This delicious, cheesy, ooey gooey lasagna is so yummy! It may sound weird, but with fresh, summery zucchini, plenty of bacon, three types of cheese, and a little pinch of nutmeg, it’s just bursting with flavor. It’s fun to make and super impressive because you get to toss around phrases like “fontina cheese”, “freshly grated nutmeg” and “Oh, I’m just whipping up a béchamel sauce!”

Give it a try… you won’t be disappointed! :)

What better place to start than with bacon! I’m seriously considering making this my desktop background. You’ll need about 6-8 slices cooked bacon, and here’s how I do it: Arrange bacon slices on a cooling rack (like for cookies) and set on top of sheet pan. If you don’t have a cooling rack, you can just put it in the sheet pan. Or a 9×13 dish. Either will work! :) Place bacon in a cold oven, then turn heat to 400. You don’t have to wait for the oven to preheat, go ahead and set your timer for 16 mins. After 16 mins, flip the bacon and bake for another 16-18 mins, or until done.  Quick. Easy. Painless. Not to mention crunchy & yummy! :)

While the bacon is baking, let’s prepare the zucchini. You’ll need 1 zucchini, or about 2 cups, diced. This summer I planted eight zucchini plants and ended up with more zucchini than any two people could ever possibly eat. So I just pick my zucchini as it’s ready, dice it, and freeze it in ziploc bags. Then when I get ready to use it, it’s all diced up and ready to go. Perfect!

Toss zucchini in olive oil, just enough to coat, add 1-2 cloves minced garlic, and plenty of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. I never used to grind my own pepper until I got this. Love it! Now I never use anything else.

Roast zucchini in an 8×8 baking dish at 400 degrees for 15 mins… You don’t need to spray it, there’s plenty of oil to keep it from sticking. Go ahead and toss it in the oven with your bacon after you flip it if ya want! :)

You’ll also need 3 ounces of shredded fontina cheese. Ooh. I forgot to measure how much that is. I would guess about a cup. I just get the deli to cut off a 3 oz block, then bring it home and shred it.

Now for the good stuff. Once your bacon has cooled, chop into bite sized pieces. Combine bacon, roasted zucchini, fontina cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 egg, and more kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Set aside while you whip up your béchamel sauce… :)

You’ll need just a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg… delicious! :)

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 1 tbsp flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup milk. Increase the heat to just above medium. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk a pinch each of salt, pepper, and nutmeg into your béchamel sauce. Perfect!

Pour the béchamel sauce into the bottom an 8×8 dish. I use the same dish I roasted the zucchini in. Top with 2 lasagna noodles.

I like no-boil, oven ready lasagna noodles. Plus these are perfectly sized for 8×8! Nevermind the weird waves. Not sure what that’s all about.

Top with the zucchini mixture…

2 more lasagna noodles…

And 1 cup of your favorite marinara or spaghetti sauce.

Now for the really good stuff. Top with fresh mozzarella. I use smoked mozzarella when I can find it.. It gives the lasagna a wonderful smoky flavor. But… this time I couldn’t find it. I did find these mozzarella pearls though.

Very cool.

Aww. They’re cute.

Cover with foil bake at 400 for 20 mins.

Uncover, add a little more parmesan cheese on top, then bake for an additional 15 mins.

Until it looks like this.

Just look at those beautiful, crispy, golden brown and delicious bubbles of mozzarella.

*chomp*

If you can resist, let stand 10 mins before serving. It’s beautiful, cheesy, gooey and delicious! Enjoy! :)

Zucchini & Bacon Three Cheese Lasagna

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

 

Béchamel Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
Pinch of salt, pepper, & freshly grated nutmeg

Lasagna:
1 zucchini, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt & pepper

3 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
6 slices bacon, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt & pepper

1 cup of your favorite marinara or spaghetti sauce
3 oz smoked mozzarella cheese
4 oven ready (no boil) lasagna noodles

Directions:
Dice zucchini, add garlic, coat with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Roast in an 8×8 baking dish at 400 degrees for 15 mins until soft. Leave oven on at 400, and save the 8×8 dish for the lasagna.

Combine the zucchini, bacon, Parmesan, fontina, egg, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper in a medium bowl to blend. Set aside.

To make the béchamel sauce: Melt 1 tbsp butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk a pinch of salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the béchamel sauce.

Pour the béchamel sauce into the bottom of the 8×8 dish. Top with 2 lasagna noodles, the zucchini mixture, 2 more lasagna noodles, the marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and a little more parmesan cheese to top.

Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 400 until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

© kevinandamanda.com, 2010. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo is one of our absolute favorites around here. Just one beautiful bowl full is so rich and hearty- it’ll fill you right up and warm you straight down to the bone. It’s just a little bit spicy and a whollllllllllle lotta delicious. It’s perfect on a cold winter night… like tonight! :)

To start we’ll need 1/2 cup diced onion, 1/4 cup diced celery, and 1/4 cup diced celery. I use a mandolin slicer with a dicing blade and a cut resistant glove- I just got mine few months ago and I don’t know how I’ve lived without them! They make slicing and dicing vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, potatoes…) a breeze- they’re done in a snap. It’s one of those items that practically lives in my dishwasher because I’m using it and washing it every night! :)

I go ahead and dice all my vegetables at once, measure out what I need, then freeze the rest in individual quart-sized freezer bags. That way I always have diced vegetables on hand for cooking- I almost always have diced celery, onion, red onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, carrots, and zucchini in the freezer.

Now that you’ve got your vegetables, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium-low heat in a large pot or dutch oven. When the butter starts to foam, add the onion, celery, red peppers and 1/2 tsp salt and “sweat” for 5-7 mins, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook 5 more mins until the onions begin to turn translucent.

Meanwhile, you’ll need 4 cups chicken stock. I prefer to just make it using chicken bouillon granules. They’re like the cubes, only you don’t have to unwrap them. I use 1 heaping tsp per cup of water, and I pour the boiling water in using another kitchen item I can’t live without- this electric tea kettle my mom gave me for Christmas! :)

Once the vegetables are soft, add the chicken stock. Add 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.

At this point you’ll want to go ahead and start the rice- for 4 people, I do a ratio of 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, and 1 tsp salt. Add all to a sauce pan, bring to a boil, cover, and let simmer over low heat for 14-15 mins.

Now for the sausage- we’ll need 1/2 lb, sliced. My absolute favorite brand of smoked sausage is Eckrich- and since most smoked sausage only comes in 1 lb packages, I usually just go ahead and slice it all, and put the other half in the fridge for Red Beans & Rice or jambalaya later in the week. Or just go ahead and use it all in the gumbo. I won’t tell. :D

Add the smoked sausage to a skillet and then turn the heat to medium- cook, stirring occasionally until browned, about 7-10 mins. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the gumbo. Pour off any excess fat left in the skillet.

In the same skillet, melt 2 tbsp butter. When foamy, add 2 tbsp flour and whisk until incorporated and the roux is light brown and fragrant, about 2-3 mins. Add to gumbo and stir.

Now to give the gumbo it’s distinct brown color and also to thicken it a little more, I use 1 tbsp filé power (pronounced fee-lay). Add to gumbo and stir (I use the whisk from the roux) until well incorporated.

And finally, add 3/4 lb of peeled and deveined shrimp to the gumbo. Turn off the heat, cover and allow to sit for 10 mins before serving. There will be plenty of residual heat in the pot to cook the shrimp to perfection.

Or if shrimp isn’t your thing, feel free to substitute with cooked, chopped chicken. This makes an excellent chicken & sausage gumbo! :) If making that way, I would boil 8 oz of boneless, skinless chicken breasts with 4 cups of water and 4 tsp chicken bouillon granules for 10-15 mins. Shred the chicken and reserve the 4 cups chicken broth to use in the gumbo. Then, when browning the sausage, add the chicken  for the last couple of mins, then add to gumbo with the sausage.

Either way, you can’t go wrong- it’s delicious. I can’t get enough of this gumbo! :)

© kevinandamanda.com, 2010. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

This fresh, colorful pasta dish is *perfect* for summer. The sweet, crisp bell peppers add such a wonderful flavor to the chicken and creamy alfredo sauce. The color and taste really bring this dish to life! :) Pour over some funky farfalle pasta and top with a little fresh basil if you’ve got some- this dish is definitely pasta perfection! :)

To start we’ll need…

1 lb chicken breasts (I used bone-in, skin-on chicken cause it was on sale- but you could definitely use boneless/skinless too)
9-10 bouillon cubes (or 3 tbsp bouillon granules- I like to use these because it’s easier than peeling the paper off 10 cubes! ;))
2 cups farfalle pasta
1/2 cup reserved chicken broth
4 tbsp butter, divided
1 cup half and half
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 green bell pepper
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped

Let’s go ahead and get that chicken simmering- add your chicken and bouillon cubes (or granules) to a large pot and cover with 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, and simmer over medium heat for 20 mins, or until chicken is done.

