garlic

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce- SRC

June 23, 2014

Holy cow.

You guys this recipe knocked my socks off.

And then the dog ate them. Just kidding! He only eats the baby’s socks. And thankfully it’s summer so we’re going barefoot now. woohoo!

This recipe is simple but it hits all the right notes.

Since getting this month’s Secret Recipe Club assignment I’ve made this twice. Making a recipe again when I don’t have to is big. Especially in such a short period of time! But when you find something you love you go with it. And I loved Mary Kay’s blog called Homemade Cravings. Seriously, I had some cravings after I checked out her blog.

Check these out… Mini Layer Nacho Bites, Panera Autumn Squash Soup, Cream Cheese and Caramel Frost Apple Cupcakes. See, she has great taste! Check out her Pinterest account too. She pins some great dishes as well. yum!

Since I made this twice I made some alterations the second time around. Nothing too drastic but just a few things to make it my own. I increased the amount of chicken to the recipe to add more protein and increase the amount of servings this pasta dish made. (hello leftovers!) As well, I increased the amount of sauce that is made since I loved it the first time I made it so I had to have more!

It’s quick to get all of this together but my tip to you is how to get the kernels off the corn cobs easily and neatly. Take a big pan and put an upside down bowl in the middle of it. That is going to be your pedestal where you hold up your corn, bottom side down. Then you run your knife down the side of the corn, allowing the kernels to fall off into the pan.

Be sure to use all the great fresh corn you have at your finger tips this summer when you are making this great pasta dish. Yum! I bet this would also be great with some fresh zucchini as well.

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 pound Fusilli (Rontini works well too)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 ears of fresh corn on the cob, kernels cut off
3/4 Cup half and half
1/2 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon parsley, minced
Salt and Pepper

Process

Cook the fusilli according to instructions on package. Reserve 1 Cup of the pasta water.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the chicken pieces. Brown the chicken and then move to the outer edges of the skillet.
Add the garlic to the center of the skillet and saute for a minute.
Add the corn kernels to the skillet. Mix everything together and cook for another 4-5 minutes until tender, stirring every 30 seconds or so.
Add the cup of pasta water, half and half, and the cheese. Allow to come to a low boil.
Remove from heat and toss with the drained fusilli until all pasta is evenly coated. Toss with the minced parsley.

Adapted from Homemade Cravings

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There are so many other great posts out today. Be sure to check them out on the link below:

As well, check out my 2 years of Secret Recipe Club posts!!!!

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Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

August 2, 2013

Recently I’ve been craving sweets. So unlike me. Typically I’d rather have chips but I can’t get chocolate chip cookies or brownies OR a brownie sandwiched by 2 chocolate chip cookies with a glass of chocolate milk. Instead I eat fruit- let’s not talk about the # of peaches I’ve eaten this week. ha

But bringing me back into my salty carb loving self were these Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches. Fresh shaved steak, sautéed pepper and onions, and melty cheese on a soft sub roll… perfect! Plus then I couldn’t resist serving them up with some curly fries. Umm you just can’t have salad with a cheesesteak. nope.

This Cheesesteak is quick to whip up and would be great to serve this weekend while you watch the Pocono Race! A race in the great state of Pennsylvania, so I figured a cheesesteak was just what was needed for this week’s edition of Sprint Cup Snacks. Nestled in the Poconos, Long Pond is only 2 hours away from Philly so I couldn’t resist making a cheesesteak. At least I’m not dragging Gino’s and Pat’s fans into this since you get to make your own at home and don’t have to pick which dueling cheesesteak institution is the best.

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Enjoy a cheesesteak and the race this weekend!!

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Makes 4 subs

Ingredients

1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 large yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound shaved steak
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 sub rolls
8 slices of provolone cheese

Process

Slice the peppers and oil into long thin strips. Set aside.
Heat 2-3 tablespoons in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it starts to shimmer, add the pepper and onion strips and the garlic. Sautee the vegetables until soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
Return the skillet to the cook-top over medium-high heat and add the meat and Worcestershire sauce. Stir the meat to mix and evenly cook throughout. Once the meat is done, add the cooked vegetables back to the skillet to combine.
Place 2 slices of cheese on every roll, then evenly top with the meat.

Texas Queso Dip

April 12, 2013

When Price and I went to visit our friends Natalie and Jason in Austin last year we fell in love with all of the food we had there. Everything was incredible. I couldn’t get enough of the tacos, bbq, agua fresca, and, of course, queso. (Also couldn’t get enough time hanging with great friends, natch.)

