Fancy Macaroni

For the past couple years, the women in my family have worked ourselves silly preparing and cleaning up after Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals.  This year we declared from the get-go that we weren't doing it this time, we wanted easy, good food, and we wanted to have time to sit, visit, and play with the baby. 

For Christmas Eve, we decided to do a casserole and my mother in law put me in charge of finding a good recipe.  You know I can always count on the Pioneer Woman to drop a recipe of such mouth-watering proportions that I have to make it right.now and this time she did not disappoint.  As soon as I saw her post about Fancy Macaroni go up, I knew I'd found my Christmas Eve casserole.

It was so wonderfully good, the sauteed onions and all the yummy cheese, not to mention BACON, made this one spectacular dish.  Below is the Ree's recipe exactly as she posted, with notes for my slight adjustments.

Fancy Macaroni
Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Ingredients:

4 cups Macaroni
8 Tablespoons Butter
2 whole Medium Onions, Cut In Half And Sliced Thin
10 slices Regular Bacon
1 Tablespoon Bacon Grease (reserved From Bacon Slices)
¼ cups All-purpose Flour
2 cups Whole Or 2% Milk
½ cups Half & Half
2 whole Egg Yolks, Beaten
Salt & Pepper (to Taste)
½ cups Grated Gruyere Cheese
½ cups Grated Fontina Cheese (I used Butterkase because I couldn't find any Fontina)
½ cups Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
4 ounces, weight Chevre (soft Goat Cheese)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook macaroni for half the time of the package instructions. Drain and set aside. (I also rinsed the noodles with cold water so they wouldn't stick together)

Fry bacon until slightly, but not overly, crispy. Drain on a paper towel. Reserve grease.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a skillet and saute onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown and soft. Set aside.  (besides sauteeing the onions in the same skillet I'd cooked the bacon, I added the reserved bacon grease to the butter)

In a pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle in flour and whisk to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat for 1 minute. Pour in milk and half & half, then cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until thick. Reduce heat to low. Add salt & pepper to taste. (Do not undersalt!)

Beat egg yolks and drizzle 1/4 cup hot mixture into the yolks, stirring constantly. Stir to combine. Pour egg mixture into sauce and cook for another minute.

Add cheeses and stir until melted. Add onions and bacon and stir. Taste for seasonings and add more salt if needed. Add cooked macaroni and stir to coat.

Pour into a baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until sizzling and hot.

Mushroom and Leek Frittata

This recipe really fit the bill for our dinner the other night...it came together quickly and tasted great. However, I had no idea leeks were so expensive! Four dollars for two of those suckers. I think I'll reserve using leeks for special occasions and stick with plain ole onions. Also, the recipe called for basil which I'm sure would have been wonderful, but my basil plants have been gone for a month or so now, and yet again, store-bought basil is something I'll reserve for a special occasion. (Can you tell I'm grocery budgeting, is anyone else?) The directions call for using a couple pans and a bowl...I used one frying pan and everything turned out nicely.

Mushroom and Leek Frittata
Source: Elizabeth's Edible Experience
Originally from: Cooking Light

Ingredients:

Cooking spray (I used a little olive oil)
3 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
1 1/4 cups thinly sliced leek (about 2 large)
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 teaspoons butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 large egg whites
3 large eggs
2 cups hot cooked linguine (about 4 ounces uncooked pasta)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray or a tablespoon olive oil. Add mushrooms and leek; cook 6 minutes or until leek is tender, stirring frequently.
Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (milk through eggs) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add leek mixture, pasta, and basil; toss gently to combine.

Heat pan over medium-low heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add egg mixture; cook until edges begin to set (about 4 minutes). Gently lift edge of egg mixture, tilting pan to allow some uncooked egg mixture to come in contact with pan. Cook 5 minutes or until almost set. Sprinkle evenly with cheese; wrap handle of pan with foil. Bake 7 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into 8 wedges.

Penne alla Vodka

Yes, this is another guest post, but this time from my friend and (soon to not be) neighbor, Leslie, a.k.a. West 95! Leslie is sporting the cutest baby bump you've ever seen, she makes me wish I were pregnant again...whoa, did I say that? No, not really. Leslie is blessed with an easy beautiful pregnancy. Soon she'll moving WAY west away from me, all the way across town, and across the river, and there will no longer be 42 paces between her refrigerator and mine (for a glass of chilled wine, ya'all). I will miss her much, but I can't wait to take my baby boy to go visit her baby boy and watch them play in the mud together and eat bugs. Life will be grand.

