Cocoa Thumbprint Cookies

We're having a cookie exchange for Christmas at work, and these are the cookies that I made.  I must make my cookies too big, because the recipe said it would make about 3 dozen cookies.  I made a triple batch and got only 5 dozen cookies (opps).  This always seems to happen to me.

These were actually fairly easy to make, and very delicious!  The original recipe is from Food Network: Cocoa Thumbprints  M

I used several different filling choices so that they were colorful and fun!  For extra flavor I used the holiday mint M&Ms and I found some white chocolate covered graham crackers.

Cocoa Thumbprints



Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup for rolling
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• Sprinkles, mini marshmallows, mini candies or dried fruit, for filling

Directions

Whisk the flour, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, the cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and eggs and stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate the dough until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Place the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in 2 separate small bowls. Roll scant tablespoonfuls of dough into balls; roll in the granulated sugar and then in the confectioners' sugar. Place 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Lightly flatten each ball with your fingers and make a deep 1/2-inch-wide indentation in the centers with your thumb. Place your choice of filling in the indentation.

Bake the cookies until puffed and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Let cool 3 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Tortellini Italiano

Sorry, haven't posted in a while, so I'll be posting a slew of recipes over the next week or so.

This was a super simple recipe that I found in Kraft Food and Family Magazine and I didn't do much to change it.  The original recipe can be found online: tortellini italiano

Tortellini Italiano

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 pkg (1 lb.) frozen or refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 cup chopped red peppers

1 cup frozen peas

1 tub (10 oz) Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Cream

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Cooking:

COOK pasta as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, cook and stir vegetables in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat 4 to 5 min. or until peppers are crisp-tender and peas are heated through. Add cooking creme; cook and stir 2 min.
DRAIN pasta. Add to skillet; stir.    
SERVE
SPRINKLE parmesan cheese on top of pasta mix.

I thought this was quite delicious that night, but not so good as leftovers.

Linguine Pasta & Chicken Sausage

Wednesday nights meal was also adapted from Kraft Food and Family magazine's recipe for pappardelle pasta & chicken sausage.  I had a hard time finding pappardelle pasta in the grocery store, so I chose to use linguine instead, and it was still delicious. This is a very simple recipe, tastes great, and is very healthy!  I'm still working on taking good pictures of the food I am making.  Enjoy!

Linguine Pasta & Chicken Sausage

servings: 6

prep and cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb. linguine pasta, uncooked

2 cups  broccoli florets

1 Tbsp. oil

20 oz.  chicken sausage links, cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices

1 red pepper, diced

1 cup  fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

2/3 cup half-and-half

1 tsp.  dried oregano leaves

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Italian* Five Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA

2 Tbsp.  KRAFT Reduced Fat Parmesan Style Grated Topping

Directions

COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt and adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 2 min.
MEANWHILE, heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook on medium heat 5 min., stirring occasionally. Add peppers; cook and stir 5 min. or until peppers are crisp-tender and sausage is done.
DRAIN pasta mixture. Add to skillet along with broth, half-and-half and oregano; cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until sauce is slightly thickened. Top with shredded cheese; cook 1 to 2 min. or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Slow-Cooker Cheesy Chicken & Potatoes

This is actually the meal that my husband made on Tuesday.  C does not like to cook at all, and the original plan did not involve him having to make dinner at all.  The original plan was that I would drive home on my lunch hour (since I don't work far from where we live) and I would quickly throw everything in the slow-cooker since the recipe was very simple.  Well, a friend of mine suggested that we could walk to my house, she could assist me in the prep, and then we'd walk back to work.  GREAT IDEA!  However, it really helps that if you are going to walk home at lunch time to bring your house keys.  Needless to say, we didn't get this put in the slow-cooker over lunch hour, but we did get in a great walk.  Luckily, C got done with work around 1:30, so he was able to put everything together (and did a great job).

This recipe is also from Kraft Food and Family magazine - Slow-Cooker Cheesy Chicken & Potatoes.  Overall, I thought it was really good.  We don't often use chicken thighs in our cooking, but it was a nice switch from chicken breasts that we normally use.  I did slightly change the recipe, as it calls for bone-in chicken, but I just find it easier to use boneless.  I also used new potatoes instead of red potatoes because that is what we had in our house.

SLOW-COOKER CHEESY CHICKEN & POTATOES

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 3 to 4 hours

Ingredients:

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 lb.  new potatoes (about 3), very thinly sliced

1 tsp. paprika

8 small  boneless skinless chicken thighs (2 lb.)

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1/4 lb.  (4 oz.) VELVEETA®, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup  dried parsley

Directions:

PLACE peppers in slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray; top with potatoes. Sprinkle paprika over chicken. Place 4 thighs in slow cooker; cover with soup and remaining thighs. Cover with lid.
COOK on LOW 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours).
USE slotted spoon to transfer chicken and vegetables to platter; cover to keep warm. Set slow cooker on HIGH heat. Add VELVEETA and Worcestershire sauce to reserved liquid in slow cooker; stir. Cover with lid; cook 5 min. Stir until VELVEETA is completely melted and sauce is well blended. Spoon over chicken and vegetables; top with parsley.



Creamy Baked Bow Ties

Most of my recipes this week will come from (or adapted from) Kraft Food and Family magazine, and are also available on http://www.kraftrecipes.com/. 

Tonights dinner was adapted from the recipe for creamy baked ziti.  I didn't use ziti because I like to use Barilla Piccolini Veggie pasta.  Every serving of pasta has an entire serving of vegetables in it.  This is great if you have a kid who is picky about eating their vegetables.