While the chicken is simmering, grab one of your bell peppers and lop off the top and bottom.

Cut the remaining piece into 4ths, and cut out the seeds and membrane and stuff.

Until you’re left with 4 pieces that look like this.

Now take a piece and flatten it skin side up on your cutting board and cut it into matchsticks. Or french fries. Or “julienne” if you want to get all Food Network on me. ;)

Now since it’s just me and Kevin, and this dish serves 2-3 people, I only use about half of the peppers.

I put half aside to use and the other half in a ziploc bag in the freezer for when I need bell peppers again. They are good in the freezer for up to a year, but they never, ever last that long around here. ;) If you want to double this recipe, feel free to go ahead and use all the bell peppers- or save for next time like me. Because oh yes, trust me, there will *definitely* be a next time. ;)

When all your bell peppers are sliced and your chicken is done, remove the chicken to a plate to cool and go ahead and strain that chicken broth. (This probably would have been better done in the sink. ;)) Before I got this fancy wire mesh strainer, I was known to use a sifter… But don’t tell anybody that, ok? You’ll need 1/2 cup of the broth for the alfredo sauce and definitely *save* the rest of that broth! :) I freeze mine in 2 cup containers and pull it out whenever I make rice. Rice made with chicken broth is so-so-so-so good! :) (If you want to make rice like I do…2 cups broth, 1 cup rice, 1 tsp salt, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 mins. no more, no less. But that’s for another day. No rice in this recipe! ;))

Anyway! At this point, you’ll probably want to go ahead and get started boiling the pasta. Add 2 cups of farfalle pasta to a large pot and cover with  at least 1 quart of water. Add 1 tbsp salt and boil for 10 mins (or according to package directions). I rinsed out the big pot I boiled the chicken in and used the same pot for the noodles. I only have one big pot.

Now for the creamy alfredo sauce… Heat 3 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup of the reserved chicken broth to a sauce pan over medium heat until the butter is melted.

Then add 1 cup half and half- wait. Stop. I know. I know. Half and half?? Half and half?? It’s not really alfredo sauce without HEAVY cream. I know. But it’s bathing suit season people. Bathing suit. *shudder*. You can understand right? Besides- I’ve made it both ways and this sauce tastes *just* as divine with half and half. The heavy cream really only makes the sauce thicker, it’s not like using half and half changes the taste or anything. :p That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ;)

After the half and half, add the minced garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and then slowly whisk in 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese. Simmer over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally.

While the sauce is simmering, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium high heat.

Saute bell peppers for 5-6 mins, stirring occasionally until they’re crisp tender and look like this. :D

While the bell peppers are sauteing, go ahead and chop up that chicken, which should be cooled by now. But don’t forget to give your sauce and peppers a quick stir every now and then. :) Add the chopped chicken to the bell peppers, sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Turn the heat down to low, then pour the alfredo sauce over the chicken. Oh man- the sweet bell peppers bring out such a *sweet*, amazing flavor in the alfredo sauce! :) Not to mention it makes it pretty and colorful. :D Let it simmer to combine flavors while you drain and plate the noodles.

I like to put my pasta in a large bowl and toss with the chicken, bell peppers and sweet, creamy alfredo sauce. Tonight I topped it with some fresh genovese basil from my garden, since I had it on hand. Man, oh man was it good! :)

Make this tonight! You (and your bathing suit ;)) won’t regret it!

© kevinandamanda.com, 2009. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts
10  bouillon cubes
2 quarts water
2 cups bisquick
2/3 cups milk
2 tbsp butter
4 eggs
2 stalks celery
salt & pepper

(Note: If the amount of the ingredients looks different in the pictures, it’s because I’m doubling it for the blog. This recipe on the blog will serve 4 for a main dish. Sometimes I try to half it for just the two of us, but I always end up regretting it because it’s so good I want to go back for seconds!! :D)

Begin by placing chicken breasts & bouillon cubes in a large pot & cover with 2 quarts of water. I’m using bone-in, skin-on breasts tonight because Kroger had them on sale super cheap. But I’ve also used boneless/skinless breasts before too and they work just fine. :) Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20-25 mins until chicken is done. If you’re using the boneless/skinless breasts, they’ll probably be done much quicker, like after 10-15 mins.

Meanwhile, boil the eggs. I know there’s tons of different theories on how to boil an egg, but here’s what works best for me: I put the eggs in the bottom of a small pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and boil for 10 mins. After exactly 10 mins, I remove immediately from the heat, pour out the hot water and cover the eggs with cold water to stop the cooking. This keeps the yolk from turning green.

When the chicken is almost done, mix together the bisquick and milk until a soft dough forms.

When the chicken is done, remove from the pot and set aside to cool. Drop spoonfuls of the dough into the chicken stock.

Simmer over low heat, covered, for 10 mins, then uncovered for an additional 10 mins.

Meanwhile, dice 2-4 stalks of celery (depending on how much you like! I usually do 2.

Now, you could use any vegetable you want here. You could add in onions, bell peppers, carrots, heck, even frozen veggies from a bag. Any mixture of vegetables you like, really. I just really like celery. :D You want to end up with about 1/2 – 1 cup of vegetables when you put them all together. As soon as your chicken is cool enough, cut or shred into bite-sized pieces.

Melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat. When foamy, add in celery/vegetables and saute for 3-5 mins.

Add in chopped chicken and season well with salt (I like kosher) and a little pepper. Stir to combine. By this point, the dumplings should be done. Add the chicken and celery to the broth/dumplings. Remove the yolk from boiled eggs (and in my case, give them to 2 greedy little puppy monsters),  chop up the whites and add them to the soup. Stir all to combine. :)

And serve. :) For fun, I wanted to add a little garnish to the soup. I didn’t have any fresh parsley, so I took some of the leaves from the celery and chopped them up. I don’t know if you’re allowed to do that, but in my experience, it was so aromatic and added a great flavor to the soup! :)

Every bite is chock full of hearty meat & vegetables, creamy soup, & so, so much flavor. If you need a soup to make you feel all warm and happy inside- this is it! :)

© kevinandamanda.com, 2009. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

This is my new go-to meal, especially when I need something quick, easy, filling and delicious!! My bestie friend Stewy made this for me when I was visiting him in Georgia, and his friend made it for him when he was visting him down in New Orleans (cheering for Auburn in the 2004 season Sugar Bowl!). This is authentic, Nawlins Style Red Beans & Rice. It’s so simple and man pleasin’. Stewy & Kevin approved. And tonight, I’m gonna make it for you.

First, make sure your hubby is watching football in the background. This is a must.

Ingredients
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups hot water
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pkg (14 oz) smoked sausage
1 can red beans
Zatarains Creole Seasoning

Now. A word. See that “Ragin’ Cajun” smoked sausage in the picture up there? Yeah. Kevin thought it’d be fun to try that this time. Well let me tell you. It was HOT! HOT HOT HOT. Way too hot for me. I prefer just the *regular* smoked sausage, especially for this. Now Kevin liked it, mind you, but wow. My mouth was on fire for like a week. For reals. So anyway! You’d been warned. ;)

Directions
Onto the good stuff. Start by adding 1 cup of long grain, white rice to a sauce pan with a lid.

Add 2 cups hot water and 1 tsp salt. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, turn heat to LOW, cover with lid and simmer for exactly 15 mins.

Meanwhile, thinly slice the sausage.

Drain the juice from the red beans into the sink.

Add 2-3 tbsp olive oil to to a large skillet and begin heating over medium heat.

Add the sausage, and I usually give a healthy sprinkling of creole seasoning at this point. Stir occasionally for about 7 mins until the sausages start to get sizzly on both sides. Yes, that’s the official term for it. ;)

Add the red beans and stir until warmed through.

About this time, your rice should be done too, so serve it up! :)

I put the creole seasoning on the table- cause everyone likes to add their own amount. At this point, I like to stir mine up real good until my rice gets all brown from the sausage, beans and seasoning. Yummy. Makes about 2-3 servings.

© kevinandamanda.com, 2009. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

I LOVE ITALIAN FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There, I said it. :D I really, really, love Italian food. And pasta. And anything to do with noodles. And sauces. And cheese. And all of them mixed together. I could eat pasta every single day for the rest of my life. And die happy. Probably early.. But very, very happy.

Are you as obsessed with pasta as I am? Well, that’s ok if you’re not. Because *everybody* likes Chicken Parmigiana. It’s a classic. It’s juicy, tender chicken breasts, lightly breaded in Parmesan cheese, golden fried, then topped with marinara sauce and soft, melty, mozzarella cheese. Served with? Pasta!! And it’s delicious.

