Zucchini Cakes

I have been an absolute warrior with eating clean this past week. However, my meals have been very basic due to limited time for meal prep. This morning I had a little extra time to look through Pinterest for ideas. I came across these little beauties. So excited to share!

Make sure you squeeze out the extra moisture from the zucchini with paper towels or a cheese cloth. Incredibly important! You don't want soggy cakes.

1 medium sized whole zucchini

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 egg

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp salt free Italian seasoning

1 tsp black pepper

Grate zucchini. Place in paper towels or cheese cloth and squeeze out moisture. Place in mixing bowl. Add in remaining ingredients. Mix together until well combined. Form mixture into several similar sized patties. *I got 6 all together*. Add 1 tbsp Olive or coconut oil to skillet. Cook about 2-3 minutes per side on medium high heat until browned.

I served mine with some chicken breast and organic marinara sauce. According to my app, about 350 total calories for the chicken, sauce and 2 zucchini cakes. The 2 zucchini cakes alone are only ~137 calories!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

My last few posts have been chicken based so I figured I should maybe switch it up. I was watching the Food Network the other day and they had one of those quick recipe commercial type things. Melissa what's-her-face was making meatballs with Italian Sausage. I always had made ground beef or ground turkey meatballs, so I was curious to see how they'd turn out with the sausage. My mom makes these delicious meatballs stuffed with mozzarella. So, I stuffed some mozzarella inside the Italian sausage meatballs and they turned out AH-mazing! I served them up with some whole wheat spaghetti, marinara sauce and parmesan garlic bread. It was the perfect Sunday night dinner.





1.235 lb package of Italian sausage, casing removed

2 cloves garlic, hand grated or finely minced

1/2 cup carrot, hand grated or finely minced

1/2 cup onion, hand grated or finely minced

1/2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 cup mozzarella cheese, chopped into cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients besides mozzarella cheese until well combined. Take meat about the size of a golfball. Press into patty form. Place mozzarella cheese on it and form meatball around it until cheese is fully covered and sealed in. (See picture below) Place on baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

I had some mushrooms and sausage left over from my pizza adventure yesterday so I decided I would make some sausage stuffed mushrooms. Jon is NOT a fan of mushrooms because they have dirt on them when you bring them home from the store. That guy would use any excuse not to eat vegetables, haha. Anyways, after I tried the first one, I basically force fed the mushroom to him to try. After a couple seconds he agreed that they were delicious. I hope you all enjoy them too.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

16 ounces mushrooms, cleaned with damp towel and stems removed
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp butter, softened
3 cloves garlic, finely minced or hand grated
2 cups crumbled sausage, fully cooked (remove casing and cook like ground beef)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup romano cheese, grated
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine cream cheese, butter and garlic until fully combined and smooth. Add in sausage, parmesan, romano, mozzarella, black pepper, paprika and salt. Stuff mushrooms with mixture. Top with some extra grated parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Three Cheese Chicken Pasta

So last night I didn't feel like doing back flips to get dinner on the table. As I've mentioned, I'm in retail so this month is incredibly tiring for me. I found a recipe on the inside of a cream cheese package for spaghetti mixed with cream cheese. I made a few changes and whipped it together real quick.

I was so excited at how delicious it was. I really think its a new household favorite now. Hope you guys like it too!

Three Cheese Chicken Pasta

2 lbs pasta
1/2 stick butter
1 8 oz. container cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups pasta sauce
2 cups shredded chicken
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated romano cheese

Cook pasta as directed on package. Drain pasta and set to side. In pasta pot, melt 1/2 stick butter on medium heat. Add cream cheese and pasta sauce to pot and stir to combine. Add in chicken, parmesan and romano. Pour pasta back into pot and toss with sauce.

Olive Tapenade

I can't even begin to express my love for this Olive Tapenade. My parents came up with this recipe from having this spread at a restaurant up in Bar Harbor, ME. They tested out some recipes and finally came up with this combination of flavors. Such a great, easy dip to have next to some crackers and veggies.

