Pesto Cream Sauce with Shrimp

Well, I haven't really cooked in the last two weeks. Weird, I know! It's Brean's turn to grocery shop, and it's been a busy couple of weeks for him, so he hasn't been able to do it, hence we have been scrounging around what we have in the kitchen. Which I have to say has worked out well so far, with a couple of random milk runs. But I am getting the itch to make something new, so hopefully by the end of the week I will have a menu set!
This is one we tried a couple of months ago - I liked it! The recipe calls for shrimp, but Brean and I both agreed that it would probably be better with chicken. It's a nice mix of pesto and a makeshift alfredo sauce, making it somewhat unique in the world of pasta sauces.

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 1/2 cups grated Romano cheese
• 1 cup prepared basil pesto
• 1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 20 mushrooms, chopped
• 3 roma (plum) tomato, diced

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in garlic and butter, and saute until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Dissolve flour in milk, then stir in. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheese, and stir until melted. Stir in pesto. Add shrimp, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook 4 minutes, or until heated through. Toss with pasta until evenly coated.

I did not add the mushrooms or the tomatoes, though I would definitely consider doing the tomatoes next time. I decreased the butter by half (to 1/4 cup) because with the olive oil and the pesto, there was just a lot of grease going on already. Surprisingly, the reheated leftovers were not nearly as greasy as reheated pesto or alfredo usually is. All in all, this was a pretty tasty dish, and while I wouldn't add it to our regular routine of meals, it's definitely a "make again" kinda dish.

Factoid of the day: We have officially been in our house for a year, as of yesterday!!!!! (insert noisemakers and confetti here) It's been crazy, especially around the holidays and the month of January to look over at Brean and say "we were signing a crap-load of papers at this time LAST YEAR". It doesn't feel like it's been year since packing up our cars in the midst of the biggest snow storm last year and driving across town to unload in our pink and teal house. (which still has teal carpet going on, but at least the pink walls went away) We were (and still are!) so blessed by our apartment neighbors, who spent many trips helping us get all of our belongings transferred, as well as spending countless hours helping paint, and chip off horrible wall paper borders, and just keeping us company. We are starting to put down roots here, and it's nice. For a long time, we were just living in an apartment in our college town, just drifting by I guess you would say. But now we are getting involved in our community, and cultivating friendships of people who are planning on making this little burb their home.
In other big news, we have acquired a dog! Through a random series of events, we were basically handed the perfect situation to get a Great Dane - he's a re-homing situation that is up to date on all shots, has been neutered and had a gastropexy (which is a big deal in Danes - you tack the side of the stomach to the abdominal wall so that they are unable to bloat), is crate trained, sits/lays down/fetches, and is in general the most well-behaved dog that I have ever met (with the exception of chewing his bed) all at 9 months old! It's been several days, and the cats are adjusting actually much faster than I expected. Doof was "himself" yesterday, instead of slinking around and hiding all the time, and Minion just thinks it's fabulous that Sully's food is another potential food source for him!
It's been a stressful week - I'm fighting a sinusy/sore throat kind of cold, I'm concerned about getting finances for the family cruise in May, and despite the fact of loving Sully, it's been an adjustment adding a dog to the mix of our family. There have been several days that I've just felt on the verge of crying all day, and it just feels stupid. Today is a better day, I think. But if you think about it, send up a little prayer for me that my heart will remember the mantra that my head is repeating "God is in control". Worrying and stressing is silly, because there is nothing I can do to help the situation anyway! With that being said, I'm off to do some de-stressing treadmilling, and hopefully will blog more this week! Feel like I've been slacking! ;)

Double Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

Not for the faint of heart (or fearful of calories!) this cheesy monstrosity is an awesome dish (I think), plus is gluten free! I made it for the staff Christmas party, and there was some issue with trying to get the potatoes done, but the flavor was excellent, and it was pretty good the next day (though a definitely on the greasy side). when the potatoes were cooked.

