Happy Super Bowl week folks! The anticipation building up to the big game eats is my favorite part of the Super Bowl. I mean seriously, I don’t even know who is playing. I know Madonna is doing the half time show and there will be some Ferris Bueller commercial but that’s about it. Well that isn’t completely true, I also know that I will be eating a lot. And these sandwiches will be numero uno on the list.

Chances are I won’t be making as much for this year’s Super Bowl as I have done in the past. In between tummy time, nursing, cuddle time with little man and the commercials I know I just won’t have the time to make 4 different kinds of chicken wings like I did last year. That is where dishes like this sandwich come in handy because it uses already made pulled pork making the cooking time almost null. Gotta love that.

If you don’t have a pulled pork recipe that you like, here is mine from way back.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, stem removed, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (divided)
• 2 cups pulled pork
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon lime
• 8 slices crusty french bread, toasted
• 2 avocados, pits and skins removed, sliced

1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Stir in onion, jalapeno, garlic powder, cumin and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder. Stir in pork and cook just until warmed through. Stir in cilantro. Remove from heat.
2. In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, lime and remaining chili powder.
3. To make one sandwich: spread mayonnaise on toasted bread, top with 1/4 of the pork mixture and 2 slices of avocado. Serve.

Enjoy!

We had our first snowfall of the year on Sunday. I had been waiting for snow for quite some time. I love snow days. I love how cozy they are. I love how the world gets silent when the snow falls. I love sipping hot chocolate and making snow angels. However, I must say there is one thing I do not like about snow days. I do not like when snow days happen to fall on the day that I scheduled a massage. So instead of relaxing and spending the day in the spa, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen making these comforting meatballs. After eating them I almost forgot about the massage. Almost.

Anything with roasted garlic is bound to be a favorite in our home. And these meatballs are no exception. The garlic is sweet and fragrant. The herbs add a lovely earthy flavor. And the turkey that the recipe calls for makes a meatball that is much lighter than the traditional beef meatball. While I served these meatballs for dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans, I think that with some toothpicks stuck in them these would make the perfect addition to any cocktail party or say… the perfect snack after a rescheduled massage.

Makes about 15 meatballs

You will need:

• 1 bulb (or head) of garlic
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• sprinkle kosher salt
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut 1/4 inch off the top of the bulb of garlic to expose the cloves beneath, but do not peel the garlic, you want to roast it in the skin. Place bulb on a piece of aluminum foil, place butter on top, pour lemon juice over the garlic and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bring up all sides of aluminum foil and twist together to close. Cook for 60 minutes or until garlic cloves are soft and golden in color. Allow to cool.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
4. Combine turkey, shallots, egg, rosemary, sage, thyme, kosher salt and pepper in a bowl. Use a fork to remove garlic cloves from the skin and add to the mixture. Mix well. Roll into approximately 15 meatballs.
5. Place meatballs in a baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Turn on the broiler for 5 minutes to brown. Serve.

Enjoy!

These last two months have been a whirlwind. I know Thanksgiving happened. I know Christmas came, followed by the New Year but man oh man has it gone by in a split second. I didn’t even have a chance to make Christmas cookies this year.  I suppose when you live your life in 3 hour nursing session increments then that is bound to happen. However in between these sessions, I did manage to make this succulent, spicy, garlicky pork shoulder. With it’s easy prep, long but inactive cooking time, this is the perfect dish for this new mama.

I didn’t eat a lot of pork during my pregnancy. First of all salami and ham were off limits. And second, aside from the two things I couldn’t eat, pork just did not sound good to me. Like. At. All. I am making up for lost time now as I have eaten my fair share of salami, ham and I’ve actually made this pork twice in the last two weeks with another dinner planned this week. What is great about this dish, the pork is great as an entree by itself but it can also be used in many different recipes, a couple of which I hope to share with you in the coming weeks. In the meantime you’ve got to try this. And if you have one, it would be great cooked in a slow cooker.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 2 jalapenos, stem removed
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2.5 pounds boneless pork shoulder

1. Combine jalapenos, garlic, salt and vinegar in a food processor. Pulse until jalapenos and garlic are finely diced. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in olive oil.
2. Use a knife to put shallow cuts all over the pork shoulder. Place the pork in the marinade and turn to coat completely. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Place the pork in a baking dish. Pour the excess marinade over the top. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 3 hours or until a thermometer reaches 160 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing or shredding.