1 can of pitted black olives

1/2 can of green olives with pimentos

1/2 cup of walnuts

3 tbsp of parmesan cheese

3 tbsp of olive oil

Blend ingredients in food processor to desired consistency.

And that's all she wrote!

Mashed Potatoes

Cheesy, creamy and delicious. Perfect for your Shepherd's Pie or served with gravy.

3 pounds potatoes

½ cup parmesan

½ cup Romano

½ cream cheese              

½ cup milk

1  stick butter    

3 cloves of garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cube potatoes and get them in a pot and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil and season water with salt. *see tip at bottom* Cook for 20-25 minutes until fork tender.

Drain potatoes. Using an electric mixer, beat potatoes with Parmesan, Romano, cream cheese, milk, butter and garlic until smooth or to desired "with lumps" consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tip from the cook: Anytime I make potatoes, pasta or rice, I always season my boiling water with salt AND chicken bouillon. I think its much more inexpensive than cooking in Chicken Stock in a box and gets you the same flavor. It also adds a really nice gourmet color to it. That little jar of bouillon lasts quite a while too, even with the amount of cooking I do!

Baked Mac N Cheese Vs. Creamy Mac N Cheese

Let me start by saying that I am a serious fan of Macaroni and Cheese in any form. I will take the Costco brand boxed version, Velveeta, Kraft, homemade, KFC, you get the picture- I LOVE MAC N CHEESE! Jon and I were playing 20 questions the other day. The question was what three foods would you choose to have for the rest of your life and nothing else? The answer was macaroni and cheese, popcorn and tiramisu. The second two I really had to think about... The first one was a no brainer.

So, for this blog I decided to do some experimenting in the kitchen and take on Baked Mac N Cheese vs. Creamy Mac N Cheese. Hands down the winner, as far as I'm concerned, was the Creamy Mac N Cheese. I decided to make the creamy version  tangy with some gorgonzola cheese and plain yogurt. For the baked mac, I combined a few recipes and tips I found online and then added some of my own flair for the crunch topping. I felt the Baked Mac N Cheese was wayyyy too boring! I'd love to hear what you all think- cookingwithcait@gmail.com.

Baked Mac N Cheese
Adapted from this recipe
1 lb elbow macaroni
1 stick butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz shredded mild cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
10 oz sausage, casing removed & diced (I used Portuguese sausage)

Crunchy Cheesy Topping:
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup romano cheese
1/4 cup Cheeze-its
1/4 cup Ritz cracker

Cook macaroni as directed on package. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 11x15 baking dish. Brown sausage for 5-6 minutes in large skillet. In large pot, heat stick of butter until melted. Whisk in flour. Add cream and milk and stir until combined. Heat on medium for 2 to 3 minutes. Add in cheese and whisk until melted and combined with milk.Add salt and pepper to taste.

Toss macaroni and sausage in cheese sauce and spread into baking sheet. Using a food processor, pulse parmesan cheese, romano cheese, Cheeze-its and Ritz crackers until they are a crumb texture. Sprinkle crumbs over top of macaroni and sausage. Bake for 15-20 until it is golden brown and bubbly.

Tangy Creamy Mac N Cheese

1 lb elbow macaroni
1 stick butter
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 12 oz can of evaporated milk
1 6 oz container of plain yogurt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup romano cheese
2 tbsp gorgonzola cheese
1 8 oz package of shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/2 tbsp yellow mustard

Cook macaroni as directed on package. In large pot, heat stick of butter until melted. Whisk in flour. Add chicken broth, evaporated milk, yogurt, heavy cream and cream cheese and stir until combined. Heat on medium for 2 to 3 minutes. Add in parmesan, romano, gorgonzola and cheddar cheeses and whisk until melted and combined. Whisk in mustard and salt and pepper to taste.

Toss macaroni with cheese sauce and serve.

Day 21- A Recipe

I have been such a major fail with posting on my blog. I cannot even begin to tell you how crazy busy this past week/month has been. I am so thankful I am not one of those people who struggle to make friends. However, I'm also the type of person who can never say no to anyone. I wear myself thin sometimes, and this past month, I've truly pushed myself to the limit with my social life, work and the few times I've been able to actually make it to the gym.

