Ravioli with Roasted Zucchini and Mushrooms

One of my new favorite food blogs is Alida's Kitchen. On Valentine's Day, she posted WHOLE WHEAT CHOCOLATE PANCAKES. And yes, that deserved all caps. The girls and I had them for brunch and they were the highlight of the day.

I've spent a significant amount of time browsing her site since then. I love it. It's so bright and cheery and I've bookmarked so many recipes.

Her roasted zucchini ravioli caught my attention right away. I love both roasted veggies and ravioli, what a great combination. I also realized my girls have never had ravioli. How had I gone so wrong as a parent?

I had to add mushrooms to the roasting pan, and they were a delicious addition.

The ravioli is great with just the roasted zucchini and mushrooms. However, there are some people in this house who require sauce. If you are a sauce person as well, come back tomorrow for a post on my best red sauce.

Ravioli with Roasted Zucchini and Mushrooms
Adapted from Alida's Kitchen

4 small zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
3 TB grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 pound cheese or spinach ravioli

Top with:
1 TB grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix olive oil and crushed red pepper.

Add zucchini, mushrooms, garlic and 3 tablespoons cheese to oil mixture and toss until thoroughly coated.

Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and spread zucchini and mushrooms in a single layer.

Bake for about 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and golden brown.

While the veggies are roasting, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook ravioli as directed on the package (usually 3-5 minutes).

Drain ravioli and toss with roasted zucchini and mushrooms.

Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Ravioli may be served with or without sauce.

Click to print recipe

Linked at Amee's Savory Dish Fit and Fabulous Fridays

S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love cookies, and chocolate chip cookies are the clear favorite. I first noticed this 'stuffed cookie' trend last fall and bookmarked a few recipes. But I just got around to trying my first stuffed cookie this week. It was a tough decision...should I go with Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies or s'mores stuffed?

I went with the s'mores stuffed. Half way through the process I thought there was no way this would work. I was convinced the cookies would be a mess. But happily I was completely wrong. The cookie held together very well, while baking and while being eaten. The s'more melted down just enough during baking. The marshmallow in the middle was a delicious gooey bite, and the graham crackers offered a nice little crunch.

I made a few changes to the original recipe. I wanted a smaller cookie (though these were still plenty big) so I broke the graham crackers into quarters, then broke each quarter in half. And then I used chocolate chips in the s'mores rather than Hershey bar pieces since I am opposed to all things milk chocolate.

Overall they are fun to make and a unique cookie. Don't wait to give these a try!

S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Apron Appeal, originally from Picky Palate

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 TB vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
Graham crackers, broken into 1/8
1/4 cup (approximately) bittersweet chocolate chips
9 large marshmallows, cut in half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 5-6 minutes.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Stir together flour, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the flour is incorporated.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Place cookie dough in the refrigerator while you assemble the s'mores stacks.

To make the s'mores stack: graham cracker square, half marshmallow, three chocolate chips, another graham cracker square.

To assemble the stuffed cookies: *Note: This can be a messy step, so flour your hands slightly with each cookie you assemble.* Flatten one scoop of cookie dough and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Place a s'mores stack on top (the edges of your flattened cookie dough should extend past the s'mores stack). Flatten another scoop of cookie dough (a little larger than the first) and place on top of the s'mores stack (excess cookie dough should hand off the s'mores stack). Pinch the edges of the flattened cookie dough together to surround the s'mores stack with cookie dough.

Once the baking sheet has 6 large cookie dough balls, bake for 14-16 minutes. The edges of the cookie should just be golden.

Cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Yield: 17 cookies

Click to print recipe

Grilled Honey Chipotle Chicken

Can I hear it for March weather that feels more like June?!

Not only did we fire up the grill last week for the first grill of the season...we ate outside. And we were not cold. It was an Indiana miracle!

I pulled out a recipe I haven't made in ages. And I don't know how this fell through the cracks. This is grilled chicken I could eat once a week. At least.

If you are cooking for young kids, beware of the spice factor. I threw an extra chicken thigh on the grill that was just salt and peppered for my girls. More spicy grilled chicken for me.

Grilled Honey Chipotle Chicken
From Annie's Eats

For the glaze:
1/4 cup honey
1 TB pureed canned chipotles in adobo sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

For the rub:
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1-2 tsp vegetable oil
Sesame seeds
Chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the grill (or a cast iron skillet to cook on stove top) to medium-high.

