Noodle Kugel, by Cheryl

I barely had time to take a picture before it was just about gone!

Jon and I decided to host our first "Break-the-Fast" dinner to end Yom Kippur at our new home in Chapel Hill. There are quite a few other Jewish fellows and residents working at Duke so this worked out perfectly... we went over to other people's houses for Rosh Hashanah dinner so why not return the favor and make new friends while we're at it? Even though not many people were fasting (one of the plusses of being pregnant right now... hey I need some positives at this point!) we held a traditional break-the-fast meal with bagels, lox, whitefish salad, tuna salad, cream cheese, and kugel. I had never made it before, but decided to give it a try with a recipe I found on the Food Network. Not only was it super easy, but it was fantastic!!! The entire dish was gone in minutes and people were looking for more! I will definitely be making this again for other Jewish functions! Yum!

Modified from here

Ingredients:

1 package (12 oz) medium egg noodles
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 pound cottage cheese
1.5 cups sour cream

6 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 raisins

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375.

2) Boil the noodles in salted water for about 4 minutes. While noodles are cooking, combine all remaining ingredients together in a large bowl.

3) Strain the noodles and combine with the bowl mixture. Mix.

4) Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake until custard is set and top is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Leftover Produce 4 ways, by Diane

This past weekend I bought WAY too much produce. Lots of unexpected dinner plans came up, and by the end of the week I found myself with a fridge full of unused produce that was on the verge of going bad. Here is a list of what was in the fridge:

-Blueberries
-Bananas
-Kale
-Celery
-Carrots
-Ginger
-Lemons
-Green grapes
-Green pears
-Parsley
-Portobello mushrooms
-Broccoli
-Shallot
-Garlic
-Eggplant
-Roma tomatoes


That's a lot, right? So, I got creative and made a challege to use it all in new ways without a recipe. Here are 4 of the awesome recipes I created! It also gave me a chance to clean out the pantry as well, bonus!


Marinated Portobello's over Pasta

I marianted the cleaned mushrooms in 1/2 cup EVOO, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (thanks to my buddy Cher!), lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, parsley, and parmesan cheese for 30 minutes on each side, then chopped them up. Then, I steamed some chopped broccoli and chopped a shallot. I added everything to a saucepan (no oil needed because it was in the marinade) for about 5-7 minutes then threw it over pasta topped with truffle oil (also thanks to Cher!). It was DELICIOUS and made great leftovers too.


Roasted Eggplant Tomato Sauce over Pasta

I sliced an eggplant and sprinkled each slice with sea salt, fresh pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic powder before placing it on a greased cooking tray and baking it for about 10 minutes on each side. While that was cooking, I chopped the tomatoes and combined them with basil, oregano, garlic, and a can of tomato sauce and heated that in a covered saucepan. When the eggplant was done, I chopped it up and threw it into the pot for 5 minutes, then added some fresh mozzarella! Throw it over pasta and there you go! Or, it was really good on it's own.


"Bright" Green Juice

(I don't have a photo for this but imagine a glass with bright green liquid- you get the idea!)
Juice a large handful of kale, 1/4 inch slice ginger, a handful green grapes, whole green pear, 1 stalk celery, 1/2 lemon, and a small bunch of parsley. It makes a great energizing bright drink to start your day or pick you up in the afternoon and it's surprisingly filling! Make sure to drink it fresh, so you get the most health benefits from the enzymes.


Healthy Breakfast "Cobbler"

I sprinkled the bottom of a pie pan with oats. Then I combined blueberries, mashed bananas, cinnamon, and almond butter in a bowl and poured it over the oats so they would bake under the juice of the mixture. I tossed it around to make sure all the oats were covered, then baked it at 400 covered for about 25 minutes! I loved this one because it had antioxidants from the berries, potassium from the bananas, cinnamon is an anti-inflammatory and immune system booster, almond butter had protein and natural oils so I didn't have to add any butter/oil, and oats are full of fiber which makes you full! It came out tasting EXACTLY like cobbler except without the fat and sugar, it was like eating dessert for breakfast! And the bottom turned into kind of a cookie consistency which made it even better! The fresh blueberries were the best part, because they were full of flavor. I'll definitely be making this again soon!

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting, by Cheryl

Mmmmm, banana cake with peanut butter frosting... (cue Homer Simpson drool). As soon as I saw my good friend and neighbor Ashley (www.ashleyscookingadventures.blogspot.com) post this on her blog I knew I wanted to make it! I love anything with bananas in it and of course, when you add peanut butter it makes everything tastier. Now I did forget to add the sour cream when I was making the cake (It sat in the fridge.. oh well) so my "cake" turned out a little like bread. Still very tasty, but using all of the ingredients will most likely give you a more moist cake. Nevertheless, we polished it off! Yum! Ingredients for the cake: 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs 1 cup sour cream 2 cups sugar 1 1/2 to 2 cups mashed bananas 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder Ingredients for the frosting: 1/3 cup peanut butter 1/3 cup milk 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 3 cup powdered sugar Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2) Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and bananas together well. (I used my KitchenAid). Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to mix well. 3) Pour into a greased and well floured 9X13 inch pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 4) For the frosting: Beat peanut butter, milk, and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread over cake.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, by Diane

So I know that the photo quality on this blog has been a bit lacking, but I recently got a new phone with a high pixel camera and decided to use it for this photo. It came out amazing on the phone itself so I was satisfied with it at the time, but once I put it up here it lost some of it's color and quality...so once again I apologize for this photo as the real version looked much more appetizing.

Anyway- I made these enchiladas with a friend this week and they could not have been easier or cheaper to make. They take a while to make, but the steps are simple and there is plenty of downtime between them. We used four large whole wheat tortillas instead of 12 6-inch corn ones, because a) we didn't have time to make tortillas (its VERY hard to do) b) corn tortillas tend to fall apart, and c) because we wanted four large ones instead of lots of smaller ones. They completely filled the baking dish, so it was no problem. Also, we topped our enchiladas with homemade guacamole, which was delicious. I should add that the original recipe came from www.asweetpeachef.com, and her enchiladas look a lot more like ours than the photo above! (http://www.asweetpeachef.com/chicken/shredded-chicken-enchiladas/). She also includes the recipe to make the corn tortillas, which I would like to attempt at some point. At any rate, these were delicious and I'll definitely make them again!

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce (we used Trader Joe's, it was good but definitely spicy!)
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup each shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese (we increased this to 1 1/2 cups each)
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. cilantro, roughly chopped
12 6-inch corn tortillas
Cooking spray
Optional topping: guacamole, sour cream, salsa, or cilantro

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Add the minced garlic to the enchilada sauce in a deep skillet and heat to boiling. Generously sprinkle kosher salt and ground black pepper over the chicken breasts and then nestle the chicken breasts into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Remove the chicken from the sauce, set aside and let both the chicken and the sauce cool. Once cooled, shred the chicken with two forks and transfer to a large bowl.

4. Add half the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup each of the Monterrey jack and cheddar cheeses and the 1/2 cup of cilantro to the shredded chicken. Stir to combine.

5. Wrap the tortillas in a damp cloth or paper towel and microwave on high for 20-30 seconds until pliable and warm.

6. Use cooking spray to coat a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish, set aside.

7. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture along the center of the tortilla (we divided our mixture into fourths and used that amount). Gently, but firmly, roll the tortilla around the filling and place into the baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

8. Lightly spray the tortillas with cooking spray (or brush lightly with olive oil). This will help the tortillas turn golden in the oven and will also help keep them from cracking. Place baking dish in the oven, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until the tortillas begin to turn golden.

9. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle remaining cheese over the sauce. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro.

10. Lightly cover baking dish with aluminum foil and place into the oven for 20 minutes.

11. Carefully remove foil after 20 minutes and bake, uncovered, for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden.

