Acorn squash is my new pal, so I’ve been trying it out lots of different ways. I love it in this recipe with chicken and apple.

To make each individual packet:
1/2 cup cooked instant brown rice
1 chicken breast
1/2 cup peeled, roughly chopped acorn squash
1/2 of an apple, cored and roughly chopped
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp apple juice or cider
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
pinch dried mustard

You can cook the instant brown rice in the microwave in a glass bowl, or use leftover rice you have. Place the rice on the parchment and lay the chicken breast on top. Place the squash and apple on top. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle on the cinnamon, thyme and dried mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the juice or cider and vinegar. Fold and bake at 400 for 22 minutes. Allow to rest about 3 minutes before opening.

This is a great entire meal in a packet. The flavors are wonderful for a cold winter or fall night.

Acorn squash is my new pal, so I’ve been trying it out lots of different ways. I love it in this recipe with chicken and apple. To make each individual packet: 1/2 cup cooked instant brown rice 1 chicken breast 1/2 cup peeled, roughly chopped acorn squash 1/2 of an apple, cored and roughly chopped … Read more →

Have you ever bought an ingredient for a recipe then been simply unable to locate it anywhere in your house? That’s what happened to me with this. I needed mini size cupcake liners or candy wrappers for this recipe. I bought them. I brought them home. They sat on the kitchen table for a few days. Then I put them in the pantry. Then I moved them to a shelf in the pantry so that I would be able to easily find them. Then, when I went to make this, they were just gone. We looked everywhere. So I had to improvise, and I used full size cupcake liners.

This project is from February Living and was chosen by Sassy Suppers. All you do is melt bittersweet chocolate (which I do in the microwave) and then brush into the inside of the cups. Let it dry and do it again. Simple, right?

It actually was pretty simple. The only hard part was getting the paper to peel off. I had to call in Mr. MarthaAndMe for that. He popped them in the freezer for a minute then was able to get it to peel off.

You can add anything you want to the cups – fruit, mousse, ice cream, etc. Martha suggested peanut butter but I didn’t want to eat that much peanut butter. So I did fruit and ice cream. This is super cute and would really be a great way to serve dessert for a dinner party.

Have you ever bought an ingredient for a recipe then been simply unable to locate it anywhere in your house? That’s what happened to me with this. I needed mini size cupcake liners or candy wrappers for this recipe. I bought them. I brought them home. They sat on the kitchen table for a few … Read more →

I love mac and cheese, but sometimes I like it with a bit of a twist. Here’s my latest version, which I must confess is extra good if you serve it with some meatballs, but excellent by itself. And you will feel virtuous because it has lots of veggies.

2 slices wheat bread

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup fontina cheese

1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese

1/4 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 lb whole wheat penne

1 1/2 cup frozen peas

2 oz fresh baby spinach

2 cups cooked cauliflower florets

2 tsp butter

2 tsp flour

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Make the bread into breadcrumbs in the food processor. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Mix and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400.

Begin cooking pasta, you want it done about the time the sauce below is, so make them simultaneously if you can. Just when it reaches doneness, add the vegetables to the pot and cook until they’re hot and the spinach is wilted (about a minute or two).

Mix cheeses in a bowl. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in flour, cooking for about 30 seconds. Whisk in the cream and turn up to high, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occassionally, for about 1 minute. Add in 1/4 tsp salt and pepper.

Drain pasta and vegetables and place them on top of the cheeses in the bowl. Pour the cream sauce on top. Cover and let it sit for 3 minutes.

Pour into a greased 13×9 baking dish and cover with breadcrumb mix, pressing it down into the pasta. Bake at 400 for 7 minutes until the breadcrumbs are slightly browned.

I loved this. I am generally not a Gorgonzola fan, but the little bit in this recipe gives it a really interesting tang. This was creamy and cheesy but it had enough veggies in it to make it feel like a meal to me. Oh and if you just happen to have a bag of turkey meatballs already made in your freezer, adding one to your plate makes this supreme.