In a small bowl, whisk the honey, chipotle puree, mustard, chili powder, salt, and 1½ teaspoons oil. Divide the sauce in half. Use half to glaze chicken as it cooks and reserve the other half to drizzle over completely cooked chicken.

In a separate bowl, stir together chili powder, cumin and paprika, dash of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

Drizzle both sides of chicken thighs with vegetable oil. Sprinkle chicken with the paprika mixture.

Place the chicken on the heated grill and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Turn the chicken and brush the cooked side of the chicken with the honey-chipotle sauce.

Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, turn the chicken again and brush the second side with the glaze.

Cook for 1 minute, turn chicken again and cook for 1 minute more.

Remove from the grill and drizzle with the reserved honey-chipotle sauce.

Sprinkle the chicken with sesame seeds and chopped cilantro and serve immediately.

Click to print recipe

Linked at Fit and Fabulous Fridays and Weekend Potluck

Skillet Parmesan Croutons

This post is long over due.

When I started this blog, one of my early posts was for slow roasted tomato soup. It's my favorite soup, my winter comfort food.

As delicious as the soup is, it requires skillet parmesan croutons to make it complete. The flavor and texture of the croutons is the ultimate complement to the soup. And the croutons are even easier to make than the soup.

But wait, they're multi-purpose! Since winter is coming to a close and I'm learning to like salads, I've started adding the croutons to my salad. The croutons gives the salad a nice flavorful crunch, and makes me like salad a bit more.

I usually use the end of a homemade loaf of whole wheat bread for the croutons. A day-old baguette works well too.

Give these a try with your next batch of soup or salad. They are so much tastier than store-bought!

Parmesan Croutons
From In Jennie's Kitchen

2 cups day-old bread, cut into 1/4" chunks
1/2 tsp dried parsley
2 TB grated Parmesan cheese
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tsp olive oil

Mix parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper and olive oil.

Toss bread cubes in oil mixture until cubes are well coated.

Add bread cubes to a hot cast iron skillet over medium heat.

Cook bread cubes, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes.

Serve with tomato soup or salad.

Click to print recipe

Homemade Yogurt

My list of things I don't like about (store bought) yogurt:
Plain yogurt is too tart.
Flavored yogurt has too much sugar and other additives.
I don't like chunks of fruit in my yogurt. (Except for bananas.)

BUT THEN...

Last summer I made a new friend who told me she makes yogurt in her slow cooker. And the only ingredients needed: milk and a yogurt starter. It was too simple not to try.

It was so easy. And the yogurt was so good. It had just the right creamy consistency, just the right tartness (or non-tartness). I especially love to time it so it will sit overnight and then I eat the yogurt slightly warm right out of the slow cooker.

The yogurt takes about 14 hours to make, but requires hardly any hands on time. The only problem is tying up my slow cooker for that long!

Once the yogurt is done, you have 8 cups of plain yogurt, and the possibilities are endless.

To sweeten it, you can add a little pure maple syrup. My kids will drink it through a straw for a quick breakfast.

Add a little more maple syrup and you've got maple yogurt syrup.

For vanilla yogurt, add a little honey or powdered sugar and vanilla extract.

For fruity yogurt, slightly warm some jam (no sugar added) and stir it into the yogurt, and/or add fresh fruit.

Layer granola and yogurt in a cup, drizzle with a little chocolate and enjoy a decadent yogurt parfait.
Use it as a substitute for mayo in salad dressing.

Use it in dishes such as granola pancakes or chicken tikka masala

For a thick, Greek-style yogurt, line a fine mesh sieve with a paper towel and set the sieve over a small bowl. Add the desired amount of yogurt to the sieve and allow it to drain for 1-2 hours.

So even if you think you don't like yogurt...try it, you'll like it!

Homemade Yogurt

7 1/2 cups of milk (I use half whole milk and half skim milk, but any combination of whole, 1%, 2% or skim will work)
1/2 cup plain yogurt*

Pour milk into a slow cooker and put the lid on.

Set the slow cooker to low for 2 1/2 hours.

After 2 1/2 hours, turn the slow cooker off and allow to sit (lid on) for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, stir in 1/2 cup yogurt with a wooden spoon. Replace the lid and wrap the slow cooker in two heavy towels.

Allow to sit for 8-12 hours. The longer it sits, the thicker and more tart the yogurt becomes. Eight hours is the perfect amount of time for my taste.

Refrigerate and enjoy!

*I use Trader's Point Creamery whole plain yogurt as my starter. Once you've made a batch of homemade yogurt, you can use it as a starter, but I've found that the flavor isn't quite as good if I use homemade starter more than once.

