It'sa Lemon Butter Chicken, Mes Amichis

UPDATE: Got the pictures to work! Hallelujah!

Sorry, this was supposed to have posted overnight, but Blogger didn't want to cooperate. And apparently the pictures have disappeared. I'm in the process of trying to reload them, so bare with me please.

When the hubby and I first got engaged, we had planned this great trip to Italy for our honeymoon. Then the military called and we had to change our plans. We ended up marrying a year early and taking a much smaller honeymoon to Washington D.C. (its was absolutely gorgeous in October; if you ever have the chance to visit in the fall, definitely do it). As great as it was in D.C., it was still a bit of a letdown to not be able to feast on all of the great dishes that come from the beautiful country.

I wish I had known about this Lemon Butter Chicken Pasta four years ago. We would have been eating it at least once a week for dinner and a couple of times the following days as leftovers. It's oh so bad for you with the bacon and lemon-cream-butter sauce, but as long as you don't actually eat it once a week, you'll be fine.

This one got quite a few changes to it to suit my picky tastes. Obviously, you can still follow the original, and I'm sure you'll have just as good of results as we did. One thing though, if you do follow the original, still add the tomatoes like we did. It truly enhances the tartness of the lemon juice in the sauce and turns it a pretty shade of pink (very appropriate for Breast Cancer Awareness Month).

Lemon Butter Chicken with Pasta
Recipe from All Recipes, adapted by me

Lemon Butter Sauce:

1/4 cup white wine (I used chicken broth, but that's only because the smell of wine makes me sick right now)

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (feel free to use the stuff int he little yellow bottle; I've tried it both ways and didn't notice the difference either time)

5 tablespoons heavy cream

1 cup butter, chilled

salt and pepper to taste

Chicken and Pasta:

1/2 pound dry farfalle (bow tie) pasta

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

4 ounces bacon

6 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I left this and the artichoke hearts out)

6 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and halved (substituted in a can of diced tomatoes, but you can also use a fresh one)

2 teaspoons capers, drained (forgot about these completely this time around, and I'm glad I did; they make it a bit too salty)

chopped fresh parsley for garnish

1. To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in cream, and simmer until it thickens. Gradually add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Turn down the heat, and keep warm (I do this step closer to the end simply because I had it curdle on me the first time I made it when I did it first; still tasted good, just not as pretty).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
3. While boiling the pasta, make the chicken by heating oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Lightly coat chicken with flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place chicken in hot oil. (If necessary, cook in batches.) Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken to paper towels. Stir the bacon, mushrooms, artichokes, and capers into the oil; cook until the mushrooms are soft.
4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size strips, and return them to the skillet. Stir half of the lemon butter sauce into the chicken mixture.
5. To serve, place pasta in a large bowl. Stir the chicken mixture into the pasta. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Stir in additional lemon butter sauce as desired. Toss well, and garnish with parsley.

Oh Alfredo....

I'm baaaacccckkk! Sorry for the delay in posting. I went off the phenergan because I've not been having morning sickness. Yay! The bad thing about it is that I'm actually sleepier when I don't take it (meds that knock you out but don't make you groggy, I can deal with that). Yuck. Anyway, something else that's been fun about being preganant at the start of a new trimester is that I'm finally having cravings. Not for any one food in particular, oh no. That would be too easy. Instead, I crave breakfast food. I loath breakfast but force myself to eat something every morning because it's the most important meal of the day. Blah blah blah. I've been having cereal as an after dinner snack, craving pancakes with butter and waffles with cream cheese (don't knock it til you try it), and even considered eating an egg for a second or two (my mortal enemy).

Anyway, this post is not about breakfast. I just wanted to share something that was fun about being pregnant for me since I feel like all I did for the first three months was complain. Probably this weekend though, I'll give you the recipe for the pancakes we eat. So light and fluffy. Made froms cratch. What was I here to talk to you about again? Oh yeah, alfredo. I found a fun new recipe for an alfredo sauce on All Recipes that I desperately wanted to try the other night. Of course, me being me, I had to play with it.