I was soooo excited for this post out of the whole blog challenge because its the reason I started blogging. This blog has made my life so much easier because anytime I need to reference or share one of my recipes, I can just hop on the computer and grab it. Amazing.

One of the main reasons I had started cooking a few years ago was because of Jon, my fiance. I felt like a failure as a girlfriend for not being able to produce something above and beyond hamburger helper. I started recording the Food Network, particularly 30 Minute Meals, on my DVR and watching them at night to get a feel for techniques and flavor combinations. I am still years away from where I'd like to be as a cook, but I've improved a whole bunch from where I started.

Since Jon was my original inspiration to cook, I decided to make one of his favorites. As I've mentioned before, Jon is a very picky eater. He enjoys meat and potatoes and nothing else. Its been a struggle to get him to try any food outside of the main meals he has had his whole life. I've finally been able to incorporate vegetables and herbs in the dishes, but he still loves a meat and potato dish. So, today I've made a Barbecue Chili with Oven Baked Garlic Parmesan Fries. I've made it with a few Portuguese touches in there because I do have some Portuguese blood in me. Instead of an Italian Sausage, I used Portuguese Sausage. I also used garbanzo beans as opposed to the usual kidney or pinto beans. I always use garbanzo beans in my Portuguese Kale Soup and I just love the flavor.


Barbecue Chili

2 lbs ground beef
1 10 oz Portuguese sausage, without casing
8 slices bacon, diced into small pieces
16 ounces chicken broth
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup beer
1 cup barbecue sauce
2 tomatoes, diced
1 15oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
2 15 oz cans beans (I used garbanzo)
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
3 tbsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp hot sauce
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat large pot over medium-high heat. Place sausage in pot and break up using a wooden spoon or potato masher. Add ground beef. Cook until browned. Drain and set aside. Add bacon to same pot and cook until brown and crisp. Add beef and sausage back into pot. Add chicken broth to beef mixture. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, sautee onions and peppers for two to three minutes. Add onions and peppers to beef mixture. Add in remaining ingredients.

Cover and simmer over low heat for 2 1/2- 3 hours. Taste and add additional seasoning to taste. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream with my next recipe.

Oven Baked Garlic Parmesan Fries

4-5 potatoes, peeled and sliced into wedges
5 large cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated
2 tbsp olive oil, plus coating for fries
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare baking sheet with a light coat of cooking spray. In a small sauce pan, sautee garlic in oil and butter for 3-4 minutes. Set aside in large mixing bowl. Spread potato wedges evenly on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and lightly coat with olive oil. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Immediately upon removing from the oven, toss fries in garlic mixture. Toss in parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve along side the chili or with a cheesy dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Simple Red and White Strombolis

Hey Kids!

So today, I decided to get off my staycation butt and put together one of Jon and I's favorites, a stromboli. Jon and I first fell in love with the stromboli at this place in Attleboro, MA, La Strada. Friends that I worked with at the Emerald Square mall introduced me. It was love at first bite. (insert cheesy chuckle)

I always ordered the buffalo chicken stromboli, which is just to die for. Jon does not like buffalo anything so he usually got something like chicken parm or meat lovers.

This stromboli is made up of both whole wheat and all purpose flour to try to save on some calories. I also used my Marinara Sauce which is filled with veggies and not too much sugar.

The wheat dough recipe makes 2 strombolis, 1 thick crust pizza or 2 thin crust pizzas. So, you could just take the dough recipe and make a pizza or continue on to the stromboli construction.

The beauty of a stromboli, just like a pizza, is you can get really creative with your ingredients. You could make a Chicken Caesar, Buffalo Chicken, Italian BMT, Ham & Bacon, possibilities are limitless. I bet it would be so much fun to get the kids in the kitchen to help add the toppings or fillings also. I made two strombolis today, one red, one white. Very simple with the sauce, chicken, and lots of cheese.

