The Cheesiest Manicotti Ever

My cheesy manicotti is so good you won't be able to resist having seconds. Just loosen up the belt a bit.

Here's what you'll need:
9 manicotti
16 oz part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups marinara sauce

Boil a pot of salted water and add the manicotti. Cook until just under al dente. Carefully remove the manicotti from the water and place on a non-stick foil covered dish until ready to use. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, minus the sauce of course. Salt and pepper to taste. With the manicotti cooled down a bit, carefully fill them with the cheese. I use my fingers, I think it's easiest, but you can use a spoon or pastry bag as well. Spray the bottom of a casserole dish. Spoon some marinara around the dish and add the manicotti. Cover with marinara. Bake at 350 degrees until melty and bubbly, about 20-30 minutes.

Tasty Tidbit: I love tarragon. It's a very under appreciated herb. But, it can be quite pungent. I recommend restrained usage if you don't know how you're going to like it. If you just don't care for it feel free to substitute something you love.

Enjoy!

Two For Tapas, Tapas For Two

A friend and I recently visited Mojito Tapas Restaurant for dinner. It's one of my favorite places! Here are some of the delicioso items we had, featured on the dinner menu:

Albóndigas (Meatballs)–Spanish style meatballs. Seasoned ground Angus beef, pork and Spanish chorizo. Served in a wine tomato sauce. Topped with Manchego cheese snow. 

Guacamole – Avocadoes, tomatoes, cilantro, roasted peppers, red onions and lime juice. Served with plantain chips. 

Trio de Hummus – Black bean hummus, chickpea hummus and roasted pepper hummus served with olives, almonds, pine nuts, tomatoes, onions, sumac, olive oil and parsley. Served with pita bread. 

Raviolo – House made stuffed ravioli with ricotta, capriole goat cheese, chorizo, Serrano ham and marcona almonds. Topped with tomato confit and Manchego cheese.  

Datiles Rellenos (Stuffed Dates) – Roasted stuffed dates with Capriole goat cheese wrapped in apple wood bacon topped with smoked honey and piquillo sauce.  

Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp) – Plump shrimp sautéed with garlic, olive oil and finished with lime juice. Served with garlic aioli, fresh salsa and bread. 

Visit their website to learn more about the restaurant and to see their menu. 

As Sweet As Pie

I made my first pie crust! It was quite exciting and turned out delicious so I have to show it off.

Yea, not so pretty.  I did trim the edges after I filled it. And looks aren't everything. It took two rounds with the rolling pin to make this baby. I'm sure next time will be better. I mean I know my baking skills are, well frankly, sub-par but I'm trying. At least it tasted good.

Homemade Pie Crust:

1 1/3 cups sifted all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup crisco

3-4 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sift the flour before measuring; spoon lightly into measuring cup and level without shaking or packing down. Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in crisco until uniform; mixture should be fairly coarse. Sprinkle with water, a tablespoon at a time; toss with a fork. Work dough into a firm ball with your hands.

Press dough into a flat circle with smooth edges. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle about 1 1/2 inches larger than inverted pie plate.

Gently ease dough into the plate. Be careful not to stretch the dough. Trim a 1/2-inch beyond the edge of the plate; fold under to make a double thickness of dough around the rim and flute with your fingers or a fork. 

For a single crust baked with filling, bake according to time and temperature recommended for the filling used. For single crust baked without filling, prick bottom and sides thoroughly with a fork to ensure even baking. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until brown as desired. 

Fusilli w/ Asiago & Mascarpone

If you like fettucine alfredo you have to try this dish. It's easy to prepare and even easier to eat. Fusilli with asiago and mascarpone cheeses will have all your dinner guest asking for seconds.

Here's what you'll need:

1 pound dry fusilli pasta

1 heaping cup of freshly grated asiago cheese, plus 1/4 cup for topping

1 heaping cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 8 ounce packages mascarpone cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a 13x9 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil for the pasta. You want to cook the pasta about 10-12 minutes, until it's al dente. While the pasta is cooking you'll want to start grating your asiago and parmesan cheeses in a large mixing bowl. Add the mascarpone and the nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the pasta and mix together with the cheeses until it is creamy. Ladel in some of pasta water, one ladel should be good but two if you need it. You don't want to drain the pasta because you want to use the pasta water to help thin out your sauce. It will also help the cheeses stick to the pasta. Pour the pasta into your casserole dish and sprinkle the remaining asiago cheese on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until it's bubbly and golden brown.

I served mine along side sauteed squash with onions and caesar salad. YUM! Enjoy. 

Chicken Mojo with Grilled Onions and Cilantro

I tried a new recipe tonight. I'm always trying to keep it interesting and different in the kitchen. I get a little burnt out on tacos and burritos so tonight I decided to go a different direction than your typical mexican meal. I love Cuban food and chicken with mojo sauce, pronounced MO-ho, is a great addition to the dinner table. It's tangy and citrusy with a little bite to it.

