Annie’s Eats

School has been keeping me very busy and as a result, I am a bit behind on my blogging.  Hopefully I will be caught up soon.  I recently had my first real pregnancy craving - cake.  Cake is what I wanted, in almost any form.  Every recipe I looked at sounded amazing.  However, since I have been sick on and off, and very tired lately, I decided to opt for something low maintenance and do a pound cake.  We had poppy seed wedding cake so I have kind of a “thing” for poppy seeds, and that is why I decided to make this variation on a classic pound cake.   The result was absolutely delicious and the cake stayed moist for days after baking (I wrapped it well to prevent drying out). 

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
2 eggs, at room temperature
½ cup sour cream, at room temperature 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°.  Lightly grease a loaf pan (preferably glass) and dust with flour, shaking to remove the excess. 

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt until blended.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and poppy seeds until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until just blended.  Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and stir until both are just incorporated.  Stir in the sour cream, then sprinkle with the remaining flour mixture and stir until evenly distributed. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes.  Keep an eye on the cake near the end of baking and cover loosely with foil if necessary to prevent over-browning.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. 

Run a knife around the inside of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack and lift off the pan.  Place the cake on one of its sides and continue cooling.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Source: Williams Sonoma

I have heard many raves about frittata but had never tried it myself.  I knew it was something I would enjoy, as I love eggs in most forms and this seemed somewhere between an omelet and a quiche.  I definitely understand the appeal of frittata now.  This is a really great breakfast-for-dinner meal that is low maintenance, quick, and very adaptable to whatever ingredients you happen to have in your refrigerator.  Even Ben loved this, and he used to claim to hate all eggs (I am slowly winning him over).  I can’t wait to play around with more variations on this dish.

Spinach, Sausage and Red Pepper Frittata
Ingredients:
6 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 chicken sausages, sliced
½ cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
¾ cup red pepper, chopped
3 oz. Gruyere cheese, cubed small 

Directions:
In a small bowl, beat together eggs, milk, salt and pepper.  Set aside. 

Turn the oven on to broil.  In a 9-10” non-stick, oven safe skillet, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat.  Coat the skillet well with the oil/butter mixture.  Add the sausage, spinach and pepper.  Cook for 3-4 minutes until tender-crisp and heated through.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and add egg mixture.  Top with cheese.  Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the eggs have set but the top is still runny. 

Carefully move the skillet from the stovetop to the oven and broil for about 4 minutes, or until the top is browned and no longer runny.  Remove from the oven (taking care with the hot handle) and let stand for 2 minutes.  Loosen the frittata from the pan and transfer to a serving plate.

Source: Smells Like Home

I can’t believe I have gone this long without ever trying a blondie!  I am constantly hearing raves about them from other foodies but I had never tasted one until now.  These remind me a lot of a bar form of your favorite cookie.  I love this recipe because it is so versatile.  You can mix in whatever additions tickle your fancy :)  I happened to have almost-empty bags of chocolate chips and Heath bar bits, as well as a regular size package of M&Ms all on-hand in my kitchen so I decided to add all those in. This is a great recipe if you suddenly get the urge to bake or have a craving for something sweet because it is likely that you already have the basic ingredients in your kitchen.  They are so simple that I feel I could often make these without ever needing to make a trip to the store.

Basic Blondies
Ingredients:
7-8 tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
Mix-ins of your choice (see options below) 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line an 8×8” baking pan with foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the brown sugar with the melted butter and beat until smooth.  Beat in the egg and then the vanilla.  Add the salt, flour and baking powder and mix until just combined.  Stir in your choice of mix-ins with a wooden spoon.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread to level the top. 

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until set in the middle.  Allow to cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares. 

Mix-in ideas:
½ - 1 cup chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips
½ cup chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds
½ cup M&Ms
½ cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups
¼ cup toffee pieces
½ tsp. mint extract, in addition to or in place of the vanilla extract

Source: Blonde Ambition in the Kitchen

I have had a pretty taxing week or two recently - a busy rotation, little time off and on top of all that, a cold!  Saturday was my first day off since Jan. 1, so I was in need of some comfort food as well as something that would feed us for several nights.  The answer - lasagna.  I absolutely love this lasagna recipe and I’ve been making it for about six years now.  It has lots of yummy layers, not just noodles and sauce as can often be the case.  It is a bit time consuming but definitely worth it in the end for the delicious flavors and the fact that it will easily feed us for 4-5 days.  Lasagna is not the most photogenic food, but believe me, the picture does not do justice to this tasty dish. 

