Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is a great "dump soup" - made out of canned goods! I got the recipe from my mom. I changed just a few things to make it go farther, and because Sam doesn't like corn too much so we added more of other ingredients to make it seem like less corn. :) It was a nice, spicy, filling soup that we both really enjoyed. And since its all affordable ingredients that can be kept on hand, I'm sure we'll be enjoying it a couple times this winter!

Ingredients
2 cans worth of chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 package taco seasoning
2 cans chicken, shreddede
1 can corn
1 small-med. sized jar of salsa
shredded cheese (mexican, cheddar, or whatever you like!)
sour cream
tortilla strips or chips

Directions
Mix chicken broth, soup and taco seasoning. Add the chicken, corn, and salsa. Heat and simmer for a few minutes. Top with sour cream, cheese and tortilla strips or tortilla chips, crushed into smaller pieces. Enjoy!

Tiramisu!

This is my ALL TIME FAV dessert. I LOVE tiramisu!! I always had heard it was a very difficult dessert to master. However, this Ina Garten recipe couldn't be more simple! The only bad part is, it's pretty expensive to make - especially the mascarpone cheese and the espresso. I ended up using the new VIA instant Starbuck's coffee - the strong kind. It did work and still was delicious, but I could tell the difference. But a cup and a half of espresso is a fortune if you don't have an espresso maker! (Which I don't). If you'd like to try it though, you could use a strong brewed coffee or use the VIA - you probably can't tell if you aren't comparing it to the other.

I brought this into the office for my birthday today... it went over well! I borrowed the pic but mine looked exactly the same as this picture... I didn't want to take pictures of my food at work, plus it doesn't look as "fancy" on a paper plate anyhow!! I love how the rum and espresso is used in two parts of the recipe - it really ties in the cream mixture with the soaked lady fingers. Hope you enjoy!



Ingredients
6 extra large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark rum, divided
1 1/2 cups brewed espresso, divided
16 oz. mascarpone cheese
30+ ladyfingers
unsweetened chocolate powder

Directions
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in teh bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until very thick and light yellow. Lower the speed to medium and add 1/4 cup rum, 1/4 cup espresso, and the mascarpone. Whisk until smooth.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup rum and 1 1/4 cups espresso in a shallow bowl. Dip 1 side of each ladyfinger in the espresso/rum mixture and line the bottom of a 9 X 13 inch pan. Pour half of the espresso/rum mixture over the ladyfingers. Pour half of the espresso cream mixture over the top. Add another layer of ladyfingers dipped in the espresso/rum mixture and pour the rest over the ladyfingers. Top with the rest of the cream. Smooth the top, cover and put in the fridge.

Before serving, sprinkle the top with chocolate powder.

Half Recipe
3 extra large egg yolks, at room temp
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark rum, divided (2 Tbsp, 2 Tbsp)
3/4 cups brewed espresso, divdied (2 Tbsp, the rest)
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
15 + ladyfingers
chocolate

Tequila Christmas Cake

Ingredients
1-cup water
1-tsp. baking soda
1-cup sugar
1-tsp. salt
1-cup of brown sugar Lemon juice
4 large eggs Nuts
1 bottle tequila
2-cups dried fruit

Directions
Sample the tequila to check quality.

Take a large bowl, check the tequila again. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Repeat.

Turn on the electric mixer.

Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.

At this point its best to make sure the tequila is still OK. Try another cup...just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit up off the floor.

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the tequila to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something.

Check the tak...teck...tequila (that's a funny word).

Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window.

Finish the tequila and wipe counter with the cat.


CHERRY MISTMAS!

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

This is another really easy barely-counts recipe... I was craving a hot dish and was too lazy to do anything more than open a few cans on Sunday night! This was a nice dish to have everything on hand (at least I did!) and its some good hearty food!

I got this recipe from Stove Top's website and it was really yummy! I made just a few minor changes. If I was less lazy last night I probably would have sauted onions but alas, I did not. I liked having stuffing as the topping of the hot dish - something I wouldn't have been clever enough to think of myself but its genius!!

Ingredients
1 box of stuffing (substitute 1/2 the water it calls for with chicken stock)
1 can of chicken
1 can - cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup cheddar cheese
1 can of carrots and peas mix, drained (or a frozen back of mixed vegetables)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on package adding the chicken stock; set aside.
Mix remaining ingredients and put in a buttered 9X9 pan, top with the stuffing. Bake about 20 minutes or until mixture is bubbling and stuffing is slighly browned.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Hi there - sorry I have been doing HORRIBLE at updating my food blog! I've been cooking a little bit - but during Christmas its usually for other people and I don't experiment with someone else!

But today, I had the day off work, its snowy out there, so it was just him and me eating at home - yay! I wanted to try pumpkin pancakes...doesn't that sound just delicious? I never even thought of such a thing until someone on facebook said they were making it. I found a few recipes for pumpkin pancakes from scratch, but I didn't have buttermilk so I cheated and used a box mix. So really this barely counts as a "recipe" but I wanted to post something!

