quick and easy

Perfect Chocolate Cake & Frosting

As with much of my spur of the moment baking, this was the result of perusing Pinterest right after my kids went down for naps.  I saw this amazing looking chocolate cake and had to have it.  Now.

Perfect Chocolate Cake | Hottie Biscotti

Perfect Chocolate Cake | Hottie Biscotti

As luck would have it I had all the ingredients (and you probably do, too!) which makes this a terrific cake to make at the last minute.  I decided to make it around 2 in the afternoon and it was cooled and frosted and ready to consume by 5.  Both the cake and the frosting come together so quickly.  Making this cake was a great use of nap time.  It was also a great way to take my mind off of the fact that my due date was going to come and go without meeting our new babe!  If only chocolate cake induced labor…

Perfect Chocolate Cake | Hottie Biscotti

I’ve had this cake before and remember asking who made it and if I could get the recipe.  For some reason I was surprised to find out it was a Hershey’s recipe.  I shouldn’t have been, I guess.  The best oatmeal cookie recipe is found on the top of the Quaker oats container, after all!  I didn’t use Hershey’s cocoa, though.  I had just enough Guittard cocoa left, so that is what I used.  The cake is moist and chocolatey and comforting, as chocolate cake should be.  The frosting is sweet and rich yet light and not dense.  I added a layer of crushed Oreos in between the layers of cake and also pressed some into the sides of the frosted cake and sprinkled some on top.  It adds some nice texture both in appearance and in your mouth, but it also helps to disguise a sloppy frosting job…which mine definitely was.

Perfect Chocolate Cake | Hottie Biscotti

You can make this in 9-inch cake pans, like I did, or in a 9×13 pan, 3 8-inch pans, a bundt pan, or you can make cupcakes.  I can easily see this becoming my new go-to chocolate cake recipe.

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Perfect Chocolate Cake | Hottie Biscotti

The next time I post I hope it’s to announce the birth of our baby, but I might just find myself doing some more baking if this baby decides he or she is just not ready!  Happy weekend!Perfect Chocolate Cake | Hottie Biscotti

Perfect Chocolate Cake

From Hershey’s

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Optional: Crushed Oreos for topping (about a sleeve and a half)

Directions

Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.  Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  4. Add in oil, milk, eggs and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes.
  5. Add in the boiling water and mix to combine.  The batter will be very thin, and that’s ok!
  6. Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly, and bake for 30-35 minutes.  A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
  7. Let cool in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes, then turn out onto the racks to let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

  1. Measure cocoa into a medium sized bowl.  Melt butter and pour into the cocoa and whisk to combine.
  2. Using a mixer, beat in powdered sugar and milk alternately in 5 batches (sugar, milk, sugar, milk, sugar).  Add in more sugar if you want the frosting to be a little thicker.  Stir in the vanilla.
  3. Frost the cake, layering some of the Oreos in between the layers and press some onto the edges.  Serve immediately or let chill in the fridge for an hour if your house is especially warm (like mine was!).

 

Quick Skillet Lasagna

One day I am going to be a great meal planner.  At this current time however I am not so great at it.  Every now and then I plan a week of meals and I only have to take one trip to the grocery store.  But then there are weeks like last one where I find myself on the couch at 5pm on Friday evening not sure of what we are going to eat for dinner.  I loaded the kids up in the car after browsing through my Test Kitchen cookbook and got what I needed for this quick one skillet dinner.  It was ready by 7pm,  it was a huge hit and a recipe that I will definitely be making again.