12. Remove form the oven and let stand 5-10 minutes prior to serving. Garnish as desired.

Roasted Rosemary Chicken with Squash, Apples, and Leeks, by Diane

Tonight was family dinner night, and I wanted to cook something special that looked impressive but was not to complicated. I chose this recipe, I found it in a magazine years ago and never got around to making it (I can't recall the name of the magazine). I didn't have a whole chicken so I substituted chicken breasts, which worked out great. Anyway, the end result was super delicious and made the whole house smell terrific. All of the flavors worked really well together and we wound up having a really healthy, comforting kind of meal.

Two notes- I had never cooked with acorn squash before, and wasn't sure how to get all of the rind off since it is really curvy with lots of grooves that a peeler won't fit into. I roasted it with the skin on, which could be easily peeled off when eating. But, if you don't like that option, another winter squash like butternut can be substituted easily and I think would pair well with all of the other flavors. My other note is that when I went to check on the dish halfway through, I found a lot of liquid collected at the bottom. It was preventing the ingredients from browning in the oven because they were so wet, so I poured most of it out and cooked it for the remaining time, which worked really well.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
2-3 medium sized leeks, cleaned and halved lengthwise
6 stalks fresh rosemary
4 empire or braeburn apples, cut into wedges
1 whole acorn squash, cored and cut into large pieces
EVOO
Salt and pepper



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Combine all ingredients in large baking dish, toss in olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Roast uncovered for 45 minutes. Halfway through cooking rearrange items to ensure proper browning (this is when I poured out the excess liquid).

Elephant Ear Cheesecake, by Cheryl

This picture doesn't do this dessert justice... I'll post a better one once I find the camera :) I was browsing my friend Ashley's cooking blog for some recipe ideas and came across this delicious dessert. First of all, I've never heard of elephant ears before, but I was intrigued. Second of all, it involves cheeeeeeeese, which as anyone who knows me can tell you that I can eat my body's weight and cheese and still be craving it. Anyway, before I even spread the cheesecake mixture onto the pastries I was licking the bowl. After they come out of the oven they literally melt in your mouth. If you need to put some in the refrigerator for later my suggestion would be to heat them up again in the microwave for about 15 seconds... soooo good! Thanks Ashley! Ingredients: 2 tubes of Crescent Rolls 2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla 2 tablespoons of cinnamon 2 tablespoons of sugar Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one tube of the crescent rolls in the bottom of a 9X13 came pan. Seal the seams - do not work the dough up the sides. 2) Whip together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, almond extract, and vanilla. Spread over the dough in the pan. 3) Place the other tube of crescent rolls on top of the cream cheese mixture. 4) Mix the 2 tablespoons of sugar with the 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes, then cut into squares with a sharp knife.

Italian Pasta Salad, by Diane

This week I wanted to make something healthy that would fill me up, and had a bunch of random things in my pantry/fridge. I also have a basil plant that I bought literally months ago and I've been trying to find ways to use it. I decided to whip up a chilled pasta salad because it was such a warm day, and it was so simple and easy to make- but so delicious! BTW- the photo makes this dish look really liquidy and way less appealing than it actually was- it's because I ate nearly the whole bowl before I remembered to take a photo, so this is actually the bottom of the bowl!!! It was so good I forgot to use the camera sitting right next to me!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 package Barilla Dry Three Cheese Tortellini, cooked
1 can large black olives, drained
2 sticks light Polly-O string cheese, sliced into 1/2 pieces
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, lightly drained
6 green onions, chopped (use green and white parts)
1 handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions.
2. While the pasta cooks, chop the cheese, onions, and basil. Combine in a medium sized bowl with the olives and tomatoes.
3. Drain and cool the pasta, then add into bowl.
4. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste.
5. Mix and chill for 30 minutes. Enjoy!!!

Mexican Lasagna, by Diane

Wow it's been a long time!!! It's good to be back :) I have a bunch of recipes that I have made in the past few months, so here we go....