It was the perfect cold-weather meal! Sam took his pancakes without pumpkin - but its easy enough to make 2 batches separate! My directions are for one batch - yes, I ate them all. Yummm. And my directions are very approximate. I added enough pumpkin so that there would be some in every bite. I went a little heavy on the nutmeg - its so strong I would use less next time to allow the pumpkin flavor to come through. I also made us some turkey sausages and had some pomegranate with mine! (That's those pretty berry-looking things in the back). I was home all day today, and after doing a couple hours of Bible research I was (subconsiously) hungry for pomegrantes! My considerate husband brought me one home - yum!


Ingredients
1 cup complete (just add water) buttermilk pancake mix
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup pumpkin
couple pinches cinnamon
pinch nutmeg

Directions
Mix ingredients all together. Cook as regular pancakes. Top with maple syrup - real maple syrup if you have it!

Sundried Tomato Dip

I was asked to bring a veggie tray to Aunt Pearl's thanksgiving. Well, I thought that the basic brocolli, carrots and celery with store bought dip just didn't sound that fun or exciting. So I used an Ina Garten recipe for sundried tomato dip. I thought it was delicious! The dip was very flavorful and very easy. Plus - I got to use the food processor my mom and dad got me for my birthday! :) (Early present!). Also, for the veggies, I did celery and carrots (just because they are popular for a reason so figured I'd better include those) and green beans, asparagus (both blanched) and red and yellow pepper. Isn't it pretty?



Ingredients
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped (8 tomatoes)
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
10 dashes, hot red pepper sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

Directions
Puree the tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, red pepper sauce, salt and pepper in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the scallions (saving a few for topping) and pulse twice. Let flavors blend overnight if possible. Serve cold or at room temperature topped with scallions.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Oh my word. Am I excited about this recipe. It just screams fall... and its delicious!! I think my favorite part is smelling it while its baking. Amazing!! You just have to try it!! Its compliments of my friend Kate - she said it is a recipe from her mother. I can tell you - it is now a Watts family recipe as well!

Ingredients
1 large can pumpkin
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ginger
1/8 t. cloves
1/2 t. salt
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 c. chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Directions
Mix eggs, milk, sugar, pumpkin and spices.
Pour into a 9 X 13 buttered baking dish. Sprinkle cake mix over the mixture.
Drizzle melted butter over top. Sprinkle nuts on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Can serve with whipped topping.

Baked Orzo with Chicken and Vegetables

Sorry for my long absence! Sam said its because we can't ever get home to have a meal! Well, finally we did the other night and I tried out a recipe which needed to be all of these things: cheap, tasty, convenient. (Meaning I can keep the ingredients on hand - since I get home late lots of evenings its nice to have recipes where I have non-perishable ingredients so I don't have to stop at the store! Although I do love fresh ingredients!) This is kind of my take on a chicken and rice bake, but I thought the orzo would be a fun, Italian touch!

I hope I didn't forget anything! Sam really liked this, so I was glad. Because that is the true test of whether I will make a recipe again or not! He didn't even notice the vegetables.



Ingredients

2 cups chicken stock
1/2 pound orzo
small onion, chopped
1 can of chicken
tbs. olive oil
breadcrumbs (can use dried or I used 2 slices of bread shredded in my food processor).
2 tbs. butter
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of vegetables (I used peas and carrots)
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring the chicken stock to boiling. Once its boiling, add the orzo and turn heat to medium. Let simmer until orzo is al dente and most of the liquid is absorbed.

While that is cooking, saute onions and chicken over medium heat in a saute pan. If the chicken is in large chunks, I like to break it up so it is more shredded. Once the onions are softened a bit, remove from heat.

Saute breadcrumbs and butter until they are toasted.

In a large bowl, mix the orzo (no need to drain - a little extra stock is good!), chicken and onions, soup, can of vegetables, and Parmesan. Mix.

In a 9X9 pan, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the mixture in the pan. Cover with breadcrumbs. Put in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, just until it is bubbling.




Enjoy this warm, gooey, cheap, convenient recipe!

Baked Potato Soup

I had potatoes that I really had to use up before they got bad, and $1 bunch of chives from the farmer's market... what's a girl to do? Potato soup of course!!

Now I hope I can remember everything I put in - I just used things in my kitchen that sounded like they would be good in a soup! And be warned - measurements are VERY approximate!!

Ingredients

4 potatos, peeled and cut into cubes
2 tbs. butter
salt
1 cup water
1 cup chicken stock
3 slices of bacon, cut into pieces
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. oregano
pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic seasoning (I used Garlic Garlic from Tastefully Simple)
1/3 cup of velveeta, cut into small pieces
chopped scallions
sour cream

Directions

Put potatoes into a large pot with water, stock and butter. Add some salt to season the potatoes (but not too much - the bacon will add a lot of salt later). Boil the potatoes over medium high heat.

While that cooks, saute the bacon until almost cripsy. Add onions and saute with the bacon a few minutes. Remove from heat.

Once the potatoes are soft, use a fork to mash up about 1/4 of them. Lower the heat to medium low. Add the bacon and onion mixture. Add cream, oregano, pepper to taste, garlic, and velveeta. Heat until velveeta melts. Lower heat to "low" and let the soup simmer a few minutes to let the flavors develop. Add some scallions to the soup.

Dish up, top with sour cream and more scallions for garnish. Enjoy!!

