Whole Wheat Penne with Broccoli and Sausage

For the next three weeks, posts will be a bit staggered. My husband came home after seven months training for the military, and I will be revisiting recipes more than getting new ones. He looked through some older posts and wants to try some. :)

This pasta I made a few weeks ago and has been sitting in my drafts folders. I kept meaning to put it up but things like fudge got in the way. I really liked this pasta. It was simple, quick, and great flavor. My favorite part was the lemon. Even with such little amount of citrus, you could definitely taste the difference. I couldn't get any nutritional information on this dish, but I can tell you it is pretty healthy. Choose a whole grain or whole wheat pasta, and go for the lean meat. The cheese of course is optional, but you deserve to splurge once in a while!

Hope your holidays are going great and I wish you Happy Holiday Cooking! :)

Whole Wheat Penne with Broccoli and Sausage

cooking for le$$ Pasta

Ingredients:

6 ounces uncooked whole wheat penne pasta

1 head broccoli, cut into bite-size florets

8 ounces mild Italian sausage, casings removed (turkey is optional)

1 medium onion, quartered and sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Direction:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, adding broccoli during last 5 to 6 minutes of cooking. Drain well; cover and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, heat large skillet over medium heat. Crumble sausage into skillet. Add onion; cook until sausage is brown, stirring to break up meat. Drain fat.
3. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute. Add sausage mixture, lemon peel, salt and pepper to pasta; toss until blended. Sprinkle with cheese. 

No nutritional information available.

Double Chocolate Fudge

Oh man this has to be one of the best desserts I have made! For Christmas I like giving homemade presents, mostly food, and I wanted to test out my ability to make fudge before I just gave them to people. Well, I was presently surprised at how delicious these little cubes of heaven were. They are soft, creamy, not too rich, and are just perfect! The recipe is simple and very easy to follow. You will get a lot out of it as well. There was so much that I had to take some into work to give away. There was no way I was going to keep 2.5 pounds of chocolate fudge sitting on my counter begging for me to eat it! My coworkers loved it. That is when I knew this would be my Christmas gift. I even had a coworker take some to her husband and he asked her to get the recipe from me. :) I love spreading the word on delicious goodies!

I hope everyone isn't too busy with decorating and family to take a few minutes out of your day to make this for the ones you love!

Double Chocolate Fudge
MomsWhoThink Fudge Recipes


Ingredients:
2 cups (12oz bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (11.5 oz) bag milk chocolate chips
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. In saucepan, over low-heat, melt semi-sweet chocolate chips with 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk, 1 tablespoon cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
2. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup walnuts (if desired). Spread evenly into foil-lined 9-inch square pan.
3. In another saucepan, over low heat, melt milk chocolate chips with remaining sweetened condensed milk, 1 tablespoon cream, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Remove from heat; stir in remaining walnuts (if desired).
4. Spread over fudge in pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off foil and cut into squares. Store loosely covered at room temperature. 

Makes about 2.5 pounds
Nutritional info not available. 

My first Thanksgiving as the Cook

I realized a few weeks ago that I have never unmasked myself to this blog, and I thought now would be a great time. Well here I am with my fist thanksgiving turkey! :) I know this is a little late to post about Thanksgiving but I completely forgot there were even pictures of my turkey in my camera till I went to post a new recipe the other day. This being my first turkey, I thought it would be fun to share!

Here is my first turkey all prepped and ready to roast. A couple weeks before Thanksgiving I was reading on how to prep, roast, carve...pretty much everything you do to prepare your turkey for dinner. I watched several videos on how to prep and season, but there was one that I found more to my liking. I know that many people like to put their stuffing in the bird and cook them that way, but I don't find that very sanitary. Plus, I don't really like stuffing too much. So, instead of stuffing it that way, I liked the idea of putting a bunch of herbs inside and underneath. Before stuffing it I seasoned the outside with pepper, salt and a little olive oil, and shoved a couple sage leaves underneath the skin. Along with handfuls of rosemary, thyme, and sage I also added a handful of chopped of onions inside to add to the flavor, and let me tell you, that bird had flavor! You could definitely taste the herbs. This is how I will do my turkey every year!

Here is the finished product! I did put it back in the oven for a little bit, but forgot to take a picture of the deliciousness.

Here a few other things I contributed too. I found a great recipe for these parmesan knots from Pillsbury. The best thing was that I didn't have to use yeast (which I am still a little afraid of). All I had to to was buy the "Golden Layers" tube and roll it into strings and tie them into knots. So easy, and really delicious. I was surprised how good they were with hardly any effort.

Below is my pumpkin cheesecake. My mom said she wanted the traditional pumpkin pie. I agreed, then mentioned cheesecake, she instantly changed her mind. So, I offered Pumpkin Cheesecake...we had a winner. Of course, I wasn't listening for the timer while it was baking so it sat in the oven for a little bit longer than asked and the top got a little brown. No problem when you pile on the whipped cream. I was able to take off the top layer and it was beautiful again. One of the many mistakes I can learn from this year. :)

I also made cranberry sauce (which I will post the recipe for later) and helped with the mashed potatoes. My mom's mashed potatoes are the best and I am determined to make them the same way. All in all, I think this holiday dinner went great, and I can't wait to make many more!

My husband is still across the country, so this year it was just me and my mom. Having just got married, I wanted to learn how to cook thanksgiving dinner so my mom gave me a few pointers on how she usually did things. It was a great learning experience, especially since next year we will be in a completely different country and won't be able to spend the holidays with family. I wanted to do things for myself this year, so next year I can make the holidays fantastic; even though we will be away from our loved ones. I am very confident that dinner will be even better next year. We can even start our own traditions with the holidays, which I look forward too! :)

Happy Holidays!

Apple Cranberry Bread

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was fantastic! This year I was in charge of the bird and I have to say, I didn't completely ruin it. I may have taken it out of the oven a bit early, but don't worry we continued to cook the pink parts and we didn't get food poisoning. So I have to give myself credit for doing a decent job for my first time roasting a turkey. We also had delicious mashed potatoes and yummy cranberry sauce. Mmm I wish it was yesterday all over again! 

Here is a delicious quick bread that I couldn't stop eating! Happy Holidays everyone!

Apple Cranberry Bread
tasteofhome Guilt Free Cooking


Ingredients:
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped peeled tart apples (about 2.5 small Granny Smith apples)
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and oil. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; add to the egg mixture just until combined (batter will be thick). Stir in the apples cranberries and walnuts.
3. Transfer to an 8″x4″x2″ loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Makes 1 loaf (16 slices)

Nutrition: (1 slice) Calories 140; Fat 5g; Cholesterol 27mg; Sodium 143mg; Carb 22g; Fiber 1g; Protein 3g

Roasted Butternut and Shallot Soup

Cooking is one of those things that help me relax and feel centered. Kind of like yoga. When I cook, I may look like I'm running around and feeling crazed; I'm really just in the zone letting my mind wander away from the stressful things in life. In the end I am able to sit, relax, and enjoy what I just created. I believe that is why I love cooking so much. I have never been good at painting, playing an instrument, or being crafty; but when I'm baking up a delicious bread loaf or blending up soup, I feel like Picasso or Salvador Dali! I know I sound like a crazy person, it's just how I feel.

A few weeks ago at work we had a Butternut Squash Bisque and I fell in love. From that day I have been dying to make soup. My biggest obstacle was that the two blenders I had were both broken. I was defeated by a little piece of plastic that didn't allow my Magic Bullet to work. So one day I searched all over the internet and found a store that sold that little rubber ring stopper for my other blender, that mysteriously disappeared of course. $1.08 later, I was on my way to the grocery store to buy the necessities for the soup I was craving.

Now, I have never made soup before and I was a little nervous about the outcome. The first spin in the blender didn't result in the consistency I wanted so I had to repeat that step, a couple of times. The next time I make soup I know what to do now. I love learning new things.

Enjoy this fabulous deliciously nutritious soup on a chilly autumn night!

Butternut squash is really hard to cut in half. As you can see my halves are no where near even!

