Three Cheese Sausage Quiche

This is my second recipe using Oikos Greek Yogurt. We really loved this quiche. I put it together the night before so all I had to do was pop it in the oven for breakfast. This was a nice guilt-free breakfast; I used low-fat sausage, 1% milk and the greek yogurt is fat-free.

Three Cheese Sausage Quiche

(Printable Recipe)

1/2 pound sausage, cooked and drained

3/4 cup colby-jack cheese, shredded

3/4 cup smoked swiss, shredded

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt

1 unbaked pie shell

Cook and drain sausage. Mix eggs, milk and Greek yogurt. Add cheese and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Grilled Greek Yogurt Chicken

My very first "Julie & Julia" moment! A few weeks ago I had a comment from Kristina at Stoneyfield Farms offering to send me some coupons to try their Oikos Greek Yogurt. I've never cooked with Greek Yogurt so I thought this was a great way to try it - free!!

My first recipe was, of course, grilled chicken. We absolutely loved this chicken! This is our new favorite. The chicken was tender and juicy. It had a little tanginess that came from the lemon juice and yogurt. The herbs smelled great while the chicken was grilling. I can't wait to make this again!

Grilled Greek Yogurt Chicken
(Printable Recipe)

2 boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp dry rosemary
1 tsp dry thyme
1 tsp paprika
1 garlic clove (minced)
salt
pepper

Pound the chicken breast to an even thickness. Combine the yogurt, olive oil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, paprika, salt, pepper and garlic. Pour over the marinade onto the chicken (I use a ziplock bag). Marinate for at least an hour or overnight. Grill for 10-12 minutes or until done.

Meow Monday

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

The cookie carnival is back! This month's cookie is Martha Stewart's Black-Bottom Coconut Bars. As soon as I saw the recipe, I knew that Tadd was going to love it! These were really simple to make. They turned out wonderful! Nice chocoately base and flavorful coconut macaroon topping - a kicked up coconut macaroon cookie. How can you go wrong with Martha Stewart?!?

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

FOR CHOCOLATE BASE

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

FOR COCONUT TOPPING

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1 package sweetened shredded coconut (7 ounces), 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling

For chocolate base: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang; butter bottom and sides of foil (not overhang). Place butter in a large microwave-safe bowl; melt in microwave. Add sugar and salt; whisk to combine. Whisk in egg, then cocoa and flour until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake just until sides begin to pull away from edges of pan, 10 to 15 minutes (do not overbake). Let cool slightly while preparing coconut topping. Keep oven on for topping.

For coconut topping: In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla. Gently mix in flour and coconut (except 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling). Drop mounds of mixture over chocolate base; spread and pat in gently and evenly with moistened fingers. Sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup coconut. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Lift cake from pan, peel off foil, and cut into 24 bars. Store in an airtight container 3 to 4 days.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/black-bottom-coconut-bars?xsc=eml_cod_2008_08_15

Steakhouse Chipolte Macaroni and Cheese

A couple of weeks ago LeAnn left a comment on my blog and listed her blog in the comment. I, of course, went to check it out. I came across a post with the recipe for Fleming's Chipotle Mac & Cheese. I knew this was a recipe that I had to make ASAP since we LOVE Fleming's Chipotle Mac & Cheese. I made a few changes to the recipe to suit our taste. This mac & cheese was creamy and cheesy. The chipotle gave it a nice smoky flavor. We loved it and will definitely make it again (for a special occasion). The original recipe is here on LeAnn's blog.

