Italian Night

"What do you want for dinner girls?" Of course we all know the answer......PIZZA! So I suggested that we have Pizza breadsticks and the girls were all loving the idea, but that is only a side dish what goes with "pizza?" Of course pasta. So our Italian Night was born. Jen found the pasta dish on Kraft.com and the breadsticks were from Better Homes and Garden.

I made the mistake of picking up thin crust pizza dough and therefore the breadsticks were a little too close to burned for my liking, but the girls liked it. The pasta dish was very good. The vegetables I added was red peppers, zucchini, and fresh spinach. 

Grade: B+

Creamy Pasta Primavera

what you need

3 cups penne pasta, uncooked

2 Tbsp.  KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing

1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

2   zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces

1-1/2 cups cut-up fresh asparagus (1-inch lengths)

1   red pepper, chopped

1 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

4 oz.  (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed

1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
make itCOOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package.
MEANWHILE, heat dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and vegetables; cook 10 to 12 min. or until chicken is done, stirring frequently. Add broth and Neufchatel; cook 1 min. or until Neufchatel is melted, stirring constantly. Stir in Parmesan.
DRAIN pasta; return to pan. Add chicken mixture; mix lightly. Cook 1 min. or until heated through. (Sauce will thicken upon standing.)
Pizza Breadsticks
Ingredients:1 10-ounce package refrigerated pizza dough2 TBS butter or margarine, melted1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed1/4 tsp garlic powder1/8 tsp ground red pepper1 8-oz can pizza sauce, warmed.
1. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Unroll pizza dough and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Using your hands, press the dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the melted butter.2. In a small bowl combine Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and red pepper; sprinkle over dough. Using a sharp knife, cut dough crosswise into twelve 1-in strips; cut in half lengthwise to make 24 strips. 3. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with pizza sauce.

Emily trying to suck it up like spaghetti.  

Lucy eating so fast her food is blurry!

Anna was in a "special" mood for Italian night.

Sarah giving you a kiss?

Royal Raspberry Cheesecake

This was a great cheesecake to make. The crust was sweet, but not too sweet. Also, you can have as little or as much of the sauce that you want because you pour it on to individual pieces. This was my second cheesecake that I have made this summer and it definitely came out better than the first one. The adults liked it better than the girls, but oh well, I didn't make it for them! ;-)

Grade: B+

Royal Raspberry Cheesecake
¾ cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbls sugar
½ tsp finely grated lemon peel
6 Tbls butter, softened
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Filling
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
½ tsp finely grated lemon peel
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
2 Tbls all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
¼ cup milk
Raspberry Sauce
1 Tbls cornstarch
1 package (10 oz) frozen sweetened raspberries, thawed and crushed
½ cup currant jelly (I used apricot preserves)
3 cups whole raspberries

Directions
1. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and lemon peel. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in egg yolk and vanilla. Pat half of dough onto bottom of a greased 9-in spring form pan with sides removed. Bake at 400 degree for 7 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. Attach sides of pan and grease sides. Pat remaining dough 1-1/2 in. up the sides and press onto bottom crust along the sides of pan. Set aside.
2. For filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, lemon peel, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the sugar, flour and salt; add to cream cheese mixture, beating until smooth. Add eggs and yolk; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in milk. Pour into crust. Place pan on a baking sheet.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour. Chill overnight.
4. For sauce, combine the cornstarch and crushed raspberries in a saucepan until blended. Stir in jelly. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from the heat; strain to remove berry seeds. Discard seeds. Cool sauce; refrigerate until serving.
5. Just before serving, remove sides of pan. Cut cheesecake into slices; garnish with sauce and fresh berries. Refrigerate leftovers.

Lucy deciding against the fork.

Sarah being fed a bite. (really, you don't want to try it by yourself?)

Anna enjoying small bites.

Steak, Rice, and Peas

Wow was this a big time success and simple. The steaks were grilled straight out of the package. The peas were frozen and then microwaved, and the wild rice out of a box and done on the stove top. I cut each girl one piece of steak and everyone, except for Anna, asked for a second piece. All the girls ate the rice which may not sound like a big deal, but normally they refuse to eat rice. There were not any major fighting/yelling at the table. I gave all of the "recipes" for our dinner above so enjoy the pictures.

BTW: on top of my steak is a grilled banana pepper from our garden.

Grade: B

Lucy chewing away.

Sarah showing you the steak.

Anna delicately placing a pea in her mouth.

The best picture of Emily I took!

What to do with leftover noodles?

After Dyngus Day, we had a decent amount of buttered noodles leftover and I was just going to reheat them and eat them the same way that we did the night before. However, Jen forwarded me a recipe that she wanted me to cook that was a pasta dish, but I thought she wanted me to use the buttered noodles. The recipe did not make sense with leftover noodles, so I did not follow the recipe but used most of the things she bought for the dinner she was planning. Below is what I did.....

I took a package of coleslaw, sliced mushrooms, and a package shredded lettuce and sauteed them in a big pan. After about ten minutes, I added the noodles and let the flavors combine for another five minutes. That was it and it was really good. I think it was the cabbage taste that I liked so much, but Jen and I liked it much better than the girls. You will notice that Sarah's picture is missing because she refused to even try it!

Grade: B-



Anna looking a little "drugged" out



Lucy discovering slurping the wide noodles are a little tougher than the thin. 



Emily trying to figure out what the different pieces are.



Awesome Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

The garlic toast added a lot to the grilled cheese. Emily ended up just eating all of the butter/garlic off of the bread and ate some of the chex mix. Easy way to make a  simple grilled cheese special.

Grade: B+

1 package (11.25 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Garlic Texas Toast

6 slices fontina cheese or fresh mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces)

6 thin slices deli smoked turkey (about 4 ounces)
3 thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces)
1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers strips, drained

1. Top 3 bread slices with half the cheese, the turkey, prosciutto and peppers. Top with the remaining cheese and bread slices.

2. Heat the panini maker. Add the sandwiches in batches and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned and the cheese is melted.

Alternate Preparation: If you don't have a panini maker, you can use a grill pan or a skillet. Heat the pan over medium heat. Add the sandwiches in batches and cook for 5 minutes, pressing down on the sandwiches with a spatula, until they're lightly browned on both sides and the cheese is melted, turning the sandwiches over once halfway through the cooking time. You can also weight the sandwiches down with a foil-wrapped brick or a cast-iron skillet instead of pressing down with a spatula.

Flavor Variation: For a spicier flavor, sprinkle a dash of crushed red pepper flakes on the cheese when assembling the sandwiches.

Makes: 3 servings.

Anna's second picture because Lucy was dancing in her underwear in the first!



Sarah putting her pouting face out.



Emily slurping her drink.

Dyngus Day Dinner!

Being from South Bend, I am the only person that I know, that is not from South Bend, that has heard of Dyngus Day! Dyngus Day is a Polish holiday that is celebrated the Monday after the Easter holiday. I looked up the origins of this day and what traditions go along with Dyngus Day and I suggest you Google it for yourself if you want a good laugh. So being in the mood of Polish food, I designed a dinner menu that would fit into Polish traditions (as far as I know).

This dinner was one of the best dinners we have had for a long time. The buttered noodles had some good flavoring, and who doesn't like Amish noodles? The sausage is always a favorite in my household because the girls just keep on asking for more hotdogs! I think they could have finished the entire smoked sausage if I would have let them. Also, the surprise of the night was the goat cheese. I have never had it and I thought it was going to be gross, but just the opposite, it is really good! Anna and Lucy kept wanting more and Sarah liked it but was way too into the sausage. Emily on the other hand, wiped it on the table exclaming "DISGUSTING!" This was an enjoyable meal that featured no fighting or refusing to eat.

Grade: A+

Buttered Noodles:
I took a wide egg noodle (Amish) and boiled the entire bag (9 cups) until they were done to my likeness. Meanwhile for the butter sauce, I melted a stick of butter with a teaspoon of ground thyme and ground basil. Stirred them all together. After I drained the noodles, I returned them to the original pot and added the butter sauce. Stirred the noodles and butter together and that is all there was to the buttered noodles.

Smoked Sausage: For the sausage, I heated my girl pan to medium heat and cut the sausage length-wise and then into 1 inch pieces. I put them on the grill pan, stirring often, until they were heated all the way through.

Goat Cheese and crackers: Random, I know, but while looking up information about Dyngus Day I read something about goat cheese and desided to try it.



Emily sucking up a noodle.







Lucy loving her "hot dog"




Anna smearing goat cheese on her teeth



Sarah savoring her sausage.

Paprika Chicken with Sour Cream Gravy

This has been by far the most delicious chicken dish I have ever cooked, or for the matter, eaten! I think it has something to do with the chicken basically being cooked in butter. I didn't say it was healthy, but it is amazing. Also, a bonus is that your house smells like melted butter and who doesn't love that smell? I did not get any pictures of the dish or the girls eating it, but the picture posted above is from Campbell's because that is where the recipe came from. If you like juicy chicken and a really good gravy to go with it, TRY THIS!!!!!

Grade: A++


1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup butter
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
2 green onions, sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream

1. Stir the flour, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepper on a plate. Coat the chicken with the paprika mixture.

2. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet.

3. Stir the soup and green onions in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the sour cream.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with a rice blend, steamed cut green beans and carrot slices. For dessert serve your favorite fruit and gelatin combination.
Makes: 4 servings.