What’s Cooking
One thing I do, and do well, is cook. Check out Studly’s waistline if you don’t believe me. Yet it has always frustrated me to read a delicious sounding recipe and then have to figure out what to serve with it. Beans or peas? Fried or boiled potatoes? To salad or not. You get the idea. We’re not talking rocket science, but a clue or two from those big-buck chefs, whose books I constantly buy, would sure help.
So today don your aprons and grab those skillets because we’re taking a giant step to ease the burden of the overworked woman.
Every month a new menu will be posted. Please feel free to email me your thoughts, suggestions, or your favorite recipes. We’re all in this cooking thing together and might as well help out each other.
With a lot of help from Dawn Roberto, owner of Love Romances Café and Love Romances and More Reviews, we’ve come up with a scrumptious Italian meal your family is sure to enjoy.
June’s Choice
• Dawn’s Minestrone Soup
• Sloane’s Chicken Italiano
• Fresh Italian Bread
• Chianti Wine - Bella Sera makes a terrific wine and very affordable
• Dawn’s Favorite Cherry Fruit Bars
Dawn’s Minestrone Soup
1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
1 package garlic pasta and veggies (Green Giant frozen blend works best)
1 can kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 can Italian spiced diced tomatoes
¼ C. tomato paste
Grated Parmesan cheese
In a large pot bring chicken broth to a boil. Add pasta veggie mix, kidney beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Return to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for about 5 minutes more.
Serve in bowls topped with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese.
Sloane’s Chicken Italiano
MARINADE
3 Chicken breasts boneless and skinless
1 ½ cup white wine
Rosemary - 5 springs fresh or 2 tea. dried
Oregano - 5 springs fresh or 2 tea. dried
Drop the chicken in a plastic bag or glass bowl. Add the wine and herbs. Marinade for a minimum of 2 hours in a cool location.
CHICKEN
¼ - ½ cup olive oil
2 TBL minced onion
2 large cloves garlic pressed
A few green pepper strips
1 ½ cups Chicken broth
Your favorite spaghetti sauce
Spaghetti Pasta
Parmesan cheese
Heat the olive oil in a 10”-12” skillet until a light haze forms, sauté onions, then add breasts and brown well.
Add pressed garlic, green pepper and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. About every 10 minutes baste chicken with pan juices.
If breasts are thick it will take about 25 minutes. If they’re thin, plan about 20 minutes. Insert tip of sharp knife in breast center to check for doneness. Juices must run clear.
When almost done add a few spoonfuls of spaghetti sauce for color.
In the meantime, cook the pasta in a large quantity of water until al dente, then drain. Be sure to heat up the spaghetti sauce.
TO SERVE
Arrange cooked pasta in a ring on individual plates. Center breasts, then ladle a large spoonful of simmering liquid onto breast. Ladle spaghetti sauce onto pasta only. Sprinkle all with Parmesan cheese.
Dawn’s Favorite Cherry Fruit Bars
1 cup margarine or butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 can cherry filling (blueberry or peach work just as well)
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
Cream butter and sugar in mixing bowl. Add in vanilla and stir. Add eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition. Stir in flour until it makes a batter.
Grease a 13×9 pan. Spread ¾ of the batter onto the pan bottom. Top with pie filling of your choice. Drop the remaining batter on top by spoonfuls, then spread a bit to connect them.
Bake 40-45 minutes. Cool and serve.
I’m really excited to have Cynnara Tregarth with us this month. Cyn is the author of uber hot erotic romance and fantasy novels. Be sure to check out her website and her great blog.
May’s Choice
• Cynnara Tregarth’s Easy Chicken Alfredo
• Green Salad
• Fresh Italian Bread
• Margarita Sorbet
• Chardonnay WineAnd Two Extras!
• Cyn’s Easy Marinade for Tough Meat
• Grampa Bob’s Sausage Chili
Easy Chicken Alfredo
CHICKEN
Chicken Breasts sliced in strips
1 Onion diced
1 Tomato diced
1 box Penne Pasta
ALFREDO SAUCE
1 can Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Milk
Garlic Powder to taste
Pepper to taste
2 TBL Cornstarch
2TBL Cold Water
1 cup Sour Cream
½ cup shredded Cheese use your favorite white cheese
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
½ cup Milk
First– defrost the chicken and if you want to marinate it– do so. I don’t. I salt, pepper, and garlic powder them and put them aside.
Preheat oven to 425˚
Cook a small box of penne pasta in a gallon of water with about 1 tsp of salt. While it cooks, dice one onion and one tomato. (Or cheat and use 1/2 can of diced tomatoes– just make sure to strain out the liquid) Once the pasta is mostly cooked– like a hard al dente, where it’s a bit more chewy than you’d like… time to drain.
Line a 9×13 pan with foil (I believe in easy cleanup!) Then toss in the pasta and the onions and tomatoes. Mix it up.