I love mac and cheese, but sometimes I like it with a bit of a twist. Here’s my latest version, which I must confess is extra good if you serve it with some meatballs, but excellent by itself. And you will feel virtuous because it has lots of veggies. 2 slices wheat bread 1 cup … Read more →

I need your help. I recently made Chicken Chesapeake, which is from Paula Deen’s magazine. Here’s the recipe

8 oz lump crabmeat
6 boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup butter
8 oz sliced Baby Bella mushrooms
1/2 cup minced green onion
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup cream
8 oz cream cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13×9 dish. Sprinkle crab in bottom.
Season chicken with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper then cook in 2 tbsp melted butter in a skillet 4-5 min per side. Remove and place on top of crab.
Melt remaining butter, add mushrooms and green onions. Cook for 6 min until mushrooms are tender. Add wine and cook 6 min until reduced by half. Add cream and broth, cook for 10 min until slightly thickened. Stir in cream cheese. Add remaining salt and pepper. Pour over chicken and bake for 25-30 minutes.

It sounded SOOOOO good. But it wasn’t. It actually was pretty awful. I did use a refrigerated can of pasteurized crabmeat and I cut the recipe in half. Other than that, I followed it exactly. It was horrible. The sauce tasted delicious when I was cooking it, but over the chicken it was tasteless. The crab tasted not so great. Nothing about this was good and I was so disappointed. I don’t cook with crab a lot and am wondering if I expected too much? I tried squeezing some lemon over it on my plate and that didn’t help much. Any suggestions for making this recipe work?

I need your help. I recently made Chicken Chesapeake, which is from Paula Deen’s magazine. Here’s the recipe 8 oz lump crabmeat 6 boneless chicken breasts 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 cup butter 8 oz sliced Baby Bella mushrooms 1/2 cup minced green onion 1 cup white wine 1 cup chicken … Read more →

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve got a freezer full of salmon from our recent Alaska trip, so coming up with new recipes for it is a must! I recently read a great cookbook called Cooking in the South by Johnnie Gabriel, who is Paula Deen’s cousin. One recipe in there is for a salmon dish with a BBQ-like sauce. I actually intended to just make that recipe, but I realized I was missing a key ingredient – ketchup! So I improvised, and here’s the result:

1 pound salmon

2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce

1/8 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

4 tbsp condensed tomato soup

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

salt and pepper

Place the salmon on parchment paper (I was using one large piece, but if you have individual fillets, you can cook them together or separately). Place all the other ingredients in a glass bowl or measuring cup and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir it well. Pour half of the mixture over the salmon (reserving half). Fold up the parchment and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Serve with the reserved BBQ sauce on the side.

This fed two hungry people at my house, but could definitely feed 2 adults and 2 kids who were not famished. The sauce has a great tang and sweetness to it which really complements the salmon. Serving the reserved sauce on the side allows you to add more if you like yours heavily coated in sauce.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve got a freezer full of salmon from our recent Alaska trip, so coming up with new recipes for it is a must! I recently read a great cookbook called Cooking in the South by Johnnie Gabriel, who is Paula Deen’s cousin. One recipe in there is for a salmon dish … Read more →

Artichoke Parmesan Crostini was a quick and easy recipe that would make a great hors d’oeuvre or party food. I put all the ingredients in the food procesor and whizzed them up. It was ready literally in minutes. I think I might add a little more cheese next time. Thanks to Megan’s Cookin’ for selecting this.

Next week’s project is chocolate cups from p. 56 of Feb. Living. Let me know if you need the recipe.

Artichoke Parmesan Crostini was a quick and easy recipe that would make a great hors d’oeuvre or party food. I put all the ingredients in the food procesor and whizzed them up. It was ready literally in minutes. I think I might add a little more cheese next time. Thanks to Megan’s Cookin’ for selecting … Read more →

Chili with no tomatoes and no beans? Really? Yup. That’s what the real deal chili recipe is, the project chosen for today’s Martha Mondays by Steak and Potato Kinda Gurl.

I seriously contemplated dumping some tomatoes or kidney beans into this because I was worried it wasn’t going to be any good. It has paprika, cayenne, cumin, and oregano in it (no chilis you’ll notice). But after I got it going, I tasted it and it was pretty good. Plus DudeMartha is not a fan of tomatoes or beans and when I described it to him he was excited. So we went with it. It was good. I put cheese and sour cream on mine. DudeMartha added Tabasco. Mr. MarthaAndMe had just cheese. They gave it the thumbs up. I thought it was good, but it’s not the kind of thing I get nutty over.  How did everyone else make out?