CREAMY BAKED BOW TIES

prep time: 20 minutes

baking time: 20 minutes

servings: 8

Ingredients:

4 cups bow tie pasta, uncooked

1 jar  (26 oz.) marinara sauce

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

8 oz.  Neufchatel Cream Cheese, cubed

1 cup Light Sour Cream

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA

1/3 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt. Remove from pan; drain. Meanwhile, add marinara sauce, tomatoes and cream cheese to same pan; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Return pasta to pan; mix well.
LAYER half the pasta mixture in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella and remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
BAKE 20 min. or until heated through.

Outcome: delicious! We really enjoyed this recipe.  This was the first time I made it.  I've been trying to go through my cooking magazines and pick out new recipes for us to try (mix things up a little). The cream cheese and sour cream added an extra creaminess to it. 

I should have planned my week better and not had 2 pasta nights right in a row.  Last nights meal of spaghetti and meatballs was a spur of the moment "lazy" dinner.  I had actually made the meatballs a month ago and just pulled out a package from the freezer. 

In store for tomorrow, Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Potatoes!



Homemade Meatballs

This is actually what we had for dinner on Sunday night.  The recipe is from my great grandma.  I have many fond memories from my childhood of helping my mom make these.  She would also make it with homemade spaghetti sauce, but most of the time I just use jarred sauce.

My husband and I recently bought quarter of a cow (about 150 lbs), so we have a deep freezer full of different cuts - ground beef, roasts, steaks, ribs, etc..  It's nice knowing exactly where your meat has come from.  These meatballs were made with 3 pounds of the ground beef that we bought.

HOMEMADE MEATBALLS

simmered in the slow cooker

prep time: 15 minutes

baking time: 30 minutes

slow cooker time: 5 to 6 hours

Ingredients:

2 jars (32 oz. each) spaghetti sauce - I use Prego traditional

3 pounds ground beef

2 eggs

3 tablespoons dried onion flakes

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine meat, eggs, and all seasonings.  Form into 3 dozen meatballs.  Bake for 30 minutes. 

Pour 1 jar of sauce into slow cooker (make sure to use a 6 quart slow cooker for this).  Place all the meatballs in sauce.  Using second jar of sauce, cover and fill the crock pot.

Let simmer on low for 5 to 6 hours. 

Serve over spaghetti or any type of pasta.

These meatballs freeze really well. I typically freeze them in packages of 6 meatballs with sauce.  If there is any left over sauce from the second jar of sauce, I add extra sauce to the packages I am freezing.

Turkey Chili

When I plan my menu for the week, I'll sometimes choose multiple meals out of the same cooking magazine.  Tonights meal also came from the October 2011 issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray Magazine.  It can also be found online at: Turkey Chili

To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of it.  I like a nice hearty chili that is full of beans and has a kick to it.  It did have good flavor, but with only one can of chickpeas, I felt like it was missing something.  I also topped ours with just a little bit of shredded cheddar cheese.  It was very simple to make, I just think it needs more kick and maybe some white beans.

TURKEY CHILI

Servings: 4

Prep and Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 15-oz. can chickpeas
• 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sliced scallions
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Brown turkey in oil; add onion, garlic and spices and cook. Add chickpeas, tomatoes and 3/4 cup water; bring to boil. Simmer until thick. Top with scallions and cheese.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Tarragon Chicken

I tried a new recipe tonight, which was in the October 2011 issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray Magazine. This is one of my favorite magazines! This recipe is for the slow cooker. I love slow cooker recipes that I can quickly whip together over my lunch break and then dinner is ready when I get home. I did slightly edit the recipe from what is found on Rachael Ray's website.

The recipe can be found online at: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dinner-recipes/melt-in-your-mouth-tarragon-chicken

MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH TARRAGON CHICKEN

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 hours

Ingredients:
CROCK POT INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. chicken broth
4 tbsp. dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
4 lbs. bone-in chicken parts (breasts, drumsticks and thighs), skin discarded
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp. dried tarragon
OUT-OF-THE-POT INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 lemon, finely zested and juiced
1/4 tbsp. dried parsley
1/4 tbsp. dried tarragon

Directions:
1. Pour the broth into a 6- to 7-qt. slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the mustard, 1 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper; rub the chicken with the mustard. Place the chicken in the slow cooker and top with the garlic and 2 tbsp. tarragon. Cover and cook on low heat until the chicken is tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into a thigh away from the bone registers 165°, about 5 hours.
2. Transfer the chicken to a serving plate and cover to keep warm. Strain the pan juices into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. In a small bowl, combine the cream and cornstarch. Whisk the mixture into the saucepan and cook until the sauce is thickened; stir in the lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
3. In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, parsley, and 1 tbsp. tarragon. Top the chicken with the zest-herb mixture.

Perfectly pairs with steamed vegetables and rice. Plenty of extra of the tarragon sauce to drip over both.

My review, this was delicious! The chicken was so tender and the sauce had great flavor. Would definitely make this recipe again, although it's more of an "adult" dinner, so maybe I'd make it just as a special dinner for C and me next time.

New to the blogger world

My name is Pam and I am new to the blogger world.... or at least new in terms of creating my own blog. I love cooking --- everything about it and everything you can do with it. I follow a lot of other "mom food blogs" as well as get a few different cooking magazines. I don't have a specific type of cooking which I like to do. I just love trying new recipes (for any meal or snack of the day) and also tweeking recipes to something new.

My husband, C, and I make the perfect pair - I love to cook and he loves to eat. I think our son, W, who is almost 2 takes after C with the amount he eat.

So, I have created this blog. Here is will share new recipes I am trying, as well as old recipes that our family loves. I have found that planning out our "weekly menu" has helped cut down on wasted food, as well as helps our family eat healthier. Plus, typically I only have to make one trip to the grocery store (which is nice since C and I both work full time).

If you're reading this, welcome to my blog - hope you stay awhile and that I can share some recipes that you will love as well :)