taste of tuesday: what's been cookin'

here are a few of my new favorite recipes that have been making repeat appearances at our dinner table 3 ingredient pulled pork sandwiches

so easy and simple. great for a hot summer day when you don't want to warm your kitchen by slaving over the stove. and who'd a thunk: rootbeer!?! don't forget the slaw.

(almost as good as my chipotle pulled pork sandwiches)

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mascarpone creme & fresh berries

need i say more? when looking for something to do with all that fruit you just bought at Costco, try this. easy. fresh. light.

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chicken cordon blue

found this recipe while blog stalking a blog stalker of mine (cookinlicious, reveal yourself. you've got some great recipes)

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stuffed shells with spinach-ricotta filling

a great way to incorporate spinach without your kids throwing a fit. i halved the recipe and was plenty for our family of 4. next time I'll use my grandpa's spaghetti sauce recipe instead of the stuff in a jar.

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potato chip cookies

what to do with the small, broken pieces of chips? make cookies. that's right...potato chips are an ingredient in these cookies...and they are fantastic. if you like pecan sandies, you'll love these.

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(image via cooking light)

peach and gorgonzola pizza with chicken

a quick and easy alternative to your go-to pizza recipe. you'll even feel a little bit healthier when you eat this. make it even easier by using pre-made pizza crust (suggested: boboli thin crust). peaches aren't quite ripe enough so I substituted red pears. delish. and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on anything wins me over every time.

* * * * * (image via pioneer woman)

best frosting...ever!

this recipe seems like a lot of work and includes flour, but it is seriously the best, lightest and relatively easy frosting to make. you'll never use another frosting again.

get cookin!

taste of tuesday: spaghetti pie

Growing up, I spent my summer vacations visiting my grandparents in MN and ND. I have many fond memories: days spent swimming and sunbathing at the lake...playing pool with my cousins in grandma's basement...horseback riding...sharing the hallway bunk with my sister...eating Cheerios and watching the hummingbirds feed outside the kitchen window...sleeping on the porch of the cabin with my grandpa. I particularly remember one summer Grandma Betty made Spaghetti Pie. I tho't it was so fun to eat my spaghetti in pie form. Finally got around to making it and, although this is not her recipe, it is pretty close and just as tasty as I remember it. It was even better the second day. Use your own homemade spaghetti sauce or the one listed below. Either way, you'll have them coming back for more.Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces spaghetti
• ¾ pound Italian sausage or ground beef
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• Small onion, diced
• ½ green pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 and 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 and ½ cup ricotta cheese

Directions:
1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat cook ground beef. Drain off the grease.

2. Push the meat to the sides of the pan leaving space in the center. Add the oil, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for about five minutes then add in tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Let simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. In a large bowl mix spaghetti with butter, 1/3 cup Parmesan, and eggs. Put the spaghetti mixture in a greased pie dish. Push the spaghetti up the sides of the pan and evenly over the bottom ‘forming’ the crust. Spread ricotta over spaghetti crust and then sprinkle on the mozzarella. Top with meat mixture and the remaining cup of Parmesan. Bake in 375° oven for 20 minutes.

taste of tuesday: pesto chicken

our week is crazy and family dinners aren't going to happen. I really wanted to have an all green menu for St. Patrick's Day so we had it on Sunday. I wanted foods that were naturally green and did not include a lot of food coloring. an no corned beef or soda bread. I found this great chicken recipe over at your homebased mom. it was SO easy and I loved how moist my chicken was. worthy of a repeat.Pesto Chicken
(South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook via your homebased mom)
Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 C pesto (jar or homemade)
• 2 oz. shredded part skim mozzarella cheese (1/2 C)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Spread 1/4 cup of the pesto in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Lay chicken breasts over pesto and spread remaining pesto on top of chicken.

2. Cover baking dish with foil and bake chicken until cooked through – 20-25 minutes. Uncover and top with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, 5 more minutes. Serve hot. (spoon the pesto from the bottom of the pan over the top of the chicken before serving.)

