Chicken Broccoli Casserole

I am getting more and more excited about the Truck Festival this weekend! It's going to be a girl's day. Those are the best kind of days. All of the guys are busy doing "Guy Thing" it just means we will not be rushed. We actually will get to take our time and mosey around and take all the sights in. If the guys were there and were bored then they tend to suck all of the fun out of it. I also hope Tyler Florence is going to sign autographs. That would cool to not only  meet him but to also have a memento of the event.

How is your week going so far? Anything exciting happening this weekend for you?
I at least hope it is relaxing. It's always good to take some time for yourself.

I have been cooking up a storm lately. Some dishes are just everyday dishes not worth sharing but some are definitely note worthy. I am really enjoying my new cookbooks and also the time I have been spending in the kitchen. I just wish there were someone on dish duty besides myself. Oh well! You can't have it all.  There other day I was looking to make something hearty but easy. So I took a page from Trisha Yearwood's cookbook Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen and made a casserole. It was just what I was looking for but I changed it just a bit. I enjoyed it but it definitely it's not an everyday dish just once and a while. Too rich for everyday eating.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Trisha Yearwood (minor changes by me)

Ingredients

2 c of cooked rice
3 c of broccoli
1 onion diced
1 c sour cream
1/2 c of mayo
( I used a can of crm of celery instead of mayo and sour crm)
1/2 c chicken broth
1 10oz can of crm of chicken soup
10 0z of cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 chicken breasts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 13 x 2 in baking dish with nonstick spray. Saute chicken, onion,and broccoli in a pan together.

 When the chicken is no longer pink add the cans of cream soup, chicken broth and rice and mix together.

 Next put mixture in a baking dish and top with cheese.

I seem to have lost my pictures but I am sure you can imagine what it would look like.

Bake for 40 minutes and enjoy!
I hope you are having a great day!

Pork Chops alla Pizzaiola

Hello Everyone!
How has your week been going? Mine is good so far. Today is the hubby's birthday. He's another year older but he's still the same guy I married. Just a little wiser. lol :-) I made him dinner, a birthday cake and gave him kisses. His present will come later this week. I hope he likes it.

Other exciting news. There is a Food Truck Festival this weekend. I can't wait to go! Tyler Florence is going to be there and I am debating about whether or not to bring one of his cookbooks so I can get his autograph. I think I might just in case he is signing autographs I don't want to be unprepared. I think it would be awesome to meet him and have a memento from the day. Don't worry. I will post pictures and tell you my top three favorite trucks and dishes.

On to the fun stuff. What have I cooked lately? I can say I have made a few things I want to share with you guys. One of the dishes I prepared this week is called Pork Chops Alla Pizzaiola. It is a recipe from Giada's Family Dinners Cookbook. I received this book for Christmas and have found quite a few recipes that I cannot wait to try. This was first on the list and I am really glad I made it. This was delicious and a different way to prepare pork chops. I think the sauce makes the dish. The best part, it was very easy to make and it livened up a week night dinner. That is always a good thing. I will be making this dish again in the future. You should give this a try. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Pork Chops Alla Pizzaiola
Giada de Laurentiis

Ingredients
3 T Olive oil
4 Bone in Center Cut Pork Loin Chops
salt and ground pepper
1 Large onion thinly sauce
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp herbes de provence
1/2 tsp crushed dried red pepper flakes
2 T chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Directions
Heat Olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper on pork chops. Cook pork chops until brown and done.

Remove from pan and put on a plate and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and saute until crisp tender, about 5 minutes.

 Add the tomatoes, their juice, herbs de provence, and red pepper flakes. Cover simmer until flavor blends and the juice thickens slightly about 18 minutes.

Season with more salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Return chops to pan as well as any juice that has accumulated and turn chops in sauce.

Heat until warmed through about another minute. Place pork chop on a plate top with the sauce. Serve with your favorite side dishes. Enjoy!

Simple yet delicious. Just how I like things. Hope you are having a great day!

Raw Zucchini Salad

Happy New Year All!

I know I have been decidedly absent these last few weeks but I'm back! It's a new year and I hope it will be a great one. Let's see. What's going on in my life? Not much really. I received new cook books for Christmas and am itching to try them out. I also have my eye on some new baking equipment. I made a couple of not resolutions but more like goals for myself.

Goals for 2012

1) Pay off some credit card debt
2) Become a better baker and cook
3) Take a couple of cooking classes
4) Read 200 books
5) Get in SHAPE
6) Go to a ballet
7) Go to a Sun's Game
8) Post at least twice a week
9) Get a new job
10) Go to at least 2 museums
11) Learn something new
12) Buy myself something extravagant just because
13) Go on a vacation
14) Go to a really nice restaurant (No chains)
15) Get more organized
16) Spend more time with my family
17) Finish my business associates
18) Throw a dinner party
19) Go some place I have never been
20) Save a good chunk of money for emergencies

These are my goals for this new year. I want to complete each of them. I know the cooking and baking is a work in progress but I at least want to improve my skills.

Enough about that. On to the good stuff. New recipes.
One of the new cookbooks I received for Christmas is called Ruhlman's Twenty. 20 Techniques, 100 recipes A Cook's Manifesto
I have just started reading this book and so far I have found it to be very informative. I like how the author explains the techniques and tells what will work and what won't and why. He has the book broken down into chapters which are techniques. Chapter 1 is thinking. Chapter 2 is all about Salt. Why you need it and how to use it. It is important to salt as you cook and not wait until the end to add it. In this chapter there are a couple of recipes to try. The 1st recipe is how to use salt to macerate veggies and change not only the texture but the taste of the vegetables. I tried it and let's just say...YUM! I definitely will make it again. I think it would make a great side for a picnic or for a BBQ. No more boring pasta salad!

