Citrus Parmesean Chicken over Salad

Yes.  it has been six months since my last post.  I swore I'd never be one of those people who starts a blog, knows I have people that check the blog, and then mysteriously disappear one day.  My excuse?  I'm now 34 weeks along with baby #3 and my stomach as well as my energy has been severely tested.  Morning sickness (terrible queasiness) didn't ease up until almost 5 months. Say what!?  For a long period of time I ate some fruit, cereal and a significant number of milkshakes and smoothies.  And lots of fast food burgers or fries from the drive thru as I'd go from queasy to starving and going insane in a nanosecond. Nothing food blog-worthy.  But, I'm back and plan to post some recent favorites now that my appetite is back, although much smaller thanks to a shrinking stomach due to a big baby!

Be prepared for lots of sweets recipes... My major weakness this time around.  Maybe I'm having another girl?!

One of my favorite recipes this spring and now summer is a take on Ina Garten's Parmesean Chicken over Salad.  Her recipe is pretty phenomenal as is, but I basically added a few teaspoons of lemon zest to the panko (breadcrumbs).  Give it a try, with or without the addition of lemon zest!

Oh, and the kids love this dinner!  Tonight I'm serving with a side of caprese salad using heirloom tomatoes.  Yes, I realize I'm basically serving two types of salad in one meal, but I'm prego and can do what I want. :)

Click on the link for Ina's amazing recipe!
 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parmesan-chicken-recipe/index.html

Little Ballerina

My daughter had her first ballet recital this weekend and I made special personalized cookies for her and her friend Lyla.  I can't wait for the girls to see them after the performance!

Homemade Pasta

We went out to dinner with two other families on New Years Eve.  We somehow got on the topic of homemade pasta and they were shocked that I didn't have a pasta maker.  My mom used to have one, but that was many moons ago and after returning a few duplicate Christmas gifts I purchased a new pasta maker!

Ironically, a friend posted her favorite pasta recipe on her cooking blog.  It was a sign that I must make pasta!

My flour well where I placed the olive oil, eggs and salt.

Then it was time to mix and mix, then knead and really knead.  Kneading for a good ten minutes...

It was finally time to start rolling pasta dough!  I was very excited and got a little frustrated with getting the hang of my new toy and how many times each sheet of dough needed to be run through the press.

But the beautiful piles of fettuccine noodles was worth the manual labor.  And I'm confident it will take me half the time to make my next batch of pasta now that I have a little practice!

The tasty, cooked pasta was well worth the effort.  The kids scarfed the pasta down in record time and even Charlie asked for seconds (she isn't a huge noodle fan).  If you have a pasta maker, you must try this recipe. Or if you have ever questioned buying a pasta maker - run out and buy one right now!  Mine was about $70 at Williams-Sonoma and worked very well (it only comes with fettuccine and spaghetti noodle cutters).

Click here to view Chef Anne Burrell's pasta dough recipe!

Merry Christmas! Reindeer Pancakes

Merry Christmas!  Today was a memorable and exhausting day.  And to kick off Christmas 2012 I treated the family to extra yummy yogurt parfaits (honey greek yogurt layered with Bob's Red Mill granola and fresh berries), and reindeer pancakes.  The pancakes were so cute and really easy - you just need to make 3 different sized circle pancakes, some bacon and have fruit (or chocolate chips) for the eyes/nose.

Make a large pancake for the head, medium pancake for the 'muzzle' and two tiny pancakes for the ears.

To create the antlers I took two slices of bacon and cut them in half and made in to a 'Y' shape.

The blueberry eyes and raspberry nose were stuck to the pancakes with some yogurt.

Enjoy your reindeers and Merry Christmas to you!  I think I need to make these again soon, they were so cute!

Annual Girls Party

This morning I hosted my annual girls only gift exchange party.  Each year promises fantastic food (each guest brings a favorite item) and great gift exchange items. Of course there are no photos from the actual party or all the amazing food that we consumed, but I did take a photo of the little party gift I gave each gal as well as the table early today.

"A little something for your Mistle-Toes"

Santa's Beard

I forgot to post this Christmas craft!  I cut out shapes to create a Santa face (circle for face, two small circles for eyes, a mustache, hat and some fluffy looking trim for the hat) and the kids pasted the shapes together on green construction paper.  Every day in December until Christmas Eve, the kids add a cotton ball to create Santa's beard.  It is pretty cute and a fun decoration for our kitchen wall!

Terribly Terrific Toffee

I have been staring at this toffee recipe for some time.  I like the idea of making toffee for the holidays, but a toffee recipe that includes Saltine crackers?  Serious hesitation.  But, the recipe seems simple enough and Blake was excited to help me make something in the kitchen.  So I put the boy to work and had him line my 10x15 pan with Saltine crackers.

Meanwhile, I melted the butter and sugar together as directed.

Once the butter/sugar mixture is ready, it gets poured over the crackers and placed in the oven.

Once out of the oven I sprinkled the chocolate chips on top and let them melt a bit before spreading across the cracker/toffee layer.  When it was completely cooled I broke it up in to small one to two inch size pieces.  The end result was fantastic!  And it does make quite a bit - perfect for giving away to friends in cute packaging.

Terribly Terrific Toffee
1 c. unsalted butter
1 c. brown sugar
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
40 Saltine crackers (YES! Saltines...)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan (or a 12x17-inch cookie sheet) with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Lay a flat layer of crackers out on the foil. 
Melt the sugar and butter until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly. 

After removing the pan from the oven, let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle on the chocolate chips, let them soften and melt, and then spread them into an even layer.  Let cool and break into pieces the size of your choice.