So I have been cooking since my last post, and I've got a couple of updates. But first, I wanted to make sure and write down our meal plan for this week since it's Monday! (Yes, I am aware of the fact that Monday is practically over.) When I started this blog, it was with the intention of reducing our fast-food consumption, helping both our health and our bank account. However, this is quite easier said than done....especially when there are several fast-food places within 5 minutes of our house! But Ryan and I have decided to make a renewed concerted effort to only eat out 1-2 times a month! So, here is my BTHO Fast Food menu for this week!

Monday: Laughing Cow chicken with squash & zucchini gratin (DELICIOUS! Update coming tomorrow)

Tuesday: Cheese Tortellini Soup

Wednesday: Spaghetti

Thursday: Pizza Chicken Roll-up

Friday: Grilled cheese sandwiches

Saturday: either leftovers or Kaese Spaetzle

Sunday: either leftovers or Kaese Spaetzle (depending on what we eat on Saturday)

I realize that Saturday and Sunday are prime targets for fast-food, and I'll have to be really careful that I don't give in to the temptation, but it's really hard to plan for those days when I have NO idea when Ryan will be home. Could be 10 pm....could be 4 am. Ah, the joys of being a Domino's delivery driver in a college town!

I'm a bad blogger.

I really am. I haven't posted in far too long, and I hate to say it, but the amount that I have actually cooked since my last post has been almost as sparse. My only excuse is that my classes have been insane and I just haven't felt like doing much of anything else. Add to that the stress of taking the GRE and finishing up my application for graduate school and you come up with many nights of fast food. Ugh.

But now that the semester is almost over and the GRE is done, I can relax (a little....I still have finals.) and work my way back into the kitchen. About a week or so ago, I made salsa chicken, which was good, but needed a little tweaking, so I won't blog about it yet. I also made some cranberry-orange muffins and a cranberry-hazelnut bread, but those were from box mixes (I know, I know.) so also not blog-worthy. I'm planning on making some from scratch, but that will probably have to wait until finals are finished.

So while I was taking a break from studying today, I jumped on The Nest to the What's Cooking board to check out people's blogs and find some inspiration to get me into the cooking mood again. Right now, I really am having to focus on things that don't take a whole lot of time, not only to accomodate for finals-induced madness, but also because I've gotten so far out of the cooking groove that it will take me a while to get back in, and I don't want to burn myself out. However, I still want to have good meals and not resort to take out or the Blue Box. So I was intrigued when I saw The Novice Chef's recipe for Pesto Chicken Pizza. It looked so good, even despite the tomatoes, that I decided it would be great to make for dinner tonight. The tomatoes may not have kept me away from making this pizza, but I still left them off. Hey, I won't run screaming away from them, but that doesn't mean I'm going to eat them! I also didn't feel like buying chicken just for this since I had perfectly good HEB fully cooked chicken fajita strips at home in the freezer, so I just subbed those, and it turned out AMAZING! Honestly, people who have never had pizza without marinara are missing out! The pesto gives this pizza so much flavor, and it's so much better for you than normal pizza. And it's so simple to make that there's no excuses!

Pesto Chicken Pizza
adapted from The Novice Chef





1 pizza crust ( I used the kind in the can from Pillsbury)
pesto to taste (see my recipe here)
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
pre-cooked chicken fajita strips (as much as you want for the size of the pizza)


Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out pizza crust on a baking sheet and spread pesto on top. You can use as much or as little as you like, but I used all that my pesto recipe made.
Top with sliced mozzarella and then the chicken.
Bake for 17-18 minutes.
Enjoy!

The best laid plans...

Ok, so we didn't really stick to our meal plan very well last week. We did have leftover brisket and I made the beer-braised bratwurst and sauerkraut, which lasted two nights, but everything else got pushed aside. I have been ridiculously busy with school, and haven't been able to find a whole lot of motivation to do much else. Hopefully this week will be better.

Monday: spaghetti with green beans and herbed bread

Tuesday: chicken & avocado quesadillas, cilantro lime rice and chips & queso

Wednesday: Rosemary-Potato frittata and fruit

Thursday: Chicken soup Florentine

Friday: beans & cornbread

Saturday: Roasted garlic Crockpot chicken, Potatoes Provencal, herbed bread, and green beans

Sunday: Chicken Cordon Bleu bake, squash, green beans, carrots

How I save a little money at HEB...

So, here's my meal plan for this week. We'll see how well it works out!

Monday: leftover brisket

Tuesday: parmesan breaded chicken with alfredo sauce, sauteed zucchini and summer squash, carrots

Wednesday: beans & cornbread

Thursday: braised bratwurst with bacon & apple sauerkraut, fried squash

Friday: chicken & avocado quesadillas, cilantro lime rice, chips & queso

Saturday: roasted garlic crockpot chicken, potatoes provencal, herbed bread, green beans

Sunday: spaghetti, green beans, herbed bread

My new kitchen!

