2nd Free Giveaway!!

Hey readers! It's free giveaway time! Last time, I had you guys vote on which recipe you wanted me to post. This time, I'm looking for recipes or crafting ideas from all of you! All you have to do is comment on this post with your suggestion for my next post. After about a week, I'll pick which recipe/craft idea I'm most interested in, and the winner will receive a special gift from Potions & Poppy Seeds. And you're suggestion will be featured in the near future. 

To be automatically entered: Leave a comment below with the name of the recipe or crafting idea (I don't need the details of the recipe, just the name will do!).

Looking forward to all of your suggestions!

Skinny Broccoli Mac & Cheese

What kid doesn't have fond memories of Kraft mac & cheese? I used to love this stuff. In fact, the first time I had legitimate macaroni & cheese - you know, the homemade kind made with like, eighteen different cheeses, that's baked and all crunchy on top - I thought it was disgusting. Apparently I was a sucker for artificial fluorescent cheese powder. Anyway, I hadn't had Kraft mac & cheese in years, and Jake actually re-introduced me to the 'thick & creamy' version a few months after we started dating. I fell in love all over again.

While I still enjoy some of the good old Kraft version from time to time, I've also learned to LOVE legitimate macaroni and cheese. Which is why I've decided to share this fabulous recipe with all of you. This skinny recipe for Broccoli Mac & Cheese combines two of my favorite things - cheese (duh) and broccoli. It's also a relatively healthy version, so chow down!

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. macaroni elbows
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup fat free chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups (8 oz.) reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• cooking spray

How to:

• Cook pasta & broccoli together in a large pot of salted water so the pasta is al dente (under cook for 2 minutes). Drain and set aside.
• Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large heavy skillet, melt butter. Add onion and cook over low-medium heat until onions are fragrant (~2 minutes). Add flour and whisk together until flour is golden and well combined. 
• Add milk and chicken broth and whisk together, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, whisking frequently, until the sauce becomes smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove sauce from heat and stir in cheese. Mix well until cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper. 
• Add the cooked macaroni and broccoli to the sauce and mix until coated. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
• Top with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Spray top lightly with cooking spray.
• Bake, uncovered, 15-20 minutes or until bubbly. Broil for a few additional minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to brown.

I used 6 oz. regular elbow macaroni, and 6 oz. whole wheat/high fiber elbows. Although the recipe I worked from used fat free chicken broth and reduced fat cheddar cheese, I used regular chicken broth and extra sharp cheddar cheese. You can definitely tweak it to your preference (I'm such a sucker for all things cheese), and it will still turn out fab. 

This dish is reminiscent of my Chicken Cheddar Broccoli Bake, except it's much simpler and is perfect for all you vegetarians out there! Ironically, as Jake was eating this he said to me "this would be awesome with chicken in it." So pick your poison, readers! 

Easy Fried Rice

I swear, these past few weeks have been so busy, I can't even keep up with my blog. I suppose it's because Jake and I's wedding is only a mere 9 weeks away, and the amount of things we have piling up is starting to get a little overwhelming. Oy, is it May yet?

One day last week, between trips to the gym and addressing wedding invitations, I threw this meal together. Super easy, super fast, super delicious. Like most of my meals, chances are you already have all these ingredients in your pantry and fridge. So, you should be able to whip this up in no time.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs sesame oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen vegetables, thawed*
• 2 slightly beaten eggs
• 3 cups cooked rice**
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

How to:

• Warm oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
• Add onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring occasionally.
• Add in frozen (thawed) veggies and egg, stirring until egg is cooked through.
• Add in rice and soy sauce, mixing thoroughly, until veggies are cooked through and dish is heated throughout.

*You can really use any type of frozen veggies you want. I used a mix of peas, carrots, and corn, but anything will work.

**Day-old leftover rice works best. I also found that cooking the rice with 1/4 cup water less than what is recommended gives the rice a good texture as well.

This is one of those meals that you can pretty much add anything to, and it'll still taste good. If you have leftover chicken or beef, I say toss it in. As you can see in the picture, I've also diced up some raw chicken and cooked it in the sesame oil before adding in the onion & garlic. It turned out pretty good!

Enjoy!

Penne alla Vodka

Believe it or not, Baltimore's Little Italy has some seriously delicious Italian food. My absolute favorite restaurant in all of Baltimore is La Scala. OK, I'm gonna say it - this is my favorite Italian restaurant ever. EVER. And that's saying a lot, considering I grew up frequenting the North End in Boston. Even my mom, who introduced me to the fabulous North End at a young age, said the best cannoli she's ever had was from La Scala. Seriously, if you live near Baltimore and you haven't been here, GO.

Anyway, La Scala introduced me to Penne alla Vodka. Their recipe for this dish has the perfect amount of richness and heat. I've been wanting to duplicate their version for some time now, and I think I've finally found a recipe that comes close. So I'm sharing it with all of you. You can thank me later.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz package of sliced pancetta, cubed
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup vodka
• 1 28 oz. can of tomato puree
• 1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 box penne pasta
• fresh basil, if desired
• Parmesan cheese, if desired

How to:

• Over medium heat, cook pancetta until brown and crispy in a large skillet. Reserve the fat and transfer the pancetta to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Add the olive oil to the skillet with pancetta fat. Saute onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper until onion is soft and fragrant. 
• Add the vodka and cook until the alcohol has evaporated, stirring occasionally (about 5-6 minutes).
• Add the tomato puree and the diced tomatoes, and simmer for about 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.
• In the meantime, cook and drain pasta according to the package directions.
• Add the pancetta back to the sauce and mix. Add the whipping cream, stirring constantly. Make sure you're cooking over a relatively low temperature so you don't scorch the sauce.
• Add the drained pasta to the sauce and mix until evenly coated.
• Add basil and Parmesan cheese before serving, if desired.