***

Enjoy your noms! :)

Penne alla Vodka

Source: The Nest.com

Ingredients:

4T EVOO

1 med red onion chopped

1/2 cup vodka

2 cups basic tomato sauce (marinara)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 lb penne (i used rigatoni)

1 cup grated parm

1. Bring about 6Q water to a boil and add about 2T salt

2. In large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat until just smoking. Add onions and cook until light golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the vodka and cook until liquid reduced by half, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and cream and cook until the sauce has reduced by a third, about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the boiling water for 1 minute less than the package directions indicate. Drain the pasta and add it to the saucepan. Stir together over very high heat for 1 minute, until thoroughly coated. Remove pan from heat, add grated parm and toss to mix well. Divide the pasta among four bowls, grate fresh parm over each bowl and serve immediately.

Tacos in Pasta Shells

We love Mexican food at my house. Brent could easily eat tacos every day. So when I found this recipe, I instantly added it to my weekly menu plan. I made several changes to the original recipe, many of them came from the comments posted to the recipe. I love that aspect of All Recipes' website, reading people's feedback and suggestions is the best part of online recipe searching.
These tacos reheated great and tasted even better the next day!

Adapted from: All Recipes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1 package taco seasoning
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon salt
Chili powder to taste
30 jumbo pasta shells
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups taco sauce
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion until translucent, then brown beef until no longer pink; drain. Add cream cheese, taco seasoning, green chiles, salt and chili powder; mix and simmer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Toss cooked shells in butter.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Fill shells with beef mixture and arrange in a 9x13 inch baking dish; pour taco sauce over shells. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Remove dish from oven and top with the cheese, return dish to oven to cook for 15 minutes more.
Garnish as desired.

Ham & Shells Casserole

My mom gave me a whole stack of back issues of Taste of Home a few weekends ago. I've had fun flipping through them, using post-its to mark recipes I want to try. With family coming to town this week, I prepared a casserole I'd marked, hoping it would reheat well, which it did. The base for this recipe, carmalized onions and wilted spinach, was awesome. It's something I'm going to remember so I can incorporate the idea into other dishes. The only change I really made was to use more salt and pepper than the original recipe called for. It would have been very bland without the salt, so taste and season accordingly.

I would also like to add that I hate blogger and the fact that for no reason whatsoever it is doublespacing my ingredient list. I apologize in advance for the awfulness. I hope it doesn't keep you from trying a yummy recipe. If any of you Blogger users out there know what I've done wrong, please leave me a comment and let me know.

Ham & Shells Casserole

Source: Taste of Home December & January 2009

Ingredients:

1 pkg (16 oz.) medium pasta shells

3 large onions

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 9 oz. package fresh spinach, torn

1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

3-1/2 cups skim milk

1 cup park-skim ricotta cheese

1 cup (4 oz.) crumbled goat cheese

2 cups cubed fully cooked ham

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350°

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions in oil for 15-20 minutes or unitl golden brown. Add spinach and rosemary, cook for a few minutes until spinach is wilted.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and pepper until smooth and cook for a few minutes. Gradually add milk, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses until blended.

Drain pasta, place in a large bowl. Add the ham, onion mixture and sauce and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until bubbly.

Tricolored Rotini Pasta Salad

My mom has made this salad since I was a kid. I love to make it in the summer to go along with sandwiches for lunch. Let it sit in the refrigerator a few days, it will taste even better! I've made it with regular noodles before, but I personally think it looks prettier and tastes much better with the tricolored noodles.

Tricolored Rotini Pasta Salad

1 12oz box tricolored rotini pasta

1/2 yellow onion, diced

Green olives, sliced in half, to taste

8 oz. mild cheddar, cut into small cubes

Italian dressing, to taste

Prepare the pasta as directed. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Once noodles are no longer hot, pour them along with the onions, olives and cheese into a bowl. Add Italian dressing to taste, I think I use a little over half a bottle. Stir to combine, store in the refrigerator until serving.

Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad

For our Sunday dinner with my in-laws, I made PW's sundried tomato pasta salad. It was a snap to prepare. I actually put together the dressing the day before and let it yummy-inate in the refrigerator as PW herself suggests. I realize as I'm writing this post that I committed the ultimate sacrilage...I forgot the parmesan cheese. No one complained and it still got rave reviews, but tomorrow you can be sure I'll be putting some grated parm on my lunch leftovers.

Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad
Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

1 7 oz. jar sundried tomatoes in oil, drained
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

16 oz. corkscrew pasta
1 jar Kalamata olives
1 pint ripe cherry tomatoes, halved (I omitted)
Several fresh basil leaves to taste, julienned
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To prepare the dressing, put the garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, salt and pepper into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the tomatoes are chopped. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and blend until mixed.

Cook the pasta as directed, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the pasta (I used it all), add the olive and toss to combine. Add the tomatoes, basil and cheese and toss. Add the more dressing to taste. Garnish with more parmesan cheese and basil.

Mini Mac and Cheese Bites

I've made these awesome little bites about four times and this is the first time I've been able to get a decent picture before they were eaten. I served them last Sunday night with grilled hamburgers and fresh watermelon.

Mini Mac and Cheese Bites
Source: My Italian Grandmother

Ingredients:
1/2 lb elbow macaroni
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 packed cup)
4 ounces deli-sliced American cheese, chopped
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (I used regular)
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process and to keep the macaroni from sticking to itself.

Spray two 12 cup muffin tins with Pam and sprinkle half the Parmigiano cheese into the bottom of the cups. (Can also use mini muffin tins)

In a large saucepan, melt the butter, then over medium heat, whisk in the flour. Cook for two minutes until boiling. Whisk in the milk and continue whisking until boiling, about 5 minutes. It should be nice and thick. Stir in the American and cheddar cheeses until melted. Off the heat, stir in the egg yolk and paprika. Fold in the macaroni. This is also a good time to taste and season accordingly. I like to add salt and a lot of pepper during this step.

Spoon evenly into the muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano cheese. (I have decided to skip this step and put all the Parmigiano cheese into the bottom of the tins, I think it makes the bites a little too crunchy to have this extra cheese on top, but that's just our preference).

Bake in the upper part of the oven for about ten minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes so they don't fall apart. Use a spoon to remove them from the muffin tins.

Bruschetta Pasta

My basil plants are starting to really produce, so the other night I went out and harvested up a batch of beautiful leaves and created this pasta out of things from my pantry. I wish I would have had some dethawed chicken breasts, this would have been perfect with grilled chicken.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. penne pasta
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
Red pepper flakes to taste
Basil leaves, chiffonaded (is this a word?) Let's just say, cut into ribbons.

Cook the pasta to al dente.

Meanwhile, heat enough oil to saute the garlic and once fragrant, add the diced tomatoes and red pepper flakes to taste. Allow to simmer until the pasta is finished. Mix in the drained pasta and basil. Finish with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Scallopine

This recipe tasted wonderful, but I messed up the sauce somehow. The cream seemed to separate on me and it never really thickened. Good thing Brent isn't picky about minutia like that, as long as he has a piece of crispy bread to soak up the sauce, he's happy.

Since I'm pregnant and don't really keep any wine around the house, I had to use chicken stock for the sauce. I know it would taste better than stock, I wish I had sent Brent to the package store for a bottle of chardonnay.

I loved her method for browning the chicken breasts. The olive oil/butter combination made them taste amazing, plus the house smelled great from the browning butter. Next time, I think I'll use baby portobella mushrooms, they have so much more flavor (I sound like Ina).

Chicken Scallopine
Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

1 pound linguine
6 chicken breasts
Flour
Salt & Pepa
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced thin
1 cup dry white wine
1 lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 heaping tbsp capers

Cook the pasta until al dente.

Flatten the chicken breasts using a meat mallet, or whatever kitchen utensil you use for this task (I use a rolling pin). Season both sides with salt and pepper, than coat with flour. Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet, add the chicken and fry until golden brown (time depends on the thickness). Remove chicken from pan, set aside.

Add mushrooms to the skillet and stir to coat with the remaining oil. Deglaze the pan with the wine and the juice from the lemon (amount to taste). Cook for one minute, or until the sauce reduces.

Reduce heat to low (here's where I made my mistake, I think my sauce was still too hot when I added the cream). Add the cream, capers and parsley, stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and pasta and serve with crusty bread and parmesan cheese.

Penne Pizza Pasta Bake

I saw this recipe pop up in my Google Reader and starred it immediately. In fact, I think I made it the next day for dinner. I love making casseroles that leave us lots of leftovers for the next day or two. The food to dirty dish ratio is important to me during the week :) You can also make this ahead and freeze for baking at another time, if that's your M.O. I personally don't have the freezer space for doing this, but it sure would be handy! I ended up cutting the recipe in half and making it in a 9x13 pan.

