Tortellini Not-For-Real-Carbonara

I am not exactly sure why this recipe is called Tortellini Carbonara.  I was pretty sure that pasta carbonara is made with eggs, so I looked it up.  The ever so trusty Wikipedia told me that the classic pasta carbonara is based on eggs, cheese, bacon, and black pepper.  There are no eggs in this recipe.  Additionally, the recipe does not call for black pepper.  I am baffled.  

Regardless, this is one of my favorite pasta recipes.  It is rich and heavy and comforting...everything that a pasta should be!

Tortellini Carbonara

Ingredients:

8 bacon strips, diced

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini

Directions:

1.  In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.  Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels; drain and discard grease.

2.  Return bacon to saucepan; add the cream, parsley, and cheese.  Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until heated through.

3.  Meanwhile, prepare tortellini according to package directions; drain and transfer to a serving bowl.  Drizzle cheese sauce over tortellini and toss to coat.

Source: Taste of Home Busy Family Cookbook

Glorious Muffins

As I was growing up, my family often ate breakfast for dinner.  We would have muffins whenever we had eggs, but they would be the kind you buy in a little package, add a couple of ingredients, and bake.  They were good, but they weren't GOOD.  They did not compare at all to a coffee shop muffin, for example.  

By the way, I'm convinced that my favorite coffee shop has a secret muffin recipe that they will not share with anybody.  Hence, I need to get a job there and learn their secrets.  

Anyway, I've learned that making muffins from scratch results in much tastier muffins than those you can make from a little package.  These Banana Crumb Muffins are one of my new favorites!  They were moist, fluffy, and super sweet.  They also had a muffin-y shape...they weren't flat on the top like sometimes happens with homemade muffins.  You know what I mean?  Basically, they were perfect.

Banana Crumb Muffins

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.

2.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  In another bowl, beat together bananas, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and oil.  Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just moistened.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

3.  In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Sprinkle topping over muffins.

4.  Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

Source:  Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Whoopie!

Ever heard of whoopie pies?  They are little cake sandwiches, and they are delicious.  They are also adorable.  The traditional whoopie pie is chocolate with a marshmallow creme filling, but there are so many flavor combinations to try.  I had a really difficult time deciding what kind to make for the shin-dig I threw last weekend, but I finally settled on the Blueberry Cheesecake Whoopie Pie from my new whoopie pie book.

I liked them a lot!  They were definitely a summer dessert with the lemon flavor and blueberries.  I would say that I would make them again, but there are way too many other kinds that I want to try first!

Blueberry Cheesecake Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

generous 1-1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

large pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons sour cream

3 tablespoons milk

1/3 cup sweetened dried blueberries

confectioners' sugar, to dust

1 cup full-fat cream cheese

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

generous 1/3 cup sour cream

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2-3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

2.  Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, followed by half of the flour mixture and then the sour cream and milk.  Stir in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Stir in the blueberries.

3.  Pipe or spoon 24 mounds of the batter onto the prepared cookie sheets, spaced well apart to allow for spreading.  Bake in the preheated oven, one sheet at a time, for 10-12 minutes until risen and just firm to the touch.  Cool for 5 minutes and the remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

4.  For the filling, beat together the cream cheese, lemon rind, sour cream and confectioners' sugar until smooth.  

5.  To assemble, spread or pipe the lemon filling on the flat side of half of the cakes.  Top with the rest of the cakes and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.

Source:  Whoopie Pies: 30 Recipes for Treats for Every Occasion

WARNING!

You cannot say I didn't warn you.  This Corn Dip is SO addicting.  You will be tempted to sit down on the couch with a bag of Fritos Scoops and a bowl of this dip and just eat to your heart's content.  Do NOT do it.  You will overdose, and then you won't like the dip as much any more.  And that would be a shame because it's delicious.  

My sister-in-law, Rebekah, brought this dip to our family gathering earlier this month, and everybody was begging for the recipe.  She kindly shared it, and I made it for a party last weekend.  It was my first attempt, and it wasn't quite as good as Rebekah's, but it still got rave reviews by guests.

