Penne Alla Vodka

This past weekend Evan and I were being pretty lazy people! Saturday night we stayed in and I decided to make Penne Alla Vodka, which I love but I haven't made in a long time. I found this recipe about four years ago when I lived with my roommate Maj. We would always go to Noodles & Co. and get the Penne Rosa. We loved it!! Then I came across this recipe and it seemed like it would be pretty similar. I made the recipe exactly how it said the first time, but slowly I started changing it around and it has definitely become one of my favorites! I hope you enjoy it as much as Evan and I do!

Penne Alla Vodka
by Lindsey

Ingredients:

1 (46 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup vodka (I have made it with and without the vodka and it is delicious either way!)
Salt and Pepper
Red pepper flakes (more if you like spice and less if you don't)
1 pound penne (I use whole wheat rice pasta, but any kind will work)
1/2 cup heavy cream (I know this makes is less healthy but it makes the sauce amazing!)
Flat Leaf Italian Parsley
1 cup spinach
1 container mushrooms sliced thin
Feta cheese (or your favorite kind of cheese)

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

In a large frying pan (with taller sides) heat olive oil and garlic over medium heat. Don't burn garlic, only cook till it turns a golden color. Remove pan from heat and add vodka. Return to heat and reduce by half. Add both cans of tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Simmer for a few minutes. Add spinach and mushrooms. Simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.

Salt boiling water and add the pasta and cook till al dente, 10-12 min. Drain well and add to sauce.

Add cream and stir over medium heat until you feel that all the pasta is coated in sauce. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Add parsley and feta right before serving.

Pot Pie And A New Twist On Rice Crispy Treats!!!!

Today started off pretty boring...Evan is sick (as usual) and it was snowing and slippery outside so I didn't really want to go anywhere. I started looking up recipes and decided I wanted to make a Chicken Pot Pie. I have never made one from scratch before so I was searching Food Network for some good ideas. I started looking at Ian Garten's recipes because I remembered seeing a show she did and her pot pie looked delicious! I was reading over her recipe and it seemed really fattening. I am sure it would have been amazing but since I have been trying to eat healthy it didn't seem like a good option. So I landed on Ellie Krieger, who I love! She makes such tasty but healthy recipes! I found a recipe for Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie. The best thing about the recipe is that most of the ingredients I already had, plus it didn't have any heavy cream and only 3 tablespoons butter. Here is the recipe but I don't have a picture....I totally forgot to take one! Sorry :(

Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie
by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients For Filling:

3/4 teaspoon salt

cooking spray

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups low fat milk

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup peas, thawed if frozen

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Ingredients for Biscuit:

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 cup low fat buttermilk

Directions:

To make the filling: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a large shallow casserole dish, or 6 individual casserole dishes with cooking spray.

Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the chicken with its juices to a bowl. .

Add 2 more teaspoons of oil to the same pan and heat it over a medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the green beans, garlic and remaining salt and pepper and cook for 2 minute more. Add the milk. Stir the flour into the broth until it is completely dissolved and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes more. Return the chicken with its juices back to the pan. Add the peas and thyme and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish or individual dishes.

To make the crust: Put the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 12 times, or until pebble sized pieces are formed.

Add the buttermilk then oil to the food processor and pulse until just moistened. Do not over mix. Drop the batter in 6 mounds on top of the chicken mixture (1 mound on each individual dish, if using) spreading the batter out slightly. Bake until filling is bubbling and the biscuit topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

• Nutritional analysis per serving
• Calories 400
• Total Fat 17 g
• (Sat Fat 5.7 g, Mono Fat 7.7 g, Poly Fat 2.7 g)
• Protein 31 g
• Carb 31 g
• Fiber 5 g
• Cholesterol 82 mg
• Sodium 600 mg

I loved this recipe except that next time I think I would add more fresh herbs. It could have used a little more kick on the flavor.

I invited my cousin Nicki and her boyfriend Andy down for dinner (since they live upstairs!). They really enjoyed the meal....I walked into the kitchen and Andy was practically licking the last bits out of the dish!

Andy also brought dessert with him! He made Rice Crispy Treats...a classic! But he added some Almond extract to them....I highly recommend this. They were amazing!!!

Hope you all had a good weekend. I am hoping this week brings good news so keep your fingers crossed everyone :)

Catching Up!!

Unfortunately I do not have a recipe today! It has been very busy these past couple of weeks and I really haven't cooked anything! But I do have some fun things to share. One of the more exciting things is that I got a call from a local hospital for an interview!! I was so excited when they called, not only because it was A JOB but also because it was for the Postpartum Unit!! If you know me then you know how much I love babies and this job is my dream job! I had the interview last week and I am just waiting to hear back. Fingers crossed!!

For Christmas my Aunt Jodi bought our whole family (cousins, aunt, uncles, boyfriends, and grandpa) tickets to see "Tony and Tina's Wedding." So over the weekend we got to go! If you have never heard about this show it is an interactive wedding show about a big Italian family. We fit right in! :) - It was such a fun night of dancing, eating, and laughing! Here are some pictures.

This was the wedding party

This girl was an actor who was suppose to be "the slut" of the show...Poppy just had to dance with her!

Jodi and Evan gettin' down!

Poppy and I

This was the "gay" actor and Pete sure liked him!

The show was amazing! But let me tell you it wasn't as amazing as when the PACKERS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!! It was such a great win and I feel like they deserved it so much!

This was the final score!! GO PACK GO!!!

My Valentines!!

Evan and I really don't get each other presents for Valentines Day, we usually plan on a night to go to my favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot. So since Evan and I planned to go to dinner this weekend I didn't expect to get anything yesterday. I decided on my way home I was going to stop at Culver's and get Evan a pint of cookies n' cream ice cream....trust me if you know Evan you know this is the way to his heart! I thought I was being all secretive and to my surprise I came home to a beautiful bouquet of flowers! I was shocked and very excited! But then I noticed a box on the table from ProFlowers that hadn't been opened....and my mom got me flowers also!! I had two great Valentines and I love them both!!!





Snow Day!

So the entire city of Milwaukee and many surrounding areas had a snow day yesterday! It was actually a lot of fun! Since I don't have a job it was just like any other day, but this time Evan was home and so were my cousin Nicki and her boyfriend Andy! I woke up to Evan and Andy outside cleaning up all the snow! We got 20+ inches of snow from Monday to Wednesday morning. It was nuts! Our back door had to be pushed open cause so much snow was piled up outside it. Nicki and I were able to get in a good workout to some workout DVDs, which was also a plus! Towards the end of the day Evan and I went to my mom's house to help her dig a path on the back patio...which had about a 4 foot drift on it. I was able to play with our dog Kaya in the snow and she had a blast! Her are some pictures of the snow.

This was our house in the morning!

These are some cars down the street! I felt pretty bad for these people :(

I am standing on my Mom's back patio here and the snow is up to my waist!

Kaya catching snowballs

My baby and I

The snow day was so much fun! I decided to make Chicken Piccata for everyone last night and it was amazing!! I got this recipe a while ago from my cousin Kim who lives in Kansas. I made it once when I got the recipe but had not made it again until last night. I used chicken tenders instead of whole chicken breasts. I did this because I didn't want to cut and pound out the chicken! The tenders worked great and I would probably do it this way again!

Chicken Piccata
by Kim Litscher

Ingredients:
4 chicken cutlets (or chicken tenders)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
fresh lemon slices
salt and pepper
flour



Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Coat with flour. Spray skillet with non stick spray. Add oil to skillet and heat over medium heat. Saute chicken 2-3 min per side. Transfer to a warm plate. De-glaze pan with wine. Add garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Add broth, lemon juice, and capers. Return chicken to pan and cook each side for 1 minute. Transfer to serving plates. Add butter and lemon slices to sauces. Once butter melts pour over chicken.