So, we recently moved to our new home! I am truly loving it. We have so much more space, and it is so nice to be able to have the dogs in the backyard and not have to worry about them destroying anything. It's also good for them to be able to run and play. I love everything about our new place, but my favorite part of the house, by far, is my new, wonderful, amazing, HUGE kitchen! Check it out!


I am absolutely in LOVE with my new kitchen! It is such a massive change from the previous kitchen I had to work with. The kitchen in our old apartment was a tiny galley kitchen with very little storage space and even less work space. It was overflowing with kitchen supplies and tools, and there was no room to prepare dinner. Here is a pic to show you the old kitchen:


I am so thankful to be out of the tiny kitchen! I actually have space for all of my kitchen tools and appliances! I even have a whole section of counter space just for my mixer and baking. It will be so much easier now to prepare dinner, and Ryan and I can even be in the kitchen at the same time without feeling like we've been stuffed into a pack of sardines! I am so excited to be able to make many wonderful dinners in my new kitchen!

As close as I'll get to a Mediterranean cruise!

I was trying to decide what to have for dinner tonight when I realized that I had a pork tenderloin sitting in my refrigerator that needed to be used before it went bad. And no one wants to have pork tenderloin go bad because it is not exactly a cheap cut of meat. So I knew that would be what we were having, but I wasn't sure exactly how to prepare it. Luckily, I came across a recipe in my Williams-Sonoma cookbook for Tuscan-Style Roast Loin of Pork. I figured the tenderloin would work just as well, so I set out to make it...along with Parmesan Garlic & Herb Couscous, fried squash, and cooked carrots. The tenderloin turned out to be AMAZING! The flavor from the rub was incredible. This is quite possibly mine and Ryan's favorite meat dish ever. It doesn't take too long to make either. Total prep time is about 20-25 minutes, and it roasts in the oven for 45 minutes, but you can do other things during that time. Also, if you have an herb garden, it will make this dish more budget-friendly, since fresh herbs are fairly expensive to buy at the grocery store.

The couscous was a new thing for us. I have seen a lot of recipes using couscous, but I had never been brave enough to actually try it. I set aside my fears for one night, and it actually turned out good! In my opinion, it was a little bland, but I can always add more herbs next time. Also, after I had started cooking it, I realized I didn't have any chicken broth, so I simply used water instead. This might also make it less bland in the future. But never fear, dear reader, Ryan thought it was great!

You should definitely try both of these recipes ASAP!

Roasted Tuscan Pork Tenderloin
adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook



Ingredients:

2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1 tbsp. dried
1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage or 1 1/2 tsp. dried
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper,
2 tbsp. olive oil, or as needed
1 boneless pork tenderloin

In a small bowl, make an herb paste by mixing together the thyme, sage, garlic, pepper, and enough oil to make a thick paste. You may need more or less than 2 tbsp.

Score the top of the roast in 1 or 2 places. Rub the herb paste all over the meat and let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour before cooking, or cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring the tenderloin to room temperature, if necessary, before cooking.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a roasting pan just large enough to hold the pork. Place the pork in the pan, fat side up, and roast for 45 minutes, or longer if needed. Test for doneness using an instant-read thermometer or by cutting into the meat. Pork tenderloin should be removed from the heat when the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F or when the meat is slightly pink at the center. Let rest, tented loosely with aluminum foil, for 10 minutes, slice, and serve.


Parmesan Garlic & Herb Couscous
a Lauren Hanson original

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. butter
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup couscous
1 tbsp. rosemary
1 tbsp. thyme
1 c. water or chicken stock
shredded Parmesan

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan until it starts to brown. Add minced garlic, rosemary, and thyme.

Add the couscous, and stir for about 1 minute. Then remove from the heat, and add water or chicken stock.

Cover and let sit for 5 minutes until the couscous absorbs all of the liquid. Fluff with a fork, top with shredded Parmesan and serve.




Note: for the fried squash the only change I made from a normal recipe is to use 2% milk instead of buttermilk. This way, it's not quite as fattening, but still delicious!

"He don't eat no meat?"

Despite the deliciousness of the Pesto Gnocchi, vegetarianism would definitely not fly in this house. Ryan and I both love red meat! In all honesty, I probably enjoy a good steak more than he does. And that's exactly what we had tonight with our Gnocchi. I found this "recipe" on, yet again, Pioneer Woman. I just love the flavor of this rub on a good piece of ribeye, and it's really basic and simple.

Pan-Fried Ribeyes
recipe courtesy of Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:

2 ribeye steaks
1 tbsp. Lawry's Seasoned Salt
3 tbsp. Lemon & Pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
olive oil
butter




Mix all seasonings together and rub all over steaks.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. Let the butter melt and start to brown.

Add the steaks and cook until desire doneness.

Quick and Easy...

Lemon peasy! I'm not sure where that little saying came from, but this Pesto is definitely very quick and easy to make.

