What's for Dinner-Week 3

Week 3 began on a Sunday morning for Brunch at my Parents home.  My Mom made her famous egg pie filled with delicious veggies and lots of bacon and no brunch is complete at our house without Mimosa's.  :)  We usually serve the orange juice in a small pitcher however my Mom recently found these mini carafes and have been itching to use them.  Originally this idea was inspired by the wine carafes served at the restaurant Marche Moderne located in South Coast Plaza.  They present well and its great when having friends or family over because you can serve the individual carafes with their wine varietal of choice.  They are free to refill their glass at any given time. It's brilliant and so cute!

Later that evening I had a special treat in store...my hubby made me dinner!  Homemade Stuffed Shells...and let me just say that this wasn't just any easy peasy meal.  It was fantastically delicious and exploded with amazing flavor and tasted like it came from our favorite Italian restaurant.  Stuffed with Ricotta, Gorgonzola and Mozzarella Cheeses, he topped this delicious goodness with his own marinara sauce recipe packed with plum tomatoes, fresh basil and garlic. This dish was brilliant, yet so simple!

Lucky for us every so often my Mom gets inspired to make these fabulous meals.  Known for things such as Chicken Marsala and her famous lasagna, this time she attempted to take something that seems so difficult and turned it into a slow cooker wonder.

Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu 

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts (pounded out thin)
• 4 pieces of Prosciutto (adds so much more flavor)
• 4 slices of Swiss or mozzarella cheese
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (can use any cream soup)
• 1/4 cup milk
• Garlic to taste

Preparation:

Put prosciutto and cheese on chicken. Roll up and secure with a toothpick. Layer the rest on top. Mix soup with the milk; pour over top of chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve over noodles with the sauce it makes.  

*As I had mentioned in my recipe for Slow Cooker Sour Cream Chicken, I suggest using the Lemon Pepper Papardelle Pasta from Trader Joes.  It compliments the flavors beautifully! 

Coconut Curry Chicken over Basmati Rice with Sauteed String Beans

This dish had the right amount of heat and spices.  You can even slice your onion and mince your garlic the night before to make this meal even simpler.  

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.

Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. 

 

Date Night!

Date night was definitely a treat this week!  We attended a "Cooking with Wine" Cooking Class at the Wine Artist in Lake Forest. This venue is awesome!  There is ample space for prep and cooking, and then everyone congregates at a huge table together to enjoy all of the food we prepared.  Overall we made 4 dishes.... 

Two Apps, Pasta and of course dessert of Berries and Marscapone... and the best part was that all the recipes incorporated wine.

Cheers!

Here is what we made:

Ricotta, gorgonzola & mushroom crostini

Penne with artichoke & panchetta

Sausage & mushroom polenta 

Cocktail Party!

Jason and I had the privilege of hosting a cocktail party with friends on Saturday Night.  I love to entertain and it's a great excuse to get out all of the fun tasting party dishes!  Flavor is key however we taste with our eyes first and I looove presentation.  We started the evening off with cocktails.  Raspberry Champagne Cocktails for the Ladies and Mojitos for the Men. 

 Garlic Shrimp over an Asian Slaw

Yield: 12

Ingredients:

• 2 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, and seeded
• 1 large carrot, peeled.  Cut in half
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger root
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 

With a sharp vegetable peeler, cut the cucumbers and carrots lengthwise into thin ribbons that look like noodles. Combine the cucumbers and carrots in a large bowl with the remaining ingredients and toss well. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour (but not longer so the cucumbers do not get soggy).  



Garlic Shrimp 

Ingredients:

1/2lb cooked medium shrimp

1 tbls soy sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp oil

Heat oil, soy sauce and garlic on medium high in a pan.  Remove tails from shrimp.  Once the pan is hot add shrimp and cook on each side for about 30 seconds.  Since they are already cooked we are just browning them slightly and coating them in flavor.  Overcooking them will result in them being tough.  

 Mini Mac and Cheese's

Yield: 12

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ teaspoon salt
• pepper, to taste
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 
• ½ cup breadcrumbs combined with 2 tbls melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F

1.  Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside

2.  In a large saucepan melt butter.

3.  Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended.

4.  Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly.

5.  Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).

6.  Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) about 10 minutes.

7.  Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.  

8.  Turn off heat.  

9.  Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce.

10.  Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish.

11.  Sprinkle with buttered breadcrumbs.

12.  Bake 35 minutes until the top is golden brown.

 

Devils Food Cake drizzled with Dulce de Leche topped with whipped cream and a Maraschino Cherry

Ingredients:

1 Box Devils Food Cake mix

1 jar of caramel sauce

1 can of sweetened evaporated milk

Heath Bar topping

whipped cream

maraschino cherries

Directions:

1.  Prepare cake according to box directions.

2.  Combine caramel sauce and milk and stir together

3.  Cut cake into small squares according to serving dish size

4.  Pour about 1 1/2 tbls of caramel topping, drizzle with toffee pieces, top with whipped cream and a cherry