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart baking dish.
2. Layer potato slices in prepared baking dish. Pour cream over potatoes; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Season potatoes with salt and pepper.
3. Bake in preheated oven until potatoes are soft, about 1 hour. Remove from oven; gently stir potatoes. Sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese; cover and let rest until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

My first big change for this was that I made it in the crockpot, and cooked it on low for several hours. That was a mistake! :p So about 3 hours into the cooking process, with dinner scheduled for 4 hours after that, the potatoes were still hard as a rock. Proceeded to turn it up to high - 5 hours later, the potatoes were MOSTLY done. I like the theory of making it in the crockpot, but I may try to bake it per directions next time and see if that helps, though numerous reviews complained about the cooking time not being long enough.
While I was layering these in the crockpot, I did add some garlic salt and pepper for a bit of an added kick, as well as put cheddar cheese and parmesan in the middle layers. I increased the amount of parmesan cheese, partly because I love cheese, and partly because it was soupy and I hoped the extra cheese would thicken it up. I really liked the flavor of it, but I would definitely make some changes.. Next time, I will  cut down on the heavy cream (perhaps substitute half and half?), and either bake it or crock pot it on high for 5ish hours. Definitely keep the higher amounts of cheese the same - it provided amazing flavor and depth to the dish. All in all, it was very good, and I think next time it could be better.

Today was the perfect day - out to lunch with a close friend, Skype dates with family, kitchen cleaned while listening to Pandora, down time to read and blog, and I still have 5ish hours of my weekend left! :D I'm one of those crazy people that needs a LOT of alone time, but I also need to have time out of the house. I can usually spend a 24ish hour period at home without going anywhere, but towards the end of that time frame, I start getting antsy and grouchy to just get OUT. I got to spend several hours in the sun room today - I just love that room, and it tends to be one I forget about! Sad, isn't it?! It's the perfect reading room, though a little chilly. Perfect to curl up with a fuzzy blanket and hunker down for some intense reading time with the snow billowing in wind-blown clouds around you. Now I think I'm off to see if I can get my scrapbooking corner set up in our room. Mom2 and I went scrapbooking on Friday, so I'm feeling a little bit of those rare creative energies flowing. :P Wish me luck!

Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak

I just loooooooooooove my crockpot. Though some of these 4-5 hour recipes are a little more challenging during working hours - if I start it before I leave for work, it's done before 3 pm, which is a little early for dinner, if I start it after work, it's done by 8:30 - either way is a little bit off for dinner time! This was a good one, but DEFINITELY use a higher quality, VERY lean hamburger. I was worried it would be a little bland, but it really wasn't.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (1 ounce) packet dry au jus mix
• 3/4 cup water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion soup mix, bread crumbs, and milk using your hands. Shape into 8 patties.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the patties in flour just to coat, and quickly brown on both sides in the hot skillet. Place browned patties into the slow cooker stacking alternately like a pyramid. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream of chicken soup, au jus mix, and water. Pour over the meat. Cook on the Low setting for 4 or 5 hours, until ground beef is well done.

I actually made this recipe as directed, with no changes. Ok, wait - there was one change. Dang it, and here I thought I was about to publish this as is! I did substitute the cream of chicken for Cream of Chicken and Mushroom. I like Cream of Mushroom (Brean does not), so I figured this would be a good compromise. There ended up being a large coating of grease on the top, which I was able to skim off (mostly). I believe that it was due to the quality of hamburger I used (I hope!). All in all, it was pretty easy, and while the gravy was not quite as good as the Swedish Meatball recipe, it was more than adequate. Served over mashed potatoes, and it was a dinner well worth the effort!

Today is our monthly Dr. Who night with Brean's family. I think Dr. Who is pretty entertaining....in that I entertain myself with useful things while it plays in the background. This is my once a month time to go through my AllRecipe daily e-mails, play Zuma, catch up on blogging (obviously :p), and do whatever interweb putzing I've been putting off. I love the monthly time that is set aside to spend time with family, and I do have to say, I am starting to watch more Dr. Who as we meander our way through the 1970's.
We started Dr. Who night over 2 years ago! Hard to believe it's been that long! But we came about with this after watching the movie Julie/Julia. What does that have to do with Dr. Who you might ask? Well, Mom2 and I after watching that movie decided that we should get together once a month and try recipes that we had never tried before. After getting some familial input on this idea, it was decided that we should watch something on the days that we did it, and as some of us had never seen Dr. Who, either at all, or all the way through, it was decided. And Dr. Who night was born. We started at the VERY beginning, and have been working our way through all of the different "seasons" that we can, as some of them have been destroyed over the years. I think when we first were figuring out how long it would take us to catch up to the current season, our estimate was 10 years. However, after 2+ years, we are almost half way done (!!!!!), based on the fact that we haven't been able to access large chunks of seasons. We are currently on Tom Baker as the Dr., who happens to be Brean's favorite. I'm starting to enjoy them more as they finally seem to have plots that A) make sense (sort of...) and B) better acting, and C) better special effects. Up until this point, and it still happens sometimes, we view Dr. Who through MST3K glasses, full of commentary and a ton of laughter.
For the most part, we have stuck with our "bring-a-dish-that-has-never-been-tried" rule, with occasional divergence. Sometimes Mom2 and I will text/e-mail the week before and say "ahhh! It's Dr. Who night! I don't feel like cooking...how does pizza sound?" I think my favorite new dish was one that Josh made called Cucumber Chicken - it sounded weird, but it was amazing! Truthfully, I think it was during this Dr. Who time that my blog idea really got planted. I started trying all kinds of new recipes and needed some way to keep track of it.
And there you have the history of Dr. Who night!

Almost Famous Swedish Meatballs

I got this recipe from my boss, who got it from a food or parents magazine....I think. :p But this really is an amazing Swedish Meatball recipe (based on the one from Ikea I believe) - very rich and creamy without being too heavy, and pretty easy to make! The homemade meatballs are a nice touch, and definitely worth the trouble, but could probably be substituted for store-bought ones if necessary.


Ikea's Swedish Meatballs
Meatballs

• 1 cup breadcrumbs
  
• 2 Tablespoons butter
  
• 1/3 cup minced onion
  
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
  
• Kosher salt and ground pepper
  
• ½ cup milk
  
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• ½ pound ground beef
  
• ½ pound ground pork
  
• 1 large egg, plus 1 egg white beaten
  

1. To make the meatballs: Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Heat the butter in the skillet over medium-heat. Add the onion, garlic, allspice, 2 tsp salt and ¼ tsp white pepper and cook, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes. Add milk and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Pour the milk mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir to make a thick paste. Add beef, pork, egg, and egg white to the bowl and mix until combined. Roll the meat into 1” balls onto baking sheet. (optional: refrigerate for 1 hour) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake meatballs until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
   

Gravy

• 4 Tblspn butter
  
• 6 Tblspn all-purpose flour
  
• 3 cups beef broth
  
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• ½ cup heavy cream
  
• Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
  

1. To make the gravy: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth. Whisk in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and meatballs. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until gravy thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over egg noodles.

I pretty make this recipe as written, though as I type this, I realize that I have typed up my already altered recipe. :p  For the gravy, use your judgement when adding the flour - the original recipe calls for equal amounts of butter and flour, but I like thick gravy, so I tend to add more. The original recipe also calls for 1/2 pound of pork, and 3/4 pound of beef. I think those are weird amounts, and after playing with it, we actually liked it better half pork/half beef. You can also substitute the heavy cream for half and half, with very little change to the taste. I have served these over egg noodles, and tonight we tried them over mashed potatoes, and that was equally excellent. I think I'm going to start doubling the meatball portion of the recipe and freezing them after they are cooked. The meatballs are still awesome after being frozen, and then you just have to make the gravy to have a really easy meal.


Gosh darn it, I WANT TO PAINT MY LIVING ROOM! And why don't I, you might ask. Well, currently it is cream. As is the rest of the main living areas of my house. After living in an apartment with strictly white walls for 6 years, I want some COLOR in my life! I have my color theme all decided - olivey green walls (but bright ones, not dark - it's hard to describe, but it will be awesome, trust me!) with dark brown furniture, which is already in place (minus a coffee table). So now my dilemma...the carpet is teal. This is a problem. No matter how I cock my head, or squint, or look at it with sunglasses on, I'm just not seeing how teal and olive green are going to mesh until we can replace the carpet. (and since the carpet is good quality carpet, I don't foresee that happening anytime soon) The current teal/brown/cream theme is working pretty well. But I want more green!!! Sigh....I suppose I will just wait for now. Plus, I think Brean still might be on strike from painting. Not that that is a truly contributing factor.... ;) So now I will go back to listening to Ingrid Michelson and squinting at my walls, wishing them into a green existence...