Flatbread with Bacon, Onions and Pesto

This is the first recipe I've tried from my new Food Network magazine that my mom got me for a present! I love the magazine and was really excited to try this dish which looked like it would make a delicious and beautiful appetizer.

It is beautiful (as you can see) and was good, although I would tweak a few things next time. That is - I would not put lemon zest in the sour cream - it was a little too lemony. Also, I would not use parsley for the pesto - I think a nice basil pesto would be a little more tasty. But because those are just hypothesises (sp?) I will post the original recipe! If I was you, I would trust a professional chef over Britt any day! :)



Ingredients
4 thick strips bacon, cut into pieces
1 large white onion, sliced
pinch of sugar
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
6 scallions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon capers
1/2 cup fresh parsley
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1 pound frozen pizza dough, thawed

Directions
Preheat oven to 450. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crispy. Transfer to a plate with a paper towel, keep warm. Add the onion slices to the drippings in the pan. Sprinkle with sugar and season with salt and pepper. Cook on low heat until light brown, tender and caramelized.

Combine the scallions, capers and parsley in the food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste and half the lemon zest. Pulse gently to chop and blend. Gently stream in olive oil. Transfer scallion pesto to a bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk creme fraiche and remaining lemon zest until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Roll pizza dough onto sheet covered with non-stick spray or flour to keep from sticking. Drizzle with olive oil. Place in center of oven and cook for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Spread creme fraiche mixture on the crust. Dot with onions and sprinkle with bacon and pesto. Slice into pieces and serve.



Might also be fun to try some mayo instead of sour cream and add some tomato slices for a more BLT themed flatbread. I think this is a fun recipe because you can change it to whatever you like! My favorite part was the onions - they were so good!!

Ever feel this way while watching cooking shows?

I love Ina Garten - one of my top 3 favorite shows to watch is Barefoot Contessa. But this is just too funny - anyone else feel this way when watching cooking shows sometimes?



I got it from foodnetworkhumor.com. Some of it gets a little mean and tasteless, but for the most part its just a funny website that pokes fun at our favorite food network chefs. Although folks can say almost anything they want about Bobby Flay in my opinion- he's just a jerk.

:)

My favorite Mac-and-Cheese

Mac and cheese is my favorite comfort food. Absolutely!! We have this at least once every two weeks. I always have the ingredients on hand - its fast, easy and cheap so it's my "go-to meal" when I'm too lazy to cook anything (and we're not in the mood for Subways!). My mom would always make it this way - and even during college when I went home it was the thing I asked for most.

Now I make it for myself (a lot), so much so that Sam said he would like some box mac and cheese - but when its this easy, why settle for a box? The great thing is I can heat up the tuna and peas for me and Sam can just have the noodles and sauce.

All I do is cook some fun-shaped noodles in salted water. In another pot, heat up a tbs. butter, cubed velveeta and heavy cream (add as much cream and velveeta as you want until its the thickness you like). Then I heat up tuna and peas in the microwave. Mix pasta, tuna & peas, and sauce together. YUM! The best mac and cheese you'll ever have.



I'm curious - what's your go-to meal? You're favorite, easy, never gets old, comfort food?

Jambalaya and Red Lobster Biscuits

This is a jambalaya recipe I got from my friend Angie who served it at the Oscar party last year. It has a tremendous amount of flavor - plus it cooks for so long you get to wait and get more hungry!

A few notes - I made half a recipe and we have enough to feed a small mid-sized army. So unless you are the mother of the Duggar children, chef for a high school cafeteria or clinically insane really hungry, just half the recipe and plan on leftovers!

Also, the recipe says to let it cook in the oven. Angie made hers on stovetop just by simmering if I did the same. I think I might have cooked mine a little on the long side because my rice was pretty soft by the end. But still yummy yummy!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter
1 large onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons Creole Seasoning Blend
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
7 cups chicken stock
3 cups chopped cooked ham
3 cups cooked andouille sausage, sliced (I used chorizo because it was way on sale)
3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used canned chicken)
3 cups frozen cooked shrimp
4 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter in large stock pot. Saute onion, green pepper, celery and garlic until tender, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add tomato paste and cook to brown slightly, stirring constantly. Stir in bay leaves, Creole seasoning blend and Worcestershire sauce. Pour into a large roasting pan. Squeeze tomatoes to break up into pieces, and add to mixture in pan. Stir in juice from tomatoes, chicken stock, ham, sausage, chicken, shrimp and rice. Mix well. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through baking time. Remove bay leaves before serving.

CREOLE SEASONING

2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
5 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons salt

Before....



And after 1 1/2 to 2 hours - viola! :)







And now for the Red Lobster Biscuits! I was at a Tastefully Simple party where they had delicious looking mix for these cheddar biscuits. I was pretty sure I could save some $$$, and have an unlimited supply, if I could just figure out my own recipe. Turns out, there is a ton of recipes on google - and BONUS - they are EASY. Like ridiculously easy. They were delish with the jambalaya.



INGREDIENTS

2 cups bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1/2 cup melted butter (What?!?!)
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

DIRECTIONS

Mix bisquick, milk and cheddar till soft ball forms. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds.

Drop by balls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Mix garlic salt and butter. Brush on rolls while still hot.

Enjoy!

Simple Supper with Linguini & Tomatoes

Just wanted to show you what we had for supper tonight, mostly for my mom to see, since I used her produce!

After being on the road, it was nice to have a fresh, homecooked meal. The shallots and tomatoes were from mom. Thanks!! It was delish!

I just sauteed red and yellow tomatoes, chopped shallots, minced garlic, fresh thyme, salt and pepper in lots of olive oil. (Sam added red pepper flakes to his - another nice touch). Here is the pretty dish!

Homemade Mayonnaise

As you know if you read my other blog, I got to go see Julie and Julia today! This movie was great... take your mom, sister or girlfriends, and go!

It was kind of like when Sam left The Fast and the Furious and drove 80 miles an hour the whole way home - I just wanted to get home and cook! I can't wait to try Julia's Boeuf Bouorguignon, kind of her signature dish, but I didn't have 3+ hours tonight. However, I did want to try something so I thought, how about her homemade mayonnaise? I always see them making stuff like this on food network, and all the talk of how difficult it is to emulsify the mixture scared me away. But, Julia Child inspired me to try! (Another thing I didn't know was that she didn't start cooking till later in life - how cool is that to begin something new, perfect it and be such an authority on the subject? Never too late to learn - what an inspiration!)

Ingredients
Round-bottomed, 2½ to 3-quart glazed pottery, glass or stainless steel mixing bowl. Set it in a heavy casserole or saucepan to keep it from slipping.
3 egg yolks
Large wire whisk
1 tablespoon wine vinegar or lemon juice (more drops as needed)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dry or prepared mustard
1½ to 2¼ cups of olive oil, salad oil or a mixture of each. If the oil is cold, heat it to tepid; and if you are a novice, use the minimum amount
2 tablespoons boiling water

Directions
Warm the bowl in hot water; dry it. Add the egg yolks and beat for 1 to 2 minutes until they are thick and sticky.

Add the vinegar or lemon juice, salt and mustard. Beat for 30 seconds more.

The egg yolks are now ready to receive the oil. While it goes in, drop by drop, you must not stop beating until the sauce has thickened. A speed of 2 strokes per second is fast enough. You can switch hands or switch directions, as long as you beat constantly.

Add the drops of oil with a teaspoon, or rest the lip of the bottle on the edge of the bowl. Keep your eye on the oil rather than on the sauce. Stop pouring and continue beating every 10 seconds or so, to be sure the egg yolks are absorbing the oil.

After 1/3 to 1/2 cup of oil has been incorporated, the sauce will thicken into a very heavy cream and the crisis of potential curdling is over. The beating arm may rest a moment. Then, beat in the remaining oil by 1 to 2 tablespoon dollops, blending it thoroughly after each addition.

When the sauce becomes too thick and stiff, beat in drops of vinegar or lemon juice to thin it out. Then continue with the oil.
Beat the boiling water into the sauce. This is an anti-curdling insurance. Season to taste.

If the sauce is not used immediately, scrape it into a small bowl and cover it tightly so a skin will not form on its surface.

YAY!! Success - it worked! And it does taste incredible compared to store-bought. (And I always love store bought as well - pass the mayo). Again, this is NOT a health-food blog. :)



Julia Child’s tips for homemade mayonnaise:
Room Temperature: Have all ingredients at room temperature. If they aren’t, warm the mixing bowl in hot water to take the chill off the egg yolks; heat the oil to tepid if it is cold.

Egg Yolks: Always beat the yolks for a minute or two before adding anything to them. When they are thick and sticky, they are ready to absorb the oil.

Adding The Oil: The oil must be added very slowly at first, in droplets, until the emulsion process begins and the sauce thickens into a heavy cream. Then, the oil may be incorporated more rapidly.

Proportions: The maximum amount of oil one large egg yolk can absorb is six ounces, or ¾ cup. When this maximum is exceeded, the binding properties of the egg yolks break down, and the sauce thins out or curdles. If you have never made mayonnaise before, it is safest not to exceed ½ cup of oil per egg yolk



I'm so proud of this!! Look how awesome!!



Making this leads me to a question for my fellow cooks and blog readers... what do you think constitutes "homemade"? Generally, I guess I think anything in a cookbook or on Food Network counts. But I just got done reading an article on how Julia Child-style cooking is gone in place of "30 Minute Meal"-type recipes. Instead of laboring in the kitchen over a truly homemade creation, today's cooks use canned tomatoes and pre-made ravioli when they cook.

I can see both sides. I think with the 40+ hour workweeks many women are engaged in, even a 30 minute meal is an accomplishment. You are still trying to make healthy non-processed food for your family and spending time in the kitchen, around the table, and cleaning up together. That's a lot different than carry-out regardless of if you used canned tomatoes or not.

However, I can see the argument that making bread from dough and butter instead of the frozen pie crusts is an art that could be lost in this generation. Opening a can of crushed tomatoes is NOT the same as picking out (or growing!) fresh tomatoes and simmering them. Using a certain amount of packaged food has become ok - even on Food Network. While I was whisking my homemade mayo (I can barely type my arm is so tired!!), I was thinking about the fact that years ago, women did make every part of their recipe by hand. Am I cheating most of the time?

