Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Panini

I heart cheese. That's not news. I heart paninis, too, and that's probably equally newsworthy. There's a panini blog I follow, Panini Happy. She has all sorts of amazing sandwiches on there that I'm dying to try. Ummm...grilled mac and cheese with pulled pork?! Yes, please!! I had seen her post about this Green Goddess Grilled Cheese on St. Patrick's Day and thought it sounded fantastic. I found myself needing to be somewhere near our Saturday's Farmer's Market recently and decided to stop in to get the fresh herbs I'd need to make this.

Panini Happy's Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Panini
Source: PaniniHappy.com

1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 oil-packed anchovy, finely chopped
1 teaspoon lime zest (about 1 lime)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into smaller cubes
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
8-12 slices sourdough bread
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Add garlic and anchovies to a mini-prep food processor and pulse for a few seconds until it’s really finely chopped, almost like a paste (if you don’t have a food processor, you can always just chop the ingredients really well with a knife on a cutting board).

Add in the lime zest, parsley, tarragon, cilantro, basil, shallot, mustard and cream cheese and pulse again until well blended. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and stir in the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.

Preheat the panini grill to medium-high heat.

For each sandwich: Spread a generous amount of the cheese mixture onto one slice of bread. Close the sandwich with a second slice of bread. Brush a little olive oil on top. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes until the cheese is melted and oozy and the bread is toasted. Serve immediately and enjoy!

*****

I'm lazy and didn't chop everything on my own...I tossed it all in my food processor to let it work for me. What's the point of having machines in my kitchen and me doing all the work they can do? Oh, but I didn't have any shallots. I don't know why my grocery store is so hit or miss with shallots. they aren't that uncommon an item are they? Oh what I'd give to have a store that carries everything nearby. I shouldn't complain...when we first moved to this area there was only one grocery store. Now I at least have choices. Anyway.

The cheese filling on this was FANTASTIC. Before it cooked it had a really garlicky bite to it, but that mellowed a lot while the cheesy goodness melted while the sandwich was on the panini press. My only complaint was my bread choice. I didn't buy sourdough bread for this because I figured we could just use the regular whole wheat bread we use on a regular basis. I was WRONG. Don't make my same mistake. This sandwich needs a sturdy bread, not lame-o Oroweat Double Fiber Whole Wheat bread. And be generous with the filling on said sturdy bread. It's worth it. Oh, and don't forget to put the leftover spread away and sitting on your kitchen counter all night because you'll be a sad cheese-lover in the morning when you come downstairs and discover your mistake. I'm just saying...learn from my mistake.

I'd totally make this again but only with a better kind of bread.

Sandwich filling:

Confetti Corn

My entire family came over for dinner on Saturday night because my grandmas and my cousin hadn't seen the new house yet. I had a bunch of corn in the freezer from my recent purchase of 48 ears (ugh...I'm so done with cooking corn!), and I thought there were a couple different Barefoot Contessa corn recipes from which to choose. The first cookbook of hers I grabbed off my shelf--"Back to Basics"--had a corn dish in it that sounded fantastic and easy. That's one of the things I love most about Ina's recipes, none of them require a lot of ingredients, but the ingredients they do use need to be high quality and fresh so you can really appreciate the taste. I'd much rather prepare dishes that way than ones that require 30 different ingredients.

Barefoot Contessa's Confetti Corn
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, All Rights Reserved

2 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 small orange bell pepper, 1/2-inch diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kernels cut from 5 ears yellow or white corn (4 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil, minced fresh chives, and/or minced fresh parsley leaves

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the bell pepper and saute for 2 more minutes.

Add the butter to the pan and allow it to melt. Over medium heat, add the corn, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the corn just loses its starchiness. Season to taste, gently stir in the basil or other green herbs, and serve hot.

*****

I don't know if I've gone on before about olive oil, but it really does make a huge difference to use good quality olive oil instead of whatever is cheapest at the store. I used to be one of the "buy whatever is cheapest" shoppers until I was at Sur La Table one day and was convinced by the sales lady to try an olive oil they had on special. Oh man, did it ever make a difference!! You could taste how much better it was, and the smell is so flowery and yummy and awesome. If you don't already, try buying a really good olive oil sometime and put a little in a dish and put some of the cheap stuff in a dish. Dip some bread in each (don't mix them, you want to taste each on its own) and see what I mean.

Back to my review, this was super easy to make, and it was a huge hit!! Everyone really liked it. My mom was still talking about it yesterday when I called her for something. I think I cooked the onions a bit too long because they were starting to take on that gray tinge that cooked red onions can have, but they were still good. This was a great summer dish, and so flavorful and pretty! Now I'm kind of glad I have all that corn in my freezer!

Veggie Pesto PIzza

I realized I forgot to mention a couple other recent happenings around here that have contributed to my lack of blog posting. I finally had Lasik done!!! I was beginning to wonder if I was not meant to ever get it because I had to change from my original date so we could go to a seminar at church (that totally wasn't worth it), then both my kids got pink eye and they wouldn't let me get it done in case I ended up getting it too (which I did). So Friday was the day, and I have to say my life has been changed!!! It was definitely creepy--reminded me entirely too much of this scene from "A Clockwork Orange"--but so worth it in the end!