Here's what you'll need:


Ingredients:
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 large clove garlic, halved
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1-2 c. fresh basil leaves
1/4 c. pine nuts
1/2 c. olive oil

In a food processor, combine Parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper. Process until the garlic is minced. Add fresh basil leaves and pine nuts and process until the basil is finely ground. With the motor running, gradually add olive oil and blend until almost smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. To store for up to 1 week, spoon additional oil over to pesto to cover by 1/4 inch. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Prior to tonight, I had never had Pesto, but I really liked it. It was a different way to eat pasta, but it was very good. You should try this today...it's so easy!

My Kind of Necessity

"I'm crazy about westerns. I need to do a western once in a while. It's like you know, eating bread, eating pasta, drinking wine. It's in my blood. I need it." - Franco Nero

Nero and I will have to agree to disagree on the bit about westerns, but he did have one thing right...good pasta can definitely be a need. I have definitely eaten my fair share of pasta in the nearly 23 years that I have been on this earth. (In all actuality, it's probably been more than my fair share...but really, who's counting?) However, until tonight, I had never made my own pasta. I'm not even sure that I knew you could make pasta at home until a few years ago. I had only ever experienced pre-packaged dried pasta. But tonight, with a tempting recipe from my Williams-Sonoma cookbook, I set out to rectify my mistaken presumptions about what good pasta is and where it comes from. For my first attempt at making my own pasta, I chose an intrigueing recipe for Gnocchi with Pesto.

So let's get started!

Gnocchi with Pesto
recipe courtesy of The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook


Ingredients:
Salt
3 russet potatoes
1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. ground Nutmeg
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 c. Pesto
6 Tbsp. butter


First, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and then add the scrubbed, but unpeeled potatoes, and let cook for 30 minutes or until fork-tender.


Drain and peel the potatoes and then place in a large bowl. Add the grated parmesan,
salt, and nutmeg and mash well with a potato masher. Let cool to lukewarm, mix in the egg and then 1 cup of the flour.

Knead the dough, adding more flour 1 Tbsp at a time as needed, until a soft and sticky dough forms, about 3 minutes.


Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then divide it into 6 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, use your palms to roll each piece into a rope 1/4 inch thick. Cut the ropes into 1 inch pieces. To form the grooves in the Gnocchi that will hold the sauce, roll each piece over the tines of a large fork or down the length of a wire whisk.

In 2 batches, cook the Gnocchi in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring often to prevent sticking, about 3-5 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a baking sheet.

Put the pesto an the 1/2 cup grated Parmesan in a large bowl. In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the Gnocchi and saute until heated through, 3-5 minutes. Transfer the Gnocchi to the bowl of pesto and cheese and toss to coat. Serve immediately!


The Gnocchi was really good, but it took a really long time to make, so this is definitely not a quick dinner! The original recipe said to cook for 5 minutes in the boiling water, but I think this was a little long because my first batch got a little over-cooked. The second batch was much better when I took it out after 3 minutes. My only complaint about this recipe is that by the time I finished cooking it, I wasn't very hungry anymore! Ryan finished all of his, though, and he said it was very tasty! So if you have a free afternoon, and want to try your hand at making your own pasta, this is a good recipe!

A Moment of Brilliance!

This is what I had on Friday when I was at work. I had recently bought some peaches because I love them, but I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with them other than simply eat them whole as a snack. But then, I had a revelation.....Peaches & Cream Cheesecake Puffs! I swear, pure genius. I already had everything I needed except the peach preserves, so I decided to go ahead and run with my creative instincts! These were absolutely amazing! They spilled out of the pastry a little while baking, but that's because I didn't bother to roll out the pastry and seal the edges or make one full pan. But you can if you want to. I was just too anxious to try them and have to work with a tiny kitchen! So I just split each sheet up into three pieces and made three smaller pastries. You should make these.....NOW!

Peaches & Cream Cheesecake Puffs
a Lauren Hanson original




Ingredients:
2 blocks cream cheese
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp Peach Schnapps
1 c. peach preserves
1 pkg puff pastry
2-3 peaches, sliced
1-2 tbsp. butter

1. Cream together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and peach schnapps until smooth.
2. Add peach preserves and mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined.
3. Prepare 1 sheet of puff pastry and place on a large baking sheet. (To prepare: roll out dough if desired)
4. Spread cream cheese mixture over pastry sheet.
5. Place 2nd prepared pastry sheet on top and place in 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
6. Brown butter in a saute pan and add peach slices to caramelize.
7. Remove pastry from oven, top with peaches and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, and serve with whipped cream!

I just can't get enough of the Caribbean

I was browsing food blogs the other day, and I came across this recipe, and I decided that I would make it for dessert with our spaghetti & meatballs tonight. It sounded so delicious and since we just got back from our Caribbean cruise and it contained my favorite tropical fruit, pineapple, I just knew I had to try them. Well, technically, pineapple is my favorite fruit...period...but that's beside the point. These were absolutely delicious and simple to make. However, I was stressing myself out while making them because I am not a well-organized cook and trying to make these while simultaneously making dinner turned out to be a little more than I could handle alone. I had added the eggs and vanilla, and was ready to add the pineapple, when I grabbed the can and realized I couldn't find my can opener, so I started yelling to Ryan to help me find the can opener, and he came in our tiny kitchen, took the can from me, and promptly looked at me like I was crazy. "Lauren...you don't need a can opener. This is a pull-top can." Yeah....it was that kind of night. But regardless, these turned out amazing and I highly recommend them!

Pineapple Butterscotch Bars
courtesy of Dole, by way of Milk & Honey http://themilkmanswife.wordpress.com/page/2/

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks or crushed pineapple, well drained (I used chunks)
1 c. butterscotch chips
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans)
powdered sugar, garnish (optional)

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; set aside.
2. Beat together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in pineapple. Stir in flour mixture, butterscotch chips and nuts until blended.
3. Pour into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F, 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Dust cooled cake with powdered sugar, if desired. Cut into squares.

Culinary Face-Off!

It is a very rare occasion when I can get my husband, Ryan, to cook. He's very timid in the kitchen and wants to know every single little step in the process. He doesn't quite have the intuitiveness of cooking, but we're working on it. So when we went to HEB to get my prescription, Ryan found a bottle of Beano's Classical White Pizza Sauce with Basil on clearance and he wanted to get it and try it out. Correction: he wanted ME to try it out. However, I didn't really trust it and told him I could make my own that would taste much better. But being the man that he is, he was fixated on the Beano's and really wanted to try it. So I offered him a challenge. We would make 2 pizzas. I would make my own sauce and make a shrimp pizza, and he would use the Beano's to make a cheese pizza. Amazingly, he actually took me up on it. I already had a bag of pre-cooked frozen jumbo shrimp, so we got the rest of the stuff we needed and headed home for our cook-off! We both made our pizzas and though they were both, somewhat surprisingly, good....mine won!! The sauce was much more flavorful because the herbs hadn't been sitting in a bottle for who knows how long. I was very proud of Ryan's pizza, though! I normally don't care for plain cheese pizza, but it was good. I definitely like pizza better without the red sauce. So I hope you make these pizzas soon!



The Champ!: Pizza Frutti di Mare
a Lauren Hanson original

1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. dried rosemary
2-3 tsp. basil & garlic seasoning
1 Mama Mary's pizza crust
1 lb. pre-cooked frozen shrimp. (You can use any size you want. I used Jumbo.)
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella
1-2 cups shredded parmesan
additional oregano, rosemary, basil & garlic for topping

Directions:
In a colander or strainer, run cold water over the frozen shrimp for about 3 minutes, until no longer frozen.
While the shrimp is thawing, make pizza sauce. Pour olive oil into small bowl and add oregano, rosemary and basil & garlic. Stir with a fork until combined.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
With a pastry brush, spread the sauce over the entire top of the pizza crust. Then add your shrimp and top with cheese. Sprinkle more spices on top, as much as you like.
Turn oven down to 425 degrees, place pizza on either a baking sheet or pizza stone and bake for 7 1/2 to 10 minutes. (I cooked mine for 10 because of the amount of shrimp on the pizza.)




The Runner-Up!: Pizza Due Formaggi
a Ryan Hanson original



Beano's Classical White Pizza Sauce with Basil
1 Mama Mary's pizza crust
1-2 c. shredded mozzarella
1-2 c. shredded parmesan

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
Brush pizza crust with as much pizza sauce as you would like.
Top with shredded cheese.
Lower oven heat to 425 degrees and bake for 7 1/2 to 10 minutes.

I'm strong to the finish!

I never thought I would cook anything that contained spinach. As a kid, spinach was one of those foods that I stayed far, far away from. It just seemed to always be overcooked, slimy and (mostly) flavorless. Needless to say, I was not a fan. So no one was more surprised than me when I was flipping through my Taste of Home cookbook and found a recipe for Spinach-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin and it actually looked tasty. I was still a little hesitant, but I figured why not give it a try. After all, I am an adult, and I can try new things! And I am glad I tried this! It was delicious! Perfectly tender and sooooooooo yummy! I adapted the recipe a little because I couldn't find provolone cheese (I think you have to get it from the deli, and that's too expensive), so I swapped that for white American and I didn't have celery salt or garlic powder, so I improvised and used garlic salt! Hey, I cut out the need for 2 different seasonings! By the way, Ryan thought this was divine, so you need to make it....now!







Spinach-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
adapted from Taste of Home Cookbook

1 pork tenderloin
5 slices white American cheese
garlic salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups fresh spinach
4-5 thin slices deli ham

1. Cut a lengthwise slit down the center of the tenderloin to within 1/2 inch of bottom. Open tenderloin so it lies flat. On each half, make another lengthwise slit down the center to within 1/2 inch of bottom; cover with plastic wrap

2. Flatten to 1/4 inch thickness (with a meat mallet). Remove plastic wrap; sprinkle pork with garlic salt and pepper. Layer with the cheese, spinach and ham. Press down gently.

3. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Tie the roast at 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch intervals with kitchen string. Sprinkle with more garlic salt and pepper. Place in a shallow baking pan.

4. Bake, uncovered at 425 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Transfer to a serving platter. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

"When the moon hits your eyes...

...like a big (pasta) pie, that's amore!" Dean Martin wasn't too far off on that one! Even though he did say pizza instead of pasta. But, as long as this takes to cook, you want it to be worth it....and boy was it! Not only was it delicious, but it made a TON and induced feet-kissing from my adoring husband. (Ok, not really....but he did say it was excellent! I wonder what kind of magic food it would take to get the feet-kissing.....lol) Honestly, though, we could probably eat on this for a week or more. Unfortunately, it doesn't look very pretty once you cut into it, and without cutting into it, it just looks like a ginormous pie, so I didn't get any pictures. But despite being attractively-challenged, this is a meal you don't want to miss out on!

Baked Angel Hair
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

1 lb. mild Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1/3 c. dry red wine (I used a cabernet)
3 c. marinara sauce
8 oz. angel hair pasta
8 oz. mozzarella, diced
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan
1 pkg. frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

Add the sausage and wine to a frying pan. Cook over medium-high heat until the wine evaporates and the sausage is brown, breaking the pieces with the back of a spoon, about 8 minutes. Add the marinara sauce and combine.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the angel hair and coo5 k for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until pasta is still slightly crunchy and undercooked. Drain. Toss the angelhair with the sausage and marinara. Cool completely. Add the mozzarella and parmesan and toss to combine.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface to a 13 1/2 inch square. Transfer to a 9 inch springform pan, allowing the excess pastry to hang over the rim. Spoon the pasta mixture into the pan. Place the second pastry sheet atop the pasta filling. Pinch the edges of the pastry sheets together to seal. Trim the overhanging pastry edges to about 1 inch. Fold the pastry edges in to form a decorative border. Cut a slit in the center of the top pastry to allow the steam to escape.

Bake until the pastry is brown and puffed on top, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes. Remove the pan sides and serve.

Wilkommen beim Hanson Haus!

Tuesday night I decided that we were going to have German Night here at our house. Yes, occasionally we eat in themes. However, it ended up as a sort of mixed-theme night because we couldn't find a German movie that we really wanted to watch, so we eventually just picked a freaking scary Spanish movie. Why a scary movie? I have no idea. Apparently I wanted to torture myself. Ryan liked it, though. But we did have wonderful, delicious, delectable, comforting German food, so I guess German Night was a partial success. Hey! Have you seen German movies? The non-WWII/Holocaust selection is limited, and much as I love those movies, it's not something I want to watch while eating. I'd really like Türkisch für Anfänger, but I can't seem to find it! Anyway, our German meal was simple, but delicious. And regardless of whether you like to have theme nights or not, you should try it!


t


Schnitzel mit Kartoffelpuree und Kohl
(Schnitzel with Mashed potatoes and cabbage)
a Lauren Hanson original

4 thick cut pork chops
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. bread crumbs (I used Italian style. Yes, I know this is German food.)
1/2 tbsp. Italian herbs (Ok, so it was a REALLY mixed-theme night.)
2 eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil

5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes
2 sticks regular butter
1 pkg. cream cheese
1/2 c. half and half
Lawry's season salt

1 head of cabbage
olive oil
salt
pepper


In a small bowl, mix the flour, bread crumbs, and herbs together. Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan over medium-high heat. Dredge the pork chops in eggs and then in bread crumb mixture to coat. Add to pan and cook until golden brown, then turn to cook the other side. Remove to a paper towel-covered plate to allow the oil to drain.

For the mashed potatoes, I used the recipe for Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, but instead of adding the roasted garlic, I substituted Lawry's Season Salt to taste. I also added about 1/2 c. half and half.

For the cabbage, fill a covered stock-pot with water. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil. Cut the cabbage head in half, and remove the spear-shaped white core. Then cut into quarters and add to the pot. Cook over medium-high heat until the water starts to boil, and then cover and turn the heat down to medium low to finish cooking for about 15 minutes.

"But I don't like fish!"

This is what I had the pleasure of listening to when I told Ryan I was planning to make Tilapia for dinner last night. My only answer was, "You'll like this fish." I swear, the man has no faith! No matter how many times I make dinner and he loves it, there's always something he thinks he won't like! But it's ok, cause then I can say, "I told you so!" However, despite my confidence with Ryan, I was a little nervous that it wouldn't be very good. In general, I don't really like fish myself, but I'm usually up for trying new things, and I had heard that Tilapia wasn't a very "fishy" tasting fish.....as much sense as that makes. But I pressed forward, and man, am I glad I did! This was wonderful! Word of warning, though...eat this as soon as you finish cooking it. And don't think I'm just being dramatic. I'm serious. Fish doesn't hold heat very well and it will quickly get cold. And cold fish is just yucky.