To round out my all green menu I served it with:

• couscous with green peas
• roasted asparagus (learned that Jack is fan of the "tall trees")
• green salad
• lime jell-o jigglers
• rainbow cupcakes

Other 'green' menu items:

• CPK's Chicken Tequila Fettuccine
• Cilantro-Lime Pesto
• Garlic Balsamic Asparagus
• Mint Brownies

taste of tuesday: pumpkin alfredo

my recipe box has increased since finding this website. everything I have tried from here has been amazing! so, when I saw the words pumpkin and alfredo in the same recipe, I knew it was going to be good b/c Our Best Bites hasn't lead me astray yet. surprisingly, this was really good and I loved the recipe for homemade alfredo sauce. I am not a fan of alfredo, but this one was light and so easy to make.

Pasta with Pumpkin Alfredo

(Our Best Bites)

Ingredients:

• 1 Package Fresh Pasta
• 1/2 batch Guiltless Alfredo Sauce (or 10oz prepared Alfredo)
• 1/2 T real butter
• 1/4 C finely minced onion
• 1/2 C canned pumpkin (try more if you love pumpkin, this is really mild)
• 2 T Chicken broth (vegetarians substitute milk or veg. broth)
• 1T chopped fresh sage (1t dried leaves)
• 1/2 T fresh thyme (1/2 t dried leaves)

Directions:

1. Follow instructions on pasta to cook. In a separate sauce pan melt butter on medium heat. When melted, add onion. Saute until soft- a couple of minutes.

2. Add chicken broth and herbs. Use a spatula to deglaze the pan a bit and get any cooked bits of onion off the bottom.

3. Add pumpkin and whisk to combine.

4. Add alfredo sauce, stir to combine, and cook until heated through. Depending on the alfredo you use you may need to adjust salt and pepper.

Serve on top of prepared pasta and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

taste of tuesday: hotdish

this is not a fancy dish that looks pretty, has exotic ingredients or requires special cooking instructions. just like my Midwestern grandma from which this recipe stems, it is comfort food-simple, yet flavorful. I don't know if hotdish is a Midwest thing, a Scandinavian thing, a Minnesotan thing, or my grandma Betty's thing. what you call a casserole, I call hotdish (aka: poor man's dish). I usually don't like recipes that call for cream of anything, but in this recipe, I love it. and bonus-it is Jack's favorite meal. he will eat left overs for days. I made it for dinner last week and Jack could not wait for it to cook. it always receives a thumbs up from my boys. it is so easy and I always have the ingredients on hand. this recipe is perfect for that extra frozen hamburger you have sitting in your freezer. there are no real measurements which allows for pretty much anything. serve with steamed green beans and a green salad and you've got an easy go-to meal for those busy nights.

Grandma Betty's Hotdish

Ingredients:

• 1/2-1 lb hamburger, browned and drained
• 1 bag of elbow macaroni, cooked (can use what ever pasta you have on hand)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2-1 can milk (depending on how "wet" you want your hotdish)
• 4-5 large spoonfuls of sour cream
• cheese-lots of cheese, shredded or cubed
• S&P to season
• optional fillers: frozen peas

Directions:

combine all ingredients in a large casserole dish and cook @ 350* for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

taste of tuesday: turkey joe's with spicy mac & cheese

for an easy, summertime meal, try emily's sloppy turkey joe's and PW's spicy mac & cheese. a winning combination. bon appetit!

taste of tuesday: cilantro lime pesto pasta

what's not to love about this pasta dish? cilantro. lime. sun-dried tomatoes. 3 of my favorite ingredients. I love homemade pesto. I found it here. It is actually from the restaurant Guru's in Provo. We lived a block from there while @ BYU but I think we only went there once.

Cilantro Lime Pesto Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (do not include stems. I doubled this since I love cilantro)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sliced, toasted almonds
• 3 tablespoons chopped, fresh garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice (I doubled this)
• 1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (add this last-the cheese has a lot of salt already. I only used 1/2 tsp)
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 pkg of linguine pasta, cooked al dente (I used spaghetti noodles)
• 2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
• 1 cup sun-dried tomato, sliced julienned
• lime wedges for garnish

Directions:

1. Using a food processor or blender, mix together the cilantro, olive oil, almonds, garlic, lime juice, 1/2 cup asiago, salt and chicken broth on low speed for 2 minutes. Set aside.

