Oh My Heavens! Chicken Mac and Cheese.

I LOVE finding new food blogs. I seriously could spend all day reading food blogs and getting ideas from everyone else. Tonight I made this. Words cannot describe how amazing this was. It was a hit across the board. We had our friends over and even the kids loved it. K-Man ate way more than his sister and ate almost as much as his Mom (Me). It is definitely going into my arsenal of yummy recipes and I love that I had almost all of the ingredients at home with me.

Chicken Mac and Cheese

1 1/2 lbs whole wheat pasta

2 boneless chicken breasts, grilled and chopped

3 slices bacon, fried and crumbled

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

2 cups skim (room temperature)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded smoked gruyere cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Boil water for pasta and cook according to directions. In a skillet, fry bacon to crispy but not burnt. Take bacon out and place on paper towels and drain all but about a tablespoon of bacon grease. Place skillet back on burner and saute peppers and onions over medium heat.

In a medium saucepan on medium heat, add butter and flour and whisk together to create a roux. Add milk and cream, stirring constantly. Add cheeses and stir consistently for 5-8 minutes until mixture thickens.

In a baking dish, layer pasta, chicken, pepper and onion mixture, and bacon, Add half of cheese sauce, then more pasta, chicken, peppers, onion and bacon. Add remaining cheese sauce.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookie

Back home in Vancouver there used to be a great little cookie store in our mall called "Cookie Cutter". They were a family owned, small business place. They had these amazing chocolate marshmallow cookies, I'm talking AMAZING!! I got one every time I went to the mall and these things were ginormous. Then another bigger and more corporate funded store came in and took enough business away from "Cookie Cutter" that they closed shop. I have been craving these cookies for the passed decade. Every so often I would do a Google search and see if I could find a recipe but all the recipes I could find were made from a cake mix, a marshmallow, and canned frosting... not exactly what I was looking for. Then a few months ago I found this blog and this recipe and I knew I needed to try it. Thankfully it cooled down yesterday which gave me the ability to have the oven on and we have friends coming over for dinner and I figured these would make a perfect dessert.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

1 egg, beaten

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup shortening (I used butter)

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

1 2/3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

Beat egg and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla, shortening and melted chocolate. Blend well. Combine all dry ingredients into small bowl. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk to chocolate mixture.  Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. I flattened mine out a little bit so they spread more.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. When the cookies are almost done cooking, remove from oven and place 1/2 of a large marshmallow on top of each cookie (I used a full marshmallow and it was great but next time I might get marshmallow creme so it's really gooey!!). Return to oven for about 1 minute or just until marshmallow puffs. Remove from oven, flatten marshmallow with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula. I greased mine so the marshmallow wouldn't stick to it. Cool completely. Frost with chocolate frosting. 

 

Chocolate frosting:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup milk ( I used skim)

Beat softened butter in bowl. Add vanilla. Slowly beat in cocoa, powdered sugar, and milk. If needed, add more milk, a little at a time. 

Adapted from A Bountiful Kitchen

Creamy Garden Vegetable Soup

My roommate made me this when we lived in Utah and I loved it. It's a great way to use up zucchini because usually by this point in the season I've had enough zucchini whether it's grilled, deep fried, baked, or in some type of dessert but in this soup it gives great texture and AWESOME flavors. I forgot how much I loved this soup until I found it on Recipezaar. I was so excited I had to make it right away. We ate the whole pot!!

Bonus this soup is so easy even Sam can make it and he has very limited privileges in the kitchen due to the chicken-shrimp-pasta a roni debacle of '06. He actually made the soup tonight because I overbooked myself and it was delicious. He might even get his kitchen privileges back.

Creamy Garden Vegetable Soup

3 medium zucchini
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (If using dried decrease to 1 tsp.)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 medium tomatoes
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk (can use fat-free or low-fat)
1 ½ cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Chop zucchinis and tomatoes to bite sized pieces. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the zucchini, basil, parsley and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, stir occasionally. Add flour, salt and pepper and stir and cook for one minute. Gradually add the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice; mix well. Bring the soup to a simmer, stir to prevent anything from sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it (I always under cook it since it sits in the pot I really don't want it over done and mushy). Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the soup and simmer until the corn and zucchini are tender. Stir in the cheese just before serving.

* Notes- When it's just my family (Sam, Wesli, Kellen, and Myself) I halve the recipe because it's not as great to me the next day because the zucchini get a little too mushy.

I usually make rolls or breadsticks with this and it's delicious but I didn't this time.

French Bread into Rolls.

French Bread Rolls

adapted from allrecipes.com

*Makes about one dozen rolls

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

 

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let it get nice and frothy, creamy. Then add the oil, salt, and half the flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth , 5 to 7 minutes. Oil bowl, place dough in bowl, turn to coat, cover and let rise til double in size.