The other exciting happening is that my friend Jen had her twin baby girls on Friday!!! I guess it really has nothing to do with my lack of blogging, but it's very exciting!! I got to spend a good chunk of the day at the hospital with them yesterday, and aside from my own kids, they are some of the cutest babies ever!! Warning: snuggling with two cute newborn baby girls that have red bows in their hair WILL induce baby fever. And if it doesn't, there might be something wrong with you.

Anyway, I figured Jen would come home from the hospital today or tomorrow, so I slated this dinner in case they wanted me to bring some to them, as I know it's one of their favorites as well. Jen's mom is coming to stay with them for awhile, and Jen thought she'd probably want to make them dinner, but I kept it on the menu for tonight just in case. I'm really excited to have it!! It's been awhile, and lately all we've had is pepperoni or cheese pizza, so a good, homemade, veggie pizza will be fantastic!!

Veggie Pesto Pizza

Basil Pork Chops

I just got an angry phone call from my friend Jen B. yelling at me for not updating my blog in so long. She's right--I've been a total slacker. I'm thinking I don't like the new format I was going to try. I figure it's better to just post and then go back and add the picture in when (okay, if...) I take one. So I'm going back to my old way, then I'm guaranteed to update more often.

I have a couple entries to go back and post about, but I figured I'd start with what we're having tonight and then at some point go back and fill you all in on what you've missed. Or rather what I can remember that I've made over the last couple weeks.

I had planned on doing a pork crockpot recipe tonight, but then I realized I didn't have a very necessary ingredient, so I needed to come up with something else. I was going to make gnocchi with pesto, chicken, and mozzarella, but I remembered I used the last of my pine nuts last night. The only other nuts I have on hand are pecans which might be kind of weird. Jen called asking about our friend Danielle's pork chop recipe that I've made a few times, and since I had already thought about doing something with pork I figured I'd just go ahead and make that too.

Danielle's Basil Pork Chops

I don't have any mushrooms on hand, so I'm skipping that part of the recipe. This is so yummy and really easy. Last time we had it the husband said it was probably his favorite pork chop recipe, so I'm sure he'll be pleased to hear that's what's on the menu for tonight. I have two butternut squash I need to be using soon, so I think I'm going to make Barefoot Contessa's Caramelized Butternut Squash as a side dish and then maybe some broccoli or green beans to go with it.

Strangely the boy has gone back to napping after not doing so for months, so I've been having lovely quiet afternoons while both my kids nap at the same time. If I can convince him to nap again tomorrow I'll make sure I put "update blog" on my to-do list for the afternoon!

Basil Pork Chops

Sorry for another hiatus! This summer has been absolutely crazy, and really it's not letting up anytime soon (even though summer is almost done). My mom did a staycation this past week at a resort in Scottsdale, so we spent some time up there with her. My friend Jen B. went with us last Wednesday and we hung out at the pool and had lunch. I didn't make dinner because I was still full from the yummy bacon burger I had for lunch--a total indulgence for me! Thursday the boy spent the night with my mom, so the husband, baby, and I went out to dinner at Los Dos Molinos, a Mexican restaurant near us that I'd wanted to try for a long time. Then Friday the husband, baby, and I headed up to the resort for the weekend. It was a great time, although it got off to a really rocky start. We witnessed a horrific car accident. Not a fun way to start our fun weekend--especially since I initially thought the husband had been hit by the car that ran a red light. Oh man...sucky, let me tell you! Anyway, we came home yesterday, but after a big breakfast we weren't really hungry for dinner. So now today it's back to it, but only for a few days. I think next year I'm making no travel plans!!

I had originally slated a new recipe for tonight from the Meal Planning 101 blog that I like so much, but after looking at the recipe again today I decided I didn't want to have to go get ingredients for it. I thought I had more of what it called for, but when I realized I'd need about five things for it I figured it wasn't worth it. Plus I couldn't have made it to the store anyway as the boy napped until 4:15 and the baby is still sleeping! I remembered this recipe that I had made awhile ago and really liked. The mushrooms in it stuck out and is how I remembered it. My mom gave me some mushrooms she wasn't going to use, and they really need to be used up today, so I thought this was perfect for tonight.

Basil Pork Chops

I think on the side we're going to have something similar to a potato recipe I made awhile back from Cook's Illustrated:

Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Chili and Cumin

The chili and cumin is a variation on the original recipe, I'm just going to skillet roast them with the olive oil and salt. When we were at Trader Joe's lately the boy picked up a bag of red, white, and blue potatoes (which is funny since he doesn't like potatoes), so I'm going to use those for it. Not sure on a veggie yet, maybe carrots or green beans because I know I have both of those in the pantry.

