Fresh Cranberry Cake

What's on your Thanksgiving menu this year?  I may have to go buy more cranberries so this cranberry cake can be a late addition to mine.  For the most part, I'm sticking with classic recipes this year but adding in a few new items as well.

Cider Brined Turkey and Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potato Casserole - I'm doing a cross between this recipe and a copycat Ruth's Chris Steakhouse version

Dressing with apples and cranberries

Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa

Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese

Cranberry Sauce

Harvest Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash

Crock Pot Apple Butter Yeast Rolls

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Pumpkin Roll

If you haven't nailed down your desserts yet, I've got a new one for you to try.  This takes about 20 minutes of prep time, but with a stand mixer about half of that time is just running the mixer.  It's so simple and likely the only thing you don't already have in the pantry are fresh cranberries.  Take advantage of the cheap fresh berries in every grocery store and make this cake while they are in season.  The tart cranberries are perfect with the sweetness of the cake and the light glaze.  Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this is a great finish to Thanksgiving dinner.

Fresh Cranberry Cake

Cake:
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 T orange zest
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups cranberries

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 T milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 10" springform pan or 9"x13" baking pan with baking spray and set aside.

Combine sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl.  Mix 6-8 minutes on medium speed until pale yellow and doubled in volume.  Add in butter and extracts and zest and mix two more minutes.  Add flour and cinnamon and stir until combined.  Fold in cranberries.  Transfer batter to prepared pan.  If you are baking in a springform pan, put the pan on a cookie sheet and put in the oven.  Bake approximately one hour (about 45 minutes in a 9"x13" pan).  Cool completely and remove ring from pan.

Put powdered sugar in a small bowl, add milk one tablespoon at a time, whisking until smooth.  Add vanilla and drizzle over cake.

2011's Top 11 Recipes

As 2011 comes to a close (how is that possible?? Didn't it just start?) I'm going to share this year's most popular recipes.  There are a few repeats from last year as some of the "greatest hits" continue to pop up. 

The number one recipe is this White Cheddar Chicken Pasta.  This recipe has become a staple around here and is a quick and easy dinner to throw together.  It's also super versatile.  No wonder it remains a hit.

In the number two spot is this recipe for Chicken Enchilada Soup.  Perfect on a chilly fall or winter day, this soup can be made on the stovetop or in a crockpot. 

In third place is another all-time favorite still sticking with the spicy trend... Spicy Chicken Tortilla Roll-ups.  These are a perfect appetizer for a New Year's or Superbowl party.  They come together quickly and you can make them in advance too.

For fourth place, you moved on to dessert and like these S'mores Cupcakes as the top cupcake recipe I've posted over the last three years.  And I can understand why, they are quite impressive especially when you break out the kitchen torch to give them the marshmallow frosting that toasted look and taste.  If you haven't made these yet, you really should try them.





Coming in fifth is another easy weeknight pasta dish.  These lasagna roll-ups are the perfect solution to a classic Italian dish without all the work and without three days of leftovers in the fridge if you're not cooking for a crowd.  Plus these can be made with so many variations.  Try using chicken, beef or Italian sausage in place of the turkey, an alfredo sauce or pesto cream sauce in place of the marinara.  There are all kinds of options to keep these fun.

New to the list of favorites this year is another appetizer that I originally made for the Superbowl this year.  These classic soft pretzels with jalapeno cheese sauce are easier than you might think and make a fantastic weekend snack or party appetizer.  The cheese sauce can be used with the pretzels or use at a queso dip for chips or pour it over enchiladas for even more cheesy goodness.  If you want to experiment with some pretzels, compare this classic method which uses bread flour and boils the pretzels in a baking soda bath to this latest version of Cheese-Stuffed Everything Pretzels that I just tried which uses all-purpose flour and skips the baking soda bath with fantastic results.

In seventh place, a cookie recipe that mimics those super soft grocery store sugar cookies.  Made with a cake mix, this isn't your standard sugar cookie recipe but it does yield delicious cookies and it takes about five minutes to mix up.  You don't have to roll and cut anything and decorations are as easy as a few colored sprinkles if you want them.  I know it's past "cookie season" but these Soft and Thick Sugar Cookies are worth it.

The list is rounded out with cupcake recipes. 

In eigth place, Snickers Cupcakes, a rich chocolate cupcake, filled with caramel and topped with caramel buttercream and chopped Snickers bar pieces.  I've since decided I prefer to add a little chopped candy bar to the caramel filling in the center as well as it helps hold the cupcake together a little better. 

