Fettuccine Alfredo

    For me, this recipe tastes like redemption. Fettuccine Alfredo is my husband's favorite meal of all time, so I wanted to make it for our first dinner in our new home after being cooped up in a hotel for a month. I tried an Olive Garden "copycat" recipe and needless to say, it was a Pinterest fail.  The sauce was thin, lumpy, and way to buttery. I was disappointed, but you know what? It was our first home cooked meal in a month and we ate it anyway. We have been living in our sweet, cozy home for about a month, and the other day I decided I was ready to try to make fettuccine alfredo again, but this time, I was doing it my way.
    The matter of the truth is, you can't melt cream cheese in a sauce pan without getting some lumps. This is a rare occasion when the microwave beats out the stove top. By melting the butter and cream cheese in the microwave together at the right ratio, you end up with smooth, creamy perfection.

See? Smooth, creamy perfection.

     Now all you have to do is throw this mixture in a saucepan, add some heavy cream, and boom! Fettuccine Alfredo. It's seriously that easy. Of course you'll want to add some cracked peppercorn to give it some more flavor.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients

1 package of noodles

8oz Cream Cheese

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 1/2 cupc heavy whipping cream

cracked peppercorn to season

parsley to garnish

1.  In a microwave safe bowl, heat cream cheese and butter in 30 second intervals until completely smooth with no lumps.

2. In a large pot, bring water to boil, cook noodles to al dente, and drain excess water.

3. Add the mixture to a saucepan on med/high heat and stir in heavy whipping cream. When sauce begins to bubble, turn the heat to low and add cracked peppercorn to taste.

4. Pour sauce over noodles, garnish with parsley if desired, and enjoy!:)

Cooking confession: My husband is lactose intolerant, but the fact that he has seen me make the sauce with cream cheese makes his stomach hurt even more. Sometimes when I cook I use ingredients he doesn't like and just don't tell him. This method works with kids too! lol  

                                                                        

 

Toasted Raviolis

 
    I'm not about to lie, this recipe is a "put your hair up and wash your hands up to your elbows type of recipe" But goodness, does it pay off in the end! There are quite a few steps in making toasted raviolis, but the good thing is that you can make and stuff your noodles and freeze them then boil, bread, and toast later.

     In my house, we LOVE Italian food! We eat it probably about three times a week and our pantry is never out of pasta. Toasted Ravioli was its own basic food group when John and I lived in Illinois. Living fifteen minutes from St. Louis made it quite accessible, and we had a St Louis style pizza restaurant called Imos right in town that served some of the best toasted ravs (as the cool kids, or my best friend Emilee Castro would say). Unfortunately, instead of fifteen minutes from St. Louis, we are about seventeen hours away, so no restaurant toasted raviolis for us:( I have never made pasta dough before, but I decided to give it a try for the luxury of toasted ravioli.

     First thing I did was grab one of the four boxes of pasta I had in my pantry and read the ingredients list. Sans the preservatives, it pretty much consisted of flour and eggs. Simple right? Well, not too far into the process I realized I should have added three cups of flour rather than three and a half. My dough was clumpy and did not hold together. However, I had dedicated the last eggs I had in my fridge to this recipe, so I wasn't about to throw the towel in.  Luckily, I knew a trick that I use for the same situation dealing with bread and pizza dough. if this happens to you, add one tablespoon of olive oil and all your problems will be solved. Unless you screwed up big time, then add two. But don't worry! If you stick to this recipe, you will find success.
 

               Toasted Ravioli

prep time: 1hr       Cooktime: 20mins          yields approx 15 

Ingredients

For pasta dough:

3 cups flour

4 eggs

For breading:

2 cups flour

2 eggs
2 cups panko bread crumbs

1 tbs basil

2 tsp parsley

For filling:

1lb ground beef

1 tbs oregano

For Sauce:

                                                                                                        Ragu traditional spaghetti sauce

                                                                                                        parmesan

                                                                                                        oregano

1. Whisk eggs and add to stand mixer bowl. Attach a dough hook, and add flour one cup at a time and mixing on low until dough is smooth, but not sticky. If the dough is sticky, add small amounts of flour at a time until it no longer sticks. 

2. Lightly flour a surface and begin to roll out the dough. You want to create a smooth, thin layer. Using an empanada stamp, begin to cut out noodles. 

3. In a frying pan, brown ground beef, and season with salt and pepper. Drain excess oil and add 1 tbs oregano.

4. In a small bowl, whisk one egg. Lightly brush the edges of the noodles with the egg wash. This will help seal the meat inside of the noodle and keep it from busting open.

