Penne with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese..yum!

This recipe turned out delicious! In order to make myself feel less guilty about eating pasta I substituted the penne with wheat pasta. Also, I added grilled chicken because I had leftover chicken from the night before.....talk about getting creative! The only bad thing about this recipe was the fact that I burned my arm on the oven...so that scar will be now named "butternut squash" and yes I name my scars.Don't forget to roast the walnuts in the oven before chopping them up and adding them in! Ohh and our friend Trader Joe sells pre-cut cubes of butternut squash...love that guy! I'm telling you, you will love this pasta! It has fresh basil (which smells amazing) and goat cheese ( never cared for goats until I had goat cheese..now I love those lil guys) and walnuts....okay here is the recipe, Enjoy:
Note: The portion was way too much (fed about 8), next time I'm going to cut everything in half.

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 (2-pound) butternut or kombucha squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1 cup (8 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted (see Cook's Note)
• 1 packed cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan

Directions

Put an oven rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray a baking sheet, liberally, with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside.

Mix the squash and onion together and arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake for to 40 to 45 minutes until the vegetables are golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

While the squash mixture is cooling, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water. Put the pasta, goat cheese and 1 cup of pasta water in a large serving bowl. Toss until the cheese has melted and forms a creamy sauce. Add the squash and onion mixture, the walnuts and the basil. Toss well and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with Parmesan and serve.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken Breast

One thing you will notice is that I love chicken, and most of my recipes will be some form of chicken. I will try to experiment with other foods too though. What attracted me to this recipe was the Balsamic Glaze- I love Balsamic! While making this dinner I learned one important thing, have everything ready before you start cooking! While the chicken was in the skillet cooking I was running around like a crazy woman opening a new wine bottle ( red wine is in this recipe!), washing veggies, slicing onions, peeling garlic....Yes so next time everything will be washed, cut, sliced and ready BEFORE I start! I added oregano, thyme, and a few other spices to the recipe because it didn't taste flavorful enough for me....Overall, it turned out good, not great..just good. I made a side of grilled veggies with a lil olive oil and feta cheese(I'm like a kid I need cheese on my veggies to enjoy them!).

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 stick butter
• 12 (6-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups red wine
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the vegetable oil and butter into a large skillet and place over high heat. Once the butter and oil are bubbling, add the chicken breasts to the skillet 4 at a time. Sear on each side until the chicken is golden, about 1 minute per side. Remove to a large baking dish. Repeat with the remaining breasts and set aside.
Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, toss to combine and then follow with the balsamic vinegar and red wine and season with salt and pepper. Bring up to a bubble then reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. [Simmering the wine in this mixture does not reduce the alcohol content substantially.]
Pour the balsamic mixture over the chicken and place the pan in the top half of the oven for 10 minutes, or until the chicken has just cooked through. Remove from the oven, garnish with freshly chopped parsley and set into a prepared chafer.

GREEK PIZZA

Usually anything with the word "pizza" makes me instantly happy. This recipe is SUPER easy and SUPER good. However, I cheated and bought pre-made wheat dough at Trader Joes. It just doesn't make sense for me to go through the work to make home made dough when our friend Trader Joe already did the hard work for me! I served the pizza with hummus and pita bread...yumm I love hummus ( I have a great hummus recipe I will make soon and post! Enjoy!

Ingredients

Crust:

• Cornmeal, for dusting
• Flour, for dusting
• 1 (1 pound) ball store-bought pizza dough

Topping:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 leeks, pale green and white parts only, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 ounces baby spinach leaves
• 1 (4-ounce) chunk feta cheese, crumbled (recommended: Athenos)
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Directions

For the crust: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Dust a heavy baking sheet with cornmeal. Set aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle about 16 inches long and 8 inches wide. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.

For the topping: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until aromatic. In batches, add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the feta cheese and mint. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Using the tines of a fork, prick the surface of the dough all over. Spread the spinach mixture on top and dot with butter.

Bake until the dough is golden and crunchy, 15 to 18 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

Chipotle/Tequila Marinade....Foodgasm at its finest

Once I read this recipe I was sold and Chipotle...who am I kidding I was sold at tequila! This marinade is  MUST if you like spicy HOT HOT HOT! I made it for dinner last week and my brother LOVED it, he even told my mom she has some competition in the kitchen ( oh the joy in my face when he said that!).I used it to marinade  chicken drums and cooked it in a large casserole dish, but I think next time I want to even try marinating shrimp. Here is the Recipe:

*2 chipotle chiles in adobo
*3 tablespoons tequila or vodka
*2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
*1 tablespoon ketchup
*1 tablespoon adobo sauce, from chipotle can
*1 clove garlic, chopped
*2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1 tablespoon olive oil
~Throw it all into a blender and hit puree, it really is that easy.I cooked the chicken for 400 degrees for 55 minutes to an hour…just keep checking.- I served the chicken with black beans with chopped grilled veggies. YUM!

My Mom is a BEAST: Intro

If you know my mom, you know she is known for her amazing cooking. If you know me,  you know that I'm known for eating my moms amazing cooking. My mom is a perfectionist(and we all know that I am not), therefore I refuse to have her teach me how to cook. I decided to blog my journey in cooking and share some successful recipes. Enjoy!