Roasted Butternut Squash

Cookinglight Magazine - November 2006 Issue

Ingredients:

4 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1.5 pounds)

 1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 large shallots, peeled and halved

1 (1/2 inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced

2 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons (1-inch) slices fresh chives

Cracked black pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a roasting pan or jelly-roll pan; toss well. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Cool for 10 minutes.
3. Place half of squash mixture and half of broth in a blender. Remove center piece of blend lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large saucepan. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture and broth. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. top with chives and pepper, if desired. 

Makes 6 servings (2/3 cup soup)

Nutrition: (per serving) Calories 112; Fat 2.5g; Protein 3.3g; Carb 22.4g; Fiber 3.6g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 266mg

Turkey Enchiladas Casserole

I can't believe that a week from Thursday we will be putting a turkey in the oven! This year has gone by so fast. Next thing you know we'll be opening presents, welcoming in a New Year, hugging our Valentines, watching fireworks explode, picking out Halloween costumes...then there's that turkey again. Blows my mind how fast it really goes. Sometimes that is a good thing. This year has gone fast, but it seems so long. I am so thankful I started this blog. It really has kept me busy and motivated. I have also learned so much and I can't wait to try out all of these new recipes on my favorite person; who comes home next month. :)

This year I am making Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, and I'm nervous. I know it's just a dinner, but it's Thanksgiving dinner! One of the best days of the year, where we can stuff our faces and no one can judge you on how many calories you just consumed. My eating habits have changed completely in the last few years, and I am excited to try new Thanksgiving recipes that I was too scared to try before. Oh man, I am excited!

I know this recipe has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but I was really craving enchiladas. As it turns out, I love casserole recipes. It's so easy; just cook it, throw it in a dish, and bake it. That simple. When I found this recipe I just knew I had to do it. If you have ever made enchiladas before, than you know how time consuming that can be. This recipe really takes no time at all, and it tastes just as good (if not better) than rolled up enchiladas. Don't believe me? You'll just have to try it out on your own! :)

Turkey Enchiladas Casserole
Sunset - September 2002


Ingredients: 
1 1/2 lbs ground lean turkey breast
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salad oil (vegetable oil)
1 can (29 oz) red enchilada sauce
Salt
12 corn tortillas (6in. wide)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat jack cheese (8 oz)
Chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, stir turkey, onion, garlic, oregano, and cumin in oil until turkey is crumbly and no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup enchilada sauce. Add salt to taste.
2. Meanwhile, cut tortillas in half. Arrange a fourth of the halves evenly over the bottom of a shallow 3-quart casserole dish, overlapping to fit. Sprinkle a fourth of the cheese evenly over the tortillas, then top with a third of the turkey mixture and a fourth of the remaining enchilada sauce, spreading each level. Repeat to make two more layers of tortillas, cheese, turkey mixture, and sauce; top with another layer of tortillas and sauce, then cheese.
3. Bake in a 425° regular or convection oven until cheese is melted and casserole is hot in the center, 18-20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.  

Makes 8-10 servings

Nutrition: (1 serving) Calories 249; Fat 5.7g; Protein 27g;  Carb 23g;  Fiber 1.7g;  Cholesterol 58mg; Sodium 1048mg

Traditional Apple Pie

As much as I love baking I have never made a pie, until now! I was randomly craving pie one day so I went on an adventure to try apple pie for the first time. While I was studying the recipe I realized the cookbook I was using was from England. Metric system, caster sugar, vanilla essence...I did a little googling before buying ingredients. At first I didn't think anything of it, but halfway through mixing I realized I wouldn't be making that traditional American apple pie. I continued baking and it turned out delicious, but there are things that I would definitely do different. 

This time I went the lazy way and went with store bough pie crust. I'm sure I could have went all out, but I thought I would wait till I got a better recipe. One part of the recipe that stumped me was the "caster sugar" part. Never have I heard of caster sugar. After a bit of researching I found out that caster sugar was much finer than granulated sugar, but not as fine as powdered sugar. I wasn't sure if I would be able to find caster sugar in the store, so I thought I would make it myself. Sound impossible? I thought so too. Really, all you do is take granulated sugar and put it in a food processor or, if you are like me and don't have a food processor, your Magic Bullet. Pulse it until it is very fine, but before it gets too powdery. There you have it, your own homemade caster sugar! 