Quick Skillet Lasagna | Hottie Biscotti

In this skillet lasagna you have all the goodness of lasagna without all the work of layering and dirtying several dishes.  The recipe calls for broken lasagna noodles, but you could use penne or ziti if that’s what you have around.  I used Italian turkey sausage, but a mixture of ground beef and pork is what is called for in the original recipe.  I added a few ounces of goat cheese to the ricotta because I don’t think that there is a thing on this earth that couldn’t use some goat cheese goodness.  I layered some mozzarella slices on top of the finished dish and broiled it for a few minutes.  I think when you serve lasagna there should be strings of cheese stretching from pan to plate, so this ensures that will happen.  Top it all off with some fresh chopped basil and you have a super delicious and satisfying dinner that is ready in less than an hour.  I realize it’s no 30-minute meal, but it sure does take less time than a proper lasagna!

Quick Skillet Lasagna | Hottie Biscotti

Serve this with lots of good bread and a green salad for a complete meal, and one that will make everyone very happy.

Quick Skillet Lasagna

Adapated slightly from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 package Italian turkey sausage (16-20 ounces)
  • 1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 can tomato sauce (8-10 ounces)
  • 8 ounces of lasagna noodles, broken into 2 inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan + more for serving
  • 8 ounces part-skim ricotta
  • 3 ounces goat choose
  • 8-10 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Directions

  1. Pour the tomatoes into a quart measuring cup and fill with water to make 4 cups.  Set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.  Season with a pinch of salt.
  3. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add in the turkey and cook, breaking the meat up into pieces, until meat is cooked through and no longer pink.
  4. Pour in the tomatoes and tomato sauce and stir to combine.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Add in the noodles and stir to combine.  Press the noodles down into the sauce so that they are covered and then cover the skillet.  Bring the sauce to a simmer and then reduce heat to medium low and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. In a small bowl stir the ricotta with the goat cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.  Set aside.
  7. Preheat your broiler.
  8. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan.  Use a large spoon to dot the top of the skillet with the ricotta mixture, then lay the mozzarella slices on top.
  9. Place the skillet under the broiler until the cheese begins to brown.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the basil.
  10. Serve with extra Parmesan.

 

Dried Cherry, Almond and White Chocolate Cream Scones

Scones.  Glorious scones!  Way better than muffins and not much more work.  In some ways I think they’re actually easier than muffins, I never liked cleaning muffin tins.  Scones are also easily adaptable.  These scones are full of goodies, but a simple scone with nothing in it is amazing when spread with a little jam or truly and simply plain.  If you’ve never tried to make scones, please do yourself a favor and make a batch of these!  You’ll be amazed at how easy they are and how amazing they taste. cherry-almond-scones-1 This is yet another recipe courtesy of my current favorite cookbook, America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  I took the basic recipe and added in dried cherries, sliced almonds and white chocolate chips.  I also brushed the tops with a little cream and sprinkled them with a little sugar.  I would’ve liked to have used coarse sugar but couldn’t seem to find mine, probably a sign I need to do some pantry organizing. cherry-almond-scones-4 In the recipe they recommend forming the circle in a cake pan, then turning it out before slicing into wedges.  What a wonderful idea!  It keeps it perfectly shaped and makes for beautiful scones.  But you can achieve equally tasty and lovely scones by free forming your disc.  I like to use a pizza cutter to cut the scones, but a bench scraper or large knife will do just fine. Like I said before, make these with what you like or have on hand to make them your own and experiment to find a combination that you really love.  Replace the cherries with your favorite dried fruit, the almonds with pecans, or walnuts, and leave out the chocolate altogether or use dark or milk chocolate chips.  Be careful not to load too much into these, though.  I used a total of 1 cup of additional ingredients and I wouldn’t go much heavier on the mix-ins than that.  As with biscuits, don’t over mix or over work the dough.  Mix and knead just until it holds together.  Overworking will yield a dense scone that doesn’t rise as well. cherry-almond-scones-2 I do have to warn you about these.  I photographed them while they were still warm and had a few bites of this one.  A few bites turned into me eating the entire thing.  And I loved every minute of it.  So make sure to exercise some self control and don’t eat all of them yourself!  Or do.  Just call it “research” or “quality control”. cherry-almond-scones-3