Pioneer Woman's Pasta & Eggplant

I was at Trader Joe's last week and saw a package of two eggplant that I just had to have. I love the color of eggplant, plus it was pretty inexpensive. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, I just knew I had to buy it. I thought about Eggplant Parmesan, but it's so time consuming and heavy and not very healthy. Then I remembered this Pioneer Woman recipe. When I looked it up on my blog I discovered I hadn't made it since February. I have all the ingredients on hand (except the mushrooms, but I think that was an addition made by my friend Jen B., not something in the original recipe.

Pioneer Woman's Pasta & Eggplant

Funny, if you read that post I say how the day previous was horrible, but now I have no idea what had happened that was so bad. I'm sure it was related to the boy, but other than that I couldn't tell you. Kind of like childbirth I guess...you don't remember how truly terrible it was. ;)

Pesto

Don't you just love the smell of fresh basil? Oh man...I sure do. And don't you love the texture of parmesan cheese you've grated from a big block of the stuff? I do...it's so soft, I want to make a pillow out of it. If the pillow wouldn't get really smelly and stinky after awhile. And don't you love smashing garlic with the back of a knife? Talk about a good way to get out your aggression! These were the things I was thinking about today when I whipped up a batch of basil. I had planned on actually using the basil for something tonight, but since I still can't really taste anything, I hate to waste another yummy-sounding new recipe when I can't even tell what I'm eating. I didn't want my basil to go bad, so I made the pesto I'll need for the recipe when I can finally make it. This way I can just stick it in the freezer and have it when I need it. Jen B. made pesto last week I think it was, and I was going to use her recipe, but I wanted to find one with a little less oil so it would be a little lower in fat...even though olive oil is a good fat. So, I went to my trusty "need to find a recipe" website, RecipeZaar.com, and found one that sounded easy and had great reviews.

Pesto
Recipe #49909

2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, cooled
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil, depending on how creamy you want it

Put first four ingredients into food processor. Pulse to blend. Slowly add oil through feed tube to make a nice paste.

*****

I've decided I need a bigger food processor. I think mine is a seven cup, and it was just barely the right size for this. I'd like one I could do dough in, although I don't have a need for that very often. So probably in reality I'm fine with the food processor I have. I just had to stop every now and then and push everything down towards the blades so all the basil leaves would get chopped up. I'm not sure how much oil I ended up adding, I just streamed it in without measuring. I really don't like to measure things I've decided--so I guess it's good I like cooking more than baking.

Paninis

I still have some goat cheese left from my Costco purchase awhile back, and I want to be using it up. Awhile back we had some really good goat cheese and red pepper relish paninis, so I put those on the menu plan for tonight, but then I remembered I have some prosciutto in the fridge that needs to be used up, so I think I'm going to do prosciutto, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and basil paninis on ciabbata rolls. Not sure on the side dish yet...I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I still have some broccoli that needs to be used, so I'll probably steam some of that.

By the way, the red pepper relish in that other recipe DOES NOT freeze well. I had quite a bit left and stuck it in the freezer so it wouldn't go to waste. Yeah...it was pretty watered down and gross when I defrosted it. I'm just going to roast the peppers this time and put them on the sandwiches whole, skip the relish step.



These were super yummy!! I was kind of worried it was going to be too many flavors together, but it totally worked! I love paninis, and I love all the ingredients that went into this. I forgot to take a picture of my sandwich after it was done, so I took a picture of the husband's before it went in the panini press.

Tomato, Basil, and Parmesan Gnocchi

I had something entirely different slated for dinner tonight, but I realized as I was awake at 2:30 AM feeding the baby that we're out of beer. That doesn't usually happen in our house, so I'm glad I thought of it with enough time left to figure out something else for dinner. I had bought a package of gnocchi at Target awhile back (who knew that Target carried gnocchi?!) and remembered reading a recipe on the back of the package that sounded good. It called for fresh basil, and I had a trip to Trader Joe's planned today (I love their price on organic basil!!), so I thought this would be a perfect fill-in dinner. I have to make some modifications because I don't have one of the main ingredients, but we'll get to that later.

Tomato, Basil, and Parmesan Gnocchi
1 package Archer Farms tri-color Gnocchi
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1-1/2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Cook gnocchi according to package directions; drain. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add cooked gnocchi, tomatoes, and basil. Cook, stirring often, until gnocchi is lightly browned. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings.

*****

I forgot to check the ingredients before we went to TJ's, and I was thinking it had marinara sauce in it, so I bought a jar of that. Oops. I have quite a few roma tomatoes on hand for HLT sandwiches (hummus, lettuce, tomato) I had planned on making this week for lunches, so I think I'll just chop those up in place of the grape tomatoes. I also thought the recipe called for mozzarella, so I bought a ball of fresh mozzarella. I think I'll dice that up as well and add it in to the mix, probably after everything else is cooked so it gets a little melty but mostly still holds together. I'm going to steam some broccoli to have on the side, make up a salad with some Romaine hearts I have, and I also bought some kalamata olive bread at TJ's today. Yum!

*****

Mmmmmm...this was so super yummy!! I had wanted it to have little chunks of cheese, but the cheese got all melty because I tossed it in when everything was still really hot. Oh well, it was still really good--gnocchi swimming in puddles of ooey-gooey-melted mozzarella. This is something I would definitely make again, although it was pretty decadent with all the cheese. I love how fast and easy gnocchi are to make.