Next up is another chocolate favorite, Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcakes.  Again these start out with a chocolate cupcake base but this time they get filled with a cherry filling, topped with a Coke glaze and frosted with whipped cream frosting.  A cute little cherry on top make these an adorable and nostalgic favorite.

Next on the list, is a cupcake that could be breakfast or dessert.  Apple Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes are a delicious, portable (although still sticky) cinnamon roll baked up in cupcake form.  The method is the same as a classic cinnamon roll but the cupcake presentation adds a cute touch for a brunch or other gathering.

Finally, the last favorite of the year is a cupcake I baked up for my husband for his birthday this year.  These Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes would definitely make my short list of favorites as well.  The cake is super moist and has a light orange flavor.  The combination of orange buttercream and marshmallow cream filling give the cupcake that creamsicle flavor that takes these over the top.

That wraps up the list of 2011 reader favorites.  All in all, 2011 was a great, although extremely busy, year for my family. 

Of course, my favorite thing I "baked" in 2011 was our daughter, Aubrey, who arrived in February.  I can't believe it's time to start planning her first birthday party now.

 

From there the year was a blur of selling our house, weddings, vacations, and buying and remodeling our new house that still hasn't really ended but as the year comes to a close, I'm trying to appreciate what we have and live more in the moment rather than rushing to get to the next big thing.  Happy New Year to all my wonderful readers, thanks for putting up with a lot more sporadic posting than I would have liked this year.  Although I don't see 2012 calming down any, I'm hoping I can squeeze in some recipes with a bit more regularity.  I've got some great ones to share with you.

Beer Cheese Macaroni

As I've mentioned a time or two in the past, macaroni and cheese is definitely up there on my list of favorite foods.  In my mind, it's pretty much the perfect comfort food.  While I definitely have a favorite traditional mac and cheese recipe, I also like to experiment with variations.  Check out these other macaroni recipes I've posted previously - Spicy Crab Macaroni and Cheese, Baked Mac and Cheese, Stovetop Mac and Cheese, and this chicken version - White Cheddar Chicken Pasta.

Well when I saw this beer cheese soup turned mac and cheese recipe on Pinterest, I couldn't pass it up.  I figured it would be perfect for our tailgating party for the upcoming game.  Let me tell you, don't wait to make this one.  This is some fantastic pasta.  The beer combines perfectly with the smoked and sharp cheddar cheeses and whole wheat pasta.  I used a Sam Adams Oktoberfest beer but any decent beer should work, I think I would avoid the light beers for this recipe, as you want something with a bit more flavor.

Feel free to adjust the cheeses but I think the blend of 1/3 smoked cheddar, 1/3 sharp white cheddar, and 1/3 mild cheddar, along with a little American cheese gives great flavor.  I added the American cheese slices because I like the creaminess that it adds.  I just used slices from the deli but you could shred it as well.  The recipe that I used baked the mac and cheese but I opted not too for this one since it was so creamy straight from the stovetop.  If you want to bake it, I recommend adding a bread crumb topping.

Beer Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
Adapted from HowSweetEats

12 oz uncooked whole wheat elbow or shell pasta
2 T unsalted butter
2 T flour
1 cup milk
1 cup beer
4 oz smoked cheddar cheese, grated
4 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
4 oz mild cheddar cheese, grated
6 slices American cheese
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
10 basil leaves

Heat a large pot of water to boiling, add a liberal amount of salt when boiling and add pasta.  Cook to just al dente, according to package directions.  Drain and return to pan or crock pot if you want to keep it hot for a while (you don't want to cook it in the crock pot but it can stay on low for a short while, if you plan to leave it in the crock pot for an extended time, you'll want to cook your pasta just shy of al dente so it doesn't turn mushy.)

Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk to make a roux.  Continue whisking until the roux start to turn golden and bubbles, about two minutes.  Add milk and beer, stirring constantly.  Cook for about five minutes until the mixture begins to thicken slightly.  Reduce heat to low and add cheeses by the handful, stirring to melt and incorporate.  The sauce will thicken slightly but will not be as thick as regular mac and cheese at this point.  Add paprika, mustard, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour sauce over pasta and stir to distribute.  Chiffonade basil leaves by stacking and rolling tightly, then use a sharp knife to cut thin slices to form ribbons.  Stir basil into pasta and serve. 