2. combine pasta, cooked chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and sauce (you don't need a lot. I used 2 spoonfuls for a serving for 2 and stored the rest in fridge for a later time). Pour into serving bowls. Top with an additional asiago cheese and lime wedge for garnish.

taste of tuesday: CPK's chicken tequila fettuccine

This pasta dish is one of my family's all time favorites. Although I live within 10 minutes of a CPK, I tend to make this more often than I visit the restaurant. Once again, it is from my friend Brit. When we were working together as servers at Red Robin AGES ago in the "good 'ol Prov", she used to make amazing food and bring it in for us to try, this being one of the dishes. Sometimes, after working a double shift on Saturday (which was pretty much every Saturday), she'd whip up the most delicious Bananas Flambe with vanilla ice cream to get us through closing. Good times.

This recipe seems like a lot of work, but is pretty easy and makes a big batch. Always have enough for leftovers for Aaron's lunches.

(image courtesy of flickr)

CPK's Chicken Tequila Fettuccine

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dry spinach fettuccine
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cloves minced fresh garlic
• 1-2 jalapenos, minced (remove seeds and veins for less heat if desired)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp gold tequila (I don't use this-can't stand the smell, so I just add 2 more tbsp of lime juice)
• 4 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice (I've also used bottled and it tastes just fine)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 1/2 pound chicken breast, diced
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
• lime wedges, Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes for garnish

Directions:
1. In large saucepan, cook cilantro, garlic and jalapeno in 2 tbsp butter over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until wilted. In a second pot, boil water for spinach fettuccine.

2. In a saute pan, begin sauteing the peppers and onion in 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat until soft.

3. To large saucepan with cilantro/jalapenos/garlic, add stock, tequila and lime juice. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until reduced to a paste like consistency; set aside.

4. Pour soy sauce over diced chicken; set aside for 5 minutes. Add to saucepan, along with cream and bring to a boil. Cook until chicken is no longer pink and sauce is thick (about 5 minutes). Add sauteed veggies to sauce mixture and toss with cooked spinach fettuccine. Serve with lime wedge and Parmesan cheese.

taste of tuesday: tortellini salad

and yet one more to make your mouth water. I am trying to organize my cookbook and have been transferring all of my recipes onto the computer to be compiled into a book. as of now, they are scratched on pieces of scrap paper and it is a mess. the book wouldn't be complete without this recipe I got here. it is one of our favorites. pairs nicely with grilled asparagus.
Tortellini Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 package (fresh) cheese tortellini
• Cooked 2 chicken breasts grilled and diced
• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
• 2 cups (packed) torn spinach (I leave this out)
• 1 small bottle sun dried tomatoes, drained
• 6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• dressing (recipe follows)
  
  Dressing
  2 cloves garlic, minced
  1 tsp. Oregano
  1 Tbs tomato paste
  6 Tbs balsamic vinaigrette
  1/2 cup olive oil
  salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

mix all ingredients together and pour dressing over salad. garnish with Parmesan.

taste of tuesday: lemon pasta with chicken

The past few posts have been all about high-calorie, sugary treats, so I tho't I'd share one of my favorite healthy pasta recipes. There are times when I haven't gone to the store for a few days and we are running on a carton of milk, cold cereal, and cheese quesadillas. Last week, I had my fill of cold cereal and was in need of something quick to make for dinner. I fell in love with this recipe: one b/c it contains lemons, and two: b/c it is simple in both ingredients and construction. And I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen. I loved it. My boys loved.

image courtesy of Food Network

Lemon Pasta with Chicken

(Down Home with the Neely's)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried penne (could substitute whole grain pasta)
• 6-8 chicken tenders, sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain well.

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan over medium high and add chicken. Grill until golden and completely cooked. Remove to a plate.

3. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to a saute pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute until fragrant. Add the cooked pasta and turn heat off. Mix all together.

4. Remove pasta to a large bowl. Add chicken to the warm pasta and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in chopped parsley. Add the juice of 2 lemons and mix. Before serving top with Parmesan.

