Quick, easy, good!
Creamy Rotini Primavera
Recipe from family.com
1/2 pound dry rotini
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast - cubed
1 pound frozen vegetable mix - thawed
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1/2 cup milk
Cook rotini per package directions to desired doneness. Drain well and keep warm.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken cubes and cook until no longer pink.
Combine cream cheese, dressing and milk and whisk until smooth.
Add thawed frozen vegetables to chicken along with sauce mixture. Stir well and heat through -about 5 minutes. Serve.
A perfect chicken recipe for those summer BBQs! So good!
You can't really go wrong with just about any variation of a cinnamon roll. This one is filled with banana chunks and chocolate chips. I did top it with a cream cheese frosting, but to be honest, it didn't need it. Now don't get me wrong, I love cream cheese frosting as much as the next guy but these were too sweet with it. You can eat them plain, use a basic powdered sugar glaze, or a nice dollop of fresh whipped cream. Or if you want something super sweet you can use the cream cheese frosting.
Enjoy!
Banana Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe from What's Cookin, Chicago?
Dough:
1 T active dry yeast
1/2 C warm water (105 deg F)
4 1/2 C all-purpose flour (22 1/2 oz)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp
Filling:
2 ripe bananas mashed (fresh or frozen)
4 Tablespoons softened butter
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Frosting:
5 ounces cream cheese
3 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons heavy cream
For the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, allow to bloom for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1/2 C of the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.
Add the eggs, sugar, butter, salt, and remaining 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium speed until smooth 10-12 minutes. Add a bit more flour to reduce stickiness if needed. Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
For the filling: Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Roll out into a rectangle about 15×10 in. Spread with softened butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Place dollops of mashed banana mixture evenly over top and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Starting from long end, roll up into log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut 1 inch slices and place cut side up in baking dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, remove from refrigerator and let rise until half again as high, about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.
For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Slowly add the heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency. Frost the warm cinnamon rolls with half the frosting and wait 10 minutes before topping with the remaining half of frosting. This ensures all the frosting doesn't completely melt away once it's applied. The result should be a nice semi melted layer of frosting on top with a creamy top layer of frosting.
Pure maple syrup and stone ground cornmeal make an excellent biscuit! Topped with some honey... oh my yum!!!
I'm pretty sure I have lost my blogging mojo. I just can't find ANY words to write. Not that I've been much of a writer, but finding anything to say is becoming impossible.
Yes, I am still cooking. Yes, I am still baking. I am even still photographing food. The problem comes with sitting down and figuring out what to say about the food. I guess 3 years of blogging has left me speechless! hahaha
I'm not stopping blogging so no worries! Just when I do post it will probably say something along the lines of "YUM" or "Really Good". :)
Like these cookies... they were delicious and yummy and really good! :)
Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies
Recipe from Bake or Break
■1 cup unsalted butter
■3/4 cup brown sugar
■3/4 cup granulated sugar
■1 teaspoon salt
■2 teaspoons vanilla extract
■2 large eggs
■2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
■1/2 teaspoon baking soda
■1/2 teaspoon baking powder
■2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips
■2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
Place butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave until melted, about 1 minute.
Add both sugars to melted butter and stir until combined. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs, stirring until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda, and baking powder until just combined and a soft dough forms. Fold in chocolate and pecans.
Scoop dough in desired cookie size onto lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. Leave room between cookies for some spreading.
Preheat oven to 350°. Bake cookies until golden around the edges but a little soft in the center. Baking time will vary depending on the size of the cookies. Smaller cookies (2-inch diameter) bake for 13-15 minutes. Larger cookies may require up to 18 minutes.
Cool on baking sheets on wire racks for a few minutes. Then, transfer from baking sheets to wire racks to cool completely.
Today my baby girl turns 6!!! I can't believe how fast she is growing up! Her birthday breakfast of choice was beignets, and if you know Anya this doesn't come as a surprise. Beignets are her all time favorite special treat!
I loved this recipe and it will become my go-to beignet recipe. The yeast dough came together quickly (I assembled it last night) and they fried up in about 2 minutes this morning. This made a fancy breakfast on a school morning very easy!
We loved them, the birthday girl loved them, and it was a great start to a great day!
Beignets with Chocolate Sauce
•1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast
•1/2 cup sugar
•1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
•2 eggs, slightly beaten
•1 1/4 tsp. salt
•1 cup evaporated milk
•7 cups bread flour
•1/4 cup shortening or butter
•Oil, for deep-frying (I like peanut or canola)
•3 cups powdered sugar
Chocolate Sauce:
•6 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
•12 oz. good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
•1 1/2 cups half and half
1.Mix the yeast, sugar and water in a large mixer bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes.
2.In another bowl, beat together eggs, salt and evaporated milk.
3.Pour egg mixture into the yeast mixture and stir well.
4.Add 3 cups of flour and mix on low or stir until combined.
5.Add shortening or butter and continue adding the remaining 4 cups of flour slowly until it’s all incorporated. Dough will be sticky.
6.At this point you can switch your mixer to the dough hook and beat on medium, adding more flour about a tablespoon at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a smooth ball (about 4-6 minutes). If you don’t have a mixer or would rather knead, place the dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth, adding a little more flour as needed (about 8-10 minutes). The dough may still be a bit sticky, but shouldn’t be overly so.
7.Spray a bowl with cooking spray and place the dough inside. If the bowl doesn’t have a cover, lightly place some plastic wrap on top. Let rise for 2 hours in a warm spot. I like to turn my oven on to the lowest temperature for about a minute and then immediately turn it off again. Then I place the bowl in the warm oven.
8.Filling/Dipping Sauce: In a sauce pan over low heat, mix together butter, chocolate, and half and half. Stir frequently until all the chocolate and butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
9.Pour into a bowl and cover.
10.When the dough is ready, place a deep pot like a dutch oven on the stove and add enough oil to fill the pot about 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep.
11.Turn the burner to medium and preheat to 350 degrees.
12.While the oil is heating up, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a square or rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Use a knife or pastry cutter to cut into 2×2 inch squares.
14.Set several layers of paper towels near your pot. Fill a paper or plastic bag with powdered sugar and place that near the paper towels.
15.When the dough is cut and the oil is at the correct temperature, add a dough square, one a time, to the pot with a slotted spoon. Fry 4-6 at time depending on the size of your pot. Be careful: if you add too many at once or you may wind up burning them. Use the slotted spoon to flip them over every 30 seconds. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. If they are taking longer than 3 minutes to brown you need to turn your burner up and make sure your oil is at the correct temperature. Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain. Let cool for a minute and then transfer to the bag of sugar. Hold the bag closed and toss to coat. Repeat with remaining squares.
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