Quick Meal: Spicy Chicken Quesadillas

This was a very quick recipe again courtesy of Cooking Light. Our house loves Mexican food and this recipe sounded right up our alley. I, as usual, made some adjustments based on what I had on hand. Surprisingly, I didn't have any left over rotisserie chicken so I used the quick grill to grill up two chicken breasts.

Also, since it was a lot more chicken than the recipe called for, I decided to make a big batch of filling and freeze the rest for a later meal. The original recipe for Spicy Chicken Quesadillas and here is mine:

2 grilled chicken breasts
1/2 cup refrigerated salsa
1/2 cup organic black beans
1 can of 50% reduced salt kernel corn
1/4 cup chopped jarred jalapeno slices
8 6-inch corn tortillas
1 1/2 cup 2% Mexican cheese blend
Cooking Spray
Reduced fat sour cream

It is actually a little difficult to cook these in a skillet because of the filling, so I decided to instead of using two tortillas, just use one and fold in half. I think next time, I make them in the oven like I usually do with quesadillas.

These were tasty but not as spicy as the title would lead you to believe. The extra filling is in fact in the freezer and hubby and I decided it would make great enchilada filling! Also, apparently I forgot that hubby is also not a huge black bean fan so perhaps if the filling is combined with a little more cheese and a spicy sauce, he can forgive my memory lapse next time.

Wordless Wednesday: Crab Cakes

Chef Edward's recipe made from extra crab bought for Crab and Spinach Pasta 

Meatless Monday: Crab and Spinach Pasta with Fontina

Okay, so pasta with crab isn't entirely MEATLESS but I am still working to reduce the red meat intake and increasing seafood is not a bad choice. This dish also appeared to have all the elements for a dish my husband would love: red sauce, spinach, pasta and crab!

The recipe actually came from a & co-worker. She received an introductory copy to Better Homes and Garden's recipe selections and she brought it into work to give me an opportunity to copy any that piqued my interest. I was immediately drawn to this one and photocopied it right away. Luckily, a quick search and I found it online too:Crab and Spinach Pasta with Fontina

The biggest challenge of making this dish was finding a 2-quart square baking dish so I settled for a rectangular one and got my ingredients together. The recipe calls for any tomato-base pasta sauce, so I went for the arrabiata for a little spice. I was also luck to get some adorable kitchen help:

I thought it looked delicious before I even added the cheese on top. I used my favorite Wacky Mac bow tie pasta to get some extra good-for-us stuff in there.

but we all love cheese so cheese on and into the oven it went:

 And 30 minutes later a very yummy looking final product:

The thing is, it was good, but not outstanding. I thought it would be substantial enough to serve on its own, but it was extremely light and would be a nice brunch menu item to go along with other things. It also needed more spice as the arrabiata didn't come through as I hoped. We experimented adding a little crushed red pepper to our meals, and that added some depth. I think a little garlic may give it a little more life too. Hey you never know what a recipe will be like until you try it! 

Let me know if you have made something similar, have an idea or try it out.

Dinner Out: The Cellars Restaurant

So what are two people to do when their 12 year-old has a church lock-in and the YMCA is offering Parent's Night Out for the 4 year-old? Go out to dinner of course!! The husband and I had snagged some super cheap Restaurant.com certificates over the holidays and this opportunity presented itself to use them. I made the decision we should try a place we have been meaning to go to, but for whatever reason hadn't made it there for a meal yet. We decided on The Cellars restaurant.

Located in the "cellar" of The Church Point Manorhouse Bed and Breakfast in the Virginia Beach neighborhood of Church Point, I was immediately struck by how beautiful the setting was, even in cold drizzle. It was a quiet night and they sat us near the fireplace:

The restaurant has a very nice wine list. We had already decided we were in a Pinot Noir mood and after having a great experience with an Oregon winery once before, we selected the 2009 Argyle Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.

