Fluffy Cous Cous

Guess what. Until the other night, I have never consumed nor cooked cous cous.

I really don't know why.

I loved this little side, and have already scoured the internet from yummy variations. Feel free to leave your favorites in the comments.

Thank you, My Kitchen Cafe, for opening a whole carb world to me. I'm so excited to have other starchy side dish options besides potatoes, pasta, and rice.


Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups couscous
• 1 small onion, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the couscous and cook, stirring often, until some of the grains are just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer the couscous to a large bowl.

Melt the remaining two tablespoons butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the water and broth and bring to a boil.

Pour the boiling liquid over the toasted couscous and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let it sit until the couscous is tender, about 12 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and fluff the couscous with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Tomato and Orzo Soup

While I hate the cold, there are a few things I love about winter: snow days, cozy sweatpants, holidays, hot chocolate... and this delicious Tomato and Orzo Soup just found a place on that list.

Coincidentally, this recipe came from a blog created by my friend Brooke's brother-in-law, John, and his girlfriend Bec. I love that their blog, Above an Italian Restaurant, is an endeavor that they are taking on together - it makes me wish that Pat and I had any shared hobbies (aside, of course, from the wii...). But most of all, I love their recipes! As soon as I added their blog to my reader, I starred a ton. This yummy soup from Wegman's was just the first that I've made, but I have tons more in mind.

Due to tastes, what I had on hand, and the fact that I bought crushed instead of canned tomatoes, I changed their recipe slightly. If you want the original, please visit their blog!


Ingredients

• 1 cup onion, diced fine
• 1/2 cup celery, diced fine
• 1/2 cup carrot, diced fine
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 28oz. cans diced tomatoes
  
• 1 carton (32 oz) vegetable stock
• salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 1/4 cup orzo pasta
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup skim milk
  
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

Add onions, celery, and carrots and olive oil to large stockpot on medium-high. Cook, stirring, 6-7 min. Add chopped garlic. Cook 2 min, until vegetables are tender.

Add all tomatoes; simmer about 10 min. Add stock; return to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add pasta. Simmer 8-10 min, stirring often, until pasta is firm but tender. Remove from heat.

Add sour cream and milk to soup; fold in basil. Ladle into warmed bowls to serve.

Makes 13 cups (about 8 servings)

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

I am a huge cinnamon roll lover, but have never really taken the time to make them from scratch. When I don't just buy the Pillsbury tubes, using crescent rolls is about as close as I get. ;)


Luckily, I discovered this recipe on Tasty Kitchen which gives me huge cinnamon roll flavor without the work. My husband usually makes us awesome chocolate chip pancakes on the weekends, but this time I kicked him out and took over pancake duty.

These were delicious, though I think I was too caught up in the icing issue. See, when the recipe was reposted on the Tasty Kitchen blog, it came with a yummy sounding icing. However, the quantities were not included so I had no idea how much of anything to mix. I tried adding little bits at a time, but the results were just not right at all.

I later learned that the right quantities were listed below in a comment - wish I had seen that earlier! I think, however, that next time I make these, I will try a cream cheese icing. Mmmmm.


Ingredients

• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• 3 Tablespoons White Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 2 whole Eggs Beaten
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
• ¼ cups Butter, Melted
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla

For the icing:

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 cups Butter, Melted
• Dash of salt
• 1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup
• 1/4 cup Whole Milk (More if needed)

In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon with a whisk. Whisk well to make sure everything is combined.

In separate large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, corn syurp, butter and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium/low heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle. Brown on both sides.

To make the icing, whisk all ingredients together until smooth.

Serve warm with icing drizzled over the top.

Big Giant Cookie

I was super fortunate enough to win an awesome heart-shaped pan a couple of weeks ago from My Baking Heart. I am excited to add this to my kitchen and couldn't wait to break it in.


I remembered seeing a giant cookie on Sing For Your Supper, and I knew Ryan would get a kick out of baking (and eating!) this with me.