Lasagna
Ingredients:
12 lasagna noodles
1 lb. Italian sausage
2/3 cup chopped onion
½ tbsp. minced garlic   
2/3 cup chopped parsley
3 cans tomato paste
15 oz. tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 ½ tsp. Italian seasoning
1 ½ tsp. basil
1 ½ tsp. oregano
1 lb. part-skim ricotta
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
½ cup parmesan cheese
3 eggs
2 tsp. garlic salt
¼ tsp. pepper
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 

Directions:
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.  Brown sausage with onions, garlic and half the parsley.  Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning, oregano and basil.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  In a bowl, combine remaining parsley, ricotta, spinach, parmesan, eggs, garlic, S&P.  In a 9×13” baking dish, spread 2 cups of sauce.  Begin layering with 4 noodles, half of the cheese mixture, a third of the remaining sauce and one cup of mozzarella.  Repeat.  The last layer will be noodles, sauce and mozzarella.  Bake, covered at 350° for 45 minutes and then uncovered for 10 minutes.

Source: Allrecipes

Oh my gosh, I *love* this dinner.  I have been eating this dish for several years.  In high school I was quite the pasta addict, and I bought my dad a pasta cookbook in an attempt to get him to serve it more often.  This is one of the great recipes that came from that book and I am still crazy about it.  I think I love it even more now because it is so simple and quick to make, and feeds us for multiple meals.  I don’t even have any tips or changes to add.  This is just a super yummy and easy recipe that is always a hit in our house.

Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al Forno
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-14 oz. cans diced Italian plum tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
S&P
1 lb. pasta (tubes)
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed
2/3 c. parmesan

Directions:
Heat oil in skillet.  Add garlic and cook over medium high heat, 1 min.  Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally until thickened, 15 min.  Add S&P.  Meanwhile, cook pasta.  Toss pasta with sauce.  Place half of pasta in an oiled 9×13” dish.  Cover with half parmesan and half mozzarella.  Top with remaining pasta, then parmesan and mozzarella.  Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.

Source: Pasta by Dorling Kindersley

This dinner was absolutely delicious, and a really great new recipe to add to the dinner repertoire.  I broke in my new All Clad fry pan to make this - it is awesome!  This also reminds me, another reason I love this dinner….you only use one pan to cook the whole thing (well, I guess really two because of cooking the orzo, but the point is it doesn’t require many dishes).  I didn’t buy Herbes de Provence for this because I had already spent quite enough money on the fry pan, so I just used a recipe I found online to mix up my own at home using things I already had in my spice rack.

I have adapted this recipe for two people - really, it makes dinner for two plus some leftover orzo for the next day.  I made a few alterations and substitutions to the recipe, some inspired by Tara and some by the final result of my meal.  Ben and I both really enjoyed this and I look forward to making it again.

Herb Rubbed Grilled Chicken with Creamy Orzo
Ingredients:
8 oz. orzo
2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
2 tsp. Herbes de Provence
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
1 ½ cups fresh broccoli florets
½-2/3 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan 

Directions:
Bring a saucepan of salted water to boil over medium-high heat.  Add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 10 minutes.  Drain, reserving ½ cup of the cooking liquid. 

Season chicken breasts on both sides with Herbes de Provence (1 tsp. per breast), salt and pepper. 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook 4-5 minutes before turning.  Once chicken has been turned, cook 2 minutes more.  Add the shallot and garlic to the pan and sauté until tender, about 2 minutes (adding more olive oil if necessary).  Add the diced tomatoes to the pan and cook for about 4 minutes.  Add the broccoli florets to the pan and cook for 4 minutes more, until tender but still firm.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the whipping cream.  Add the orzo to the pan and stir to coat.  Remove from heat and add grated Parmesan to the pasta mixture and toss to coat.  Stir the pasta mixture until the sauce coats the pasta thickly, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to maintain a creamy consistency.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  Serve.

Source: adapted from Smells Like Home and Food Network

Welcome to my new food blog!  Same name, same yummy recipes, just on a different domain with (hopefully) far less annoying formatting issues.  Now that things are up and running again after a little transitioning, I should be back to regular posting.  Enjoy!