Click to print recipe

Linked at Fit and Fabulous Fridays

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Sundaes

I generally don't go to all the trouble of adding things to my ice cream. I'm happy enough with a high quality plain chocolate ice cream, melted just a tad so that it's soft and slightly runny.

Last month we hosted a dinner party, and I wanted an ice cream dessert that was a little more involved. Dulce de leche ice cream sundaes seemed to be the perfect dessert to go with the chicken enchiladas. I happened to be more on the ball that usual and between my husband and I, we made our own dulce de leche and our own dulce de leche ice cream the day before the party. The chocolate sauce was extremely simple and turned out nice and rich, just like I like it. The toasted coconut smelled like heaven. Once it all came together, the combination of flavors and textures were exactly what I was looking for.

Start with making your own dulce de leche by boiling cans of sweetened condensed milk. Food Mayhem has great instructions and will alleviate any fears you may have about boiling unopened cans. I boiled two cans and had enough dulce de leche for the ice cream with plenty left over for extra drizzling.

You can buy dulce de leche ice cream (Haagen Daaz is my favorite, readily available brand), or if you have an ice cream freezer, it's not tough to make your own ice cream with this recipe from The Ravenous Couple.

The rest is simple, put it all together and you've got an impressive dessert!

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Sundaes
Adapted from Martha Stewart

dulce de leche ice cream
dulce de leche
unsalted peanuts
1 cup sweetened coconut

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (or 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped)
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

For the toasted coconut:
Spread the coconut on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Stir the coconut every 3 minutes or so, until the coconut is golden brown.

For the chocolate sauce:
Place the chocolate, cinnamon and salt in a small, heatproof bowl.

Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for about 3 minutes.

Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

The sauce will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or over a double boiler.

Put it all together:
Scoop the dulce de leche ice cream into small dishes. Top with additional dulce de leche, chocolate cinnamon sauce, toasted coconut, and peanuts.

Click to print recipe

Slow Cooker Spicy Roast

There are Sundays when I love nothing more than to spend half the day in the kitchen, preparing a labor intensive Sunday dinner. My girls play with Daddy, and I enjoy uninterrupted cooking time.

But there are always slow cooker Sundays. Today the weather was unseasonably beautiful for early March in Indianapolis, so we spent a good part of the morning flying kites. I was glad I had planned on a throw-it-in-the-slow-cooker-and-walk-away roast.

The hardest part of this roast is mixing together several spices. I've cut down on even that step by making several batches of the dry rub at a time and storing each 'serving' in a small re-sealable snack bag.

The paprika, chili powder and cayenne make this a tad on the spicy side, but not overly so. My kids will eat it without complaint, and they're generally not spicy eaters.

Slow Cooker Spicy Roast

Mix the following spices:
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp each: fresh ground pepper, chili powder, seasoned salt, onion powder, kosher salt
1/4 tsp each: cayenne, garlic powder

Rub the dry rub over the surface of a 2 or 3 lb. roast.

Add to the slow coker:
1 1/2 cups water
3 beef bouillon cubes (or 3 tsp beef base)
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
roast with dry rub

Cook on high for about 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours.

Serve with veggies (I usually go for mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus) and the juice from the slow cooker.

Click to print recipe

Blueberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

Muffins are a favorite snack and breakfast food around here. Blueberry muffins are a high on the list, and I was looking forward to trying a muffin with a little extra something.

I started with a recipe for peach muffins with cream cheese. As delicious as that sounds, the blueberry/cream cheese combination was fantastic. The crumb was still light. The cream cheese filling and slightly crunchy topping offered a nice texture contrast.

I haven't been fond of the 100% whole wheat blueberry muffins that I've tried, but with the cream cheese filling and cinnamon sugar topping, I was able to get away with about 75% wheat flour.

Additional advice: make a double batch. These disappeared in no time.


Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Cinnamon sugar (for topping)

For the cream cheese filling:

6 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 TB sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin or line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.

In a separate medium bowl mix butter, egg, milk, and vanilla together.

Add the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Stir gently just until combined and don't over mix.

Carefully fold in the blueberries.

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, lemon zest, sugar, and cinnamon until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup half way with batter. Add a small spoonful of the cream cheese filling (about 2 teaspoons) to each muffin cup, then add batter to cover the cream cheese filling.

Sprinkle each muffin with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 14-17 minutes. The muffins should just start to brown and toothpick will come out clean.

Cool on a rack and enjoy!

Yield: About 10 muffins

Click to print recipe