Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Bacon and Mushroom Pasta

Mmmmm... this was good! I stole this recipe from Pioneer Woman and boy, am I ever glad I did! She's right. It's the perfect Monday meal.
Here's her recipe. She walks you through the whole process step by step, though, so I strongly encourage taking a look at her site!
Ingredients
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 3 slices Thin Bacon, Cut Into 1/2-inch Pieces
  • 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 1 package (10 Ounce) White Button Mushrooms, Sliced Thin
  • 1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth (OR Dry White Wine)
  • 1 cup Half-and-half
  • ¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 3 whole Green Onions, White And Light Green Parts Sliced
  • ¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
  • ½ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Salt To Taste
  • Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
  • 1 pound Thin Spaghetti Or Angel Hair Pasta
  • Extra Parmesan, For Sprinkling
Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bacon pieces and cook until light brown but not crisp. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Do not clean pan.
Add mushrooms and garlic to pan. Toss/stir around and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes; increase heat to high if needed to help mushrooms begin to turn golden brown.
Pour in chicken broth. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits. Cook over medium-high heat for several minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half.
Reduce heat and pour in half and half and cream. Stir and allow to bubble and thicken for a couple of minutes. Add sliced green onions and parsley, then cook for one more minute. Finally, add Parmesan and stir, allowing cheese to melt and incorporate into the sauce. Turn off heat.
Add cooked pasta to a large bowl. Add half the sauce from the pan. Toss with tongs. ***Add 1/2 cup hot pasta water at this point if the pasta mixture is too thick and gunky. Toss and add more water until it reaches the consistency you need.***
Serve pasta in individual bowls, topping each helping with the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle with extra parsley and extra Parmesan.


Thursday, February 4, 2010

Hot Mocha Fudge Pudding Cake

This recipe is like a coffee-infused lava cake times 20! Hot and gooey and rich... we'll be making this again. Only next time we'll do it when we have visitors so we don't eat so much of it ourselves!


¼ c butter, melted
2 t vanilla
½ c whipping cream
1 c Flour
2 t baking powder
1 c Sugar, Divided
pinch of salt
½ c cocoa powder, divided
1 c chocolate chips, melted
¾ c packed brown sugar
1-¾ c strong hot coffee

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Grease an 8 or 9 inch square cake pan. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, vanilla and half-and-half; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and 1/4 cup cocoa. Stir in the butter mixture, melted chocolate chips, and pour the batter into your prepared baking pan.
In another small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over the cake batter.
Pour the hot coffee on top of that and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top of the cake is set and the edges bubbling.

Enchilada Casserole

What's not to like? All the yum of regular enchiladas... about 1/3 of the work and 1/4 of the mess!

1lb ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 c chopped onion
1 t chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 8-ounce carton regular or light sour cream
2 T flour
1/4 t garlic powder
8 6-inch tortillas
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce
1 c shredded cheddar cheese (or more... a lot more)

In a large skillet, fry up your ground meat, onion, chili powder and cumin. Drain if needed. Stir in beans and set aside.
In a small bowl stir together sour cream, flour and garlic powder. Set that aside as well.
Lightly grease a 4-quart casserole dish. Place half of the tortillas in the bottom. Top with half the meat mixture, half the sour cream mixture, half the enchilada sauce and 1/2c cheese. Repeat layers.
Cover and chill for up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly.
Makes 6 servings.