Thanksgiving!!!

YES I am aware that Thanksgiving was a week ago and YES I am sorry that it has taken me so long to share mine with you and YES those are mini pecan pies and YES they were DIVINE! :)

It was worth the wait wasn't it!?!

Anyway, for the second year in a row we had Thanksgiving here in Missoula, MT.

Definitely weird to not be in MN with family, but so thankful to have great friends here that we could share the holiday with.

I was on call for work so I knew I couldn't commit to cooking an entire Thanksgiving feast (much to my dismay), but I was lucky enough that my great friend Sarah took on the challenge. 

Sarah and her husband Mike made practically the entire meal, while Logan and I brought a few extra items that I was able to put together in no time. 

I was lucky enough to make it through the whole meal without getting called into work, another thing to be thankful for! :)

So I just wanted to share with you all the three things that I made

1) Mini Pecan Pies

2)Dug's Famous Coleslaw (uncle Dug that is)

3) Cashman Cornbread corn hotdish

MINI PECAN PIES

These are a lighter version of of these awesome little treats. 

Find the recipe here

Dug's Famous Coleslaw

8 cups shredded cabbage (2 pkgs)

½ med onion chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

½- 1 med red pepper

½-1 med green pepper

½-1 med yellow pepper 2 med carrots shredded

¼ cup of fresh Italian parsley chopped (optional)

1 ½ tsp salt

Conbine veggies & salt and let stand for at least 20 minutes, then drain, squeeze out liquid

Dressing

½ cup fresh lemon juice

1 ½ cup Helmans mayo

¾ tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

½ cup sugar

1 tbsp celery seed

1 tsp mustard seed

2 tbsp cider vinager

Wisk and add to veggies, toss gently, cover and refrigerate overnight

You will NEVER go back to plain ole coleslaw again! :)

Cashman Cornbread Corn Hotdish

Here is the recipe I recieved via email from my mom...

1 can cream corn

1 can corn with juice

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix

½ cup melted butter

½ cup milk

2 eggs

Salt & pepper

Bake 350 for 45 minutes

Enjoy best corn ever!

Love, Mom

:)

Add this to your thanksgiving meal plans next year, you won't be sorry!

XOXO

PumpKING cinnamon rolls

Are you all stuffed to the brim???

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving and that you all gorged yourself until you were forced to unbutton your pants or change into your stretchy pants...or maybe you were like me and just wore your stretchy pant to dinner...tacky, or smart? You decide.

I wanted to share with you all first what I made for the morning of Thanksgiving, 

PumpKING Cinnamon Rolls.

That was a typo, but now I like the ring it has, King Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls...Pumpking, get it? 

So let me share with you the back story.

My  husband informed me of a family tradition that existed in his family growing up.  Every Thanksgiving his mom would make cinnamon rolls in the morning and they would eat them while watching the parade and really all morning as his mom made Thanksgiving dinner. 

Immediately I started to look for low fat (because I'm on a "diet", shocker) yet delicious cinnamon roll recipes online.  Pumpkin is a common addition to baking recipes to make it lower fat as it makes things moist and delicious while allowing you to add less butter and other fatty things. So I found this recipe and showed it to Logan, so excited to continue on the family tradition.

Which he replies "But, I kinda just like the ones from the tube".

My eyes bugged out of my head, steam came out of my ears, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

I'm offering to make homemade cinnamon rolls and he wants Pillsbury tube rolls...mind blown!

Luckily I calmed down and decided to take this as a challenge, I can make him LOVE my cinnamon rolls even more than the tube ones, YES I CAN!

And, fast forward....I DID!  

Recipe here

So much easier than I thought it would be, and it was a really fun project!

ENJOY!

Rising dough.

Roll out dough.

Filling

Rolled...I had to use a little water to get the edges sealed. FYI

Sliced...I think these are just gorgeous!

P.S. Logan was amazed at how these were made, he assumed you  made each roll individually, haha!

Boy am I glad that isn't true!

Sifting powdered sugar for the icing.

FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN...YUMMMMMM

LOGAN RATING: *****

(SUCCESS!)

Whine (not the good kind)

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

I hate winter!

Ok so that is a bit dramatic, I don't hate everything about winter, but right now its definitely on my bad side.  I am yet to figure out how to work with this whole getting dark at 5pm thing, all my pics are terrible without natural light and well I just can't post them!

So I haven't posted anything, in fact I've been boycotting this blog because I'm pissed that I can't find a solution without investing a ton of money in artificial lighting equipment...BOOOHOOO.

I know my problems are tiny in the grand scheme of things, but I just want to whine about this one...

wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ok now that that is over, time to think of a solution!

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Soon, I promise, I will stop whining and start posting again!

XOXO
PK

Brussels Sprouts Salad

Cool temperatures, rainy days, this is soup weather. 

So naturally, I made salad for dinner. DUH.

As much as I love the fall for its soup weather, I am totally swooning over this fall salad!

Brussel sprouts, red pears, white wine vinegar and pancetta, OMG are you drooling yet?

This is truly one of the best salads I have ever made, everything about it is perfection. 

