It's Pasta Night: Mediterranean Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken

My mom has always had a thing for cookbooks and cooking magazines. Looking back, it almost strikes me as humorous because she very seldom tried a new recipe, and even less frequently do I remember her referencing a cookbook. As an adult she has given me many of the cooking magazines that she no longer wants. I've been going through them, pulling out the recipes that I would like to try and adding them to my recipe file. One of my best finds so far is a Land O'Lakes Recipe Collection: Fresh and Fast Pasta. Tonight I tried my first recipe from the collection, Mediterranean Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken. It was simple, tasty, and on the dinner table quickly. Best of all I had everything in my pantry, and the hubs loved it! Hooray for simple dinners!

Mediterranean Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken

Adapted From: Land O Lakes Recipe Collections: Fresh and Fast Pasta

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive-oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 3/4 cups small pasta shells
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. While the olive oil is heating, season chicken with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. Cook the chicken for approximately 4 minutes on each side (the goal here is not to cook chicken through, but just to get a nice sear).

Meanwhile, while your chicken is cooking put the sun-dried tomatoes (discard the oil if they are packed in oil) and small onion into your mini food processor and give them a few pulses until they are well broken down. Put aside.

Remove chicken from heat, and tent with foil. Add chicken broth to the dutch oven and allow to come to a boil. Once the broth has come to a boil add the sun-dried tomatoes, onions, pasta, and return the chicken to the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook stirring occasionally until the pasta is tender and chicken is cooked through (the liquid will be pretty much absorbed).

Remove from heat. Stir in oregano, butter, and lemon juice.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Because She's Special: Baby Lava Cakes for my Bestie

When I was growing up I went to church camp for one week every summer from grades 3-12. One of the many good things that came out of this experience was meeting my best friend Bea. In spite of the fact that we grew up in different towns and didn't see much of other through the school year, our friendship thrived, and we have been best friends for almost 20 years. We still live in different cities, but we try to get together as much as possible. Today she was passing through, and came over to the house to visit for a few hours. As a special treat I made my decadent Baby Lava Cakes. Even my hubby (who is not big on sweets) loves these; you have to give them a try!

Baby Lava Cakes

Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

• 1 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (1 10.5 ounce bag), divided
  
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 3 whole eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

For the filling:
In a small saucepan combine 3/4 cup chocolate pieces and whipping cream. Cook and continuously stir over low heat until chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat and chill in fridge until firm, about 45 minutes.

For the cake:
In another saucepan melt remaining 1 cup of chocolate and butter over low heat until melted. Remove from heat; cool.

Form the filling into 6 equal-size balls, and set aside. Grease and flour six 6-ounce custard cups. Place cups onto a baking sheet.

In a large mixing bowl beat eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla until lemon colored; about 5 minutes. Beat in cooled chocolate mixture. Sift together flour and cocoa powder. Incorporate dry ingredients into batter.

Fill custard cups 1/3 full of cake batter. Place one ball of filling into each cup. Spoon remaining batter into cups.

Bake at 400 for 13 minutes or until cake feels firm at the edges. Allow cakes to cool in cups for a few minutes and then use a knife to loosen the edges. Invert onto dessert plate.

Serve immediately and enjoy! - I love to eat these with ice cream!

My Betty Crocker Cooky Book Challenge: Delta Bars

My parents live about 75 miles north of my husband and me. Consequently, I do not see them as much as I would like. Often we'll meet at a halfway point for lunch on Sunday afternoon. Recently however I have been home quite a bit because my mom fell and broke her wrist and has needed a lot of help with housework. One of my favorite things to do while I am home is to dig through my mom's cook books and recipe clippings. Last time when I was home, I uncovered her copy of the classic Betty Crocker 1963 Cooky Book, which she received as a Christmas present from her aunt and uncle in 1972. My goal is to make at least 20 different cookie recipes from this book and blog about them.
The first recipe I made was for something called Delta Bars. I don't know how these bar cookies got their name, but the description promised a butterscotch bar and the ingredient list was basics that I already had in my pantry. Butterscotch is a flavor I love, so I had to give them a try. They were delightful; next time I make these I will probably increase the amount of nuts, but otherwise they are pretty darn good.

Delta Bars

Source: Betty Crocker's Cooky Book

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, 1 separated
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream together shortening, sugar, 1 whole egg, 1 egg yolk (reserve the white), and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together; blend into shortening mixture. Spread in greased 9x13 pan.

Beat reserved egg white until foamy; gradually beat in brown sugar. Continue beating until mixture is stiff and glossy; gently fold in walnuts. Pour over dough in pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Cut into squares once cooled and enjoy!

My Honey's Buns: Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

The husband and I have been on a stay-at-home vacation for the past several days, and that translates to lots of cooking for me. Last night while the hubby was bowling, I decided to take on making one of his favorite breakfast foods: cinnamon rolls. I have thought many times about making homemade cinnamon rolls in the past, but there have been many hang-ups. For one thing, making yeast bread takes time. And who really wants to get up three hours early to make breakfast?! I would love to try Pioneer Woman's recipe, but her recipe makes dozens of cinnamon rolls, and I do not have that kind of freezer space. After a little research I found a recipe that sounded delicious, and adapted it to suit my needs. Thus my overnight cinnamon rolls were born.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted From: All Recipes

Rolls:

• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk (approximately 110 degrees)
  
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Icing:

• 1 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

The night before:

Preheat oven to 200. Once oven reaches 200, TURN OFF and close the door.

Dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, butter, salt, and egg. Add flour and mix well; turn the dough onto well-floured surface and knead until it forms a large ball (if your mixer has a dough hook, you can use it in this step rather than hand-kneading). Cover dough with a damp paper towel and place in warm oven for 1 hour.

Combine the ground cinnamon and brown sugar for the filling; set aside.

Roll dough into an 8x10 rectangle. Spread dough with melted butter and sprinkle edge-to-edge with cinnamon/brown sugar mixture. Roll dough up into an 8 inch log and cut into 6 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap and place rolls in fridge overnight.

When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 400. Remove plastic wrap from rolls and bake until light golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and salt. Spread icing over warm rolls.

Serve immediately and enjoy!