Each and everything we ate was amazing for a different reason. The fantastic Mexican we had at Chuy’s, to the BBQ we got to go after a night of drinking, to the chicken on a biscuit from Whataburger immediately after some bar hoping.

But the one thing that was a constant was the queso we had. We had it every change we had and even while we lamented ‘no more queso’ we loved it. I think there really is a limit to the amount of queso/cheese a person can eat in a few days and I think we were fast approaching that limit. But really, worth indulge. Or at least that is what I kept telling myself after dipped another chip in.

Well since this weekend’s upcoming NASCAR race is at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, I figured that I had to share something for my Sprint Cup Snack that I loved so much about my visit to Texas. Now don’t give me any lip about how Austin and Fort Worth are not that close to each other- 3 hr drive or so- because I say what goes on this blog! ha!

Plus any excuse to eat queso is okay for me.

Natalie emailed me her recipe for queso at a moment’s notice. True friends understand the love of cheese (even if she has gone Paleo now). And let me tell you it was fantastic!!

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The queso is incredibly easy to make and would be fantastic to whip up for watching any sporting event, a movie, or having friends over for a side splitting night of Cards Against Humanity. << come over, let’s hang and just be ridiculous.

If you can whip up some simple pico de gallo and can melt some cheese in milk, then you are all set. It’s basically that, plus making a simple rue to thicken it all up. So, so much better than the queso you get in the jar that you microwave. Was that even necessary to say?!?! duh!!

Obviously, queso is best piping hot so it’s super ooey gooey yummy. If you have a little crock pot dip warmer then I suggest you use that to keep it hot and everyone happy.

Dig in!!!!

Texas Queso Dip

Makes 8 snack servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature-ish
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Pico De Gallo

3 plum tomatoes
1/2 of a red onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 a hass avocado
2 jalapenos, seeds removed
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper

Process

Remove the milk from the refrigerator, set aside.
To make the pico de gallo, dice the cored tomatoes, onion, and avocado. Mince the jalapenos and garlic. Combine together and add the cilantro, lime juice, and a generous amount of salt and pepper.
To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook to make a rue, whisking constantly until golden, about 2 minutes. Continue whisking and slowly add the milk. Bring the mixture to a steady simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Combine the cheese sauce and pico de gallo together and enjoy!

slightly adapted from my friend Natalie

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{Sprint Cup Snacks Track Facts}

Texas Motor Speedway seat a whopping 190,000+ people to watch a race. Repeat… 190k+. That was about 3 times the number of people in my whole town when I was growing up. Insane. But everything is bigger in Texas!

Besides being big, it’s also fast. It’s one of the fasted non-restrictor plate races in the series with qualifying speeds in excess of 192 mph and corner entry speeds over 200 mph. And in 2006 for the Dickies 500 qualifying, Brian Vickers shattered the qualifying record at Texas with a speed of 196.235 mph. Crazy.

Gotta enjoy this weekend’s race under the lights!

Track: 1.5 miles

Shape: Oval

Banking: 24 degrees in the turns

Surface: Asphalt

Capacity: 191,122… yep a lot of people!!!!

Race: 334-laps for 501 miles

2012 winner: Greg Briffle

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Cheesy Garlic Knots- SRC

June 25, 2012

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club I was given Suma Rowjee’s blog called Cakes and More. As usual I forwarded this info on to Price for him to pick out the recipe that I should make. I was happy that he went through her extensive recipe index consisting of breads, cakes, cookies, and many, many vegetarian dishes and picked out the garlic knots. We love garlic bread so I think that is made him pick out the garlic knots.

I’m glad he picked out that recipe since it was so easy. Which was great since I waited ’till the last minute, as usual, & started the dough last night! Ha! I made the knots this morning… Yummy breakfast! (I made Price some scrambled egg whites to go with it!) really, no matter when you eat these you will love them. Light, fluffy rolls with tons of garlic flavor. I added cheese to them before baking, because I just couldn’t resist!

I’m quite intimidated when it comes to making bread. I know I shouldn’t be but I don’t work with yeast often so I get a little nervous about it. But Suma had great instructions & a quick tweet to Amanda helped make things painless!

