Creamy Garlic Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus

This recipe came from Eating Well. The original recipe also had peas and red peppers but I only used the asparagus. Instead of adding the shrimp and asparagus to the pasta while it was boiling, I sauteed them seperately. I also added a shallot. I bought pine nuts, but later realized I forgot to add them. Oops! The sauce was really good. The raw garlic really gave it a bite. I think, though, that next time I'd add less raw garlic to the sauce and saute it with the shallots, asparagus, and shrimp instead.


Ingredients

• 6 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
• 1 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp
• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain well.
2. Sautee shallots and asparagus. After a few minutes, add the shrimp and cook until pink and cooked through.
3. Mash garlic and salt in a large bowl until a paste forms. Whisk in yogurt, parsley, lemon juice, oil and pepper. Add the pasta mixture and toss to coat. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts (if using).

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

I've been wanting to use my slow-cooker more. I just want to choose recipes that are at least somewhat healthy - and don't include cream of something soup. This recipe was simple and good. If you have any good slow cooker recipes, please pass them on!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 3 potatoes, diced
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
2. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Pumpkin Bars

This is another dessert I made for my friend's baby shower.  It's so easy but so good. Everyone seemed to love this dessert too, in fact I had several recipe requests.

Ingredients

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg

• 1 (29 oz) can pumpkin
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I made my own. Recipe below.)

• 1/4 cup butter, chilled
• 1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly greese a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Set aside 1 cup of cake mix. Combine remaining cake mix with melted butter and 1 egg and mix until well blended. Spread mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, milk, 3 eggs, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well and pour this mixture over cake mix mixture in baking dish.
4. In a small bowl with a pastry blender, or in a food processor, combine chilled butter and white sugar with reserved 1 cup of cake mix until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinklie over pumpkin mixture. 
5. Bake 45-50 minutes until top is golden.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. In a small bowl mix together the ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

Chocolate Caramel Chex

My mom has made this recipe SO many times and everytime I obsess over it. I can't get enough of it. In fact, she's visiting this week and we'll probably make more.  The recipe below is the basic recipe, and the one I used for the party. But mom has changed it up in many different ways. She adds m&m's allowing the colors to change for any season, candy corn for fall, and so much more. The recipe calls for chocolate chex but it's really hard to find so I used regular corn chex. Mom said she uses the honey chex sometimes too.

Ingredients

• 8 cups Chocolate Chex® cereal
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup vanilla baking chips or milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Into large microwavable bowl, measure cereal; set aside. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper.
2. In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Microwave on High 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on cookie sheet. Cool 10 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces.
3. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High about 1 minute 30 seconds or until chips can be stirred smooth (bowl will be hot). Drizzle over snack. Refrigerate until set. Store in tightly covered container.

Cookie Dough Truffles

As you may have noticed, Annie's Eats, is one of my favorite blogs. I had been eying her Cookie Dough Truffles for months now. My friend's baby shower was the perfect excuse to give them a try. They were so good. Everyone loved them.

The recipe called for semi sweet chocolate for dipping. I realized part way through that I had one box of semi sweet and one box of unsweetened. I mixed them and was worried how it would taste. I wondered if it was too rich. Matt thought it was great and tasted like the dough was dipped in dark chocolate. I didn't get any complaints from other guests either. I still will try to do just semi sweet next time though.

Image from Annie's Eats

Ingredients

• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
• 2¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• 1½ lb. semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate, coarsely chopped
• Mini chocolate chips (for garnish)

Directions

1. Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up enough to form balls.
2. Shape the chilled cookie dough mixture into 1-1½ inch balls.  Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Cover loosely, transfer the pan to the freezer and chill for 1-2 hours.
3. When ready to dip the truffles, melt the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Dip each chilled truffle, one at a time, coating in chocolate and shaking gently to remove the excess.  (If at any point during dipping, the cookie dough balls become too soft, return to the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.)  Transfer to a wax-paper lined surface.  If using mini chocolate chips for garnish, sprinkle on top quickly after dipping each truffle before the chocolate sets.  Once all the truffles have been dipped, store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Chocolate Cupcakes

I hosted a baby shower for a really good friend this weekend. She said she wanted chocolate cupcakes. I searched all over the internet for THE perfect from scratch chocolate cake recipe. I finally decided to try the Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Cake. She made a sheet cake but I still did cupcakes. AMAZING!

The cake was perfect. It was easy, moist, soft, chocolatey, perfection. I won't be using a box cake mix anymore!  The icing was meant to be poured onto a sheet cake, but I still decided to give it a try. The flavor was great but it is probably better for sheet cake than it was cupcakes. I used cupcake wrappers and there was just enough lip of wrapper for each cupcake to hold the icing in place. So I took a spoon and poured a small amount of icing onto each cupcake. The mom-to-be said it was perfect, just sweet enough without being too much. I will definitely be making this again.

No pictures yet, by the way. I was too busy so I just hoped someone else got pictures. :)

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 cup Boiling Water
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

For Frosting:

• 1-¾ stick Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
2. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
3. Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.
4. In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into cupcake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.
5. While cupcakes are baking, make the icing. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together and pour over warm cake.

Raspberry Lemonade Punch

I almost forgot to post the punch recipe I made for my friend's baby shower. I wanted more than just lemonade but something simple without too many ingredients. I found this recipe from Martha Stewart. This punch was so good, one of the best punches I've had. One thing I'll note, though, is that when you add the lemonade to the ginger ale, be careful because it foams. I found if you put the lemonade powder in first and then add the ginger ale slowly you can control the fizz a little more. The recipe calls for 4 cups of ice cubes but I couldn't fit them into my pitcher and with the frozen raspberries it didn't really need the ice.

Ingredients

• 8 cups (2 quarts) Ginger Ale
• 3/4 cup lemonade mix
• 4 cups (16 oz) frozen raspberries

Directions

1. In a large pitcher or punch bowl mix the ginger ale and lemonade mix. Before serving, stir in the raspberries and ice.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Yet another recipe I found from Annie's Eats. I don't like peppers so never liked stuffed peppers. But I love zucchini so when I saw Annie's recipe I knew I had to give it a try. The meal wasn't a quick meal, but it was really good.



Ingredients

• 1 zucchini, about 12 inches long (or 2 6-inch)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1 lb. turkey sausage or ground turkey
• 2 tbsp. dry white wine
• 2-3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
• ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper

Directions

1. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving a shell about ¼-inch thick. Reserve about half of the insides.
2. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides to the skillet and sauté another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Heat the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in the sausage or ground turkey and cook until lightly browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cooked onion and mushroom mixture. Add the wine to the pan along with the tomatoes, basil and rosemary. Cook for 1 more minute. Drain of any excess fat, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
4. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Once the turkey mixture has cooled a bit, mix in the Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini shells with the mixture. Fill a baking dish with ¼-inch of water. Place the filled zucchini shells in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the zucchini from the pan and serve immediately.

Baked Vidalia Onion Dip

Several years ago, Matt and I went with my parents to a dinner party. The hostess made a vidalia onion dip that we all devoured. Last week, my mom needed an appetizer to take to a party and I suggested the dip. Ever since, I'd been craving it. She found several recipes, but we agreed that this one looked the best. It did not disappoint. Everyone loved the dip. I'm glad I used water chestnuts because I liked the crunch. I served this with butter crackers. My mom said the people at her party used sweet potato chips and loved it.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 3 large vidalia onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded swiss cheese
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 garlic clove, minced, or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add chopped Vidalia onions, and saute about 10 minutes or until tender.
3. In a large bowl, stir together shredded Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, water chestnuts, white wine, garlic and Tabasco sauce; stir in onion, blending well.
4. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, and let stand 10 minutes.

Applejack Quesadilla

I found this blog called Healthy Girl Cooking. I actually really liked some of the recipes, but she hasn't posted in a long time. I decided to try her Applejack Quesadilla. It was good except I forgot to pick up spinach at the grocery store. I think it would have been a good addition. It was easy, healthy and good.

Ingredients (serves two)

• 2 whole wheat tortillas
• 1/2 onion, sliced as thin as possible
• 1 granny smith apple, coursely chopped
• 6-oz. bag of spinach
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or monteray jack
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 4 tsp sugar 
• optional: diced chicken, light sour cream, and maybe a little guacamole? mmm!