Mojo originated in the Canary Islands but has migrated to the Caribbean Islands. There are many variations of the sauce but all of them center around garlic and olive oil. In Cuban and Puerto Rican variations they almost always have a citrus component. If you're not sure what you think about it do some research. The recipe I found I really like. But there are many ways to make. Just find the one that suits your taste buds. It's like finding Mr. Right, except, it's a sauce. The foundation of my mojo is made of chilies and lots of garlic. Mine is also green. The one you like may be red.

Here's what you'll need:
1 pound chicken - Use whatever chicken you like. I'm a breast tender girl so that's what I use.
4 gloves garlic
2 serrano or jalapeno chilies - seeds removed, if you like it spicy leave some in.
2 limes, juiced
1 orange, juiced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro - reserve 1/4 cup for garnish
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-4 medium vidalia onions  - thinly sliced

Salt and pepper the chicken and lay it in a casserole dish. Put the rest of the ingredients in a food processor/blender and pulse until combined. Pour over the chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

That was easy right? Yes! Cook the chicken however you want. I prefer to grill anytime I can. I grilled mine! Feel free to bake it though. I also put the onions on the grill. You can sautee them if you like.

I served my pollo con mojo with a bean and corn salsa.
Just rinse and drain a can of black beans and a can of sweet corn. Add to a casserole dish with 4 diced roma tomatoes (take out the seeds) and 1 diced green bell pepper. Add the zest and juice of one lime. No salt and pepper needed unless you have to have it. This side is full of it's own flavor.

Mojo recipe courtesy of Food Network

Flufffer-nutter brownies

One of the first shows on the Food Network I absolutely loved was 30 Minute Meals. I still love it! I have found such great inspiration and joy in the kitchen from watching Rachel Ray. I give her a lot of credit to making me excited about food and creating tasty things to eat. She created a dessert recipe that is absolutely one of my favorite things to make, and eat! It's simple and creative. While I love a simple, chocolatey brownie, sometimes you have to reinvent things.

Here's what you'll need:

1 box of your favorite brownie mix (I like Betty Crocker)

1 cup Reese's peanut butter chips

1 cup mini marshmallows

In a mixing bowl prepare the brownie mix as directed on the package. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Bake according to package directions. In the last 5 minutes of baking take the brownies out of the oven and top with the marshmallows. Pop them back into the oven to finish. Let them cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

When you do cut them make sure you spray your knife with cooking spray so the marshmallow doesn't stick to it.

For this particular batch I added chocolate frosting which I spread over top the marshmallows. I normally don't but it was sooo good! You can add it if you like.

Italian Fried Chicken

I don't have eleven herbs and spices but my fried chicken is just as good (in my opinion) as the Colonel's. Fried chicken is one of my favorite things, but I'm a little picky about my chicken. Ok, I'm really picky. I don't like to eat chicken on a bone. I don't want to pick the meat off, I don't want anyone to do that. I prefer to buy boneless, skinless breast meat or tenders. So here I take some tenderized boneless, skinless breast and coat and fry them to crispy perfection.

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups italian bread crumbs
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley

Add about 1 inch of olive oil to a large, deep skillet. Preheat over medium heat. Lightly beat the eggs in a small casserole dish and stir in the milk. Add the bread crumbs and flour to another dish and season with salt and pepper. Cut and clean the chicken then soak it in the egg mixture. Dredge it in flour and add it to the hot oil. Cook it about 3-4 minutes on each side until it is crispy and cooked through. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked! Plate it on your favorite serving dish and sprinkle the cheese and parsley over top the hot chicken.

Lemon Lenguini w/ Squash and Onion Sautee

A big misconception about great food is that it's complicated to make; there are lots of hard to find, expensive ingredients and they take hours to prepare. Sooo not true! Some of the best meals I've ever had take minutes to prepare and have around 5-7 ingredients. I don't want to slave over dinner. I don't have time to slave over dinner. I'm sure you don't either. So our motto for this menu is:  Keep it simple, keep it clean! This dinner is light, heathly, and budget friendly. What's not to love about that?

Here is what you'll need:
1 pound dry lenguini pasta
3 lemons
1 large yellow squash
1 large zucchini squash
1 red onion
Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium, medium-high heat. Fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Slice the squash and the onion into about 1/4 inch slices. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and add the veggies. Salt and pepper to taste. Let cook uncovered until the veggies are tender and wilted down a bit, stirring occasionally. If you like them more firm don't cook them as long.

Salt the pasta water liberally and add the pasta. Cook according to package directions until al dente. In a large mixing bowl add the zest of two lemons and the juice of all three. Wisk in about 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil. Add 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese and a pinch of pepper, no salt. When the pasta is done take it straight out of the pot and add it to the mixing bowl. You will need the starchy water to help the sauce stick to the pasta and it adds salt. Toss it to coat the pasta then add the rest of the parmesan cheese and the parsley. Toss it again!

Put a big pile o' pasta on your plate and a side of veggies and dig in! It is soo good.
Clean, bright flavors, simple ingredients and delicious results. Enjoy!