5. Add desired amount of meat to the center of the noodle, and fold edges, pressing them down to create a seal.

6. You can put these noodles in a plastic bag and store in the freezer until you are ready to use, or go right ahead and start boiling them. It should take around ten minutes to boil, but always check one just in case. While the noodles are boiling, prepare your assembly line.

7. Arrange bowls into an assembly line. Add flour to the first bowl and whisked eggs to the next. In the third bowl, combine panko bread crumbs, basil, and parsley.
8. Once noodles are cooked, place them one a plate and pat dry excess water. Dredge raviolis in flour, dip them in egg wash, coat them with breading, and place them directly onto the crisping tray. If you do not have a crisping tray, a normal cookie sheet will do fine.

9. Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees, or until outer side is crispy.
10. Use favorite tomato sauce as side and add a pinch of oregano and some parmesan. Enjoy! :)


Cooking confession: I didn't have a pastry wheel or pasta machine, so I used an empanda stamp. I guess you could call these the tex mex version of toasted ravioli. Ha ha! The point is when in doubt, use the resources you have and a little bit of creativity and you can make perfectly tasty meals.

Mediterranean Crockpot Chicken

    In the summer of 2014 I had a wonderful opportunity to travel to Europe. I was thrilled our first stop was Greece, as I had been learning Greek independently for three years at the time. I fell in love with the culture and the country, ad all of the life lessons I learned that I will carry with me forever.

Off the coast of Hydra, my favorite island we visited!

Yes, I'm riding a mule in a dress. I make it work.

     Greece has a lot more to offer than just beautiful scenery. Let's talk cuisine. A key element of mediterranean food is citrus. Many meals include lemon and herbs with sweet pine or citrus notes, especially meals that include chicken. So as a tribute to my lovely days in Greece, I'm going to teach you how to make mediterranean chicken in one of the best culinary inventions-- the crockpot.

     For days I don't feel like cooking or cleaning a ton of dishes, my crock pot is a god send. To me, a good crockpot meal is savory and effortless. This mediterranean chicken is no exception. There are a few easy tricks to making this chicken as juicy and flavorful as possible. Soaking the chicken in two cups of water and one tablespoon of salt one hour prior to cooking will prevent the chicken from drying out in the cooking process. Also, before placing the chicken in the crockpot, we are going to season and tenderize it. This not only embed the seasoning into the chicken, but will allow it to cook evenly. If you don't have a tenderizer at home, you can use a skillet or mashed potato scooper. Really anything metal that will create blunt force. Don't be afraid to get creative. Cous cous would have been more mediterranean than wild rice, but I love the additional flavor it brings to the plate.

Mediterranean Crockpot Chicken

          Prep time: 1hr 5mins    Cooktime:4hrs  Yeilds 5 chicken breasts           

Ingredients

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 lemon, zested and sliced

peppercorn

marjoram

rosemary

basil

1 box of wild rice

parsley to garnish (optional)

1. Lay pieces of chicken on a cutting board. Begin to sprinkle marjoram, rosemary, basil, lemon zest, and cracked peppercorn onto the top surface of the chicken. Tenderize the meat, embedding the spices into the chicken.

2. Pour two cups of chicken stock into the crockpot and add chicken. Try not to stack chicken and line the bottom of the pot evenly as best as you can. Place lemon slices on top of the chicken. Cook on high for about 4 hours, or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

3. When chicken is cooked or close to being cooked, begin making the rice. Follow directions on the back of the box, but use 1 tbsp butter instead of oil. After rice is cooked completely, stir in a splash of chicken stock for flavor.

4. Serve chicken over rice. Garnish will parsley if desired.  Καλή όρεξη! Enjoy your meal! :)

Cooking confession: I got fancy with the plating because I watched too much food network that day.

Authentic (sort of) Tacos

               Today I want to share a recipe that has recently won over my husbands heart. He even liked it better than my spaghetti, which is a Grandma Jan original, so that's saying something.  I admit, this was the first time I made tacos without pre-made taco seasoning, so I was flying by the seat of my pants with this recipe. Basically I just threw in all of the spices and ingredients that sounded good to me and went with it. However, there are two ingredients that make these tacos sort of authentic-- the fried tortilla shells and potatoes. I was introduced to the concept of putting potatoes in a taco a few years ago when I had some of the best tacos I've had in my life at a little restaurant called Morales Tacos in Collinsville,Illinois. If you live close to the area and haven't been, I highly recommend it. Even though it's been years, I can still taste all of that goodness in my mind, and I decided that those very tacos would be the inspiration for my recipe. John and I decided to just add cheese to our tacos since we were out of lettuce (we are plain Janes) but don't forget to add your tomatoes, sour cream, or whatever you put on your tacos to make them extra yummy!

Authentic (sort of) Tacos

Prep Time: 5 mins                      Cooktime: 30 mins              Yeilds 6 hearty tacos

Ingredients

1lb Ground Beef

1/2 sweet vandalia onion, finely chopped

1 potato, sliced and chopped

1 tbs butter

1 tbs oregano

1/4 tsp paprika

salt and peppercorn to taste

Tortillas

1. Peel the onion and cut it in half using a chef's knife. Finely chop one half of the onion and set aside. To save time and get the best results in size, I put the onion in my food processor and pulse it a few times. You can place the other half of the onion in a zip-lock bag and keep in the fridge for later use. 

2. Peel the potato and slice into thin slices. Place the slices into separate stacks and slice in vertical strips, finishing with one horizontal slice through the middle. Do not try to slice to many pieces of potato at once, as this can result in cutting yourself. Refer to the picture above  for desired size. 

3. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Do not drain the juice! Add salt and peppercorn to taste.

4. Add the onion, 1/2 tbs of butter, and oregano. Mix the ingredients well in with the meat.

5. Once the onions have become caramelized, reduce the heat to med/low and add the potato. Put a lid on the skillet and let set for about ten minutes, occasionally stirring, or until the potatoes are cooked all the way through. Then set the skillet on the warmer (if you don't have a warmer on your stove, just reduce the heat to the lowest setting) so you can get started on the tortilla shells.

6. Heat a second skillet and melt 1/2 tbs. When the butter begins to form small bubbles, the skillet is hot enough to add the tortilla. Adding the tortilla too soon will result in a soggy instead of crispy taco shell.

7. Let the tortilla cook a few minutes on each side to achieve a crispy, buttery shell. When you see the tortilla start to bubble up, you know it's ready to be flipped using a pair of tongs. Fold the torilla over in the pan and flip a few additional times to create the actual appearance of a shell.

8. Repeat the process as necessary to make the needed amount of shells, only adding butter when the pan becomes close to dry. 

9. Fill your beautiful shells with the taco meat, add desired toppings, and enjoy! 

Cooking confession: While John and I live in San Antonio, we have yet to eat any authentic Mexican food at the restaurants here. I know, it needs to happen soon!

Lemon Glazed Muffins

        I can sum up these muffins in three words--moist, lemony, and sweet. These muffins are SO good and will be sure to put a smile on your face. However, if you look at my chocolate chip muffin recipe and compare it to this one, you might notice some similarities. These cupcakes are alike but VERY different in taste, and that is part of the magic of baking recipes. My base for all of my muffins and cupcakes are the same: sugar, eggs,buttermilk, flour,baking power and soda. from these, it's all about the flavor. Get to know your base and use your creativity to make recipes of your very own! Just remember that different ingredients will require different baking times and you'll have to adjust for that. That's the only tricky part! Now let's get down to how to make these muffins!

                    Lemon Glazed Muffins

       Prep time: 5mins             Cooktime: 13-15mins           Yields 1 dozen

For a bit of a different flavor, add 1 1/2 cups of blueberries to the batter. Yum!

Ingredients                         

1/2 butter (1 stick) melted            

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk

2 larger eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1tbsp baking powder

1 lemon, zested and juiced

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tbs half and half

1. In a medium whisking bowl, mix melted butter, suagr, eggs, and buttermilk.

2. Grate lemon zest into the batter. Slice the lemon in half and add the juice too. Be careful not to get any seeds in the batter!

3. Add the baking soda and baking powder. The batter with begin to fizz and froth. This is normal and okay as the acidity of the lemon is reacting with the base. 

4. Add the flour one cup at a time, mixing thoroughly between each cup added.

5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line the baking tin with cupcake liners.

I got a pack of these (also comes with pink and blue) at Michael's and thought they were super cute and fitting for the lemon theme. :) Fill each liner with two tablespoons of batter. Then bake for 13-15 minutes. To check if they are done, lightly tap the tops of the muffins. If they are done your fingers should bounce back up. If not, bake for a few more minutes.

6. In a small mixing bowl. Mix together the powdered sugar and half and half. Most glaze recipes out there will tell you to use milk and if you would like to, go ahead and substitute. I like the extra thickness that half and half adds. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over your muffins and enjoy!:)

Cooking confession: It's no secret that I love baking cupcakes and muffins. I love baking and decorating miniature cakes! Normal size cakes,,,not so much.