Onto my easy Alfredo style sauce. *grins*
In a large bowl, mix up the following– 1 can of cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of milk, garlic powder, pepper— and mix until blended. Then pour over the pasta. Layer the chicken on top….and cover with another sheet of aluminum foil. Cook in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 40 minutes.
After 30 minutes— time to make the second part of the Alfredo sauce. Why? Because the sauce in the pan is being absorbed by both the pasta and the chicken. *grins* Plus we need to thicken things up a bit.
Mix the cornstarch and cold water in a small cup or bowl. Set aside. Then in that bowl we made the easy part sauce, put in sour cream, shredded cheese, salt, pepper, and milk. (If you really want to cheat…remove the sour cream and put in another can of cream of whatever) Blend together and heat in microwave for only 30 seconds.
Stir the cornstarch mix, then whisk into the above for about a minute or two. It’ll start to thicken as you whisk. Once thickened a slight bit… uncover the chicken and pour over the meat and pasta. Recover and bake for another 30-40 minutes depending on your oven. Check your chicken for doneness. Once it’s not pink– take it out and enjoy.
Margarita Sorbet
½ cup lime juice
2 TBL tequila
3 TBL orange liqueur (recommended: Cointreau or Triple Sec)
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pour the lime juice, tequila and orange liqueur into a bowl and stir in the sugar to dissolve.
Add the cream and then softly whip until thick and smooth but not stiff.
Spoon into an airtight container to freeze overnight. This ice cream does not need ripening (softening before serving), as it will not freeze too hard and melts speedily and voluptuously.
Cyn’s Easy Marinade for Tough Meat
That’s the secret. The Italian dressing has tenderizers that help soften the connective tissue and make it SMOOOOOOOTTTTTTHHHHHHH.
½ bottle Italian or Raspberry Vinaigrette salad dressing
½ tsp salt
pepper to taste
¼ tsp of the following– Oregano, Paprika, Parsley, Thyme, Rosemary
2 tbsp of Lemon or Lime juice. (I’m partial to Lime)
½ cup of White Zinfandel
Toss together and sink the meat into a Rubbermaid/Tupperware container. Pour in the ingredients, slide on the cover tightly and shake hard for about 1-2 minutes. Then put in refrigerator, taking out to shake it up and turn over about every 30 minutes. Do this for 2 hours… then cook your preferred method.
Grampa Bob’s Sausage Chili
1 pkg of mild Italian Sausage
1 large can of Bush’s chili beans (mild or hot is your choice)
½ Onion diced finely
½ cup diced Tomatoes
2 TBL Barbecue Sauce
1 TBL Dijon or Brown Mustard
½ tsp Chili Powder
½ tsp Garlic Powder
Parboil the sausage in water until almost thoroughly cooked. Run under cool water until you can handle. Slice the sausage into 1/4″ to 1/2″ slices. Put in a large pan with onions and cook until the sausage is browned. To that mixture, add all the other ingredients and let cook for about 10-15 minutes on medium low heat until thoroughly heated.
You can make it as mild or as hot as you can stand. I go for a mild/medium heat because of my colitis.
Thanks for allowing me to share. Have a wonderful meal!
Cynnara Tregarth
March brings us days to relax and watch the rain beat on our window panes while we wait for spring and cooking outdoors. This month we’re going with a marvelous brunch menu to excite your appetite.
Chef extraordinaire, Dawn Roberto, owner of Love Romances Café, gives us a coffee cake to die for. Be sure to check out Love Romances and More where Dawn and her reviewers provide you with the latest in books and interviews. Our dear friend and Chicago Bears buddy, Nancy Kelley, offers up an easy breakfast soufflé that can be assembled a day ahead of baking.
March’s Choice
• Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake
• Breakfast Soufflé
• Croissants with Jellies and Butter
• Sliced Seasonal Fruits
• Coffee, Tea, and a variety of Fruit Juices
Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake
STREUSEL TOPPING
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup old-fashioned oats
2 TBL chopped walnuts
1TBL butter
COFFEECAKE
1 box (15.3 oz.) Betty Crocker Fiber One apple cinnamon muffin mix
¾ cup water
1 TBL vegetable oil
2 eggs
GLAZE
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tea. water
Preheat the oven to 450˚. Spray bottom only of 9 inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
In a small bowl mix all streusel ingredients except butter. Cut in butter with fork until mixture is crumbly. Set to the side.
In a medium bowl, stir muffin mix, water, oil and eggs just until blended. The batter will be lumpy. Spread into pan. Sprinkle with streusel.
Bake 24 to 28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle the mixture over the coffeecake. Serve warm or cooled.
Dawn offers a Heath Twist - reduce the carbohydrate choices to 2 when you skip the powdered sugar glaze.
Leftovers, which we barely have thanks to Studs loving this recipe, freeze well.