Chili with no tomatoes and no beans? Really? Yup. That’s what the real deal chili recipe is, the project chosen for today’s Martha Mondays by Steak and Potato Kinda Gurl. I seriously contemplated dumping some tomatoes or kidney beans into this because I was worried it wasn’t going to be any good. It has paprika, … Read more →

I really love to cook, but coming up with two vegetables a night gets to be a drag. Sometimes I just feel burned out by vegetables. Giving myself permission to come up with different no pot vegetables has made it all more interesting lately though. Last night I put together this bright and tasty veggie dish that we loved:

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1 tbsp chopped parsley
7 drops sesame oil
3/4 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

Five ingredients in an easy no mess parchment paper packet! I put it all on the parchment then tossed with my hands. I folded it up and baked at 400 for about 15 minutes. It had tons of great flavor and was something completely different (no more carrots and peas, please!). This was enough for two adults. Mr. NoPot even had seconds (which you don’t see him doing with veggies – ever!).

I really love to cook, but coming up with two vegetables a night gets to be a drag. Sometimes I just feel burned out by vegetables. Giving myself permission to come up with different no pot vegetables has made it all more interesting lately though. Last night I put together this bright and tasty veggie … Read more →

I am a sucker for crispy potatoes. I admit I didn’t really give the roast chicken recipes in Jan Living much of a second glance until Sarah Carey came on the show and made them. The potatoes in the Crispy Skinned Chicken recipe hooked me. I was also interested to try putting butter and cornstarch on the chicken skin.

I used Yukon Gold potatoes because that’s what I had and I also didn’t have fresh rosemary. It turned out really well. This is an open-kitchen-window recipe though – any time I cook chicken at a high temp like this it smokes up the house. The chicken cooked nicely and was quite crisp (so I will use this method again). The potatoes fell apart a bit when I tossed them in the pan and I did have to put them back in the oven once the chicken was out to get them a little browner, but they were good.

I used dried rosemary, so that may be the problem, but I just kind of wanted the whole thing to have a little more flavor overall. Other than that, it was excellent!

I am a sucker for crispy potatoes. I admit I didn’t really give the roast chicken recipes in Jan Living much of a second glance until Sarah Carey came on the show and made them. The potatoes in the Crispy Skinned Chicken recipe hooked me. I was also interested to try putting butter and cornstarch … Read more →

I chose Hearty Onion Soup Gratin from Jan Living to get us back into Martha Mondays. It’s basically a French onion soup with turnips and carrots added in. I am a lover of French onion soup and have been making it a lot recently (I had one batch where I didn’t stir my onions enough and a tiny bit burned and turned the whole soup bad).

This recipe was fairly simple:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper
4 cups beef stock
4 small carrots, halved lengthwise
3 baby turnips, peeled and cut into wedges or chunks
4 small dried bay leaves
4 large slices of bread
8 slices Gruyere

Heat oil over medium heat in skillet. Cook onions until translucent, about 8 min. Reduce to low and add thyme and cook until golden 35-40 min. Season with salt and pepper

Preheat broiler. Bring stock to boil in pot. Add carrots and turnips and simmer until almost tender, about 5 min.

Divide vegetables among 4 bowls, add onions. Add bay leaf to each. Pour in stock. Place a slice of bread on each and 2 slices cheese. Broil until bubbly.

So now that you’ve seen Martha’s instructions I’ll confess what I did. First of all, I forgot the bay leaves entirely. I didn’t have enough fresh thyme so I used dried. I actually ended up roasting my veggies (and I used baby carrots cut into chunks) in the oven. I added the onions and veggies to the stock (I had about 6 cups of it) and let it simmer for a while so the flavors would combine. I like to make my bread separately on a roasting pan and if we’re eating at home alone, I cut my cheese covered bread into chunks before adding it to my soup to make it easier to eat!

With all that being said, I enjoyed this very much. Really, you’d have to really do something horrible to make me reject a bowl of French onion soup! I enjoyed having more veggies in it and have been eating leftovers for lunch.

Here’s the schedule moving forward for the coming weeks. If this doesn’t work for you, let me know. If you’d like to join up, let me know and I’ll add you.

1/17 Steak and Potatoes Kinda Gurl

1/24 Megan’s Cookin’

1/31 Sassy Suppers

2/7 Perfecting Pru

2/14 Tiny Skillet

2/21 Sweet Almond Tree

2/28 MarthaAndMe

I chose Hearty Onion Soup Gratin from Jan Living to get us back into Martha Mondays. It’s basically a French onion soup with turnips and carrots added in. I am a lover of French onion soup and have been making it a lot recently (I had one batch where I didn’t stir my onions enough … Read more →