Whenever we use a gift certificate or Groupon or any kind, we usually splurge on an appetizer. I had reviewed the menu on their website and was immediately drawn to their hush puppies not just because I happen to enjoy hush puppies, but also these words: Edward’s Surry Ham Pimento Cheese. I cannot remember if in any blog I have ever shared my love of pimento cheese, but I have one. My grandmother used to make the most wonderful pimento cheese and I still crave it to this day! The plate did not disappoint:

My husband enjoyed the pickles the most and I was free to indulge in all of that pimento cheese! 

We were also presented with an amuse bouche to start our evening which sadly did not photograph well if only because I did not have a chance to set my camera just right for fear my husband was going to eat my portion! It was a thick square of apple smoked bacon topped with homemade potato salad and crisp potato straws. Enough said.

Then it was entree time. I have mentioned before my husband's love of crab cakes so it was no surprise he went straight for them on the menu. The baby spinach was a win for him too:

My entree is ultimately why I chose this restaurant for this particular night. Osso Bucco is a favorite of mine. Traditionally made with veal shank, the chef at The Cellars used pork shank. Between that, the bourbon sweet tea braising and the Israeli Cous Cous Mac and Cheese, I was sold. I may have cried had they been out of it.

The husband helped me eat some of that mac and cheese which was incredible and may prove to be a future inspiration for a dish of my own. The "star of the plate" as they say was indeed the pork; tender, flavorful,falling off the bone and the reduction was a perfect compliment.

Despite New Year's resolutions and making a personal practice to minimize sugar, no dinner out is complete without dessert. Frankly, I have been very good with my sweets intake and have been sticking to only one sweet treat a week. Sweets in all honesty have never been my downfall. I could have gained 10 pounds just eating pimento cheese! Anyway, we decided on their chocolate torte with caramel sauce and candied hazelnuts. I think the picture speaks for itself.

It was a beautiful meal and a beautiful setting. Thank you to our server Anna and to everyone who had a hand in our delicious meal and wonderful evening!

Wordless Wednesday: Chicken Chili - Cause it's COLD Outside!

Check Out other Wordless Wednesday posts across the Web!

Baking for a Beginner: Bagels

I have mentioned many a time about my fear of baking. Yet, the more I have been writing this blog and trying new techniques, my confidence has improved to the point I am making brownies from scratch. Now with winter having finally arrived, I get even more motivated to bake and to look for recipes that take me out of my comfort zone. This now brings me to my fear of working with yeast. Interestingly enough I had a conversation with my mother a few days ago about how she won't work with yeast because she has never had any success at it. Great, so now there is a childhood embedded fear of yeast I have to overcome!

No matter because when I saw Cooking Light's recipe for "real bagels" I completely ignored the yeast component for two reasons 1) I love bagels 2) I am determined to try and make more things instead of buying from the store. My husband, however, thinks I am insane (well in this case more insane than usual) because he is of the opinion that they are readily available and he is also aware of the trauma I undergo when baking. I clearly ignored him and off to work I went.

My Kitchen-aid mixer was very happy to get some use.

Now here is the step I stink at EVERY SINGLE TIME. The rising. Oh, the rising, or lack thereof. I can't decide if it's impatience on my part in preparing the yeast and water, the water temperature or if I can blame it on my husband and his insistence to keep the house at 67 degrees. That's Fahrenheit folks. I am sure that the part of the recipe that says keep dough in a warm place (85 degrees) assumes that you can achieve that temperature without having to turn an oven (or a space-heater) on.

So having failed to achieve adequate rising, I soldiered on and made my little bagels.

The boiling part I was very good at:

Being that I DID NOT plan to make bagels on this particular day, the only add-ons I had were sesame seeds so I made some sesame...

And some plain. They actually looked very nice coming out of the oven. They were just...small. 

Actually they reminded me of those Lender's bagels I used to scoff at in the grocery store when I had a Bodo's Bagels so close that I was spoiled with authentic fabulous bagels and could not imagine why a grocery store in my immediate area would even carry them! My little bagels did have a nice flavor and I know where I went wrong so I will try it again...guess I will just have to turn the oven on in order to get the rise I need!

