Mar. 31 - Penne w/ Creamy Gruyere & Brie Sauce

So I spent over $10 in cheese on this dish - seriously...$10! (That's a lot to me compared to the $2 bag of shredded cheese I'm used to buying?!) I found this recipe on another blog (I'm going to give a shout out to healthy-ish) and modified it a little bit to suit our liking. I've been really excited to give this a shot for awhile now, and finally decided to make it.

First, the boy tasted it and then began pushing it around with his fork (telltale sign that he's not diggin the dish). I asked him what was wrong with it (in the midst of the screams coming from both children), and he just gave me a half-smile and said, "well, I don't like green beans. And I don't really care for the cheeses." Gah, okay - I'm *trying* here to incorporate some more vegetables in all of our diets and I'm hitting a brick wall with him.

Then I ask Linds what she thinks...and all I get is nonsense-jabbering, screaming (she dropped a noodle on her pants), and the subsequent stripping off of her pants because she didn't want the sauce remnants on them. Double gah. I guess the Auntie Anne's pretzel sticks at 4:30 p.m. weren't such a good idea?

Alas, I enjoyed it, but that doesn't do much for the entire box full of penne's worth of a dish. I'm going to be gone the next two days (traveling home to see the 'rents and taking the kiddos to Hersheypark with Uncle Zach and his girlfriend Rachel), and I didn't want it to spoil in the refrigerator, so I bagged it and tossed it in the freezer - a quick dinner the next time the boy travels and it's just Linds and me.

The original recipe is from Cooking Light, so it's supposed to be a healthy dish despite all the cheese. Hopefully you'll enjoy it more than the rest of my family did?!

Penne w/ a Creamy Gruyere & Brie Sauce
Ingredients
1 box penne (we used Ronzoni Smart Taste)
3 tbsp flour
2 cups skim milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups shredded Gruyere cheese (about 1/2 lb.)
3 ounces soft Brie, rind removed
Frozen green beans

Directions

1. Boil a large pot of water.
2. Add penne and green beans; cook until penne is al dente. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, add flour and ½ cup milk to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth.
4. Gradually add remaining 1 ½ cups of milk to the saucepan, whisking constantly.
5. Bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in butter.
6. Remove from heat and let sit about 3 - 5 minutes.
7. Add cheeses and stir until smooth.
8. In a large bowl, combine penne and green beans with cheese sauce. Serve immediately.

Mar. 30 - Tacos

We haven't done tacos in awhile, so we made some last night. We like both hard shells and soft, so I usually make some of each. My favorite brand is Ortega (their tortillas taste the best to me), but we use the McCormick taco seasoning on the meat. This is the kit I usually buy:

We load them up with all sorts of stuff - cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and black beans or refried beans (we used refried last night). Linds usually scarfs down at least one or two soft tacos and last night Luke housed some of the meat. I was surprised - it's not too spicy, but there is a bit of a kick to the meat, so the fact that Luke ate some was pretty surprising!

March 29 - Valerie's Chicken & Peas

Evidently since I've started writing this blog, I'm not repeating enough dishes, according to the boy. And he's absolutely right - I've had too much fun trying new dishes and experimenting with different cooking techniques. When I grocery shopped last week I told him to pick four dishes he wanted repeated and I'd make them (usually he claims not to have any preference for what we eat, as long as it's part of his normal preferences). One of the repeats he asked for was Valerie's Chicken, so that's what we had tonight.

I've posted this one before, but I'll put it in here again so you don't have to link back to it. It's an easy dish to make and only takes about 30 minutes or so cook time. Yum!

Valerie's Chicken
Ingredients
2 boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
3 oz. cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup of cooking sherry/white wine

Directions

1. Melt butter in pan over medium heat.
2. Brown chicken breasts; season with Italian seasoning.
3. Simmer 10 minutes.
4. Combine cream cheese, soup and wine and pour over chicken. 
5. Let simmer for 20 minutes.

The recipe originally calls for 4 chicken breasts, but I find there isn't enough sauce if you do that many. If you need to do 4 pieces of chicken, DEFINITELY double the sauce (6 oz. cream cheese, 2 cans soup, 1/2 cup wine). Give it a shot with pasta and rice - I like it both ways!

March 28 - Congrats Katie & David!

My good friend, Katie, was married yesterday in a beautiful ceremony, so I didn't have to do any cooking! The reception was indescribable - an absolute blast! It was held at Kings Mill in Media, Pa., which has a gorgeous facility that sits alongside the Chester Creek. There were so many fabulous photo ops, including a waterfall just out behind the building.

Not only were the facilities amazing, but the food...it was phenomenal! There were (NO LIE!) at least two dozen different butlered hours d'ourves (everything from pigs in a blanket to spinach quiche, meatballs, egg rolls, potato puffs, assorted veggies and cheeses, etc.). The buffet dinner offered chicken cordon bleu, crab imperial wrapped in flounder, vegetable medley, green bean casserole, garlic red potatoes, and baked ziti. On top of all of this food, there were half a dozen different types of cakes to choose from AND a fully-stocked open bar. WOW! I was still full this morning?!

Congratulations, Katie & David - the wedding was fabulous...and here's to a lifetime of happiness!

March 27 - Japanese food at Liki

It was Parents Night Out at Hopewell United Methodist Church, so we ditched the kids at 5:30 and had an adult dinner (no highchairs!!) at Liki Japanese Restaurant with our friends Sarah and Michael. They swore up and down that it was the best Japanese food in the area, and even though it was up in Phoenixville, we decided to go.

We ate way too much, drank a good deal of wine (including a fabulous chocolate wine), and enjoyed some quality company without screaming, fidgety kids. Oh how I love PNO!

Brie Recipes

We're going out to dinner tonight, so I won't have any fun recipes to share for dinner. Instead, I figured I'd do a "theme" morning and post a couple Brie cheese recipes that are very tasty. I don't have any photos, but trust me, these are fantastic!

Baked Brie
Ingredients
Wedge of creamy Brie
Jam of choice
Tube of refrigerated crescent dough

Directions

1. Line a baking pan with 3/4 of the crescent dough.
2. Break up wedge of brie into smaller chunks and place on top.
3. Cover with half a jar of jam.
4. Piece the remaining dough on top.  
5. Cook on 350 approx 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

Candied Brie Dip
Ingredients
8 oz of Brie
1/3 cup candied pecans (i used crushed regular pecans)
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Place brie in 2 qt crockpot and cover with pecans and cranberries. 
2. Cook for two hours or until brie is gooey all the way through. 
3. Serve with cracker and sliced apples.