Basil Pork Chops

This is going to be short and sweet because both my kids are napping, and I want to take full advantage of that!!! My friend Danielle told me recently she had tried a really good pork chop recipe. I'm always on the lookout for something new to do with pork chops, so I thought I'd give it a go. She found it on allrecipes.com.

Basil Pork Chops
SUBMITTED BY: Lisa Gilliland

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 (4 ounce) boneless pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, basil, salt and chili powder. Gradually stir in 1 tablespoon oil until crumbly. Rub over both sides of pork chops.
In a large skillet, cook pork in remaining oil over medium heat for 7-8 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

*****

Danielle emailed me last night that she had made them again and this time added some mushrooms into the pan and it turned out really good. I had to run to the store this morning for a couple things I forgot to buy on my regular shopping trip, so I picked up some to add in. I'm excited to try this. I'm going to make wild rice pilaf (recipe from Food Network website) to go with it and either some glazed carrots or steamed broccoli, not sure which yet.

*****

Wow. This was REALLY good. I couldn't find my chili powder, but I had some chipotle chili powder that I used instead. It has a lot more kick to it than regular chili powder, so I only used 1/8 tsp. The mushrooms added in were really good, too. I put them on top of the pork chops when I plated everything. I will definitely make these again, especially since all the ingredients are things I normally have on hand. We all really liked it--the boy ate every last bite of pork on his plate!

The rice was super tasty, too. Just don't let your three year old son get a juice box out of the pantry while the pine nuts and garlic are browning because he may knock over a stack of tuna cans in the process which may cause your pine nuts and garlic to almost get too dark. Just pay attention is all I'm saying. The recipe for the rice did not say to cover the pan after the water came to a boil, but I figured since it was rice I'd need to. The boy didn't eat any of it, the husband only had a few bites, but I loved it.

I remembered to take a picture of my plate, but of course the camera is downstairs, so I can't upload the picture. Once I do I'll come back and add it in here.

Pioneer Woman's Pasta and Eggplant

I had one of the worst days ever yesterday, so updating the blog wasn't super high on my list of priorities. Let's just say I spent most of the day reminiscing about the days before I had kids. And I didn't really decide what I was going to make until late afternoon. I wanted to use the eggplant I bought at Sprouts last week (they were 2 for $1...2 for $1!!!!!!), but I didn't want to make eggplant parmesan again since it's so time-consuming and really not that healthy. Jen mentioned this recipe she had made from Pioneer Woman's website, so I thought I'd give it a go as well. Jen made some modifications to it, so I went with her version.

PW's Pasta and Eggplant: A Variation
Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium eggplants (the original recipe has 3 eggplant)
4 sliced, small Portobello mushrooms (optional, not in the original recipe)
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
Fresh basil
1 1-lb package fusilli
salt & pepper
Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.
Slice eggplant into round slices. Sprinkle one side with salt and allow to stand or 15-20 minutes. Turn over and repeat for another 15-20 minutes. Rinse eggplant and pat dry. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil and cook onion and garlic until starting to turn color, about 5 minutes. Add eggplant and mushrooms, stirring gently. Cook for 8 minutes, or until somewhat tender and starting to brown. Dump in canned tomatoes and reduce heat to simmer. Add salt and pepper and simmer until eggplant is tender. Toss in cooked pasta and chopped basil. Stir in 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish with shaved Parmesan.

*****

I only had one eggplant to use, but I think it was enough. I think the three in the original recipe would have been too much, but maybe without the mushrooms you'd want three. I used cremini mushrooms in mine--yum. I didn't have any cans of tomatoes, so I defrosted some homemade tomato sauce I had in the freezer and used that instead. It seemed a little shy to me, so I added in a few ladles of the pasta water to stretch it some.

We all really liked this. The husband and I both had seconds, and the boy ate all that was on his plate which is rare these days. It made a lot--after dinner there were still at least three large servings left, so at least we have lunch for a couple days. I'll definitely make this again--it was really easy and so tasty.

Tomato Feta Salad

When I was at Trader Joe's the other day I was struck with the brilliant idea of the husband and me having a mini date night at home tonight, eating dinner after the boy goes to bed. I picked up some ahi tuna steaks and some brie, so that's what we're having. I thought we needed something to go with the tuna but wasn't sure what to have with it. Sprouts had beefsteak tomatoes on sale three pounds for $1 (!!!!!) today, so I got me some of those. My mom had mentioned that part of their sale when I talked to her earlier today and said we were going there. I remembered the Barefoot Contessa had a tomato salad with feta and red onions, so I picked up some red onions and hoped I had everything else. Turns out I do, except for fresh basil. I'm going to just use dried because it's not worth hauling two kids to the store to just get some basil. I've wanted to try this for awhile, so I'm really excited about it.

