Spinach Ravioli in Artichoke Cream Sauce with Peas and Proscuitto

This is a combination of 2 recipes that I really liked from the "Italian" issue of last month's Food Network magazine. It was delicious (how could anything with proscuitto NOT be?) and different and we'll definitely make it again!

Ingredients:
12 spinach ravioli (or whatever kind you prefer)
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
1 cup half and half
3 slices proscuitto, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS butter
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
Boil ravioli for 8-9 minutes and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. In a saute pan, add olive oil and saute proscuitto for 3-4 minutes until crisp - remove to a plate lined with paper towels and add the cooking liquid and butter to the saute pan. Let cook for about 3 minutes, and add artichoke hearts and peas. Cook for approximately 5 minutes and slowly add in the half and half, and then add the proscuitto and cheese. Serve over ravioli and top with a bit more parm cheese, if desired.

Taco Burger-dillas

I made up this recipe tonight on a whim - I felt like having something a little different, and was in the mood for something Mexican"ish" and this totally satisfied the craving! I made homemade guac to go with it, and a salsa/sour cream spread for it - but you can feel free to be creative and add whatever toppings/combinations you like!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (90% lean)
1 cup chunky salsa, divided
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
shredded taco cheese
4 flour tortillas

Directions:
Take 1/2 cup salsa and drain the liquid from it - in a large bowl, add the peppers and onions to the meat along with 1/2 packet taco seasoning mix, 1 egg and breadcrumbs. Shape into 4 patties and grill.

Put a little bit of butter spread on the flour tortillas (I find it easiest/best to use the "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray) - put 2 of the tortillas in the grill pan and sprinkle with cheese. Cut 2 burgers in half and place on one half of the tortilla. Add desired toppings and put more cheese on top, closing the tortilla over top and allowing cheese to melt and hold everything together.

I topped with the guacamole and sour cream/salsa dip (1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup salsa, 1/2 packet taco seasoning mix) and it was really good... and I had some of the dip on the side. It was SO flavorful!

Crockpot Pulled Pork

You know how retailers cleverly pair certain items together so you end up buying both? They put the limes in the beer case with the Corona - there is a business term for it which escapes me right now - but my point is, when you buy a crock pot - it should come with a pork roast, because honestly, you can't own a crockpot and NOT make pulled pork. Pulled pork recipes are probably the most searched-for crockpot recipes of all time. I didn't "get" this recipe from anywhere specific, but I know it's not an original - it's really easy and it comes out so tender and flavorful.... always a favorite in our house!

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds pork shoulder
1 can Coca-Cola
1 yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
salt, pepper and cayenne pepper

Directions:
Place onions and garlic in bottom of slow cooker. Season pork with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and place fatty side up on top of onions. Pour soda over top. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. When done cooking, remove meat to cutting board and shred with 2 forks. I drained some of the cooking liquid, reserving about 3/4 cup, and mixed it with BBQ sauce in crockpot. Add meat back into the sauce and stir together. I kept it on low with the lid off for about 10 minutes. Serve on rolls - goes great with pickles and cole slaw!

Chicken Pizza Burgers

I was very excited to get this recipe in a "chicken"-themed recipe swap... Frank and I love delicious burgers, and we love easy dinners - and this was a perfect combination of both. It will definitely be a "go to" recipe of ours! I served the burgers on toasted ciabatta rolls rather than a regular hamburger or hard roll and it really worked well and was a nice change from your typical bun.

The recipe comes from Kelly's Running Mama Cooks Blog and the only very minor adjustments I made were omitting the crushed red pepper flakes (only because I forgot - oops!) and in lieu of rosemary I used about a tablespoon of dried italian seasoning... I am not a huge fan of rosemary - but the italian seasoning gave it great flavor. The burgers were really juicy and moist - something chicken burgers can tend NOT to be. Thanks for a great recipe, Kelly!

Chicken Pizza Burgers

Ingredients:

1 Lb ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parm
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
fresh black pepper
1/2 cup marinara sauce
4 slices reduced fat provolone cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Mix all ingredients together except provolone cheese and sauce. Form into 4 burgers. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes. Switch oven to broil. Spoon marinara sauce over burgers and cover with a slice of cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly. Serve on toasted hamburger rolls.

Emeril's Crab Cakes

I can't say this is a "fail" because it still ended up tasting great.  As you can see from the picture below, however, things didn't exactly go as planned and in the end - so as not to waste the food and time I already put into the recipe - I literally ended up making a crab CAKE.

The recipe wasn't terribly labor intensive... it was not a "quick and easy" type meal, though, either. I will definitely try it again when I have more time and am not rushing around the kitchen after work while also trying to feed a toddler (we'll get to that in a minute). I don't know what went wrong this time - I know the homemade mayonnaise I tried to do was too thin and I don't know why. The crabcakes just wouldn't stick together for me so dredging and bread crumb-ing was not working... I ended up adding some bread crumbs to the mixture and attempting to fry - which started to turn into crab soup. I salvaged about 90% of what was in the pan and tried to bake individual crab cakes... which also didn't work. So, in the end -as as last resort, I dumped it all into a round cake tin and baked at 400 for about 30 minutes. It still didn't stick together, but the flavor was definitely there and we ate a LOT.

The recipe can be found on the Food Network Website - I followed it exactly... I am just too tired to type it all out.

So back to Alexis... while I was trying to tend to the crab cakes - I found her making a juice and macaroni & cheese soup in the pocket of her bib.

I'd love to hear if anyone makes this - I want to do it again to determine what (among several things, I think) went wrong... but honestly, in the end - it TASTED DELICIOUS. It's too bad I didn't have anything I could have stuffed the mixture into because I bet that would have been realllly good!

Top Secret Restaurant Recipe: Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits

I'm not ashamed to say I am a huge fan of chain restaurant seafood. I love Red Lobster - it's probably one of my favorite restaurants - one of the huge reasons being those delicious buttery cheddar bay biscuits. A few weeks ago, on the first Friday of Lent I was craving Red Lobster but knew it would be packed... so I did a little googling and found the "top secret" recipe for to make my own cheddar bay biscuits and was so glad I did!! They were really simple, I already had all the ingredients on hand, and they tasted EXACTLY like the Red Lobster version. Frank made them tonight (the picture is of his creation, not mine) and they were equally delicious... and honestly, they looked better than mine. They'd be great to make for company and they literally take10 minutes to pull together (excluding bake time).
(Recipe from Todd Wilbur: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2")
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
3/4 cup cold whole milk
1/2 stick cold butter, cut into little pieces
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated cheddar

Also, to brush on top you'll need 2 TBS melted butter mixed with 1/4 teaspoon each garlic powder and parsley.

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine bisquick with colf butter in medium bowl using a fork - don't mix too thoroughly. There should still be small chunks of butter in there. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder and mix by hand until combined, being careful not to overmix. Drop approximately 1/4 cup portions onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until the tops begin to turn light brown. Remove from oven and brush each bisquick with melted butter mixture - return to oven for 2 minutes.

Cheesy Bacon Pierogi Bake

The other night I stood in front of my open freezer wondering what I should make for dinner the following night. I had a bunch of meat choices, or a box of Mrs. T's pierogies. I was set to make them when I thought to myself, "let me check out Lauren's blog to see if I can find anything" - I really enjoy following her blog and staying in tuned to what she's making for HER family and just like previous times - I was not disappointed. Ironically, she had just blogged about this Cooking Light recipe and reading about it made my mouth water. I wouldn't necessarily qualify it as "light" - but it's ok, the extra calories are worth it. Will definitely make it again - loved that it was SO easy! Note: each box has 12 pierogies - it ends up being enough for 2, with some leftovers... if you are feeding more than 2 adults and a toddler I would double it.

Ingredients
1 box Mrs. T's pierogies (original recipe calls for the chive ones, I used potato and cheese)
3 slices turkey bacon, chopped (I used regular bacon)
1/3 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions, thinly diagonally sliced
1 tomato, seeded and diced
cooking spray
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Arrange frozen pierogies in a single layer in a glass Pyrex dish. Chop bacon and cook in skillet until crisp - remove bacon and add cream cheese to drippings in pan, stirring until cream cheese begins to melt. Slowly add chicken broth and whisk until smooth. Pour the mixture evenly over the pierogies and top with shredded cheese - bake for 20 minutes until bubbly. Remove from oven and top with green onions, tomato, bacon and pepper.