When time is crunched - home made dinner still winning.

Some nights are wide open and some nights are everything bundled all together into one. We had an all bundled together kind of night recently. Not only did we have a meeting in the evening, a school even too, we also had a financial call that lasted 90 minutes rather than the 60 max we normally have. That gave us 30 minutes to finish making dinner, eat, and get to the school event. Not ideal. I did have 30 minutes between when I was done with work and our financial meeting to prep as much as I possibly could. Thankfully I baked some chicken the day before so that was ready to roll. This recipe has a lot of separate cooking things. Onions, Mushrooms, Spinach, Garlic.... this may be a one pot (except you need another pot to cook the pasta in) but you are using that one pot over and over separately. The good news is this turned out great and Nicholas has had it for left overs each day since. We also managed to make it to all our things on time - having had a home cooked dinner. Yay go us!

One-Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta with Spinach and Mushrooms
14 oz farfalle pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz mushrooms, sliced
10 oz fresh spinach
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream (more or less, according to your taste)
1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, optional

1. To make the creamy parmesan spinach mushroom pasta skillet: Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, according to the package instructions.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes until translucent and slightly browned. Remove from the skillet and transfer to a plate.
3. In the same skillet, add the mushrooms and sauté for about 3 minutes until browned. Add a bit of oil if necessary. Remove mushrooms to the plate with onion and set aside.
4. In the same skillet, add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes until just wilted. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove spinach and drain excess water. Transfer to another plate.
5. Still in the same skillet, heat a little oil, add the chopped garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then deglaze with vegetable broth. Add cream, grated parmesan, chili pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning and cook for 2 minutes, stirring until combined and the cream gets some color.
6. Once the pasta is ready, add mushrooms, onion, and spinach back to the skillet, then put drained pasta and toss to combine. Add more parmesan and Italian seasoning and give a quick stir. Serve the creamy parmesan spinach mushroom pasta with red chili pepper flakes and more parmesan, if you like. Enjoy!

Breakfast for dinner for the win

I'm pretty sure our oven is misbehaving. I set it for 350 and it was maybe 275 - so this dish took way longer to bake. Thinking back to a few of my last bakes they also took longer as well. Mental note - watch the thermometer that lives inside the oven... because oh man... it's not happy. Not sure how to fix that - I don't really want a new oven - our currently one sits in the middle of our island... yeah it's weird. No exhaust and it runs for a really long time after it's done to cool down before it turns off. That's great in the winter - let that paid air out - in the summer it's less great. Heating up an already hot kitchen. Anyway... this casserole was a hit. Maybe it was all the carbs? Maybe we were just hungry - but it was pretty simple to put together and baked up beautifully (once I cranked up the temp to get it closer to 350). I added green onions into the dish - Andy suggested bacon. I think you could add anything you'd add to an omelet. This is a do again for sure, maybe change it up a bit - maybe add a sauce - but yes... breakfast for dinner for the win.

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole with Biscuits
8 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Stone Ground Mustard
Pinch Salt/Pepper
2 Cans Biscuits - cut into quarters
1/4 Lb Deli Ham or Leftover Holiday Ham - chopped
8 ounces Shredded Tri Cheddar Blend - divided
Sliced Green Onions

Preheat oven to 350ºF
Whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper.
In large bowl combine biscuits, ham, 4 ounces cheese and egg mixture. Toss gently to evenly coat. Transfer everything to a greased 9×13 casserole dish. Cover with foil.
Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, top with remaining cheese then bake 15 more minutes.
Let sit 5-10 minutes. Slice and serve topped with sliced green onions and butter.
Best if served drizzled with white breakfast gravy, hollandaise or butter sauce.

Sitting on recipes isn't that comfortable

I've been sitting on this recipe for a while - mostly because I didn't actually read it. I thought it would be more complicated. Even when I enlisted Andy's help to make it - I considered ordering take out. But... I had already defrosted a container of leftover cooked turkey from Thanksgiving and had the rest of the ingredients so let's go. It was a matter of literally dumping everything together, stirring and baking. The chicken/turkey was the only thing to precook, even the orzo went in dry. Andy was surprised - "that's it?" That's it! I had a naysayer... my usually naysayer who complained it was going to be "just like broccoli cheddar soup" which he proclaimed his love for on first taste... then further meals his disgust... Nope... not even a little like that soup... and thankfully my naysayer decided it was good and he really DID enjoy it. How about that. I'm not looking forward to his teen years when he gets even more mouthy about what I cook. I used to enjoy when he was smaller and loved everything, maybe I can keep him little... or somehow find that part of him that likes to try new things. This was delicious and easy and great for a cold night.

