Not Yo' Mamma's Pasta Salad...

With 4^th of July just around the corner, I had to share this new pasta salad I made tonight that was too good to keep to myself!

The caramelized onions and fennel take this salad to a whole new level. It really gives a nice flavor, don’t be afraid of the fennel. When it is sautéed it has a very mild taste and gives the dish a little something extra. As I was finishing up the pasta, I noticed I had some mangos in the fridge, so tossed them in and talk about a great combo. The sweet and savory flavors really work great in this salad.

I got all my veggis at that farmers market I was talking about in a previous post, so this salad was really inexpensive. I seriously got 4 mangos for $1 and bell peppers for .30 cents each. Love it!

And if you don’t feel like grilling your own chicken, grab a bag of Tyson precooked/grilled chicken in the freezer section of your grocer or Costco. That’s actually what I used tonight and it was just fine. No one will ever know!

Hope everyone has a great 4^th! We’re heading to Anthem tomorrow night for their big Firework Bash. I need to get one of those personal mister fans, it’s going to be a hot one!

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad with Caramelized Onion, Fennel and Mango

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ Cup onion, finely chopped
½ lb campanelle pasta noodles
¼ Cup finely chopped fennel (if you don’t have it, just use additional onion)
2 Cups grilled chicken breast, cubed
1 red or orange bell pepper, diced
1 ½ Cups quartered zucchini
3 Cups broccoli florets
2 mangos, peeled and cubed
½ bottle Kraft Tuscan House Italian Dressing or Zesty Italian, 16 fl oz size
Couple pinches kosher salt

1. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and fennel for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low and cook until golden. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and place into a large bowl with the onions/fennel. Toss in rest of ingredients, gently stirring to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

4 servings

__________________

Thanks so much to Susan from She's Becoming Dough Messtic blog for the Arte y Pico Award! I love my food bloggin' friends!!

Meet The Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookie....

Phew, what a morning. I just got back from doing the Sonoran Living Live show, here in Phx, promoting the 2008 Tillamook Mac and Cheese Contest. I was surprised to get an email from the Tillamook people asking me to help them promote the contest this year. I'm glad I didn't say anything about it here, because my hair was atrocious today! It didn't work this morning, so I'm hoping no one saw me! It was however, so nice to have my Mom there with me, thanks for coming you little cutie!

I demonstrated my mac and cheese recipe from 2006, "Tillamook 4 Cheese Chicken Florentine Tortellini." The segment seemed to go well, but boy am I glad that's over! It is so akward to see and hear yourself on tv. If you've got a great original mac and cheese, seriously enter it in the contest. It was one of my favorite cook-off's yet!

I did get some beautiful cheese from Tillamook which is like gold. They have some of the best cheese around. I can't wait to make some good mac and cheese with my supply!

So, I was messing around with this new cookie recipe a couple weeks ago and boy did these turn out good! If you are tired of your ususal chocolate chip cookie recipe, do try these. They are fun, different and the kids love them! This is a half recipe, so double accordingly. Grab a glass of milk and get dunkin! Have a great week everyone, see ya'll soon!

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

1 stick softened butter
6 Tablespoons sugar
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ Cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
1 Cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.

3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until cooked, but still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Thanks and Some Blog Awards!

Thanks to Noor from Ya Salam Cooking for the nice blog award. I got the nicest email from her, thank you so much! She has an awesome blog, do check it out!

I'd love to pass this award on to 5 great blogs that I really enjoy, so here goes...

1. Melody from My sweet and Saucy is an amazingly talented pastry chef that I am in awe of! She can also cook. Her blog is always fun, upbeat and has great photos.

2. Steph from Stephanies Kitchen always cooks and bakes recipes that are right up my alley. I wish we were neighbors, we would probably just eat all day long! Her blog is beautiful and packed with great tried and true recipes!

3. Jenna from Jeena's Kitchen has the best step by step photos of each and every meal she posts about. I love it. She is so detailed and cooks delicious food!

4. Lore from Culinarity has pictures that will make your mouth water. Each and every post looks good enough to lick right off the screen!

5. Clumbsy Cookie has a fantastic blog, she is a talented pastry chef and always has delicious food to drool over.

Have a great week everyone!!

The Daring Baker's Take on The Danish Braid....

It’s great to be back with the Daring Baker’s this month. Kelly from Sass and Veracity and Ben from What's Cooking, were the hosts this month and they chose the beautiful Danish Bread. The recipe is Sherry Yard's from The Secrets of Baking and what a beauty this was.

I had all the ingredients at home to half the recipe on a random day, so I made one braid and I filled it with a peanut butter and jelly filling, which I always have on hand, then I sprinkled it with coarse sugar and boy was it good! I couldn’t resist a little sweet drizzle over top either. Can't wait to experiment with the little danish's next time and try the apple filling.

Here's a peek at some of my finished product.

Love the jelly peeking through the braid, mmm!

Ah, here's my favorite way to enjoy the braid, with a little sweet drizzle! It's just powdered sugar and milk whisked together.

Thanks for a great challenge this month Daring Bakers. Be sure to check out other Danish Breads at The Daring Bakers Blogroll. Have a great day everyone!

Get the Recipe HERE

Honeyed Strawberry Shortcake Yogurt Parfaits

Happy Friday everyone! Nice to have the weekend here!

I created this recipe for a little project I'm working on, that I'll write about later and what a hit these were with my family. Fresh, cool and delicious for the summer!

I have been crazy for this Farmer's Market in Mesa lately. I walk out with bags and bags of fresh produce for pennies, it's awesome! If anyone is in Mesa, go to that Superstition market on Greenfield and Main, I love it! I bought 2 packages of strawberries for a whopping $1! Now who can pass that up!

And how cute are these little glasses. I was at Walmart and snatched them up. They were only 2 bucks. I think I'll always be a bargain shopper!

I assure you the whole family will love this treat. Great for breakfast or just a midday snack. Hope you all enjoy!

Honeyed Strawberry Shortcake Yogurt Parfaits

4.5 oz package shortcakes, 4 count, cut into cubes
16 oz reduced fat vanilla yogurt
1 Cup chopped fresh stawberries
8 teaspoons honey
1 package Nature Valley Oats n’ Honey Crunchy Granola Bars (2 in package), crushed

1. Place an even layer of shortcake into 4 little parfait glasses. Top evenly with a couple spoonfuls of yogurt, then about ¼ Cup strawberries. Drizzle each cup with 1 teaspoon honey then top with a Tablespoon of crushed granola bar. Repeat this layering one more time and serve.

____________________

Happy Birthday to my cutest Mom, you don't look a day over 35! Here's Granna, my sister, me and "Mona" at Rigatoni's for her Birthday Lunch yesterday. These women are the best, I am grateful everday for them! Happy Birthday Cutie, had so much fun yesterday!

Have a Great Weekend everyone!! Anyone else going to take the kids to see Wall-E?

WINNERS and Some Fabulous Green Side Dishes!

It really is early Tuesday morning, actually 12:44am, regardless of what the post date says above!

What a total surprise to see a whopping 537 comments for my givaway! I had so much fun reading everyone's sweet indulgences. Thank you all for participating, now will you all stick around!!. I used Random.org to pick my 3 random numbers and here's who won!! Congrats to the 3 of you, I'll be sending you an email!

Our LUCKY WINNERS....

Prize #1 goes to Judy who wrote:
I am not a major sweets person but when I do get an urge, I really crave a molten chocolate cake with chocolate chip mint ice cream. Now to be really honest, if I need a quick fix, I will dip a pretzel in melted chocolate. I love all the posts to this!!

Prize #2 goes to The Hammond Family who wrote:
Warm chocolate chip cookies with a glass of milk!! Yummy!! Really enjoy your blog, great recipes!

Prize #3 goes to Jolene, who wrote:
I have a big sweet tooth. But if I had to pick just one things, I would say Ice Cream. I have a bowl every night, unless there is something else sweet to eat.