Penne Pizza Pasta Bake
Source: Crista's Kitchen Creations

2 lbs of ground sausage (I used 1 hot, & 1 pound of hamburger)
2 jars tomato spaghetti sauce
16 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz chopped fresh mushrooms
1 lg bell pepper, chopped (I left this out, I don't care for green bell peppers)
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg pepperoni slices, quartered
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 boxes penne pasta

Preheat oven to 350°

In a large skillet, brown the sausage and onions. Next add veggies, seasonings, and sauce, and allow to simmer while cooking pasta. Cook pasta as directed on box, drain, and add to the sauce mixture. In a large bowl, blend shredded cheeses.

Fill 3 8x8 pans half full with pasta mixture. Next top each pan with a cup of the shredded cheese mixture. Top of each pan evenly with the remaining pasta, and then the remaining cheese. cover and freeze 2 pans for later. Bake in oven until cheese melts.

When preparing frozen pans, allow to thaw overnight and then bake at 350 for about 45 min, or until warmed through.

Pioneer Woman's Penne alla Betsy

When I'm cooking, Sadi likes to post up between the stove and the refrigerator. She's not really there to catch falling food objects or to beg for bites. I think she just lays there to inject herself into the center of my activities. She doesn't care that I'm stepping over her or hitting her in the back with the refrigerator door. She just likes to be in the middle of things.

This picture is a good example of Sadi's new springtime 'do. Any of you guys out there with an indoor lab know of that which I speak...their massive shedding capabilities, especially in the spring when it's warming up. To combat the vacuum clogging amounts of Sadi-hair that cover our carpets in the spring, Brent gave Sadi a #6 all over. I'll admit, it's helped with the shedding (a LOT) but it's made my beautiful shiny black dog kinda flat and dull. I've requested that next time he trim her, he avoid anything above the collar line and that he leaves alone my favorite part ever...her Burt Reynolds-quality curly chest hair.

Onto the food:

My husband loves shrimp so he was especially excited when I told him about this recipe, the Pioneer Woman's Penne alla Betsy. I need some help though, interneters. My tomato cream sauce was not creamy. It was very thin. Where did I go wrong? I've seen beautiful pictures of this recipe as prepared by other bloggers (and the PW herself). So, calling all chefs. Tell me, what did I do wrong?

Pioneer Woman's Penne alla Betsy

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp
• 3/4 lb penne pasta
• Butter
• Olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream
• fresh parsley
• fresh basil
• salt and pepper

Cook the pasta as directed, until al dente.

Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) the shrimp. Or be like me and buy pre-cooked shrimp in the Archer Farms bag at Target.

Heat about 1 tbsp butter and olive oil in the skillet, cook the shrimp for a couple minutes until opaque (I went ahead and did this step, even though my shrimp were pre-cooked, in order to warm them up and to season them). Don't overcook. Remove to a plate and let cool for a few minutes.

In the same skillet, heat 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute the garlic and onion for a few minutes. While it's cooking, use this time to remove the tails from your shrimp (if they have them) and cut them into bite sized pieces. To the onions and garlic, add the wine (I didn't have any wine in the house so I had to use chicken stock). Allow to reduce for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Now add the tomato sauce, stirring well to combine. Reduce the heat to low and add the cream, stirring all the while. Allow to simmer while you chop your herbs (I didn't have any because my basil plants are still babies, I definitely missed the green color and yummy flavor it would have added).

Add the shrimp back into the sauce, toss to coat. Add the drained penne to the skillet and stir it all up. Season to taste and enjoy with a crispy piece of bread! Yum!

Chicken and Mushrooms with Red Wine Sauce

Being 30 weeks pregnant, I have been really tired most nights and not cooking much. Brent and I decided to cook our Sunday dinner together so it would be more fun for me. We started with a recipe for one of Brent's favorite recipes, Chicken Marsala. However, we wanted to put our own spin on it, and since we didn't even use Marsala wine, we definitely had to come up with a different name, but 'Chicken and Mushrooms with Cheap Cabernet Sauvignon Sauce' doesn't have quite the same sound.

I tried a new preparation technique and was pretty disappointed with the outcome. Instead of putting the pan fried chicken onto a plate and covering with tin foil, I put it on a dish in a 200 degree oven to stay warm until the sauce was finished. When the chicken came out it was incredibly dry and tough. Ugh, all that hard work :( From now on, I'll stick with the plate and tin foil trick, and add the chicken back into the finished sauce to warm it back up before serving.

