Rosemary Parmesan Chicken Pasta

I used to get the Real Simple magazine at home. Unfortunately I have taught myself to cut back on certain things while I am job-searching. As tough as the market has been, surprisingly, I have not missed too much of my "luxuries" but this magazine sure is one of them. Fortunately for me, right before my last subscription a while back, I received a recipe booklet from them with easy recipes and this was one of my favorites! I did change the recipe around a little because the cheese and chicken liked each other a lot and wanted nothing to do with the pasta. I.e. there were chicken/cheese chunks throughout the dish.

Rosemary Parmesan Chicken Pasta

Adapted from: Real Simple

Serves: 4

12 oz orechiette pasta (or small shells)

3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, shred the chicken with a fork and set aside. Reserve 1 1/4 cups of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Return pasta to the pot and add the rosemary, pasta water, 1/2 cup of the parmesan, whipping cream, salt, and pepper. Mix and heat on medium-low heat until cheese is melted and creamy. Add the chicken last and then cook until warmed thoroughly, about 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese onto individual pasta dishes and serve immediately.

Wedding Cake Preservation

Earlier this week my husband and I celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary!! Well first, we celebrated by taking a cruise. It's a paper anniversary so our plane and cruise tickets were on paper. That counts, right?! Also in the name of tradition I decided to dig out our one-year-old cake top. I have to say I was pretty nervous.

We both agreed that it tasted amazing! For as long as I can remember this has been a tradition and some people do it, some don't. I have heard both sides of the story: it tasted just like it was fresh, and that it was disgusting. This one was amazing!!

I am not sure if it was the cake itself or the preservation method but I wanted to share this success with everyone. First, our cake was a buttercream cake with buttercream frosting from a local bakery called Heavenly Sweets. It is also where I got the birthday cake for my moms boyfriend. Second, I do believe that preservation is key to making this a success. This cake never was thawed, never met any liquid and it was immediately frozen the very next day it was eaten at our wedding. My mom kept it until about a month ago and we transported it (in a cooler I might add) to our house.

Upon taking the package apart, this is what I found had been done to preserve this oh-so-delicious cake.

~The cake top itself was sitting on top of a piece of cardboard (probably provided by the bakery).

~The cake top was then set inside of a large paper/cardboard box (shown above).

~The box was then wrapped in 2 layers of plastic wrap allowing no frost to get inside.

To thaw, I simply let it sit, still wrapped, out on the counter all day and we ate it around 4pm on the day of our anniversary. We got married 1 year prior at 6:00pm!

Here is a look at the beautiful cake (that I .. um .. had two pieces of). None of my friends were around so the rest went to waste. I didn't want to ruin a good thing and assume it would stay in the fridge another day. No need to jinx it.

So if you are looking for a do-it-yourself cake preservation method, this one is tried and true!!

Grilled Beans

For not really ever liking baked beans growing up, I sure do have a lot of recipes on here for beans. Although my traditional baked beans are still my favorite, this goes perfectly with grilled chicken since the sauce is the same and it's oh-so-delicious. I would say these remind me more of fall and the other ones really are a spring/summer dish. These baked beans are so easy to make and really do make a perfect side dish to any BBQ you are planning!

Grilled Beans

Adapted from: Low-Fat Cooking on the Grill

1.5 cups tomato sauce (marinara sauce)

1.5 Tbsp finely packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp ginger, grated

1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cans pinto beans (15-oz each), rinsed and drained

In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, ginger, vinegar, and garlic. Place mixture into a medium to large saucepan and add the beans. Bring to a slight boil and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes, until beans are slightly coated and sauce is thickened.

Pour beans into a disposable foil pan and cover with foil. While grilling chicken or cooking your main meal on the grill, place the beans on the side of the grill for 10 minutes to reheat. Serve warm with grilled chicken!

*Note: If you are making the grilled chicken recipe, the sauce measurements for that are enough for both the chicken AND the beans. I halved this recipe in case you are only making these beans by themselves.

Texas Barbecued Chicken

I love chicken. I've never really admitted this, but I only really like the boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They are just so much easier to work with and I feel like you get more meat out of it; there are just too many fatty parts of a chicken leg. Against my better judgement I decided to tackle the bone-in chicken for once. I knew I couldn't fry it. One, I don't have the patience for that, and two, I've attempted it so many times I know when to admit defeat. Well grilling is much easier, but still takes a very long time. The recipe said to grill them for 20 minutes but we cooked them for about 35 minutes and they still weren't totally done. Unfortunately for us, the gas went out on the grill right at that time so that's what we had to work with. I think this would be a great recipe for wings, though. The sauce is AMAZING!

Texas Barbecued Chicken

Adapted from: Low-Fat Cooking on the Grill

3 cups tomato sauce (marinara sauce)

3 Tbsp firmly packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp ginger, grated

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 whole chicken legs (2 lbs total), split and skinned

Preheat the grill to medium heat. When ready to cook, spray the rack off the grill with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, ginger, red wine vinegar, and garlic. You can use 1.5 cups of the mixture to make a side of beans with (recipe here). The rest is used for coating the chicken.

Grill the chicken, covered, turning occasionally and basting with the remaining tomato sauce. Continue to cook for 15-20 minutes on medium heat and then turn the heat up to medium-high for another 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Note: You can also make sure that your grilled chicken is always done inside by cooking them prior to grilling in a crockpot or boiling on the stove. Be sure to not over-cook them though. You will want to cook 3/4 of the way and then grill the rest. This significantly cuts down on grilling time (and I always do it for my ribs).

Old-Fashioned Coleslaw

Travel Note: My husband and I will be on a cruise this week celebrating our one year anniversary. Today we will be enjoying Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.

It's almost that time of year again .. Fall. I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like fall. My husband only likes it because of the food and the weather; otherwise he hates that the next season is his least favorite: winter. Let's not rush that one, though. Fall reminds me of gourds, pumpkins and more fun flavors. One that I have yet to try (and that I have protested all my life) is coleslaw. I never eat it when it comes on the side at a restaurant. I never have made it before. Although this recipe needed some tweaking (I used a LOT less mustard), it was a pretty good start to a classic dish. I am trying to eat healthier now and vegetables are one category that I like to not veer from my "norms". This was one recipe I'm sure glad I didn't pass up.

Old-Fashioned Coleslaw

Adapted from: Low-Fat Cooking on the Grill

3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

2 Tbsp reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 head cabbage, shredded

2-3 carrots, shredded

In a large bowl combine all ingredients except cabbage and carrots. Mix well. Add cabbage and carrots and toss to combine evenly. Cover and refrigerate before serving. Best if eaten same day for crisp cabbage.

Pink Martinirita

Everyone needs a quick go-to drink for any occasion. I stumbled upon this drink by a friend and it was unbelievably good!! It is an alcoholic drink, so if you are a non-drinker (or expecting) then you may very well make this to sip on without the alcohol. I have tried the alcoholic version and it is fabulous. It is also cute and pink so would go well with a bridal shower theme or even a girl's baby shower (the non-alcoholic version for the mom-to-be). I also found out a few weeks after having the drink that it's actually called Skip and Go Naked.

Pink Martinirita

Adapted by: Kelly's Kitch original

1/2 can frozen pink lemonade

1/4 cup vodka

3/4 cup beer (sounds gross but don't skip this)

ice

Blend all ingredients together (filling ice to almost the top of the blender) until pureed. Enjoy a non-alcoholic version by simply omitting the alcohol and it's still a delicious treat!

Carrot and Zucchini Bars

If you need to hide your vegetables to eat them, here is your recipe! I love my veggies, however, my husband will not eat anything green .. no matter what. This is such a delicious (albeit not the healthiest) way to get your vegetables in and dessert. I have always had a huge crush on carrot cake; I even insisted that I get a side sheet cake at my wedding just so I could have carrot cake. This is also a great recipe for carrot cake if you wanted to experiment around with it. The cream cheese frosting was the perfect amount of sweetness to top off the bars, too. I probably will make 1.5x the batch next time because I have a huge sweet tooth. The recipe below is the original amount.

Carrot and Zucchini Bars

Adapted from: New Cookbook, Bridal Edition (Better Homes & Garden)

For the bars:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1.5 cups shredded carrot

1 cup shredded zucchini

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup dry cranberries (or raisins)

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup cooking oil (I used canola)

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

For the frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ginger and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients (for the bars) until well blended. Pour that mixture into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Spread batter evenly into an ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool bars in the pan on top of a cooling rack.

While bars are cooking, mix cream cheese and powdered sugar together in a stand mixer on medium speed with the wire whip attachment. Whip frosting until fluffy and add the lemon zest. Mix batter for another minute and spread over cooled bars. Cut into bars and serve!