Garden Risotto - CEiMB

Jessica was the lucky recipe picker this week. Check hers out here (as well as the recipe). I have just recently been introduced to making risotto but have not tried it without mushrooms. And I love peas!

This recipe was easy, flavorful and good. It paired perfectly with the brats that we grilled out tonight too!

Check out all the other risotto dishes HERE.


Don't forget....there are only 2 more days left for the Giveaway!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

I found this recipe at Closet Cooking and it looked fantastic. It is very good and tastes even better the second day as leftovers. I actually doubled the recipe because we were having company. I cooked it in a 9x13 inch pan. It was a ton of food. I will not do that again. 6+ servings are just fine. I also used a rotisierre chicken and served it with chips, guacamole and refried beans. I will be making this one again.
This recipe is really worth trying. FANTASTIC!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole (makes 6+ servings)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion (chopped)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1 poblano pepper (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 jalapenos (chopped)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin (toasted and ground)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup of chicken broth
2 cups chicken (cooked and shredded)
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cup corn
1 lime (juice)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
10 corn tortillas
2 cups cheese (grated)

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the onion, red pepper and poblano pepper and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic jalapenos, chili powder and cumin and saute unto fragrant, about a minute.
4. Mix in the flour and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the chicken broth and simmer until the liquid thickens.
6. Add the chicken, tomatoes, green chilies, milk and oregano and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the corn, lime juice, sour cream, cilantro, salt and pepper.
8. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of an 8 inch square baking pan.
9. Top with a layer formed with 1/2 of the tortillas.
10. Top with a layer of 1/2 of the the sauce.
11. Top with a layer of 1/2 of the the cheese.
12. Top with a layer of the remaining tortillas.
13. Top with a layer of the remaining sauce.
14. Top with a layer of the remaining cheese.
15. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the sides are bubbling and the top is golden brown.

Last but not least....don't forget to enter for the GIVEAWAY!

Tiramisu Cake - TWD

I was super excited about the chosen recipe for today. Megan from My Baking Adventures chose the recipe. I love Megan's blog and faithfully check hers everyday. I love the recipes that she posts and am glad that we "met" each other. Check out how her cake turned out HERE and she also has the actual recipe posted.

This cake is a good one. It was fun to put together and even though I am not a coffee drinker in the slightest, it is delicious. My little guy loved the frosting and of course the chocolate chips on top. I was already a tiramisu fan though. I really liked the yellow cake, the filling and the frosting. The chocolate in the middle is just an added bonus.

Be sure to check out what everyone else did for this recipe. There are some really creative ones from sushi to cupcakes and more cupcakes.

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway for Mother's Day!!

Mother's Day Giveaway

In celebration of Mother's Day next Sunday I am having a giveaway! What am I giving away, you ask?

A purse from my mom's Etsy shop!!

This is such a cute purse and I love that it has pockets inside. Now all you have to decide is if you are going to keep it or give it away to a mom.

Here is the simple way to enter:

1) Visit Flying Needles
2) Leave a comment here telling me your favorite item from her shop
3) Last, if you blog about this giveaway on your blog I will give you an extra entry

I will do the drawing on Saturday, May 9th and announce the winner on Mother's Day next Sunday.

Good luck!

Spaghetti - CEiMB

Turkey Meatballs, Whole Wheat Pasta and Spicy Spaghetti Sauce....

The turkey meatballs and whole wheat pasta were excellent. I will not say the same for the sauce.

I thought that this was an expensive, time consuming recipe. I had to buy large quantities (OK, not large, just way more than I actually needed) of the fresh spices (oregano, thyme, basil and rosemary) because I couldn't buy it in a smaller package. I really have no need for all the extra, leftover spices. I don't think that I liked the smokiness of the sauce that most likely came for the canned chipolte en adobo sauce. It just didn't taste right.


This recipe would have been much better if I had just made the meatballs, whole wheat angel hair pasta and used Prego spaghetti sauce. These really are some tasty meatballs. Especially if you prepare them like Sara suggested by broiling them. I will be making those again. The whole wheat angel hair pasta was really good too. We couldn't even tell the difference between the whole wheat and regular pasta.

This recipe was chosen by Odd Ball Oven Mitt. You can find the original recipe HERE and be sure to check out how all the other CEiMB participants fared as well.

Coming next week: Garden Risotto

Chocolate Cream Tart - TWD

I am going to make this short and sweet. This recipe was chosen by Kim at Scrumptious Photography.

We thought it was good. Not spectacular or a TWD favorite though.

I decided at the last minute to add strawberries because I thought that it needed some color or something to offset all the chocolate.

Kim has the recipe posted on her blog HERE. Or you can find it on pages 352-353 in Dorie's cookbook. You really should check out Kim's blog though. She has some amazing pictures and is an awesome photographer. You will be impressed, I promise.

Elegant Farmer's Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce

I found this recipe in the newspaper awhile back. The Hubster loves meatloaf so I thought that I would make it for him. I can either take meatloaf or leave it. But I think that I will take this one. It was delicious. Maybe it was the mushroom sauce that did me in? Whatever it was I hightly recommend making it if you like meatloaf and mushrooms. Even if the mushroom sauce was skipped it would still be terrific!

The Elegant Farmer's Meatloaf

Makes 4 servings

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (made from day-old bread)
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup sour cream
Mushroom sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients, mix well. Pack into a loaf pan and bake in a preheated oven 1 hour or until done. Remove from oven and cool just slightly - then serve topped with mushroom sauce.

Mushroom sauce:
5 tablespoons butter (divided)
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped onion
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups beef stock or consomme
1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a small saute pan. Add mushrooms and cook over medium heat until soft. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter to pan and melt. Add onion and saute until softened. Add flour, salt and pepper and stir until mixture is smooth. Blend in stock and simmer until smooth and thick. Add Kitchen Boquet and reserved mushrooms and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over meatloaf before serving.

I did not use any Kitchen Bouquet. I had no idea what it was so I googled it. It is basically just a food coloring. I didn't care what color my gravy turned out to be. It may not be the prettiest but it sure was tasty.

Next time I make this I may try to use fat free sour cream and a reduced fat cheddar cheese.