Philly Cheese Steaks

           Simple and easy, this is a recipe that appeals to all ages. What's not to love about juicy, cheesy, steak goodness? This is a meal I like to prepare when I'm tired,  have laundry that still needs to be done, or a million other things to do besides cooking. I love enjoying a hearty dinner after a busy day that's not quite over yet, and now you can too!

           Philly Cheese Steaks

             prep time: 5 mins        Cooktime: 15 mins         Yields: 5 servings

As you can see, I have some dipping sauce on the side. Well,
I cheated. It's an au ju mix I bought at the store. If you want
to stay true to the homemade theme-- drippings make good dippings.

Ingredients

2 (usually sells at 1.97)lb skirt steak

1 package sesame buns

1 tbsp butter

1/4 cup beef broth

1/2 tsp rosemary

3 slices of provolone (or as much as you like)

1. Place the skirt steak on a chopping board. at a 45 degree angle, use a chef's knife to create thin slices of meat. 

2. In a large frying pan, melt butter with heat on med/high and add the meat to the pan. Try to evenly distribute the meat throughout the pan. Cook until there is no longer any pink,

3. Reduce the heat and add beef broth and rosemary. 

4. Place slices of cheese over the meat and allow it to melt. Then fold it into the meat.

And there you have it! Four simple steps to a delicious meal. Put it in a bun and spoon some juices over it. Make it your own and add sauteed onions or peppers and enjoy!:)

Cooking confession: On days where I really don't feel like cooking I make...dare I say it... hamburger helper. I know, don't judge.

Chicken Penne in Garlic Sauce

Aromatic, flavorful, and light, this pasta dish is everything you want it to be. Enjoy this restaurant style taste in the comfort of your home with this simple to prepare, but elegant tasting dish.

             There are a few ingredients that make this dish a winner. The first has to do with preparation. This kitchen secret is one I use EVERY time I prepare chicken for juicy chicken that never gets dry! Soak the chicken breasts in two cups of water mixed with a tablespoon of salt for one hour before you start cooking. The second secret to success in this dish is the chicken broth. It maximizes the flavor of the dish without compromising the creaminess of the sauce. And let's not forget the star of the show, garlic! 

Prep Time: 1 hr.             Cooktime: 30 mins.              Yeilds 5 servings

Chicken Penne in Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and cracked peppercorn to taste

marjoram to taste

1 package of penne

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp butter

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

parsley and parmesan to garnish

1, Place chicken in a bowl of salt water one hour before preparing dish.

2. Take chicken out of salt water, pat dry, and cube. Season with salt, peppercorn, and marjoram and saute in a medium saucepan on med/high until chicken is cooked all the way through.

3. Bring a pot of water to boil and add penne. Cook to al dente, drain, and set aside.

4. Mince garlic and add to chicken, stirring for 1 minute. 

5. Add butter, chicken broth, and heavy whipping cream to the sauce pan. Bring to a slight boil then turn the heat on low and put a lid on the pan. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. 

6. Remove the sauce from heat and allow to set for 2-3 minutes to thicken. Pour sauce over noodles and serve. Garnish with parsley and parmesan if desired.

Cooking confession: This was the first dish I cooked with garlic that wasn't powdered or already minced. I had no idea how to get it out of the peel! One time I saw Anne Burrell crack a garlic clove by smacking it with a giant chef's knife and I thought, "Yeah, I can do that"...no. Just no.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

           The other day I went to the HEB to pick up some groceries for dinner. I drug my husband aisle through aisle, even making him circle back to pick up items I forgot on my list, only to find out I forgot the poptarts he takes to work every morning for breakfast! So while he was at work, I whipped up these muffins with items I had at home. Simple and fun, this recipe is like making chocolate chip cookies, but with different measurements and a secret ingredient that is the key for awesome muffins and cupcakes-- buttermilk! if you don't have buttermilk on hand, don't fret. With a tablespoon of lemon juice and a cup of milk, you can make it yourself! Just let the mixture sit for about five minutes or until it begins to curd. Now you have buttermilk to make these delicious muffins!

Prep time: 5 mins.        Cooktime: 13-15 mins.        Yields approx. 1 dozen

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place cupcake liners in the cupcake tin.

2. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together sugars, melted butter, eggs, and buttermilk.

3. Add the baking soda, baking powder, and flour, stirring in the flour a little bit at a time.

4.Lastly, stir in the chocolate chips. The batter should be creamy and smooth, almost resembling cookie dough.

5. Scoop two tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner and bake for 13-25 minutes at 375 degrees or until slightly golden. To check if they are done, lightly tap the tops of the muffins. If your fingers bounce back up they are done!

Cooking confession: When I was a little kid, I used to only let my younger siblings help me make box muffins if they referred to me as "Chef master Carley".