{recipe: spicy herb mac n’cheese}

Heyy June!

It’s summertime which means days out on the water, fresh cocktails, fancy sunglasses, and of course tons of cookouts! For me summer also means lots and lots of mac n’ cheese. I don’t know why, it just seems like a cookout staple. Just ask my hubs---if it’s on the menu, I’ll most likely want to try it. I especially love when the traditional mac n’ cheese is recreated. Some have been absolute fails, but others have taken my taste buds straight to the moon. I just love it! Can’t you tell? Recently, I had a craving for cheesy noodles and decided to experiment with a few random ingredients I had on hand. It all amounted to this delicious recipe. The hubs gave it two thumbs up! Try it out and let me know what you think. Seriously, I’m always open to suggestions!

spicy herb mac n’ cheese:

Servings: 4

Source: Jkrabbits INC Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 cups of cavatappi pasta

1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream

3 oz of velveeta (cubed)

1/4 cup of shredded smoked gouda

1 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of chipotle powder

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup of fresh baby spinach leaves

1/4 cup of bacon pieces (optional)

How To:

Step 1: Bring slightly salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Add pasta and cook until al dente. 

Step 2: In the meantime, add whipping cream, velveeta, gouda, and butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir until melted. 

Step 3: Once cheeses have melted, add minced garlic, pepper, chipotle powder, garlic salt, parsley, and basil.  

Step 4: Incorporate baby spinach leaves and bacon pieces. Turn heat to low and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Step 5: Once pasta is cooked to al dente, remove from heat, strain, and rinse with cool water. Shake out any excess water. 

Step 6: Add pasta to your serving dish and pour cheese sauce over top. 

Step 7: Slowly combine the sauce and pasta until all the noodles are covered. 

Step 8: Serve warm and enjoy!

Super easy and incredibly good! If you want to tone down the spice, take out the chipotle powder. I personally enjoy it as it adds a bit of a smoky flavor. I may experiment with it some more in the future and come up with a baked version.

J

So long for now!

The Mrs.

{recipe: crockpot chicken cordon bleu}

Happy weekend everyone!

Today I have a super delicious recipe for you guys to try out; Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu! I’m sure many of you may have tried one version or another of this delightful dish. It’s one of my favorites---cheese, ham, & chicken---yum! Such a great combo of flavors. I decided to put my own spin on this traditional dish and came up with a recipe I think you might enjoy. I switched out the swiss for some smoked gouda and added a special sauce that is unbelieveable delicious (seriously---I had to stop myself from licking the crockpot). Give it a go and see if your tastebuds are as impressed as mine were.

crockpot chicken cordon bleu:

Servings: 4 – 5

Source: Jkrabbits INC Kitchen

Chicken Ingredients:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4-6 slices of smoked gouda

4-6 pieces of thinly sliced honey ham

1/4 to 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour to dredge the chicken in

garlic salt & pepper to taste

italian herbs

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup chicken broth

1 & 1/2 cups of grated colby cheese

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons of butter

2 teaspoons white granulated sugar

2 large tablespoons of flour

3 tablespoons of dry white wine

2 tablespoons of minced onions

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

1/2 tablespoon of dried italian herbs

1/4 cup of sliced button mushrooms (optional)

How To:

Step 1: Place chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and using a mallet (or whatever your have around---for me it was a wine bottle...haha), pound each chicken breast to 1/4″ thickness.

Step 2: Season each piece of chicken with garlic salt, pepper, and italian herbs.

Step 3: Place 1 gouda slice and 1 ham slice on each breast, then roll up (tucking loose ends in) and use a toothpick to secure.

Step 4: Dredge each chicken roll in flour & shake off any excess.

Step 5: In a skillet, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and turn your heat to med/high. When the oil is hot, carefully place your chicken rolls in the skillet and brown both sides until golden brown.

Step 6: Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat melt the butter, then add the garlic salt, pepper, italian herbs, onions, garlic, and sugar.

Step 7: Add the flour and whisk in quickly until the roux is bubbly and smooth.

Step 8: Add the chicken broth, cream, milk, & white wine.

Step 9: Continue whisking over med. heat until it has thickened – about 10 minutes.

Step 10: Turn heat to low and then add the grated cheeses.

Step 11: Stir well until smooth and creamy.

Step 12: Add the mushrooms now and anything else you’d like to include.

  

Step 13: Place the chicken rolls into the slow cooker and pour the sauce over top until covered.

Step 14: Cover with lid then allow to cook on low for 5-6 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. The chicken is done when it falls apart easily when forked.

Step 15: Remove from crockpot and place on a nice plate. I put mine over spinach so my guests could enjoy some greens with their meal.

I was surprised at how tender the chicken was after cooking. And the flavors were beyond amazing! This definitely makes my list of favorite recipes. Hopefully it will make yours too J

Good day friends!

Mrs. E

{recipe: creamy bacon carbonara}

{all the yummiest ingredients}

I’m changing up the format of my recipe posts. I was spending so much time taking pictures along the process that my cooking time was almost doubled every time (Jesse was not happy with our 9 p.m. dinnertimes). It also took a bit of joy out of the process for me and by the time I was done, I would forget to compose a nice shot of my finished product. Editing was also a big hassle as I would have a million pictures to sort through. No more. Now I will spend more time on a few well composed photos of my final product and more time enjoying what I love to do—cook! Now onto what you really came here for---bacon and pasta!

I was really hungry the other day and in the mood for bacon so I hopped onto the World Wide Web for some ideas. That’s when I came across several recipes for bacon carbonara. It certainly peaked my interests and inspired me to experiment a little. Most of the recipes I found called for an oily sauce, but personally I’m a cream sauce kind of girl. I decided to look up a few cream sauce recipes and combined some methods to get the perfect sauce. What I ended up with was…well you tell me ;)

{bacon!}

creamy bacon carbonara:

Servings: 5 - 6

Source: jkrabbits inc. kitchen

Ingredients:

·         3 cups of rigatoni pasta (you can also use cavatappi)

·         8 strips of thick cut bacon (or more if you really love it)

·         1 1/4 cup of heavy cream

·         2 eggs

·         1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

·         3 tablespoons of dry white wine

·         2 tablespoons of butter

·         3 cloves of garlic (minced)

·         2 roma tomatoes (chopped---roma tomatoes are best for this recipe as they are firm and will retain their shape during cooking)

·         salt & pepper to taste

How To:

Step 1: Whisk together the eggs and parmesan; set aside.

Step 2: Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces then fry in a large sauté pan over medium heat until cooked---not super crispy or burnt.  

Step 3: While your bacon is frying, toss pasta into a large pot of salted boiling water and cook until al dente.

Step 4: Once the bacon is finished cooking, add the salt, pepper, garlic, butter, cream, and white wine to the pan and simmer until you get a thick and creamy sauce.

Step 5: Add in roma tomatoes.

Step 6: Once the pasta is cooked, drain it completely then add it to your cream sauce and stir until the pasta is covered.

Step 7: Add the egg and parmesan mixture to the pan and stir it into the pasta and sauce.

Step 8: Serve immediately.

And that’s really all there is to it! I was surprised at how easy it was to make and how delicious it came out. This recipe will definitely be a repeat here in Casa de Ellis. Yum!

So long for now!

Mrs. E.

{recipe: pumpkin ravioli w/cream sage sauce}

I first made this recipe last year around this time and while I was a bit nervous about my results (it was my first time ever making pasta), I ended up being very pleased. The pasta turned out a little thicker than I would have preferred (I did use an empty wine bottle as my rolling pin after all) but the filling was perfect---light and fluffy. This time around I had the assistance of not only my Kitchenaid, but the pasta rolling attachment. It definitely made a difference as it allowed me to roll my pasta to the perfect thickness. My arms also weren’t as tired afterwards. As before, the filling was super light and fluffy (making it a great recipe for those on track to a healthier 2012), and overall ended up being a perfectly filling little dinner.

{delish!}

Pumpkin Ravioli:

Servings: 4
Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

·         1 cup of ricotta cheese

·         ½ cup of pumpkin puree

·         ½ teaspoon of salt

·         ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg

·         2 cups of all-purpose flour

·         Another ½ teaspoon of salt

·         ¼ cup of tomato paste

·         1 tablespoon of olive oil

·         2 eggs

·         2 tablespoons of water

How To:

Step 1: Mix the cheese, pumpkin, ½ teaspoon of salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Step 2: Mix the flour and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Then, make a well in the center of the flour.

Step 3: Beat the tomato paste, olive oil, and eggs, until well blended. This step will not look pretty at first, but it gets a little better.

Step 4: Pour the tomato paste mix into the well you made in the flour. Stir with a fork, gradually bringing the flour mixture to the center of the bowl until the dough make a ball. If your dough is a little dry, mix in 2 tablespoons of water.

Step 5: Knead lightly on a floured cloth cover surface (or in your Kitchenaid with the dough hook), adding flour if the dough is sticky, until smooth and elastic. Do this for about 5 minutes.

Step 6: Cover and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Step 7: Divide the dough into four equal parts. Roll the dough, one part at a time, into four rectangles of about the same size. Keep the rest of the dough covered while working.

Step 8: Drop 2 level teaspoons of filling onto two of the rectangles, about 1 1/2 inches apart in 2 rows.

Step 9: Moisten the edges of the dough, and the dough between the rows of pumpkin mixture with water. Place the other 2 rectangles on top of the rectangles with filling, pressing the dough down around the pumpkin.

Step 10: Cut between the rows of filling to make ravioli (I used a pizza cutter); press the edges together with a fork. Seal the edges well.

Step 11: Place ravioli on towel; let stand, turning once, until dry, about 30 minutes. I let my little raviolis dry on a towel for about 15 minutes, but then placed them on a plate and let them dry in the fridge for another 15 minutes.

Step 12: After they’ve dried, cook ravioli in 4 quarts of boiling salted water until tender; drain carefully. You may lose a couple raviolis if they weren’t sealed tight enough, but the rest should turn out perfect.

Step 13: After you’ve drained them, place them in your bowl and pour the cream sage sauce over them (recipe to follow).

Cream Sage Sauce:

Servings: 4
Source: Me (I eyeballed a few things adding more or less depending on flavor)

Ingredients:

·         ¾ cup of heavy whipping cream

·         1 tablespoon of butter

·         1 teaspoon of garlic salt

·         6 fresh sage leaves

How To:

Step 1: Combine the cream, butter, garlic salt, and sage leaves in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Step 2: Stir occasionally and keep watch to make sure that it doesn’t boil over.

Step 3: Once you see a slight boil begin, remove from heat.

Step 4: Remove the sage leaves (or leave for a little embellishment) and pour the sauce over your pasta. Voila!

I hope you all enjoy these recipes. This dish goes great paired with a nice glass of cabernet and olive garden breadsticks (I’ll share that recipe later).

Love,

Mrs. E.

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