Steakhouse Chipolte Macaroni and Cheese
(Printable Recipe)

1 lb cavatappi pasta
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups half and half
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon white pepper (ground)
16 oz cheese - combination of sharp cheddar, medium cheddar and smoked swiss
1 Tbsp dried chipolte chili (chipotle chili powder)
3/4 cup panko

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large pot, bring 1 gallon of water to boil. Add 2 teaspoons salt and pasta and cook for 8 – 9 minute
Drain pasta and cool under cold running water. Pasta should be slightly firm. Toss drained pasta in oil and reserve
Melt butter in a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add onions and flour and cook 1 – 2 minute but do not brown. Add cream, half and half, kosher salt, chipotle powder and white pepper.
Bring pot to a simmer. Cook until sauce is thick, about 5 – 6 minute Blend cheese into sauce and add cooked pasta.
Pour pasta and sauce into a 9 x 12″ baking dish. Sprinkle top of pasta with panko bread crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cornell Chicken Marinade

I have several chicken recipes on my "to make" list that are marinated with vinegar. I decided to try this one first and see if I liked it. I really liked the chicken. It had a nice tanginess from the vinegar. I did think the vinegar came though a bit much for me - I marinated it overnight. Next time I would just marinate it for a few hours and see if that mellowed out the vinegar. It wasn't overpowering, just more than a "plain chicken" kind of girl liked. Tadd liked it.

Cornell Chicken Marinade
(Printable Recipe)

1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoona poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless chicken breast, pounded to an even thickness

Blend all (except chicken) in Cuisinart or blender. Pour over raw chicken and allow to marinate in the refrigerator, preferably overnight. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Grill chicken until cooked through.

Cheddar Bread

This is another recipe from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book. I loved the flavor of this bread. It is really easy to make and takes little attention. I prefer the Roasted Garlic Potato bread we made a couple of weeks ago just because I LOVE garlic. I doubled the amount of cheese and I would add even more next time.

Cheddar Bread

(Printable Recipe)

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 Tbsp granulated yeast (2 packets)

1 1 /2 Tbps Kosher salt

1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

3-4 cups cheddar cheese

7 cups all-purpose flour (you may need a little more so it isn't soupy)

Mixing the dough: Mix the yeast, salt, and sugar with the water in a 5-quart bowl. Mix in the flour and cheese without kneading, using a spoon or stand mixer with dough hook. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), about 2 hours. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, although it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded container (not airtight) and use over the next 7 days.

On baking day: dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Allow to rest and rise for 1 hour (or just 40 minutes is you're using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).

Twenty minutes before baking time, preheated oven to 450, with a baking stone places on the middle rack of the oven. Place a broiler tray for water on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread. (**I skipped the baking stone preheating in the oven; I just made the dough into a ball on the stone and let it rise on the stone**)

Sprinkle the loaf liberally with flour and slash a cross into the top, using a serrated bread knife. Leave flour in place for baking, tap some of it off before eating. Slide the loaf onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the boiler tray, and quickly close the oven door. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until brown and firm. Allow to cool before eating.

Meow Monday

Kahlua Pecan Pie

I saw this recipe on twitter last week. I had a bottle of Kahlua and a frozen pie crust that I needed to use so I decided to try it out. This was very different from our usual recipe with the addition of the evaporated milk. Tadd liked this pie a lot, but he said he prefers the usual pecan pie (Karo's recipe). **He ate almost the whole pie by himself**

Kahlua Pecan Pie
(Printable Recipe)

1/4 cup Butter
3/4 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 tablespoons Flour
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Kahlua
1/2 cup Dark corn syrup (I used light)
3/4 cup Evaporated milk
1 cup Pecan halves or pieces
1 (9 inch) pie crust -- unbaked
Whipped cream -- (optional)


Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, vanilla and flour. Mix well. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in Kahlua, corn syrup, evaporated milk and pecans. Mix well and pour into crust.

Bake for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 325F and bake until firm, about 40 minutes. Refrigerate. If desired, serve with whipped cream.

Cinnamon Snowballs

I found these cookies over on Cookie Madness. They reminded me of the holidays - I guess it was the cinnamon and pecans. The cookies were light and crunchy. We really liked them and they will most definitely be on my Christmas cookie tray.

