{recipe} Creamy Shrimp Penne

Test Recipes Week 7!  (From this point on, I have remembered to take pictures of each test recipe.  Woot!)

Pasta.  Probably my all-time favorite food.  Shrimp.  One of my favorite forms of seafood.  This pasta has BOTH.  Plus a creamy tomato sauce.  YUM.  It's from Pioneer Woman.  I changed the name because Penne a la Betsy has no meaning to anyone other than PW.  I can do that.  It's my blog.

CREAMY SHRIMP PENNE (Pioneer Woman)

¾ pounds penne pasta
1 pound cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ c. white wine or chicken broth
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. each fresh basil and parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the pasta until al dente.  Pull tails off thawed shrimp, rinse, and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Set aside.  In a large skillet heat butter and olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. Once garlic and onions are tender, add white wine or broth. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add tomato sauce and stir until well combined. Add heavy cream and continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.  Stir shrimp and pasta into tomato cream sauce.  Add parsley, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.

I thought this recipe was SUPER yummy!  I rated it EXCELLENT and will definitely be making it again.  It made a huge amount though, which was just too much for one person, and it didn't reheat very well (microwaved shrimp - meh).  So next time I'll probably just make a half recipe.  I'm not the biggest fan of Penne either, it's a lot of pasta.  I'd be tempted to substitute linguine or egg noodles next time.  And this would probably be just as good with chicken instead of shrimp.  Try it!

{recipe} Mexican Chicken

Test Recipes Week 6!  (I actually tested two recipes this week, but already posted about one of them.  Read about the Raspberry Crumb Bars HERE.)

My sisters and I have a blog together to keep in touch, as we're spread out all across the country.  We post lots of updates about our lives, but also include things like recipes we've tried out.  At the end of 2009, my oldest sister compiled most of the recipes into a booklet, along with lots of our old family favorites.  It's a really neat thing to have.  She even scanned in some recipes that were handwritten by our mother.  I'm excited to print it off and put it into a binder, where I can add my own favorite recipes over time.  This week's test recipe came from that book.  It's super easy and practically effortless to make.  Gotta love crockpot recipes!  I love coming home from work to an apartment full of the aromas of a ready-to-eat-supper.  Comfort food to the max.

MEXICAN CHICKEN (Pam Kautz)

frozen chicken breasts
salsa
sour cream
tortillas
additional toppings of your choice (i.e. lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes)

Place frozen chicken breasts in crockpot, add salsa, and cook on low 5-6 hours or on high 3-4 hours.  Turn off heat and drain excess juice from crockpot.  (I didn't do this when I made them, and they were VERY drippy and messy to eat.)  Stir to shred chicken.  Add 1/2 c. sour cream and stir.  Serve in tortilla shells with favorite toppings.

I am fortunate enough to be able to go home for lunch, so I threw this all in the crockpot over lunch, and cooked on low while I went back to work.  I love having supper ready for me when I get home from a long day at work.  Super yum and super easy.  I rated this recipe GOOD due to the drippy-ness, but I think it could be moved to EXCELLENT if I tried it again.

{recipe} Pantry Pasta

Test Recipes Week 5! (I'm catching up here...hopefully in the next few days I'll be all caught up on posting my test recipes to date.)

I found this recipe on the Sing For Your Supper blog.  It's a great resource for recipes and blogging inspiration too!  Check it out if you've never been there.  This recipe challenged me because she didn't have a lot of measurements in her post, but it turned out pretty good!  I'll do my best to guestimate the ingredient portions that I used.  I rated this EXCELLENT and will be keeping it in the rotation.  Unfortunately, I didn't have any mushrooms on hand (I'm a huuuuge fan of mushrooms), so I'm excited to make this recipe again in the future, because it can only get better with mushrooms.

PANTRY PASTA (SingForYourSupper)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 c. frozen peas
1 small can of mushrooms
1 can chicken broth
1/2 c. heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
spaghetti noodles

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, heat olive oil in nonstick frying pan, and saute chicken breast until juices run clear.  I like to drain the oil and juices off right at the end and then cook the breast a little longer until they're slightly browned/crispy on the outside.  Just a side note.  In the same pan, melt butter, then whisk flour in slowly to make a roux.  Slowly whisk in chicken broth and cream.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add mushrooms and peas.  Toss sauce, chicken, and pasta together and enjoy!  It would also be nummy sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

{recipe} Caesar Pockets

Test Recipes Week 4 (continued)!

Caesar Pockets. Or in my case, Caesar Wraps.  I thought this recipe was soooo yummy! And very, very quick and easy to make! Perfect for a weeknight meal, or a quick lunch on the go. I made a couple changes to this recipe. First, I couldn't find roasted red pepper strips at the grocery store, so I substituted pimentos. It was still good. Second, Pita bread was hard to find too, so I substituted Roasted Tomato tortillas. (It was a weeknight and I didn't feel like driving across town to the bigger grocery store.) It was still YUM! I'm a huge fan of wraps, and the tanginess of this one was a nice change to regular turkey-lettuce-cheese wraps. I rated it EXCELLENT.

CAESAR POCKETS (Kraft Food and Family)

4 c. torn romaine lettuce
6 oz. shaved smoked turkey breast, cut into strips
¼ c. drained roasted red pepper strips
3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
¼ c. Caesar dressing (can also use ranch)
4 pita breads, wamed, cut in half

Toss lettuce with turkey, peppers, cheese, and dressing. Spoon into pitas.
4 servings

{recipe} Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Test Recipes Week 4!

I was excited to test out this next recipe, because I got to try my new blender!  It's just a cheap-o one from Target, but it worked great!  It's kind of sad how excited I got over a new blender.  Oh well!  I also actually remembered to take pictures of this recipe for my blog! 

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE SOUP (delish.com)

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 lbs) cauliflower, cut into 1" chunks
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 pkg. (8 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 c. water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.  In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth.  Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, storring occasionally.  Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 c. cheese until melted and smooth.  Don't let boil or cheese may get stringy.  Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

It seems lately I just can't make a recipe exactly the way it is written.  I'm always making little tweaks and changes to adapt things to my own taste.  Here are the changes I made to this recipe:

1) I added chopped carrots for a little color, but I think I should have waited to add them until the cauliflower mixture had already gone through the blender so that they could be seen.

2) Instead of 2 cups milk I added 1 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. cream...just to make sure it was nice and yummy :)

3) I also added a little ground white pepper.

Not as good as broccoli cheese soup (my all-time favorite), but still pretty good!  I rated it GOOD, and will probably make it again some day.

{recipe} Creamy Chicken and Pasta Bake

Test Recipes week 3!

I got this recipe in the Kraft Food and Family magazine.  Once again, I didn't think to take pictures of the results :(  Next time.

CREAMY CHICKEN AND PASTA BAKE (Kraft Food and Family)

1 ½ c. multi-grain rotini pasta
3 c. broccoli florets
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped
½ c. fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 oz. Neufchatel cheese, cubed
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta, adding broccoli for the last 3 min. Meanwhile, heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 min. or until no longer pink, stirring frequently. Stir in broth; simmer 3 min. or until chicken is done. Add Neufchatel cheese; cook and stir on low heat 1 min. or until melted. Stir in ½ c. mozzarella. Drain pasta and broccoli. Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Spoon into 8-inch square baking dish; cover. Bake in 375* oven for 15 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake, uncovered, 3 min. or until melted. Let stand 5 min.

4 servings (1 ½ c.)

I thought this recipe was good, but could have been better.  I bet if I used real cream cheese instead of the healthier Neufchatel it would have a little more flavor, or if I used full-flavor, full-sodium, full-bad-for-you chicken broth.  And I'm still getting used to the flavor and texture of whole-grain pasta as opposed to regular.  Overall, this recipe is going in the keeper pile.  I rated it GOOD.

{recipe} Red Velvet Cupcakes

Test Recipes: Week 2!

I have come across a gazillion recipes for Red Velvet cakes, cupcakes, cookies, etc.  And it seems all of them have amazing ratings.  So I decided to try it out.  Basically, it's chocolate cake with red food coloring.  Since there are SO MANY recipes for Red Velvet whatever out there, I decided to go with Miss Know-It-All Marth Stewart for my first attempt.  While these cupcakes were definitely yummy, I didn't think they were anything spectacular.  I rated this recipe GOOD.  Actually, the cream cheese frosting was my favorite part (I think I would eat compost if it were covered in cream cheese frosting...num num).

RED VELVET CUPCAKES (Martha Stewart)

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color**
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
 
**(Gel paste is more concentrated color than liquid.  Use 1 to 1.5 oz. liquid food color if substituting.  I didn't see Martha's helpful hint until after the first pan of cupcakes was already in the oven.  So half my cupcakes turned out brown, and the other half looked red like they should be...live and learn.)
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.  With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.  Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.  Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.  To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature before serving.
 
I couldn't believe how RED the batter actually was.  It looks like lava...
 
 

 
Don't forget the Cream Cheese Frosting!  This is now my go-to recipe for CCF :)  Except I made half a recipe and it was more than enough.
 
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (Martha Stewart)
 
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
 
Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat until smooth.
 
My coworkers get to reap some of the benefits to my test recipes.  Especially the sweets.  I just don't need 24 cupcakes tempting me at my apartment.  Especially if they have cream cheese frosting.... :P