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Happy Cooking!

Thanksgiving Recycled

Well, Thanksgiving is over. The kitchen is cleaned. The crowds have gone home. And here you sit with a fridge full of leftovers asking the question we ask every year...what do I do with all of it? We've come up with some of our favorite recipes that take leftovers to a whole new level.

After a morning filled with shopping and scoring awesome deals, why not take a break with a yummy Turkey Cranberry Panini. Simple and delicious this sandwich is sure to please!

Turkey Cranberry Panini

• Your favorite bread...sliced or a roll, it's up to you!
• Leftover turkey
  
• Leftover cranberry relish/sauce
• Swiss cheese
• Mayo and/or Mustard

Combine all your ingredients and make a sandwich as usual. Then butter the outside of your bread and grill in a saute pan over medium heat or in a panini press until bread is golden and crispy and the cheese is melted! Serve and enjoy!

After such a tasty lunch, who wouldn't be in the mood for something sweet? Plain old leftover pumpkin pie not doing it for you? Try this Pumpkin Pie Brulee. It's a yummy twist on one of our favorite desserts.

Leftover Pumpkin Pie Brulee (Michael Chiarello)

• Leftover pumpkin pie
• 5 tablespoons sugar

Peel crust off the outside of overturned pieces of pie and line the inside of small ramekins or coffee cups with the pie crust pieces. Spoon pumpkin pie filling equally into small ramekins or stoneware coffee cups.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the filling in each ramekin.

Using a mini-torch, torch the top until sugar is caramelized. The ramekins can also be browned under a broiler. If using a broiler, stick the cups inside a pan filled with 1/2-inch of water and place under the broiler until just browned on top.

And now for what to do with all those mashed potatoes? How about whipping up a savory Shepard's pie for dinner?

Shepard's Pie with Mushroom Onion Gravy (Sunny Anderson)

• Leftover mashed potatoes
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (85 percent lean)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup low-sodium beef stock
• 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 2 zucchini, julienned
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika, plus more for garnish
• 4 ounces Havarti cheese, grated
• Mushroom Onion Gravy, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large pan on medium-high heat, combine 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil. When butter has melted, add beef, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until meat is brown. Stir in tomato paste and saute for a few minutes. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Season and remove mixture to a bowl. In the same pan, add remaining butter and oil and saute onions until almost tender, then add red bell pepper, zucchini, carrots and paprika. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

To assemble, in a 9 by 12-inch baking dish layer half of beef, pressing down to pack in, then sprinkle the cheese on evenly. Pour the remaining half of the beef over the cheese and press down. Next, add the sauteed vegetables and top with the mashed potatoes, spreading out with a spatula or the back of a spoon to even out and to form decorative peaks and valleys. Sprinkle top with paprika and bake for 30 minutes or until edges on potatoes turn golden brown. Serve with Mushroom Onion Gravy.

Mushroom Onion Gravy

nocoupons

• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups beef broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute onions and mushrooms in oil until tender and mushrooms release their moisture, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir to evenly coat. Slowly whisk in wine and then the broth. Simmer until thickened and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Thank you for letting us share some of our favorite thanksgiving leftover meals with you! Now we are off to enjoy some hot cocoa and holiday movies...after all there's only 28 days left until Christmas!

Happy Cooking Everyone!

The Cooking Contessas

"O" is for Omlettes!

Yesterday was a wonderful day!! It was the first day in a very long time that we had nothing planned. We slept in, stayed in our jammies and watched cartoons with the kids…the best! Since we had slept in, it seemed that we had woken up more hungry than usual. I went and looked in the fridge to see what I could come up with. I knew we were out of breakfast meat, but then I saw the package of cubed pancetta, and I thought an omelette would be perfect! I grabbed the pancetta, a few eggs, some crimini mushrooms, lite shredded cheese, fresh flat leaf parsley and a shallot and began to get to work.


I finely chopped one shallot and set it aside. I then finely chopped some fresh flat leaf parsley for garnish and set that aside as well. I got the pancetta sautéing in a pan and then added the mushrooms and shallots to the pan so they could all cook together until the pancetta was crispy and the mushrooms and shallots were tender and golden. I preheated a saute pan over medium heat and made sure to spray it with non-stick cooking spray. (you can also add a tiny bit of butter to the pan too…but I omitted it for a lower fat option) Once the pan was heated, I poured half of my egg mixture in (2 egg yolks and 3 egg whites, beaten with low-fat milk and seasoned with Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder) and began to swirl the pan. I have found the best method for making an omelette came from Emeril Lagasse. You stir the eggs slightly until they are just set on the bottom.  When the eggs were set, and just a tiny bit undercooked on top, I sprinkled a little bit of Trader Joes Lite Shredded Cheese mixture on half of the eggs, and then topped it with the pancetta, shallot and mushroom mixture. I then carefully folded the side with nothing on it over the top of all of the delicious fillings! I let that cook for another minute, then carefully flipped it over to continue cooking for another minute. Once it had cooked on both sides for a minute and the cheese was bubbling out the side, I knew it was ready…to be devoured!! I slid the omelette onto the plate, sprinkled it with a little bit of the parsley for some color, and began the process again. They were so yummy!! The crunch of the crispy pancetta, mixed with the smooth taste of sautéed mushrooms and shallots all enveloped in a cheesy blanket and fluffy eggs…divine! Perfect way to start out a very laid back day! So relax, enjoy and always…