Tomato Feta Salad
4 pints grape tomatoes, red or mixed colors
1 1/2 cups small-diced red onion (2 onions)
1/4 cup good white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 pounds feta cheese

Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a large bowl. Add the onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley and toss well. Dice the feta in 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes, crumbling it as little as possible. Gently fold it into the salad and serve at room temperature.

*****

The recipes says this makes 12 servings, so I'll cut it in half at the very least. The reviews on the Food Network website said it wasn't as good refrigerated as it was room temperature, so I don't want to have a lot of it left over.

*****

This was really good! I will definitely be making it again, especially in the summer when tomatoes are better than they are now. It was super easy--I'd say I had it all mixed together in five minutes max. The recipe was in the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook, and in the book it was half of what is listed above, so that's what I made. Even that was quite a bit for just two people. I haven't had any today to see how it tastes after sitting in the fridge over night, but last night it was super tasty!

Slow Cooker Minestrone

This was actually our dinner last night, but I ran out of time to post. Jen B. and I both wanted to get out of our houses as we've been stuck at home with sick kids for longer than we'd like (really, isn't more than a day stuck at home with a toddler--regardless of their health--too much?!), so we went to the mall, lunch, and Trader Joe's. With all of that running around I just didn't have time to post my recipe. What about after the fun, you say? Or after the boy went to bed last night? Well, when we got home I was busy throwing stuff in the crockpot for dinner, then after dinner I spent 45 minutes on the phone with my friend Jess. Then there was stuff on the Tivo to watch...you know how it goes.

Anyway, this is another recipe from Meal Planning 101 blog via Jen B's blog. The husband is taking a bible study class on Wednesday nights for the next 12 weeks (well, I guess 11 weeks since last night's is done), so I'm going to be doing crockpot dinners on Wednesday nights to make sure he gets to eat before he leaves. Jen had really liked this, and I had all the vegetables on hand that needed to be used up, so I figured what the heck. It met my vegetarian criteria and furthers me along in my "embrace the bean" mentality I'm trying to adopt...even though minestrone has never been my favorite soup.

Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 Carrots, chopped
3 cloves chopped garlic
4-6 cups of Vegetable Broth or Chicken Stock
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 can of Red Kidney Beans
1 can of Great Northern Beans
2 tbsp tomato Paste
2 tsp Italian Seasoning (or 1tsp oregano, 1tsp basil)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or combo of cheese and Parm-Reg rinds--see notes)
1/2 cup basil pesto (premade or fresh)
1/2 jar leftover marinara sauce
1 cup macaroni (cooked)

Finely chop onion and slice carrots and onion and add them to your slow cooker. Chop garlic and add. Gradually add stock, tomatoes, mixed beans, tomato paste, spices, Parmesan cheese and pesto. Turn on low heat for 6-8 hours.

After cook time is complete:
Fill a large stove-top pot with water and season with salt and bring to a boil. When boiling add macaroni and simmer according to package directions. When macaroni is done, drain and set aside. Scoop macaroni into bowls and ladle soup over top. Serve immediately.

*****

I can almost guarantee that no one in the history of slow cookers has thrown the ingredients for minestrone soup into the crockpot faster than I did yesterday. We had just gotten home from our day out, the baby was screaming because he was hungry, and I realized I needed to get dinner in the crockpot ASAP so we'd be able to eat before the husband had to leave. If you've never breastfed a baby, you may not understand the urgency with which this task needed to be done, but if you HAVE breastfed a baby and know what it's like to hear them screaming and not be able to feed them right away, well...you know why I hurried. I didn't have any marinara sauce to throw in, nor did I have pesto. I used the whole can of tomato paste to try and make up for the lack of marinara sauce. I put in some basil to try and make up for the pesto.

The result? It was okay. Jen said she thinks my not using real pesto probably impacted it a lot. Since I'm not a big minestrone fan to begin with, I thought it was good considering. However, I have a TON left...almost a whole crockpot full of it. The boy didn't eat it, the husband didn't have a whole lot (he doesn't like soup which I totally don't understand). I made ham and cheese paninis along with the soup, and he liked the sandwich a lot better. I think I'm going to freeze most of what was left because it would take me at least two weeks to eat what's left on my own. I don't think this is one I'd make again, but that's only because it's not my favorite soup, and I already have a lot of it left.

Creamy Parmesan Orzo

Ah, back to the daily grind of cooking. Well, only sort of. We got a fancy schmancy new grill and cooked ahi tuna steaks on it. Yum! They were already marinated, so all I did was cook up some orzo and broccoli. I had kind of forgotten about this recipe until Jen B. made it recently. I don't know how I forgot about it--it's one of my favorites! And it's so yummy. I'll have to get it back in the rotation.

Creamy Parmesan Orzo
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup orzo
1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted

Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add orzo, and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is absorbed and orzo is done (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in cheese, basil, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with the pine nuts. Serve immediately.

*****

I could have sworn the recipe called for 1/2 cup of parmesan. Oh well. A little extra cheese never hurt anyone, did it? :) I didn't have fresh basil, so I just used some dried. I think it's good either way.