Steal of the Week: Kid-Tastic Pizzadillas

Now that I seem to have the monthly meal planning almost to a science, I am trying to work on developing a plan for lunches as well. This will prove to be a most daunting task in many respects, as both my husband and I work outside the home and have occasions where there will be impromptu lunch meetings, our son has his lunches included Monday thru Friday but needs lunch on the weekends and my 12 year-old step-daughter needs lunch at least once a week when she is with us and every other weekend. Whew! Writing that out it seems even more complicated!

I have already documented that often on weekends we do leftovers for lunch and my inability to cook small portions of anything also means there are meals in the freezer. But as we try to further improve our eating habits and I try not to bore myself or anyone else with a sandwich every day, I am trying out different ideas for lunch. I started small and simple with this recipe for Kid-tastic Pizzadillas from Cooking Light.

They only take a total of 15 minutes. I decided since I was packing them for work and school that instead of trying to send separate marinara, I was just going to sprinkle a little over the cheese and pepperoni. The key is not to use too much so there is no oozing. I used the whole wheat fat free tortillas and they worked great.

Once they cooled enough to handle, I cut them into wedges and packed them into reusable plastic sandwich containers. I popped mine int the fridge when I got to work and did a quick warm-up in the toaster oven at my office kitchen. My step-daughter kept them in her Pack-it lunch bag and just ate them out of the container. She thought they were great! of course me being me, I am dreaming up other fillings for me and the husband and letting the kids come up with ideas too. A fun and delicious way to start off trying lunch recipes! I will keep looking for new ideas but what do you do to keep lunches exciting and keep from eating out?

Meatless Monday: Cornbread

I have some great recipes planned this month for Meatless Monday! However, tonight the hubby is out on Rescue Duty so I will be enjoying just a simple veggie wrap and random leftovers.

I did decide it would be a good time to share this recipe I tried for cornbread, especially with the soup, chili and stew season upon us. I got the recipe from good old standby Betty-Crocker, but I made a few "light" changes. I used light butter, skim milk and Splenda and it still came out very tasty...a little denser than the full fat kind but just as flavorful.

Remember the Meatless Monday movement is about replacing one meal a week with one that doesn't involve meat, purely for health reasons. I know this is the time of year many of use pledge to exercise and eat right, and this is a simple no stress way to eat just a little better. I made a resolution to eat more fruits and vegetables daily in every meal in order to satisfy the recommended daily amount. So far, so good!

Have a meatless meal you love? Share your pics and recipes with me and you might be our reader recipe!

Cook Crook Creation: Teriyaki Meatballs

I am always looking for ways to simply meals during the week and as I have said many a time, a slow-cooker is often the way to go. And the meal itself may prove to be as simple an inspiration as a magazine coupon!

I came across an advertisement and coupon for Minute-Rice and Dole Pineapple. The idea was to make a teriyaki meatball with pork and bottled teriyaki sauce along with the pineapple and serve over rice. Being that I always have prepared turkey meatballs on hand and just so happened to have a can of pineapple chunks as well as a bottle of Lawry's teriyaki marinade and sauce, a crock-pot meal came together just like that.

I used two packages of meatballs, one bottle of teriyaki, and the whole can of pineapple and juice. I had it on my slow-cooker for about 7 hours on Low but I think the ideal time would be 4-5 only because I could tell that the meatballs closest to the side of the crock-pot were getting a little overdone. I removed the meatballs and then turned the crock-pot on high and added a little cornstarch to thicken the liquid. I then decided a little more pineapple was in order and added one of the single serve containers to the sauce. I added the meatballs back in and served them over 90 second Uncle Ben's Jasmine Rice. Quick and pretty yummy. I think when I do it again I will make my own teriyaki ahead of time only because the bottled kind is pretty salty. The leftovers were even better the next day.