You can find pancetta in the fancy cheese section of your local grocery store, if you don't feel like going to see a butcher. I bought a pre-sliced package and used about 3 slices, but I recommend using the whole thing. You can never have enough pancetta, if you ask me. I no longer purchase vodka in 1.75 L plastic bottles that costs ~$10 like I did in college (don't judge, you did it too). I used Smirnoff for this recipe. - It's a small step up from Rubinoff. I also used 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1 cup light whipping cream, because I still haven't recovered from the richness of this recipe.

I modified this recipe quite a bit to come up with my delicious version of Penne alla vodka. Actually, it's very different from this recipe, but I did 'work' from this one, so I felt like I should include it.

Enjoy!

Skillet Chicken Parmesan

Sorry for the LONG break between posts! February has proven to be quite a hectic month thus far. I actually prepared this dish about a week and a half ago, and am just now getting around to posting this. YIKES!

This was my first attempt at making any sort of Chicken Parmesan recipe, and I think it turned out great (I can't say the same for the picture of it, though!). I love this dish, because all the taste of Chicken Parmesan is there, but the fried greasiness isn't! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Ingredients:

• ~1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 3/4 cup your favorite marinara sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

How to:

• In a shallow bowl, mix together breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, and garlic salt.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg until frothy.
• Wrap the chicken in plastic wrap and pound chicken breasts with a tenderizer until they are an even thickness. I butterflied my chicken breasts before wrapping them so they were nice and thin - about 1/2 inch.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Dip each piece of chicken in the egg, then roll in the breadcrumb mixture.
• Add the coated chicken to the skillet and cook for 4-5 min on each side, or until the chicken is well browned and just cooked through.
• Spoon the marinara sauce evenly over the top of the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella.
• Cover the skillet and reduce heat to low. Cook for ~3 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

I served my Skillet Chicken Parmesan with a side of spaghetti. And some red wine, of course. I recommend you try the same :)

The original recipe can be found here.

Enjoy!

Bourbon Whiskey Meatballs

I feel like any good party requires meatballs in some way, shape, or form. Am I right? This recipe is SO fast and super simple. Even better - odds are you already have the ingredients required for this sauce in your kitchen.

This sauce is delicious. If you're planning on having a lot of people over, I suggest doubling the recipe - you want plenty of sauce to cover all your meatballs!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of your favorite meatballs (I used frozen)
• 1/2 cup ketchup (heaping)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup bourbon whiskey
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

How to:

• Combine all ingredients except the meatballs in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly.
• *Place meatballs into a crockpot.
• Pour sauce over meatballs and mix so the meatballs are coated.
• Cover, turn crockpot to high, and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Turn to low once meatballs have thawed a little and cook for another hour or so.
• Turn down to warm, taking care not to burn your sauce.

*You can also do this on the stovetop - you don't really need a crockpot!

These are SO good! If you don't like frozen meatballs, try your own recipe with this sauce. Or you could try my recipe for Turkey Meatballs with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

The original recipe can be found here.

Chicken Cheddar Broccoli Bake

I'm going to start off by saying this dish is TOTALLY worth the effort. I did not plan ahead before making this dish. I ended up using almost every pan I have in my kitchen because of poor planning. SO, take my advice (see below) when preparing this delicious chicken and broccoli noodle casserole, so your experience preparing this meal goes much more smoothly than mine did!

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. egg noodles (half a bag)
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 cups chopped broccoli florets
• 1 tsp butter or margarine
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 3 Tbs flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• cooking spray
• 2 Tbs Italian-style bread crumbs
• 3 Tbs Parmesan cheese, divided

How to:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook egg noodles so they are al dente - about 2 minutes less than the suggested cooking time. Set aside in a large bowl.
• Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. 
• Add broccoli to skillet with some salt and saute. Cover and cook over medium heat, about 3 minutes, until broccoli is softened. Set aside in the bowl with the egg noodles.
• In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add shallot to pot and cook until soft, about 2-3 minutes. 
• Add the flour and a pinch of salt, and whisk together, cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes over medium-low heat.
• Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until well combined over medium heat - about 30 seconds. 
• Add milk slowly and continue to whisk. Bring mixture to a boil and allow it to thicken over 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
• Add the cheddar and 1 Tbs of the Parmesan cheese. Mix well until cheese melts. Add a pinch of black pepper to season.
• Add the shredded chicken and the broccoli and noodles to the cheese sauce. Mix thoroughly so the chicken, broccoli, and noodles are evenly coated.
• Spray a casserole dish (9x12 inch or so in size) with cooking spray. Pour the chicken mixture into the casserole dish.
• Top the chicken mixture with breadcrumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until breadcrumbs have browned.

Suggestions:

• Use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to save time here. I boiled my two chicken breasts for 20-25 minutes and then shredded them. My version turned out excellent (so if you have an extra 20 min on your hands, don't hesitate to try this!), but if you're looking to save time, buy a pre-cooked clucker.
• Prep all of your ingredients ahead of time (you know, like you should always do...). Halfway through making my dish, I realized I didn't have any chicken broth in my fridge and instead had to prepare some from bouillon. So, if you have to do this, make sure you prepare it ahead of time.

I assure you, this recipe has all the flavor of a calorie-packed creamy cheese sauce, but without the calories (win!). The sauce is super light, especially since it's made with chicken broth and skim milk (and a hint of butter or margarine). The people you're feeding will have no idea this is a 'skinny' recipe, which is pretty awesome. And this is a good way to get your fam to eat their veggies and protein.

Enjoy!

The original recipe can be found here.