Dried Cherry, Almond and White Chocolate Cream Scones

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook Ingredients

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour, plus more for the counter
  • 3 tablespoons sugar. plus a little for sprinkling
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons butter, cold,  cut into chunks
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup heavy cream, plus a little extra for brushing
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
  2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the food processor.  Pulse a few times to combine.
  3. Add the butter chunks and pulse until the mixture is coarse like sand with some larger pieces of butter.
  4. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the cherries, almonds and chocolate chips, then add the cream and the almond extract.  Mix with a rubber spatula until the mixture just comes together.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough until it comes together.  Press into 9-inch cake pan or free form the dough into a 9-inch disk.
  6. Turn dough out again (if you used a cake pan) onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
  7. With a pizza cutter or other cutting tool, cut the disk into 8 triangles, separating them from each other a little.
  8. Brush with a little cream and sprinkle with a little sugar (or coarse sugar if you have some).
  9. Bake for about 15 minutes, until tops are light brown.
  10. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

One Pan Penne with Sausage, Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes

A special thanks to Andrea who introduced me to this dish and the cookbook it came from!  She made this for Ben and me when we went to visit Boston and stayed with them for a night.  After a day of traveling it was so nice to be in someone’s home for dinner and to have such a satisfying and delicious meal.

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What originally attracted me to the recipe, before I’d even tasted it, was that everything is made in one pan!  No boiling pasta separately and adding it to another pan where you’ve made the sauce.  You get to do it all together and only have one pan to clean.  This makes me very happy (and Ben, too since he’s the one who usually does the dishes after dinner).

This recipe is from America’s Test Kitchen Family Recipes, a cookbook I bought on Amazon the same night I had this pasta.  I love the Test Kitchen.  I think I’ve mentioned this before.  The recipes are reliably good and they include tips on ingredients and methods to use in the kitchen.  They also give you the whys and hows of cooking and baking.  Included in this large ring-bound cookbook are tons of recipes for all kinds of things, appetizers to desserts.  Inside the front cover you’ll find some emergency substitutions, and inside the back cover are temps for cooking meat, equivalent measurements and conversions for baking.  Inside you’ll not only find recipes but cookware tips and food safety.  I often find myself pulling out my phone to remind myself how many tablespoons are in 1/4 cup or what temperature my pork should be, but this book has it easily accessible and I won’t get flour on my phone!  Have I sufficiently plugged the cookbook?  I should be getting paid for this…

This pasta dish is delicious and comforting, but not heavy.  There is some heavy cream and Parmesan which makes the dish just rich enough without making you feel like you’re over indulging.  You can use hot, sweet or mild Italian sausage in this dish.  The spinach and sun-dried tomatoes are the perfect additions.

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To prep ahead you can cut the onion and garlic and store them separately.  If you have sun-dried tomato halves you can slice them and store them as well.  You can grate the Parmesan unless you bought it already grated.  I didn’t try making this completely ahead, but did have some reheated the next day for lunch and it was terrific.

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Sausage, Spinach and Sun-dried Tomatoes with Penne

From Americas’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil or reserved oil from sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 pound Italian turkey sausage
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup chopped or sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, oil drained and reserved
  • 8 ounces penne or ziti
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften.
  2. Add the sausage, breaking it up as it cooks, until it is no longer pink, 4-5 minutes.
  3. Stir in the garlic, then scatter the tomatoes and penne on top of the sausage.  Add the broth and the cream then cover and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes until pasta is al dente.
  4. Add the spinach and cover for 1 minute.  Remove the lid and stir together to fully wilt the spinach.
  5. Add in the Parmesan, stir and season with salt and pepper.

 

Basic Cream Biscuits

As I declared recently I am on a mission to be a master biscuit maker.  So today I am stating with a basic biscuit recipe, the cream biscuit.

