Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

Here's the link to the pasta we made while in California.  It's one of my favorites!  The only thing I change is that I use regular cream instead of heavy cream- makes it a lot healthier ;)

http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/2012/09/olive-garden-alfredo-sauce-this-weeks.html

Banana Muffins

These are really good! I made them for the first time last week. Adam ate one and had to have another, the boys seemed to like them as well, and I really like them too!

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon wheat germ (can omit)
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (can omit)

Directions:

1. In mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.
2. Add the eggs and bananas and mix again.
3. Add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix until well blended.
4. Bake in greased muffin pan at 350 for 20 minutes. (If making mini-muffins, decrease time to 10-12 minutes.)

Makes 12 large (huge) muffins.

Notes:

The butter I used was salted, we didn't have unsalted butter on hand. I did not use wheat germ or ground flaxseed. Make sure the bananas are mashed well. I used muffin liners instead of greasing the muffin tins. And instead of 12 huge muffins, mine came out to 15 regular sized muffins.

I didn't think to take a picture of these until I was halfway through eating the last one!

Baked Potato Soup

This soup is really good, enjoy!

Ingredients

3 T. butter
1 c. finely chopped onion
2 T. flour
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can chicken broth
4 medium baked potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. white pepper
1/4 t. black pepper
1 t. dried basil
dash of tabasco sauce
1/2 t. garlic salt
1 c. half and half

Garnish With

grated cheddar cheese
sour cream
crumbled bacon
chopped green onions

Directions

Melt butter in 2 quart saucepan on medium heat.  Add onion and saute for 2 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over the onions and cook about 5 minutes, stirring often.  Gradually add chicken broth.  Add potatoes, salt, white and black pepper, basil, tabasco and garlic salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Stir in half and half; heat through.  Serve with garnishes.  Serves 4, but doubles easily.

Notes

When I added the flour to the onions, I had to stir basically constantly. Adding the flour seemed to make it stick to the bottom and start to brown, so before the suggested five minutes were up, I poured in the chicken broth so it wouldn't burn to the bottom of the pan. Instead of topping with crumbled bacon, I put it into the soup. We topped with grated cheese and green onion.

Powdered Sugar Icing

Every time I need to make icing, I have to look up a recipe. Even though this is super simple, I can never remember the amounts! So here it is.

Ingredients

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Blend all ingredients together using a mixer.

Notes

I generally use this for cookies, pumpkin spice or sugar cookies. I'm sure it could be used for other things though. This is thinner than what a frosting would be.

It's very sweet!

Lentil Soup

I didn't think I liked lentil soup, but I love this recipe!  It's healthy too!

Williams-Sonoma Lentil Soup (recipe from Liz Galvin)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced (I use more. 2-3 carrots)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup canned diced plum (Roma) tomatoes with juice (I get petite diced tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups dried brown or pink lentils, picked over, rinsed, and drained
6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock (I've only ever used chicken)
1 lemon, sliced (I omit this- it gave the soup a funny aftertaste when I tried using the lemon)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh spinach (I usually omit this too!)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil.  Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and bay leaf.  Saute until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the curry powder and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes and their juice, lentils, stock, and lemon slices (or not).  Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.  Discard the lemon slices and bay leaf.

Just before serving, stir in the spinach, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the spinach is wilted but still bright green.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.


Notes:  I didn't know what it meant to "pick over" lentils.  All it means it pick through the lentils and take out any bad looking ones, or any stones/rocks.  They can get mixed in with the lentils if they're about the same size.  I actually found one once.  Crazytown, USA!

Orecchiette with Roasted Broccoli and Walnuts

This recipe is very straightforward and is ready in less than a half hour! It's from Real Simple and can be found here.

Ingredients:

12 ounces orecchiette or some other short pasta (3 cups)
1 bunch broccoli (1 ½ pounds), cut into small florets
½ cup walnuts
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ¾ cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.

Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss the broccoli, walnuts, oil, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once, until the broccoli is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.

Toss the pasta with the broccoli mixture, butter, and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. (Add more water if the pasta seems dry.)

Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.

A few notes: I mistakenly put the butter in the oven with the broccoli mixture the first time I made this (didn’t read the directions quite right) and it still turned out great. Also, I did not use the reserved “cooking water” from the pasta and it was perfect, not too dry.

Tasty and simple!

Chicken Noodle Soup with Dill

I have found my own way to make this (slight difference in amounts and fresh versus dried only because I can never find the fresh). You can find the original recipe here, but this is how I make it.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Dill

6 cups chicken broth
3 medium carrots, diced
1-2 large stalks celery, diced
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces whole-wheat egg noodles
2 cups shredded cooked skinless chicken breast
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste

Bring broth to a boil in a large pot. Add carrots, celery, ginger and garlic; cook, uncovered, over medium heat until vegetables are just tender, about 20 minutes.

Add noodles and chicken; simmer until the noodles are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in dill and lemon juice.

My Cooking Tips

For the chicken broth, I use bouillon cubes. The kind I get, it is two cups water to one bouillon cube, so three cubes and six cups water for this recipe. The cubes dissolve as the water temperature goes up. Once boiling, then start adding the other ingredients.

I like to make sure I have plenty of carrots - yum!

When "measuring" the chicken, I just kind of eyeball it. As long as it's close. We generally cook two chicken breasts (they're from Costco so they're a good size) and this seems to be enough. I also eye the noodles. I look at how many ounces the bag of noodles is and put in what I think is 4 oz. But if it looks like it needs more or less, I adjust. Really, this is my theory with all the ingredients, but the above amounts are what I have found to work.

This chicken noodle soup tastes great!

Simple Sesame Noodles

I tried out this recipe for Recipe Swap in my ward.  Both Kurt and I loved it.

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/simple-sesame-noodles/?print=1/#size4x6



Notes:  I used angel hair pasta, but you could use an Asian noodle to be more authentic.  I didn't use chili oil but threw in a few red pepper flakes instead.  I also added some sesame seeds because we had them.  I'm sure you could add meat, broccoli, or other vegetables to make it a main dish instead of a side. 

Kind of home made Chicken Pot Pie

Yay!  I'm glad this is up and running.  Thanks Ashley!

Here's a recipe I tried a few months ago and it turned out delicious!  I've made it a few times now. 

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/classic-chicken-pot-pie/1401d418-ac0b-4b50-ad09-c6f1243fb992



Notes: I used a rotisserie chicken. I also bought store brand refrigerated pie crust and frozen veggies (they're cheaper). And I used more than 1/3 cup onion. Otherwise I followed the recipe as is! 

If you're counting calories, this isn't the recipe for you :)

Turkey and Bean Chili

This recipe is from the February 2011 Real Simple magazine.

hands-on time: 15 minutes
total time: 40 minutes
serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound ground turkey
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper or 2 teaspoons chili powder
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
Cilantro springs, for serving

Directions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

Add the turkey and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes more. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, and chili pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes (with their juices), the beans, 1/2 cup water, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with the sour cream and cilantro.

My Notes: I used our "slap chop" to chop the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. The only spice I had was chili powder, so I put in extra since I was missing other spices. I accidentally put in 1 pound (not 1/2 pound) of ground turkey and this recipe still turned out. We got the petite diced tomatoes. The petite was still too big for me, but large enough that I could eat around them. We didn't have cilantro, so we topped our chili with sour cream as suggested and cheese (our idea).

I thought this chili was a little bland the first night, possibly because not all spices were included, but we had enough leftovers for two more days, and it seemed to taste better each day.