cook some kind of breakfast bake on the weekend so the Hubs & I have something for the week to take to work, but not being home on the weekends, I had to make time last night. Well actually, last night & Tuesday night.

This is a recipe from my awesome aunt Kathy. She made this a few years ago at our holiday family get-together brunch, so I snagged the recipe. You need to plan in advance for this, as the strata has to sit overnight in the fridge.

Cheese & Sausage Strata
For a 6x9 Pyrex dish
10 oz sharp cheddar cheese grated
6 slices white bread cubed
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp dry mustard
Scant ¼ cup melted butter (melt it)
1 package of breakfast sausage

Dry bread crumbs in 250 oven. In a skillet, cook the sausage thoroughly. Make sure to drain off the fat or your strata will come out greasy. Grease casserole dish. Place bread, cheese & sausage in 2 layers of each. Beat eggs, add milk, salt and mustard and pour over the layers. Pour melted butter over all. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 oven for 1 hour or until fully cooked.
When this cooled I separated it into individual portions so the hubs & I could just pick one up on the way out the door. This morning, it was wonderful after heating in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

Ode to Chicken

You will see a theme this week with my cooking. Its my "ode to chicken" I was looking through my "fall recipes to try" document & had a ton of chicken recipes. Knowing that we had eaten poorly the past two weeks & we are not working out, chicken is probably the best option for dinner to keep us for ballooning out.

Chicken with Goat Cheese Sauce & Roasted Fall Veggies

Chicken with Goat Cheese Sauce

Cooking Light

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
4 thyme sprigs
1/4 cup (2 ounces) soft (log-style) goat cheese
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Preparation
Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. (I didn't pound them out this time since I had just done that last night, cooking took a bit longer, but to keep them moist I added a little white wine to the pan)

Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until mixture is reduced to 1 tablespoon (about 1 minute). Add broth and thyme sprigs; cook until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat; discard thyme sprigs.

Add cheese to pan; stir with a whisk until smooth. Serve sauce over chicken; sprinkle with thyme leaves.

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about 3 tablespoons sauce)

Roasted Fall Vegetables
Found on Good Things Catered, originally from Williams-Sonoma
Deep Roasted Fall Vegetables
Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:
1 lb. small white onions, each about 1 1/4 inches in diameter
3 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1-inch slices (about 1 cup)
4 cups broccoli florets (from 1 large bunch) I omitted these & used zucchini
1 lb. yellow summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh marjoram
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
I also added about 3 potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces

Directions:
-To peel the onions, bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat.
-Trim off the top and root ends and make a small X in the root end. Drop onions into the boiling water.
-When it returns to a boil, drain the onions, plunge them into cold water and drain again.
-Slip off the skins.
-Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 500°F.
-Coat the bottom of a heavy 18-by-13-inch roasting pan with the olive oil.
-Add the onions and shake the pan to coat them with the oil.
-Roast for 7 minutes.
–Shake the pan to turn the onions over, then move them to the center of the pan.
-Surround the onions with the carrots, broccoli and squash and roast for 15 minutes more.
-Turn the vegetables over and roast until browned and tender, about 7 minutes more.
-Add the marjoram and roast for 3 minutes more.
-Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Another dinner success. The goat cheese sauce was awesome, it had such a creamy smooth texture and the thyme paired very well with it. I did use more than the recipe calls for b/c I wanted it to be extra creamy.

Finally back in the kitchen!!!

And I couldnt be happier! The Hubs & I have been traveling for the past few weeks, so it didnt make sense go to the grocery store, but finally we are back for the remainder of the year, so let the cooking begin!!