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The ingredients are simple and you probably have all but the heavy cream right now.  Maybe you have the cream if you’re an avid baker or you drink cream in your coffee, or you just have a kitchen that’s ready for anything!  I had to go out and buy some cream to make these biscuits, but I had everything else, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  That’s all you need.  And from start to finish these only take about 25 minutes!  What could be better than a quick, simple and delicious biscuit?

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Everyone wants a tender biscuit.  So, as I began making these biscuits I was very conscious of a tip I’ve heard and read many times regarding biscuit making, DO NOT OVERWORK THE DOUGH.  So I mixed it up just until it held together, and I kneaded it just enough so that I could easily pat it together to cut from.  After cutting three 2 1/2 inch biscuits from my first round of dough I was a little scared to bring the scraps together to cut from, so I dealt with them very gently.  The result was a less uniform biscuit, but one that still tasted amazing!  The lesson I learned from this was to make sure you get as many biscuits from your first round of dough as possible to get as many beautiful biscuits as you can.

I was also shooting for tall biscuits, so I patted the dough out a little thicker than the recipe states, about 1 inch thick.  This led to fewer total biscuits, 6 instead of the 8 the recipe states you’ll get from the recipe.

The biscuits fill your house with an amazing and rich aroma as they bake.  It’s so delicious that you can’t help but take a bite of one of these as soon as they’re cool enough to eat.  And that, of course, is they best time to eat them, when they’re nice and warm.  If you make these ahead of time, you can warm them in a low oven before eating.  You can also cut the rounds of dough, place them on the cookie sheet, then cover them and refrigerate for up to 2 hours before baking.

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Enjoy these with butter and jam, the simpler the better in my opinion.  However, I do plan to use some of the leftover biscuits to make breakfast sandwiches this weekend.

Basic Cream Biscuits

From America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Makes 6-8 biscuits, depending on the cutter

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions

  1.  Preheat oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
  3. Make a well in the center and add the cream.  Mix gently with a wooden spoon until just combined.
  4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead just until dough comes together.
  5. Pat into a round about 3/4 to 1 inch thick.  Using a 2 or 2 1/2 inch cutter, press straight down without twisting to cut each biscuit.  Place on the baking sheet and continue cutting.
  6. Gather scraps together and cut as many more as you can.
  7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until tops are golden.

Quick Chickpea and Spinach Curry

I get one cooking magazine in the mail. Fine Cooking.  I’ve mentioned it more than once (at least a dozen times probably) on the blog.  It’s most definitely my favorite cooking magazine.  It doesn’t have loads of content, but what it does have is good content and not a lot of ads.  Anyway, buy a copy sometime and check it out.

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This recipe for chickpea and spinach curry is from the latest  issue.  While doing meal planning for this past week I was at a loss for Tuesday’s dinner.  So I grabbed the magazine and started flipping through it.  This one stood out to me right away.  I love the flavors in Indian food, but it often takes a lot of time and ingredients to make good Indian food at home.  This recipe allows you to take some short cuts but still wind up with a very flavorful and satisfying meal with just enough spice.

Our Tuesday nights get a little crazy, no matter how hard I try I always feel like I am rushing to get dinner ready or the house picked up.  This meal fit in perfectly with our  busy night (although I failed in some ways this past week and we were still rushed!).  It comes together incredibly quickly and cooks up in a flash.  It’s full of good-for-you vegetables and fills you up without being heavy.  But your house will smell like curry for a few days.  That’s the only downside.  Ben came home the next day from work and said, “Indian again?” to which I replied “No, spaghetti and meatballs.” which I’d spent all day cooking.  I was sure it would’ve masked the curry, but no.

You can serve this as a side dish or as a vegetarian main, which is what I did.  The recipe below serves 4 as a side and 2 as a main.  It’s easily doubled or tripled, so can suit whatever your needs are.

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I skipped out on the yogurt the first time around, but ate it with leftovers and loved the creamy, coolness of it next to the spice.  Definitely serve this with naan if you can, but I am sure it would also be nice on a bed of white rice.

If you don’t like cilantro or are serving this to people who don’t, leave it out of the dish.  You can serve fresh cilantro separately and let people decide how much, if any, they want.

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Quick Chickpea and Spinach Curry

From Fine Cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1/8 tsp. cayenne (optional, I left it out)
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • Kosher salt
  • 6-7 ounces baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional, mix in or on the side)
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (optional for serving)

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  2. Add in the onion, ginger, curry powder and garam masala and cook for a few minutes, until the onion is softened.  Add in the garlic and cook for one minute more.
  3. Stir in the chickpeas, tomatoes, and salt to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon and add no more than 1 teaspoon)
  4. Add in the spinach, a cup or so at a time, letting is cook down just a bit before adding more to keep you pan from getting  overloaded.
  5. Once the spinach has cooked down and is wilted, season with more salt if needed, cover the pan and turn off the heat.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes.
  6. You can stir in the cilantro to the dish now if desired or serve it on the side.

 

Chicken, Bacon, Avocado & Swiss Panini

Sometimes I have one ingredient that I really need to use and the rest of the meal comes about because of it.  That’s exactly what happened last night.  The ingredient…BACON.

Ben bought some really amazing thick-cut bacon last week when we grilled burgers.  I had more than half of the package left and it needed to be used in the next couple of days.  I could have frozen it, but when something goes into my freezer it may never come out.  And there was no way I was going to waste good bacon!  In college my best friend used to order the chicken, bacon, ranch sandwich at Quizno’s and she’d add either avocado or guacamole.  I might have some details a little confused here, but it was something like that.  With the bacon and some leftover grilled chicken in my fridge I knew exactly what we’d be having for dinner.

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We eat panini a lot, and usually I’m using leftovers to make them.  It’s one of the main ways we use any leftover steak.  As with most panini recipes the ingredient list is short, and prep is simple if you’re using leftovers.  All you need is some bread (I used sourdough) some cooked chicken, a few slices of cooked bacon, avocado and swiss cheese.  You can use any kind of cheese that you like, but I thought the swiss paired well.

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You can spread some mayo on the bread, or if the Quizno’s addition of ranch sounds too good to pass up you can either spread some ranch dressing on the bread or dip the sandwich in it after it’s been cooked.  If you have some guacamole around, then use that instead of the avocado.

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For a nice and crunchy exterior, and terrific color, I like to either drizzle the bread with olive oil or, if I’m feeling really crazy, spread it with softened butter.  It’s up to you.

You don’t need a panini press, but if you have one that you don’t use very often I highly encourage you to dust it off and make it a part of your life.  To make these without a press, just heat a skillet over medium high heat and while one side is cooking, press down on the sandwich with another heavy pan, then flip and do it again.  Like a smashed grilled cheese, although I guess pressed does sound better than smashed.

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The recipe below makes 2 sandwiches, so adjust the ingredient amounts as needed for the number of paninis you plan to make.

Ben and I both really enjoyed these panini and I can see myself planning my weekly meals with some extra chicken and bacon in the future.  Enjoy!

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Chicken, Bacon, Avocado and Swiss Panini

Ingredients

  • 4 slices of thick cut sourdough bread
  • 1 cooked chicken breast, sliced
  • 4 slices of cooked bacon
  • 1 half of an avocado, sliced
  • 4 slices of swiss cheese
  • mayo or ranch dressing, optional
  • olive oil or butter for grilling

Directions

  1. Preheat your panini press or a large skillet over medium heat.
  2. Set out your bread (spread with mayo or ranch) and layer 1 slice of cheese, chicken, bacon, avocado and top with another slice of cheese.  (I tear the slice of cheese so that it covers the bread.)  Repeat with remaining sandwiches.
  3. Drizzle olive oil or spread butter onto both sides of the bread.
  4. Place on the panini press or on the heated skillet and press until bread is golden brown and cheese had melted.

 

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

I’ve debated over whether or not to post this recipe for some time.  And some of you are going to roll your eyes and turn up your noses at me.  But this is seriously one of the most delicious and easiest meals I’ve ever made, and one that gets the husband (and myself, to be completely honest) super excited about dinner.  A friend of mine made this for me back in college, and someone brought it to us when Betsy was born.  You might already know about the wonders of this casserole yourself and have a recipe that you like.  I’ve tried several and after some tweaking here and there I found this one to be our favorite.

This casserole is great when you don’t have a ton of time but still want something home cooked.  I know, some of you will argue that it’s not really cooking.  And you can go right on ahead and judge me, but I’m sticking to my guns here and telling you that this is really good.  Just close your eyes while you’re mixing it up…

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The ingredient list for this casserole is short and sweet.  I typically use a rotisserie chicken (1 whole chicken is just about right) but you can use leftover chicken from another meal if you’d like.  If the chicken you use is flavored in any way that flavor will really come through.  I made this once with leftover grilled chicken that we’d marinated in Italian dressing and it was very different in flavor than when I’d used poached chicken or a rotisserie chicken.

Now you’re going to cringe, but all you need other than the chicken is a can of cream of chicken soup (I like to use reduced sodium) a 16 ounce container of sour cream (low fat is fine) a sleeve of Ritz crackers, poppyseeds and a few tablespoons of butter.  Just go with me on this one.

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You can bake this in any dish, but I prefer one that isn’t too big and isn’t too small.  An 11×7 casserole dish is what I usually use.  An 8×8 is fine, but then the chicken and cracker layers are thicker.  If you use a 9×13 the layers will be very thin.

I always serve this with white rice.  You could use brown.  I’m sure it would be wonderful and add more heartiness to the meal.  I’ve just always used white, and so that’s what I will probably always use.  Creature of habit.

And I always serve this with steamed broccoli.  Not sure what it is I love about the combination, but getting a little sauce from the chicken onto a piece of broccoli isn’t at all bad.  Green beans, asparagus, carrots, all good options.  I will continue to serve it with broccoli.  Again, creature of habit.  Whatever side you serve, make sure it has some color.  Color typically means more nutritional value, and if you serve this with steamed cauliflower you’re serving a super neutral colored meal, which isn’t quite as lovely on your plate.

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After baking you have a creamy casserole with a terrifically crunchy topping with just a touch of sweetness from the poppyseeds.  This is a comfort food for me.  I know the thought of cream of chicken soup and 2 cups of sour cream is hard to handle, but please, please make it.  You will not be sorry.  You might even thank me.

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Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • 3-4 cups of cooked chicken, chopped or shredded into fairly large pieces
  • 1 can of cream of chicken soup, reduced sodium
  • 1 16-ounce container of low fat sour cream
  • 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
  • 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
  • 3 tablespoons of butter, melted
  • cooked white rice for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray an 11×17 or 8×8 inch dish with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl combine chicken, cream of chicken soup and sour cream.  Mix well then spread into prepared dish.
  3. In a large zip top bag crush crackers into pieces, then pour in poppyseeds and butter.  Seal bag and then toss around until everything is mixed well.
  4. Spread cracker mixture evenly on top of the chicken.
  5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly.
  6. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

 

Cranberry Coconut Muffins

 

Happy Friday!  Just have to point out that this is my 3rd post of the week!  I don’t anticipate every week being this productive, but I am glad to start the year off tackling some of my blogging goals.  Now for a yummy, fast and simple recipe for your weekend…crancoconutmuffin2

With half a bag of cranberries still in my fridge, and some ideas brewing for what to do to this muffin recipe, I whipped these up during nap time.  Using pineapple juice in the last muffins led me to the thought of coconut and I just so happened to have both coconut oil and coconut milk in my pantry.  Just like last time I wished I’d had a can of crushed pineapple to add in.  Maybe I’ll get around to making a tropical cranberry muffin one of these days.  But that would involve me buying another bag of cranberries and then having leftovers after making the muffins which would then require me to make something else with cranberries.  I might have to put it on hold until next holiday season.  I might be muffin-ed out.

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I’ve sung the praises of coconut oil before.  This zucchini bread is one of my favorite things.  Coconut oil behaves pretty much the same as oil and butter in a baked good.  But it’s rock hard at temps at which vegetable oil is liquid and butter is spreadable.  It remains solid until is reaches temperatures above 76°F.  I warmed it in the microwave before using it in this recipe.  I keep muffins and breads in the fridge unless I know they’re going to be eaten within a couple of days to keep them from going bad.  With the coconut oil in the muffins they come out of the fridge very hard.  A quick warm up in the microwave and they become nice and soft and ready to devour.  I found some great information on this blog about using coconut oil and its health benefits.  I’d never thought about cutting in to pastry dough!

Coconut is a main and noticeable ingredient in these muffins.  There’s coconut oil, milk and flakes.  So the coconut averse may not be into these.  If you do want the benefits of the coconut oil, just sub milk or buttermilk and leave out the coconut flakes.  The coconut oil alone shouldn’t make a coconut hater turn up their nose, but I don’t find coconut oil alone to be too coconutty, especially after being baked into something.  Correct me if I am wrong!

On another note, I got this wonderful spreader for Christmas from my mother-in-law.  “No such things as too much butter” is definitely something I find to be true.  You can get your own at For Such a Time Designs on Etsy.  She hand stamps pieces of flatware and I’ve been perusing her site quite a bit lately.  Check her out!

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Coconut Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
  • 3/4 cup lite coconut milk, shake the can before opening and measuring
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Grease and sugar a 12-cup muffin tin.
  3. Combine flour, powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
  4. Beat sugar and coconut oil until combined, then beat in coconut milk and egg.
  5. Add flour mixture to the liquid ingredients and mix just to combine.
  6. Fold in the cranberries and flaked coconut.
  7. Divide batter equally among the cups.  Sprinkle with raw sugar or flaked coconut.
  8. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for a few minutes in the pan before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Quick Honey Dinner Rolls

These warm, soft, pillowy, sweet little bundles of happiness will be on your dinner table in 45 minutes.  No lie.  I made them twice this week and everyone in our house loved them.  Ben had 3 with dinner last night, and I had 2…and one a little later in the evening with some butter and honey.  Heaven.  No longer will I be buying rolls in the bakery or pulling a frozen bag of Sister Shubert’s out.  I still love you, Sister Shubert.  Your sausage rolls are amazing.  I’ll still be eating those.

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I had a sudden urge to make dinner rolls earlier this week at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.  My kids eat dinner at 5, so I knew I needed to find something fast.  I googled “fast dinner rolls” and found this recipe from Your Homebased Mom.  I made them as written the first time and loved them.  But as I poured the sugar into the bowl I thought, “Maybe you could use honey in these…”  and so that is what I did the next time.  I also brushed the rolls before and after baking with melted butter.  I loved them more.

These are delicious right after they’re baked, but reheat wonderfully.  So they would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving table that you could easily make the morning of or even the night before.  So go make a batch.  You’ll thank me.

Honey Dinner Rolls

From Your Homebased Mom

Ingredients

  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water
  • 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9×13 pan.
  2. Combine water, yeast, honey and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Stir a couple times then let rest for 10 minutes to bloom.
  3. With a dough hook mix in the flour, salt, baking powder and egg.  Continue to mix for 2-3 minutes until dough comes together.  If it seems especially sticky add a tablespoon or two of flour.
  4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 12 equal sized pieces.  Shape into balls that are smooth on top (in doesn’t matter what the bottoms look like) and place in prepared pan.
  5. Cover with a clean dish cloth and let rise for 15 minutes.
  6. Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter (about half of what you have) and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
  7. Brush with remaining melted butter and let cool slightly before serving.