Italian Pasta Salad

It is officially the holiday season and that means there are going to be a lot of parties to attend. One thing that is really popular in my office is to do a potluck. It's a great way to celebrate anything and there is always so much delicious food. This salad is something my mother-in-law always makes for different get-togethers and it is delicious. It's super easy to make and everyone will love it. Once again there are not any actual measurements because it depends on how large of a batch you want or need.

Spaghetti noodles, cooked and rinsed in cold water
Onion, diced
Black olives, sliced
Broccoli florets, cut into bite sized pieces
Baby carrots, sliced
Green pepper, diced
Cherry tomatoes, sliced
Pepperoni, diced
Italian salad dressing

Mix the noodles and vegetables. Pour on the dressing, you will probably need an entire bottle. Also remember, if you're making this the day before to have extra dressing because the noodles will absorb some of that moisture.

This is a great salad for parties and get-togethers and it's super easy to throw together. You can use any type of vegetables or noodles you want. It just depends on what you have on hand. ENJOY!!

Honey-Ginger Shrimp and Vegetables

November has been a crazy busy month. Luke and I hosted 2 Thanksgiving dinners this year, one for friends and one for family. I definitely plan on being in the kitchen alot in the next month. I need to start figuring out what goodies I'll be making for Christmas! This is a recipe I found that incoporates a lot of Luke's favorite things.

2 Tbsp. Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. Ground ginger
2 tsp. Red pepper flakes
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
3 cups fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1/2 cup honey
1 pound medium shrimp-peeled and deveined
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until it begins to smoke. Stir in garlic, onions, ginger and red pepper flakes. Quickly cook until the onion softens and just begins to brown. Stir in bell pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms; continue cooking until the zucchini softens, about 4 minutes.
Stir cornstarch into honey until smooth, then add to vegetables and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until they turn pink, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.


I used frozen green beans instead of zucchini and then I served it over brown rice for more substance and to add a starch to the dish. This dish is the perfect combo of sweet and spicey. More to come tomorrow! ENJOY!!!!

Happy November!

It's been a few weeks since my last blog and I just thought it was time for an update.  I don't have any new recipes to add but with the holidays coming up, I will more than make up for that.  I have been cooking, I just haven't tried any new recipes.  Last week, we had Sloppy Joe's and cheesy carrots.  This past Monday, we had a bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin that I roasted along with mashed potatoes and gravy.  I'm making sure my hubby stays good and full.


So here is what Luke and I have been up to recently.  We went to Kansas City the last weekend in October to spend time with Dana and Dustin & Jake and Amy.  We had a great weekend hanging out with everyone.  Halloween night, we went to our first NFL game to watch the Chiefs play Monday Night Football.  It was a great game and Chiefs beat the Chargers in overtime.  We don't have a lot of plans for the rest of the year, which we are very thankful for.  We are looking forward to spending time at home.  Hope everything is well with everyone!  I promise more recipes will come very soon!  I'll start gathering my holiday recipes, which I will definitely share.


ENJOY!

"Slime" Filled Cupcakes

I always try to make some sort of yummy treat for my co-workers around holidays.  With Halloween less than a week away, I thought it was a good time to try out a new recipe.  I made these last night, because I will not be in the office on Halloween.  These cupcakes are a combo of two different recipes and amazingly they turned out delicious.  If you like chocolate, this is a cupcake for you.  The chocolate frosting might be one of the best frosting's I have ever tasted.  I stood in the kitchen licking the beaters clean, it was so good!  Here is the recipe:

Cupcake:
2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. cocoa
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. water
3/4 c. vegetable oil
4 tsp. vanilla extract

Line 30 muffin cups with paper liners and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.  Add water, oil and vanilla; stir until batter is blended.  (Batter may be thin.)  Spoon into prepared cups, filling 2/3 full.  Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Transfer cupcakes to wire racks after 5 minutes and cool completely.

Filling:
1/4 c. shortening
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 c. confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
8 drops green food coloring, optional

Cream the shortening, butter, confectioners' sugar, milk and food coloring until light and fluffy.  Using a pastry bag with a small round tip, add the filling to the bag.  Push the tip through the bottoms of paper liners to fill cupcakes (the top of the cupcakes will begin to expand when they are full).

Frosting:
1/2 c. butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 c. confectioners' sugar
1/4 c. baking cocoa
2 Tbsp. milk
Combine all ingredients together and frost cupcakes.

Glaze:
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
6 drops green food coloring
Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over frosting.

This cupcakes are delicious but they were a little time consuming.  Make sure you have enough time when attempting these.  I would also suggest filling the cupcakes from the top.  This way you don't have to worry about breaking through the paper and the hole on the top will be covered with the frosting later.  Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Lasagna Soup

My sister got me interested in this website called pinterest.com.  It's a place where people can 'pin' pictures of things they like.  Looking around this website at the different pins, I found this recipe.  It's from a blog called a farm girl's dabbles (http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/).  Her blog is awesome and she has a lot of great recipes on there too.  This soup is so delicious and it really tastes like lasagna.  It will be a great dish to make again once it really starts to get cold!  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste


for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper


2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

PREPARATION

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves before adding the pasta.  Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

Candy Corn Bark

I have made this recipe the past 2 years to take up to McGregor for our weekend away every fall.  Luke and I look forward to this weekend every year.  It's nice to be up in the bluffs by the Mississippi River and watching the leaves change.  We even made it to Effigy Mounds this year.  The weather this year was perfect which made it even more enjoyable.  We had a great time with family and ate way too much food.  My candy corn bark was a huge hit with everyone and I never bring home any leftovers.  This is super easy to make and is very festive.

 

Ingredients

• 16 Halloween-colored chocolate sandwich cookies, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups broken small pretzels
• 1 1/2 pounds white chocolate, broken into squares
• 2 cups candy corn
• orange and brown sprinkles

Directions

1. Spread the cookies, pretzels and raisins evenly onto a lightly greased small baking sheet. Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave, stirring frequently until melted. Remove from the heat while there are still a few chunks, and stir until smooth. White chocolate burns easily.
2. Drizzle chocolate with a spoon over the goodies in the pan, spreading the top flat to coat evenly. Top with candy corn and sprinkles. Let cool until firm. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

This would be a great treat to have the kids take to school for their Halloween parties or even taking it to a party you've been invited to.  I promise it will get eaten.  It's irresistible.  ENJOY!

Baked Bean Chili

I found this recipe a couple years ago in a cookbook Luke gave me.  Before this recipe I have never been a big fan of chili because I don't like kidney beans.  This is an interesting take on chili.  It still has the chili taste because of the seasoning packet but it's also a little sweet thanks to the baked beans.  This makes a huge batch so be prepared to feed a lot of people or freeze some of it.  This is being entered in a chili cook-off challenge so I hope the judges like it.  Everyone who has tried this chili so far has loved it.

2 lbs. ground beef

3 cans (28 oz. each) baked beans

1 can (46 oz) tomato juice

1 can (11.5 oz) v8 juice

1 envelope chili seasoning

In a large pot, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer; uncovered for 10 minutes.

It's the perfect time of year to start thinking about different types of soups and stews to make since it's starting to get colder.  I plan on trying out a lot of different soup recipes this winter.  ENJOY!