Serve with steamed broccoli and you have a healthy, delicious meal that is easy to make.

taste of tuesday: turkey sausage spaghetti w/peppers

so this recipe isn't some fancy Thanksgiving dish (b/c as we know, I don't cook a Thanksgiving meal), but it does have turkey sausage, so that counts, right? This was one of my favorites growing up (and as of late since I have had a craving for meat). It's really easy and sure to please everyone.
Turkey Sausage Spaghetti w/Peppers

Ingredients:
2 green peppers, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped (optional)
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 link of Turkey sausage, sliced
cooked spaghetti
olive oil
S&P
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. saute peppers, onion and garlic in olive oil. season with S&P and Italian seasoning to desired taste. Cook until peppers are tender.

2. Add turkey slices and cook until warmed through.

3. Toss cooked spaghetti, peppers and sausage. Add additional seasonings as desired and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

We had this on Sunday night and not only was it a hit with Aaron, but Jack loved the "hot dogs". And this is a kid who doesn't like hot dogs. Finish the meal with elephant ears for dessert (thanks Shanelle).

Beaker's Spaghetti Sauce

There are a few things I like to cook and can cook well, one of them being my Grandpa Mac's spaghetti sauce (where he got the name Beaker, I don't exactly know. my mom will have to fill us in on that one). My grandpa and grandma lived in Italy for a time after my grandpa's service in WWII. There, he created his now famous spaghetti sauce. It is the only spaghetti sauce I will eat.

Disclaimer: when I cook, I don't use specific measurements. I go by taste, so some of my recipes aren't exact.

Beaker's Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. hamburger
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1-2 green peppers, diced
• 1-2 cloves of garlic (chopped)--**I use the already minced garlic you can find in the produce section--time saver
• 1-1 1/2 pds mushrooms, sliced
• 1 pkg mild or hot (your preference) Italian Sausage (about 5-6 links)
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 large can diced tomatoes (garlic and oregano seasoned)
• 1 can tomato sauce
• olive oil*
• butter* (can omit for heart friendly--my grandpa loves a lot of butter)
• salt*
• pepper*
• 3-4 bay leaves*
• Italian seasoning*
• Parmesan cheese
• spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained

*use all the above spices/oils to taste

Directions

1. Brown hamburger. Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Drain and transfer to large pot.

2. In same saute pan, saute onions, green peppers and garlic in olive oil--add as much garlic as you desire--I really like a lot of garlic. Season with salt/pepper, and Italian Seasoning. Saute until tender/clear onions. Transfer to large pot with hamburger.

3. In same saute pan, add 2 tbsp butter and saute mushrooms with salt/pepper/garlic as desired, until tender. Add to large pot with other ingredients.

4. Remove skin of Italian Sausage and cut into 5-6 pieces and roll into balls. Brown in olive oil and of course, more garlic/salt/pepper if desired.

5. While meatballs are cooking, add to large pot: can of beef broth, can of diced tomatoes. At this point I also add some of the tomato sauce (about a can) to add a little more flavor/volume. Just eyeball it--more for runny sauce, less for a chunky sauce. Add 3-4 bay leaves (don't forget to remove later). Simmer.

6. Add meatballs to large pot when cooked and simmer sauce as long as you like--thicker or thinner sauce. You can also add some butter at this time to add flavor. Season with salt/pepper/Italian Seasoning/Garlic as desired.

Serve with crusty bread and a green salad.

It freezes really well and can be used later to make lasagna, baked ravioli, etc.

Beaker himself. Isn't he cute?

pesto.

I love my grandma Betty's homemade pesto. Reminds me of summertime at her cabin on the lake in MN. I've had her recipe sitting in my recipe box for over 2 years. I finally whipped up a batch this weekend. For dinner last night, we had chicken pesto sandwiches on grilled sourdough bread, with sun-dried tomatoes and provolone on the patio. Went great with this pasta salad and fresh cantaloupe. (pasta, white bread, cheese...yum! that was my one day to cheat for the week...down 12 lbs!)
I froze half the batch to make pesto chicken tortellini with artichoke hearts, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes at a later time. I love meals I can make ahead and roll over into multiple dishes. there are so many possibilities with this recipe.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups fresh basil leaves
3 tbs. pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 Romano cheese, grated
2/3 c. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
half tsp salt (optional, but the cheese already has a lot of salt, so taste before adding)
dash of pepper

Directions:
Wash and drain basil. Remove stems
(Optional : toast the pine nuts in skillet)
Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Freeze or refrigerate until ready to use.