Chicken Cesar Salad with Parmesan-Encrusted Pine Nuts

This recipe is a Chaley original! I know, right?! The Melting Pot has these FABULOUS pine nuts that they put on their Cesar salad, so I went looking for the recipe online. Nowhere could I find it! So I decided to make my own. I remembered that they are a little sweet, a little herby, and covered in Parmesan cheese, so they really can be tailored to fit whatever taste you want at the moment. Here is what I used, but feel free to play around with measurements.

Parmesan-Encrusted Pine Nuts


2 Tbsp butter
Small package of pine nuts
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Oregano to taste
Garlic salt to taste
Garlic and Wine Seasoning to taste (this one is actually from the Melting Pot - it's amazing! I use it in everything!!)
Pepper to taste
1 tbsp white sugar


Directions


Heat butter in the microwave until melted in a bowl large enough to hold all of the pine nuts. Mix Parmesan, sugar, and all seasonings in a bowl large enough to toss the pine nuts in (in small quantities).
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Dump the pine nuts into the butter and stir to coat. In small batches, scoop out the pine nuts with a fork, and after letting as much butter drain off as possible, put into the bowl with the cheese and seasonings. Toss until nuts are completely coated, and using a slotted spoon (would recommend not using the same fork as you used to put the nuts IN, the butter tends to make the cheese mixture stick to it and not strain very well). Shake to get the excess cheese mixture off and place nuts on a cookie sheet covered with waxed or parchment paper.
Bake for 8-12 minutes, but keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't burn. Mine took towards the longer end of the time, but I sat there and watched them and kept turning up the time. :P


Alright, so these turned out pretty well,. I think next time I'll add some extra seasonings, maybe some Rosemary and/or Thyme.
So, the rest of the salad. I marinated chicken breasts in Cesar dressing overnight, and put them on the grill. I put these on a bed of Romaine lettuce, with tomatoes, some Parmesan cheese,sprinkled pine nuts and topped with Bolthouse Farms Cesar dressing (one of the best dressings I've found!)
All in all, it was pretty good. Not quite up to par with the Steak salad, but definitely worth making again!

Factoid of the day: I'm reading Water for Elephants right now, and while there is some stuff in there that makes me uncomfortable, I'm enjoying the book as a whole. Next on my reading list is Q&A, which is the book that Slumdog Millionaire is based on. Between my book club and just getting out of my reading box, I'm discovering all kinds of new and fun books. While the above couple are GOOD reads, they definitely hit some challenging subjects (animal abuse, human trafficking, etc). I think at the end of this, I'll be ready for a light and fluffy read! :D Some of my favorite out-of-the-box books from the past year: The Help, Hannah's Dream, The Guinea Pig Diaries, Sing You Home, and The Hunger Games.

Beer Bread

You gotta love a bread recipe that has THREE ingredients and NO kneading or rising time! I was on the hunt for a good/easy beer bread recipe, and while this one is good, it's probably not the best beer bread I've ever had, but it certainly is the easiest! And you still get that nice, right-out-of-the-oven bread taste, so it gets a two thumbs up in my book.

Ingredients

• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 3 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Add beer and continue to mix, first using a wooden spoon, then your hands. Batter will be sticky. Pour into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees ) for 50 for 60 minutes. The top will be crunchy, and the insides will be soft. Serve topped with butter or cheese spread.

It's just that easy! I've made it several times, and have played around with increasing the sugar a bit, trying to get a bit of a sweeter bread. I used Budweiser beer, and I'd like to try it with some home brew beers, as well as some dark/sweeter ones and see how that affects the taste. For you non-beer lovers out there, the beer taste itself cooks over during baking (I am a non-beer lover myself, so trust me, if there was a strong beer taste, this girl would have given it a thumbs down! :P). It's a pretty heavy bread, and very crusty on the outside. Very yummy though, especially a slice with butter and a drizzle of honey right out of the oven! 