Cinnamon Snowballs
(Printable Recipe)

8 oz butter (2 sticks) – I used unsalted and added 3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar (64 grams)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups sifted cake flour (7.5 oz/210 grams)
2 cups cornflakes, crushed after measuring
1 cup chopped toasted pecans (or walnuts)
Powdered sugar and extra cinnamon for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Cream the butter, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon with an electric mixer. Stir in the cake flour followed by the cornflakes and nuts.

Shape dough into about 48 small balls. Arrange on cookie sheets (these don’t spread much) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly and remove from pan. Roll in powdered sugar while warm. Sprinkle with some extra cinnamon if you feel like it

4 dozen.

http://www.cookiemadness.net/?p=4307

Cheesy Ranch Hash-Brown Potatoes

I found this recipe on Paul Deen's magazine website and I thought it sounded really good! I cut the recipe in half since there are only two of us. I used a bag of bacon pieces instead of frying up bacon and I also used a little more cheese than the recipe called for - I mixed in 1 cup of cheese and topped it with about 1/2 cup of cheese. I liked this. Next time I would add more sour cream - probably double it.

Cheesy Ranch Hash-Brown Potatoes

(Printable Recipe)

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (1-ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
2 (2.8oz) packages bacon pieces

1 (30-ounce) package frozen country-style hash-brown potatoes, thawed

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350˚. Lightly grease a 11/2-quart baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, dressing mix, and bacon. Add hash browns, stirring to combine. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish.
Bake 30 minutes; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly.

http://www.pauladeenmagazine.com/recipe_results.php?id=1275

Nutella Gooey Butter Cake

This is the second month for the Nutella Challenge sponsored by Bell'alimento. I decided to go with a Nutella Gooey Butter Cake this month. This cake is amazing. We absolutely loved it. It is ooey, gooey, chocolatey goodness! This is a great example to show that good food doesn't have to be complicated. This simple dessert is good enough to be served in a restaurant - at least we think so!

Nutella Gooey Butter Cake
adapted from Paula Deen

(Printable Recipe)

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Cake:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup Nutella
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and Nutella until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread Nutella mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Meow Monday

Easy Mexican Dip

This is one of our favorite dips to have during football season. I have to call it Mexican Dip because Tadd doesn't think he likes bean dip. It is so simple to make and it tastes great.

Easy Mexican Dip

(Printable Recipe)

1 can refried beans (I use fat-free)

1 packet taco seasoning

8 oz sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix beans and taco seasoning. Spread beans in the bottom of a baking dish. Spread the sour cream on top of the beans and then top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes - until cheese is bubbly. Serve with Fritos.

Blackened Chicken with Roasted Garlic Alfredo

Pampered Chef came out with a new Creole seasoning this month and I was lucky enough to recieve a bottle from the consultant as a thank you for her baby shower cake. The first thing I thought about making with the seasoning was blacked chicken alfredo. I had some left-over roasted garlic from the roasted garlic potato bread, so I threw that in too. This was really good. The Creole seasoning had a great flavor but wasn't spicy. This was a really quick weeknight meal.

Blackened Chicken with Roasted Garlic Alfredo

(Printable Recipe)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning

olive oil

1 container of Buitoni Light Alfredo

1 Tbsp roasted garlic

8 oz bowtie pasta, cooked and drained

Pound chicken breast to an even thickness. Drizzle olive oil over chicken breast to lightly coat. Sprinkle creole seasoing liberally over both sides of the chicken. Heat skillet on medium-high and add chicken. Cook 3 mintues on each side. While chicken is cooking heat alfredo sauce and roasted garlic. Add pasta and toss. Divide pasta between two pasta bowls. Thinly slice chicken and place on top of pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Burgers

These burgers were yummy! This will probably be my "go to" burger recipe from now on. They flavor was great and they were easy to put together.

We topped the burgers with Hamburger Heaven sauce - they are selling it at Publix now. YUM!

Ranch Burgers

(Printable Recipe)

1 lb hamburger meat

2 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

4 tsp Dale's

1/2 cup French's French Fried Onions, crushed

1/3 pound bacon, chopped

Mix all ingredients together and form into three patties. Grill until desired doneness.