Travel Spot: Tutto Italia

As I mentioned, my family and I spend our holiday break in Orlando. We were fortunate to have great friends who invited us to come along with them to their timeshare and even more fortunate to have my youngest sister-in-law and her husband join us in Florida for a few days prior to our time in the timeshare. In planning the trip, my girlfriend Pat made it a point that at some point during the trip we would be dining at her family’s favorite Italian restaurant in Epcot, Tutto Italia . Since we were staying at a timeshare with a full kitchen and had planned to try and eat as many meals outside the parks as possible, a splurge at a Disney restaurant wasn’t unreasonable and I looked forward to it.

Disney is famous for their outstanding efforts to preserve authenticity in their world showcase at Epcot but prior to this trip I hadn’t spent enough time at Epcot to experience it myself. So when we arrived at Tutto Italia and we sat down and were greeted by our server, who was 100% Italian and then I looked at the menu, I was certainly a believer. This is their antipasti platter:

Because it was prime busy season, dinner reservations were impossible so we were at Tutto Italia for lunch. Consequently, I purposely looked for a lighter dish and then came across their gnocchi. Have I mentioned my love of gnocchi? Or how many different times I have ordered it in restaurants? Or maybe how it is sometimes hit or miss? Gnocchi is on my wish list of entrees to attempt but I am still trying to overcome a dough phobia I seem to have developed over the years! So I continue to order it, always hoping to be impressed and greatly wishing one of my grandmothers had been Italian.

The gnocchi arrived and I was already impressed by its appearance and aroma.

One bite and it was pure heaven. Seriously, I mentioned it to the server that the chef was a genius. I made Patricia’s husband Joe taste it. Let it be known that both of them are of Italian heritage and Joe has vast experience with gnocchi. Joe was equally floored as I was to its lightness and flavor.  I cannot find a description that adequately describes the lightness of those gnocchi especially when often times they are doughy or so dense you want a nap after you eat too much. I am not ashamed to say I could have eaten two bowls, by myself, in one sitting with no stops for liquid. That…freaking…good!

So maybe this experience will push me to attempt gnocchi myself sooner rather than later!

Wordless Wednesday: January Meal Calendar

New Year, New Dishes, New Possibilites

Happy New Year!

You know what they say about good intentions, right? As in I had every intention of working on my blog during the holidays and it never came together. My company shut down from December 22 thru January 3 and it seemed reasonable that I would squeeze in a posting or two. Yet, family and friends took priority (as they should) and the below picture sums up what I did with my holiday break:

So, today I return to my beloved blog, excited for 2012.

As I start thinking about this new year and the upcoming adventures in food, I do find that there are some loose ends that need to be wrapped up for 2011 and some observations about the past year.

1. I was in fact crowned Hampton Road’s Top Home Chef in the first season of Cooking with Passion. It was an awesome experience as well as an eye opening one into the reality of filming reality TV. The respect I have for competitors in food challenge competitions is enormous and has done nothing but deepened my love for shows like Top Chef.

2. I was so inspired by my victory that as I previously mentioned, I auditioned for Season 3 of Gordon Ramsey’s Master Chef. I never did get a call back (and have heard the cast is set) but I remain proud of myself for putting myself out there..and I might even do it again.

3. I was offered my first gig as a blogger for a publication, only to have the opportunity dissolve at the last minute when the publication decided to go a different direction with its food section. That blog is still a good concept that will one day find a home. In the meantime, it’s title and content will still be something I will file away for the future.

4. I had a lot of plans of what I wanted/want this blog to be. But I have had to align the fact that I work outside the home full time, I am a mom, a step-mom, a wife, a volunteer at my church AND I am taking more graduate classes to further my HR career. I need to cut myself some slack for not posting every day or not as often as I want.

5. Never have I been more convinced that something food related is my eventual destiny as a career. For the time being it is a fabulous hobby that has unrelenting support from friends and family who I cannot thank enough for all of the encouragement.

Whether you are a continuous reader, a first-time lurker or just stumbled upon this accidentally, I wish for you a 2012 filled with adventure as you pursue your passion while I resolve to continue pursuing mine.