Enjoy!

Hey everyone! I know it’s been a while. We’re just trying to get to know our little man so I haven’t been spending any time in the kitchen aside from making myself some toast. I was planning on taking this time all along, what I wasn’t planning was for little man to come 3 weeks early so I don’t have as many recipes ready to share as I hoped. I did however happen to make this yummy curry in the days before he came. It’s quick, easy, creamy and the use of the pumpkin makes it the perfect pasta for fall.

As much as I love sweet pumpkin recipes like this or this, I really enjoy using pumpkin in savory dishes as well. It’s a nice change of pace. I’ve found that the deep earthy flavor of curry pairs very nicely with pumpkin. And because I like dishes with a little kick I add a little garam masala to the mix too. If you find that curry powder is enough spice for you feel free to leave out the garam masala.

Serves 2 – 4

You will need:

• 8 ounces dried penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 2 green onions, diced

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook onion just until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and garam masala. Stir in the pumpkin. Slowly pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until thickened slightly, 3 – 5 minutes.
3. Add pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Stir in salt. Add more if desired.
4. Transfer pasta to a serving dish, sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Enjoy!

I really love pasta dishes. I love them because I love pasta, I love them because they are comforting and most of all I love them because if you have a box of dried pasta and some meat or veggies, in this case fettuccine, broccoli and Italian sausage,  you’ve got yourself a meal. A meal that can usually be put together in about a half an hour. Which for me, at this point in my pregnancy has become more important than I ever thought.

I am currently 9 months pregnant. Yet I have about 4 more weeks to go. I feel like I’ve been lied to my whole life. Word to the wise you are actually pregnant for 10 months. Not that I am complaining, I’m just starting to get really uncomfortable. I have even noticed that these past few weeks I’m having trouble standing long enough to do any experimenting in the kitchen. As a result I have gravitated towards dishes like this pasta that are easy to make, sure to be crowd pleasers, limit the amount of time that I am standing and satisfy my pregnancy craving for anything creamy.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sausage links
• 1 pound dried fettuccine
• 2 crowns broccoli, chopped into florets
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage until cooked through. Slice and set aside.
2. While you are cooking the sausage, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, add the broccoli florets to the water. Cook until they are bright green and have softened. Drain.
3. Melt the butter in the pan, stir in the garlic, cook for 30 seconds. Return the sausage, pasta and broccoli to the pan. Add in cream cheese and heavy cream. Stir continuously until cream cheese melts. Stir in shredded Parmesan cheese. Toss until combined. Turn off heat and let pasta set for 5 minutes while sauce thickens. Toss once more. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

I am realizing now that I probably shouldn’t have asked what your favorite comfort food was for the Le Creuset Giveaway. Not because it is a bad question. Or an uninteresting question. But because reading all of your responses has made this pregnant lady crave even more comfort food, as if she wasn’t craving it enough. But oh well a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do and this girl just had to make this Shepard’s Pie variation with ground turkey, mushrooms, onions, corn and rosemary mashed potatoes.

There is a bit of work to this dish. I like to think of comfort food as food that might take a bit longer to prepare but is worth every minute spent on it. Dishes that are perfect for those cold, rainy, October Sundays. Dishes that make the house smell amazing. Dishes that warm your tummy and your soul. At least that is what comfort food is to me. And this dish is exactly that. So while you’re making the mashed potatoes and sauteing the vegetables and waiting for it all to bake up to bubbly goodness just know that it’s worth it. And it’s also worth knowing that you’ll want a nap afterward so keep a pillow close by.

Note: I used an stove to oven pan for this recipe and it made things quite easy. With that said if you don’t have a pan that is big enough simply make each component separately and then layer it in a casserole dish.

