Recipes from Blogs Challenge Pick #5

FYI ~ My posts this week are going to be spotty because DH is away on business and I don’t cook much when he’s gone so I won’t have anything to blog about

Here is my latest pick for my self-imposed challenge:

Garlic Chicken and Broccoli Pasta from Wills Kitchen .

I knew I was going to have to make this dish when I saw it on Will’s blog even though I’m not supposed to eat much pasta or cheese (I’ll make up for it in some other food area, LOL).  This dish is really easy to make and it is delicious.  It makes a fair amount which makes it good for a potluck or when you have company coming over.  I added more broccoli than chicken and I think you could leave the chicken out altogether.  I used a rotisserie chicken (gosh I love those things) instead of baking my own chicken which makes this dish even easier.

Will’s blog has some great recipes so I hope you’ll check it out if you haven’t been there before.

Happy Cooking!

Recipes from Blog Challenge Pick #4

I am woefully behind, I think, in my challenge so I’ll just add a new one every as often as I can instead of every week.

This pick comes from Sister Cooks which has allergy free recipes.  The recipe is Pasta with Mushroom Garlic Sauce and it is fantastic!  I made it as a side dish to go along with baked chicken drumsticks.  Everyone here loved it and I am looking forward to the few leftovers for lunch.  It’s very easy to make and you could easily use it as a main dish instead of a side.  Next time I make it, I am going to add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes for a little heat.

I hope you’ll give this recipe and try and check out the other recipes on the blog.

Happy Cooking!

Recipes from Blogs Challenge Pick #3

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies by Michelle of Something New is Cooking .

Oh. My.  These are sooo good.  I NEVER should have eaten one because they are REALLY hard to stay away from.  They really are easy to make although it took me awhile since I did one pan at a time and I only put 6 cookies on a pan.  I used parchment paper to keep them from sticking and it worked great.  Everyone here at home loves them.  These would be great to add to your Christmas cookies tray or any time you need a delicious cookie.

Thanks for posting, Michelle!  I hope that everyone visits Michelle’s blog as she has some really great recipes there.

Happy Cooking!

Recipes from Blogs Challenge Pick #2

I chose Garlic Red Skin Mashed Potatoes from Lovestoeat’s Weblog .  There are some really delisicous recipes there ~ try them out!

I chose this recipe for a couple of reasons.  I LOVE garlic mashed potatoes,  this recipe is super easy, and I was serving Barbecue-y Beef Short Ribs and I just knew the ribs screamed for for garlic mashed potatoes.  I know I’ll be using this recipe many times.  Thanks fo rposting, Lovestoeat!!

Happy Cooking!

Recipes from Blogs Challenge Pick #1!

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan~Sage Crust from Alosha’s Kitchen !!!!!!!!!!!!!

O.M.G. ~ these pork chops are DELICIOUS! I am ambivalent about pork chops.  I guess it’s from eating them as a kid when it was said to REALLY cook pork or you would get trichinosis.  So we ate overcooked pork chops.  I carried that in my head even when I got married and continued to overcook my pork until the past 5 years or so ~ funny how things you were told as a kid stay with you, LOL.  I still wasn’t thrilled with pork chops and pork in general.  I have NO idea what made me choose this recipe for my first pick but I’m super glad I did. I guess it was wanting to get away from shake and bake.

The pork chops were tender and cooked to perfection.  The coating was very good and, best of all, easy to make.  DH and I yummed our way through them and these will definately be a repeat in our house.  Melissa, I am so glad you found this recipe and posted it ~ it’s a keeper and I hope more people try it!

Melissa has some wonderful recipes and photos on her blog so I hope you will check it out if you haven’t been there already.

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie ~ on Thursday

Yeesh, where has this week gone to?

O.M.G. ~ this is DIVINE!  Creme brulee is my very favorite dessert and this is so easy to make.  It tastes like a fine restaurant dessert.

I used the broiler to caramelize the brown sugar because I could just picture myself burning my house down using the butane ~ somedays I shouldn’t even be allowed to use a knife, LOL!  I think it got a little too done in a couple of spots but we scarfed it down anyway.

I have a creme brulee set that I had never used so I used it ~ the ramekins and the pan ~ but followed the directions in Dorie’s book.  Perfect!

This week’s treat was chosen by Mari of  Mevrouw Cupcake

You can find the recipe on Mari’s site and you can check out what all the other bloggers are saying by visiting Tuesdays with Dorie

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

This week’s pick was made by Michelle of Bake-En and she chose the Dimply Plum Cake.  You can visit her site for the recipe.  Also, please visit Tuesdays With Dorie to see what all the other bloggers thought!

Well, I’d be lying if I said this was my favorite cake.  It wasn’t bad ~ just not my cup of tea.  DH thought it was good and ate a couple of pieces.  I did try it today and it is MUCH better warm from the oven on the day it is made.  The texture today is VERY dry.

It was easy to make ~ even halving and pitting the plums was easy.  Mine took the whole 40 minutes to bake even in my convection oven.

I did like that it was different from the usual cakes and I think it would be a good choice for a brunch where it could be served warm.

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart chose today’s pick. You can find the recipe on her blog. If you want to see what all the TWDers are saying, check out Tuesdays with Dorie . Thank you, Rachel!

On to the cookies. I had such high hopes for these cookies because I LOVE malts and I LOVE whoppers and I LOVE chocolate. I was so excited to try one. I am disappointed because I don’t taste the malt flavoring at all. Don’t get me wrong, they are excellent chocolate cookies ~ just not malty enough for me.

As for the recipe itself, I didn’t see the oven temp anywhere in the recipe. I baked mine at 350º in my convection oven and they were perfect at 11 minutes.

I also liked that this recipe didn’t make a ton of cookies ~ since we all know that me + chocolate cookies = Nancy eats them all. I used my tablespoon scooper to make pretty evenly sized cookies. Oh and I used chocolate chips.

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

This week’s recipe was picked by Stefany of Proceed with Caution . I LOVE these cookies. Dorie is right ~ it is a combo of oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies!

I didn’t chill my dough and really had no problem with it:

Ready to go in the oven

I just used my tablespoon scoop so that all the cookies would be an even size. The dough was great to work with. Oh ~ I used chocolate chips instead of chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Just out of the oven

I did let them cool on the sheets for a few minutes before putting them on the rack. I did this because we like out cookies underdone slightly so to keep the cookies from crumbling (*groan*), I left them on the sheet.

I think these cookies are awesome and will become a regular in my cookies jar. To see the recipe, check out Stefany’s site linked above. To see all the other blogs and what all the other bloggers think of it, check out Tuesdays with Dorie .

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

My favorite day of the week!

First off, I am NOT a fan of bananas…or banana bread. It’s totally a texture thing. However, I really enjoyed the flavor of this bread ~ maybe it’s the rum, LOL! I also had fun making this one ~ I love swirling the two batters together and trying to figure out when enough swirling is enough.

This recipe was easy to make and mine was perfectly baked at 1 hour 20 minutes. I used Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum instead of the dark rum but that was the only difference.

Ashlee of A Year in the Kitchen chose this week’s recipe and you can see the recipe on her blog. Check out Tuesdays with Dorie to check out how all the other bloggers did this week.

Happy Cooking!