Lulu's Recipe Box

Penne alla Vodka with Garlic bread

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! TC and I made a delicious meal of penne alla vodka and garlic bread. We don't go out for Italian food often, but when we do, I love ordering pasta with vodka sauce. It is a tomato-based sauce with heavy cream and a small amount of vodka. How can you go wrong with that combo? This recipe also has red pepper flakes to add a little spice, but you could definitely leave them out without altering the taste of the sauce. TC enjoyed the extra spice, but I think next time, I will put in 1/4 tsp to make it less spicy. I was amazed by how quickly this sauce came together and it tasted just as yummy as the Italian restaurant version. This is a wonderful dish to make during the week, coming together in about 30 minutes, or make it for a special occasion to impress family and friends. They will feel like they are dining in their favorite Italian restaurant!

I also whipped up some garlic bread which was so good. I got a small loaf of French bread that would feed just the two of us, cut one-inch slices without cutting all the way through the bread, spread each slice with a generous amount of garlic butter and wrap in foil for soft baked bread!

Penne alla vodka (serves 4)

Ingredients:

16 oz. dried penne (feel free to use a different pasta)

1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved

2 T. olive oil

1/4 cup minced onion

1 T. tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (use less or more depending on how much spice you enjoy)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 to 1/3 cup vodka

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup reserved pasta water, if needed

2 T. finely chopped fresh basil leaves

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions:

Drain the tomatoes, but reserve the liquid for later. Divide the tomatoes in half. Add half to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Coarsely chop the remaining tomatoes, discarding the seeds. Combine the puree and diced tomatoes in a 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Add in enough of the reserved tomato liquid, so that you have 2 cups total.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for cooking the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package directions until just shy of al dente.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the tomatoes and salt. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vodka. Return the pan to the heat and simmer briskly until the alcohol flavor is cooked off, about 8-10 minutes. Stir frequently and lower the heat if the simmering becomes too vigourous. Stir in the cream and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

When the pasta is finished cooking, drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss over medium heat until the pasta adsorbs some of the sauce, about 2 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water. Stir in the basil and extra salt if needed. You can also stir in freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired or just serve with the Parmesan cheese.

***Recipe from Cook's Illustrated via Annie's Eats

 

Garlic Bread

Note: If you have a larger loaf of bread, double the garlic butter recipe.

1 small loaf of Italian or French bread

4 T. unsalted butter, softened

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning or dried parsley (could also use 1 T. fresh parsley if you have it on hand)

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the softened butter, garlic and Italian seasoning or parsley. Add in as much freshly grated Parmesan cheese as you'd like and stir to combine.

Make 1-inch thick slices into the bread, but do not cut all the way through. Put a generous amount of the butter mixture on each slice. If desired, top the bread with some more Parmesan cheese. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and bake for about 15 minutes in the oven.

***Adapted from Simply Recipes

 

Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Butter Frosting

Happy Valentine's Day! I know it's probably too late to whip up a batch of these sugar cookies for your loved ones today, but I thought I would still share the recipe for upcoming holidays like Easter and St. Patrick's Day. I had been eager to use my heart cookie cutters, so I set out to find the perfect sugar cookie recipe on the Internet. Turns out, I just needed to call my sister. She recommended this Cook's Illustrated recipe to me and I knew it had to be good. I used a vanilla butter frosting and gel paste food color (from Michael's) to tint the frosting pink for Valentine's day. Even though sugar cookies can be a little time consuming to make and decorate, they will be well worth it when my husband and I are eating them for dessert tonight! Have a wonderful day with your loved ones!

Rolled Butter Cookies (Sugar Cookies)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup superfine sugar (or granulated sugar processed in food processor for 30 seconds)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg, plus 1 yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface

Directions:

1. With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes wth mixer set at medium speed. Add yolk and beat well. Then add whole egg and vanilla. Continue beating until well incorporated. Add flour and beat at low speed until flour is just mixed in. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (Can be refrigerated up to 2 days or double-wrapped and frozen for 1 month.)

2. Adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove on disk of dough from refrigerator and cut in half. Return unused portion of dough to refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Lightly flour work surface; roll dough to 1/8 inch thick, using thin metal spatula to loosen dough. (You could roll thicker than 1/8 inch if you prefer). Sprinkle surface lightly with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking.

4. Cut or form dough into desired shapes. Place dough shape 1/2 inch apart on parchment-lined cookie sheet (I use my silpat). Bake, reversing cookie sheets (from top to bottom and back to front) halfway through the baking time, until evenly golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.

5. Use thin bladed spatula to immediately transfer cookies to cooking rack. Cool to room temperature. Decorate cookies, if desired, and transfar to airtight container (can be stored up to 3 weeks).

***Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

 

Vanilla Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1 tsp. vanilla

4 T. milk

Assorted food coloring or gel paste food color (if desired)

Directions:

Using an electric mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth.  With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the confectioners sugar. Add the vanilla and milk and beat to combine. Then, on high speed, beat frosting until it is light and fluffy. You can always add more milk if you want the frosting to be thinner or add more confectioners sugar if you want the frosting to be thicker. The recipe is very forgiving. Tint with food color if using. If not using right away, cover with plastic wrap to prevent the frosting from drying out.

***Recipe from Joy of Baking

 

 

Cherry Chocolate Coconut Granola

I'm sure everyone, myself included, can get into breakfast ruts every once and a while. I end up eating the same thing for breakfast for several weeks at a time and then getting sick of it. I normally go back and forth between cereal, an english muffin, or oatmeal on cold winter mornings. It can be very difficult to come up with healthy, creative, and quick breakfasts for your busy mornings. This homemade granola with cherries, chocolate and coconut will have you looking forward to breakfast every morning. It is healthy, a little bit sweet, and very versatile. You can substitute different dried fruits for the cherries, or omit the coconut or chocolate if you don't want the sweetness. I personally loved all three additions to this granola and will definitely be making big batches of this to eat with milk or yogurt for breakfasts and snacks. Get out of your breakfast rut with this delicious granola!

Makes about 14 cups (recipe can easily be halved)

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

2/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup almonds, coarsely chopped

6 cups old fashioned rolled oats

6 tbsp. canola or vegetable oil

1 cup honey

1/4 cups ground flaxseed (optional)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups dried cherries

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the coconut to the pan in an even layer and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and toasted. Transfer the coconut to a small bowl and wipe out the skillet. Return the pan to medium heat and add the chopped walnuts and almonds. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the oats and oil and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the oats are lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the oat mixture a large bowl and stir in the honey, ground flaxseed if using, cinnamon and salt. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake, stirring every few minutes, until the granola is light golden brown, about 15 minutes total.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and stir in the toasted coconut and dried cherries. Move the granola to one side of the baking sheet and press gently into a thick slab. Let cool to room termperature. Break the dried and cooled granola into small clusters, mix in the chopped chocolate and, store in an airtight container.

Serve with yogurt or milk for breakfast or a snack.

***Recipe from Annie's Eats

Ham and Cheese Sliders

With the Super Bowl coming up next weekend, I know many of you are looking for tasty foods to serve your family and friends. I have a wonderful and what I'm sure will be a popular slider for everyone! This is not your regular boring ham and swiss sandwich. These ham and swiss sliders are taken up a few notches with delicious, sweet Hawaiian rolls (found at my local Target store) and a buttery, mustard, poppy seed sauce which is drizzled on top. They are so simple to assemble and will be the perfect addition to your next party or cut the recipe in half for a quick weeknight meal!

Ingredients:

For the sandwiches:
24 Hawaiian Rolls (or other slider rolls)
24 slices honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
Mayonnaise

For the sauce:
1½ tbsp. yellow mustard
8 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. finely minced onion (or 2 tsp. dried minced onion)
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Poppy seeds, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Split the rolls and spread the insides lightly with mayonnaise.  Fold a slice of ham to fit on each slider bun, and top with a slice of Swiss cheese.  Replace the top bun to assemble the sandwiches.  Place the sandwiches fairly close together on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (if you want less of a mess).

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients except the poppy seeds in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Drizzle the sauce over the tops of the rolls.  Sprinkle the tops with poppy seeds.  Cover loosely with foil and bake 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.  Remove the foil and bake 2 minutes longer. Serve warm.

