New Blog

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Buttons and Nibbles

Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli

This is a great mac and cheese recipe if you are looking for a whole meal in one. We have had it a few times and when I made it last time I used the leftover chicken from my chicken dijonnaise. I am so glad I thought of this and it is a great way to use your leftover chicken (especially if your leftover chicken had mustard on it)!

I often watch Rachael Ray to get ideas for dinner and this is one of her mac and cheese recipes. Enjoy!

Mac and Cheese!

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan

1 pound chicken breast tenders, chopped (we used leftover chicken from our Chicken Dijonnaise)

salt and pepper

1 small onion, chopped (we used frozen diced onion)

1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatapi corkscrew shaped pasta twists

2 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets, available packaged in produce department (we used frozen florets)

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

3 cups whole milk

1 cup chicken stock

3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar

1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard

Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.

Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.

To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water. Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.

While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken about 5 minutes.

Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to pot and add chicken to the pasta and broccoli.

Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings, transfer to a large serving platter and serve.

Chicken Dijonnaise

My husband and I absolutely LOVE this dish. This is right up there with Chicken Marbella. In fact, it is from the same cookbook, The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. This is a really nice, simple dish that we serve with rice and broccoli. We love to drizzle the sauce over the whole plate and dig in! Enjoy!

Chicken Dijonnaise

1 Chicken (2 1/2 to 3 lbs.), quartered-- I don't do this, I just buy chicken drumsticks and thighs since thats what my husband likes.

1/3 cup mustard- we use three types: Mild & Creamy dijon mustard (made with white wine), Harvest coarse ground with whole mustard seeds and Regular Dijon mustard (all three are Grey Poupon). Also this measurement is only for spreading on the chicken, we add more mustard when making the sauce to have more of it.

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup vermouth or dry white wine (we use the wine)

1/2 cup Creme Fraiche or heavy cream- we use the creme fraiche. For us you can buy it in 8oz containers and we use the whole container when making the sauce, so instead of a 1/2 cup we use 1 cup.

Salt, to taste

Coat the chicken with the mustard and set it in a bowl, covered to marinate at room temperature for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Arrange the chicken, skin side up, in a flameproof baking dish. Scrape out any mustard remaining in the bowl and spread it evenly over the chicken. Season lightly with salt and pepper and pour the wine around the chicken.

Set the dish on the center rack of the oven and bake, basting occasionally, until the chicken is done, 1 hour. You may have to bake the dark meat sections for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Scrape the mustard off the chicken and back into the backing dish (I always use a small sauce pan, it is easier for us). Transfer the chicken pieces to a serving platter, cover and keep warm.

Skim as much fat as possible from the cooking juices and set the baking dish over medium heat (or small sauce pan) This is where I add extra mustard (I always add equal amounts of all 3 kinds and I just add as much as I think will make enough sauce to our liking). Bring to a boil, whisk in the creme fraiche and lower the heat. Simmer the sauce until it is reduced by about one third, 5 to 10 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Taste, correct the seasoning if needed and spoon sauce over the chicken (and sides if you wish). Serve hot or at room temperature.

Yummy Steak

One night we really wanted steak one night so I came up with this little recipe. It is really simple and tastes great.

I used these ingredients:

Fresh chopped Rosemary

chopped garlic

Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

I didn't measure anything out, just eyeballed it. First I salt and peppered them and then coated each side in the rosemary, garlic and worcestershire sauce. I let the steak marinate for about an hour before we cooked them.

It came out great! We did a simple baked potato as a side.

Do you remember "The Next Food Network Star" season that ended a while back?

This recipe is from the last season of "The Next Food Network Star". My husband and I really liked the show and thought Melissa d'Arabian's pilot she auditioned with on the last episode was great and I decided to make her recipes from the show.

5 Minute Individual Potato Gratins

Vegetable spray

2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese

2 green onions, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

¾ heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate and serve.

Flexible 4-Step Chicken for Family and Company - Rustic Lemon-Onion Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves,

1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup white wine, optional

1 cup chicken broth

3 lemons, juiced

1 to 2 tablespoons butter

Season chicken with dried thyme and salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in flour, add to the hot oil and saute until cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest on plate tented with foil.

In same saute pan, over low heat, add onions and fresh thyme and cook until aromatic.

In a measuring cup, measure out wine, if using, and broth, and add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan with the broth mixture until starting to reduce.

Remove the pan from the heat and finish the sauce by whisking in butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Cinnamon Cake with Nutella Buttercream

I used this recipe for my mom's birthday cake back in July (shows how far behind I am!!) I got this idea from these wonderful little cake bites that I have made before (didn't get a picture but they are soooo good!). If you get a chance read the blog, she has some amazing stuff on there especially recipes having to do with Nutella.

Cinnamon Nutella Cake Bites

Cake recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Makes approximately enough cake for 2 8/9 inch rounds

2 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

double pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups whole milk

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2- 8 inch round baking pans, and line bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Place pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the 2 1/2 cups sugar, the baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together milk, eggs and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture, and whisk gently until you have a homogenous batter. Now, using the whisk or rubber spatula, fold in the butter with a light touch until the butter is absorbed. You'll have a smooth satiny batter. Scrape the batter into the pans. Smooth the top. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until cake is puffed and beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. A thin knife inserted into the middle will come out clean. Transfer cakes to a cooling rack, and let it rest for 15 minutes before unmolding them onto another rack. Peel off the paper, and cool to room temperature.

Nutella Buttercream

I believe I almost tripled the recipe to make sure I had enough..besides, who doesn't like snacking on buttercream??

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup Nutella

Mix butter until smooth and creamy. Add in Nutella and mix until nice and fluffy.

Add sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes to get the desired consistency.

Carrot Ginger Cupcakes with Orange Ginger Frosting

My absolutely wonderful brother sent me this recipe to include in my blog since I have been MIA for awhile. Unfortunately, he gave it to me a month ago! Sorry Earle! Well here it is and I can't wait to try it. Enjoy!

You can find the recipe here.

Here are the great pictures he sent:

What's been going on?

So if you have wondered why I haven't been posting lately, it's because we are expecting! We are so excited and can't wait to find out what we are having in December. I am 12 1/2 weeks and due May 10, 2010.

I never thought that I would be one of those pregnant women who couldn't stand to cook early on in their pregnancy. I was sure this couldn't happen because I love food too much! Well it happened and I took a break from blogging. Now I am back and have lots of posts to catch up on. Please continue to enjoy reading my blog!

Nola Potatoes

These potatoes are amazing! We had these with the ratatouille and some steak. I would definitely make these again!

Ratatouille

I have made this a few times and I got it from one of the cooking blogs I frequent. It is an amazing dish and she is a phenomenal cook! Enjoy!

Before baking:

Beer Can Chicken

I am so behind in my blogging but this recipe we made while in Colorado in July. This is one of those recipes that everyone makes at some point while they are up at the ranch, it is kind of like a tradition. The box for the beer can chicken said you only need one whole chicken, 1 12oz. can of beer, 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons of cajun spices (one tablespoon for the beer can and one to use as a rub on the chicken). Pretty simple and very good! I decided that I would add my own touch to this recipe so I went to the pantry and found a few things to add to the rub. Here is my version of the beer can chicken recipe:

Beer Can Chicken

For the Rub:

1 tbs. cajun seasoning

1/2 tbs granulated garlic powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

2 tbs. lemon juice

1/2 stick unsalted butter (melted)

Prepare the beer can with the beer (of course), worcestershire sauce and cajun spice. Set the beer can in the holder for the chicken. Place the chicken over it. Brush the chicken with the melted butter and mix the seasonings together for the rub in a bowl. With your hands or brush, coat the chicken completely with the rub. Also, take a quarter of an onion and stick it in the top of the chicken to keep the moisture from the beer mixture in and don't forget to put something to catch the juices that Cook the chicken on the grill on medium, indirect heat until the thigh juices run clear.

Colorado Pictures

Here are some pictures from Colorado, can't wait to go back in August!

Photos are property of Blue Mars Photography, used with permission.

S'mores! and a Variation

We recently went on a small vacation to our family's ranch in Colorado. It was our first time to go by ourselves and we had a blast! The next couple of posts are about the food I made while there. It was a nice and relaxing weekend in the mountains. I have also included some pictures of our beautiful surroundings! Enjoy!

Everyone knows how to make a s'more but incase you don't here it goes...

You need:

marshmallows

graham crackers

chocolate (preferably, hershey)

Over a fire, roast your marshmallows until they have reached your desired "doneness".

Take a graham cracker and break in half to make a "sandwich". Place a piece of chocolate on one and on top of that place your warm marshmallow and replace with the other side of graham cracker. Enjoy! So yummy!

Variation on a Theme- Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows with Crushed Graham Crackers

So not wanted to make s'mores again the same way the next night, I decided to try and recreate the s'more in another way.

This uses the same ingredients as above. For this I used about 10 marshmallows, 2 chocolate bars and 1 graham cracker.

Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate bars. While the chocolate is melting, take the graham cracker and put it in a freezer bag and close it up. Take a pan and beat it into tiny pieces, set aside.

When the chocolate has melted dip a marshmallow into the chocolate until it has been completely covered. Set the marshmallow on a plate to cool. Do this with each marshmallow until done.

Sprinkle the tops of the marshmallows with the graham crackers and set in freezer until completely cooled. Enjoy!

Oreo Cupcakes

These were absolutely amazing!!! One of my favorite cookies is an oreo so when I found this recipe I had to try it. Also, while you are checking out the recipe, take a look at her blog, it is fantastic! I love seeing what she posts about. I hope you enjoy my pictures!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Peach and Strawberry Filling

I have heard of people talking how wonderful the Magnolia Bakery vanilla cupcakes are and so I had to try them. I found the recipe on Food Network but decided to use this buttercream recipe. I added my own twist to the recipe by adding a fruit compote to the middle of the cupcake. This would also be good on pancakes (or french toast)!

Peach and Strawberry Filling

4 fresh peaches, chopped into small chunks

1/4 cup or so of strawberry whole fruit perserves

1 lemon, zested, with a small amount of juice

Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl then transfer to a small pan and reduce it down for about 15 minutes. While the filling is reducing, I started the cupcakes. When the cupcakes are ready to into the cupcake papers, scoop enough of the cupcake mixture to fill the paper half way up and then add a tablespoon full of the filling.

Fill the remaining paper with the cupcake mixture. Repeat with all 24 cupcake holders. Bake has directed in the recipe.

While the cupcakes were baking I made the buttercream recipe I have linked above. It is probably the best buttercream I have ever tasted!

The cupcakes were great!