Pizza Dough

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
3/4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour

In Kitchen Aid mixing bowl, mix warm water with sugar until dissolved. Top water mixture with yeast packet and set aside until yeast is foamy, 8-10 minutes. Add olive oil and salt. Using dough hook on mixer, add in flour in 1/2 cup increments until both wheat and all purpose flours are fully incorporated.

Knead dough for about 3-5 minutes, until smooth. Cover with more olive oil and set in mixing bowl on side. Cover with towel and allow to rise for about an hour. Once dough is about double in size, separate into two pieces. Knead each ball again until smooth and set aside to rise for another 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Once both pieces have risen, flour work surface. Using a rolling pin, stretch dough into rectangular shape about the length of the rolling pin. Repeat with second piece of dough. Add desired toppings or fillings and bake for 20 minutes.

Red Stromboli
6 servings- 176 calories each

1/2 cup Marinara Sauce
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded chicken

White Stromboli
6 servings- 276 calories each

1/2 cup Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup Ravioli filling
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded chicken

Layer ingredients on top of pizza dough. Here are some pictures on how to form the stromboli. First tuck in the sides. Next, pull dough from top over and pinch sides to create pocket. Then, pull dough from bottom over and pinch sides and top to seal. Make 4-5 slits in stromboli. Sprinkle top of dough with house seasoning or salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes, until outside is crispy.

 

 

Homemade Raviolis

Hey Kids!

I can't even begin to express my love for raviolis. They are so amazing. I used to just buy the frozen stuff you buy in the grocery store. Now, my Kitchen Aid mixer has made these so easy to make from scratch. If you don't have a mixer, you can just cut the raviolis with a pizza cutter and shape the edges with a fork. This ravioli filling ends up making extra, which I'm going to use in my next recipe for stromboli.

6 Sheets of Homemade Pasta

Ravioli Filling:
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
1 tbsp parsely, chopped
1 egg

Start boiling water on stovetop for ravioli using large pasta pot. Combine together all ravioli filling ingredients in large mixing bowl. Use Kitchen Aid mixer to form raviolis. Season water and drop in raviolis. Allow to cook for about 4-5 minutes, until raviolis are floating at top. Serve with marinara or alfredo sauce and Buon Appetito!

Shepherd's Pie

'Ello! (Insert British Accent)

I have to say, I'm not making breaking any ground with this recipe. I think Shepherd's Pie is one of those classic comfort dishes that are perfect the way they are. I made my mashed potatoes with 3 different cheeses that made them so tasty and yummy. I serve it up with some barbecue sauce or ketchup and its something you can eat right on the sofa watching your favorite show or movie.

This is a dish that's one of those "special" dishes for Jon. I don't usually like to cook with ground beef, but I felt a little better when I got the 93% lean kind. (haha) Also these mashed potatoes probably have 8 kajillion calories in them. Our 6 year anniversary was on Friday and today marked our first day of vacation so I decided what the heck?! I'll go on the elliptical for 6 hours tomorrow (haha yeah right!) Anyways, since it was our anniversary I figured it was a good excuse to make it for him and get the recipe up here for you guys that have fast metabolisms. I made him a photo collage for our anniversary this year. Check it out if you'd like. :)

Check out the recipe too and send me your pictures, questions or comments at cookingwithcait@gmail.com. Love you all! <3

Shepherd's Pie

3 pounds potatoes

½ cup parmesan

½ cup Romano

½ cream cheese              

½ cup milk

1  stick butter    

3 cloves of garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 pounds of ground beef             

1 cup onion        

3 cloves garlic

2 11 ounce cans corn

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cube potatoes and get them in a pot and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil and season water with salt. *see tip at bottom* Cook for 20-25 minutes until fork tender.

While potatoes are cooking, brown beef in skillet. Add in onions and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes.

Drain potatoes. Using an electric mixer, beat potatoes with Parmesan, Romano, cream cheese, milk, butter and garlic until smooth or to desired "with lumps" consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly grease a baking dish and spread meat mixture along the bottom. Drain corn and spread over meat mixture. Spread mashed potatoes over meat and corn. Lastly, sprinkle cheddar cheese over top. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.