Dawn Roberto
Love Romances Café
Love Romances and More Reviews
Breakfast Soufflé
1 pound ham, bacon, or sausage cooked and diced to bite size pieces
9 eggs
3 cups milk
1 ½ tea. dry mustard
diced onion to taste
black pepper to taste
1 pound grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 slices Vienna bread cubed
This dish may be assembled up to 30 hours before baking.
Preheat oven to 350˚.
In a large bowl lightly beat the eggs. Add spices, milk, onions, and cheese. Stir. Add the bread cubes and stir. Pour into ungreased 9×13 glass dish.
Because oven temperatures may vary, bake for 1 hour or until knife comes out almost clean.
Leftovers are excellent when reheated in the microwave.
Nancy Kelly
Big Time Chicago Bears Fan
February brings Valentine’s Day and talented author Vicki Paradise, author of Sci-Fi and Ménage books at eXcessica that will warm you on these cold winter nights.
Her yummy recipes are easy and fun to prepare, leaving plenty of time to celebrate a romantic Valentine’s Day with your sweetie.
February’s Choice
• Vicki Paradise’s Peanut Butter Pork Chops
• Rice
• Tossed Salad
• Cheese Cake
• Pinot Grigio Wine - Try Bella Serra for a smooth, satisfying taste
Peanut Butter Pork Chops
I find this recipe to be very forgiving. Leftovers freeze well.
1 lb Pork Chops (Vicki prefers boneless and I agree)
I cup Snow Peas
8 Green Onions chopped into 1-2 inch segments
1 Tbl. Soy Sauce, chopped Garlic, fresh chopped Ginger, Sugar
1 cup Peanut Butter
Salt to taste
Water (I used canned chicken broth)
Fry pork chops in a deep frying pan until cooked through.
In a bowl whisk together the soy sauce, chopped garlic, fresh chopped ginger, sugar, peanut butter and add enough water to make a loose sauce. It will not look pretty at this stage. Pour this over the pork chops along with the snow peas and green onions.
Cook over medium heat until the peas are done. The peanut butter sauce will thicken, if it is too thin you can add more peanut butter. If you find it too thick, just add a little water.
Serve over Rice
Rice
Vicki makes a standard rice recipe. 2 cups water to 1 cup rice (not instant) Boil the water with some salt and butter. Add the rice and cover turning the heat down to low. In about 15-20 minutes it should be done depending on the humidity. Add salt and pepper if needed.
Tossed Salad
A variety of fresh lettuce
Tomatoes cut in eights
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Your favorite bottled dressing
Toss everything but the dressing together in a large bowl. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. If the wait is long, cover with a damp paper towel.
Cheese Cake
2 - 8oz pkgs softened Cream cheese
2 eggs
1 cup Sugar (can substitute with Splenda)
1 tsp Vanilla
Large premade graham cracker crust
Preheat oven to 350˚
Blend the Cream cheese, eggs and sugar vanilla and spoon into the graham cracker crust. Bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.
Cool and top with your favorite topping.
All my best,
Vicki Paradise
eXcessica books
January and the New Year has Emma Rae Garrett, author of 15 paranormal erotica books at Changeling Press you won’t be able to put down. Visit Emma at her website to learn more about this amazing author.
You’ll love these marvelous recipes. Studs did!
January’s Choice
• Emma Rae’s Baked Chicken & Ratatouille
• Tossed Salad
• French Bread
• Chardonnay Wine - try a Soave for a new crisp taste
Hope you enjoy this easy recipe,
Emma Rae
Baked Chicken & Ratatouille
1/2 Eggplant diced
1 tbsp. salt
Olive oil
1 Zucchini diced
1 Yellow onion chopped coarse
1/2 Red Pepper cut up
2 Roma tomatoes chopped coarse
2 gloves pressed garlic
Sliced mushrooms to taste
1 tsp. Basil or to taste
1/4 tsp ground Cumin
Boned chicken breasts
Preheat oven to 350˚
Mix diced eggplant with salt. Drain in colander for 15 minutes - ½ hour.
Pour small amount olive oil into frying pan. Sauté zucchini for two minutes. Add onions and red peppers. Sauté two minutes. Scoop into baking dish with as little oil as possible.
Sauté tomatoes two minutes, adding more oil if necessary, then add garlic. Continue to cook 1 minute. Scoop into baking dish with as little oil as possible. Stir well.
Sauté mushrooms two minutes, adding more oil if necessary. Scoop into baking dish, with as little oil as possible, and stir well.
Sauté eggplant two minutes, adding more oil if necessary. Scrap all baking dish and stir well.
Sprinkle basil and cumin over vegetables. Stir well.
Cut the chicken breasts into quarters. Lay pieces skin side up over vegetables. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 - 15 minutes longer or until chicken is slightly tan.
Serves 4
Tossed Salad
A variety of fresh lettuce
Tomatoes cut in eights
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Your favorite bottled dressing
Toss everything but the dressing together in a large bowl. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