***Recipe from Annie's Eats

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Last winter, I started making my own pasta sauce. I couldn't believe how delicious and easy it was to make a large batch that I could freeze for weeknight pasta dinners. I have been using Giada's marinara sauce recipe, but now I have this tomato sauce with onion and butter that is even easier to make and equally yummy. I can't decide which one I like better, but the good thing is that now I have two wonderful recipes that I can use. When I have a little more time to chop veggies, I'll use Giada's recipe. When I'm in a hurry, I'll use this new recipe which only requires three ingredients, good quality canned tomatoes, butter and a yellow onion. I was so surprised at how amazing it tasted just from these three ingredients! No need for seasonings either, just a bit of salt to taste! If you are looking to make your own marinara sauce, try either of these recipes, but if you are looking for very simple, try this tomato sauce with onion and butter. You will love it!

Serves 4 as a main course; makes enough sauce to lightly coat most of a pound of spaghetti

Ingredients:

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano brand, if you can find them) (I used crushed tomatoes which worked fine)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Directions:

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste  and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with pasta of your choice, with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass.

***Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Crock Pot Sante Fe Chicken

 

Whoever invented the Crock Pot is a genius! It makes my life so much easier when I can throw everything into the Crock Pot the night before, turn it on before I leave for work in the morning, and come home later that day to a delicious smelling dinner. Tonight's dinner in the Crock Pot was Sante Fe Chicken. After cooking on low for about 8 hours, the chicken literally shredded itself. This made me very happy because one of my least favorite kitchen tasks is shredding chicken. This shredded chicken is full of flavor, low-fat and makes a wonderful topping for homemade burrito bowls! We made our burrito bowls with a layer of rice, sante fe chicken, and finally garnished it with sour cream, shredded cheese and green onions! You could also make tacos or nachos with this great recipe! What's your favorite Crock Pot recipe?  I'm always looking for more to try! This Sante Fe chicken is ranking pretty high on my list, but my all-time favorite is this BBQ pulled pork.

Ingredients:

24 oz (1 1/2) lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies

15 oz can black beans

8 oz frozen corn

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth

3 green onions, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

salt to taste

Directions:

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in a Crock Pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Half hour before serving, remove the chicken and shred with two forks. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice or in tortillas for tacos. Garnish with cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro, and green onions.

***Recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes

Toffee Apple Dip

Wow, can you believe it's October already?! Where has the time gone and apparently where has my blogging disappeared to? My sister even reminded me yesterday that I hadn't blogged since July and needed to post a new recipe stat! : ) I promise I have been cooking and baking the past three months, just not new recipes. Fortunately, I have found a new source of inspiration for recipes, and a new obsession called Pinterest.

Today, I whipped up some Toffee Apple Dip to go with delicious Honeycrisp apples. When I found this recipe on Pinterest and also on Tasty Kitchen, I was surprised to find that it was made with only cream cheese, brown sugar and toffee bits. I had no idea those three ingredients would create such a creamy and caramel like dip. The dip is sweet but not overly sweet, and the toffee bits add a nice crunch. This dip is perfect for Fall, and I will definitely be making it again for a Hawkeye football game!

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat), softened to room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup toffee bits (found these with the chocolate chips at store)

Your favorite apples for dipping

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the toffee bits.  Store the dip covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve with sliced apples.

Note:  You can cut this recipe in half which makes about 1 cup of dip.

*** Recipe from Melanie on Tasty Kitchen

 

Quinoa Chickpea Salad

While we were in Iowa a few weeks ago, my sister Sarah brought this delicious quinoa chickpea salad to a BBQ at my mother-in-law's house and I immediately asked her for the recipe. It was my first time eating quinoa.  I learned that it is delicious, healthy, and pronounced keen-wa NOT key-no-ah. Since tasting and learning about quinoa, I've found several recipes I want to try, but first let's tell you about this one! The tangy dressing amazingly has NO oil. I was very skeptical of this at first but you couldn't tell at all. It was delicious! This recipe also has a lot of crisp veggies and creamy chickpeas, making it the perfect healthy summer salad! If you haven't tried quinoa yet, or if you are looking for a new recipe with quinoa, try this one! You will love it! Even my husband gobbled it up!

 

Quinoa = Keen-wa

 

The colorful veggies and chickpeas!

Don't worry, the dressing is much more tasty than it looks!

 

The finished product! Mmm...so good and guilt-free!

 

Print this recipe!

 Ingredients:

For the salad:

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 small red onion, diced

4 cups baby spinach

1-15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 English cucumber, diced

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 yellow pepper, diced

For the dressing:

1/4 cup cashew pieces

2 T. chopped shallot

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. agave nectar

3/4 tsp. salt

a few pinches freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. One cup dry quinoa will make two cups cooked. Cool the quinoa. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dressing before serving. Keep chilled in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.

For the dressing, place the cashew pieces and shallot in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend for at least 5 minutes. Be sure to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula. Blend until completely smooth.

Note: Feel free to use different veggies. You could also use Israeli couscous instead of quinoa.

***slightly adapted from Shutterbean

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

One of my favorite muffins is lemon poppy seed but I've never made them from scratch, let alone a box mix. I came across this simple recipe from Annie's Eats and was very happy with the results. I had all of the ingredients on hand which made them simple to throw together, and the muffins were moist and the perfect amount of lemon flavor! I ate one for dessert last night and another for breakfast this morning. They are really the perfect snack any time of the day. I can't wait to make these again!

 Print this recipe!

Yield: about 12-15 muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 T. poppy seeds

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

8 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)

For the glaze (optional):

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1-2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Combine the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in two additions alternating with the yogurt, beating each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the muffins are still warm, whisk together the confectioners sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl to make the glaze. The glaze is optional. Drizzle a small amount of the glaze over each muffin. Let the glaze set before storing or serving.

***Recipe from Annie's Eats

 

Italian Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Bruschetta

Greetings everyone! I am back from a wonderful two week Midwest trip with my husband to visit our family and friends. Our annual summer trip back home can get a little crazy busy and exhausting but it's one of our favorite vacations to take! Even after living on the East coast now for four years, we still miss the simplicity of the Midwest and our family and friends who are scattered throughout Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. This year, we split our time between Cedar Rapids, IA and Des Moines, IA where our parents are located and ended our trip in Milwaukee to visit TC's aunt, grandma and his beloved Brewers. I had never been to Milwaukee so it was fun to explore the city including trips to Miller Park for Brewers Baseball, Miller Brewery and the lakefront. Is anyone else's husband/boyfriend obsessed with baseball?? I don't mind going to games but watching it on tv is like watching paint dry sometimes. Haha. At least when I go to the games, I can people watch and eat the yummy stadium food, and that's exactly what I did at Miller Park! : ) It seriously was a beautiful ballpark and my husband was in baseball heaven seeing his favorite team play so that made me happy!

It was a really great trip, but now it's back to the reality of working out and eating healthy. I always go into detox mode when I return from vacation. We attended countless BBQ's and ate at some delicious restaurants so I was ready to get back into a healthy routine when we returned home. We grilled this healthy chicken with a delicious bruschetta topping tonight. The chicken is marinated in Italian dressing/marinade and topped with a fresh cucumber and tomato bruschetta. It was light and refreshing, but still managed to fill us up. If you are looking for a healthy and flavorful chicken dish that is easy to prepare for the summer, this is it!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far! It's hard to believe that it is the middle of July already! I promise many more recipes this summer!

 

Print this recipe!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup store bought Italian flavored marinade/dressing (I used Kraft Zesty Italian dressing/marinade and be sure to get one without high fructose corn syrup)

For the bruschetta:

1/2 cup peeled, diced English cucumber (could probably use regular cucumber as well)

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

8 basil leaves, torn or chopped

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese shavings

1/8 tsp. minced garlic (optional)

1 tsp. good quality balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place chicken breasts in a plastic container or leak-proof food storage bag with Italian marinade. Stir to coat and refrigerate until ready to grill. I marinated the chicken for 2-3 hours which was sufficient but for even stronger flavor, marinate for longer.

Preheat outdoor grill to high. Place chicken breasts on hot grill and reduce heat to medium. Cook about 5 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through. The time per side may need to be increased depending on the size and thickness of your chicken. Use a thermometer or cut it open to be sure you have it cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking (or you can make this ahead of time), chop up and stir together all of the ingredients for the bruschetta topping in a medium sized bowl.

Remove chicken from the grill and top with the bruschetta when you are ready to serve.

Note: I cut the bruschetta recipe in half for two large chicken breasts to serve two people.

 

***Recipe from Tasty Kitchen