Parmesan and Italian Herb Baked Tilapia
a Lauren Hanson original!

4 Tilapia filets
3 tbsp. butter
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
Italian herbs
Freshly grated Parmesan
Salt
Pepper

In a small saucepan, heat butter over medium heat and add garlic. Heat until butter is melted and slightly brown, and garlic is browned. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian herbs to taste.

Remove garlic butter from heat and brush some on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place Tilapia filets on baking sheet and brush remaining garlic butter over them. Season with more Italian herbs and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

No Need to Knead!

Kneading freaks me out. Don't ask me why, but the thought of having to knead has kept me away from making plenty of bread. It's weird...I know, but it's true. My name is Lauren and I'm a kneadaphobe. There's not really anything particularly scary about kneading, but it just seems like such backbreaking work. So I stay far, far away. I thought I would never get the luxury of homemade bread. So imagine my surprise when I was flipping through my Betty Crocker cookbook that my cousin and her husband gave us as a wedding gift and I happened upon this recipe for a bread that sounded delicious......and you don't have to knead it!!!!! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Could it be true or was my mind simply playing an evil trick on me? So I decided I simply must try this for myself. And now I'm passing it on to you because it really is that delicious and easy!





Four Grain Batter Bread
recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker

Cornmeal
4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp.)
2 cups milk
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. whole weat flour
1/2 c. wheat germ
1/2 c. quick-cooking oats

Grease bottoms and sides of two 8 x 4" loaf pans with shortening or spray with cooking spray (I used Baker's Joy.); sprinkle with cornmeal.

In large bowl, mix 3 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and yeast. In 1-quart saucepan, heat milk and water over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until very warm (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F). Add milk mixture to flour mixture. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium spead 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Stir in whole weat flour, wheat germ, oats, and enough remaining all-purpose flour to make a stiff batter. Divide the batter evenly between pans. Round tops of loaves by patting with floured hands. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until batter is about 1 inch below tops of pans.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake about 25 minutes or until tops of loaves are light brown. Remove from pans to wire rack; cool.

Eat. Enjoy.

(Note: I used my Kitchenaid stand mixer to mix this, but you can also use a hand mixer. I used the wire whisk attachment until it got too thick, and then i switched it out for the dough hook to finish mixing.)

Lauren's World Famous Spaghetti

Ok, maybe it's not world famous....yet. But it should be. And I know what you're thinking, "Spaghetti....really? Anyone can make spaghetti!" And while that may be true, this is the best spaghetti I've ever had! Note: if you don't like garlic, you probably won't like this or many other of my recipes. But then again, if you don't like garlic, there's something wrong with you. And we've already discussed its many health benefits. Seriously, even if you think you don't like garlic, try this recipe. You can always scale down the amount of garlic you use.

Lauren's World Famous Spaghetti

(Note: I didn't really measure any of this. I hardly ever do unless I'm baking. These are close estimates.)

1-2 c. original spaghetti sauce
1 lb. ground beef (this is correct. I used the whole package.)
1 tbsp. olive oil (one easy way to measure this is to drizzle one time around the perimeter of the pan. This is about 1 tbsp.)
10 cloves garlic, half pressed or finely minced
1-2 tbsp. Italian herbs
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan (not the dust from the Kraft can. I prefer Parmigiana Reggiano, but Grana Podano is cheaper.)
spaghetti noodles
butter flavored cooking spray
garlic salt

Heat pan over medium-high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Brown meat.
Drain excess water/oil from pan and add spaghetti sauce.
Add pressed garlic, Italian herbs, Parmesan, and the other 5 garlic cloves whole. Allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Cook spaghetti as normal. Do not overcook. When done, drain noodles and allow most of the steam to dissipate. Then, spray generously with cooking spray and season to taste with garlic salt.

I'm such a tease...

Here's a teaser of the deliciousness coming up next week:

Parmesan & Italian Herb Baked Tilapia

Baked Angelhair

Schnitzel mit Kartoffelpuree und Kohl (Schnitzel with mashed potatoes and cabbage)

Word of the Day: Roasted

I seriously love my Crock Pot! It makes dinner....and my life so much easier. Last night, I decided to make Roasted Garlic Crock Pot Chicken and Roasted Thyme Potatoes. Hmmm....I sense a theme. Apparently the new "it" form of cooking is roasting. Or at least it is at this house. So you should get some practice with the word of the day and make these two recipes....tonight. (Note: both recipes are fairly healthy. You can always use low-fat butter on the chicken and garlic is good for your heart, helps lower cholesterol, and has been known to help prevent cancer.)

Roasted Garlic Crock Pot Chicken
adapted from The Petite Filet

1 5lb. whole fryer chicken
10 cloves garlic
1 stick butter
2/3 cup chicken broth
salt
pepper
paprika

Rinse chicken inside and out and pat dry. Season skin and inside cavity with salt, pepper and paprika. Smash half of the garlic cloves and put in bottom of crock pot. Press the other 5 cloves in a garlic press (you can also finely mince) and smear them all over the chicken. Add chicken broth to crock pot, and then add chicken. Cook for 6-8 hours.


