I was making a really quick dinner recently but was just craving something that felt slow cooked. I came up with this moist, delicious chicken recipe that has a cider infused gravy. It was fantastic (yes, there was fighting over it at the table). Serve with some mashed or oven roasted potatoes (which will taste great with the gravy!).

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup cider

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tbsp butter

2 tsp Wondra

1/4 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400 and spray a small glass baking dish. Place the chicken breasts in it and pour cider over them. Sprinkle onion powder, rosemary, salt and pepper on chicken and dot with butter. Bake for 25 minutes until the breasts are cooked (165 degrees with a meat thermometer). Remove the breasts and heat the pan over a burner. Whisk in Wondra and broth until thick. Serve over chicken.

Super simple, but with a very complex flavor!

I was making a really quick dinner recently but was just craving something that felt slow cooked. I came up with this moist, delicious chicken recipe that has a cider infused gravy. It was fantastic (yes, there was fighting over it at the table). Serve with some mashed or oven roasted potatoes (which will taste … Read more →

Sassy Suppers has chosen sausage stuffed red onions from November Living.  Pictured on pg. 141.  Recipe on pg. 198. If you need the recipe, let me know.

Sassy Suppers has chosen sausage stuffed red onions from November Living.  Pictured on pg. 141.  Recipe on pg. 198. If you need the recipe, let me know.

I ran into this new entry in the produce department and couldn’t resist. I paid $4.99 for the bunch, but wait! Not only do you get the roots, but the tops are just regular parsley, so it’s like getting a bunch of that too.

I peeled the roots and roasted them with some carrots (about 45 minutes with 1 tablespoon oil, plus salt and pepper, then drizzled balsamic vinegar before serving). It tasted just like parsnip to me, but with a little bit of parsley flavor. They were fun to try. Have you tried this veggie?

I ran into this new entry in the produce department and couldn’t resist. I paid $4.99 for the bunch, but wait! Not only do you get the roots, but the tops are just regular parsley, so it’s like getting a bunch of that too. I peeled the roots and roasted them with some carrots (about … Read more →

I love cooking with pumpkin. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin muffins are in my fall and winter rotation. Sunday mornings are when we have our “big breakfasts” at my house – pancakes, waffles, or French toast with bacon and/or sausage. It’s infinitely complicated because some people need their bacon practically raw, while others prefer it very, very well done. Mr. MarthaAndMe always has bacon duty and it is a toss up if it will burn – we buy organic uncured bacon which somehow goes from raw to black in the microwave in an instant. Don’t get me started on the sausage either. We have to make two kinds – those frozen little ones and fresh apple maple chicken sausages – to please everyone.

Pancakes aren’t always a slamdunk. Plain goes over well, as do my oatmeal pancakes. Mr. MarthaAndMe and I like blueberry pancakes and I adore buckwheat pancakes, but the kids won’t touch them. I would never in a million years eat chocolate chip pancakes but the kids love them. So, you can see that breakfast isn’t a simple task.

This past Sunday I decided to put together some pumpkin pancakes, thinking that everyone would eat them since the kids love anything with pumpkin. Silly me. Dude Martha complained that he liked pumpkin, just not in his pancakes, and would not try them. 3 out of 4 of us did eat it and loved it.

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 flour

1 egg

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (from a can)

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ginger

pinch nutmeg

Mix and cook on a griddle or in large pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Try to spread the batter out when you pour it. If the pancakes are very thick, they take much longer to cook through. Makes 10-12 pancakes. Serve with maple syrup.

I love cooking with pumpkin. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin muffins are in my fall and winter rotation. Sunday mornings are when we have our “big breakfasts” at my house – pancakes, waffles, or French toast with bacon and/or sausage. It’s infinitely complicated because some people need their bacon practically raw, while … Read more →

We can all blame SteakandPotatoKindaGurl for ruining our post-Halloween I-ate-too-much-candy diets (just kidding!). These easy peanut butter cups were incredibly easy. And really good too. You melt chocolate. You melt white chocolate with peanut butter. You layer these two in the cups.  I only had one problem with them. They stuck to the mini cupcake liners and were impossible to get off. I would buy actual candy cups if I made these again.  I think I would try these with dark chocolate because that would be absolute heaven. The name does not lie – they are very easy. And they were very good!

We can all blame SteakandPotatoKindaGurl for ruining our post-Halloween I-ate-too-much-candy diets (just kidding!). These easy peanut butter cups were incredibly easy. And really good too. You melt chocolate. You melt white chocolate with peanut butter. You layer these two in the cups.  I only had one problem with them. They stuck to the mini cupcake … Read more →

There was a recipe for stuffed acorn squash in October Everyday Food. I was interested, but didn’t like the stuffing, so I decided to make my own.

