(Last Night's) Dinner: Tortellini Soup and Cheesy Biscuits

Pinterest can be such a black hole and a time suck. One can spend HOURS searching and pinning and creating boards... most never to be looked at again. I try every once in a while to go through my "Foodstuffs" board where I've pinned countless recipes and find a few to make. This was one of them, Looked good, easy and I usually have a thing of tortellini from Trader Joe's in my freezer. I used this recipe and it was fine. Truthfully, it was a little bland so next time I think I'd do a few things different, I like soups that have more complex flavors, What I did do different from the recipe is I blended the soup prior to adding the pasta and spinach, I despise tomato chunks, also I had Pesto Tortellini so I think if it had been cheese filled it also may have been a little better. All in all it was a decent soup.

For the biscuits I used a random mix I had for buttermilk biscuits, you could use Bisquick Mix or make them from scratch, they are all pretty easy, and then I added about cup of shredded sharp cheddar, some garlic salt, and Italian seasoning (basically whatever i had in my pantry) mixed them and baked them according to directions (450 for 8-10 mins) and then as soon as they came out of the oven I brushed them with some melted butter that I mixed with garlic powder, basically I re-created the biscuits you get at Red Lobster. I know they sell a mix now at the stores and it's not too bad, but they are easy to recreate without the "official" stuff. Maybe the whole meal would have also been better if it'd been soup weather outside, it was one of the warmest days of the year so far so it was probably better suited to fire up the grill than eat soup.

PS Follow me on Pinterest here annadria

Dinner: "Plan A" Tuscan Brick Chicken with Charred Lemons and Gorgonzola Gnocchi

So I finally pulled out the intended dinner from the other night. It was a pretty easy recipe from My homegirl Chrissy's book (seriously buy it, it's worth it). So it sounded a little intimidating and I may have bought a cast iron pan just so I could cook this and I happened to have some random bricks in my garage so I think thats what sealed it for me (Don't worry I washed the bricks and then triple wrapped them in foil). The recipe for the chicken is as follows:

John's Tuscan Brick Chicken with Charred Lemons (PS John Legend could make me chicken ANYDAY)

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons very finely minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
1 ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Grated zest of 2 lemons, plus 2 skin-on lemons, quartered
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken leg quarters
2 tablespoons canola oil
Special equipment ? 2 bricks ($1 at Home Depot)

In a bowl, combine the olive oil, rosemary, sage, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, the pepper, and lemon zest. Pat the chicken dry and place it in a baking dish. Rub the herb mixture all over the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. 
Double-wrap the bricks in a heavy-duty foil (this is your workout for the day). Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the canola oil, then add the chicken, skin-side down, and weight it down with the bricks. (If they don't all fit comfortably, use 2 pans, or cook in batches.) Cook, without moving the chicken, for 7 to 9 minutes, or until the underside is crisped and mahogany brown (don't lift it, which means be a more patient person than me). Remove the bricks, flip the chicken, weight it down with the bricks again, and continue to cook until the underside is browned and the meat is cooked through, 7 to 9 minutes. (If the skin on the first side seemed too dark, reduce the heat to medium. To check if the meat is done, pierce the thickest part with a knife; if the juices that come out have no pink, it's done)
Remove the chicken from the pan, add the quartered lemons, and sear until slightly charred and caramelized, about 2 minutes per side. Serve the chicken with more salt to taste and the charred lemons for squeezing.   

My Tips: I would def make this again.... but I would probably just use the thighs or even skin-on chicken breasts, Leg quarters are fine and all but I feel like they are more for show. Practically speaking I would have prob got the same amount of meat off a thigh than the boney combo. Also I don't like the idea of cutting the meat to check for doneness... if it's not and you put the brick back on it you are squeezing out all the juicy goodness... with dark meat it's not as bad as if it were a chicken breast... but why do it. Use a meat thermometer if you can.

yep I dug this out of the trash, just to take a pic

The gnocchi was kinda a cheat. Good old Trader Joes for the win. Honestly I saw Rachel Ray make gnocchi from scratch on her show the other day and the motivated part of me was like "Hey! I can do that" and then the realistic side kicked in and was like "hey! you have a bag of that in the freezer!" the Freezer won and I''m not mad at it. I did sprinkle a little fresh cracked pepper and fresh parsley over it cause I'm fancy like that. 