___________________________

Now Onto Some Great Side Dishes!

So, my husband and I went to see the Incredible Hulk this past weekend and loved it! Great summer movie. So in honor of the hulk, I made 2 fabulous green side dishes that you are sure to love! My boys loved the cheesy broccoli, but I’d save the creamed spinach for the adults, it's rich and full of great flavor that the kiddo's can't appreciate yet!

We had my side dishes with my mom’s yummy Shepard’s Pie tonight, what a great combo! I’ll post a great recipe for shepard’s pie soon.

I couldn't resist a bite! Note: Clean the broccoli from under my nail before taking pictures.

Cheesy Bacon Broccoli Almondine

8 Cups broccoli florets steamed for 3 minutes
¼ Cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
6 strips precooked bacon strips, crisped and crumbled
½ Cup slivered almonds

1. Place broccoli into medium pot over medium heat. Sprinkle with cheeses, bacon and almonds. Cover with lid until cheese is melted, about 2-3 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

______________________

How good is Creamed Spinach, you've got to try this! Complete heaven, just don't think about the heavy cream ok?! The healthy spinach out weighs the cream anyway, right?!

Caramelized onions, garlic and fennel....Yum!

Creamed Spinach with Caramelized Onions, Garlic and Fennel

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ Cup finely diced onions
2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fennel
12 Cups fresh baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
5 Tablespoons heavy cream

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions for 10 minutes, stirring often, until golden brown. Stir in garlic and fennel; cook for 3 minutes then stir in spinach leaves. Season with salt and pepper; cook until wilted down, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream; reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Picky Palate Givaway!

Hi Everyone, out of appreciation for everyone's great comments and emails I'm excited to have my very first Picky Palate Givaway! I'm no Oprah, but I'm giving away 3 separate prizes, here's what you do...

Since, I have a terrible sweet tooth, I thought it'd be fun to hear what everyone else's "sweetest" weakness is. Maybe I won't feel so bad about mine! So, post a comment (one comment per person) with your favorite treat that you just can't resist. Make sure your email is there so I can contact you if you are chosen as a winner.

Hurry, you've got until Monday the 23rd at midnight, then I'll randomly pick 3 winners and post the outcome Tuesday morning. Can't wait to hear about all your favorite indulgences!

I'll go first......I can never resist a good Dark Dark Chocolate bar or the gooey pizza cookie with lots of vanilla bean ice cream. Good Luck Everyone!Prize #1

2 All Clad Oval Bakers

These are great little bakers. I love them for mac and cheese, roasting potatoes/veggis, you name it, they are awesome!

Prize #2

The Chocolate Deck by Lori Longbotham, 50 great looking picture/recipe cards of fabulous chocolate recipes

Ice Cream and Sorbets cookbook by Lou Siebert Pappas, great for summer!
Cute Popcorn Boxes

Prize 3

A church cookbook that I helped put together over a 2 year period that turned out great. I love all the family friendly recipes it has inside.

Thermador Taste of America 50th Anniversary Cookbook. I was lucky enough to have one of my recipes published in this gorgeous cookbook. It has some of the most beautiful photography I've seen. I hold this book near and dear. You'll love it!

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Bars

Here’s another easy, rich, kid pleasing, adult pleasing treat for the summer. I love pulling out my cake mixes and making something fun and quick. Is it any surprise, that there is chocolate and peanut butter in these treats. I know, give it a break Jen! Seriously!

I used semi sweet chocolate chips for the ganache and the "wambulance" came to pick my husband up again, too dark for his taste. So, if you’ve got a semi sweet hater too, please use milk chocolate! The boys and I had no problem handling these bars on our own!

I'm checking out, good night, may we all dream of chocolate and peanut butter!

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Bars

1 box devils food cake mix
1 egg
1 stick softened butter

8 oz softened cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 Cup sugar
10 regular size Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, cut into little pieces

1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
4 Tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with tin foil. Spray with non stick cooking spray. Mix cake mix, egg and butter together then press into baking dish.

2. Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in egg until well combined then stir in peanut butter cups. Pour over cake layer and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cheesecake is cooked through (it only took 30 minutes in my oven). Remove and let cool completely.

3. Carefully lift bars out of dish using ends of foil. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals until melted through. Stir in heavy cream and stir until glossy smooth. Spread chocolate over cheesecake layer, cut into squares and serve.

Great Way to Use Leftovers: Adobo Chicken Salad on Cheddar Onion Pockets

Happy Father's Day Everyone! The day's about over, but hope everyone has enjoyed spending time with the Father's in their lives and ate some great food! I think I've probably gained about 5 pounds with all the food we've consumed this weekend, yikes back to yoga and pilates this week!

For any of you who were huge Tastespotting fans like myself, knows they had to shut down for some legal issue. I found another cool site that posts droolworthy pictures and links to the recipes. So be sure to check out Food Gawker and send in those yummy photos .

Thought I'd post my latest while everyone is still napping in my house: Yummy Adobo Chicken Salad using up the sweet corn from my Father's Day Dinner. This is one of my new favorite chicken salads. It's got a perfect sweet and smoky flavor that's mild enough for even the kids!

The boys and I got out our big box of Ritz crackers and had a hay day digging in. It's great on a sandwich and perfect as a snack on crackers. I got my cheddar onion rolls from Sprouts, but any nice soft roll will do.

Enjoy the rest of your day, we're off to pig out at my mom's house! I'll be back soon with a quick weeknight dinner and an easy cheesecake bar dessert! Oh and that 60 second lunch, that I can't seem to photograph, it never lasts that long on the plate, it's all coming soon!

Here's my special helper that kept inching closer and closer to my photo shoot again. Little rascal, Hawaiian Punch mustache and all!

Adobo Chicken Salad on Cheddar Onion Pockets

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (Costco has a great one)
1 1/2 Cups mayonnaise
1/2 Cup left over Sweet Sauteed Corn recipe
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 Tablespoon Adobo sauce
1 Tablespoon lime juice
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
Cheddar onion pockets (from Sprouts) or other nice soft rolls
spinach leaves

1. Combine first 8 ingredients into a large bowl until combined. Spread onto nice soft rolls lined with spinach leaves. Enjoy!

Gooey Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Just got done watching the long awaited Top Chef finale and they definitely picked the right person. Since I already ruined it for someone, I deleted my commentary about the winner. It was a great show though!

Now for some pancakes. The kids go nuts for these pancakes, so since many of our Dad's are still big kids themselves, I thought I’d share these tempting pancakes before Father’s Day. The marshmallows are fabulous as they melt into the pancakes with the chocolate chips. These are certainly not your everyday type of pancakes, they are a real “treat” and should only be served on “special occasions!” Just a slight sugar HIGH!

Hope everyone enjoys this weekend with all of the Father’s in their lives! I'll be back soon with a killer recipe using some of the leftovers from my Father's Day Dinner!

Here's a more realistic shot, the marshmallows and chocolate chips are certainly optional on top, they just seem to make my pictures more fun!

Mmmmm!

Gooey Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Pancakes

4 Tablespoons melted butter
½ Cup half and half
½ Cup milk
2 eggs
1 ¼ Cups whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 Cup mini marshmallows

Pure maple syrup
Pads of butter if desired
Handful of mini marshmallows to sprinkle on top
Handful of chocolate chips to sprinkle on top

1. Place melted butter, half and half, milk and eggs into a medium bowl, stir to combine and set aside. Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Stir to combine.

2. Slowly add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Gently stir in chocolate chips and marshmallows.

3. Preheat a griddle or large skillet that’s been sprayed with cooking spray over medium low heat. In batches, pour about ¼ Cup (or more if you like larger pancakes) batter onto griddle/skillet. Cook both sides until golden brown and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes per side.

4. Pour warm pure maple syrup over pancakes and serve with pads of butter, additional marshmallows and chocolate chips if desired.

Makes about 12 medium size pancakes