I used the recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chips and they were delicious. I followed the preparation instructions, but instead of using a cookie sheet, I smooshed the dough into the pan and baked it for about 23 minutes.

I even had enough dough left over to make regular cookies. Score!


Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

Lady and Sons' Chicken in Wine Sauce

WHY is it that the best-tasting meals aren't any good for you?

I almost didn't even care, though, when I made Paula Deen's Lady and Sons' Chicken in Wine Sauce (which I found on Mia Cucina). Now that there are two little kiddies running around my house these days (okay, one running and one rolling), I more than ever need dinners that require as little face time in the kitchen as possible.

So while this may not be the healthiest dinner (hello, it's Paula Deen!), it was easy and delicious. In fact, with a little tweaking, I would absolutely entertain with this recipe.

The only flaw is my own; I either used too much stuffing or didn't bake it long enough, but that's an easy fix.

Please excuse the poor picture quality. Dinner time + casseroles = icky photos. I actually like to photograph a lot of my meals the next day when there's natural light, but this was so good that there were no leftovers. Maybe next time...


Ingredients

• 4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for casserole
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 ounces (about 8 slices) Swiss cheese
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 cup herb-flavored stuffing mix, crushed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the chicken to a shallow buttered casserole and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Layer the cheese slices on top.

In a medium bowl, add the soup and the wine, season with salt and pepper and pour over the cheese. Sprinkle stuffing mix on top and drizzle with melted butter.* Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

*Cook's Note: If desired use more butter.

BBQ Turkey Meatloaf

I love Pioneer Woman's BBQ meatballs and a few weeks ago I tried to turn it into a meatloaf recipe.

It did not go well.


Then I suddenly remembered that Brooke made an awesome BBQ meatloaf (thanks to the Neelys!) for us a couple of years go and I went right to her blog to find the recipe.

This meatloaf was really full of flavor and satisfying. While the photos leave much to be desired, rest assured that this was a dinner of comfort.


Ingredients

• Pinch paprika
• Pinch sugar
• Pinch onion powder
• 1 teaspoon crab boil seasoning, (recommended: Old Bay)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce, reserving 1/2 cup for the top
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix BBQ seasoning, crab boil seasoning, soy sauce, beaten egg, 1 cup of the BBQ sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper and garlic. Saute until tender. Remove from heat and add to wet mix.

Pour mixture into bowl with the ground turkey. Add bread crumbs and mix all together with your hands.

Transfer the meat mixture to a cookie sheet or baking pan. Using your hands, shape the meat into an oblong or rectangular shape. *Cook's Note: Alternately, you can pat the meat into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and pour 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce on the top of the loaf.

Bake for 35 minutes. Remove and add the reserved 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce to the top and continue to bake for 20 more minutes.

Creamy Spinach and Tortellini

As you know, I love pasta, but really enjoy doing things a little differently once in awhile. I made this tortellini dinner from Cooking for Comfort, and it was indeed comforting. The spinach and tomatoes really rounded out the dinner and made me feel slightly less guilty for consuming a ginormous bowl of tortellini. This was nice and fast - boiling the water for the tortellini was the "long" part. The rest came together as the tortellini were cooking. Delicious, and I will for sure make this again.


Ingredients

• 20 ounce family size package fresh cheese tortellini
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 (9 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach in pouch, thawed
  
• 14 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook tortellini to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; cook until tender and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add spinach, tomato, basil, salt, and pepper, cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in whipping cream and Parmesan cheese; cook until mixture just comes to a boil. Pour sauce over tortellini and stir gently to coat. Serve with additional grated parmesan cheese.

Red Velvet Chocolate Drenched Heartcakes

I love making little holiday-themed treats, and Picky Palate has really been my go-to site for this. She's so creative yet her recipes are very easy and fast. I would never think of some of her concoctions, but I love them!


