Little Ears

I bought this box of Orecchiette, which means Little Ears in Italian. They're really cute and do a great job of soaking up all the sauce! I just browned some Italian sausage in a pan and added jarred Marinara sauce. Then I added the pasta and chicken stock and simmered it for 15 minutes until the pasta was soft. Stir in some Mozzarella and a yummy pasta dish is born! I also served the dish with some Parmesan on top! The more cheese the better! :)

Cookie Carnival Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my second Cookie Carnival and who doesn't like CHEWY Chocolate Chip cookies? It was a great way to celebrate our first Cookie Friday in our new office. :)

Ingredients:

1 c unsalted butter at room temp
1 c tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 c + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
16 oz bitter or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
3. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Scoop out dough using an ice-cream scooper and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until the tops are a light golden brown.

Healthy Brownies???

I visited Greg's office the other day and was asked by his coworker to test out this new product. It's a healthy brownie mix made by Matisse and Jack's. I have to say that I'm very impressed with this product! It was SUPER easy, using only 2 ingredients (oil and applesauce) other than the mix, and only took 25 minutes to bake! The nutritional stats are also great and the brownies didn't taste like "health food" at all! Right now they're only available online or at Whole Foods but I wouldn't be surprised if they started showing up on more supermarket shelves!

The Boys Wanted Calzones

So that's what I made! Well, they actually asked for Hot Pockets but I decided anything home-made would be better! The last time I made Calzones were these huge dinner-size pockets but these little ones were just as easy and TOTALLY great for the office! I'm seeing a lot more Calzone in the future! (Yes...it's pronouced Cal-ZON-Nah!) Does anyone have any filling suggestions?

Ingredients: (8 Calzones)

1 lb cooked Italian sausage, casin removed
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® refrigerated biscuits (any variety)
1/2 c shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 c Marinara sauce
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Cook sausage in Marinara sauce until browned; using a wooden spoon to break them apart as needed. Stir in Italian seasoning.

3. Press each biscuit into 6-inch round. Fill each with sausage mixture and 1 tablespoon Mozzarella cheese. Fold dough over filling and press with a fork to seal. Place on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

4. Bake 9 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

Tonight I made 2 of Greg's favorite things in 1 dish! Mexican food + Lasagna! I got the inspiration from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals but decided to use ground beef instead of chicken since we've had so much chicken in the last week. The best part about this dish is that there's no noodles to boil first! Look at all that cheesy goodness! YUM!

Ingredients:

6 large tortillas
2 c Ricotta cheese
2 c Mexican cheese, shredded
2 cup Mexican salsa or picante sauce
2 tsp chile powder
1 c corn, frozen or canned
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1 lb ground beef

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, sauté the ground beef and onion in a large cast iron skillet or heavy frying pan until beef is done. Add salsa, chile powder, cumin, oregano and corn. Stir to mix and simmer on low heat 5 minutes, stirring sauce frequently.

3. Layer 2 tortillas, then 1/2 of the meat mixture, then 1 c Ricotta cheese. Repeat layer, finishing with the last 2 tortillas. Sprinkle on Mexican Cheese.

4. Bake for 30 minutes, or till cheese is bubbly. Allow to set for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with extra salsa, sour cream and guacamole (if desired).

TWD: Cranberry Kugelhopf

It's Tuesdays with Dorie time again! Again I had NO idea what Kugelhopf is. BUT after doing some research, I found that it's pretty much a Bundt Cake from Austria! (Yes I know I like to simplify things!) I just recently bought a Bundt Pan from Target and was really excited to use it! I also have some cranberries left over so I made Cranberry Kugelhopf! The cake turned out SO moist and yummy! :)
Ingredients:

2 c all-purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c orange juice
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 c whole cranberries

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12-cup tube pan.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. Combine orange juice, egg and oil in a medium bowl. Beat until well blended.
4. Add orange juice mixture to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. Gently fold in cranberries.
5. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
   

Delmonte Peach Muffins

I have a whole case of these Delmonte Mini Canned Fruit at home and thought they'd be great in muffins. These were done with canned peaches but you can use any flavor you like. The juice from the can makes the muffins really moist and yummy! They're super healthy too with very little oil and LOTS of oatmeal! :)

Ingredients: (6 muffins)

1 c oatmeal
1 Tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 Delmonte canned peach (4 oz)

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 6 medium muffin cups with paper baking cups.

2. Combine 1-1/2 cups oats with remaining dry ingredients in large bowl; mix well. In small bowl, combine milk, egg whites, oil, lemon peel and vanilla; mix well.

3. Add to dry ingredients; stir until moistened. Gently stir peaches. Fill muffin cups almost full.

4. Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack for five minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm.