Skillet Lasagna Alla Vodka

Alla yummy, it should say.  I really liked this a lot--9.5/10.  It's a bit of work, but not as much as regular lasagna, so it works for a weeknight when you have a bit of time.  I would happily make it again for sure, and with homemade garlic bread (as I did this time: baguette with good amount of butter and a bit of garlic salt sprinkled over, broiled).

Link to original recipe: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a49513/lasagna-alla-vodka-skillet-recipe/

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes (note to self: Caputo's brand (La Villa Romana) are perfect)
1/3 c. vodka
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt and coarse ground pepper, to taste
1/2 c. heavy cream
12 cooked lasagna noodles
1 tub (15 oz.) ricotta (note to self: used whole milk style, Frigo brand)
~1/4 c. basil leaves, torn in small pieces
1 1/2 to 2 c. shredded mozzarella

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (3-5 min).

2. Stir in the garlic and cook for ~30 sec.

3. Stir in the tomatoes and vodka.  Let come to a simmer and cover with a splatter screen.  Cook for 13 minutes.

4. Remove from heat, then stir in the red pepper, salt, and coarse ground pepper. Stir in heavy cream.

5. Prepare a large skillet by spraying with non-stick food spray or rubbing lightly with olive oil (I did the latter).  Spread a small amount of sauce over the bottom of the skillet (just enough to make a thin layer).

6. Lay 4 noodles across the top of the sauce, trimming the ends of them to fit as needed.  Top with half of the ricotta (I had to use my fingers to press it out in a sort-of even layer over the noodles).

7. Dot the ricotta with basil leaves pieces, then top with around 1/2 c. of mozzarella.

8. Gently spread just enough sauce to make a layer over the mozzarella.  Repeat this same layer order, starting with another 4 lasagna noodles.

9. Finish with last 4 noodles, topped with remaining sauce, followed by rest of mozzarella.

10. Cover skillet with lid and heat over medium-low heat.  Cook for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce

Really like the flavors in this sauce, but have to give it only 9/10 because the sauce is a little tricky to get exactly correct.  It also doesn't reheat very well, so you'd best eat it all up same night, immediately after making :)

Link to original recipe: https://iambaker.net/garlic-pork-tenderloin/

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise
~1 T olive oil, divided
~1.5 lb. pork tenderloin, cut in half crosswise
kosher salt
coarse ground black pepper
3/4 c. half and half
1 T. all-purpose flour
1 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/3 c. freshly grated Romano
1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano
1/2 c. chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 c. (lightly packed) baby spinach
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 450°F.

2. Place the prepared garlic cloves on a small square of aluminum foil, then drizzle with a little olive oil and close the foil around the garlic.  Place in oven and bake for 12 minutes.  Remove foil packet and set aside.  Reduce oven temperature to 425°F.

3. Meanwhile, season pork tenderloin with salt and pepper.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add remaining olive oil.  When oil is shimmering, add the seasoned tenderloin and brown well on all sides (around 6-8 minutes).  (Note to self: do not use cast iron skillet next time)

4. Transfer tenderloin to a small baking sheet and place in oven.  Bake for 25 min, or until internal temp reaches at least 145°F.  Reduce skillet heat to medium.

5. Add half and half, flour, and chicken broth to skillet, whisking to combine.  Continue whisking and cooking until thickens a bit, around 3-4 minutes.

6. Whisk in the cheeses and oregano.  Reduce heat slightly, then add the reserved roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, baby spinach, and cayenne.  Stir and cook until spinach has wilted somewhat.

7. Remove from heat.  Stir in pan juices from the tenderloin (if any).  Slice up tenderloin and top with sauce.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Roll Blondies

MMM.  These are soooo tasty!  Been craving a cinnamon treat lately and this hit the spot--10/10 for sure.  It was also the perfect cooking activity with my little sous-chef (my son) on a rainy, cool fall afternoon.  Enjoy!

Link to original recipe: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a26550193/cinnamon-roll-blondies-recipe/

Ingredients:

Blondies--

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 T. vanilla extract

Cinnamon swirl--

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened (**I misread this and only used half of this amount--still turned out!)
1/4 c. brown sugar (packed)
1 T. cinnamon
pinch of kosher salt

Glaze--

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 T. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Line a 9" x 9" pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray; set aside.

2. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and kosher salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Heat oven to 350°F.

4. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and sugar in a large bowl, using a hand mixer (**not really sure what difference this makes, but I did so anyway).

5. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

6. Gradually add dry ingredients mixture, beating until just combined.

7. Press mixture (as best you can) into prepared pan.

8. In a medium bowl, combine the ingredients for the cinnamon swirl. (**I did this by hand, as I didn't feel like messing with cleaning off the beaters; original recipe indicates to do with the hand mixer.)

9. Spoon dollops of the cinnamon swirl atop the blondies batter in pan, then, using the back of the spoon, gently swirl the dollops into the batter.

10. Bake until golden and slightly soft in middle--original recipe says 25-30 min, but mine were nowhere near done at even the 30 minute mark.  I was using regular bake, not convection, and ended up going 45 minutes total.

11. After blondies cool, whisk together the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the blondies.  Serve up and enjoy!

Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry

What a tasty way to have asparagus!  And a quick meal to put together as well--another 10/10 recipe :)  Better than most Chinese takeout, that's for sure.  Will be making this one again for sure.  Enjoy!

Link to original recipe: https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/chicken-and-asparagus-stir-fry/

Ingredients:

2 T. vegetable oil
1 lb. boneless chicken thighs, but into bite-size pieces (**you could probably use a bit more than this and still be fine, as there was more than enough sauce with the 1 lb. that I used)
1 lb. asparagus, ends snapped/trimmed off, remaining part cut into 1 inch pieces
1/3 c. reduced sodium soy sauce
1 c. chicken broth
2 T. hoisin sauce
1 T. bottled minced garlic
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil (**I used toasted sesame oil, as it was what I had on hand)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 T. corn starch whisked together with 3 T. cold water
toasted sesame seeds to top/garnish

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a wok (or large skillet) over medium-high heat (note to self: this is one mark past medium on my stove).

2. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, for around 3-4 minutes.

3. Stir in asparagus and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, chicken broth, hoisin, garlic, brown sugar, sesame oil, and ginger in a medium bowl.  Add mixture to wok once step 3 is complete.

5. Let mixture come to boil, then stir in the corn starch/water mixture.  Cook for 1 additional minute.

6. Serve with desired side and enjoy! (I served with boiled Basmati rice)

Garlic Mushrooms

Mmmmmmm. If you love mushrooms (and garlic) and like easy side-dishes, this is for you.  I love these enough that I could have probably eaten the whole pan alone as a meal.  10+ all the way!  Served it with strip steak, salad, and the bit of leftover fried potatoes from the day before.  Enjoy :)

Link to original recipe: https://cafedelites.com/garlic-mushrooms/

Ingredients:

4 T. unsalted butter
1 T. olive oil
16 oz. (1 lb.) button mushrooms, stems trimmed (not removed), sliced in half
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. Chardonnay wine (I used Barefoot brand)
~1 tsp. fresh, chopped thyme leaves
~3/4 tsp. fresh, chopped rosemary leaves
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until butter is completely melted.

2. Add mushrooms and stir to coat in the butter/oil mixture.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for around 5 minutes, or until mushrooms have softened and browned on edges.

3. Add garlic and stir to mix together evenly with mushrooms, for around 30 seconds.

4. Stir in wine and let simmer to reduce for 1-2 minutes.

5. Add the thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.

6. Serve with favorite main dish and enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin with Sage and Marsala

Happy fall, everyone!  Hoping now that summer travels are done and regular routine has returned, I can get back to cooking and blogging again :)  This recipe is pretty good...I'd say 8.5/10.  It's tasty and easy enough that I'd make it again, but it's not at the top of my 'must haves' list, if you catch my drift.  If you need a quick, tasty meal, this works very well.  Enjoy!
Side pictured is simple/no recipe fried potatoes.

Link to original recipe: https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/pork-tenderloin-with-sage-marsala-sauce

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin  (1.25 to 1.5 lb--mine was 1.25), trimmed and cut in half cross-wise (not length-wise)
~1/2 tsp. kosher salt (I did not measure)
2 tsp. pink peppercorns, crushed (I did not have these, so I subbed a grinder version that contained mixed peppercorns and allspice; want to try this again with just the pink if I can find--and I did not measure)
2 T. unsalted butter, divided
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. sweet Marsala
1 T. chopped fresh sage leaves

Instructions:

1. Position rack in center of oven (or in my case, bottom of bottom oven) and heat oven to 375°F (note to self: used "bake" setting, not convection).

2. Season pork with salt and pepper all over.

3. In a large, ovenproof skillet, heat 1 T. of the butter, and the olive oil, over medium-high heat.  Place pork in pan and sear/brown on all sides--around 5 minutes total. 

4. Remove pan from heat and transfer to oven.  Bake for 15-20 min, or until internal temp of thickest part of tenderloin is 140°F.  (It was 20 min for my oven.)

5. Transfer pork to a cutting board/serving platter and cover with foil.

6. Wipe away most of the excess oil/fat in skillet.  Place over medium-high heat and add the Marsala.  Cook, scraping up browned bits, for about 2 minutes.

7. Remove from heat and add the remaining 1 T. of butter, and the sage to the skillet.  Stir until butter has completely melted, then remove foil from the pork and pour over it.  Cut up, serve, and enjoy!

New Favorite Fried Chicken

Today I was in the mood to try a new fried chicken recipe, so I searched quite a bit and found a few that I liked, but nothing that fit exactly what I wanted, so I modified based off of what I have done in the past, flavors I was craving, and this recipe:

https://food52.com/recipes/446-classic-southern-buttermilk-bathed-fried-chicken

The result was what we all (me, my hubby, and my brother) declared was our new favorite among the fried chicken recipes I've ever made so far.  Followers of my blog will know that I've tried about a half a dozen varieties thus far, and I have to say that this really was the champion for a few reasons.  Not only is it a really great balance of flavors, but it's also easy to make, not overly greasy, and a good amount of crunch.  We could hardly keep ourselves from eating it all!  One key thing is finding chicken drumsticks that are not too big; I pay more for the smaller ones and love how they cook and stay moist better.  While my picture does no justice to the amazing-ness of this recipe, I hope that you'll give it a try anyway :)  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

around 3.5 lbs of chicken drumsticks (or whatever bone-in chicken pieces you prefer; adjust cooking times accordingly)

spice rub:
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried marjoram
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 T. kosher salt
1/2 T. coarse ground black pepper

around 3/4 qt. buttermilk
2 T. Tabasco

breading mix:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. rice flour
1/2 T. Kosher salt
1/2 T. coarse ground black pepper
1/2 T. paprika
1/2 T. dried rosemary, lightly crushed between fingers

canola oil for frying

Instructions:

1. Place chicken drumsticks in a large bowl.  Combine the 'spice rub' ingredients in a small bowl, then pour over the chicken and toss to coat the chicken as evenly as possible.  Leave on countertop to rest for 1 hour.

2. Pour enough buttermilk over chicken to cover (for mine, this was around 3/4 qt.).  Stir in Tabasco and leave to rest for 1 more hour.

3. Meanwhile, combine breading mix ingredients in a medium/large bowl.

4. Use a large colander to strain off the buttermilk from the chicken.  Leave to drain off while you heat the canola oil in a Fry Daddy (or cast iron Dutch oven, or other preferred oil-frying device) to 350°F.

5. Once the buttermilk has drained off, add some of the chicken pieces to the breading mixture and leave until the oil has reached temperature.

6. Fry in the heated oil for 12 minutes, or until internal temp of chicken is 165°F+. 

7. Drain on wire racks placed over paper towels or a rimmed cookie sheet.  Enjoy (a lot)!