DIVINE Breadsticks

There is no better name for these than DIVINE! I thought Cody was going to have a heart attack (okay, so he wasn't quite that enthusiastic, but, he did say they were the best that he had ever eaten!) Anyway, I cannot thank Melanie enough for bring this recipe into my life! It will probably be on our menu weekly, if Cody gets his way! One amazing thing that I love about these is the crispy yet tender bottom of them. Butter is melted in the bottom of the pan prior to baking them, and this really makes those bottoms yummy!

From: Melanie Gunnell

1 ½ cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3 ½ cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tbs. butter

Mix all ingredients (except butter) and knead for three minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 2 Tbs. butter on baking pan (I used a cookie sheet with edges on it). Roll out dough about 1/8-inch thick and cut into strips. Place in butter on the pan and put close together. Sticks may be twisted by themselves or twisted with another strip if desired.

I found that the twisted ones were a bit fluffier, which we loved! Brush an additional 1 Tbs. of butter on top of each individual stick. Sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Penne a la Carbonara

I have to admit, I am not really a Giada fan. Her show on Food TV never quite interests me. However, some of her dishes are quite appetizing! I found this one on foodnetwork.com, and decided to try it. the pancetta makes this dish amazing!! I was a little scared about the sauce when making it, it is different than most sauces you would use on pasta. It had a unique, yet not strange, flavor that we really loved! It was pretty easy, and Cody has offically approved it for our future menus!

Adapted from: Giada

8 oz. pancetta, diced into 1-inch cubes  

8 oz. diced chicken breast, cooked (I added this, it is not necessary)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper  

3 eggs, at room temperature  

1/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature  

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan  

8 oz. pound dried penne(or rice pasta to be gf)  

1 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat a large saute pan, until hot. Add pancetta and saute until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Season with black pepper and remove pan from heat.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in Parmesan, reserving 2 tablespoons for garnish.

In a large pot, boil 3 quarts of salted boiling water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse with water; you want to retain the pasta's natural starches so that the sauce will stick. While the pasta is still hot, return it back to the pot. Add the browned pancetta and mix well. Add the cream mixture and coat the pasta completely. It's important to work quickly while the pasta is still warm so that the cream mixture will cook, but not curdle. Add remaining Parmesan and chopped parsley.

(O, and p.s., the breadstick recipe is soon to come, and I WILL NEVER MAKE ANOTHER RECIPE EVER AGAIN!!!)

 

Potato Pierogi

This recipe is not that hard to make, despite the long directions below! Basically, you make mashed potatoes, put it in egg roll wraps, and cook them! It was nice for kind of a different meal, and I LOVED making them! I get bored making the same old thing all of the time!

Adapted From: Melanie Gunnell

1½ pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 onions, finely chopped

Salt and black pepper to taste

2 tsp. Garlic powder

1 tsp. parsley

1 to 2 packages of round gyoza (pot sticker) wrappers (I have found these in the produce section of my grocery store near the egg roll wraps - if you can't find round wrappers, you can buy square and cut them into circles with a cookie or biscuit cutter)

Sour cream, melted butter or vinegar to serve

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of salted boiling water until just tender. Drain and set aside.

Mince the onions. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet and cook the onions until they soften then lightly brown, darkly browned in spots.

Mash the potatoes in a bowl then mix in the onions and their cooking butter. Mix in garlic powder, parsley, and season generously with salt and pepper.

Working one at a time, brush the edge of the round wrapper with water (I just used my finger dipped in a bowl of water) and place a spoonful of filling in the center. Fold dumpling in half, pressing the edges together to thoroughly seal. Then dab around edges once more with water. Place each dumpling on a parchment or waxed paper lined baking sheet and repeat until all filling has been used.

Chill in the refrigerator if you are making them ahead of time. If you wish to freeze the dumplings for later use, make sure they are not touching, then freeze them until solid and later gather them into a freezer bag. This ensures that you will avoid having one mega-pierogi clump when you are ready to cook them.

