I've gone to the dark side...

CHECK IT OUTTTTT and update accordingly. :-)

http://takeabigbiteoflife.wordpress.com/

I'm coming back...

With about 25 things to post from the past 6 months of my life...get ready for a thunderstorm of fun.

I will update "retrospectively" and hopefully by the end of the week, I will be almost caught up. We'll see how I fair.

:-)

Peace, Love and BBQs.

Creamy Gruyere and Shrimp Pasta

Back to Cooking Light Pasta. Heyooo. This recipe is a definite keeper and is really good if you are entertaining. Definitely a crowd pleaser...or just make it and eat a lot of it...yeah, do that.

Adapted from Cooking Light Pasta

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked Cavatelli (I used this) or orecchiette pasta
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1 Cup of Baby spinach
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Olive Oil

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375°.
2) Cook pasta according to package directions, no salt. Drain well.
3) Combine the flour and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil.
4) Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk.
5) Remove from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup cheese, stirring until melted.
6) Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
7) Add shrimp and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in wine and pepper, and cook 1 minute or until shrimp is done.
8) Add pasta, shrimp mixture, and spinach to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine.
9) Spoon the pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish lightly coated with oil; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
10) Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.
11) Share and Enjoy!

This wont last too long in your fridge or at the table. It is just that good. And despite the pasta and cheese, it is really not that bad for you! Yup. Cooking light does it again!

Made: 02/08/11
"Posted": 02/08/11
Posted: 06/03/11

Brunch Part IV: Spinach, Feta and Mushroom Quiche

This was the home run. I actually ended up making it again...twice...for my classmates because everyone loved it so much. No matter what your audience is this is just a winner. WINNING, duh. (you see what I did there!)

Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
5 cups of fresh baby spinach (USE THIS!) or 1 10 oz package of frozen spinach (thawed)
1 pint of sliced mushrooms
1 3/4 cup of Feta cheese
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
Salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2) In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in butter until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
3) Stir in spinach, mushrooms, feta and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
4) Spoon mixture into pie crust.
5) Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper.
6) Pour into the pastry shell, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with spinach mixture.
7) Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar cheese, and bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes, until set in center.
8) Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.
9) Share and Enjoy!!!

Just delicious. If I knew quiche were this easy to make, I would have been making quiche a LONG time ago. Just saying. Super delicious. Super Easy. Make this as soon as you get a chance...please. Do it for me, your friends and your family. They need this quiche in their lives. :-)

Made: 02/04/11
"Posted": 02/04/11
Posted: 06/03/11

Brunch Part III: Mixed Veggie Frittata

It is impossible to have a proper brunch without an egg dish...so I made one. Or maybe two...but more to that later. My frittatas in the past have gone over extremely well and this is definitely more of the same. I love frittatas because you can just throw whatever you want into them and cater them to yourself or your company.

Ingredients:

1 chopped onion
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped green bell pepper
2 white potatoes
8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

0) Get baking pan
1) Boil potatoes until slightly soft (about 15 minutes) and drain
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3) Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium heat
4) Saute onions for about 4 minutes
5) Add green and red bell peppers to onions and saute for another 6-8 minutes
6) Meanwhile, beat eggs in large bowl with 3/4 cup of shredded cheese
7) Add potatoes to the onion and pepper mixture and then add eggs to the mixture and scramble for about 3-4 minutes until slightly cooked.
8) Turn of heat and transfer egg mixture into baking dish.
9) Top with rest of cheddar cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and there is a slight browned edge around the dish.
10) Share and Enjoy!

Add whatever you want to this beauty...it is sure to be delicious!

Made: 02/04/11
"Posted": 02/04/11
Posted: 06/02/11

BRUNCH Part II: Jalapeno Pepper Jack Scones

This was another delicious feature of Joy the Baker. Usually, we make sweet scones...but not today! I really like this change of pace and making savory scones and I would definitely want to experiment along these lines again. Maybe even do a sweet + savory scone?!?! The options are endless.

I will say that scones are a fair amount of work and I actually made the dough the night before and refrigerated it to cut down on prep time the morning of brunch. I definitely recommend this.

Adapted from the Joy the Baker

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes

2 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream (plus more for brushing the tops of the scones)

1/4 pound pepper jack cheese, cut into small cubes

2 medium jalapenos, some seeds removed, diced small

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions

1) Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

2) Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a small saute pan and cook diced jalapenos until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. DON'T TOUCH YOUR EYESSSSS.

3) Let the diced peppers cool and them mix with the diced cheese.

4) Toss mixture in 1 tablespoon of flour and set aside.

5) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

6) Work in the cold butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

7) Whisk together 2 eggs and heavy cream.

8) Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients, fold together with a fork until almost fully incorporated.

9) Add the jalapeno and cheese mixture to the shaggy dough and work together.

10) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 30 seconds.

11) Form into a disk about 8 inches around and 2 inches thick. Cut disk into six wedges and refrigerate for 10 minutes before baking (yeah I did it the night before to cut down on time).

12) When ready to bake, place chilled scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

13) Brush with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

14) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and making your kitchen smell like Paula Dean's kitchen...imagine that.

As I said before, these are delicious. Make them. It doesn't even have to be for brunch...but I also reckon that this would be delicious with a large bowl of Veggie Chili. Just sayin...

Made: 02/04/11

"Posted": 02/04/11

Posted: 06/02/11

BRUNCH Part I: Lox and Cream Cheese Breakfast Pizza

Back in Early February, I had a bunch of the closest Scranton girl buds of BOOF over to my apartment for brunch. We were able to find a weekend that worked for everyone, and I was really excited to host a brunch because I hadn't done so in a while...and I LOVE to host friends and I LOVE brunch. Win. Win.

I started off with the simple Lox and Cream Cheese Breakfast Pizza. This was by far the easiest thing it takes a whopping 15 minutes to make. For real. And did I mention it is delicious?

Ingredients:

Frozen Pizza Crust
A Package of Lox/smoked salmon (or fresh)
An 8 oz. package of cream cheese
Capers (if you would like...)

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2) Oil pizza pan and dust with corn starch (FOR REAL...do this and your pizza crust will never stick again!)
3) Bake pizza crust
4) Once crust is cool, spread cream cheese over the crust.
5) Top with lox
6) Share and Enjoy!

Easy Peasy. Delicious. Success.

Made: 02/04/11
"Posted": 02/04/11
Posted: 06/02/11

Spaghetti with Shrimp and Portobellos

Back to pasta. Back to cooking light. Although I am a very conscientious vegetarian and I try to make sure I get enough protein by eating eggs and beans and what not, every once in a while I like to "treat" myself to a nice pescatarian meal. Therefore, we have a couple of those coming up.

Ingredients

1/2 package of Spaghetti (8 ounces)
2 Portobello mushroom cap
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup, vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 pound large shrimp
1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese


Directions

1) Cook pasta according to package directions (minus the salt) and drain
2) Remove the brown gills from the underside of the Portobellos using a spoon and discard the gills.
3) Slice the Portobellos longwise into thin slivers
4) Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
5) Add mushroom, onion, parsley, salt and garlic and saute the mushrooms until they release their moisture...they will squeak in the bottom of the pan!
6) Stir in broth, wine, and shrimp and bring to a boil.
7) Add pasta and cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are done.
8) Toss to combine and sprinkle with Asiago cheese.
9) Share and Enjoy!

I really like the Asiago punch and the flavors of this dish are really simple and clean and tasty. I used Spaghetti but I believe you could use Fetuccini or some other long noodle and have an equally delicious experience.

Made: 01/31/11
"Posted": 01/31/11
Posted: 06/02/11

Veggie Chili

Winter staple. We all have one. I literally make a huge pot of this stuff every winter and eat it for a week. And guess what? It gets better each day. I know, I know...you're thinking why in the poop would I make veggie chili? Well, it's delicious and sometimes...you don't have meat on hand? Well, that and it's just plain healthier and with all the beans I put in this bad boy, it is nice and thick and extremely filling. So if you are looking for a change of pace with a nice punch of spice, try this. Make this. Have Chili for dayssssss.

Ingredients


1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 small white potato
3/4 cup chopped carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped
1 (19 ounce) can dark red kidney beans with without the liquid
1 (19 ounce) can light red kidney beans without the liquid
1 (19 ounce) can Pinto Beans without the liquid
1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon of Chili Red pepper flakes
Cheddar Cheese to top...(or sour cream, if you're into that)

Directions

1) Boil potato until tender and then drain
2) Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
3) Saute onions, carrots, and garlic until tender.
4) Stir in green pepper, red pepper, celery, and chili powder
5) Cook until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.
6) Stir in mushrooms, and cook 4 minutes.
7) Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, potato and corn.
8) Season with cumin, red chili flakes, oregano, and basil.
9) Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium.
10) Cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11) Top with CHEESE, PLEASE.
12) Share and Enjoy!

Made: 01/24/11
"Posted" 01/24/11
Posted: 06/02/11