Dump & Bake Chicken Broccoli Orzo Casserole
1.5 cups chicken broth
1-10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (I used rotisserie chicken)
1/2 box (8oz) uncooked orzo
1 cup mild cheddar cheese, freshly shredded

1. Preheat oven to 425. Grease an 8x10 (for 4 people… 9x13 for 8 people w/ double the ingredients) with cooking spray.
2. Add chicken broth, can of soup and all spices. Stir in broccoli, cooked chicken and uncooked orzo. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
3. Uncover and stir gently with a fork. Taste for pasta doneness (firm, but tender). If it still needs more time, cover and cook for another few minutes. Be sure not to overcook as the pasta can easily become mushy, if so.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake uncovered for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler for another 2 minutes to create a crispy, brown topping. Enjoy!

Manly Sprinkles Necessary

I picked sugar cookie bars thinking my non chocolate eating son would like these. "Sorry mom I don't like baked goods." UGH KID!! I was making these for a boys group event - and made the frosting orange per my baked good denier. These cookies rose amazingly well and settled down after. The frosting was on point - so good. Simple sprinkles for boys who probably wouldn't eat them if I had cute sprinkles on them... manly sprinkles were necessary here... If I had black and blue... I should have used those... many... or camouflage! Alas... rainbow nonpareils is what I had and used. Great reviews on these - very high ratio of frosting to bar but let's be honest - kids are all about the frosting so it worked. I cut these into 24 and could have cut them way smaller. Kids and adults enjoyed them - worth the expensive eggs and butter.

Sugar Cookie Bar
1 1/2 cups salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
Frosting
3/4 cup salted butter, softened
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
up to 1/4 cup heavy cream or milk
food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper or spray with non stick spray and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Once mixed thoroughly, add in the flour and baking powder.
Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes or until the cookies have puffed up, no longer look glossy in the center and the edges are just beginning to turn a golden color.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.
Once the cookies are cool, make the frosting by creaming the butter until smooth.
Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing until it is well incorporated before adding in more. You can add in a splash of heavy cream or milk to help bring the frosting together as needed. Repeat until all of the powdered sugar has been added.
Mix in the vanilla extract and food coloring. You thin the frosting by adding a little bit of milk or heavy cream, if needed.
Spread onto the cooled sugar cookie bars and top with sprinkles, if desired.

I had to look up ostentatiously...

And I quote "I don't know if I've ever had a more ostentatiously decadent brownie."
I think that says all you need to know about these brownies. They are THAT good.
I was making dessert for unknown number of people - which really was fun when it came to lunch too - rushing to run around and make more taco meat for said unknown number of people... anyway. These brownies are what we are talking about. Did you know partially melted butter could fluff up volumes by just keeping that beater going? Then add five eggs and even more fluff. This batter had more volume then most people’s hair. When I baked it - it was unlike any brownies I've ever seen, they were fluffy and rose higher than the pan - they did not look like the picture - but Ok... sure. They settled down, thankfully, and turned into the most amazing brownie. The frosting too - just perfect on top. I cut these into 24 but easily could have been 48. They are so rich and worth every single expensive egg.

Cosmic Brownies
1 1/2 cups salted butter, partially melted
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 eggs
2 tbsp corn syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda

Fudge Frosting and Toppings
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
milk, as needed to thin
candy coated chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream together the partially melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar for a full 5 minutes at the highest speed. The mixture will be extremely light in color and very fluffy.
Add the eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. Mix again at the highest speed for an additional 5 minutes.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt and soda to the bowl. Mix until everything is just combined. Fold the mixture by hand a few times to make sure that everything is mixed together.
Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared 9×13 pan. Spread the mixture until it is smooth and even.
Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. The brownies will rise significantly, the edges will begin to crackle and you should be able to test the center of the brownies with a toothpick and a few moist crumbs should come up on the toothpick when they are ready to come out of the oven.
Immediately upon taking the brownies out of the oven, drop the pan onto a cutting board or your stovetop multiple times to let the excess air out of the center of the brownies. This will cause the brownies to deflate and give us that extra fudgey texture.
While the brownies start to cool, make the frosting.
Make the frosting by first creaming together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the cocoa powder. Add a tsp or two of milk to help bring the mixture together.
Mix on the lowest setting, so we avoid adding extra air to the frosting.
Next, add in the powdered sugar, again, adding a little bit of milk, as needed, to bring the mixture together while mixing on the lowest setting.
Add in the vanilla and mix until combined. The frosting should be thick, creamy and dark in color.
Scoop dollops of the frosting onto the top of the brownies. The heat from the brownies will slightly melt the frosting making it easier to spread.
Spread the frosting onto the brownies to cover the center of the brownies.
Return the brownies to the warm (but off) oven for 3-5 minutes to melt the frosting onto the brownies (this will help get that silky smooth appearance on top of the frosting)
Immediately sprinkle the candy coated chocolate chips on top of the frosting.
Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan before cutting.
Note: I actually like to freeze my brownies for about 30 minutes before cutting to make it easier to get the brownies out of the pan and easier to get clean cuts. Store at room temp or in the fridge in an air tight container.