Chipotle Chicken Pasta

Have you ever used the chipotle in adobo peppers you can usually find the Mexican or ethnic aisle of your grocery store?  I absolutely love them.  They have such awesome flavor.  I add them to chili, salsa, taco meat, and all kinds of things.  The adobo sauce adds such a great smoky heat.  Chipotles in adobo are dried, smoked jalapeno peppers cooked in a sauce of spices like cumin and garlic among other things, vinegar, tomato sauce and ancho chilis, there is often a little brown sugar added too. They are spicier than a jalapeno though so be careful.  If they are too hot for you, you can scrape out the seeds to cut down on the heat.  The ones I buy come in a small can that looks like this.

As for this pasta, I wanted a spicy pasta with a light cream sauce.  I added lots of bell peppers, onions, and cilantro to give it extra flavor.  I let the chicken marinate in a little lime juice, cilantro and spices for about half an hour before cooking it to give it some extra flavor.  I used whole wheat pasta to make it a little healthier.  I've cut back on the chipotles in this recipe from the way I made it the first time.  Although I was fine with using three chipotle peppers, my husband thought it was just too spicy so I would start with one pepper and taste it along the way.  That way you get the flavor but adjust the heat to suit your own tastes.  I didn't take out the seeds.  Remember though that it will get a little hotter as it cooks.  I used farfalle or bowtie pasta but feel free to substitute whatever shortcut pasta you would like.  This makes a lot of pasta - about 8-10 servings.

Chipotle Chicken Pasta

2-3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)

1/4 cup lime juice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1 tsp ancho chili powder

1 tsp salt

2 T olive oil

1 lb farfalle pasta

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large green bell pepper, diced

1 red onion, diced

1 chipotle pepper + 1 T of adobo sauce, minced

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Trim fat from chicken breasts and cut into bite-size pieces.  Combine lime juice, 1/2 of minced garlic, 1/2 of cilantro, chili powder, and salt and mix together.  Pour over chicken to coat and marinate chicken about 30 minutes. 

Heat a large pot of water to boiling.  Add generous amount of salt and add pasta.  Cook according to package directions until al dente.  Drain and set aside.  Meanwhile, add olive oil to large saute pan and heat over medium heat.  Add chicken, bell peppers, onions and remaining garlic and cook about 6-8 minutes until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are softened.  Add chicken stock and chipotle pepper and adobo sauce and cook until stock is reduced by about 1/3.  Reduce heat to low and add cream and cheese.  Stir to combine and return pasta to sauce pan and toss to evenly coat with sauce.  Cook about 5 minutes and top with remaining cilantro and serve.

A Giveaway and an Easy Weeknight Dinner

***This contest is now closed - Thank you for participating!***

Well it's a good thing I didn't make a New Year's resolution to blog more often -- oh wait I did that??  FAIL!  These last couple of weeks have really just gotten away from me.  In a bit of good news, I have gotten a lot done, work has been busy, the nursery is finished and all the baby's laundry is cleaned and put away, and my freezer is full of meals frozen for easy dinners once she arrives.  So there's my excuse.  To make it up to you -- here's a GIVEAWAY for a beautiful cookbook, Bottega by Michael Chiarello Chef Chiarello is the host of Easy Entertaining on the Food Network and chef at Bottega Napa Valley Restaurant.  Along with this great cookbook, you'll also receive a box of the Progresso Lemon-Pepper Panko Breadcrumbs that I used in the recipe below to try out.

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment at the bottom of this post telling me what you would like to try to make or what your favorite dish using panko breadcrumbs is.  For a second chance to win, "like" Homemade by Holman on Facebook by clicking on the link in the side bar of this page and leave a separate comment telling me you're a fan.  All entries must be made before Tuesday, January 25 at 6 pm Eastern and must include a valid email address to be eligible. 

Speaking of the recipe... I promised a quick and easy dinner and this definitely meets those qualifications.  You can have all this ready to go in about twenty minutes.  If you have never used panko breadcrumbs before, they make a much crisper breading than traditional breadcrumbs.  I generally just buy the unflavored variety in the grocery store and season them up as needed but these lemon-pepper flavored breadcrumbs work great with the pesto pasta.  In the interest of full disclosure, I had pesto on hand when I decided to make this as I made a big batch this fall when I had an abundance of basil from the garden and froze it.  But pesto is really easy to make and only takes a few minutes, so I've included the recipe below (although this will make more than you need but you can freeze the extra.)  You can also find pesto in the grocery store if you want a pre-made version.