These little red velvet hearts completely fit in with what I was looking for - something easy, yummy, and a little different.

I had a little bit of drama with this recipe, however. I was in Target and stopped to pick up the cake mix and condensed milk. I was going to buy a little heart shaped mold (I had the package IN MY HAND!), but when I saw it, I remembered that I already had one. Score - I saved myself $10.

Then I was all set to make them but the hearts looked much smaller than in the store. Hmm. Sure enough, I realized that what I had was a silicone ice cube tray in heart shapes, and not an oven-save pan.

By now it was two days before Valentine's Day, and by then Target was, of course, sold out of the pans. A couple of different Targets later (made by my wonderful husband and son), however, I was the proud owner of silicone heart-shaped cupcake liners.


Ryan of course helped me make this little treat, and we brought most of them to my parents' house for a pre-Valentine's-Day dinner. I really liked the chocolate ganache, and I used some leftover funfetti sprinkles from our Valentine's Day cupcakes before the chocolate set.


The only thing I did differently was not adding in the extras to the batter that Jenny did - but that was purely because I didn't read the whole recipe. I saw "cake mix" and "eggs" and "oil" and I assumed she was listing the ingredients from the box. It wasn't until later that I realized that she enhanced the cake even more. I'd love to try her version next time - but for now, these straight-out-of-the-box hearts were pretty good!


Ingredients

• 1 box red velvet cake mix, plus the ingredients listed on the box
• 1 small can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand of an electric mixer prepare the cake mix as directed. With a cookie scoop or spoon, place cake batter into well greased little heart molds or paper lined cupcake tins, just over 1/2 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Remove and let cool. With the help of a plastic knife, carefully remove hearts from molds. If you are using regular cupcakes, remove wrappers. Place little cakes onto a cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet.

2. To prepare chocolate sauce, pour sweetened condensed milk into a small saucepan over medium heat. When hot, pour in chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Pour chocolate sauce over cupcakes and use a little plastic knife to frost the sides of hearts. Let chocolate set slightly or eat immediately if you like it gooey!

about 24 heartcakes

Sweetheart Cinnamon Rolls

I love making special breakfasts for holidays so I really appreciate when these holidays fall on a weekend! We really enjoyed the Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls that I made for Halloween, so I was set on making a Valentine's Day version for this morning.


After some perusing online, I came up with this little creation myself, and if I may pat myself on the back, it was pretty fantastic. When I tasted the icing, I feared it was too sweet, but when spread on the warm rolls, it was perfect.

I loved that they were mini-sized; that made me feel dainty. We devoured these in no time and I can't wait to try different variations.


Ingredients

• 1 tube crescent rolls
• 6 tablespoons of butter, divided
• cinnamon for sprinkling (I probably used about 2-3 teaspoons total)
• 4oz strawberry cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 375.

Unroll the rolls so the rectangle is horizontally facing and press the seams together. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, and then brush it over the dough. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.

Carefully roll the dough into a long cylinder, rolling away from you. Slice into 16 even mini rolls and place in a greased pie plate. Bake for 11-13 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter along with the rest of the ingredients and whisk together (or use your mixer) until smooth.

Spread over warm rolls and enjoy!

Incredible Bundt Cake

As soon as Brooke posted this cake months ago, I went right out and bought the ingredients. So easy and simple and delicious!


I've made it several times since then, and it's always a hit. If I'm serving it during the day, I usually don't even frost it - it makes for a nice pound-cake style treat. For a more decadent dessert, it's frosting all the way!


Ingredients

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1 small box vanilla pudding
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1 cup chopped pecans, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using and electric mixer, blend the cake mix, pudding, sour cream, eggs, oil and applesauce 5-6 minutes. Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan. Pour 1/3 of the batter into pan and sprinkle one half of chocolate chips and nuts over it. Pour in remaining batter and top with remaining chips and nuts. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool about 5 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate; cool completely.