The dough was so easy to work with, in fact I did not knead the dough at all. I just worked the dough with an oiled rubber spoon for a while & it came together easily. With that I didn’t have to get my hands & counter super dirty then. I only worked the dough when I was forming the knots & that was easy with a bit of flour on the counter & my hands. Forming the knots was quick work and became intuitive quickly. The result was a garlicky knot that I would serve with dinner without a lot of fuss!

Cheesy Garlic Knots

makes 12 knots

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. lukewarm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 package of instant yeast
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup milk, lukewarm
3 cups all purpose flour
1¼ tsp. salt

For the garlic glaze:

4 tbsp. melted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch of black pepper
1 pinch of red pepper flake
1 pinch of oregano
grated Parmesan cheese

Process

Combine the water and sugar in a large bowl, add the yeast to proof.
Once the yeast has proofed add the oil, milk, flour, and salt to the bowl. Using a large spoon to mix all the ingredients together. Mix with the spoon or knead for 10 minutes. Oil the bowl thoroughly, return the dough to bowl with a kitchen towel and let double in size. The first rise will take approximately 1 hour.
Divide the dough into 12 balls by dividing the dough in half, then half again. Take each of those 4 sections and divide it into 3, resulting in 12 equally sized balls.
To create the knot, take one dough ball and roll it out to 10″ long strip on a floured surface. At 40% through the strip bend the strip so the 60% portion is looped over the point where your started to bend the strip. Loop the loose end through the newly created center, then tuck that end under the outer loop. The remaining tail gets flipped over the loop and tucked into the center hole. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat for all knots.
Cover the knots on the baking sheets with a kitchen towel to let them rise again for another hour.
When you are ready to bake the knots, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Also prepare the glaze by combining all of the glaze ingredients, except the cheese. Brush the glaze on each knot, sprinkle a little bit of cheese on the glazed knots.
Bake the knots for 11-13 minutes, or until they cheese is golden brown.

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Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts:

May: Berry Brownie Torte

April: Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

March: Sauteed Green Beans with Lemon and Almonds

February: Fried Pickles

Jan: No SRC postings

December: Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

November: Vegetable Enchiladas

October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Garlic Butter Noodles with Scallions and Sambal

June 18, 2012

When the cat’s away the mice will play. Or in this case, when Price is away, Nicole will eat garlic noodles. And Price was just in Vegas for a guys trip so I obviously made these!

Years ago I saw a post on White on Rice Couple for Garlic Butter Noodles. They were sharing a recipe they adapted from Jaden’s new The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. Umm, big whoop! I’m Italian so I grew up on pasta with butter and a bit of garlic. Well, shutthefrontdoor this is totally different and amazing. I knew I would have to immediately make this recipe. The noodles, garlic, butter, some sugar, and fish sauce were all calling out to me.

I was hooked from the start. Price, not so much. So this is now a dish that I make when he is working late or away. When he works late the second he opens the door he exclaims ‘YOU MADE GARLIC NOODLES!!! NOOOOO!!!” Why does he protest so much? Because no matter how many times I brush my teeth I still stink of garlic. I don’t mind but I’m not on other end of it. So you have been warned, but I swear it is worth it.

The combination of the butter, garlic, and brown sugar is out of this world. The garlic is slowly cooked in the butter just enough to bring out the flavors. (Don’t burn it! If you do, start over!) Then when you add the brown sugar it becomes caramel-y with the butter. That alone is great but then you add the fish sauce and soy sauce and the whole thing get a 1-2 punch with umami flavors. The scallions are a nice touch for flavor and texture. I add the sambal bajak for some some heat and spice, which I can’t get enough of in this. The recipe is quick, addicting, and will be a favorite in no time!

Garlic Butter Noodles with Scallions and Sambal

serves 1

Ingredients

4-6 oz spaghetti pasta
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1-2 tablespoons of sambal bajak

Process

Bring water to a boil in a medium size pot. Cook the pasta until al dente. Before straining set aside a 1/4 cup of pasta water.
In the empty pot that you cooked the pasta in, melt the butter over medium- low heat. Add the garlic. Stir constantly to prevent the garlic from burning. Once the garlic is golden brown add the brown sugar in. Constantly mix the sugar until is starts to bubble. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, and pasta water. Turn up the heat to cook until it just comes to a boil. Remove from the heat.
Add the pasta back to the pot with the scallions and mix until all the noodles are evenly coated. Enjoy with some sambal bajak (and a breath mint!)

What do you make when your significant other is away? Seafood? Wine and cereal? Dinner becomes eating cake while standing over the sink.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.