Recent favorite pasta

Alright, I feel like if I'm going to post so infrequently, I owe you some photos with the post.  Here are a few recent ones of what my life looks like these days . . . not a lot of sleep or rest but plenty of smiles and adventures.

This pasta recipe was another Pinterest "win."  I love sun dried tomatoes and I liked that this recipe has chicken as a lean protein to balance out the carbs.  We've been eating lots of the sausage & kale pasta but I wanted something a little different and this hit the spot.

Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes (4 servings)
from Julia's Album

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small jar (3-4 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil (you can use dried if you want)
1 lb chicken breast tenders
salt
1 c. half and half
1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz penne pasta
1 T dried basil (can use fresh - maybe use more)
crushed red pepper flakes

Cooking Note:  If you're using the sun-dried tomatoes in oil (from a jar), drain them before using them and reserve 2 T of the drained oil for sautéing.  If you're using dried sun-dried tomatoes, use 2 T olive oil.

In a large pan on high heat, sauté the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained) in 2 T of oil (see note above) for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.  Remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Add the chicken tenders, salt lightly cook on high heat for 1 minute on each side.  Remove from heat.

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Reserve a cup of the cooked pasta water.  Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water.

Slice the sun-dried tomatoes into smaller bits (if you want to) and then add them back to the skillet with the chicken.  Add half and half and cheese to the skillet and bring to a gentle boil.  Immediately reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until all the cheese melts and a creamy sauce forms. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to combine.  Add basil, red pepper flakes (to taste) and stir to combine.

At this point, the creamy pasta sauce will be too thick so add about a 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water (try a tablespoon or two at a time, stirring, until it's a consistency you like).  Immediately season with salt and more red pepper flakes to taste.  Let it simmer for a few more minutes to combine the flavors.

Lemon Chia Seed Muffins

To start off February right after not much blogging in January, here are some pictures of my soon to be 2 year old!

Our Meyer lemon tree has exploded with ripe lemons and I stumbled upon this recipe as I was looking for ideas of how to use some of them.  Granted, 1 zested lemon and a few tablespoons of juice isn't going to get me very far, but these had a great lemony flavor and I liked the chia seeds (sort of like a lemon poppyseed cake).  I made mini muffins and got about 2.5 dozen.  I can't remember exactly how long they took, but I think around 13-15 minutes.

Lemon Chia Seed Muffins (1 dozen)

2 c. flour
3 T chia seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
8 T butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 lemon, zested
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. Greek vanilla yogurt (nonfat)

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1-2 T fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare muffin tin by buttering it or using liners.

In a small bowl, combine flour, chia seeds, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Mix in lemon zest and vanilla.

Using a spatula mix in the flour an yogurt until just combined.  Fill muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool fully.

Prepare glaze by whisking the lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth.  Drizzle a little over the top of each muffin and let the glaze set before serving.

Bacon wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Wow . . . you can probably tell by the fact that I've only posted once this year that January is sort of kicking our butt.  I'm working a MWF schedule that I've not done for probably 10 years and it's been a little tricky coordinating that with the kids' schedules and other "life" stuff.  On the food front, I'm proud to report that I've been feeding my family real food for dinner every night - no fast food or pizza on weeknights (yet) and we have all been having breakfast together before school.  One thing nice about this work schedule is I'm there to take the girls to school every morning.  Then dad picks them up and I'm home around 6:30 for dinner and bedtime.  Whew!

Super Bowl is coming up and it might be a great time to make one o the best holiday appetizers that I made this year . . . what's better than a jalapeño popper?  One that's not fried but is wrapped in bacon!  These were a little time consuming (prepping the peppers) but I loved that I could make them a day ahead and they turned out amazing.  For our lactose-free friends, I did just goat cheese (without the shredded cheddar) in half and they are gluten free!  You can spice up / change the filling to your liking - it's a really versatile recipe.

Bacon-wrapped Jalepeno Poppers (2 dozen)
from Sally's Baking Addiction

12 jalapeño pepper
8 oz cream cheese (or goat cheese) softened to room temperature
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (pepper jack would also be great)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika
12 slices bacon, cut in half
24 toothpicks

Cut the jalapeño peppers in half lengthwise.  Carefully remove seeds and center membranes.  Set aside.

Mix together the cream cheese, shredded cheese, garlic and paprika.  You can use a mixer or just a spatula.  Add a little salt to taste.

Spoon filling equally among the 24 jalapeño halves.

Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with a half slice of bacon and stick a toothpick through it to secure.  At this point, you can refrigerate them until you're ready to bake or you can bake them right away.