Lemon Pepper Panko Crusted Chicken with Pesto Pasta

Serves 4

Chicken:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut into 4 pieces

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

3 T olive oil

Pasta:

8 oz spaghetti (I used whole wheat)

1/4 cup pesto sauce

Salt

Pesto:
1 cup packed basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil (if desired, you can cook directly on the baking sheet but foil makes for extra easy cleanup).  For the chicken, set up two wide shallow dishes for the breading process.  In one dish, beat egg and add milk, salt and pepper and whisk to combine.  In the second dish, add breadcrumbs.  Pound chicken breasts to an even thickness approximately 1/2" thick.  Dip each piece in the egg mixture, coating both sides and letting any excess drip off before transferring to the breadcrumbs.  Coat both sides, lightly pressing the breadcrumbs into the chicken to ensure they are well-coated.  Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil.  When the oil is hot, add chicken breasts and cook about 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.  Transfer to baking sheet and continue cooking in the oven until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken.

For the pasta, heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat.  Generously add salt and add pasta to boiling water.  Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions.  Drain and toss with pesto sauce.

For the pesto, combine basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, slowly stream in olive oil with processor running until uniform. Stir in cheese and pour over pasta.

Please note: Giveaway provided by General Mills via MyBlogSpark.  Although these products were provided to me free of charge, the opinions above are my own and are not influenced by General Mills or MyBlogSpark.

2010's Top 10

Happy New Year!  2010 was a pretty good year for me, although it sure went by quickly.  The year started and ended with lots of travelling, I think we went home to Iowa a half a dozen times this past year.  I also travelled to Texas a couple of times for my sister's wedding festivities, we went to St. Louis to celebrate our own 1st wedding anniversary, and spent a week at the beach in August with my college roommates.  We ended the year travelling for the holidays and a weekend in Chicago to celebrate my mom's birthday.  My husband started a new job this fall and I kept busy throughout the summer and fall with lots of baking jobs making hundreds of cupcakes and several birthday cakes.  

Of course the big news is that we found out we'll be having our first child in 2011, thank you all for sticking around even though it was tough to keep up with this blog when I could barely think about food for the few months.  These last few months have been busy with preparing the nursery, baby showers, and doctors appointments.  Now we're almost there and our daughter should be here mid-February! 

As we all recover from the sugar coma of the holidays, I'll be sharing some recipes from my baby shower, as well as some freezer meals as I try to stock up before the baby arrives.  For now though, I'll leave you with the most popular recipes from 2010.  Evidently the popularity of cupcakes isn't over yet!

S'mores Cupcakes

Margarita Cupcakes

Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcakes

White Cheddar Chicken Pasta

Snickers Cupcakes

Lasagna Roll-ups

Italian Cream Cake

Triple Lemon Cupcakes

Dijon Chicken Club Sandwiches

Mudslide Cupcakes

Stove-Top Mac and Cheese

Normally I'm a baked macaroni and cheese fan - the crunchy breadcrumb topping with gooey, cheesy insides almost always wins.  However, Alton Brown just gave me another option.  Stove-top mac and cheese is quick and easy but the boxed stuff isn't good (unless you're my husband who loves the blue box stuff for some unknown reason) and its full of chemicals.  You can make this recipe just as fast but you'll be oh so much happier. 

The evaporated milk makes it super creamy and using sharp cheddar gives you a better than the box taste.  It also reheats well for a leftover lunch.  I modified the original recipe a little bit by using fat free evaporated milk, reducing the butter slightly, using whole wheat noodles and adding some thyme.  I used rotini because I had it on hand, use elbows or shells or whatever you prefer or keep in the pantry.

Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown via Food Network

14 oz whole wheat short cut pasta

3 T butter

2 eggs
9 oz evaporated milk
1/2 - 1 tsp hot sauce
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat a large pot of water to boiling, salt liberally and add pasta.  Cook to al dente per package directions and drain.  Reduce heat to medium low, return to pan and add butter.  Melt and stir to coat pasta.  Whisk together eggs, milk, hot sauce, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper and pour over pasta.  Stir and cook about one minute.  Add cheese and stir to melt and incorporate, cook about two minutes, add additional salt and pepper if desired and serve.

Lasagna Roll-ups

Lasagna is a pretty classic comfort food, but not one that I would normally make for a weeknight dinner.  With just the two of us eating, an entire pan of lasagna is enough food to eat for a week so unless we're expecting company, lasagna is a rare treat.  If you are like me, lasagna roll-ups are the solution.  You can make as many servings as you need and you can do it in less time. 