      Today would have been my Dad's birthday. Every year, this date hits me differently. Sometimes it's fine, sometimes I'm an emotional mess. This is a doing ok year. I've spent a lot of the day reminiscing, but also thinking about how different life would be for our family if he were still around. I was blessed to have the day off, and while I will miss the hours, it's been nice to have some down time just to think. To remember. And to dream. I wish I could say I have tons of in-depth memories of my Dad, but I really don't. We weren't overly close. But I miss him. I wish he were here. I wish that he could walk my sisters down the aisle like he was able to do with me. I wish I could call him, just to say "hi" and "I love you". 

     My favorite thing about my Dad was his simple faith. It wasn't about theological discussions, or reading all the right books. It just was. And he would be the first person to help someone out if they needed it. I want to emulate that. That, I think, is my Dad's legacy. 

Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto

I got this recipe card from Olive Garden a couple of years ago, and haven't tried it until now. First of all, the term "risotto" frightened me, plus there is some slightly odd ingredients. But trust me, it's worth the effort!

Ingredients

18 large shrimp, shelled and deveined

8 cups chicken broth

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 lb fresh asparagus spears, cut into 1" pieces

1 cup tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup yellow onion, minced

2 cups Carnaroli  or Arborio rice

Fresh Parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Directions
1) Simmer chicken broth on low heat until needed.


2) Heat oil over medium heat.  Add onions and cook for about 3 minutes, or until translucent.  Stir in rice and cook for 1 minute, then add white wine.  Add 1/2 cup of broth and stir until completely absorbed. Repeat until 4 cups of broth have been added.  Stir the risotto frequently to prevent sticking. 


3) Add asparagus and shrimp to the remaining broth and cook for 2 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink.  Remove asparagus and shrimp from the broth and add them to the risotto mixture.  Add 1/2 cup of both at a time until desired creaminess is reached.  (There may be broth left over)


4) Once the broth is completely absorbed, add butter, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped tomatoes and parsley. 


    I started out using already cooked shrimp, so all I had to do was thaw and de-tail them. Because of this, I just added them to the risotto at the same time as the asparagus, but didn't boil them. (I did still boil the asparagus). And 18 didn't really look like very much, so I added a pound, which was about 35ish medium sized shrimp. (More shrimp or bacon is ALWAYS the best option. :P)  I didn't have any white white on hand, so I substituted that for 1/2 cup of chicken broth. I kept adding the chicken broth in 1/2 cup increments and used a total of 5.5 cups. I wasn't sure if the risotto was going to be mushy, but it seemed to have stopped taking the liquid as well, so I stopped adding broth at that point. And I should warn you - putting 1/2 cup of butter in at the end looks like a LOT of butter! I almost decreased it, but figured I should follow the recipe to the T the first time, and it actually turned out well. It wasn't greasy, which I was concerned about. Very creamy and yummy! I didn't add tomatoes or the parsley.  I had all my ingredients ready to go, and once I started the actual cooking process, I think it took about 35 minutes. Definitely stir the risotto frequently the whole time it's cooking, and make sure you leave it on medium heat. All in all, definitely a keeper, and less work then I expected!


We served this to some friends of ours who came over for dinner, and it was the best day! I think the art of having people over for dinner is disappearing in our culture, and that saddens me. There is just something about having someone over for dinner, not for any other ulterior motive then to enjoy their company over a meal. I remember growing up, my Mom was ALWAYS having people over for dinner. It didn't seem like a holiday unless there were other people there, and Sundays after church there was usually some stray soul at the table. In a culture where texting and Facebook are means of acceptable communication, I think it's becoming intimidating to have people come over and invade your personal space. Sometimes we get so busy between work and commitments that we forget to let people in, just for the purpose of sharing life together, creating a community. So here is my challenge for you this week - find a way to make someone a part of your life, however that looks for you. It may be a phone call for a catch up chat, or inviting someone for lunch of dinner, or setting up a Skype date. It may just make your day.