So, what do you think? What can you get away with and still claim you made it homemade? Or, alternatively, what should we strive for as cooks to truly be an artist in the kitchen? Surely we don't need to churn our own butter?

Or do we?

Melissa d'Aarabian's 4-Step Chicken

Remember how I said my favorite person won "The Next Food Network Star"? Well, today was the first day her show aired! They put it at 11:30am on Sunday (horrible time spot!) so I missed it, but I did want to try her 4-step chicken from the finale when she won. Here's Melissa - isn't she adorable?



And here's her cute girls - what a handful! Her niche is that she's not a trained chef, but a very talented stay at home mom who is really good with tips to help the average cook.



The four-step chicken is a really easy, basic idea. 1) saute the chicken 2) add the vegetable/aromatics 3) add the liquid 4) finish with butter. Its pretty much the base for a ton of great recipes... and you can switch out the vegetables/liquids and make tons of recipes! As you can see, I added orzo to complete the plate. In her original recipe, Melissa has the chicken on top of wilted spinach. (I knew that wouldn't go over well with Sammy!)



Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced in half crossways (butterflied, cut all the way through)
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
1 cup chicken broth
3 lemons, juiced
1 to 2 tablespoons butter

Directions
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.

Plate the chicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Pasta Carbonara & Frozen Chocolate Mousse Pie

Finished up 2 new recipes tonight! Our good friend Nancy was over to have supper with us and hang out. Being a lovely evening, we ate on the deck. Call me old and boring, but after the work week I really enjoy low-key Fridays. Why leave when you can eat here, anyway?



PASTA CARBONARA

For supper, I made Pasta Carbonara from my Giada De Laurentiis cookbook (again, yes, she is awesome). Another great recipe where I had everything on hand and it was delish!! :) I added the onions as optional because I felt they would have made the dish perfect!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
about 1 lb. of pancetta or bacon, diced into pieces
1 onion, optional
1 cup frozen peas
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream at room temperature
1 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
box of fettuccine

Directions
In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium. Add the pancetta/bacon and onions and saute until golden brown and crispy. Add peas and heat them up. Remove pan from heat.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and cream. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserve about 1 cup of cooking liquid.

While the pasta is still hot, return it to the pot, and quickly toss with the browned pancetta/bacon. Add the cream mixture and work quickly to toss the pasta so that the mixture will cook but not curdle. Toss with remaining Parmesan cheese and serve. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if you want!



FROZEN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE

This is a Paula Deen recipe - I love that cute southern lady! I really liked this recipe - not a lot of ingredients, and not too hard (just have to be careful folding the chocolate into the whipped cream). I'm glad I like it - I have to make it again because I bought a whole container of chocolate cream liqueur just for this!

Ingredients
2 cups chocolate chips
1 quart + 3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tbs. chocolate cream liqueur
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1 pie shell

Directions
Heat the oven to 350. Poke holes in the pie crust with a fork and bake the crust about 11 minutes.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips, 3 tablespoons heavy cream, chocolate liqueur. Once it is melted, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Combine the sugar and 1 quart cream and whip on high speed until stiff. Gently fold in the chocolate mixture. It may not combine completely, that's ok. Put the mixture into the pie crust.

Cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for a few hours. Enjoy!!

Chicken Cacciatore

New recipe #3! Bet you didn't think I would live up to my promise, but I did!

Tonight I tried another Giada DeLaurentiis recipe, Chicken Cacciatore. Besides the yummy looking picture in my cookbook, this description caught my eye:

"Cacciatore means cooked in the "hunter's style". In many Italian-American restaurants this can be a greasy, overly sweet sauce with dry, overcooked chicken. But this recipe will make you fall in love with Chicken Cacciatore again; its really the ultimate in hearty, rustic Italian home cooking."

That intrigued me - she's really building it up! And it lived up to it! Yummy!!! The one word I can use to describe it is: Fresh. It just tasted so vibrant and fresh, which is kind of unusual for I stew-type dish. I wish the picture I took looked as good as I thought it tasted. Sadly, Sam was not as big of a fan. "I don't like big tomatoes - I thought it was like Prego sauce." he says. :( Maybe I'll just put his in the blender and put it on some spaghetti next time - that would also be delicious.

In other food news, my favorite person won "The Next Food Network Star!" In honor of Melissa and her first show, I will be doing one of her recipes next week. Way to go girl! 4 kids under the age of 4, the only "untrained" chef on the show... this soccer mom beat the other chefs to win her own program on Food Network. I can't wait to watch her show!

Ingredients
Chicken breasts, cut into pieces
salt
pepper
flour for dredging
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons drained capers
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup coursely chopped fresh basil

Directions
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the pieces in flour to coat them lightly.

In a large, heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken to the pan and saute until golden brown on each side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the bell pepper, onion, garlic and oregano to the same pan and saute over medium heat until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice, broth and capers. Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat them in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through.

Finish the sauce with a little butter. Sprinkle with fresh basil, and enjoy!



Off the hook tomorrow night - we are going to friends' house for pizza! :) And Thursday we are gone as well. I'll be back next night we eat at home!

Pork Milanese

Night #2 of a new recipe this week. Tonight we had Giada DeLaurentiis' recipe, Pork Milanese. Its really like a parmesan chicken, but using pork and more herbs. It was tasty. I made my own breadcrumbs with sliced bread instead of using the pre-made - I find those to be very dry. This was easy and delicious... I recommend it for a weeknight supper for sure. I also made zucchini and home-made mashed potatoes and gravy. Dinner was done and we were cleaned up by 8:00! That tells you how fast it is - usually we are just sitting down to eat at 8!

Ingredients
1/3 cup flour for dredging
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 1/4 cups bread crumbs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 center-cut pork chops
salt
pepper
olive oil

Directions
Place the flour in a large, shallow bowl.
Place the eggs in another bowl.
Mix the bread crumbs, cheese, basil and thyme in a third bowl.

Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper. Dredge a pork chop in flour, then in the egg, then in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing gently to adhere. Set them on a baking sheet/plate.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a saute pan on medium. Place the pork chops in the pan for about 3 minutes per side, or until the coating is golden brown and the inside is done.

If your pork chops won't fit in the pan at once, put the finished ones in an oven at 150 degrees to keep them warm. Then, enjoy!

Redneck Chicken

Ooh - I'm so excited to start a week of new dishes. I'm trying something new every day we eat at home this week!! Today I started with something called Beer Can Chicken, recipe compliments of Guy Fieri. My title? Redneck Chicken. Can you see why?



That's right - this chicken is cooked with beer (still in the can) and covered in bacon! Woo hoo! I wanted to cook Sam a nice meal after he ate fast food all week - and this fit the bill!

INGREDIENTS
2-3 pound chicken
5 cloves garlic
1 can beer
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs. onion powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tbs. fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash the bird and pat it dry. Combine all the herbs together. Rub half of them inside the cavity of the chicken and the other half between the flesh and the skin, being careful not to puncture the skin.

Open the can of beer and pour half out (I don't care what you do with it from there!) Into the beer can, drop 5 smashed garlic cloves. Then, (it helps to have extra hands!) put the chicken over the beer can so that it is sitting in the cavity upright in a roasting pan. Then, use strips of back to cover the chicken. Secure it with toothpicks. (You can't see the beer can- but its in there.)



Put it in the oven at 450 for 10 minutes. Then, lower the temperature to 325. Cook for one hour, or until the chicken is cooked to 165 degrees.



It should be moist and flavorful - with the beer aroma permeating the inside and the bacon moistening the outside. Yum-o!!
And that's your redneck chicken!!

Meal on the Grill

I just had to share this meal because it was so yummy and so pretty! :) The only thing I was sad about was that my zucchini had icky skin so I had to take that off.

I made pizza bianca but on the grill. I just made sure to cover with olive oil the part that touched the grills so it wouldn't stick. The bottom had beautiful grill marks and as you can see the top is puffy and delicious.

I loaded my bite sized zucchini on skewers, again covered in olive oil, salt and pepper -DONE!

As for the pork, I did a simple rub of kosher salt, black pepper, fresh thyme and fresh rosemary. Then I made some pork stuffing (out of a box - sorry!) to go alongside.

Delish!! (to borrow a term from Rachel Ray). Sam and I were out cooking on the grill together, and then moved the food about 2 feet over to the table. Relaxing - easy - scrumptious - what a great date night! The only thing that would make it easier is if we could just throw our dirty plates off the deck for cleanup! Don't think the neighbors would appreciate that though. :)

Dessert Pizza

I just LOVE restaurant "fake" recipes, like the Chili's salsa I posted a while back. I had this enormous craving for Pizza Hut's dessert pizza. I couldn't find any kind of dessert pizzas in the frozen foods section (I went to 3 grocery stores... when I get a craving I keep looking till I find the thing I want... I can't imagine what this is going to be like when I'm pregnant)... anyway, couldn't find one. So I decided to search google for a imitation recipe and make my own! It was delicious!

**Note: If you have a feeling you will be coming to our place for supper in the next few months, don't make this because I'll probably make it for you. Now that everyones had the chocolate eclair dessert!!



INGREDIENTS

1 large can cherry, blueberry or apple pie filling (I used blueberry)
1 recipe pizza dough (I used the Pillsbury one in a can)
1/2 cup flower
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup firm butter
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. (The recipe said 500, but I found that my crust cooked too quickly, so I would take it down a notch).

Combine ingredients for crumb topping: flour, brown sugar, quick oats, 1/2 cup firm butter, cinnamon. Mix well with a pastry cutter or fork.

Combine all ingredients for the glaze: confectioner's sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, vanilla extract.

(This is the nice part about making it for guests - you can do all the combining and just keep it in the fridge and do assembly when its time to eat!)

Roll out the dough onto a pan after using non-stick spray. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Brush with vegetable oil. Bake for 3 minutes.

Remove from oven and cover with the pie filling. Next, add the crumb topping. Return to the oven and bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until crust is light golden brown.

Remove and drizzle with vanilla glaze.

Enjoy!!

Pork Chops

We have been eating a LOT of pork lately... maybe its because I'm still catching up for not eating it during lent, maybe its just because its delicious. Either way, its awesome on the grill, and I have a slow cooker recipe we took to our friends' house tonight... I'll post that another day.

This is a two-fer - I've got a really easy and super delish marinade recipe, and I'm also posting a sauce as well. Make your pork chops with either and its a great meal - but together... even better! My mom gave me this marinade - she says it works for any kind of meat. Something about the sweetness and the pork makes it my favorite though. And the chops have been super tender... part Sam's great cooking techniques on the grill, part of the lemon juice breaking down the meat. Can't mess this one up!



MOM'S MARINADE

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Directions
Cover at least 1/2 hour or overnight. Then cook!

BRITT'S SAUCE
Ingredients
2 teaspoons lemon juice
a handful golden raisins
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Directions
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until sauce forms. Pour over your pork chops and eat!

Directions

Baked Spaghetti

Woo hoo I'm proud of myself! I made another Britt original recipe! :) And no, I didn't measure so I'm going to guess. Please feel free to adjust if you try this too - I'm sure your measurements are much better than mine!!!! I made this up because I was inspired by what we had at my friend Kate's house on Tuesday. She made us some delicious baked spaghetti with veggies, tomatoes and cheese. I decided to use what I had on hand an make a red-sauce version for Sam tonight. Here goes -

Ingredients

1 package spicy Italian sausage
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1/2 cup marsala wine
1 jar crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
1/8 -1/4 cup cream cheese (start with a little and taste until its the way you like it)
Salt
Pepper
handful of fresh chopped basil, oregano and thyme (or whatever combination of fresh or dried Italian herbs you have on hand)
1/2 cup shredded mozzerella cheese
1/2 box of spaghetti noodles
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Also, fill a large pot with water and put it over high heat.

In a large skillet, brown the Italian sausage. Add the onion about half way through the cooking of the sausage. Add garlic. Saute until tender. Add the marsala wine and cook until it reduces by half. Add the crushed tomatoes. Add the cream cheese and break it up as it melts into the sauce. Simmer until sauce thickens. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the fresh herbs.

Meanwhile, break the spaghetti into 3 inch pieces and add to the boiling water. Salt the water heavily. Drain the noodles just before al dente (they will continue to cook in the oven.)

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray. Add the spaghetti noodles in the bottom and pack down. Cover with the mozzerella. Cover with the sauce. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top.

Cook for about a half hour (or until sauce is bubbling and parmesan is golden brown) at 350 degrees. Enjoy!!! (while watching the Office, if you like your supper Sam-and-Britt style!)

Balsamic Barbeque Steak with Tuna Pasta

Another Monday night classic... I just crave steak on weekdays for some reason. :) We tried out a Giada De Laurentiis recipe - balsamic BBQ steak (or chicken). It was very tasty - Sam grilled it for us and got them rare, just the way I like it!! I also made some delicious tuna pasta (recipe courtesy Paula and Nancy Thiede)... Nancy made this for me once in college - its sooo tasty and sooo simple! I love it!! :)

BALSAMIC BARBEQUE STEAK
Ingredients
1 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes. (Sam hated the smell of vinegar simmering - I promised him it would taste better than it smelled!! )

Place a grill pan over medium heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with some of the BBQ sauce using a pastry brush. Place the meat on the grill. Place the remaining BBQ sauce, still in the small saucepan, over low heat or on the edge of a gas or charcoal grill and allow to gently simmer while the meat cooks.

Cook the steaks starting at about 4 minutes per side until a meat thermometer reads the desired temperature, 120 degrees F for medium rare, 135 degrees F for medium (about 6 minutes per side), 155 degrees F for well done (about 9 minutes per side). Continually brush the meat with BBQ sauce every few minutes. Remove the meat from the grill and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Serve with the heated BBQ sauce alongside.

Note: Recipe also works for chicken!



TUNA PASTA
Ingredients
2 cups cooked Ring-shaped pasta (rinse in cold water)
1 small Drained tuna
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
Worcester sauce (a few dashes)
1 Diced celery stalk
2 Tbs. parmesan cheese

Mix together all ingredients.

A fun way to serve it: Wash and cut a cantaloupe in half. Remove seeds. Fill with your tuna pasta salad. Ritz crackers go well.

Beer Burgers with Gouda Cheese

These are pretty yummy burgers if I do say so myself. The best part is the creamy yummy smoked Gouda cheese. DELISH! :) I added extra shaved gouda to the top of my burger. :)

Ingredients
1 pounds ground beef
1/3 pound smoked Gouda cheese, diced into cubes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
handful of finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon Worchestire sauce
1/2 (12 oz) bottle of beer
olive oil
rolls or buns

Directions
Preheat grill over medium-high heat, or if cooking inside, preheat skillet with olive oil to medium-high heat.

Place the meat in the bowl and add the cheese, onion, paprika, cumin, grill seasoning, garlic, parsley, Worchstershire sauce, and beer. Form into burgers (4 large, or 8 smaller burgers). Grill them on each side until desired doneness.

Serve with this sauce:
2 tablespoons mayo and sour cream, add 1 teaspoon djion mustard and a few dashes of dill. Mix into a sauce and use to top the burgers.

Enjoy!!

Pizza Bianca

I don't even know if I can legitimately post this as a recipe... its too easy! But its simple and delicious, the best kind of recipe, no? I have started always making this whenever we have any kind of spaghetti with red sauce... make extra red sauce because its great for dipping!! The fresh thyme just makes it... so much better than a greasy cheesy bread or something. Recipe courtesy Italian goddess, Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients
Pizza dough (make your own, or buy some fresh... I used the Pillsbury one in a tube and it worked great! I love not having to mess with rolling out dough!!)
Course salt - I love Kosher
Olive oil
Fresh thyme, chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough on a baking sheet. Poke holes all over with a fork. Drizzle or brush on olive oil over the whole crust. Cover with salt and the fresh thyme.

Pop in the oven for 15 minutes, or until its golden brown. Enjoy!

Pasta with White Sauce

Oh boy - a Britt's kitchen first... something completely made up by me. Not inspired by another recipe I liked with small tweaks from me... made up by me! :) Nothing fancy, but it was pretty tasty, so I submit for your approval. I didn't measure, so these are approximate. Mom, sorry for all the times I got annoyed when you didn't measure... now it makes sense that you could do that!! I'm learning... slowly but surely.

Notice how I used my herb garden? Love it! :) I didn't use a roux to thicken the sauce - instead I used Italian breadcrumbs. This is one of my "pantry" meals... although those kind of recipes always annoy me because I never have the same stocked pantry as the chef who wrote the recipe. But this stuff, I happened to have, which makes it handy as well as tasty.

Ingredients
1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. butter
I onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup of Italian style breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp. fresh basil, chopped
salt
pepper

Directions
Melt the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until tender. Add the white wine and chicken stock and let it reduce for a couple minutes. Lower the heat to medium low and add the cream. Simmer for a couple minutes until the sauce warms through and thickens. Add the breadcrumbs, parmesan, fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Serve over angel hair pasta.

I added peas for my portion... Sam passed on those! Kind of pretty, right?

Baked Mac and Cheese

Forgive my lack of blogging here lately. As you can see from my other blog, I've been obsessed with online scrapbooking and finally getting one big project done! And, sad to say, I'm going to be lazy tonight and not even put a full recipe!!

We had baked mac and cheese last night... I am a mac and cheese FREAK. I love it. Never get sick of it. My favorite variation is using Velveeta cheese and cream for the sauce, and adding tuna and peas. Who doesn't love that? I'm sharing this pic because the topping was so excellent. The rest of the recipe was not my favorite though, so try your favorite cheese sauce and then put this on top - and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Its easy - just mix bacon (cooked and cut into bits), grated parmesan cheese, and crushed up potato chips. Yummy!!

Salsa All'Amatriciana

First off, thanks to Nick who left a really nice comment on my last post... and I did serve it hot so I'm going to call it chocolate souffle from now on... that sounds so much better! :) Seriously, I'm very new to this cooking thing so the props from a real chef definitely gives me some confidence! Thank you!

Oh, and Nick... Sam does help with the dishes.... or at least loading the dishwasher! ;)

Now onto this yummy yummy pasta sauce... I love this because it doesn't have to simmer a real long time like my basic red sauce recipe (I should get around to posting that). The bacon gives it all the flavor super quick. (I couldn't find pancetta in my grocery store - sad!) Recipe courtesy Giada de Laurentiis:



Directions
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 oz. pancetta or bacon, diced (I used bacon)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch dried red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
In a large skillet, heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the bacon and saute until crispy, a couple minutes. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, and the salt and pepper.

Simmer, uncooked until sauce thickens slightly and flavors blend, about 5 minutes. Sir in the cheese. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta.

Brownie Pudding

Oh my goodness is this decadent!! (Don't tell... I ate this for supper last night... only this). Naughty I know but its soooo good. I halved the recipe because I didn't want to make a 9X13 pan and have a bunch left over since we're gone all weekend. (That's why you'll see some weird math - its how I figured out to half 3/4 cup of cocoa powder!!!) And - I finally learned my lesson and only used room-temp ingredients for my baking this time and it was a ton easier!

Anyway, this is called brownie pudding because its kind of a mixture of the two. You cook it in a water bath (so don't worry about the eggs - it is warm all the way through the middle) and it will look like its not done... you don't want the toothpick coming out clean this time!! There is a very nice crust on the top but the rest is super-goey. (One more note: the original recipe said to bake for 1 hour exactly, I left mine in for about 40 minutes and it turned out great... it seems like it may be hard to overcook in the water bath, but don't quote me on that!!)

If you are having a crappy day, or want to watch a good chic flick and need to fix a chocolate craving... boy have I got the recipe for you!!

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 + 1/8 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter or spray a 8X8 baking dish.

Melt butter and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside.

When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla, powder & flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again until just combined.

Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Set inside the oven, then pour enough of the hottest tap water to come halfway up the side of the dish, and bake for about 45 minutes. The center will appear very under-baked, this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.



Recipe courtesy Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa). This woman is an absolute genius and one of my absolute favorite on food network. I also took the picture from her recipe... mine looked the same but I couldn't get my picture to look as good!