Happy Cooking!!

Countdown to Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and I can hardly wait! I have so much to be thankful for, and I am so blessed to be able to spend this holiday with my wonderful family. Gathering around the table, talking, laughing, and reminiscing about old times are wonderful ways to spend the day. Preparing for Thanksgiving can be a busy, stressful time but if you slow down enough to take it all in, it can truly be a wonderful experience. Shopping for just the right turkey, gathering all your yummy ingredients, the delicious scents as everything is baking! Cooking the cranberry sauce on the stove fills the house with smells of this season…bringing to mind images of cheery fires, ice skating, and hot cocoa. And bonus..it can be made a day ahead leaving more time for watching the 83rd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! I love the parade. The dancers, the floats, the music. Sitting around with my niece and nephew and watching their faces light up as they see Dora the Explorer or Spiderman go by! And finally…Santa! Santa marks the end of the parade, but the beginning of the Christmas season (for most people…I myself have been celebrating it for months!) Sitting here writing this I am getting more and more excited for Thanksgiving! I’d like to take a moment to remind everyone that while delicious food is of course a very enjoyable part of the day; it is more importantly a day to remember all those things that you are thankful for. Last year, we started a tradition with my niece and nephew of baking cookies for our local Police Officers. A small way for us to say thank you to the men and women who devote thier lives to keeping our cities safe. This year we will continue this tradition, with one change…my church is getting in on the action! We are having a  “Cookie Exchange”, but instead of keeping the cookies we will be bringing them to our local Police Department. Which reminds me, I still need to decide what treats to make! And speaking of food, you are probably wondering what I am making for Thanksgiving! Well, this year, we are celebrating at my sister’s house and she and I are sharing the cooking responsibilities. On my list? Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, and Pumpkin Cookies. On a quest last year to find the very best side dishes, I scoured my favorite website…foodnetwork.com =-D Looking to my cooking heroes (Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis, Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay, and Tyler Florence) for inspiration I finally found some delicious recipes that made my Thanksgiving! All of them will be making a comeback this year (as my NEW Thanksgiving  traditions!), and my pumpkin cookies will see their very first holiday gathering! So, I’m off to gather my recipes and double check my ingredients…but not before sharing my favorite recipes with you =-D

Happy Cooking!

Green Bean Casserole (Paula Deen)

• 1/3 stick butter
• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 cups sliced green beans
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (2.8-ounce) can French-fried onion rings
• Pinch House Seasoning, recipe follows
• 1 cup grated Cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter. Boil green beans in chicken broth for 10 minutes and drain. Add the green beans, mushroom soup, onion rings, and House Seasoning, to taste, to the onion mixture. Stir well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then top the casserole with the Cheddar and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the casserole is hot and cheese is melted.
House Seasoning

• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

• 8 Russet potatoes (more or less depending on how many people you are serving)
• Black pepper and salt to taste
• 5 garlic cloves (you can use more or less, depending on how much you like garlic!)
• Fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups milk (Heavy cream or half and half can be substituted)
• Extra virgin olive oil

In a large pot, combine the potatoes, 2 tsp. salt, and enough cold water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and cook until potatoes are fork tender. In the meantime, roast the 5 garlic cloves (peeled) with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for 10 minutes in a 400 F oven. Remove the garlic from oven, smash into a paste and set aside. When the potatoes are done, drain them and return them to the pot. Shake the pot over medium heat for about a minute to dry the potatoes. Transfer potatoes to a bowl. Put the milk and butter in a saucepan, and heat over medium-high heat until the butter melts and the milk is hot. Remove pan from heat. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher and add in the milk, butter, and garlic paste. Sprinkle in freshly grated parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

Cranberry Sauce (Norma Jean Harden, Foodnetwork.com)

• 1 pound (4 cups) fresh cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 whole orange, unpeeled, seeds removed, and chopped fine
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• Sprinkle ground cinnamon

Wash cranberries and set aside.
Bring sugar and water to a boil. Add cranberries, oranges, and cloves. Simmer over a high flame, stirring frequently, until berries pop open. Add crushed pineapple, walnuts, and cinnamon, and blend. Cool and serve.