To cook the pierogi: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the dumplings one at a time, until the surface of the pan is covered with dumplings. When they are done, about 2-3 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon.

Then, you can pan-brown your pierogi. You can do the boil method or the pan-brown method alone, but I chose to do both and we loved it! Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick skillet and add dumplings in a single layer. When they are golden and in spots, browned, turn and brown other side.

Cody's Frittata

Cody had this ingenious idea: to use the Frittata pan that we got when we got married to ACTUALLY MAKE A FRITTATA! He got on Williams-Sonoma online and watched a video on how to whip one of these babies up, and did it like a pro! It was fun to eat a little bit fanceir omlette than usual, I recommend getting these pans. It makes a very fluffly, yet filling, meal! Plus, they double as two separate fry pans (which is what we have been using them for until today!).

From: CODY!

2 whole eggs

2 egg whites

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup cheese

3 Tbs. canadian bacon, chopped

3 Tbs. onion, minced

1/4 cup butter

Melt 1/8 cup butter in each pan. Whisk all remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Pour into bottom frittata pan. Cook on low heat, slowly working spatula around the edges pushing cooked egg mixture to the middle while allowing uncooked mixture to spread to the outer edges. Do this until almost cooked. Attach top frittata pan and flip over. Cook for 5 minutes. Flip back to original side, let cook for 3 minutes, separate pan, and ENJOY!

Lemon Chicken

This recipe is on Cody's top 3! Wendy, our sister in law, makes it for him, and I am learning how to perfect it like she does! It is quickly climbing my charts as well, we definitely eat this meal at least once every two weeks.

Lemon Chicken

Printable Version

2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces

1 egg yolk

1 dash pepper

1 Tbsp. soy sauce (or All Natural Bragg Liquid Aminos to be gf)

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

3 Tbsp. flour (or organic wheat rice flour to be gf)

Soak chicken breasts in egg yolk, soy sauce and pepper for at least 30 mintues.

Coat each piece of chicken in a mixture of cornstarch and flour. fry chicken in hot oil. Drain chicken on a plate covered with paper towels.

Service with rice and lemon sauce (below).

Sauce:

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 cup water

In medium saucepan mix together sugar and corn starch. Then add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Cook until thickened.

Recipe from Wendy

Serves 4.

Baker's Sugar Cookies

Okay, so, I downloaded this picture because my cookies did not look this good! However...when you taste them, it is a whole different story.

My big warning with these cookies is: DO NOT ROLL THEM OUT! Just roll them into balls and let them cook. This is not a recipe for shaped sugar cookies-trust me, I tried!

Cody got this recipe for a woman who owned a Bakery in Ohio...so that should give you a little hint! They are great...and this is a massive batch, so careful!

Baker's Sugar Cookies

Printable Version

Cream together for 3-4 minutes:

2 cups butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

Add:

1 Tbs. Vanilla

3 eggs

4 Tbs. milk

4 1/2 Tbs. baking powder

4 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 325.

Add ingredients in order-keep mixer going on low until you have added all of the flour. Increase speed; mix on medium for 1-2 mintues.

Either scoop or spoon out cookies. Slightly flatten with a cup or other flat surface dipped in sugar.

*If using a convection oven, reduce temperature to 300.

*Baking lower and slower allows the cookies to brown less and be softer.

Chef's Tips:

Do not refrigerate the dough! I did that once-they are much better fresh. Honestly, these cookies take some perfecting, but they are WORTH IT!!!

From: Margaret McCarthy

Honey Glazed Chicken

This is now one of our favorite meals. Rice, chicken, delicious sauce...can it get any better?!

Honey Glazed Chicken
Printable Version

2 lbs of diced uncooked chicken breast
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
4 TB butter
1/4 cup honey
3 TB lemon juice
2 TB soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour and seasonings. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.