Line a large baking sheet with foil and then place a cooling rack on top.  Put the jalapeños on the cooling rack (this way, the bacon fat will drip onto the foil).  Bake at 400 degrees 25-30 minutes or until the bacon is done to your liking.  You can turn the oven to broil for the last few minutes to make the bacon nice and crispy.  Serve immediately.

The original recipe says you can cover leftovers and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days . . . we didn't have any leftover!  It also says you can freeze assembled jalapeños for up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and bake as directed.

Happy 2015!

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and peaceful 2015!  Our year started off great today . . . I took Little for a run in the jogging stroller and stayed in my yoga pants all day.  The big girls went to a movie with their grandma and after watching the football and "undecking  the halls," we had breakfast for dinner and played games.

Last night we had our first (annual?) New Year's Eve party which was a ton of fun.  One of the recipes that received the most compliments was a recipe from some family friends the Goldens for a Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa.  I'll share it below along with a few photos of our Christmas and New Years.

Little and her Great Grammy

Dressed up for Christmas Eve dinner in the desert

On our way home Christmas morning

Christmas with cousins

Christmas sweatshirts . . . thanks T!

Happy New Year!

Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa 
from the Goldens

12 oz cranberries, chopped
3 -4 jalapeños, chopped (seeds removed)
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/2-3/4 c. sugar

Combine all ingredients and chill overnight.
Recipe notes:  freeze cranberries to make them easier to chop.  Jarred jalapeños work as well as fresh.

Nothing says "Merry Christmas!" like . . .

Pictures by Christmas trees

Chats with Santa Clause

Kids in Santa hats

Little Wise People

Playing with the nativity

Advent Calendars

Looking at Christmas lights

Christmas colored food 

This kale salad might not be typical christmas fare but it's a good change from the artificially colored red and green food and the plethora of sweets.  I've been making it all fall and realized it's a great and colorful addition to a holiday menu.

Pomegranate & Apple Kale Salad

Fill a large bowl with chopped kale (tough stems removed).  Pour a little olive oil over it and use your bare hands to massage the kale for a few minutes or until all of the leaves are moistened.  Let it set for 10-30 minutes.  Drizzle a light vinaigrette over the kale (I use a blush wine vinaigrette but anything that's light and slightly sweet works well).  Add chopped apples (I like tart Granny Smith), pomegranate seeds, and chopped walnuts.  Toss.  Sprinkle with goat cheese or bleu cheese before serving.

Your Potluck Friend

One of the things I love about the holiday season is going to parties and potlucks and seeing old friends.  If you need a dessert to feed a large crowd or bring to a potluck, the Bundt cake is your friend!  I used to be scared of them because of this disaster but since I found the Baking Pam spray (with flour), I have been a big fan.  It's great for people (like Big) who don't love a ton of frosting and you can slice it thin or thick, depending on how many people you want to serve.  It's also an easy item to have people serve themselves at a potluck.

For your holiday parties, consider the recipe pictured above - a buttermilk cake with butternut squash grated into the batter (don't be weirded out - it's awesome) which I served with pumpkin ice cream.

Another great one is the "All in One Holiday Bundt" with ginger, pumpkin, apple and cranberries.

Or, try out the Gingerbread Pumpkin Guinness Bundt cake.   Gingerbread . . . pumpkin . . . beer . . . not a typical combination but an altogether yummy cake.

Slow Cooker Beef Ragout with Polenta

We've had some rain and cooler weather and I can't quite get over how dark it is by 5pm!  It's time to use your slow cooker, that's for sure.  Although this is similar to dishes I've made in the past, it's a little different take on it - super simple ingredients and a tasty result.  I'm making it again this week because we're going to have soccer playoffs in the evening!

Slow Cooker Beef Ragout with Polenta (6 servings)

1 lb lean ground beef
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
3 medium carrots, sliced 1/2 in. thick
2 medium onions, cut into thin slices
1 lg red bell pepper, cut into 1 in. pieces
1/2 cup beef broth
salt and pepper to taste
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (16oz) tube refrigerated polenta
Parmesan cheese
6 T prepared pesto (optional)

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and drain the fat.  Transfer to a slow cooker and stir in the tomatoes, carrots, onions, bell pepper, beef broth, salt and pepper, and garlic.

Cook for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high (give or take depending on your slow cooker).

Slice the polenta into 1/2 inch thick pieces.  Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and broil for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned.  Flip over, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and broil another 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the polenta is lightly browned.

Place the polenta on a plate, top with ragout, and about 1 tablespoon of the pesto.  Sprinkle with more parmesan cheese.