For Pumpkin Cookie recipe see “Tis the season for…PUMPKIN COOKIES!” blog

These mashed potatoes are so creamy...

This week my Saturday started at 5:45am. Up before the sun, I got ready and headed off to work. Luckily for me, I had a very short shift and soon I was on my way home and ready for another marathon cookie baking day! As I have mentioned before, each week I bake cookies to give to visitors at my church. This week I was making my pumpkin cookies. I had already made a “test batch” earlier this week, and now it was time to bake and box about 5 dozen cookies. In between batches I curled up on the couch to watch Christmas movies (thank you Hallmark and ABC Family Channel!!!!)  After a busy afternoon of mixing and baking, I realized that I was starting to get hungry and decided to get started on an early dinner. My mom had laid out a chicken, so I set to work preparing it for the oven. My oven was already at 350 F for my cookies, so I bumped it up to 375 F and once my chicken was ready, I slid it in and set the timer for 1 hr 30 min. Then it was back to Christmas movies, and getting my cookie boxes ready. To go with my pumpkin cookies, I had orange tissue paper and ribbon to decorate my boxes. I got busy tying and curling my ribbon and getting the boxes ready for cookies. Then, once my cookies were cool I got them all frosted and into the boxes. By this time I had about 40 min. left for my chicken, and it was time to start the rest of the food. I got the potatoes peeled and boiling on the stove and my green beans cooking in some chicken broth. I drizzled my bread with olive oil and sprinkled a little fresh grated parmesan cheese on top. Like a perfectly choreographed musical number I danced around the kitchen…taking my chicken out of the oven, raising the temperature to 400 F and sliding my bread in for ten minutes. Draining my potatoes and mashing them with butter, milk, pepper, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese…everything was coming together beautifully. I took a quick taste of my green beans, they were perfect! Pulling the bread out of the oven, I glanced at the clock…it was 6:55pm. Perfect timing. I poured myself a tall glass of milk, plated my food and sat down with my parents just in time to watch “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” on the Hallmark channel =-D I love the Holiday season.

Happy Cooking!

Mindy’s Roast Chicken

1 Whole Chicken (4-5lbs)
Pepper, Garlic Salt, Ground Sage, Crushed Rosemary and Thyme leaves.
Butter

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Remove chicken from bag and rinse with cold water. Remove giblets. Pat dry with a paper towel and transfer to roasting pan. Rub entire outside with butter, and under skin where you can. Season with pepper, garlic salt, ground sage, crushed rosemary and thyme leaves to taste. Remember to crush the rosemary and thyme in your hand with your thumb to release the aroma and flavor. Once chicken is seasoned place in the oven. Chicken should be cooked 20 minutes per pound, and is done when it is 180 degrees F.

Mashed Potatoes

6 Russett potatoes
1/4 cup milk
1/4 – 1/2 cup butter
Garlic Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup Grated parmesan

Peel and dice all potatoes and place in large pot. Fill with enough water to cover the potatoes and place on stove over medium/high heat. Bring water to boil and allow to boil until potatoes are fork tender. Drain water and return to pot or large bowl. With a potato masher, mash in milk, butter, pepper, garlic salt, and grated parmesan cheese. (You can also use a mixer if you prefer.)

Green Beans

1 can green beans
Pepper
2 cups chicken broth

Cook green beans over medium/low heat in the chicken broth for about 20 minutes  and then season with pepper.
(You can cook them longer…it all depends on how “done” you like them!)

Parmesan Bread

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Bread (whatever is fine…sourdough, ciabatta, etc.)

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Place bread on a cooking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with the grated parmesan cheese and place in oven for 10 minutes.

For Pumpkin Cookie recipe, see “Tis the season for…PUMPKIN COOKIES blog

Pizza Throwdown!

It’s Friday night and the mood is right…gunna have some fun, show you how it’s done…TGIF! Well, it’s Friday night and that means two things…it’s pizza night! and Monk is on =-D We took advantage of the afternoon break in the rain to run out to Trader Joe’s and pick up a few ingredients we needed. After which we of course popped into Starbucks to get a tasty Caramel Brule Latte! Home at last, and ready for some food, we set to work prepping our ingredients. Megan was making a delicious 4 cheese, sweet Italian chicken sausage pizza and I was making my BBQ chicken pizza. We got out our cutting boards, starting roasting our garlic, and starting rolling out our dough. Chop. Chop. Saute. Roll. Sprinkle. Dice. Soon our pizzas were sauced, cheesed, topped and ready for the oven! When the crust was nice and crispy, and the cheese a perfect golden brown we knew they were ready to eat! Out of the oven and onto the plate, we sat down to our favorite Friday night meal and dug in! Both pizzas were delicious! Now we are getting ready to relax with some hot tea, cookies, and Monk courtesy of DVR. What cookies you ask? Well, luckily we both had leftover dough so we are indulging in some Pumpkin Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies with Hazelnut! Yummy!