Dinner: Steak Cauliflower Fried "Rice"

So one of my favorite gifts this Christmas came from my bestie, Jen. It was a custom cookbook from Tasty. You know all those yummy Facebook videos that we all drool over... well apparently you can custom create a cookbook picking from their categories and recipes. (see it here) it's straight genius. She obviously knows me well and appreciates reaping the rewards of a new recipe. (I have leftovers if you need lunch tomorrow)

Tonight's recipe is brought to you by my personalized cookbook and my need to regroup after last nights carb over-load. I basically followed this recipe but used sliced beef chuck (pre-packaged but unseasoned for carne asada and cut it into more manageable sizes) I marinated the meat in a little bit of Soy Sauce, and garlic and let it sit while I prepped the veggies. Pro tip (okay okay i'm no pro... but I read it somewhere) instead of using the blade in the food processor if you have the grater attachment run it through that like you would grate cheese, you just get a better consistency so it doesn't turn to mush... and i use a little of the stem too. I know... crazy town over here. Anyway it was pretty straightforward, easy and dare I say tasty... (internal groan) and doesn't leave you with the take-out hangover from traditional Fried Rice and I'm guessing is just as good the next day.

Dinner: Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Asparagus

OK, so I figured if I was going to annoy everyone with my social media posts about dinner I might as well link to the recipes I'm using so that others can try them if they fill so inclined. So thus begins my blogger (again, pretty sure I've "begun" about a half dozen times.) I'll try and add the ones I've already made since I know some people have asked so check back!

Tonight's dinner was originally going to be just a quick Shrimp and Asparagus StirFry. Then I got to thinking that I should prob offer my poor husband (who is along for this dinner-cooking ride) some carbs. Viola pasta. and then I got to thinking how lemon, garlic and butter all pair so nicely together... and luckily the Internet agrees... I love Pinterest for many reasons but being able to basically search for recipe idea based solely off ingredients is amazing.  I browsed for a minute (literally while standing the cereal aisle of Winco) and decided on trying this one from a www.littlespicejar.com. The recipe was easy to follow and I think it turned out great. (recipe note, I used parsley at the end cause I didn't have any basil)

For the  asparagus I cut the bottoms off, tossed with some EVOO (that's Extra Virgin Olive Oil for those that don't watch Rachel Ray on the daily) added some salt and pepper and threw in the oven at 425 degrees for maybe 10 mins (I didn't time it, basically once they turn bright green and start to smoke and char a little you know they are done) right after I took them out I sprinkled on some grated parm cheese and called it good.   

The whole meal came together very fast, helps that shrimp cooks in like 3 mins so really boiling the water for the pasta took the longest (seriously, my stove takes FOREVER!). So lets say the whole thing took 20 mins to put together, and the ingredients for the whole pot cost less than $20 (It prob made 4 generous portions, means I have leftovers, YAY!) I think that's win win... at a restaurant I would have probably waited longer (had over cooked shrimp) and paid close to $20 (or more) for the one plate...  man I'm rocking this whole cooking dinner thing!

Saturday Cake Baking; Why can't things turn out like the picture... and always have a Plan B

So it was another spring weather weekend here in SLC which means anything from sun to snow... and all in between. It was going to be an indoor project weekend since yard work is best left to days when it isn't hailing. I had seen a recipe for a Chiffon cake that look interesting and appealing (translation super yummy looking) in a random newspaper flier insert and decided to give it the good ole college try.

yea... mine DOES NOT look like that 

Spring Has Sprung... and Apparently So Has My Motivation

Spring is Here! The weather has been slowly getting better and better (which, I assume will take a turn for the worse any day now... we're due up for at least one more blizzard) but it means pool season is just around the corner! In preparation for summer there have been some good things going on around here... a few weekends ago we cleaned the house top to bottom, which is such a cliche way to kick spring off but hey... it works. The sun comes out, the layers come off and as we stumble out of our winter hibernation it's nice to just get the dust off everything (and in our case cat and dog hair).  Once done on the inside I moved outside to the project that is our back yard. Having gone all winter without a helping hand and being abused by three dogs the yard was in pretty poor shape, nothing a few choice words for the pine trees and the dogs for both equally littering the yard with their droppings and an hour of steady raking (seriously though, our yard isn't that big) it started to look more like the cute quaint space I fell in love with, than the hazardous waste sight it had become over winter. This last weekend we decided to gate the grass and patio off from the dogs and throw down some grass seed hoping to fill in some of the barren spots. My fingers are crossed that my (plant) killing spree has ended and the little seeds take root. Maybe if I pep talk the yard everyday and lay out my vision for this summer it will rise to the occasion and grow, let's hope I have ambitious grass.

Pine needles everywhere you look

My December...

Where oh where did the month go! I tell ya just the other day I was musing on about pies and here we are almost to the new year. So it's recap time! I started the month off pretty much how I ended November... Baking! December is the best time for treats... not sure if it's the holidays or that space in time between Thanksgiving and the New Year when calories don't count but I love it! This season was filled with all new treats! Started the treat making with Cake Pops

it's tradition that my dear friend, Jen and I make treats. Years past have been chocolate covered marshmallows and this year we decided to mix it up a bit, though the same process was involved with sticks, melted chocolate and toppings... lots and lots of toppings!

They turned out super cute and tasty! next up were the hundreds of turtles I must have made over the course of the month. these are the easiest treat ever. Pretzel, place a Rolo on top and soften in the oven for a few minutes, take out of the oven and smoosh a pecan on top! let cool and set and viola done!

There are roughly 56 Rolo's in a bag... I think between making them at my Moms', mine and my sisters' houses I made maybe 8 bags worth... you do the math, but they are a hit every where they went. Probably my favorite baked good where the little spritz cookies i made with the cookie press I received last year. I had never used such a contraption but it was surprising fun and easy and who doesn't like a cookie gun! One batch made quite a bit but they were little so it was actually the perfect amount. (p.s. yes, after this I am the cookie pro!)

They turned out so freaking cute and delicious! I will be making those again! In between treat making... there were some crafting to be had so here is this years project. cute little mason jar snow globes.

Surprisingly this was all crammed into the first half of the month... add to that a couple Christmas parties, including one with a stay at Stien Erickson Lodge up at Deer Valley, and one filled with friends food and fun and by the 15th I was pooped but the fun was just starting. That day I flew out to Seattle for 5 days to stay over during my sisters Birthday. The trip was filled with catching up with old friends, feeding a Zebra, a photo-bombing peacock  (more on that later) a couple Ferry Boat rides, a gorgeous sunrise a spectacular sunset over downtown, eating food I can't get in Utah, a Birthday party whew. 

Once back from Seattle it was a mad dash to the Christmas finish line where the F-Hub and I spent Christmas Eve eating Chinese Food with my family and watching A Christmas Story (Clint's first time). Christmas morning was started with traditional waffles and present opening. The party didn't end there, we drove back to Logan to spend the rest of Christmas with Clint's family eating another delicious meal and exchanging gifts. I'm glad the timing worked out that we were able to spend the holidays with both our families. I know that that can get hard as relationships and families grow. I also know how extremely blessed I am. I have a great family, am gaining another one in Clint's and speaking of Clint I am so grateful to have such a wonderful man in my life, words can not explain what he means to me and how excited I am for the upcoming year planning and continuing our lives together. I started this year off a little rocky and a little lost but could not be ending it on a better note. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and I wish everyone a Happiest of New Years! 

xoxo

The Great Zucchini Bread Experiment...

One of my favorite things about late summer/early fall is the "harvest" or in my case picking through whatever my parents either haven't eaten or are sicking of eating from their annual garden. My favorite is snagging an over grown zucchini that isn't good for anything but making baked goods with (or slicing it up, battering it and frying it... but that's a whole other post). So back to Bread... I'm a huge fan of making quick breads like banana bread or zucchini bread mostly cause they're easy. No yeast to kill, or waiting for it to rise hoping you didn't screw it up and kneading bread sucks. I'm all about the mix and bake variety. This time though I decided to try a new recipe and compare it to my good ole trusty one. so compare.

the first is from my good friend Betty Crocker, the other a little more fancy. Major difference in the second is the sour cream and orange zest oh and the call for a "topping" that I nixed. Anyhoo I gathered my ingredients.

ha! I realized It's practically an ad for the "Great Value" brand... you're welcome Wal-Mart

and went to work. I mixed up separate batches of both recipes and once in the pans you could tell the difference by the color variation. Quick tip... aside from greasing and flouring the pans I lined the bottoms with a strip of parchment paper to ensure they didn't stick when removing them from the pans. best trick ever. 

not the greatest picture I realize but one side the batter is darker then the other

once baked up you could see the difference a little better. 

the mini loaf pan is one of my favorites right next to my mini cupcake pan

after about an hour I had this...

 

After trying slices of each you could tell a few differences. The Orange scented bread really did smell like oranges and it was dare you say more "moist" then its Betty Crocker counterpart. I think Betty cooked up better and was a sturdier loaf but all in all they were both good and I would use either recipe again. I wish I had more user input, maybe done more of a taste test lol, but lets be honest I don't know many people in Logan. The day after I made the bread I did head to Salt Lake for a few days and brought some with me for my family and a friend (Jen- you never did tell me which you liked best lol) but I think they were just stoked to get baked goods that deciding which was better wasn't their first priority... eating it was. If anyone wants to know more info on the recipes etc. just hit me up I'm happy to pass it along...