The Great Vanilla Bean

On my days off from work, I love to watch Food Network. Today I was watching 'Barefoot Contessa,' and she was making a dessert with vanilla sugar. I knew vanilla sugar existed, but I never realized how easy it was to "make." After doing some more internet research about vanilla beans, I realized that making homemade vanilla extract was an easy process as well.

I instantly became fascinated with making my own vanilla sugar and vanilla extract. Luckily, I knew the perfect place to get the fresh vanilla beans. I often complain to my husband about how we live in the middle of nowhere - the closest decent grocery store is at least 20 minutes away. However, one of many good things about living in New Jersey is the easy accessibility to fresh produce and groceries from farm markets. Our local farm market is open year round and always carries fresh vanilla beans. Score!

I can't wait to try out my vanilla sugar in 2 weeks and the vanilla extract in 8 weeks!

Lemon Thyme Chicken

I must admit, chicken is not my favorite protein, but this recipe has made me LOVE chicken. This has also become one of Jim's favorites -- this from the guy who swore he never likes "lemon chicken." This recipe has the perfect balance of lemon, garlic, wine, and thyme. And hey - it doesn't hurt that there is wine in the recipe... leftovers for enjoying WITH dinner.

I obtained this recipe from the 'What's Cooking?' board on the Nest's website. What a great resource for recipes and inspiration! This is a simple recipe that has fresh and robust flavors. This recipe can be served with an array of sides --this time around, we chose whole wheat plain cous cous and a spinach salad.

Lemon Thyme Chicken
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2/3 cup dry white wine
Juice of 1/2 of a large lemon
2-3 tbsp. butter

Directions:
Butterfly the chicken breasts to create four halves. Season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl, and dredge the chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off the excess. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute until lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme leaves to the pan and saute just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off the heat, add the wine to the pan. Return the pan to the hear and bring the liquid to a simmer. Reduce until sauce has thickened and the chicken breast has become golden brown on each side. Add the lemon juice to the pan and stir in butter until completely melted. Serve immediately, and spoon the extra sauce over the chicken.

Simple Spinach Salad
Combine baby spinach, salt, pepper, feta cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and walnuts to your liking. This is a simple, but delicious side salad!

Orecchiette with sausage and spinach

One of our favorite meals is one of the easiest meals ever. A few years ago, I was visiting my friend Trish in DC. She had me over for dinner and made a declicious pasta with broccoli rabe, sausage, and orechiette (Italian translation: small ear-shaped pasta). After getting back to NJ, I looked up the recipe and attempted to duplicate it: Giada's Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe dish. It turned out great, but Jim wasn't a big fan of the broccoli rabe.

The next time we made the dish, we used spinach instead of the broccoli rabe, and it was a hit! We've made variations of this recipe with chorizo and both sweet and spicy sausage.

Last night, Jim was in charge of dinner, and he jumped at the opporunity to make this. It's become one of his faovites! I recommend giving this one a try. It's a light pasta... no sauce or heavy taste. Everything tastes simple and fresh.

Jim and Erin's Orecchiette with sausage and spinach (makes 2 generous portions)
Ingredients:
Orecchiette pasta
Turkey sausage, 3 links, casings removed (we used sweet Italian sausage this time)
2 cloves chopped garlic
olive oil
3/4 bag of baby spinach
Locatelli cheese (optional)

Directions:
Cook orecchiette according to package while preparing other ingredients. Sautee garlic in about 4 tbsps. of olive oil for a couple minutes. Add sausage, breaking up into smaller pieces until fully cooked. Add in spinach until completely wilted. After draining pasta, add sausage and spinach mixture on top and add cheese to taste.
(Note: in our house, we NEVER use parmesean cheese. I know some people love it, but I've always been turned off by the oversized green KRAFT container. We are tride and true locatelli fans. If you haven't tried it, you must!)

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love red velvet cupcakes. And I love cream cheese icing. This is one of the most perfect combinations EVER in my book. I made these cupcakes for my co-workers of whom were hosting me in their Office for the past 3 months, while I was on a temporary assignment. I figured this would be the perfect way to leave a lasting impression. Good thinking, huh?

I've tried many red velvet recipes, and this is one of my favorites, out of the Martha Stewart Cupcakes cookbook that I so much love.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted

2 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 tsp. red gel-paste food color

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. distilled white vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.

3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.

4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months in airtight containers.

5. To finish, frost or pipe with cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and then vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Mexican Food Night

Growing up, we did not eat a lot of Mexican or Tex/Mex food. However, now that I'm a married lady, making my own meals, I find that I LOVE this type of food. I also love my crockpot, so when this recipe arrived in my inbox from a co-worker, I could not wait to make it! This was really easy and extremely delicious. I did some searching around and found that per serving, this Chicken Tortilla Soup is only about 260 calories per serving. Give this one a try!

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken (I cooked my chicken in the crockpot and shredded it after fully cooked)
1 (15 oz). can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth (I used low sodium)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 oz.) package frozen corn
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil
cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on High 3-4 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.

4. Bake in a preheated oven until crispy, about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle over soup, along with cheese (optional).

Mexican or Tex/Mex food night is not complete in this house without a delicious beverage. We love margaritas but hate how sweet and how high in calories the bottled stuff is. My reality TV obsession actually helped with this - from watching the Real Housewives of New York, I learned that one of the ladies, Bethenny created her own low-calorie drink line, along with other things. I searched on her website for the margarita and found The Skinny Girl Margarita. We figured out our on version of a low-calorie margarita, a variation of Bethenny's.

Better-for-you Margarita
Ingredients: (1 serving)
Ice
Juice of 3 limes, plus lime for garnish
3 oz. White tequila
Splash of orange-flavored liquer (Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, or Cointreau)
Splash of lemonade

Directions:
1. (Optional - salt rim with margarita salt.) Fill glass with ice.

2. Pour in lime juice, tequila, orange liquer, and lemonade.

3. Stir, and garnish with a lime.

Natalie's new Blog and Business!

My workout partner, Natalie, has started a new blog and a new custom cookie business! She is a very talented pastry chef, and I want to wish her luck in her new venture... so this is a plug for her new business, Snail Mail Sweets: http://snailmailsweets.blogspot.com/

This is also my pathetic opportunity to be entered into her first giveway contest for FREE COOKIES!

Be sure to check out Natalie's talents, and support her new business!

Happy New Year!

OK, I know it's a little late, but I made a promise to myself that I would start my food blog once the New Year started. This is my attempt to electronically organize some of my favorite recipes and to also document my experiences with new recipes.

For New Year's Eve, my husband and I decided to host a party. Luckily, my amazing in-laws offered up their house for the party. We decided to throw a desserts and drinks party. I wanted to make fun, comfort food-like desserts.

The party turned out to be a success, and the desserts were a hit! Here's a list of what I made: monkey bread (aka - pull cake), rice krispie treats, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate chip cookies, oreo truffles, muddie buddies, and New Year's cupcakes. The cupcakes are from Martha Stewart's Cupcake book (this blog will be filled with MS cupcake recipes b/c they're awesome!)

One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water; beat until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake, rotating halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting (I halved this recipe)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

2. Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium. This process should take about 5 minutes. Frosting will be pale and fluffy.

3. Add vanilla, and beat until frosting is smooth. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 10 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

After frosting the cupcakes, I melted semisweet chocolate and let cool. I used a piping bag with a thin tip, like Wilton #4, and wrote the Roman Numerals. The clock hands are cut out of paper and were positioned at the time guests were set to arrive! Enjoy - this was pretty easy, and a lot of fun!