It was definitely challenging trying to get dinner on the table at a decent time since the baby is ALWAYS hungry. I had to stop feeding him to work on dinner, which meant I was working on dinner with a screaming baby in the background. Fun stuff.

Quick Homemade Pizza

Ah, Friday. Even though I don't work anymore, I still love Fridays and the promise of the weekend lying ahead...which means I don't have to deal with a bi-polar toddler by myself all day for two whole days. Daddy can take some of the duty too! :) Of course, this weekend is completely up in the air since kid #2 could make his grand appearance at any time.

I'm still not totally motivated to cook, but since I know my cooking nights are numbered for awhile, I'm plugging along with it. My friend Jen B. posted this pizza recipe recently on her blog that she got from our friend Jen A.. I couldn't believe how fast and easy the dough was, so I wanted to give it a try. I've had Jen A's pizza before, and it's quite tasty, I just didn't know how super easy it is to make. The boy and husband are both pizza fanatics, so I know dinner will be well received tonight, which is always a plus.

Quick Homemade Pizza
For Dough:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups of flour
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning (optional)
1 Tablespoon of garlic powder (optional)

Sauce
Cheese
Toppings of choice

1. Preheat oven to 450. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy (about 10 minutes).
2. Stir in flour, salt, & olive oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest 5 minutes.
3. While dough is resting, combine all sauce ingredients in a food processor, and blend until smooth.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan dusted with corn meal. Spread evenly with sauce. Cover with toppings in an even layer.
5. Bake 15-20 min. Let cool 5 minutes. Cut and serve!

*****

Jen B. made her own sauce (she's such a show-off...), but I bought a jar of sauce to use because I'm lazy. ACtually I had planned to make her sauce (I think it was her recipe, not Jen A's, but if I've given false credit I apologize!!), but I forgot to look at the recipe before we left this morning. I think I used the last of my canned tomatoes the other night for the goat cheese pasta, and I know I don't have any tomato paste like it called for, so jarred sauce it is.

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to top it with, but basil was a decent price, so I figured I'd go with a basil, tomato, and fresh mozzarella. Then I decided I'd make two and do the second one with just cheese...plain ol' bagged pizza blend cheese. I'm such a mean mommy, but I just don't know if I want to introduce fresh mozzarella to my toddler. There are some things he just doesn't need to try until he's older...mostly so the husband and I don't get jipped out of yummy things like fresh mozzarella. Brie and Lucky Charms are two other things that fall into this category. King crab legs would be another. A few years ago we were in Ireland with the husband's family, and the husband gave one of our nephews a mussel to try. I think he was five at the time. To this day, our nephew still wants mussels if they go somewhere that has them. The husband's sister was pretty pissed she had to go from her son being satisfied with chicken nuggets kids' meals to demanding mussels. I don't want that to happen yet.

Vegetable Calzones

Have you guys missed me? Wondered what happened to me? Did I drop off the face of the earth? Go into labor early? Nope...just haven't had to cook dinner for the past four nights. I have to say it's been awesome. I don't remember what happened Wednesday night that I didn't cook. The husband brought home some frozen pizzas from Whole Foods that were quite tasty. Thursday he had a big celebration at work and ate a bunch of food around 2:00 and wasn't hungry, so the boy and I had mac and cheese and hot dogs. Friday night we went to an Oktoberfest. One of our friends' companies was the main sponsor, so he hooked us up with wristbands for free food and drinks, so the boy and I took the husband and stayed to have free dinner, then we came home while the husband imbibed on free beer. Last night we went to my aunt and uncles, and my uncle grilled up some amazing steaks. Oh man, were they good.

So, now that you're all caught up on our goings-on for the past few nights, on to tonight's dinner. This was originally slated for Friday night. Since I had all the veggies for it, I figured I should make it tonight while they were still in good condition. This was from one of my many Weight Watchers cookbooks. Not that I'm doing WW right now, but it has good recipes in it, and I hadn't used it in awhile. There's no notes on it, so I don't think this is something I've ever made before.

Vegetable Calzones
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp black pepper

Combine the water and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and salt in a food processor. With the machine running, scrape the yeast mixture and the egg through the feed tube; pulse until the dough forms a smooth ball, about 1 minute.

Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray; put the dough in the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, combine the mozzarella, ricotta, tomatoes, bell pepper, scallions, basil, and pepper in a medium bowl.

Preheat the oven to 400. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray; set aside.

Punch down the dough. Sprinkle a work surface lightly with flour. Turn the dough onto the surface and cut into 6 pieces. Knead each piece lightly, then with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll each into a 6-inch circle. Mound one-sixth of the cheese mixture on half of each circle, then brush the edges lightly with water. Fold the dough over the filling; crimp the edges to seal. Transfer the calzones to the baking sheet; make three 1-inch slashes on top of each with a sharp knife. Bake until golden 20-23 minutes.

*****

They're in the oven now and almost done. I'm excited to try them. I'll tell you everything I did when I write the review (I know, I know...I still haven't done those for the last two dinenrs I made).