 

Tturn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces (about 75 grams each), and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls  and let rise until doubled in volume, 1 hour on a colder day, 35 minutes on a warmer day. Remember there is a TABLESPOON of yeast so they can over rise quickly!! Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake for 13-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Next time I will brush butter over the top. Yum!!

Didn't Miss the Beef Turkey Burgers.

I forgot to take a picture before... Sorry!

So this summer I have really enjoyed grilling!! I love burgers but with trying to lose the baby weight they haven't been the best. It's not just the beef though. It's the bun (even though we use the Orowheat sandwich thins), the mayo, the ketchup, the cheese. I've tried turkey burgers and they weren't bad but I knew they could be better and tonight they were. I had mine without a bun or ketchup or mayo. I topped mine with red onion, tomato, and lettuce. Then we had grilled zucchini on the side. No parmesan cheese. No oil. Just good ole' salt and pepper!! It was such a good and healthy dinner I can't wait to have it again.

The Problem with this recipe is I did it without measurements. I Salted til it felt right. Same with the pepper and the herbs.

Didn't Miss the Beef Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey
Fresh Oregano
Fresh Chives
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Parsley (a little goes a long way)
1 tsp. dijon mustard

Place ground turkey in a bowl. Chops the herbs fairly fine. Add herbs and mustard to the ground turkey. Mix with your fingers until it's just combined. Over working it leads to tougher burgers. Divide into 4 balls and flatten into desired size burgers (Mine were a little larger than the bun I was going to put them on). Layer between saran wrap or freezer paper and freeze for an hour. Grill on medium heat 4-5 minutes on each side.

Tips:
DO NOT PRESS ON THE BURGER WHILE IT"S COOKING
Only flip burgers once. The less they are handled the juicier they are.

Enjoy!

My Amazing Birthday Cake

So for the first time in a while I spent my birthday with my parents in Vancouver and I definitely want to spend every birthday from here on out there!! 

I asked my Mom to make me a cake she's been talking about for what seems like forever. TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE!! Guess what... my Mom came through for me and made the cake for me and it was amazing. It seemed a little labor intensive but I can say it was definitely worth it. Especially since I wasn't the one making it. Thanks Mom for the yummy cake!!

Ingredients

Bottom Layer
6	tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter , cut into 6 pieces, plus extra for greasing pan
7	ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (see note)
3/4	teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2	teaspoons vanilla extract
4	large eggs , separated
	Pinch table salt
1/3	cup packed (about 2 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar , crumbled with fingers to remove lumps
Middle Layer
2	tablespoons cocoa powder , preferably Dutch-processed
5	tablespoons hot water
7	ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (see note)
1 1/2	cups cold heavy cream
1	tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8	teaspoon table salt
Top Layer
3/4	teaspoon powdered gelatin
1	tablespoon water
6	ounces white chocolate chips (see note)
1 1/2	cups cold heavy cream
	Shaved chocolate or cocoa powder for serving, optional (see note)

Instructions

1. 1. FOR THE BOTTOM LAYER: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of 91/2-inch springform pan. Melt butter, chocolate, and espresso powder in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool mixture slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in vanilla and egg yolks; set aside.
   
2. In stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites and salt at medium speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Add half of brown sugar and beat until combined, about 15 seconds. Add remaining brown sugar and beat at high speed until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, about 1 minute longer, scraping down sides halfway through. Using whisk, fold one-third of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Carefully transfer batter to prepared springform pan, gently smoothing top with offset spatula.
   
3. Bake until cake has risen, is firm around edges, and center has just set but is still soft (center of cake will spring back after pressing gently with finger), 13 to 18 minutes. Transfer cake to wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. (Cake will collapse as it cools.) Do not remove cake from pan.
   
4. FOR THE MIDDLE LAYER: Combine cocoa powder and hot water in small bowl; set aside. Melt chocolate in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly, 2 to 5 minutes.
   
5. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip cream, granulated sugar, and salt at medium speed until mixture begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, 15 to 60 seconds.
    
6. Whisk cocoa powder mixture into melted chocolate until smooth. Using whisk, fold one-third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Spoon mousse into springform pan over cooled cake and gently tap pan on counter 3 times to remove any large air bubbles; gently smooth top with offset spatula. Wipe inside edge of pan with damp cloth to remove any drips. Refrigerate cake at least 15 minutes while preparing top layer.
   
   
7.  FOR THE TOP LAYER: In small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand at least 5 minutes. Place white chocolate in medium bowl. Bring ½ cup cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until fully dissolved. Pour cream mixture over white chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes (mixture will thicken slightly).
   
8. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip remaining cup cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, 15 to 60 seconds. Using whisk, fold one-third of whipped cream into white chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold remaining whipped cream into white chocolate mixture until no white streaks remain. Spoon white chocolate mousse into pan over middle layer. Smooth top with offset spatula. Return cake to refrigerator and chill until set, at least 2½ hours.

Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated.