Chicken with Portabella Mushroom Cream Sauce

Posted by: Annie

I am finally back on my feet after an awful, gross, yucky sickness. As a first-year teacher I have been introduced to lots of new ideas, teaching techniques and worst of all GERMS! Despite constant purell-ing and hand washing and lysoling of desks in my classroom, I got the flu- BAD. Of course it could not be a normal flu- no, it was a flu that landed me in the hospital like one of those mystery illnesses on the show "House"- complete with multiple doctors and scans and ultrasounds trying to figure out what was making me sick. After an eleven-hour visit in the emergency room they were no closer to finding what was making me sick and I was sent home. For the next four days I lived off of chicken soup, sprite zero and instant Netflix. (thank God for Roku) and slowly regained my strength. (Can you tell I am a baby when I'm sick? I also had my parents pick me up from Philly so I could spend my weekend infecting their homes with my lovely germs).


Anyway, since I have recovered I have been FAMISHED. I cannot stop eating. On Friday, I went to Chipotle with my little sister, finished my veggie burrito in approximately seven minutes and then proceeded to eat the quarter of a chicken burrito left on my sister's plate. On Saturday, I REQUESTED that my boyfriend take me to Outback, and on Sunday I ate too much junk to even write about. That being said, I needed to start this week off with something a little more wholesome. This recipe is from Campbell's Kitchen and is a definite keeper. It would probably be delicious served over egg noodles or rice, however I had left over hash brown casserole (like I said- LOTS of eating), and I did not want even more carbs on my plate.
 
What You Will Need:


4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces sliced and washed baby portabella mushrooms
4 green onions (1/2 cup)
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/2 cup chopped roasted red pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
parsley for garnish (optional)


Sprinkle the chicken breasts with pepper evenly on both sides. Next, coat the chicken with flour.
In a large skillet heat the olive oil over high heat. Add in the chicken and brown well on both sides. Mix in the mushrooms and onions and cook until soft (approximately 7-9 minutes)
Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet and cook for an additionally 5 minutes. Mix in the peppers and sour cream and heat thoroughly. Garnish with parsley.

Brownie Pudding

Posted by: Maggie

I have had this recipe bookmarked ever since I first saw it on Annie's Eats back in February.   I'm a big fan of brownie sundaes and lava cakes, and this looked like the perfect combination between the two.  I made it on Saturday night as the dessert to our baked ziti dinner.  Clearly it was a very healthy day.  Yes, this dessert is calorie and fat free.  You read it here first, folks.

Life tip: Don't go grocery shopping with your boyfriend when you're buying ingredients like vanilla beans.  He didn't comment, but I'm aware that $12 for two shriveled up pods seems insane to someone who mainly subsists off of Hot Pockets when he's not with me.  I prefer to only be silently judged by the checkout cashier for my frivolous purchases. 

½ lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish (Note: the recipe calls for unsalted, but next time I might use 1 stick salted, 1 stick unsalted - while the recipe is basically perfect as written, I think a touch of salt could make it even more perfect.)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly butter a 2-quart baking dish.  Melt the 2 sticks of butter in the microwave, and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until thick, and light yellow in color.  Combine the flour and cocoa powder in a medium bowl, and whisk together until combined. 

Scrape out the contents of the vanilla bean, and add to the egg/sugar mixture. Gradually add the flour/cocoa mixture, and mix until just combined. Slowly pour in the melted butter and mix again until just combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Place the baking dish into a larger baking pan, and add very hot tap water to the larger pan creating a water bath, coming about halfway up the smaller baking dish.  Bake for 60 minutes - it will look under-baked, but that's the way it's supposed to be.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Baked Ziti

Posted by: Maggie

Three types of cheese, marinara sauce, and pasta? Check.  One hour from start to finish, most of which is inactive cooking time while the water boils and the casserole bakes? Check.  Delicious and comforting for a lazy Saturday dinner? Check. 

This recipe was one of the very first things I ever cooked for my boyfriend, back when we first started dating in April 2009.  I'd invited him over for dinner on a Friday after work, and then realized that making a completely from scratch dinner interfered with my desire not to look like a dirty hobo when he arrived.  I needed something quick and easy, that I could stick in the oven and forget about while I got ready.  This baked ziti perfectly fit the bill. 

I made it again yesterday when I didn't really feel like cooking something overly involved.  I opted for the semi-homemade version and used jarred sauce, but if you prefer you can definitely use your favorite homemade kind.  Jarred sauce isn't really a cooking shortcut that bothers me, since so many brands now have short ingredient lists, and no random preservatives/chemicals/high-fructose corn syrup.

Here's what you'll need:

6 cups (16 oz.) ziti, uncooked

3 cups marinara sauce, divided

1-3/4 cups (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1 egg

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

Heat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente, drain. In large bowl, stir together hot pasta, 1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, egg, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In 13 x 9 baking dish, spoon in pasta mixture; top with remaining 1-1/2 cups sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; cover with foil. Bake 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

This is the recipe my Mom uses, and it came from a box of San Giorgio ziti.  Their website is kind of annoying and I can't link directly to it, but I wanted to give credit where credit was due!