1 acorn squash

2 ounces pancetta

1/2 cup diced sweet onion

1/4 teaspoon thyme

salt and pepper

2 cups of packed kale leaves

2 slices whole wheat bread, torn into 1 inch pieces

2 tablespoons cream

1 tablespoon chicken broth

1/4 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Cut the squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for an hour and 15 minutes, until the squash is soft.

Cook the pancetta. Remove it, leaving the drippings. Cook onion over medium high heat until soft and translucent (about 3-4 minutes). Add thyme, salt and pepper. Stir in kale, reduce heat to medium and cover for about 3 minutes, until kale is softened. Stir in bread, cream, broth, pancetta, and cheese and stir until combined. Stuff into squash and bake at 400 for 10 minutes until slightly browned on top.

I really liked this. I like acorn squash to begin with, but this added color and flavor to it in a big way. You don’t even realize it has kale in this (good if you have kids). The pancetta and cheese add a lot of nice flavor to it. Definitely something worth making!

There was a recipe for stuffed acorn squash in October Everyday Food. I was interested, but didn’t like the stuffing, so I decided to make my own. 1 acorn squash 2 ounces pancetta 1/2 cup diced sweet onion 1/4 teaspoon thyme salt and pepper 2 cups of packed kale leaves 2 slices whole wheat bread, … Read more →

Our project for next week is Easy Peanut Butter Cups, chosen by SteakandPotatoKindaGurl. This will be her last pick as she is leaving us to go back to school and work.

Our project for next week is Easy Peanut Butter Cups, chosen by SteakandPotatoKindaGurl. This will be her last pick as she is leaving us to go back to school and work.

This week’s project was chosen by yours truly: Chocolate Beet Cake (from November Living, not online yet). Wow! The gold standard for chocolate cake in my house is my grandmother’s Miracle Whip cake and this was just as good. It was incredibly moist and you would never know there were beets in it. It just tasted like a delicious, very moist chocolate cake – it looked just like a chocolate cake too.

I don’t know how often I would make this though, because beets are just a pain to work with! You have to peel them, then cut into pieces then boil then puree. I have an off-white Corian sink and was totally paranoid about it getting stained. I was able to find a pair of medical gloves to wear so I didn’t stain my hands. I peeled the beets on top of newspaper. I drained them out in the yard to avoid the sink issue entirely.

Other than the beets, the cake was easy to make and had an easy chocolate glaze, only one layer which I appreciated. It was so good I sent it away with Mr. MarthaAndMe this morning – can’t have that in the house AND the Halloween candy!

As you can see, I took it out of the oven a smidge too early – the very center didn’t quite cook all the way. I took it out with5 minutes remaining because it seemed done. I should have tested it with a cake tester.

I’m wondering if this would work with roasted beets (where you roast them whole, then just rub the skin off with a paper towel), or even canned beets so you wouldn’t have to cook them yourself at all.

This week’s project was chosen by yours truly: Chocolate Beet Cake (from November Living, not online yet). Wow! The gold standard for chocolate cake in my house is my grandmother’s Miracle Whip cake and this was just as good. It was incredibly moist and you would never know there were beets in it. It just … Read more →

Here’s the latest schedule. Let me know if your date doesn’t work for you. Also let me know if you’d to be taken off the schedule. Anyone new is welcome to join!

11-7 SteakAndPotatoKindaGurl

11-14 Megan’s Cookin’

11-21 Sassy Suppers

11-28 Perfecting Pru

12-5 Tiny Skillet

12-12 Sweet Almond Tree

12-19 MarthaAndMe

Here’s the latest schedule. Let me know if your date doesn’t work for you. Also let me know if you’d to be taken off the schedule. Anyone new is welcome to join! 11-7 SteakAndPotatoKindaGurl 11-14 Megan’s Cookin’ 11-21 Sassy Suppers 11-28 Perfecting Pru 12-5 Tiny Skillet 12-12 Sweet Almond Tree 12-19 MarthaAndMe

Romanesco is a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. I recently picked a head up at the grocery store. It’s shaped kind of weirdly, with the florets being sort of pointy. It’s a pale green color. I decided to cook it simply so I could understand the flavors. I cut it into florets and steamed it until it was tender. I seasoned it only with butter and salt and pepper. It truly tastes just like a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. It’s got more of the texture of cauliflower, as well as the sweetness. I really liked it will try it in some more adventurous recipes in the future.

Have you tried it? What did you think?

Romanesco is a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. I recently picked a head up at the grocery store. It’s shaped kind of weirdly, with the florets being sort of pointy. It’s a pale green color. I decided to cook it simply so I could understand the flavors. I cut it into florets and steamed it … Read more →