This first recipe is inspired by my best friend who absolutely loves anything mexican or italian. I went to visit her a few months back, and decided to thank her by creating a meal that combined both heritages- a mexican lasagna. There are no exact measurements (there never are with me, anyway!) since it depends on how much you like of each layer and how large or small your pan is. You can customize this dish any way you want, as well, depending on your favorite toppings and if you want them non, low, or full fat. In this dish, we chose a compromise of non/low and full fat ingredients, because some things taste alright fat free/low fat (refried beans, light ground beef) while others are better full fat (sour cream, cheese). We couldn't get enough of this, and it was easy and fun to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 large can red enchilada sauce
1 box of combined taco shells (hard and soft, 8 each)
2 cans refried beans
1 8 or 16 oz. tub of sour cream
1 pound ground beef
2 bags shredded mexican cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large baking dish, spread layers in order listed above, repeating twice. We found it tasted moister if we doubled our use of the sauce, adding first as well as in between the beans and the sour cream (so the order would go sauce, taco shells, beans, sauce, sour cream, beef, cheese). Use soft tacos in the first layer, and hard tacos in the second (break the hard tacos to cover and make a layer, cut the soft tacos to fit). Top with a generous amount of cheese, and if needed (as we did in our photo!) place a baking sheet underneath in case the lasagna bubbles over. If there is still room in the dish, you can add more layers.

3. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and the bottom layer of beans is heated through. Serve in slices, or mash slightly and dip into it with chips like nachos!

Chicken Marsala, by Cheryl

Jon saw this recipe in Men's Health and was immediately drawn to it. The picture looked awesome so we went right out to the store and bought the ingredients needed for it. Now in our house I'm the one that cooks and he's the one who cleans up. This time we decided to make it a team effort, although after a while it was just easier for one person to cook it. Jon made this dish and he made it well! Yum!! Ingredients: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to a uniform 1/4" thickness 1 cup flour (this was too much... 1/2 cup should be fine) 1 tbsp olive oil 2 ounces prosciutto, sliced into thin strips 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced 3/4 cup marsala wine 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley salt & pepper Directions: 1) Season each breast with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl, add the chicken, and coat the pieces evenly, shaking off any excess flour. 2) Heat the olive oil on medium in a non-stick pan. Add the chicken (don't overcrowd the pan; do 2 batches if necessary) and cook 3-4 minutes per side until the breasts are golden brown and are cooked through. Transfer them to a serving platter and keep warm. 3) Add more oil to the pan if needed, and saute the prosciutto for 1-2 minutes until it starts to crisp up. Add the mushrooms and continuing sauteing until they are well browned. 4) Stir in the marsala and broth, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook until liquid has reduced to about 1/2 cup. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and add the parsley. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes, by Cheryl

Yum!! I had a craving for cheesecake, but didn't feel like making a whole cake. These are basically little baby cheesecakes in cupcake form, with an oreo cookie bottom as the crust. I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart and every bite is a sweet surprise! If you choose to make these my only piece of advice is to follow the cooking times!! After 22 minutes in the oven I took them out and saw that they were very gooey in the middle. I put them in for another 15 minutes while checking on them every five. After cooling on the wire rack and then chilling in the fridge overnight they solidified on their own and really didn't need my extra time in the oven. The result: they were a little tougher than they should have been, but delicious nonetheless. Ingredients: 22-24 oreos, 16 left whole and 6-8 chopped or crushed 1/2 cup sugar 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 cup sour cream 1 pound cream cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla extract pinch of salt Directions: 1) Preheat the oven to 275. Spray a standard cupcake tin with pam. Put one whole cookie in each cupcake space. 2) Beat the cream cheese on medium high speed until smooth. Gradually add in the sugar until well combined, then beat in the vanilla. Pour in the eggs slowly, beating to combine and scraping the sides of the bowl. Mix in sour cream and salt. Stir in crushed oreos by hand. 3) Fill each cupcake space to the top with the batter. Bake for 22 minutes or until filling is set. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.