The process starts out the same, boil the noodles, brown the meat and make a sauce.  Make a ricotta mixture and then you just roll it up.  Depending on how many you are making you can bake them in a loaf pan, an 8x8 pan or whatever you need.  To assemble, you just drain the noodles, spread a little of the ricotta mixture on top, add meat sauce and roll them up.  Top with a little more sauce, some mozzarella cheese and bake.  Voila - lasagna the easy way.

I generally swap whole wheat pasta for regular pasta and use ground turkey instead of ground beef to lighten up the recipe. 

Lasagna Roll-ups

8 lasagna noodles

1/2 pound lean ground turkey

1 T olive oil

1 clove garlic

1/2 onion

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 egg

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 T fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 T fresh oregano, chopped

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat.  When it reaches a boil, salt liberally and drop noodles.  Stir occasionally and cook to just al dente.  You want to leave them slightly more firm since you'll be baking the pasta.  Drain noodles and set aside.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add turkey and brown.  When almost cooked through, add tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add 1/2 the basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes and stir to combine.

In a small bowl, lightly beat egg.  Add ricotta, Parmesan and remaining basil and oregano and stir together.  Spray pan lightly with cooking spray.  Add enough sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.  To assemble, on a drained noodle, add a spoonful of ricotta mixture.  Top with a spoonful of meat sauce and roll up.  Place seam side down in pan.  Continue until you've used all the noodles.  Top each with a little more meat sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining crushed red pepper flakes.  Bake approximately 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Linguine with Zucchini and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

The zucchini looked especially good at the grocery store the other day and it was on sale so I picked up a couple with an idea for a pasta dish in my head. I decided to use a whole wheat linguine and julienne the zucchini, along with a red bell pepper into long thin strips to put in the pasta. I wanted to make a spicy tomato sauce to bring everything together so I started with a can of fire roasted tomatoes to add a layer of smoky flavor.



I added some shrimp to round out the meal. Do yourself a favor and take the tails off before you cook them though. I bought the pre-cooked frozen shrimp the other day because they were on sale and didn't think about the fact that they had the tails on them until I dumped them in the pan. Not a huge deal, just makes it a bit of a hassle to eat.

Linguine with Zucchini and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

1 T olive oil
1 T butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt (+ more to salt pasta water)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 T tomato paste
1 small zucchini, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 cayenne pepper, minced
1/2 pound linguine
20-24 large shrimp
2 T fresh basil, chopped
1 T flat leaf parsley, chopped

Heat a large deep skillet over medium heat and add butter and oil. When hot, add onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook about five minutes until onions are translucent and add tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon and cook to reduce. Stir in tomato paste, add cayenne pepper and cook sauce for about ten minutes to reduce.

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water to boiling for pasta. Salt water liberally and add pasta. Cook to al dente and drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of pasta water.

About five minutes before pasta is done, add bell pepper and zucchini to the tomato sauce. Stir in some of the reserved pasta water to thin sauce to desired consistency. Add shrimp and cook until opaque or heated through if pre-cooked. Toss with pasta and add parsley and basil and serve.

Chicken and Mushroom Dinner

This dinner was inspired by a dish my mom used to make all the time. It was a combination of ground beef, egg noodles, cheddar cheese soup and cream of mushroom soup. Despite the canned soup, its delicious and a great comfort food dish.

However, I wanted to eliminate the high sodium, chemicals and fat from the canned soup and ground beef to lighten this dish up. I also switched out the regular egg noodles for whole wheat. It's still comfort food and a bit of splurge with the cheddar cheese but it’s also delicious. Since you're splurging with the cheese, make sure you get a block of decent sharp cheddar and grate it yourself - you'll get so much more flavor for only a little extra effort.


Chicken and Mushroom Dinner

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms - I used white button mushrooms but use whatever mix you like
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 T butter
1 T flour
2 cups milk - I used skim
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper + more for chicken
1/4 tsp salt + more for chicken and pasta
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 T fresh thyme
8 oz egg noodles

Heat a large pot of water to boil. Separately, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Trim any fat off chicken and butterfly and cut into thin small sections. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to the pan and add chicken when hot. Cook chicken approximately three minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms to the pan and cook about five minutes.

Salt pasta water when it boils and add egg noodles. Cook to al dente and drain.

Meanwhile, add wine to skillet and reduce heat to medium low, cook until the wine is almost all evaporated, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula. Add butter and flour and stir to combine until smooth, reduce heat to low, cook about one minute and slowly add milk. Stir to incorporate. Add mustard, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook until sauce begins to thicken. Add cheese and stir to melt. Thinly slice chicken and add to pan. Add drained noodles to pan. Toss to coat with sauce and cook a couple minutes for flavors to combine. Top with fresh thyme and serve.

Lemon Spaghetti

If you love lemons, then you have to try this dish. I randomly had a craving for lemon spaghetti, a meal I have never even had before, on Tuesday night. I have no idea why I wanted it, but I had a bag of lemons on hand and needed something I could toss together really quickly as I was in the middle of making a cake. Generally, I would have made some paninis or something on such a night but instead I had my husband pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery deli and I threw this together.

Because I've never actually had lemon spaghetti before, I'm not sure if this is truly a traditional recipe or not. I googled it and found several recipes that all seemed close to what I had in mind, the closest being a Giada De Laurentiis recipe from Food Network. Then I adjusted as usual to suit our tastes. I added some chicken to the dish because I wanted it to be more of a main dish rather than a side dish. I removed the skin from the rotisserie chicken (the traditional, not flavored version) and cut up the breast meat for this dish. I used about 1 1/2 breasts for four servings. This pasta would also be great served with pan-fried breaded chicken cutlets, fish or scallops.

Lemon Spaghetti

1/2 pound spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
3 lemons (approx 1/2 cup juice plus a scant tablespoon of zest)
1/4 cup olive oil
Generous 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 T fresh basil (a good handful of leaves)
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 - 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
Up to 1/2 cup reserved pasta water

Heat a large pot of water to boiling, add a generous pinch of salt, and add spaghetti. Cook until al dente (about 6 minutes for whole wheat). Meanwhile, in the bottom of serving bowl, combine lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and thyme. Whisk together until incorporated. Slowly stream in olive oil while whisking. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Either drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water or transfer pasta with a slotted spoon from pot to bowl. (I just transfer the partially drained pasta with a slotted spoon since I'm going to add cooking water to thin the sauce anyway but if you are afraid you'll end up with too much water, drain it first because you'll need anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water.) Toss pasta with sauce to coat evenly and add in chicken. Stack basil leaves, roll, and chiffonade into ribbons. Add to pasta and top with additional Parmesan if desired.

Baked Pesto Penne with Ricotta and Sun-dried Tomato

So it seems like it does nothing but rain here... what happened to the sunshine and 80 degree weather? It feels like March not May. Last night, I came home from work and looked around my yard, my plants are growing, there are buds on the hydrangeas and the roses are blooming like crazy, but it still doesn't seem like we are only a week and a half from Memorial Day - summer's official start in my world. I think the dreary weather is making me feel like comfort food, I had a tub of ricotta on hand, so I decided to go ahead and use that and make a baked pasta dish. I didn't want to do a traditional lasagna or ziti so I made up this one as I went. It turned out great. Although really how could it not - pasta + garlic + cheese is almost always a winning combination.

The pesto and sun-dried tomatoes add so much flavor to this. You can make pesto yourself or buy it pre-made in the store, in the same area as the marinara sauce. If you buy it in the store, there is often sun-dried tomato or basil pesto available, for this recipe I used a basil pesto although either would work. If you use the sun-dried tomato pesto, I would leave out the actual tomatoes so it wouldn't be overpowering. Sun-dried tomatoes come packed in oil, I drain the oil off of them on a paper towel before chopping.

Baked Pesto Penne with Ricotta and Sun-dried Tomato

1/2 pound penne
12 oz lean ground turkey
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups spinach
1 T olive oil
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup pesto sauce
8 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 T oregano, finely chopped
Salt & Pepper

Heat a large pot of water to boiling, add generous pinch of salt and add pasta, cook until just al dente. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, brown ground turkey, add fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, and 1/2 crushed red pepper flakes. Drain and remove to a bowl.

Reduce heat to low, add oil to pan, add onions and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes until softened. Add spinach and sun-dried tomatoes and cook until wilted. In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg, add ricotta and pesto sauce and remaining crushed red pepper flakes, add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and add to pan with spinach. Return turkey and onions to pan and mix well. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of water, and add to pan, add water if necessary to thin sauce.

Spray a 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray or grease lightly, add pasta, top with grated cheese and bake about 20 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Top with oregano and serve.