Serves 4 – 6

You will need:

• 6 medium russet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 – 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as desired
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more as desired
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 crimini mushrooms, sliced (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups mushroom broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 ounces softened cream cheese
• 1 cup frozen corn

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Place potatoes in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender and drain.
3. Return the potatoes to the pot add in butter and milk. Whip with a hand held mixer or use a potato masher. Once creamy, stir in salt, pepper and rosemary. Reduce heat to low and cover while you prepare the rest of the dish.
4. In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook turkey until cooked through and no longer pink. Drain and set aside.
5. In the same skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, stir in onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until onions are softened and mushrooms have browned slightly, about 7 minutes. Stir in flour. Allow to cook 1 minute and slowly whisk in the mushroom broth. Continue cooking until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream cheese and Worcestershire. Once the cream cheese has melted return the turkey to the pan and stir in corn. Mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. If your pan is oven proof, at this time spread the rosemary potatoes over the top. If you are transferring to a casserole dish, transfer the turkey mixture to a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top.
7. Bake the Shepard’s Pie in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 – 4 minutes or until potatoes brown slightly. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve.

Enjoy!

These days just about everything gives me heartburn. I kid you not I drink water and I get heartburn. Water. However, surprisingly, spicy food does not seem to bother me. I eat something slathered in sriracha and no heartburn what so ever.  As a result, I am going to continue adding it to as many things as possible, like this chicken salad, that also happens to be the perfect “man food” dish for football parties, and for tech support husbands.

You may or have may not noticed that the blog has been up and down, up and down, up and down the past couple of days. I thank you for your patience. I think we’ve got it handled now, but it sure does cause some stress on my part. I don’t like the idea of someone coming to visit looking for something for dinner and not being able to access the recipe. So when something happens like this, I turn to my web developer/designer/tech support/husband for help. Luckily he seems to know exactly what to do to get it fixed. As a show of appreciation, I decided to make him these spicy chicken salad sandwiches. He devoured them, as did I. How could we not with the tangy sriracha dressing, celery, shallots, cilantro and crispy wonton slices.

Makes 2 – 3 sandwiches

You will need:

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons sriracha
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 small shallot, finely sliced
• 1 rib celery, diced small
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• pinch kosher salt
• 4 wonton wrappers, sliced into strips
• oil for frying
• 2 – 3 hoagie rolls

1. Combine mayonnaise, sriracha and rice vinegar in a bowl. Mix well.
2. Stir in shallot, celery, cilantro, chicken and salt. Toss until coated in the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. When you are ready to make the sandwiches, heat a 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet. Once hot fry wonton wrappers until golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
4. Slice the hoagie rolls down the middle lengthwise. Spoon the chicken salad into the hoagie rolls. Top with wonton wrappers and serve.

Enjoy!

The other day I posted a tweet on Twitter and Facebook stating that “Sriracha just might be the sauce of the Gods”. Not surprisingly I started to get a lot of responses from people agreeing with me. Apparently the spicy loveliness of Sriracha has cast it’s spell over just about everyone. It’s because of that fact that I set out to create another recipe using the condiment of all condiments. These spicy chicken wings are the result. And in my opinion, proof that Sriracha is in fact the sauce of the Gods.

If you have experience with Sriracha it should not surprise you to learn that these wings are spicy. They are just as spicy, if not a tad bit spicier, than your traditional chicken wing but they aren’t all heat. They have a bit of an Asian twist. In addition to the Sriracha there is rice vinegar, ginger and garlic. The flavor is spicy and tangy, a perfect combination for chicken wings.

