Category Archives: Food

Tortellini with Edamame and Smoked Sausage from Disney Family

This recipe has only 5 ingredients and I ended up going to 3 different grocery stores to get everything…what?  First of all, is there such a thing as “frozen tortellini”?  Not where I live apparently – I finally just got the refrigerated kind – it worked perfectly.  Then, shelled edamame – it does exist.  But you won’t find it at Super Target (lesson learned).

All in all – fun recipe.  I’m not sure Italian dressing is the right complement to this dish (Ayla wasn’t a fan) but it was tasty enough.  For about 15 bucks we had enough to feed all three of us for two meals and it filled us up – I’ll take it!

Lemon-Zucchini Pound Cake by Betty Crocker

Dense cake; not as moist as I would have hoped, but still delicious.

Ingredients

3 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

4 eggs

2/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 medium), squeezed to drain

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon half-and-half

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with shortening; lightly flour.
• In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt with spoon; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat 1 cup butter with electric mixer on medium speed about 2 minutes or until creamy.  Beat in 2 cups powdered sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk, beating well on low speed after each addition.  Beat on low speed 1 minute.  Stir in lemon juice, lemon peel and zucchini.  Spoon into pan.
• Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 15 minutes in pan.  Remove from pan onto serving plate.  Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
• In 1-quart saucepan, heat all glaze ingredients just to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Let stand 30 minutes until slightly thickened.  Drizzle over cake.

Farmhouse Chicken & Corn Chowder from America’s Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution

photo: Good Heavens Baking Blog

I have seen some reviews for this recipe online that say the recipe is average, or just okay … but we loved it.  I made it exactly as the cookbook states and it was fantastic.  We have tons of leftovers and trust me, it will all be devoured.

Ingredients

• 2 slices bacon, minced
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or 1/2 t. dried)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 lb red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
• salt
• pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chili in adobo seasoning
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil or 3 tablespoons cilantro

Directions

1. Cook bacon in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp, 5-7 minutes.
2. Stir in 1 tablespoon oil and onions and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes.
3. Stir in garlic, tomato paste, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
5. Whisk in 2 cups broth, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker.
6. Stir remaining 3 cups broth, potatoes, carrot, and bay leaves into slow cooker.
7. Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker.
8. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours on LOW.
9. Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces.
10. Let soup settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon; discard bay leaves.
11. Microwave bell pepper with remaining teaspoon oil in bowl, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.
12. In separate bowl, microwave cream corn until hot, about 3 minutes.
13. Stir softened peppers, hot creamed corn, shredded chicken, cream, and chipotles into soup and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes.
14. Stir in basil, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie from MoshasMama on Allrecipes

This was my very first lattice crust pie ever.  It turned out gorgeous!  Super easy, and excellent recipe.  Special thanks to my mom for peeling all those apples and helping me bake!

Cranberry-Pumpkin Cookies by Lucy Randall on Allrecipes

Ingredients