Grilled Chicken Bruschetta Pasta with Bacon

This just became a staple around here!  We are loving this pasta!  This will be especially good with fresh tomatoes from the garden this summer!  I can't wait!  This is so tasty!  YUM! 

Grilled Chicken Bruschetta Pasta with Bacon

1 lb chicken breasts

salt and black pepper, to taste

1 lb angel hair pasta (no substitute...at least in our minds! :)

6 -8 medium size roma tomatoes  (or more...  I am sure you could also used canned tomatoes with great success!)

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

fresh basil leaves, to taste

1/2 lb bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

basil leaves, cut into thin strips and Parmesan cheese, for garnish


Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and black pepper. Grill.  Slice into strips on a bias.
Boil pasta as per directions on box until al dente.  Drain.

Wash, core and dice tomatoes. Wash, dry and cut basil leaves into thin strips. Combine tomatoes, basil, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic and hold for 2 hours before use.

Chop bacon into bite-sized pieces,  Cook in a large skillet.  Drain off most of the grease, leaving some in the skillet to saute garlic and for flavor.  Saute garlic in bacon grease for about 30-45 seconds, being careful not to brown garlic!  Increase heat and add tomato mixture and stir.

In the pot used to boil noodles, add plain tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Add pasta back into pot and toss with tomato sauce.  Add the tomato mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a service platter or plate individually. Garnish with balsamic glaze, fresh basil, and Parmesan cheese.

Balsamic Glaze: (*This takes about 15 minutes.) Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil in small pan and turn down flame to a simmer Reduce by 75% until sauce turns to a thick syrup, hold at room temperature.

Vegetable Quinoa Stew

This is SO tasty!  We loved this so much!  I upped the veggies a little and left out the chicken.  This makes a lot, luckily my in-laws came around and we were able to have them help us eat it.  Next time I will half the recipe if I am making it for just our family.   

Vegetable Quinoa Stew

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 Cups sweet pepper, chopped
1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced
64 oz chicken broth

15 oz can diced tomatoes

5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into 1" pieces (get the Yukon potatoes, it's worth the extra few dollars)

3 cups cooked quinoa

4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked, shredded and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

2 T Dijon Mustard

1 T Hot Sauce (optional)

Kosher Salt, fresh cracked black pepper, Garlic Salt (Lawry's is good), and Parsley to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, carrots, peppers, and zucchini until softened. This takes about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, and potatoes. Increase heat to high just until broth starts to boil Reduce to medium high and cook potatoes for 10 minutes or until fork tender. Reduce heat to low and stir in quinoa, chicken, dijon mustard, hot sauce. Season to taste with kosher salt, pepper, garlic salt. Stir in fresh parsley and simmer until ready to serve.

~Adapted from Picky Palate

The Best Blueberry Muffins

These are SO good!  We loved how flavorful they are!  Very tender and moist!  Yummy!

The Best Blueberry Muffins

*Makes 12-18 muffins (I got 18)

Lemon-Sugar Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
zest from one lemon(I didn't have a lemon, so I used an orange...still delish!!)

Muffins:

2 cups frozen blueberries (or 2 cups fresh)
1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the topping, stir together sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

For the muffins, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Rinse one cup frozen berries under cold water and spread on a double layer of paper towels to dry well. Bring remaining one cup berries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon several times and stirring frequently, until the berries have broken down and the mixture is thickened and reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Toss the berries that have dried on the paper towels in with the flour mixture. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in the butter and oil until combined. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. The batter will be lumpy with a few dry spots of flour – don’t over mix. This is the key to moist and tender muffins.

Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill the muffin cups until they are about 3/4 full. Spoon a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into the center of each mound of batter. Using a skewer (or a chopstick), gently swirl the berry filling into the batter using a figure eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over the muffins.

Bake until the top of the muffins are golden and just firm, 17-18 minutes. Cool muffins in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

~As seen on Mel's Kitchen Cafe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

Brown Butter Crinkles

I am not a big cookie person.  I would just rather have a differnt treat!  That said, here is a link for a yummy cookie!  My friend, Stacy, is Wendy Paul's editor.  So when she told me that I had to try something of Wendy's.  I had never heard of browned butter cookies!  Have you?  Well, let me tell you...they are GOOD!  The frosting is what makes these cookies.  The actual cookie is incredibly rich (maybe too rich for my tastes).  Anyway, if you are in the mood for something a little different that the norm, try these out.  My family enjoyed them.   

BROWN BUTTER CRINKLES
~Wendy Paul

Popovers

My family devoured these!  They were a huge hit.  I made them in muffin tins and they turned out perfectly.

Popovers

makes 1 dozen

2 1/2 cups whole milk

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

6 large eggs

butter, softened for pans

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together milk, flour and salt. Whisk in eggs. (Mixture will be lumpy.) Heat two 6-cup popover pans* in oven for 5 minutes, then quickly brush with softened butter. Fill each cup a little more than half way with batter. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes then turn out popovers. Serve warm.

*you can use Texas style muffin pans instead OR use 2 regular muffin pans - which will make 2 dozen then. If you are using regular muffin pans make sure you cut down the bake time by 5-10 minutes.

~from Sisters' Cafe

Hearty Winter Vegetable Soup

This soup is delicious!
Hearty Winter Vegetable Soup

2 Tb olive oil
1 1/2 onions, chopped
3 celery stalks, cut on bias
3 carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, cminced
2 pinches of red pepper flakes
coarse salt and pepper - to taste
7 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
1 small butternut squash (1-1.5 lbs) , peeled and cut into cubes
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into cubes
1/2 head Chinese cabbage OR 2 cups spinach, sliced (I used bok choy because that is what I had.  It worked well.)
1 15oz can great northern beans, drained
2 Tb fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried mint
1 tsp dried dill weed

Heat oil in large stock pot over med-high heat. Cook onions, celery, carrots, garlic and 1 tsp salt, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add squash and potatoes; reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in cabbage/spinach and garbanzo beans and return to boil. Stir in lemon juice and herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

~Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ham and Swiss Sliders

I have been wanting to make these for a while since I have seen them floating around the blogosphere.  They were awesome!  We loved them.  This is a keeper recipe.  I love how super easy they are!  I halved this recipe.  

Ham and Swiss Sliders

24 good white rolls (I made some homemade rolls.  They worked great!)
24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
1/3 mayo
1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy seed sauce

1 1/2 T poppy seeds
1 1/2 T yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 T minced onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayo and miracle whip.  Spread into both sides of the center of each roll.  Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll.  Close rolls and place into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet.  Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients.  Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches.  Pet sit 10 minutes, or until butter sets slightly.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. uncover & cook for 2 additional minutes.  Serve warm.

*Sandwiches can me assembled a day ahead & kept in the fridge ready to bake.