Serves 2 – 4

You will need:

• 1.5 to 2 lb chicken wings, tips trimmed and cut at the joint, rinsed and pat dry
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup Sriracha
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside.
2. In a bowl whisk together egg and milk. In a resealable plastic bag combine flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Dip wings in egg mixture then transfer to plastic bag and shake to coat. Transfer to a plate and allow to set for 15 minutes.
3. Place chicken wings on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with canola oil. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn and cook for another 15 – 20 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
4. While the wings are cooking combine Sriracha, rice vinegar, garlic powder, ground ginger and remaining kosher salt in a bowl and mix well.
5. Once wings are cooked, place hot wings in a bowl and toss with Sriracha sauce to coat completely. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

One could speculate that, like my other recent Mac N’ Cheese recipe, this recipe is also  the result of a pregnancy craving but the truth of the matter is that I love jalapeno poppers. I loved them before I was pregnant, I love them now that I am pregnant, and I’ll probably continue to love them after I am pregnant. The fact that I crave them at 10am is probably because I am pregnant but that is besides the point.  It is this love affair with jalapeno poppers that prompted me to try my hand at jalapeno popper mac n’ cheese. And as it turns out jalapeno poppers and macaroni and cheese make a beautiful combination.

To get the true taste of jalapeno poppers two ingredients were obvious: jalapenos and cream cheese. Getting the crunch right was a bit more of a challenge. Should I try bread crumbs? Croutons? Ultimately I decided on panko because I tend to like jalapeno poppers that are coated in panko. In this dish, the panko bread crumbs added the perfect bit of crunch to the creaminess of the mac n’ cheese.

While I really enjoyed the baked version, if you are short on time and looking for a stove-top variation, I’d recommend cooking the pasta according to package directions, then follow the instructions up until 4. Instead of baking, place the mac and cheese in a bowl and top with crumbled potato chips. It sounds weird but trust me, it’s quiet delicious as well.

Serves 4 – 6

You will need:

• 1lb dried conchiglie pasta
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 jalapenos, diced
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup pepper jack cheese
• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta for 6- 7 minutes or until tender but still has a bite to it. Drain.
3. Melt the butter in the same pot that you cooked the pasta in. Stir in jalapenos and cook just until softened, about 2 minutes. Whisk in flour. Cook 1 minute. Pour in milk. Stir in pepper jack and cream cheese. Cook until melted. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of seasoning salt. Stir in pasta. Adjust with more seasoning salt if needed.
4. Pour macaroni and cheese into a casserole dish. Sprinkle with panko bread crumbs. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Bake for 15 minutes or until pasta is bubbly. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 – 4 minutes or until panko bread crumbs have browned. Remove from oven, sprinkle lightly with salt. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

When I was at the grocery store I saw a big sign that read “Hatch Chiles are here! Get them while you can!” With a sign like that, how could I refuse? Even though I wasn’t quite sure what a hatch chile was, I bought a few to bring home and immediately began doing some research about them. Come to find out these green gems are somewhat coveted in the food world. And after putting them in this quesadilla, I know why.

Hatch chile season is pretty short, running from late August through mid October. The peppers are a little milder than a jalapeno and are most often roasted before using. After roasting, many people will freeze them to keep them all year long to spice up all kinds of dishes like green chili, eggs and enchiladas. In my case, I couldn’t resist using them immediately and decided that quesadillas would be the best way to go. The peppers add a nice roasted pepper flavor without being overly spicy, but just to be sure, make sure you remove the seeds.

Makes 2 quesadillas

You will need:

• 4 hatch chilies, rinsed and dried
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• pinch of kosher salt
• 4 medium flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

1. Turn on your oven broiler. Place the rack 6 inches from the top.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place chilies on baking sheet. Broil until skin is blackened and blistered, about 5 – 6 minutes per side. Note you can also do this part on your grill. The cooking time would be more like 3 minutes on each side.
3. Transfer roasted peppers to a paper bag and close for 15 minutes. This will allow the peppers to sweat making removing the skin easier.
4. Using gloves, carefully remove the skin, seeds and stems of the roasted peppers. Chop and set aside.
5. Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once butter has melted begin sauteing the onions. Cook until they start to brown, about 15 minutes. Stir in the roasted peppers, garlic and salt. Remove from heat.
6. To assemble a quesadilla, place one tortilla on a flat surface, sprinkle half the cheese and half of the pepper mixture onto the tortilla. Place the other tortilla on top. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cook the quesadillas in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until the cheese is melted and the tortilla begins to brown. Slice and serve immediately.

Enjoy!