Happy Cooking!

Megan’s Four Cheese Italian Chicken Sausage Pizza

1 store bought pizza dough
1 bag (I use 3/4 of the bag for a large size pizza) Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio Cheese
1 roasted red bell pepper, diced (Trader Joe’s sells roasted red bell peppers in a jar, they come 3 to a jar)
1/2 cup sliced crimini mushrooms (sautéed in olive oil)
4 cloves garlic, smashed and roasted until it can be easily made into a paste
2 sweet Italian chicken sausages, diced (sold at Trader Joe’s in the meat section. Sausages are pre-cooked, and just need to be heated through)
Trader Joes pizza sauce (sold in a jar near the pasta sauces)

Set dough out for 20 minutes and pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  Smash four cloves of garlic and place on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Gather foil together at the top and twist tightly so no oil will leak out, and place in the preheated oven. Lightly flour your workspace as well as the dough and rolling in. Roll out dough to desired thickness. I like a nice crispy crust, so I roll the dough out thin enough to get a nice crunch to the crust. (Make sure you don’t roll it out too thin though, otherwise the dough will rip or tear, and may not be able to hold up under all the toppings. I’ve learned the hard way!) Place the dough on pizza pan and make sure it is smooth and free of tears or rips in the dough.  Spoon on the pizza sauce and spread evenly over the crust,making sure to leave a free edge of unsauced crust. After garlic has been roasting about 5-7 minutes, and becomes fragrant, take out foil package and open carefully. Dump contents onto cutting board and with the flat side of a large chefs knife, gently mash the garlic into a paste. Spread the paste all over the pizza sauce, mixing the roast garlic paste in with the pizza sauce. YUM! Next top the pizza with the 4 cheese blend. Sprinkle the crimini mushrooms and diced chicken sausage (which I sautéed in olive oil, together, until the sausage was browned and the mushrooms were tender) Lastly, for a nice pop of color, sprinkle the diced roasted red pepper on top of the pizza. Place into the 450 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and golden and bubbly. Slice pizza with a pizza cutter and enjoy!!! Mangia Bene! 

Mindy’s BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 store bought pizza dough
3 -4 tbsp. BBQ sauce (you can put as much as you like…I just don’t like a ton of sauce)
2-3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 bell peppers, diced (red, green, yellow, or orange..whatever combo you like!)
1/2 onion, diced
5 pieces bacon, cooked and chopped
1 cup grilled chicken strips, chopped (I like Trader Joe’s Just Grillin’  Chicken Strips)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Set dough out for 20 minutes and pre-heat oven to 450 F. Mince two cloves of garlic and place on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes, then set aside.  In a medium size pan cook up the bacon. When the bacon is done set it aside and toss the chicken into the pan with the bacon grease. Cook until chicken is no longer frozen and is slightly browned. Add in bell peppers and onions and cook for about 4 minutes. Turn off heat and set pan aside. Sprinkle rolling surface with flour and roll out your dough to the desired thickness. Transfer dough to pizza pan. Top with bbq sauce, roasted garlic, and cheese. Spoon on chicken mixture and add bacon, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Breakfast at Mindy's

Today was my day off…so when I woke up I decided to go ahead and whip myself up a yummy breakfast! At my house we absolutely love breakfast potatoes, usually with bacon and bell peppers and such. I decided to take our standard and mix it up a little bit. I started off by dicing up my potatoes into bite size pieces, spraying them with a little cooking spray (to keep them from sticking to each other) and topping them off with some seasonings. Black pepper, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper =-D I LOVE cayenne pepper on my breakfast potatoes…but you can always omit this if you are not into spicy. Into the microwave they went for 3-4 minutes. While those were cooking, I heated up some olive oil in a medium pan and added in some minced garlic and a package of pre-diced pancetta. I let those hang out for a few minutes and then added in the potatoes. Over about medium heat I let this mixture finish cooking…about 7-10 minutes depending on how you like your potatoes. Once the potatoes were done and perfectly browned I added in about 3 cups of baby spinach and let it wilt down. Then it was into a serving bowl! I topped my potato mixture with some fresh grated parmesan cheese and voila! It was just starting to rain outside and get pretty windy, so into the sitting room I went for breakfast by the fireplace. A wonderful beginning, to a great day!

Happy Cooking!

Breakfast Potatoes with Pancetta and Spinach

3 medium-sized russet potatoes
Cooking Spray
Pepper, Salt, Garlic Salt, Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cups diced pancetta
3-4 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese