Gnocchi with Wild Mushroom Ragu'....

I love Gnocchi. Have not quite worked myself up to making my own but maybe someday. Anyhow you can easily make this with store bought Gnocchi, which is what I did. Much faster and just as tasty.

Ingredients
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2 small carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 pounds wild mushrooms, stemmed and diced if large
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 pound cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
2 T. tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup canned whole San Marzano tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1/2 t. ground coriander

1/2 ground fennel seeds

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 T. fresh thyme

1 1/2 pounds gnocchi

Mascarpone and/or fresh mint for topping

1. Heat half of the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add half of the wild mushrooms and cook until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then push to the edges of the pot. Add the remaining olive oil and wild mushrooms and cook 3 to 5 more minutes. Add the cremini mushrooms and cook 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Add the wine; cook scraping up any browned bits, about 2 more minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes, 2 cups water, the bay leaves, coriander, fennel, red pepper flakes, thyme, 1/2 t. salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium heat, about 30 minutes (thin with water if needed). Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Gnocchi, stir and cook for 1 minute after they float, about 3 minutes total. Transfer with a slotted spoon to the sauce and gently stir over low heat. Serve topped with mascarpone and/or mint.

This ended up being like a soup/stew and it was delish! The next day we had this for leftovers and it was even better. All the flavors really had time to meld together and it thickened up a bit - just delish! Enjoy!!

Cheesy Baked Yumminess!!

This is one of my go to recipes when I want something really tasty but also something that doesn't take a lot of time or prep. Plus my kids LOVE it!!

Ingredients
Olive Oil
2 cups of Marinara Sauce
1/3 cup of Marscarpone Cheese **If you cannot find this substitute with Cream Cheese**
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 t. chopped fresh Thyme leaves
1  pound purchased cheese tortellini
2 oz. thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 350'. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 by 2" baking dish.

2. Whisk the sauce, mascarapone cheese, parsley, and thyme in a large bowl to blend.

3. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat.

4. Transfer the tortellini to the prepared baking dish. Top with the smoked mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.

Bon Appetite!

Blondies have more fun....

Last night I was going to a friends house for a fun girl's night. It was themed Cinema & Sangria. We got to sit under the stars while we enjoyed some yummy sangria's and a cute romantic comedy. I was planning on bringing brownies but changed my mind at the last minute and decided to make a Peanut Butter Blondie. Totally delish!! I found the recipe on another great blog that I read daily. Joy The Baker. She is absolutely hysterical and makes some AWESOME FOOD!!

Ingredients
10 T. unsalted butter cut into 5 pieces
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup smooth natural peanut butter **I used chunky peanut butter and they were delish**
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. salt
2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 325'. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and sugar together until the butter is just melted. Remove from the burner and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then add the peanut butter. Stir until incorporated. Allow to cool for 5 more minutes, then whisk in eggs and vanilla extract. You want the sugar, butter and peanut butter mixture to cool enough that the eggs won't begin to cook when they are added in.

3. Whisk together salt, flour, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Pour the thick batter into the prepared pan and smooth out. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the blondies comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperatures.

The recipe actually calls for chocolate frosting but I knew we were going to be outside and I didn't want these blondies to be too messy (if anyone would like the recipe for the homemade chocolate frosting just let me know and I would be happy to send it your way!)  

I opted to just sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the dough before I put them in the oven. It was the perfect amount of chocolate to peanut butter! Enjoy!!

The Smell of Fall...

Cinnamon-Sugar Apple Chips. They taste as delicious as they sound. Found this great recipe at an awesome blog called The Naptime Chef...you should check it out! Onto the yumminess!

Ingredients
6 apples (Gala work really well for this) cored and sliced 1/8" thick **I used my mandoline to get nice even sized slices**
3 T. of Cinnamon
3 T. of Sugar

1. Pre-heat oven to 200'. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Arrange sliced apples on a baking sheet, only allow for a little overlapping. Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl and sprinkle lightly over the apples.

3. Bake for 2 hours, or until the slices are dried out and slightly wrinkled around the edges.

I was a bit heavy handed with my cinnamon-sugar mix but they still turned out amazing. Plus my house smelled INCREDIBLE!!!!!

This is a great recipe for fall...I know I will be making this A LOT in the upcoming months. Enjoy!!

Pineapple Jerk Chicken and Rice...

I love trying new recipes. I hate it when I think I have everything I need and realize as I am making it I am missing something. I wish I could say it didn't happen often....but it does.
Guess that is what truly makes you a good cook. Gotta wing it sometimes.

Ingredients

2 cups brown rice **I used instant and it tasted fine**

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 jalepeno chile - stemmed, seeded and finely chopped

1 1/2 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt and Pepper

1/2 Pineapple, cut into 3/4" pieces, about 2-3 cups

1/2 cup jerk marinade, such as Lawry's **This was my missing ingredient ~ I used a Sweet Chili Sauce and it was super yum**

One 15-oz can black beans, rinsed

1/2 cup chopped Cilantro

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rice, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until tender, about 30 minutes; drain. **I used the instant which only takes about 10 minutes so plan accordingly**

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 T. of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook until the onion is browned, about 6 or 7 minutes; transfer to a bowl.

3. Add the remaining 2 T. of olive oil to the same skillet and increase the heat to medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the pan and cook until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Add the pineapple and jerk marinade and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in onion mixture, black mbeans and cilatnro; cook until the beans are heated through, about 1 minute. Seaon with salt and pepper and serve over the rice.

Egg Sandwich...have you had one?

I am from Michigan. My hubbie is from New York. When we started dating he was constantly telling me that he missed having fried egg sandwiches from his hometown deli. I had no clue what he was talking about.  And at the time didn't really care...how things have changed.  

A year after we started dating we finally headed out east to visit his family for Christmas. The first morning we were there all he talked about was having an egg sandwich...again I didn't really want one but he kept telling me I had too so after much persuading I caved. So happy I did because this is a staple recipe in my house now. Of course my egg sandwiches never taste as good as they do out of a good Deli but they do the job!!

A little sunny side up....

 A yummy slice of Swiss cheese....

 Normally I would so a slice of tomato but alas I was all out...so a bit of ketchup and honey mustard will do...

 Pair with a steaming cup of coffee and I am good to go!!!

Grilled Chicken w/Peach Salsa & Jasmine Rice....

This is not actually a recipe I have on hand. This was something that I threw together at the last minute. Normally I follow my monthly meal planner but somehow I did not have a few things to make one of the recipes I needed. Soooo...I have been dying to try some of the peach salsa I made with my good friend Trish (check her out at Yoke and Nana's Fabulous Life). Originally I was planning on serving this with shrimp but yeah you guessed it I didn't have any. Shocking. I know.

I did however have Chicken on hand and almost always have rice so I tossed it all together and talk about YUMMMMYY!
First start your rice...Jasmine rice usually needs about 25 to 30 minutes to cook.

Then get your chicken on the grill (notice the nice grill marks....mmmmm!)

 Check out the delish looking peach salsa! Not only does it look good it taste FABULOUS!! The recipe for the peach salsa is on Trish's Nana's fab life page

 Once your rice and chicken is done just plate it up!