B&H's Chicken and Mushrooms with Red Wine Sauce

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

Salt and Pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

6 oz bacon, cut into 1 inch squares (I wanted to use pancetta, but the $2 per ounce that Target wants for it is highway robbery)

8 oz baby portobellos

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 1/2 cups red table wine

1 cup chicken stock

lemon juice to taste

3 tbsp butter

parsley

Between two pieces of plastic wrap, pound the chicken breasts until thin. Season with salt and pepper and coat with the flour, tapping off the excess. Watch as Brent demonstrates the rolling pin thrashing technique:

Next, in a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Place the chicken in the skillet, cooking on each side until golden brown and cooked though, about 3-5 minutes per side.Once cooked, transfer chicken to a clean plate and cover with tin foil.

Lower the heat a big and add the bacon, cooking until brown and crispy. Transfer to a plate with paper towels to drain.

At this point, I decided to drain some of the grease/oil from my skillet.

Return the heat to medium high and add the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until brown, about ten minutes.

Add the minced garlic clove, tomato paste and bacon and cook for a few minutes. Add the wine and stock to deglaze the yummy brown bits from the pan and reduce the sauce down to a cup and a half or so. Remove from heat, add the lemon juice and any accumulated juices from the chicken. Whisk in the butter until incorporated, add the parsley and season the sauce to taste.

Serve the sauce over the chicken and serve.

I served it with pasta (which we didn't care for), but only because I didn't think about making mashed potatoes until it was too late. Brent would have preferred oven roasted potatoes, but we were already making garlic bread (see earlier post) and I was using the ill-fated 200 degree oven technique, so with only one oven, three different temperature settings would have stretched my meal-planning capabilities and nothing would have been finished at the same time. I took the easy way out, even though it wasn't as good.

Expect compliments...Chicken Parmigiana Rolls

Damn baby, these look...professional!

And there ya go, Tall Dark and Handsome, the man of few words regarding my kitchen prowess besides, Good, Hungry and Ehhh, literally made my heart swoop with one sentence. And he was right, they DID look like something that an Italian restaurant would have on it's menu. Professional. Delicious. And they look like more effort than they actually required. What cook doesn't like that??

Disclaimer: I found this recipe on a blog hosted by a girl on thenest.com. I am BEGGING someone to recognize it and tell me whose it was so I can give them credit. (regrettably, I found it before I had a blog and I didn't realize that one day I would need to know who had created it). So please, Internet, help me solve this mystery.

UPDATE: Joelen, thank you so much for providing me with link to your blog with the original recipe. It was a great dish, thank you so much!

Chicken Parmigiana Rolls:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied

1 cup pasta sauce

4 basil leaves (I used more like 12. We like basil)

2 slices of mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 cup flour1 egg, scrambled

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon Italian seasonings

salt & pepper to taste

Open up the butterflied chicken breasts and cut in 2 equal pieces. With a meat pallet, pound each piece of chicken flat to form a paillard. On each piece of chicken, spread a tablespoon of pasta sauce. Top sauce with a 1/2 slice of mozzarella cheese, sprinkle of parmesan cheese and 1 basil leaf. Carefully take one side of the chicken and begin rolling it into a chicken roll. Secure chicken roll with a toothpick to stay intact. (I had to use about eighteen toothpicks, but whose counting?)

Dredge chicken roll in flour. Dip chicken roll in the scrambled egg. Combine the Italian season, salt, pepper and panko breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Coat the chicken roll with the seasoned breadcrumbs. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Place on a baking dish and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

And just so you don't worry about Gracie and Sadi, they had their treat while we had ours. But since they are always so jealous of their treats, they ate in the other room. Like I'd want that nasty thing.

Cabinet Sauce

Working late, nothing defrosted, a famished husband...sound familiar? Thankfully I had a few things with which to throw together a good weeknight meal, which I've christened Cabinet Sauce. Tonight, Cabinet Sauce consisted of shallots, garlic, red pepper flakes, capers, black olives, a can of diced tomatoes, chicken stock, and white wine (added in that order). I seasoned it with some salt, pepper and Italian seasonings. All this goodness, after saute-tion and reduction, was served over penne noodles with Parmesan cheese, some leftover fresh parsley and pine nuts. The Old Man usually reacts to Cabinet Sauce with trepidation...it's not always a home run combination. But tonight it turned out pretty good! Who knows, the planets were probably aligned in my favor. I don't care, I'm thankful that we didn't have to dump the whole thing and resort to Lucky Charms. It's happened before.