*****

The calzones were good, but they could have used some more fillings. Maybe less ricotta and more mozzarella? I think next time I'd add more veggies, too. Mushrooms, black olives. Also the dough needed a little something, but I don't know what. I'm not much of a yeast user, so I really don't know how much tampering you can do with a yeast dough. I think maybe a little more salt or some Italian seasoning would have helped. Also, I only had enough filling for five calzones, not the six called for in the recipe. I don't know if I overstuffed or what, but it worked out. I had some of the leftovers for lunch today, and it reheated decently. Definitely better the first time, but not bad. I'd make these again, just tweak them a little so there was more flavor.

Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta

A message board I frequent put together a cookbook of recipes compiled from members of the website. My copy came last week I think it was, and I just finished reading through it last night. There are a TON of good recipes in there I cannot wait to make. I think the next couple weeks will be all about this cookbook. There are some recipes I had at one point but lost, so I'm excited to have copies of them again--and in a printed book instead of emails I've printed out and tried to keep track of since college.

I was originally going to make a pasta recipe I found in a Cooking Light cookbook, but when flipping through this new book I saw this one and thought it sounded yummy. Plus I had fresh basil left over from when we had caprese paninis last week (they were AWESOME, by the way). I hate wasting fresh herbs, so I thought this would be a good way to use up what was left. The other recipe called for kalamata olives. I like kalamata olives, but my husband--bless his heart--did the grocery shopping for me this week, and I figured he'd never be able to find them since he has trouble finding the cereal aisle. I had him get regular black olives, but I'll just use those for something else.

Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta
1 pound pasta, bow-tie or penne
3 cups ripe tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper
garlic to taste, freshly chopped
Parmesan or Romano cheese, freshly grated

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, 10-12 minutes. Combine tomatoes, oil, basil, garlic, and salt & pepper to taste in a large bowl. Drain cooked pasta, then add it to the tomato/basil mixture and toss to blend. Sprinkle with cheese to taste.

*****

Doesn't that sound yummy?! I can't wait to make it this summer (assuming we like it anyway) with fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market. I'm using penne for my pasta, and I didn't freshly chop the garlic. I just don't do that because it takes forever. So I used a few spoonfuls of already chopped garlic.

I'm just waiting on my pasta to finish cooking so I can mix it all together and we can eat. It smells awesome...or maybe that's the Pillsbury garlic breadsticks I baked (thanks, Laura!!). Either way, I'm starving and can't wait for dinner!

Pioneer Woman's Best Lasagna Ever

I have a new website obsession. Okay, two websites. The Pioneer Woman and The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Thanks to the BTB girls for turning me on to the cooking one, then I found the other one through there. This woman is HILARIOUS. And she's an awesome photographer. The PW website is under construction right now, so you might have to wait a couple days to check it out. I'm slowly working my way through reading all the recipes on the PWC website...there are some things I'm DYING to try. If I didn't care so much about my weight, I'd probably have made a lot of them by now.

Anyway, I wanted to make lasagna for dinner tonight because the boy and I are heading out of town tomorrow for four days. I figured having lasagna would give the husband leftovers to eat while we're gone instead of him getting pizza every night. Let's hope it works. I'm going to be pretty mad if I come home and the same amount of lasagna is in the fridge as when I left. I'll also be mad if my house is in any state other than what I left it. Love you, husband, but consider yourself warned. Happy wife, happy life.

I digress. I was going to make the same old lasagna recipe I always make (my mom's...which is very yummy), then I saw one on PWC that I thought I'd try. I read through all the comments (all 314 of them) and decided it would be worth trying. A couple food snobs didn't like it (or didn't like her choice of ingredients), but for the most part it got rave reviews from everyone else. I'm excited to try it.

Pioneer Woman's Best Lasagna Ever
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 pound hot breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean’s bulk)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 14.5 oz cans whole tomatoes
2 6 oz cans tomato paste
2 T dried parsley flakes
2 T dried basil
1 t salt
10-oz package of lasagna noodles, cooked to al dente
1 lb sliced mozzarella cheese

Mix together:
3 cups lowfat cottage cheese, 2 beaten eggs, ½ cup Kraft Parmesan cheese, 2 T dried parsley flakes, 1 tsp salt

In a skillet, combine 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, 1 pound hot breakfast sausage, and 2 cloves minced garlic. Cook until brown. Drain off about half the fat (or more, to taste). After that, add two 14.5-oz cans of whole tomatoes, two 6-oz cans of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of dried parsley flakes, 2 tablespoons dried basil and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix together thoroughly and simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the meat mixture is cooking, mix 3 cups lowfat cottage cheese in a bowl with 2 beaten eggs. To the cottage cheese, add 1/2 cup Kraft Parmesan Cheese. 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix together well.

Now, go ahead and build your assembly line: meat mixture, 1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese mixture, and cooked lasagna noodles. Lay four cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan, overlapping as you go. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles. Then lay 1/2 pound of mozzarella cheese slices on top of the cottage cheese mixture. With the spoon, make a line through the middle of the meat mixture so you’ll distribute it evenly. Spread a little less than half of the meat mixture over the mozzarella cheese slices until it’s evenly distributed. Repeat and finish with meat mixture. Top with a pretty generous layer of good ole Kraft grated parm.