Directions

1. Caramelize your onions. This is usually done with tons of butter and sugar, but Katie suggested using olive oil, and I found it worked well (and we all know olive oil is better for your heart.) Throw onions, oil and sugar into a pan and stir ‘em up. The caramelization process takes at least 10 minutes and requires pretty frequent stirring, but you can leave ‘em long enough to chop up your apple and wash your spinach.
2. When the onions have started to become translucent and the first sticky brown edges that characterize caramelization are beginning to form, throw your apples into the pan “just long enough to get them acquainted; they’re not movin’ in or nothin!” (says Katie.)
3. Set the apple-onion mixture aside and let the spinach have a turn. When it’s wilted, add it to the apple and onion mixture.
4. Lay your quesadilla in the pan, sprinkle one half with cheese, add the veggie mix and fold the top over. Fry each side to your preferred melty crispness. Keep the music playing and sing away your troubles with your mouth full of quesadilla goodness!

Bratwurst Burgers

Matt and I are obsessed with the Food Network show Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. One episode featured a brat burger from Town Talk Diner that looked amazing! Since we didn't see ourselves traveling to MN anytime soon to try it, we figured we might as well make our own. The original recipe is on Food Network's site. The recipe below is with our changes.

We didn't make our own brats because I don't have a grinder. Instead, we bought uncooked brats, took off the casing and formed our own burgers. Because they were already made into brats, we also didn't add the seasoning the recipe called for. The only other change to the recipe was that I didn't have juniper berries so I omitted them. This burger was AMAZING!!! I don't normally like sauerkraut but it was really good and meshed perfectly with the other ingredients. Matt said he'd add more chili paste next time but I thought it was perfect as is. We will definitely be making this again. It's a great burger to have for company.

Ingredients

Brat Burger:

• 1 package uncooked bratwursts - casing removed
• salt to taste

Spicy Kraut:

• 1 cup store-bought sauerkraut
• 1 tablespoon diced bacon
• 1/4 cup onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon garlic-chili paste

Garnish:

• 8 slices gruyere cheese
• 8 slices bacon, cooked
• Large hamburger buns, toasted

Directions

1. To make the burgers: Remove casing from the brats and form patties.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. To make the spicy kraut: Soak the store-bought kraut in water for 20 minutes, drain excess water. Render the bacon; add the onion and saute until translucent. Add white wine and cook off the alcohol. Add sauerkraut and spices and enough water to cover. Simmer for 1 hour. Cool. Mix in garlic-chili paste.
3. To assemble: Cook burger patties until medium-well. Melt 2 slices of cheeses on top of each patty. Place on toasted bun and top with spicy kraut.

Chicken & Asparagus with Melted Gruyere

I found this recipe from Eating Well. How can you go wrong with Gruyere? I had never cooked with tarragon before. This was delicious! The flavors melded so well together. I didn't have a side, but in the future I'd serve it with rice or at the least bread because there was a lot of sauce. Great flavor and I will definitely be making this again!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (1-1 1/4 pounds), trimmed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2/3 cup shredded Gruyère cheese

 Directions

1. Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Add asparagus; cover and steam for 3 minutes. Uncover, remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Whisk broth and 2 teaspoons flour in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
3. Place the remaining 1/4 cup flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and dredge both sides in the flour, shaking off any excess.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side, adjusting heat as needed to prevent scorching. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.
5. Add shallot, wine and the reserved broth mixture to the pan; cook over medium heat, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. 
6. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in sour cream, tarragon, lemon juice and the reserved asparagus until combined. Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top of each piece of chicken, cover and continue cooking until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.

Nutrition
Per serving:  306 calories; 15 g fat (6 g sat, 6 g mono); 91 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrates; 31 g protein; 1 g fiber; 298 mg sodium; 343 mg potassium.

Red Wine Spaghetti

I came across this recipe on Pink Parsleys blog. Her picture looked amazing and the recipe just looked different, but good. I was not disappointed. It was really easy to make but the outcome was fabulous. The flavors went really well together. It made a great dinner but I also think you could pair it with a meat and serve it as a side for a dinner party. It just looks fancy even though it's actually really easy to throw together. We will definitely make this again.

Ingredients

• 5 cups water
• 3 1/4 cups dry red wine
• salt
• 3/4 pound spaghetti
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 cup walnuts (4 ounces) toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine the water with 3 cups of the wine in a medium saucepan. Add a large pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, stirring often. Drain, and reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
2. Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and red pepper, and season with salt. Cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
3. Add the remaining 1/4 cup wine and the reserved cooking liquid and bring to a simmer. Stir in the pasta and continue cooking to absorb most of the liquid. This will take about 2 minutes. 
4. Mix in the parsley, nuts, 1/2 cup cheese, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with additional salt and pepper, and serve with additional cheese. 

Adapted from Food and Wine, September 2009