Corn Dip

Ingredients:

2 cans Mexicorn, drained (I used Green Giant 11 ounce cans...doesn't seem like a lot, but it sure is!)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup mayo

3/4 cup cup sour cream

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (I didn't use the entire bunch because it looked like a lot...I would use them all next time.)

1 bunch cilantro, chopped (I didn't use the entire bunch because cilantro is not my favorite...I liked it better with less cilantro.)

Cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

2.  Enjoy!

Deceivingly Spicy

Sometimes you know when a meal is going to be spicy; sometimes you don't.  This Applesauce BBQ Chicken was a wee bit deceiving.  You don't really expect the sauce to have such a bite with the applesauce and brown sugar in it, but trust me, it's a little spicy.  Not a bad spicy, don't get me wrong.  It's quite delicious if you like your food flavorful!  I've made it twice and enjoyed it both times.

Now, in the picture, there are some oven fries along with the chicken.  I had planned to write about both recipes, but I'm not sure I liked the oven fries enough to do so.  They were good, but I think I can find better potatoes.  I'll keep looking for a good recipe.

Applesauce BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2/3 cup chunky applesauce

2/3 cup spicy BBQ sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

Directions:

1.  Sprinkle chicken with pepper.  in a large skillet, brown chicken in oil on both sides.  

2.  In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over chicken.  

3.  Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Source:  I don't know!  (I found it in my recipe box, which means I copied it down from somewhere.  I didn't write where it came from though.  Oops.)  

No Ordinary Quesadilla

My mom has this amazing quesadilla maker.  Sadly, when I moved out, the quesadilla maker stayed at her house.  That's alright though, a skillet worked just fine for these sweet and savory quesadillas.  I saw Sandra Lee making them on the Food Network one day, and I thought they sounded just strange enough to be delicious.  Of course, I didn't follow her recipe exactly because brie cheese is way too expensive for me.  I like the way they turned out though!

Turkey Apricot Quesadilla

Ingredients:

2 flour tortillas

2 tablespoons apricot preserves

Deli-style smoked turkey breast

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

1.  Spread apricot preserves over one flour tortilla.  Top with turkey and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.  Top with second tortilla.

2.  In a skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray, heat quesadilla for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.  

Source:  Adapted from Sandra Lee, http://www.foodnetwork.com   

Now THAT is a salad!

  Guess who now lives within biking distance of a Panera...that would be me!  I adore Panera.  It's no secret.  This proximity to Panera could be real bad for my budget.  Real bad, I tell you.  

The Strawberry Poppyseed and Chicken Salad at Panera is to die for.  It's a shame it's only available in the summer.  I decided to make my own version of their salad at home.  It was really simple, fresh, and delicious.  Plus, it's beautiful!

Now, I must admit, I did not measure the ingredients when I prepared this salad.  I just threw stuff together until it looked about right.  Make the portions of each the way you want it.

Berry Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

Pecans

Pre-grilled, refrigerated chicken strips

Romaine lettuce

Poppyseed dressing (You can buy it at the grocery store!)

Assorted berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)

Directions:

1.  Toast pecans in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Let cool.  

2.  Warm the chicken strips in the non-stick skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

3.  Meanwhile, fill a bowl with desired amount of lettuce.  Toss with about a tablespoon of poppyseed dressing.  

4.  Tops salad with berries, chicken, and toasted pecans.  Drizzle with another tablespoon of dressing.

  

Summer = Fruit

Summer is definitely my favorite season, and one of the reasons is that fresh fruit is readily available for a decent price.  I love fresh fruit!  This fruit pizza is the perfect summer dessert.  The recipe came from my mom's good friend, Jackie.  As you may recall, the carrot cake recipe that I posted also came from Jackie's kitchen.  She is amazing, I tell you.

Look at those beautiful strawberries...I picked those by hand with my grandparents!

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients:

1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough

8 ounces cream cheese (whipped style works well)

1/3 cup sugar

Assorted fruit of your choice (berries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, pinneaple, grapes, etc.)

Directions:

1.  Press cookie dough into a round pizza pan or double recipe and use a jelly-roll pan.  Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.  Cool completely.

2.  Stir together cream cheese and sugar.  Spread evenly over cookie crust.

3.  Top with assorted fruit.

Source:  Jackie Jacobs