Apple Raspberry Crumb Pie

 Raspberry Apple Crumb Pie

My husband requested this pie for his birthday and I found this recipe at Betty Crocker. I thought it turned out very well, especially the crust, but I was not too fond of the almond paste. It made the pie too sweet for me, so I think next time I make it, I will skip that part and instead throw in more raspberries!

You will need:

Pie crust recipe, Pate Brisee, found here

3cups thinly sliced peeled cooking apples (3 medium)

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons Gold Medal all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups frozen raspberries (from 1-lb bag), thawed

½ cup cubed or crumbled pure almond paste (from 7- or 8-oz package) Almond Crumb Topping

½ cup Gold Medal all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup butter or margarine

½ cup sliced almonds

To make:

I made the Pate Brisee pie crust recipe first, I froze one of the discs and then did this below.

Heat oven to 350°F.

 Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie plate  for one-crust filled pie.

 In large bowl, stir together apples, 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons flour and the cinnamon.

 Spoon into crust-lined pie plate. 

Sprinkle with raspberries.

 Sprinkle almond paste over raspberries.

In medium bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar. 

Cut in butter, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until particles are size of small peas. 

Stir in almonds. Sprinkle evenly over almond paste.

Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes, covering edge of crust with foil after about 30 minutes, until apples are tender in center and surface is golden brown. 

Serve warm or cooled.

Source: Betty Crocker

Pasta with Fontina Cream Sauce

Pasta with Fontina Cream Sauce

This was my first time cooking with Fontina cheese and I have to say that I really enjoyed the taste of it. I will definitely make this dish again!

You will need:
1 pound italian sausage or hamburger meat

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (28 oz) can crushed italian tomatoes

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp dried basil flakes

3/4 cup half and half

1/2 pound fontina cheese, grated

1 pound rigatoni pasta, cooked according to package

grated fresh parmesan cheese

chopped fresh basil

Directions:

Cook sausage in large pot. Drain off excess fat & add garlic, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, & dried basil. Simmer over medium heat for several minutes. Add half & half & simmer until sauce reduces to desired thickness. Reduce heat & add fontina cheese, stirring until melted. Remove from heat. Serve sauce over cooked rigatoni & garnish with parmesan cheese & fresh basil.

Chevy's sweet corn tomalito

Chevy’s Sweet Corn Tomalito

Many Mexican food chains call this a "Sweet corn cake". The masa harina used in it is just corn flour and can be found usually in the baking aisle by the flour. If it's not there then for sure check the Mexican/International aisle. 

The one I buy looks like this:

You will need:

4 cups frozen corn, thawed

1/3 cup butter, softened (2/3 stick)

½ cup sugar

¾ cup milk

½ cup masa harina

½ cup corn meal

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream softened butter together with sugar in large bowl with mixer until smooth. Add milk & masa & mix well.

Use blender or food processor to puree 2 cups of corn until smooth. Add pureed corn to butter/masa mixture & mix well. Add corn meal, baking powder, salt, & remaining corn & mix.

Pour mixture into 8x8 pan. Cover with foil and place the whole thing into a 9x13 pan. Add hot water to the larger baking pan until it’s about 1/3 full. Bake for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until corn cake is firm in center. Let sit covered for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur

Pate Brisee

Pate Brisee

So I read Martha Stewart's Pie book and this is the recipe she uses to make each pie crust, so I gave it a go and it turned out wonderful!

You will need:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

¼ to ½ cup ice water

Pulse flour, salt, & sugar in a food processor ( or whisk together by hand

in a bowl). Add butter, and pulse (or quickly cut in with a pastry blender or

your fingertips) until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some larger pieces

remaining. Drizzle ¼ cup water over mixture. Pulse (or mix with fork) until mixture

just begins to hold together. If dough is too dry, add ¼ cup more water, 1 Tbsp at

a time, and pulse (or mix with a fork).

Divide dough in half onto 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Gather 2 balls, wrap loosely in

plastic wrap, and press each into a disk using a rolling pin. Refrigerate until firm,

well wrapped, 1 hour or up to 1 day (dough can be frozen up to 3 months, thaw in

refrigerator before using).

Tip: When prepping the dough to go into the pie plate, roll the whole thing up

onto the rolling pin and then carefully unroll/drape it over the pie plate and gently

press it in.

Source: Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts Cookbook

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss

Wowzers! This was another huge hit!

Love the flavor of lemon, wine sauce, and capers!!

You will need:

1 pound penne rigate pasta or  anything you like, I used spaghetti

2 Tbsp EVOO

1 1/4 pounds chicken tenders

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp butter

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 medium shallots, chopped

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 cup white wine

juice of 1 lemon

1 cup chicken broth 

3 Tbsp capers, drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

To make:

Heat a deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp EVOO & the chicken to the pan. 

Season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken until lightly golden brown. 

Remove from heat and set on serving dish while you make the sauce.

 Return skillet to medium heat, add another Tbsp of EVOO, 1 Tbsp butter, the garlic, and shallots and saute 3 minutes.

 Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes. 

Whisk in wine and reduce liquid, for 1 minute.

 Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. 

Stir in capers and parsley. 

When sauce comes to a bubble, add remaining Tbsp butter to give it a little shine.

 Put chicken back in pan and heat for a minute or two. 

Toss the hot pasta with chicken and sauce. 

olive garden's garlic herb chicken con broccoli

Olive Garden's Garlic Herb Chicken con Broccoli

This is my absolute favorite dish to get at Olive Garden and I am so pleased that I can make it at home now!!

You will need:

1 pound chicken breasts

2 tsp EVOO

4 ounces dry orecchiette pasta

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp cornstarch

1 cup broccoli florets

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1-2 tsp dried basil, parsley, & rosemary mixture

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

To make:

Combine ingredients from spice mixture. Rub onto chicken breasts. Cook chicken in the EVOO until done and browned on each side, set aside.

Cook orecchiette in a large pot of salted water until almost done, drain and return to pot.

Stir butter and garlic into saute pan. Cook til garlic carmelizes, then add the cream and cornstarch on medium heat until it thickens to a sauce, and add that to the pasta.

Stir chicken and broccoli into the pasta. Simmer until pasta is done and remove from heat.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper!

Source: Thehomespunheart.blogspot.com

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

I am in love with this dish, I've had it at many restaurants and this recipe is even better than some of the restaurant version's I've had!

You will need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 ounces linguine, cooked al dente

2 tsp cajun seasoning

2 Tbsp butter

1 thinly sliced green onion

1-2 cups heavy cream

2 Tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

To make:

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the linguine in until al dente.

Place chicken and cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat.

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in butter until chicken is tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Reduce heat and add green onion, heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, basil, and garlic powder.Heat through and then pour over hot linguine and toss with parmesan cheese!

Source: Food.com

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

This made up the perfect side dish to just about any entree and my oh my are they easy and tasty!

You will need:

 red potatoes, I used about 3 pounds

chili powder

seasoned salt

pepper

butter

shredded cheddar cheese

ranch dressing

bacon, cut up (optional)

green onions (optional)

To make:

Dice up the potatoes into small chunks and throw them into a baking dish. Sprinkle all over with chili powder, seasoned salt, and pepper. Cut up a few tsp's of butter and place over top. Cover the whole thing with foil and place in a 400 F oven for 1 hour.

Remove from oven and throw some shredded cheddar cheese on top. Then drizzle ranch dressing over top. stir the whole thing together and put back into oven, uncovered, for about 5 minutes.

That's all! If you want to be a little fancier, you can also sprinkle chopped up bacon and/or green onions on top too!

Source: MrsHappyHomemaker.com

sloppy joes

Homemade Sloppy Joes

I love a good sloppy joe, so I decided to find a highly rated recipe and give it a whirl!

You will need:

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp prepared yellow mustard

3/4 cup ketchup

3 tsp brown sugar

salt

ground pepper

To make:

In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper, drain off liquids.

Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Source: All Recipes.com

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

*Warning*

These are so insanely delicious and addicting.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Let me go one step further and tell you that I wasn't too sure about these cookies at first, I mean they are flat. 

Flat, flat, flat. 

and I am not a fan of chocolate chip cookies.

BUT I made these and these are now my favorite cookies. Hands down.

I couldn't stop eating them (and neither could my husband, he had like 8 at one sitting).

So don't just take my word for it, try them yourself!

You will need:

1 cup (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter Softened

3/4 cups Golden Brown Sugar

3/4 cups Sugar

2 whole Eggs

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 cups All-purpose Flour

1-1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

1-1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup (rounded) Malted Milk Powder

1 bag (12 Ounce) Milk Chocolate Chips (give or take)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter, then add both sugars and cream until fluffy. Add eggs and beat slightly, then add vanilla and beat until combined. Add malted milk powder and beat until combined.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating gently until just combined.

Add chocolate chips and stir in gently.

Drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) BUT don't make the mistake I did at first, and make them too big. Just make a tiny, small amount of cookie dough because these suckers will spread out big time and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Bake less if you want chewy cookies; more if you want crispy cookies.


Source: Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond