Asparagus & Corn Chowder

This is slightly altered from Simple and Delicious.  And it is delicious.  I doubled it here because it only made a tiny pot of soup.  Good thing we had rolls too!

Asparagus & Corn Chowder

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 bunches fresh asparagus (rough ends trimmed off and the rest trimmed to 1-inch pieces)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1-1/2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn

Directions

• 1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add asparagus and onion; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until tender.  Add garlic and cook one minute more.
• 2. Stir in flour, salt, garlic powder and pepper until blended; gradually stir in broth and half-and-half. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 3-5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add chicken and corn; heat through.

Read more: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chicken--asparagus---corn-chowder/print#ixzz3VvQwhZdb

Chocolate Mousse & Praline Pie

Mmmm...mm.  I made this for Carrie's b-day.  It's easy and delish.

Chocolate Mousse and Praline Pie

Praline:

1/3 C. butter

1/4 C. packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp. cold water

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

2/3 C. coarsely chopped pecans

1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust

chocolate mousse filling (recipe below)

Pecan halves

Mousse:

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin

1 Tbsp. cold water

2 Tbsp. boiling water

1/2 C. sugar

1/4 C. cocoa powder

1 C. (1/2 pint) cold whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a small microwave-safe bowl, place butter.  Microwave at high (100%) 1 minute or until melted. In a separate bowl, mix the cold water with the cornstarch until smooth.  Add cornstarch mixture and brown sugar to the butter; stir.  Microwave at high 1 minute or until mixture comes to full boil.  Stir in chopped pecans; cool slightly.  Spread mixture on bottom of crust.  Place crust in freezer.

Prepare chocolate mousse filling:

In a small cup, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand 1 minute to soften.  Add boiling water; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear.  Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, stir together sugar and cocoa; add whipping cream and vanilla.  beat on medium to high speed of electric mixer, scraping bottom and sides of bowl occasionally, until stiff.  Add gelatin mixture; beat just until well blended.

Remove crust from freezer.  Carefully spread mousse filling over pecan layer.  Cover; refrigerate 3 to 4 hours.  Garnish with pecan halves.  Refrigerate leftover pie.  

Serves 6 to 8.

Recipe from Hershey's Chocolate Lover's Cookbook

I was looking for a way to use up some ricotta cheese and came across this recipe.  It made about 15 small but dense pancakes.  We had frozen blackberries to use and that was delicious.  You could probably use strawberries if you cut them up small and let them macerate in sugar for a long time before adding them, otherwise I'd stick with the other berries.

Berry Lemon Pancakes

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 large eggs

2-3 drops lemon oil or zest from 1 lemon + 1 tsp lemon juice 

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2/3 C ricotta cheese (can substitute Greek yogurt) 

2/3 C milk 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 C frozen or fresh raspberries, blackberries or blueberries

Maple Syrup 

Fresh berries, if desired

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Set aside.  

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon oil, vegetable oil, ricotta, milk and vanilla until well combined.  Add dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Do not over mix - batter should be lumpy.  Fold in berries.  

Heat griddle over medium heat; spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto griddle.  Cook 3-4 minutes or until bubbles begin to form on top, flip and cook 2-3 minutes.  Remove and keep warm.

Serve with butter, hot maple syrup and fresh berries, as desired.

Altered slightly from a recipe on cookingandbeer.com  (Srsly!?)

Skinny Mexican Casserole

This is a quicky, easy and healthy dinner (and yummy too).  I used homemade refried beans (Mandy's recipe) and I used a bit more than one can's worth.