Melt 2 TB butter in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt remaining butter and add honey, lemon juice, soy sauce and ginger.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes at 375.

Serve over rice. I usually double the sauce ingredients to make more to serve over the rice.

Recipe from Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe

Serves 4.

Momma's Mac and Cheese

So obviously I had a lack of similar noodles for this round of Mac and Cheese! We are a whole-wheat clan, but, as you can see, this is quite the array of noodles! It made it fun for a change. This is by far my favorite meal growing up. My mother never ceases to amaze me with this dish. And...the best part...dun dun dun...it is EASY!!!

Momma's Mac and Cheese

Printable Version

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup wheat flour(or organic wheat rice flour to be GF)

1 1/4 cup milk

8 oz. velveeta

1 lb. cooked pasta(Rice pasta for GF)

Alpine Touch (or salt and pepper for those of you not from MT!)

Melt butter and add milk. Heat on low, add velveeta. When all velveeta is melted, whisk in flour. Serve over cooked noodles and season with the amazing ALPINE TOUCH!

Chef's tips:

We are big whole wheat fans. If you choose to use wheat flour for this dish, slowly add it until correct consistency. 1/4 cup seems to be just too thick for me. As for the Alpine Touch. I have a MASSIVE bag of it, so those of you here in UT, if you would like to experience the amazingness of this seasoning, PLEASE don't be afraid to ask! Us Montanans put it on EVERYTHING!!!

Recipe from Mom

Serves 4.

Chicken Tortilla "Bake"

Yes, this is called a "bake" because my husband does not eat "casseroles"! Something about that word, it just turns him off. Along with "onion", "peppers", "chunks", and many others! Anyway, this is a quick meal to put together, and it is pretty dang good. We each had seconds if that tells you anything at all.

Chicken Tortilla Bake

Printable Version

4-5 chicken breasts boiled and cut into chunks

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 cups cheddar cheese

2 4-oz. cans green chilies

2 cans cream of chicken soup

8 large flour tortillas torn bite-size

Mix all of the above ingredients. Put 1/2 cup milk over the top. Bake in a 9x13 dish at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

Chef's tips:

Talk about easy! We looooove cheese, unfortunatley, so when there was about 15 minutes left, we topped the "bake" with some extra cheese. Also, we like more of a crispy top, so we cook it for just a little bit longer.

Recipe from Amanda and Wendy

Serves 6

Calzones

Yes, these are as good as they look! This recipe is from Cody's sister and brother-in-law, he used to work at a pizza place...and they made this recipe up! It is so good! Cody probably asks for these calzones once a week! This recipe makes 4 decent size calzones, and it works great to cut in in half for two! I strongly recommend "Cody's Favorite Filling" at the bottom of this recipe, but it is great with anything pizza related!

Calzones

Printable Version

1 1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbs oil
4 and 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp salt
3 Tbs sugar
a little less than 1 tbs. rapid rise yeast

Combine sugar, yeast, and warm water in mixer. Allow to sit for 3 minutes. Add oil, flour, and salt. Knead until combined. Separate dough in to balls and roll out about 1/2-1/4 inch thick. Put filling on half of the rolled-out dough.

Then press with a fork around the edges to help seal the calzone. Cut three slices in the top to vent. Brush with egg white prior to baking. Bake at 350 degrees until a deep golden brown. (About 30 minutes).

Cody's favorite filling:

Alfredo sauce

chicken, boiled, cut into bite-size pieces

canadian bacon, minced and sautéed

turkey bacon, minced and sautéed

cheddar cheese

mozzarella cheese

Chef's tips:

This dough does not need to rise! That is the beauty of calzones vs. pizza. However, the third time that I made these I timed my fillings wrong, and the dough had to sit for about 1o minutes before I rolled it out. I didn't cover it or anything, I just left it in my Kitchen Aid. I feel like it made our dough just a little bit more calzone-like!

Recipe From the Sadler's