Served with some fresh out of the oven French bread, I am still smiling from this meal.

You guys, did I mention that it is incredibly easy?  Because it is!

This is totally one of those dishes that is super impressive to people, yet anyone could throw it together.  Bring this to your next potluck, everyone will think you are a gourmet chef. 

Doesn't that sound like fun?

Or just make it for yourself, you have to, try it, NOW!

ENJOY!

Salad with Pancetta, roasted Brussels sprouts and pear

1/2 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered lengthwise

1/4 cup olive oil

S&P

3oz thinly sliced pancetta 

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 head Boston lettuce torn into bite size pieces

1 firm ripe red Bartlett ear, halved, cored and thinly sliced

2 oz ricotta salata cheese, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425, with racks in upper and lower thirds.  On a rimmed baking sheet, toss brussels sprouts with 2 T oil; season with S&P.  

Bake on upper rack until tender, 18-20 min, tossing once. On another rimmed baking sheet, arrange pancetta in single layer.  Bake on lower rack until golden brown, 10-12 min.  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and remaining 2 T oil; season with S&P.  Add lettuce, pear and brussels sprouts; toss to combine. Divide among four plates and top with ricotta salata and pancetta. 

Serves 4.

Baked Potato Soup

We have been eating out A LOT...shame shame, slap my hand, I know.

After my birthday dinner on Monday, I said no more eating out, which I then said again after I ate out on Thursday night, and again after I ate out last night...WHOOOOOPS.

Anyway as I was sitting here sniffling and trying to decide what to cook I came across a potato soup recipe and decided it would be PERFECT for this cool fall evening.

It was super tasty and ridiculously easy.  I halved the recipe because I didn't have enough potatoes, it was perfect for 2 people. Try it!

ENJOY!

Recipe from the Tasty Kitchen Blog!

Baked Potato Soup

• 4 whole Extra Large Baked Potatoes Or 8 Regular Baked Potatoes                                                6 slices Bacon, Diced
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• ½ whole Onion, Chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ⅓ cups All-purpose Flour
• 4 cups Chicken Stock
• ½ teaspoons Sea Salt (or To Taste)
• 2 teaspoons Ground Pepper, Or To Taste
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 4 whole Scallions (Green Onions), Sliced
• 1 cup Greek Yogurt

Scoop the white insides out of the baked potato skins. Roughly chop the white insides and set them aside. Chop potato skins and set aside.

In a large stock pot brown the diced bacon over medium heat. Once it’s crispy, remove bacon from the pan and drain off the grease.

Add 4 tablespoons butter to the brown bits at the bottom of the stock pot. Add onion and continue to cook over medium heat until onion is caramelized. Add minced garlic and flour. Stir flour until absorbed by the butter and cooked, about 1-2 minutes.

While stirring, slowly add chicken stock to the flour mixture to prevent lumps. Bring to a simmer then turn heat to low. Add the insides of the diced baked potato. Add sea salt and pepper. Cover pot and continue to cook over low heat.

In a large saute pan add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat and heat until all of the butter is melted. Add the chopped potato skins and fry them until crisp and heated through.

Add 1/2 of the crumbled bacon, 2 cups of cheddar cheese, 2/3 of the scallions and Greek yogurt into the pot of soup. Stir well and continue to cook over low heat until heated through and cheese is melted.

Serve soup topped with remaining bacon, cheedar cheese, scallions and crisp potato skins.

Margherita Pizza with a Twist

Because I've been slacking lately, I had to share this with you.

Long story short, my parents were here, it was my birthday and I've done NO grocery shopping. 

So after work today I stood in the grocery store, overwhelmed with NO CLUE what to make for dinner.  This doesn't happen often, and well when it does...I pick up the first thing I see.  This time it was pizza dough. I threw some fresh mozzarella and basil into my basket as well before checking out.

When I got home I added some grape tomatoes and pepperoncinis...Tadah!

So even when you are totally lost, have no fear...

you can still make a meal that is worth serving someone.  Just use your creativity!

Some real food will be coming soon!

ENJOY!

Margherita Pizza

1 store bought ball of pizza dough (or homemade if youre ambitious)

1/4 cup marinara sauce

8oz fresh mozzarella cheese (sliced)

1/4 cup basil leaves, torn

handful of grape tomatoes cut in half (or slice up a whole tomato thinly)

pepperoncinis roughly chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll out or stretch dough to fit your pan.  Spread sauce over dough, leaving some space bare around the outside to form a crust.  Place mozzarella slices on top of the sauce and then top with the rest of the ingredients as desired.  Bake for 13-15 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese is melted.

Another Enchilada Recipe

I know this isn't the first enchilada recipe that I have shared with ya'll.

But, seriously, this is not a joke, it is THE BEST!

In fact, so far, this is the best enchilada recipe I've ever tried.

And its "lighter", pffff who would ever believe that!?!

And check out the Logan Rating to see if he agrees...

The only other thing that is even worth taking up more of your time, with which you should be spending making these, is that I added about twice the amount of cumin and chipotle peppers than the recipe called for. NOW GO!  COOK!

ENJOY!

Lighter Chicken Enchiladas

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6-8oz each)

S&P

2 T vegetable oil, such as safflower

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cumin

1-2 T minced canned chipotles in adobo

1 can (14.5) low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup water

8 corn tortillas (6 in), warmed

1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese (2 oz)

In a large skillet, bring 1 inch water to a boil.  Add chicken, and season with salt; cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer 5 minutes; remove skillet from heat.  Let chicken steam, covered, until cooked through, 12-14 min.  Transfer chicken to a medium bowl; when cool enough to handle, shred with two forks.

While chicken is cooking, in a medium sauce-pan, heat oil over medium.  Add garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 min.  Add flour, cumin, and chipotles to taste; cook, whisking, 1 min.  Whisk in broth and the water; bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, and cook, whisking occasionally 5-8 min; season with S&P. 

Transfer 1 cup sauce to bowl with chicken, toss to combine.

Preheat oven to 400.  Spread 1/4 cup of remaining sauce evenly in a 8inch square baking dish (or whatever you have).  Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture, dividing evenly; roll up tightly, and arrange, seam side down, in baking dish.

Cover with remaining sauce, and top with cheese.  Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, 15-20 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: *****

Pesto Pasta

There is just something about a simple pesto pasta.  

Flavorful, yet light, easy to make, yet complex flavor.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Pesto!

This is mostly the same as any pesto recipe, except it uses walnuts instead of pine nuts.

I couldn't really tell much of a difference, but it was good all the same. 

The nice addition of lemon juice added a bright taste also.

Whole wheat pasta made for a healthier version of this classic, of course you could always just use while pasta if you are feeling indulgent. 

ENJOY!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Lighter Pesto

S&P

8oz whole wheat spaghetti

Lighter pesto (recipe below)

fresh basil leaves, torn for garnish (optional)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, drain pasta and return to pot.

Toss pasta with pesto, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time to create a thin sauce that coats spaghetti (you may not need all the water). Season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately, garnished with basil if desired.

Lighter Pesto

3 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves (2oz)

3 T walnut pieces

3 T grated parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 T fresh lemon juice

3 T water

S&P

3 T olive oil

In a food processor, combine basil, walnuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, and the water; season with S&P.  Puree until a paste forms.

  

With motor running, add oil in a thin stream.  Process until very smooth, about 1 minute.  

Pesto can be refrigerated in an airtight container, with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface to prevent discoloration, up to 3 days.  Or freeze in an airtight container up to 6 months.

Logan Rating: ****

Chicken Pasta Salad

Somehow, all the 'in progress' photos from this meal were deleted.  Don't ask me how, but they are gone.  So this is what you get, just finished product photos. Luckily this is an easy recipe, so the photos of the process are really quite unnecessary anyway. 

This is a cold chicken pasta salad, which is actually quite good warmed as well...so you can eat it either way, whichever your taste buds prefer more.

I liked it cold, Logan liked it hot...you choose.

This recipe calls for greek yogurt (which is what makes it lighter than your average pasta salad), and as I went to grab the Greek yogurt from the fridge I realized I made an epic mistake while grocery shopping.  Aren't those the worst kinds of mistakes, really?

Instead of plain yogurt I bought vanilla!!!!!!!! EPIC FAIL!

You can't put vanilla yogurt in a pasta salad!

So after grieving for a minute and attempting to ask a neighbor to save me, I put on my big girl pants, sucked it up and began to think of a solution.

It was about 6pm and this meal had to be finished before Logan left for work at 6:45pm (he works nights).  So a trip to the store was out of the question.

After almost settling with mayonnaise, because I just couldn't think of anything else I saw the ricotta cheese.  I mixed some ricotta with a little bit of 2% milk and it had a very similar texture and consistency as yogurt. SUCCESS! 

And to my surprise it actually tasted really good too!

I plan to someday make this recipe as it was intended to be made, but for now I will just bask in the glory of my success. 

Try it with yogurt!  Don't buy vanilla!  And let me know!

ENJOY!

Pasta Salad with Chicken, Raisins, and almonds

2 T unblanched almonds

1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves

S&P

8oz whole wheat penne or other short pasta

1 cup plain low fat yogurt

1/2 cup golden raisins (optional, but highly recommended)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley (I can't believe I actually used parsley)

1 T finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 T fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350.  Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until darkened, tossing once or twice, 10-12 min.  Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Place chicken in a large saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, season with salt and reduce to a bare simmer.  Cover and cook 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let chicken stand, covered, until cooked through, 12-14 min more.  Remove chicken from liquid.  When cool enough to handle, shred into bite size pieces.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package directions.  Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water.  Drain pasta then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking, drain well.

In a large bowl, stir together pasta, chicken, yogurt, raisins (if using), parsley, almonds, and lemon zest and juice.  Thin sauce with reserved pasta water if necessary.  Season with S&P.  

Serve chilled or at room temp.

Serves 4.

It is all I can do most days to keep my cat (Olive) from jumping into my photo shoots and eating all the food on the plate. -pictured above

Logan Rating: ***