Prepare For The Snow!

It has been a pretty exciting week here in Milwaukee. We were expected to see up to 28 inches of snow from Monday to Wednesday....I think for once the weatherman was right! On Tuesday morning we woke up to a little bit of snow...but not a lot. We were expected to get the most snow on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. So I went to the store and decided to get some things for dinner. My friend Carly posted a meal on her blog ( http://carlyskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-meal-ever.html) a few weeks ago and she raved about it so I thought since I had the time I would make it. It was a ton of work...but totally worth it! The recipe is from Ina Garten. If you would like the recipe you can see Carly's blog but here are some pictures...

I also made the beans and garlic potatoes!

Evan is saying, "Don't take that picture!"

I also decided to make Ina's Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp. Evan is always asking me to make Apple Pie because he loves it so much, but I have to admit I am not a huge fan of Apple Pie. I decided since I had all this time because of the snow I would make Ina's crisp because she always makes it on her show and it looks so good.

It was delicious and with a little vanilla ice cream it was even better! I invited my cousin Nicki and her boyfriend Andy down for dessert also...they loved it too!

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp
by Ian Garten

Ingredients:
5 Pounds apples
Grated zest of one orange
Grated zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Topping:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound cold cubed butter

Directions:
Preheat over to 350* and butter a 9x14 baking dish.
Peel, core, and cut apples into large wedges. Combine apples with zest, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into dish.
To make topping combine flour, sugars, oatmeal, salt, and butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low until mixture is the size of small peas. Scatter evenly over apples.
Place crisp on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour until top is brown and apples are bubbly.

Hope you enjoy this recipe! Tomorrow I will have snow pictures and a delicious Chicken Piccata Recipe!

A Conversation with Bethenny!

I have to admit, I am totally obsessed with "The Real Housewives." All of them! But one of my favorites is New York and I love Bethenny Frankel! I have read both her books, "Naturally Thin" and "The Skinny Girl Dish." Soooo when I found out she was coming to Milwaukee to do a show I was pumped! I bought tickets as soon as they went on sale!

The show was awesome. She pretty much sat on stage and chatted about her books, her life, and everything she lives by. But the best part was that she really did have a conversation with the audience. She is totally down to earth and I love her even more!

Here are some pictures from the night. Sorry no recipe with this post but I have a good one for tomorrow!!

My friend Andrea went with me!

Grilled Salmon with Citrus Salsa Verde

For Christmas I recieved many cookbooks. One of the books I got from Evan's family was Giada at Home. I decided the other night that I wanted to make dinner from her book. The meal was amazing and I can't wait to make it again! The salsa verde that goes on top of the salmon could be used for so many things, it was so good. Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Salsa:
2 large oranges
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1/4 cup olive oil (I used a little less)
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 scallions finely sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (cut down on this is you don't like a little "kick")
Salt and pepper

Salmon:
Olive oil to brush on the grill (I used a grill pan since it is too cold to grill outside)
4 (5 oz) skinless salmon fillets
2 tablespoons agave nectar
salt and pepper

For Salsa: Grate 2 tablespoons zest from the oranges and put it in a medium bowl. Peel and trim the end from each orange with a sharp knife. Useding a paring knife, cut along the membrane on both sides of each segment. Free the segments and place on cutting board. Chop the segments and place them into the bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, scallions, mint, capers, and red pepper flakes. Toss lightly and season with salt and peppe. Set aside.

For Salmon: Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a grill. Brush the rack or pan with vegetable oil to keep the salmon from sticking.
Brush the salmon on both sides with the agave nectar and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 3-4 minutes per side, until the fish flakes easily and is cooked to medium. Transfer the salmon to a plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Spoon the salsa verde on top of the salmon.

Enjoy!!