I added broccoli and chicken (finally can deal with chicken again) and really wish I had thought about garlic before it was eaten, cause that would have been good. I was a bit worried when I added my cheese to the hot cream though. Since the recipe calls for mozzarella and provolone, cheese not really meant for cheese sauces, it kind of seized and looked like melted string cheese. Thankfully, I didn't just toss it in the garbage and start over, because as I continued to stir it wondering how to fix it, it came together. And boy did it come together! My taste buds may be off and making things taste a little different, but even I could tell through the mixed signals that it was good. Please try it. You won't be disappointed.

Four Cheese Alfredo Sauce
Recipe from All Recipes, adapted by me

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup butter (I used 2 Tbl here; I honestly would not use that much unless you've had success with a prior alfredo recipe calling for that much butter)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded provolone cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (I cheated and used Sargento's 6 Italian Cheese Blend)
1 tsp ground nutmeg

1. In a medium saucepan combine whipping cream, butter, and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until butter melts. Gradually stir in grated Parmesan cheese, grated mozzarella cheese, grated provolone cheese, and grated Romano cheese. Reduce heat to low, and continue to stir just until all cheese is melted.
2. Serve immediately, sauce will thicken upon standing.

I Heart My Nana!

So, remember a few recipes ago how I asked if anyone had a good recipe for tomato sauce? And do you remember how I said that my family doesn't have one? Well, I felt extremely silly when I went through my recipe box and came across a family recipe in my nana's handwriting for tomato sauce. To be completely honest, this recipe is a really good base. There are so many things that can be added to this simple sauce to make it truly your own. I stayed pretty close to Nana's recipe this time around so I could give an honest opinion. Next time, I'm going to add bay leaf and more garlic (probably more spices than that even). Enjoy!

Nana's Tomato Sauce

1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 or 2 cans tomato paste (depends on desired consistency; I used 2 cans)
1 clove garlic, chopped
Basil, to taste
Oregano, to taste
1 onion, chopped
Olive oil

1. In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is almost translucent. Stir in spices, crushed tomatoes, and paste.
2. Cook on medium-low heat for an hour or an hour and a half.

Per Nana's notes on the bottom of my recipe card, "You can cheat and use jar sauce, but scratch tastes better." I also added 1 lb ground beef, browned and drained as well as spicy Italian sausage. So yummy!

Bella Notte

UPDATE: Got the computer fixed so now here are the pictures!

UPDATE: I tried to upload pictures for this recipe, but my memory card isn't working. I'm going to see if I can get it to load from a different computer tomorrow, but I can't promise anything. Many apologies...

Yesterday I spent the day baking cookies. What do I have to show for it? Several bags of cookies and not one single picture. For whatever reason, my camera didn't want to work. I was really worried that it was going to continue to malfunction when I was making dinner tonight. It worked just fine, and so now I can share my dinner with you.

Lasagna roll-ups are one of those meals that can be customized to your tastes. The original recipe calls for tofu, which is fine, but I'm a meat and potatoes kind of girl (as you may already know) so we use ground hamburger instead. Another nice thing about this meal is that it can feed about nine people if you serve it with a salad (that's with two rolls for each serving). Filling and yummy, that's my kind of meal!

Now, when I make Italian food, I find myself wishing I was Italian. I mean, it's great being Irish (and Swedish), but we don't have an old family recipe for tomato sauce. There are no secret ingredients that I won't be able to divulge to you. There are no recipe cards written decades ago by some long-gone relative that has been handed down to the first born daughter of each generation. There's just a can or jar of sauce purchased from the grocery store. Do you feel my pain? Or are you one of the lucky ones with a fabulous recipe from the old country? Would you mind passing it along to me? I promise to treat it right and give it a good home in my hand-painted recipe box (thanks, Honey Mim).

Lasagna Roll-Ups
Recipe by All Recipes, adapted by me

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked lasagna noodles
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese (I use the big container so it goes further)
1 pound ground beef, cooked (we use the leanest meat we can find and cook it with minced onion)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry (I did not use this because I forgot to buy some)
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce
Italian seasoning to taste

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 5 to 8 minutes, or until just slightly underdone; drain and rinse (make sure that the noodles are just past al dente or they won't be easy to roll).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together grated cheese, ricotta cheese, beef, frozen spinach, and 1 cup Parmesan cheese.
3. Lay out a noodle. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on the noodle, then add a thin layer of sauce. Roll the noodle up, and place seam side down in a 13x9 pan. Repeat for other noodles. Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese (this time around, I did not use any of the sauce inside the rolls which made them easier to handle; this should make 15-18 rolls depending on how much filling you use for each).
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 30 min, or until hot and bubbly.

My Other Love

Everyone knows of my love affair with all things Jamie Oliver. I don't know what it is about that man, but I'll try anything he says tastes good. I think even my hubby is in love with that man's recipes. His recipes, for whatever reason, always make me think of home. They are simple, made with the freshest ingredients, and always seem to come from the heart. With it being so cold still, I thought it only fitting to make something comforting. I returned to my favorite cookbook of his, Jamie at Home, for tonight's meal: Sweet Cherry Tomato and Sausage Bake.

I've actually made this before with modifications that I wasn't happy with. This time, I stuck with the recipe and was so much happier with the results. We made a special trip to the liquor store to get my trusty 9x13 pan back (I took my buddies leftover cupcakes from last week) and ended up picking up a fabulous wine. Did you know Newman's Own has a Cabernet Sauvignon? I didn't until we picked it up. It actually paired really well with our dinner too. Fruity and a little sweet, it offset the spicy sausage I used nicely. Try it if you haven't already (profits go to charity which is always a plus in my book). Enjoy!

Sweet Cherry Tomato and Sausage Bake
Recipe by Jamie Oliver

4-1/4 pounds cherry tomatoes, mixed colors if you can find them (only tomatoes I could find were red grape; still tasted good though)
2 sprigs each fresh thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves (I used 1 TBS dried of each since I forgot to pick some fresh ones up)
1 Tbl dried oregano
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped (used 4, minced with a Kitchenaid hand-chopper)
12 good-quality coarse Italian pork sausages (I used two packages of Johnsonville spicy; there should be 5 in the pack, but they are good sized)
Extra virgin olive oil (probably about 2 Tbl)
Balsamic vinegar (about 1 TBl)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Using a good-sized roasting pan (9x13 works for me), place the tomatoes to fit into one layer. Add the herbs, garlic, and sausages. Drizzle well with the olive oil and vinegar; season with the salt and pepper.
2. Toss together, make sure the sausages are on top and pop the pan into the oven for half an hour. After this time, give the pan a good shake and turn the sausages over. Put the pan back in the oven and cook for 15-30 minutes, depending on how golden and sticky you like your sausages.
3. Once it's cooked, remove from the oven. If the sauce is runnier than your liking, place the pan on the stove after removing the sausages and cook the juices and tomatoes down to the consistency you prefer. Check the seasoning and serve with bread or over a bed of mashed potatoes or rice (we eat ours over pasta, mastaccioli or penne preferably; I also topped it with a little bit a grated gruyere just for fun).

Italy Meets the South

One night while trying to figure out what to have for dinner, I remembered seeing a new twist on an old classic. Allow me to introduce to you chicken fried steak parmesan.

If you head on over to this page on my blog, you'll find the recipe for the chicken fried steak. After you've made the steaks, you just do like you would for chicken parmesan. I'll be honest, when I made this meal, I had completely forgotten about already giving you the recipe for chicken fried steak. Since I won't be giving you a recipe for this one, I'm going to super nice and give you a second post this evening with an actual recipe (how's that for coming back to the blogging world?).