Roasted Thyme Potatoes
recipe courtesy of The Petite Filet

3 baking potatoes, cubed
olive oil
salt
pepper
thyme

In a bowl, drizzle cubed potatoes with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and thyme, then toss to coat. Spread potatoes out on a baking sheet, and roast in oven at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

The chicken turned out absolutely delicious. The garlic butter sauce gave it a great flavor and it was not at all dry. Word of warning, though: have a meat fork or tongs ready because the meat will be falling off the bone and hard to pick up otherwise.

The potatoes were good, but not my favorites. I generally like my potatoes a little softer. But Ryan absolutely loved them, so I guess it's just a matter of preference. However, like I said, they were still good. You should definitely try them and decide for yourself. And maybe I'll come up with a way to make them a little softer.

Top 'o the Mornin to Ya!

No, it's not St. Patrick's Day yet, but I found a recipe on Vintage Victuals for overnight Irish oatmeal made in the crockpot, and since we are always running low on time in the mornings and don't have time to make breakfast then, I decided to give it a try. Hey, breakfast IS the most important meal of the day......not that I've really been following that guideline regularly. But anyway, here ya go:




Overnight Irish Oatmeal
adapted from Vintage Victuals

1 c. Irish steel-cut oats (I bought McCann's.)
4 c. water
1 medium apple, peeled, cored and sliced (I used Jazz apples, but you can use any kind you like.)
2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit. (I swapped the raisins for dried cranberries.)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. half and half

Grease the inside of crockpot.

Add in all ingredients and stir together. Then cook on low heat for 8-9a hours or overnight.

This turned out well, but I thought my apples were a little on the small side, and when I put one in, it didn't seem like enough, so I added one more. However, combined with the cranberries, it was just a little too tart. Next time, I'll only use 1 apple. Also, as a note, the McCann's oats were fairly pricy at $3.50 for a box, but 1 cup actually makes a lot of oatmeal. Ryan and I both had a bowl this morning and we had plenty left over. And that wasn't nearly all of the box. Make this sometime soon!

Test

Email test

Monday Night Dinner, cont.

I didn't want the post to get too long, so I split it up. Here's the rest of our delicous meal. (Note: pictures from this meal and French breakfast puffs forthcoming as soon as I find my camera's USB cord.)



Fluffy New Potatoes

9 to 10 medium to large new potatoes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. sour cream
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 garlic clove, pressed
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse and dry the potatoes, then place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and massage to coat. And don't get too attached - you know how this will end.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Place the sour cream, cream cheese, Monterey Jack, chives, garlic, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.

Cut each potato in half lengthwise. With a spoon or melon baller, scoop out inside of the potatoes, leaving a very thin rim of potato inside the skin. Add the potato pulp to the mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Using a potato masher or fork, gently mash the ingredients together until fluffy and smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings - be sure to salt it adequately. Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells.

At this point, you can flash freeze the potatoes if you want: Stick the pan in the freezer, uncovered, and allow them to harden on the outside for about twenty minutes or so. Then simply throw them into a couple of large ziploc bags, seal them tightly, and freeze them until you need them.

When you're ready, bake the potatoes in a 375 degree oven until thoroughly warmed through. The potatoes will soften, "melt", and fill the potato shells as they bake.

Monday Night Dinner

Both of these recipes are from, yet again, Pioneer Woman. I just love the things she makes! And she makes it seem so easy! I really enjoy that her recipes are easy but soooo delicious and filling, but not at all pretentious. She lives on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma and she has 4 kids, so she makes a lot of "down-home" comfort food, but in new and different ways! Her website has become a daily staple for me! I decided to make her Ranch Style Chicken and Fluffy New Potatoes tonight, and they turned out amazing. Ryan gave it a 9 out of 10! When I asked him what a 10 would be, he said, "A whole smorgasbord of deliciousness like this!" I love it when he sings my culinary praises! It makes me want to cook more often....which is the entire point of this blog! So here are the recipes so you can make your own 9 meal!




Ranch Style Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Thick cut bacon
1/4 cup bacon grease
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp. Paprika
Crushed red pepper (optional - I left this out. Ryan can't handle the heat and I don't like the heat.)
Sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup canola oil

To begin, mix together Dijon, honey, lemon juice, Paprika, 1/2 tsp salt and whisk until smooth. Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like things a little spicy.

Next, rinse the chicken breasts under cool water and pat them dry. Individually place the chicken breasts between two sheets of waxed paper and pound to around 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick with a mallet. Next, add all the chicken to the bowl with the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours.

While the chicken marinates, fry up some bacon. When finished cooking, reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon grease and clean out the skillet.