Tip from the cook: Anytime I make potatoes, pasta or rice, I always season my boiling water with salt AND chicken bouillon. I think its much more inexpensive than cooking in Chicken Stock in a box and gets you the same flavor. It also adds a really nice gourmet color to it. That little jar of bouillon lasts quite a while too, even with the amount of cooking I do!

Parmesan Garlic Bread

Hey Guys!

So here's a yummmmy Parmesan Garlic Bread recipe to go along with that lasagna recipe I just gave you or a simple spaghetti dinner. Now, with this one, I bought a huge loaf of nice fresh French Bread, cut it in half and slathered it with the butter sauce included here. Another favorite of our house is to spread this sauce mixture on top of some dinner rolls. The way I do that is buy those Pillsbury biscuits, bake them at 425 degrees until very lightly brown, about 8 minutes. I take them out of the oven, and poke holes in the top with a fork. Then I spread a little of the sauce over the rolls and stick them back in the oven for about 2 minutes. They come out so delicious and sooo easy to eat. I felt like with a lasagna, a bigger side was better.

Parmesan Garlic Bread
1 loaf french bread
3 sticks of butter, softened
4 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tbsp house seasoning
     - Paula Deen house seasoning: 1 cup salt 1/4 cup granulated garlic 1/4 cup black pepper
1/2 tbsp oregano

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the loaf horizontally, like a sandwich. Spread butter mixture over both sides of bread and bake in the oven until golden brown on edges.

I hope you guys like it! It matches well with this post I did earlier tonight:
http://cookingwithcait.blogspot.com/2010/10/chicken-alfredo-lasagna.html

Try them out and let me know what you think! Cookingwithcait@gmail.com

Chicken Parmesan Pie

Why hello kids!

So I was watching Paula Deen (as usual) on Food Network and she threw together this really easy Chicken Pot Pie. I decided that was what I was going to have for dinner. Then I kind of (as usual) starting throwing ideas around in my head. I've posted the Chicken Parmesan Recipe before and talked about Jon and my love for Chicken Parm. So any chance I get to take our favorites and recreate them, I jump on it. Well, I came up with the idea to try a Chicken Parm Pie Casserole type dish. So thats what I've created here. Jon literally ate 3/4ths of it in one sitting so I know I did a good job. Its Chicken Parm meets Casserole meets Garlic Bread meets Pizza. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Chicken Parmesan Pie

Chicken Parm:
1.5 lbs cubed chicken
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 stick butter
2 tbsp olive oil
Sauce:
1 cup marinara
1 cup alfredo
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Garlic Bread Topping:
1 container of refrigerated pizza dough
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare for chicken parm "assembly" with 3 containers. First container will have flour, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and garlic powder. Second container will have 4 beaten eggs. Last container will have bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Heat skillet to medium high heat with two tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil. You will most likely only be able to cook half the chicken, depending on the size of your skillet. If you have a very large skillet, use all butter and olive oil. After running the cubed chicken through the flour mixure, then eggs, then breadcrumb mixture, cook in pan until golden brown on both sides. Set aside on a plate, and do the same with the other half of the cubed chicken if done with smaller skillet.

While the chicken is cooking, pour marinara, alfredo and parmesan in baking dish. Once chicken is done, place cooked chicken over sauce mixture and then top with mozzarella cheese. Knead out dough to desired thickness to cover baking dish. Place dough over baking dish and make three to four slits in top of dough.

Bake in oven 10-15 minutes until light golden brown. While it is baking, combine softened butter, parmesan cheese, oregano and garlic in small mixing bowl. Once it is lightly golden brown, take "pie" out of the oven and brush the butter mixture to cover the dough. Place back in oven for another 5 minutes just for dough to soak up butter mix.

Enjoy!

I hope you guys like this dish. It seems like a lot of work, but I had a lot of fun making it. Please send me your comments, pictures and ideas to cookingwithcait@gmail.com :)