Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

This recipe is a copycat version of the Chicken and Gnocchi soup at Olive Garden. I had that soup for the first time last week while at lunch with my friend Tiffany and I knew I had to find the recipe. This did taste a lot like the restaurant version, it was a big hit with the boys so I will definitely be making it again. I followed the recipe I found, which called for heavy cream, but I will make it with whole milk next time to reduce the fat content.

I meant to make homemade focaccia bread with the soup but I didn't have time, but I will make it next time. I think bread would go really well with this soup, but it was fine on it's own. I also had a glass of Bogle Chardonnay, it was a great dinner.

Ingredients

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

2 cups heavy cream (or whole milk, for lower fat)

4 cups chicken broth

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 vidalia onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

16 oz package potato gnocchi

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and saute carrots, onion, and garlic until soft and translucent.

2. Add chicken stock, thyme, salt and pepper, cream, and chicken and bring to a boil.

3. Add gnocchi and boil for 4 minutes

4. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes

5. Add spinach and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.

Chicken Souvlaki with Fresh Pita Bread

I have seen this recipe on so many blogs that I just had to try it for myself. Every time I go out to lunch with coworkers to a diner near the Space Center, I order the chicken souvlaki, so I decided to make this version I got from Joelen's Culinary Adventures.

I did make my own pita bread but I wasn't thrilled with how it came out. I like a crispier pita and these were very soft. They tasted great, but I will experiment a bit more before post the recipe. The yogurt sauce can be a taziki sauce or a yogurt dressing. I mixed plain yogurt with red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a dill spice blend.

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 tablespoon dried dill

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed into bit sized pieces

Directions

1. In a bowl or freezer bag, combine ingredients and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

2. Soak wooden skewers in water to prevent charring on the grill.

3. Skewer marinated chicken and discard excess marinade. Grill on high, 5-7 minutes for each side until juices run clear.

4. Serve with pita bread, yogurt sauce, and greek salad.

Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken

Since being on maternity leave, I have had a hard time getting a healthy lunch in the afternoons. I don't want to cook something because it takes way too long. I also don't want to have a lean cuisine or other processed meal because they are usually full of sodium and aren't very tasty. I went to Park Avenue in Winter Park last week on a shopping trip and had a bit of my little Sister's lunch at a restaurant called The Briar Patch. She had a salad with spinach, blue cheese, bacon, and grilled chicken with a balsamic vinaigrette. I liked it so much that I decided to create my own recipe with stuff that I like.

My salad has the spinach and a very small amount of bacon, feta cheese, Apple, grilled marinated chicken, and my favorite vinaigrette recipe. I plan on experimenting with the ingredients in the future, maybe using blue cheese or adding walnuts or almonds. Either way, it came out great! I will definitely be making this again.

Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken

1 Marinated chicken breast, grilled

1/2 Apple, sliced into small pieces

2 cups fresh spinach

2 tablespoons feta or blue cheese (such as gorgonzola)

Crumbled bacon (optional)

Balsamic Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Directions

1. Toss spinach in with salad greens.

2. Sprinkle salad with cheese and bacon

3. Slice chicken breast on a bias and place on top of the spinach.

Balsamic Vinaigrette ( makes 1 cup)

3/4 cups Olive Oil

1/4 cups Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Mix balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.

2. Slowly add olive oil while mixing with a whisk or wooden spoon.

Beef tips with gravy

I found this recipe on a few different cooking sites, so I figured it would be a good one to try. I make A LOT of chicken so I figured we could try a beef meal that tastes good but is still inexpensive (strip steaks are so pricey lately!). You can adapt this recipe to make large batches, just increase the amount of ingredients proportionally.

This recipe was made in the oven but could easily be adapted to the slow cooker if you are not home during the day. TIP: If you make a smaller-size batch in the slow cooker, place the ingredients in a smaller baking dish inside the slow cooker, it'll cook the food the same but won't have that burnt smell that you can sometimes get in a slow cooker.

Ingredients

1-1.5 lbs beef tips or beef stew meat

1 can cream of mushroom soup (low fat version works too!)

1 can french onion soup mix

Directions

1. Mix beef tips, cream of mushroom soup, and french onion soup mix in a baking dish (or slow cooker).

2. Cook at 325 F for up to 4 hours our until beef is tender. For a slow cooker, cook on high for 4-6 hours.

Serve with egg noodles or rice and a veggie and voila! Super easy.

Yummy Pork Chops and Potatoes

Now that I am on maternity leave I have some time to plan meals and make some yummy new dinners for my blog. I lately bough the book Skinny Italian by Teresa Giudice of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. I am actually not a huge fan of the show, but when I saw an episode where they were canning their own tomatoes for sauce, I got curious about her cooking and decided to buy the book from Amazon.com. It turned out to be a really good book, I'm glad I bought it. It has a lot of good recipes that don't use a lot of fat, just a few tablespoons of olive oil.

Last night I decided to try her Pork Chops Alla Salvia and Rosemary Potatoes recipes. Both turned out really good, but the potatoes were a huge hit. My husband and Nate both loved them and wanted seconds (which I didn't have), so next time I'll be making a bigger batch!

Pork Chops Alla Salvia

From Skinny Italian

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Four 8-ounce center-cut pork loin chops, on the bone (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried sage

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup tomato or marinara sauce

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Sprinkle the pork with the salt, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of the sage.

3. Add pork to skillet and cook, turning once until browned on both sides (about 2-3 minutes per side).

4. Add the tomato sauce and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon sage and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer until the pork is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the pork, the juices will run clear).

5. Serve hot with the sauce

Rosemary Potatoes

From Skinny Italian

Ingredients

6-8 Red-skinned Potatoes, washed and unpeeled

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

or 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Directions

1. Pierce each potato a couple of times with a fork and place in a microwave-safe baking dish and cover with plastic wrap.

2. Microwave on High until the potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Carefully remove the plastic wrap (it will be very steamy), and allow the potatoes to cool. Cut potatoes into quarters when they are cool enough to handle.

4. Heat the oil and rosemary on Medium-High heat until the oil is hot

5. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until crispy and golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Nate loves his pork chops and potatoes!!

Shrimp Salad Recipe

After months and months of neglecting my poor cooking blog, I am finally ready to start updating again. The reason for the little “break” is the baby that I’ve been baking for almost 9 months now! For most of this pregnancy I have not been able to even look at food blogs without getting queasy, but now I am finally feeling much better. I will hopefully be updating my blog on a more regular basis while I want for our little one to arrive, and then during my maternity leave, I plan on rearranging and organizing our pantry, which I will also blog.

This recipe was sent to me from my sister-in-law who made this for our Christmas Eve dinner a while ago and it was really good. She served it on crispy toast, yummy!

Melissa’s Shrimp Salad
(I got this recipe from Paula Deen on Foodnetwork.com and tweeked it a
little!)
1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined
(I boil mine with salt and a little bit of Zatarain's Shrimp & Crab Boil,
drain and then peel them)
3 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
1 or 2 celery stalks, minced
1/2 cup mayonaise
Dash of onion powder
Pepper
Salt (or I just use some Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning)
Bread (to toast and put your shrimp salad on!)

Directions

Place shrimp in a food processor and pulse until finely minced. (I also did
this first with the celery I chopped.)

Transfer the minced shrimp and celery to a bowl and add the eggs and mayonnaise.

Add seasonings, to taste, and stir to combine

Spread the shrimp onto toast or whatever you would like!

Blue Ribbon Chili with Jalapeno-cheddar cornbread

I had my husband’s family over for my Mother-in-law’s birthday last Sunday night and, because of the “cold” down here in Florida, I made chili and cornbread for dinner. I have made a lot of chili recipes but I have to say that this one was definitely my favorite. It was simple to make and the smell as it was simmering on the stove was wonderful. I usually make turkey chili so next time I will try this with Turkey meat and see if it comes out as good. I made Jalapeno-chili cornbread from Barefoot Contessa to go with the chili. This cornbread was very moist and tasty and complemented the chili really well.



Blue Ribbon Chili

Originally from Debdoozie at allrecipes.com

Ingredients

•2 pounds ground beef
•1/2 onion, chopped
•1 teaspoon ground black pepper
•1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
•2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
•1 (8 ounce) jar salsa
•4 tablespoons chili seasoning mix
•1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans
•1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans

Directions

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion and saute for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain grease, if desired.



2. Add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix and kidney beans. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.




Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread



Adapted from Barefoot Contessa and Food Alla Puttanesca

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp White Cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
2 seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Directions

1.Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

2.In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. **Do not add the eggs to hot butter or it will cook the egg**.

3.With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.



4.Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.

5.Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival - Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup

Epcot Food and Wine Festival - Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup



Mike and I went to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival last weekend and had a really good time. I liked a lot of the foods we sampled so I decided to buy the festival cookbook. I am gradually trying the recipes in the book and I will be posting them as I try them out.