You should give it a try.The texture of the zucchini changes because of the salt drawing the liquid out of it and it becomes something more. Something delicious:)

Raw Zucchini Salad

Ingredients

2 zucchini - 1 green and 1 yellow, cut on the bias into slices or julienned
kosher salt
1 T minced shallot
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
freshly ground pepper
1/4 c of almonds or walnuts rough cut (optional)
1/4 c fresh herbs

Directions

Put zucchini in colander and sprinkle evenly with 1 tsp of salt. Sprinkle with another tsp of salt and toss. Let stand for 10 - 20 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the shallot, garlic, and lemon juice. Shake off the moisture and taste. If too salty rinse and pat dry. In medium bowl toss the zucchini with olive oil. Spoon the lemon shallot mixture over and toss some more. Season with pepper and more salt and lemon juice if needed. Garnish with herbs and nuts if using.

Enjoy!
I hope you are having a great year so far:)

Butterfingers Cupcakes

Happy Wednesday Everyone!
I finally had the day off and to myself and enjoyed every minute of it. I wish I would have slept a little bit longer this morning because it felt like I was in a dream state all day. I was groggy and not quite with it. Oh, well. At least I was home all day.

I hope you have had a great week. I can't believe it is already November. Seems like yesterday it was January. I guess time flies when you get old. Anyway. Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I can't wait for turkey and cranberry sauce. Yum!!! I also get to go home and see my family. That is an extra bonus. I am so happy about going home to Georgia.

As I mentioned earlier, I was able to stay home today and not do much of anything. I am considering this my recovery time from working so much lately. I am trying to get all the bills paid before we go on vacation so we can actually enjoy ourselves. I have been working a lot of extra hours. I did, however, get some time to play in the kitchen today. Yay! I am really trying to improve on my baking skills. One day my dream is to open my own bakery. One day.... Back to today. I came across another blogger's recipe for Butterfingers Cupcakes and thought to myself, I love cupcakes and Butterfingers, what a genius idea to combine the two. I found this recipe on the website So I did just that. Can I say ....yum! I found this recipe on Steph's Bite by Bite Blog. I am so happy I did. They are delicious. I made a few minor changes to the recipe but otherwise it is generally the same.

Butterfingers Cupcakes
adapted from Steph's Bite by Bite

Ingredients
2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 c cream soda
3 snack sized Butterfingers bars crumbled up

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
ingredients

4 oz cream cheese
4 oz butter at room temperature
2 c powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 T caramel sauce
3 snack sized Butterfingers bars crumbled

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake liners and set aside. In a bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. In stand mixer use the paddle attachment and beat butter for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add both sugars and mix for another 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Scrape down the bowl. Next add 1/3 of the buttermilk, then 1/3 of cream soda, followed by 1/3 of flour. Make sure to mix each ingredient thoroughly. Repeat until all ingredients have been used. Next add the Butterfingers crumbles.

Evenly divide the batter among the cupcake liners. (I got about 18 cupcakes)

 Bake in the oven for about 15-17 minutes. (Mine took 17 minutes.) Pull out oven and let cook on rack.

For the frosting
Whip the cream cheese until fluffy. About 2 minutes and then add butter and whip that as well. Next add the vanilla and mix until combined. Add the caramel sauce and mix thoroughly. Add the sugar gradually and mix until combined. You may need to add a little more to make the icing a little thicker. Mine was a little runny. Frost the tops of the cupcakes and Enjoy!!!

I hope you give these a try.
I hope you have a great week!!!:)

Chicken Noodle Soup

Hello All!
Wasn't it a wonderful Wednesday? I just found out one of my good friend's is having a boy:) She and her hubby are excited but her daughter.. not so much. Lol! I am sure she will  get over it once she realizes she will have someone to boss around. Hee hee! Any hoo, I am very happy for them.

I have been spending a lot more time in the kitchen lately and because of it I have been much more relaxed. That's always a good thing. I have decided for my birthday and Christmas I want many new cookbooks and baking pans for the kitchen. Until I get some new books I have been surfing the web, watching cooking shows and looking at my fellow blogger's website. I have been trying many new recipes that have been bookmarked for a long time. I will share some with you later but today I want to share my homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Since it finally is starting to cool off, I have been in the mood for soup. I thought to start soup season I would make a classic. I like to use a whole chicken and boil it in chicken stock along with some vegetables. To top it off I use egg noodles. The final product is very comforting and like mom used to make. This soup is perfect for someone who is feeling ill or just want something filling and warm. I hope you give it a try.

Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients

1 whole chicken 4-5lbs
3 carrots diced
3 celery diced
1 onion diced 2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves minced
3 T olive oil
48 oz of chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp celery salt
salt and pepper to taste
enough water to cover chicken
1 8oz bag of egg noodles

Directions
Warm stock pot  with olive oil over medium high heat. When oil is hot add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.

 In the meantime clean the chicken and its cavity. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top the vegetables with the whole chicken and add the bay leaves.

Cover the whole chicken with the broth and top of with water until the chicken is covered. Boil on med heat for 1 hour. After the hour pull the chicken out and let cool. In the meantime cook the noodles in the chicken broth according to directions. Shred the chicken and add back to the pot. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

I hope you give this recipe a try. I enjoyed it. Now I am relaxing and waiting for my favorite show to start. American Horror Story here I come.