This meal was pretty good and definitely different. I'll certainly make it again, but next time I'll use a different sauce. The marinara that we usually buy is no longer being sold at any grocery stores near me, and the one I bought in place of it just wasn't as good as I had hoped. To mix things up just a little, I also covered two of the steaks with alfredo instead of marinara (my sister doesn't care for red sauce so I tried to make some special just for her). Those ones were really fantastic! Who would have guessed that chicken fried steak and alfredo would go so well together?

Italian Cream Cake

Those of you still reading my humble little blog know that I promised yesterday to bring you the recipe for the cake I made for my mom's birthday.


I had made this cake only one other time before this weekend. One night we had a couple of friends over and hosted an Italian night. The cake had come out so nicely, it stayed with me begging me to make it again. When I asked my mom what she wanted for her cake, all she could come up with was chocolate. To be completely honest, I was sick of chocolate cake and didn't really want to post another less than a month after the last one. Don't get me wrong. I still love chocolate cake. This was just a nice alternative.

This cake is insanely rich and a bit dense. Top that with cream cheese frosting, and it should be downright illegal. I don't know about you, but I think cream cheese frosting makes everything better.

Another thing I think makes almost anything better: coconut. I am addicted to the stuff. I could literally sit and eat handfuls of the shredded stuff that sits in the baking aisle at Wally World. I love to order pina coladas at restaurants especially when it's topped with some toasted coconut. This cake is perfect for the coconut person. Not only is it mixed in with the batter, I pressed it into the sides before serving. I hope the wait was worth it for everyone. I've got a pretty fun meal to post tomorrow. Enjoy!

Italian Cream Cake
Recipe from All Recipes

1 cup butter
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
5 egg whites
2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup flaked coconut
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together 1 cup butter or margarine, egg yolks, and 2 cups white sugar. Alternately mix in flour and buttermilk. Add baking soda. Mix in 1 cup walnuts and coconut.
2. Beat egg whites, and fold into batter. Pour batter into three greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans (I only used two pans because that was all I had; it worked fine, I just kept my eye on the pans as they baked).
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven.
4. Combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter or margarine, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread onto cooled cake. Top iced cake with chopped walnuts (or do like I did and press extra coconut around the outside).

A Taste of Italy

Happy belated Father's Day! I spent the whole day yesterday at my parents' house. I had had a busy weekend so I was grateful to be able to just hang out and cook dinner for my family.

Since my mom's birthday fell during the week I decided that we should have her party over the weekend. It just so happened that we were going to a wedding of a family friend on Saturday which left us with Father's Day. My mom made breakfast (biscuits and gravy, hash browns, omelets...YUM!), and I made dinner (lasagna roll ups). I even made an Italian Cream cake for my momma's birthday cake (I know it's a heresy, but I was sick of making chocolate cake so I suggested something different).

The lasagna is super easy, and when it's been rolled, it's even easier to serve (and you end up with just the right amount of food). One family friend brought a salad, and another family friend brought garlic bread. We also had spicy Italian sausage to round out the meal.

I doubled the recipe and wasn't too smart about it. instead of cooking one box of noodles at a time and removing them when they were al dente, I insisted on cooking all of it at once. This made quite a few noodles rip apart and become unusable. It still tasted good, but learn from my mistake and only cook one box of noodles at once if you end up having to double the recipe.

Lasagna Roll ups

Recipe from All Recipes, adapted by me

1 lb ground beef (the original calls for tofu)

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked lasagna noodles
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese

1 Tbl Basil

1 Tbl Oregano

1 clove garlic, minced (use more or less depending on your taste)
1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, brown ground beef and drain. Allow to cool.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 5 to 8 minutes, or until just slightly underdone; drain and rinse.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together mozzarella cheese, spices, garlic, ricotta cheese, and ground beef.
4. Lay out a noodle. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on the noodle, then add a thin layer of sauce. Roll the noodle up, and place seam side down in a 13x9 pan. Repeat for other noodles. Use any extra mozzarella or if you have Parmesan on hand to top.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 30 min, or until hot and bubbly.