Skinny Mexican Casserole

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilis, drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas, chopped
• 1 (16-ounce) can refried beans, warmed (or homemade refried beans – about 1.5 cups)
• 1 (10-ounce) can Old El Paso™ mild enchilada sauce
• 1 1/2 cups reduced fat shredded Mexican blend cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion and bell peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in black beans, corn, chili powder and cumin until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in green chiles and cilantro; set aside.
• Place tortillas evenly on the bottom of the baking dish. Spread refried beans evenly over the tortillas, followed by the onion mixture and enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.
• Place into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly.
• Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.

http://damndelicious.net/2014/12/22/skinny-mexican-casserole/

Marvelous Chicken Marinade

Ok, I hate the name of this marinade...someone needs to come up with something more creative.  :)  But the flavor is really good.  Some of the ingredient amounts kind of scared me but I decided to try it anyway and it was great.  Originally she called for 3 heaping tablespoons of minced garlic and 3 tablespoons of pepper so I cut those down.  Jeff said he loved it and gave it 4 stars and he hates mustard with a passion.  So if you're worried about the mustard, don't worry - it's not mustardy.  :)

Marvelous Chicken Marinade

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons dry Mustard

1 tablespoons Pepper

1/3 cup Seasoned Rice Vineagar

1 1/2 tablespoons dried Parsley 

2-3 Garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup Lemon Juice

Measure ingredients and pour into bag.

Zip bag closed and shake to mix everything up.

Add meat to Ziploc baggie.

 Make sure all of the meat is covered. 

 Let marinate for 4 hours or longer.*

I usually flip my bag over after the first two hours.

Remember the longer it marinates the better it is!

Yeah...so...I let mine marinate for 30 minutes because, you know...I never read a recipe ahead of time. :)  

Recipe slightly adapted from: http://robynsview.com/marvelous-marinade-the-best-marinade-ever/

Summer Berry Crisp

They also served this dessert at the RS meeting this weekend.  Also delightful! :)

Summer Berry Crisp

2 C. blackberries
2 C. blueberries
2 C. raspberries
1/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

TOPPING:
1 C. oats
1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 C. cold butter

Preheat oven to 350°.  Butter or grease a 9x13 pan.  Combine berries, sugar, flour, cinnamon and spread into pan.  In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar and salt.  Cut butter into chunks and cut into dry mixture till crumbly.  Bake uncovered for 60 minutes.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Banana Cake

We had this at our stake Relief Society meeting over the weekend....it's really good!  I baked mine for 35 minutes and it was a tad too long but of course every oven is different so just keep an eye on it. :)
When cooling the frosting, just let it cool until it starts to thicken...you don't want it so hot that it just soaks into the cake but not so cool that it's hard to spread. :)

Banana Cake

1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 C. mashed bananas
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. milk
1 3/4 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt

Cream butter & sugars.  Add egg yolks, mashed bananas, vanilla and milk; mix well.  Add flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt and mix well.  In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until white, but no peaks.  Fold egg whites into batter.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes.  (DO NOT double baking soda or baking powder when doubling recipe.)

Chocolate Frosting
1 C. sugar
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. cocoa
1/4 C. milk or cream
1 tsp. vanilla

In medium saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil & boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat, stir well, cool slightly & spread on cake.  If needed, add 1 tsp milk to thin frosting before spreading.

Pizza Sauce

This is a delicious pizza sauce.  The original recipe called for 2 Tbsp honey but I thought it was a tad too sweet.  Jeremy thought it was great though.  It's our favorite sauce we've tried!

Pizza Sauce (Exquisit Pizza Sauce on Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste 6 fluid ounces warm water 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 ½ - 1 ¾ tablespoons honey 3/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram 1/4 teaspoon dried basil 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.

In a small saucepan, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.  Heat over medium-low heat for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes enough for two pizzas.

Spaghetti Carbonara

I've always wanted to try Spaghetti Carbonara but never had until tonight.  It's easy and delicious.  Tiernan and Mia loved it.  I caramelized the onions and I used only about 1/8 c. of the chicken broth. Oh, and I didn't have any parsley so we skipped that altogether.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 40 Minutes Servings: 8

"Pasta, eggs, cheese, and bacon come together in the ultimate Italian favorite: spaghetti carbonara. Ready in less than 45 minutes, this recipe is a sure kid-pleaser."

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound spaghetti 1 tablespoon olive oil 8 slices bacon, diced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup chicken broth (optional) 4 eggs 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside.
2.	Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add broth, if desired; cook one more minute.
3.	Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. Add beaten eggs and cook, tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. Quickly add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and toss again. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty).
4.	Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table. Recipe altered slightly from allrecipes.com.