Now pop it in a 350-degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. (Alternately, you could cover and freeze it, unbaked, at this point or cover and refrigerate, unbaked, for up to two days before baking.)

*****

Quite a few of the reviews said it was too salty, so I think I'll probably leave out the extra salt. I'm using shredded mozzarella because I couldn't find sliced mozzarella, the block of mozzarella was expensive, and I already had an 8 ounce bag, so I only needed to buy one more.

I had recently decided I was only going to use Parmigiano-Reggiano going forward. I used to use the parmesan cheese in a can, then switched to buying it already shredded, then to buying a chunk of parmesan and grating it myself with my awesome microplane. Slowly I'm making the transition to the good stuff. I hesitated to make this recipe when I saw the canned cheese because that's a major step back for me, but I'm going to try it and see how it turns out. The can of cheese was only $2-something, so not a big deal. Can of cheese...that sounds so wrong.

I just mopped my kitchen, so once I've given that time to dry I think I'll assemble the lasagna, so that's one less thing I have to do once the boy is up from his nap. Fingers crossed we like it!

Tomato Basil Quiche

I had some pie crusts in my freezer, so I thought I'd make a quiche because I also had Egg Beaters to use up. We were going to have this on Wednesday night, but since grandma was keeping the boy, we couldn't pass up going out! We had it last night after the boy went to bed. Believe it or not, this was my first time making quiche. It was so easy, I'll definitely be putting more quiche (quiches?) into rotation! I found the recipe on allrecipes.com and used some of the modifications suggested in the reviews.

Tomato and Basil Quiche
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dried basil
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake pie shell in preheated oven for 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft; remove from skillet. Sprinkle tomato slices with flour and basil, then saute 1 minute on each side. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. season with salt and pepper.
3. Spread 1 cup shredded cheese in the bottom of pie crust. Layer onions over cheese, and top with tomatoes. Cover with egg mixture. sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until filling is puffed and golden brown. Serve warm.

*****

So, instead of slicing tomatoes I diced them after taking out all the seeds so they wouldn't be too soggy. I also used fresh basil. I put the tomatoes and basil into a bowl and added in some Italian breadcrumbs (didn't measure, just poured) and mixed them around until the tomatoes were coated with the breadcrumbs. I also cooked the onions so they were more caramelized than just soft.

We both really liked it! The husband had three or four servings, actually! There wasn't a whole lot left for today (the recipe said it was for six servings). The nutritional information was given on the website, and it seemed really high to me...383 calories and 26 grams of fat per serving! I'm thinking mine was healthier since I used Egg Beaters instead of regular eggs, skim milk, and 2% cheese.

Gnocchi with chicken, pesto, and mozzarella

This was actually last night's dinner. I just can't seem to get back in the swing of posting every day, but I pinky swear I'm trying to! The weather here has been awesome lately, so the boy wants to be outside all the time. And he wants mommy outside playing with him, so most of my time (except when he's napping) has been spent hanging out on my patio. Not that I mind, I'm just not getting a whole lot done! Oh well, he's only young once and he's not always going to want me around, so I should enjoy it while I can.

We were originally going to have this on Wednesday night, but we ended up having tacos instead. I didn't post the recipe because everyone knows how to make tacos. My friend Jen B. had told me about gnocchi at Trader Joe's, so I got some last time I was there. I'd only had them in a frozen entree thing from TJ's before, so I was interested in trying them with something different. I was quite pleased with the result! I cooked two chicken breasts on my grill pan, cut up eight ounces of mozzarella into small pieces, cooked the gnocchi per the pacakge directions (boil water, add gnocchi, wait until they float to the top of the water), and I made some pesto. I tossed it all together, and VOILA! Dinner was served. Since the rest of it wasn't anything difficult or requiring a recipe, here's my low-fat pesto recipe. I found it online last summer when I had a ton of basil to use up (don't you just love fresh basil?! I could sit and smell it all day long...if I wasn't spending my days sitting on my patio. Maybe I should take some basil outside with me to sit and smell...). I love pesto but the usual version is rather unhealthy because of all the oil. This one is super easy to do and low fat!

Low Fat Pesto Sauce
2/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh basil
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons pine nuts

Combine stock and garlic and heat in the microwave on high for 5 minutes (or heat on the stove). Allow to cool. Chop basil in food processor. Add cooled stock, Parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Whirl until everything is finely chopped and blended.

*****

I didn't end up having pine nuts last night, so I used macadamia nuts instead. It was that, pecans, or walnuts, and I figured macadamia nuts were closer than pecans or walnuts. It turned out really good! And I got to use my new microplane to grate the parmesan!! Jen B. and I skipped out on photography class Wednesday night and went to Sur La Table and AJ's, our fancy schmancy grocery store here in Phoenix. I've been wanting a microplane for SO LONG, so I finally got one Wednesday night.

I heart Sur La Table. I wish I had endless amounts of disposable income so I could do some real damage in that store.