The pie crust was not pictured, because I forgot about it. Forgive me. :)

This was my first time making apple pie so I was scared to put too much of the filling in the pie crust, so I had some left over. I was wrong. Next time I am throwing everything in, even if I have a mountain of a pie in front of me!

Peeled, cored, and sliced. :)

To making the lattice pattern take 5-7 strips of dough and lay them parallel across the top of the filling. Fold back every other strip and place another strip going the opposite way, lay the folded pieces back over the top. Repeat until you have something that likes the picture below!

There are so many ways to decorate an apple pie. I really wanted to try out the weaving technique. I also took the left over dough and cut out little leaves to put around the edge.  Next, I'll try out the two crust pie. Want some more ideas? Check out different decorating techniques here!

 

To prevent the edges from browning too fast place greased foil, or a "pie edge cover", around the edge of the pie. When there is about 15-10 minutes left remove.

Traditional Apple Pie
Martha Day: Complete Baking


Ingredients:
For filling:
2 lbs tart eating apples, such as Granny Smith; peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla essence (extract)
4 oz (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 oz butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
2 tsp whipping cream

For pastry:
8 oz plain flour
1 tsp salt
6 oz lard or vegetable fat
4-5 tbsp iced water
1 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca

Direction:

1. Preheat over to 450'.
2. For the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in the fat until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
3. Sprinkle in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing lightly with your fingertips or with a fork until the pastry forms a ball.
4. Divide the pastry in half and shape each half into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the balls into a circle about 12in in diameter.
5. Use it to line a 9in pie tin, easing the dough in and being careful not to stretch it. Trim off the excess pastry and use for trimmings to decorate. Sprinkle the tapioca over the bottom of the pie shell.
6. Roll out the remaining past to 1/8in thickness. With a sharp knife, cut out 8 large leaf-shapes. Cut the trimmings into small leaf shapes. Score the leaves with the back of the knife to make vines.
7. In a bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon. Fill the pastry case with the apple mixture and dot with butter or margarine.
8. Arrange the large pastry leaves in a decorative pattern on top. Decorate the edge with small leaves.
9. Mix together the egg yolk and cream and brush other the leaves to glaze them. 
10. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350' and continue baking until the pastry is golden brown, 35-45 minutes. Let the pie cool in the tin, set on wire rack.

Penne Sausage Bake

If you can't come up with any other name, Pasta Casserole. I love pasta casseroles. Well, I love pasta, but when you are able to just throw it all in a dish and bake it, that's when my heart grows. I was surprised by the amount of taste this dish had without a lot of spices. If you find the right kind of sausage, you can really add a lot of flavor with out dumping in tons of seasonings. 

Of course, while you are cooking you want to add a little salt and pepper to each layer. I added a bit of s&p to the onions and peppers, then again when I added the sausage. You can really tell the difference with just these two seasonings. That is a little trick I learned from a very well known TV chef. She is one of my favorites and loves to cook italian food! Just a little hint. :) I, of course, love my spicy so after I added the cheese I sprinkled on a little red pepper flakes.

This was super easy and quick. It also was eaten fast, so I will have to make this again!

Penne Sausage Bake
tasteofhome Guilt Free Cooking


Ingredients:
1 package (16 oz) uncooked penne pasta
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Italian Turkey sausage links, casings removed
3 cups fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Direction:

1. Cook pasta according to package direction; drain. In a large skillet, saute green pepper an onion in oil for 6-7 minutes. Add sausage; cook and stir until sausage is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and pasta.
2. Transfer to a 3-qt baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350' for 15-20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Makes 9 servings

Nutrition: (1 cup) Calories 276; Fat 11g; Chol 40mg; Sodium 948mg; Carb 25g; Fiber 1g; Protein 18g