Chicken in a Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
From CookingLight
Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar **I added about 1 Tsp for an extra kick

Preparation
Drain sun-dried tomatoes in a sieve over a bowl, reserving oil. Set aside 1 1/2 tablespoons reserved oil to cook chicken. Finely chop 1/4 cup tomatoes; set aside for sauce. Place remaining oil and tomatoes in sun-dried tomato jar; reserve for another use.
Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons reserved oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1/8 teaspoon salt, broth, oregano, and vinegar; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Serve sauce over chicken.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Also on the menu, risotto. I was going to make red-wine risotto, but since I had never attempted the risotto before, I decided to stick with the standard. Now, I wasn't ever intimidated by risotto, I just don't normally have the time to make it. I am a multi-tasker in the kitchen and my main dish (the meat) gets most of my attention when I cook. But, since I had been out of the kitchen for so long, it was so relaxing to stir the risotto for 45 minutes.


Red-Wine Risotto
From Giada
3 1/2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup arborio rice, or medium-grain white rice
1/2 cup dry red wine **I used white wine
1/3 cup frozen peas, defrosted, optional
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus additional for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring the broth to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover the broth and keep it warm over very low heat.
Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the rice and cook for about 2 minutes until the rice is toasted. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of hot broth; simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Repeat, adding 3/4 cup of hot broth 2 more times, stirring often, about 12 minutes longer. (At this point, the risotto can be made 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate the risotto (the rice will still be firm) and remaining broth, uncovered, until cool, then cover and keep them refrigerated until ready to proceed. )

Bring the remaining broth to a simmer, then cover and keep it warm over very low heat. Stir 3/4 cup of hot broth into the partially cooked risotto over medium heat until the broth is absorbed and the risotto is hot, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining broth and simmer until the rice is just tender and the mixture is creamy, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the peas and parsley. Add the 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Spoon the risotto into bowls. Sprinkle additional cheese over and serve.

This was a great welcome home, healthy dinner for the two of us who have been eating out for the past two weeks.

Roll Tide Roll

The hubs & I made a weekend trip to Birmingham this past weekend to visit friends we met on our honeymoon. Talk about a great time!! So before I get into the details of said trip, thanks for having us, even though I am a klutz :-)

Since we were visiting from the BBQ mecca of the US, we brought down some rubs & BBQ sauce from various KC Local places: Arthur Bryants, Oklahoma Joe's, Jack Stack & a few other places. This seemed quite appropriate seeing as my husband is a "Certified BBQ Judge" .

Saturday we hit up the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, football game & even though we were probably the bad luck charm (Losing to La. Monroe???) we enjoyed the game thoroughly. Hubs & I were in absolute awe at how large the stadium is. To give you an idea, Arrowhead seats about 80,000, this stadium sat about 93,000!!

Before leaving Tuscaloosa, our friends took us to Dreamland BBQ "Ain't nothing Like 'em Nowhere!" Hubs gave the ribs a 7 out of 9 for appearance, 9 out of 9 for texture 7 out of 9 for taste. Not too bad if I do say so!

Another local favorite we sampled, Milo's. They put some kind of sauce on the burger, almost like a spicy BBQ sauce. And you can't visit the south without having sweet tea.

And while I didn't take any pictures, Stefan made some great steaks for us on Sunday night.

So thanks again friends!! We can't wait for you to come up to KC.

Using up the produce

I had zucchini & some fresh tomatoes at home that I didn't want to go to waste while we were out of town. It was our last batch of garden fresh tomatoes & it would have been sad to toss them in the garden. I wanted to make something where the leftovers could be frozen since we are headed out for a few days. So I sliced up the zucchini, tomatoes & made a risotto-type of meal.

Heat about 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add minced garlic, I used 2 cloves. Next add the sliced zucchini, I used 2. Saute until tender. In the mean time, cook about 4 servings of rice. I used brown rice, but you can use whatever.
When the zucchini are soft, add the tomatoes. Next add the rice, about 1 cup of chicken broth & some shredded parmesan cheese. Cook over low heat until creamy.

Mine turned out a little watery, i think b/c I didnt seed the tomatoes before I put them in. All in a good vegetarian dish!