The Canada booth is always our favorite stop during the festival so I decided to start with the cheddar cheese soup, which is probably the most popular item at the festival. This is definitely not a healthy soup, but it would be great for a holiday or dinner party. This soup is extremely rich, we could barely finish what was in our bowls so I will cut this in half if I ever make it for just our little family again.

I especially loved how wonderful the preparation of this soup made the house smell. I rarely cook with bacon and butter is used sparingly, so this almost felt like making a dessert. The best thing to go with this would be something light, like a salad or small Panini.

Ingredients:

½ Pound applewood smoked Bacon (cut into ½” pieces)
4 Tablespoons butter
1 Diced red onion (about 1 cup)
3 Diced celery stalks (about 1 cup)
1 Cup all purpose flour
3 Cups chicken stock
4 Cups whole milk
1 Pound aged white Cheddar cheese (shaved or grated)
1 Tablespoon salt (to taste)
1 Tablespoon pepper
1 Tablespoon worchester sauce
1 Tablespoon tobasco sauce
1 cup warm beer

Directions:

(Tips from allearsnet.com)

*****The number one rule in Cheddar cheese soup is “Low and slow”. This recipe takes about an hour to make, and if you try to turn the heat up and rush it, you will only ruin your work *****

*****The number two rule is “Keep stirring”. This is a soup that can burn, and takes a lot of tender loving care. When in doubt, “Keep stirring" *****

1. In a large Soup pot or dutch oven, render down the bacon.

2. Add the Butter and melt it.

3. Add the Onion and Celery and sauté until onions to start to get translucent.

4. Dust this with flour and mix to form a roux. Keep stirring until all of the flour has been incorporated.

5. Add chicken stock, slowly, while constantly stirring. You are looking for something resembling a gravy at this point. It's going to be very thick. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

6. Next add milk, again slowly, while constantly stirring. This should significantly lighten up your soup at this point. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

7. Turn heat up slightly, it's time to melt the cheese. Add cheese very slowly in small amounts, while stirring constantly. Allow each portion of cheese to melt away before adding the next. Keep stirring.

8. Now add salt and pepper. Be very careful with your salt. There is a lot of salt in your bacon, and possibly even in your chicken stock.

9. Next add worchester, tobasco, and beer. Keep stirring.

10. Turn down the heat slightly and let simmer or serve. You can garnish each bowl with some finely chopped bacon and chives.

****When you are reheating this soup (especially in a microwave) you need to remember the 2 rules. “Low and slow” and “Keep stirring” you want to be constantly stirring this to ensure it blends evenly. ****

Salsa Chicken in the Crockpot

I have heard a lot about how good this recipe was so I thought I’d give it a try. It was very easy to put together in the morning before I left for work. I let the chicken sit out overnight and just poured on the other ingredients in the crockpot before I left. When I got home, the house smelled great!

Pulling the chicken with a fork was very easy and I let it sit and warm while I made some black beans to go with the meal. We just spooned this chicken into some whole wheat tortillas with some toppings and we were good to go. The only change I would make is to use frozen chicken instead of thawed, the chicken was a bit burnt after 10 hours in the slow cooker.

I will definitely be making this again.

Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts
1 cup Medium Salsa
1 package taco seasoning
1 can reduced fat condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream


Directions:

1. Add chicken to the bottom of the slow cooker.

2. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.

3. Mix salsa, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup; pour over chicken.

4. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

5. Shred Chicken with two forks and mix back in with all the sauce.

Salisbury Steak - A fun throwback

I can remember eating this as a kid when it was my Dad’s night to cook for my sister and myself. It was usually in the form of a TV dinner and it would be accompanied by either white rice or mashed potatoes. I saw this on Skinny Food by Amy and I tried this out because I thought it sounded like a comfort food type of meal. It turned out good, we all enjoyed it. It was also very quick to make (3 steps!!) and that’s perfect on days that I have to whip up something after a day of work. Give it a try, it’s so vintage…

Skinny food by Amy

Ingredients:

•1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
•1 1/2 pounds ground beef
•1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
•1 egg
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
•1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
•1/4 cup ketchup
•1/4 cup water
•1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
•1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together 1/3 cup condensed French onion soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt and black pepper. Shape into 6 oval patties.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of patties. Pour off excess fat.

2. In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining soup until smooth. Mix in ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder. Pour over meat in skillet. Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.