When the chicken is done marinating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off excess marinade. Heat half of the reserved bacon grease with the canola oil in the clean skillet over medium-high heat. When the grease is nice and hot add two or three pieces of chicken to it. Cook until brownish/blackish, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. Remove chicken to a large baking sheet. Place chicken in preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Lay a few pieces of bacon over each chicken breast. Sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar cheese over the top of the chicken as generously as you like. Return pan to oven for an additional five minutes until cheese is melted and bacon is sizzling. Serve immediately.

French Breakfast Puffs

I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman, and they looked so yummy that I just had to try them. They were really easy to make and they taste incredible! They're technically breakfast puffs, but they're so sweet and sugary, I'm sure you could eat them as a dessert too, but whenever you eat them, make sure you eat them warm! And then go run a mile!




Ingredients:
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar (for dough)
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sugar (for cinnamon/sugar mix)
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 sticks butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.
In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a different bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening. Then add eggs and mix again. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
In a bowl, melt 2 sticks butter. In a separate bowl, combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Dip baked muffins in butter, coating thoroughly, then coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Eat. Enjoy. Work out for an hour to burn the delicious calories!

To Die For Pot Roast

I found a recipe for a slow cooker pot roast on another cooking blog, The Petite Filet, the other day and it sounded really good, so I decided to make it last night since I had a late class, and I could just come home from work, throw it together, and then come back from class later and dinner would already be cooking. It's like having a personal chef! Crock Pot, will you be my Valentine? Anyway, it was really easy, so here's the recipe:

To Die For Pot Roast

4 lb. roast, any kind (I used a chuck roast.)
2 packets brown gravy mix
2 packets ranch dressing mix
1 packet Italian dressing mix
1/2 c. white wine (I used Turning Leaf Pinot Grigio, but you can also use a Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, etc. Any white wine will work.)
1/2 c. water
3-5 carrots, peeled and chopped. (I only used 3, but you can add as many as you want.)

*note: the original recipe called for quartered red potatoes, but I don't like the way potatoes taste when they're cooked with the roast, so I made Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes instead.

Empty all packets into a small bowl and mix together.
Rub packet mixture all over the roast, covering completely.
Add wine and water to bottom of crock pot and add in carrots.
Put roast on top and cook for 4-5 hours on high heat. (You can also cook for 8 hours on low heat if you will be gone all day.)

My roast was a slightly less than 4 lbs, so I cooked it for 4 hours on high and it turned out absolutely delicious! The meat practically melted in my mouth it was so juicy and tender. The wine also brings out a great flavor in the meat. Definitely try this one!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
adapted from Pioneer Woman

5 lbs. regular Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved (I use Yukon Gold.)
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 sticks regular butter, softened
4-6 heads garlic, roasted

Roasting the garlic is the longest process, and you don't want to try to handle them straight out of the oven, so you should definitely do this first.
Get a pie plate and add 1-2 tbsp. (1-2 times around the plate) of olive oil. Tilt plate to cover completely.
Chop off the tops of the garlic heads to expose the cloves.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Roast in a 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

Once you have the garlic in the oven, put a stockpot of water on high heat and bring it to a healthy simmer.
Then, add the potatoes and boil for 30 minutes or until fork-tender.
When the potatoes are ready, drain them and return them to the stockpot on the oven, reducing to low heat.
Mash potatoes for 2-3 minutes on low heat until most of the steam is released. (This prevents the potatoes from being mealy and watery. Cause that's just gross.)
Then, turn off the heat and add the butter and mash in.
Add the cream cheese and mash in.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Then, and this is the BEST part, grab the heads of roasted garlic at the bottom, turn them over above the potatoes, and squeeze from the bottom until the roasted cloves come out. Some will still be in tact and others will be mushy. This feels really gross but I promise, the result is worth the mess on your hands. Just mash the cloves into the potatoes, and then get ready to enjoy! These are seriously the best mashed potatoes EVER!

(Sorry I didn't get any pictures this time.)

Welcome to my Cooking Blog!

Many of you already know that since I moved to College Station and out on my own, I have discovered that I have a passion for cooking. I love finding new recipes and trying them out. One of my favorite types of food is Italian, but I like lots of things. However, I am a fairly picky eater (I don't like tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers of any kind, onions for the most part, etc.) so I like to try recipes that are a little more difficult, but not overly pretentious (aka expensive and time-consuming). Obviously, there are also many recipes using ingredients I don't like, so that is always a challenge. However, despite my new-found love of cooking, there are many days when I come home and I just don't feel up to it, whether because of working late or school stress and Ryan and I end up spending too much money and not eating healthily by grabbing something quick at Sonic, Layne's, Rosa's, etc. So, Aggie that I am, in an effort to beat the hell outta fast food and further my cooking skills, I have decided to start this cooking blog and let everyone know what new recipes I've tried! You may see many crock pot meals, as this particular kitchen appliance has become one of my new best friends, and occasionally I do some baking, so I'll throw those recipes up here too. Enjoy!