Now, every Italian restaurant worth it’s salt has Chicken Parmigiana on the menu. But why go out when you can make it better, fresher, and so, *so* much more delectable right here at home? Go ahead. Impress your hubby. Or your wife. Or your special friend. Make them fall in love with you all over again. Or for the first time. Make them this Chicken Parmigiana. I’ll show you.
Let’s start with the yummy, yummy Parmesan breading for our chicken…

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tbsp steak seasoning

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.

Of course, you could just stir the ingredients together, but I like to whisk them because it gives the breading a light, airy texture.

Or it could just be that it breaks up the lumps easier.
Now get your chicken… BTW, have you seen this chicken?? Each breast is *individually wrapped*!! So you can use however many you need and save the rest for later! They’re still sealed! I love it!! Aaaaaand…

They’re already pounded evenly!

I’ve mentioned before that I always like to pound my chicken breasts, no matter what method of cooking. Not to make them thin, but just pounded enough to give them an even thickness. So they’ll cook evenly. But these are already even! :) So no pounding for me tonight. Yay!! But if you just have regular chicken breasts, go ahead and throw them between two pieces of wax paper and give ‘em a good whack. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Now. Like I was saying earlier… Get your chicken… and coat both sides with the breading mix.

And then set it aside for a sec while we make…

The Marinara Sauce!

2 tbsp butter
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
6-8 basil leaves, chiffonaded
fresh flat leaf parsley

Begin melting 2 tbsp of butter in a medium sized sauce pan over medium to medium low heat. Add in 3-4 cloves minced garlic.

I like to mince my garlic and place it in a bowl or something (okok, I used the same measuring cup I used for the Parmesan cheese and flour) and then add the garlic to the butter all at once, rather than adding it one minced clove at a time. This is because after I add the garlic, I like to stir it constantly so one side doesn’t get too brown. Also, go ahead and open your can of tomatoes so you can just pour them right in when the time is right instead of having your garlic sit around (burning) while you try and find your can opener then fumble with opening the can.

Or is that just me? I’ll admit I’ve done that more than once. :O

Oh! Speaking of garlic… This was like garlic on steroids!

Look how big this thing is!! I had to chop it in half just so it’d fit in my Pampered Chef garlic press! They were *all* this big tonight so I only used 2 cloves. I probably could’ve used 3. But I played it safe.
So like I said. Add your garlic and stir it constantly for about 2 mins until the garlic is soft, but don’t let it turn brown. About like this. It’s a teensy bit brown. Golden rather. Either way, it was just right.

At this point, pour in the tomatoes and add in the sugar. Increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat back to medium-low, cover and continue simmering for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has simmered, stir in the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. I used 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Cover and simmer for an additional 3 minutes, then lower heat and keep sauce warm til we’re ready for it.

Oh man, doesn’t this look good? It sure does *smell* good, let me tell you. My mouth is watering.
While your sauce is simmering, let’s go ahead and start our noodles to boil. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add 1 tbsp of salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil. The salt is for flavor (go on you know you wanna) and the olive oil is to keep the noodles from sticking. It works pretty good! :) Then add your favorite pasta. Tonight I used angel hair pasta. But you could also use spaghetti or linguine.

Our sauce is simmering, our noodles are boiling, what are we missing?? Oh yes!! The perfectly Parmesany breaded chicken. This is going to be good.
Begin heating 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it is nice, hot, melted and brown.

Add your chicken breasts and cook 4 to 5 minutes each side until they are golden.
While the chicken is cooking you can chiffonade your basil and chop up the parsley for the sauce! To chiffonade basil, stack up 6-8 leaves, roll them tightly and thinly slice.

For parsley, you could just use a knife and chop it up, but I find it much easier to use my Pampered Chef chopper. It does the job for me. :)

You’ll want to keep chopping the parsley until you have 1 tbsp to add to the sauce, plus a little more for garnishing the chicken.
As soon as your chicken is done, remove to a plate, top with a little sauce and then sprinkle on mozzarella cheese.

You know what just occurred to me just now as I’m typing this? I didn’t top the chicken with sauce tonight.

Huh.

You know what? It still tasted amazing. lol. Oh well! So top it, or don’t top it with sauce, but either way you want to top it with cheese immediately so it’ll start getting melty.  Then sprinkle on a little parsley.
With the rest of the parsley and basil, throw it in the sauce, stir together, and serve over noodles placed next to the chicken. Top everything with an abundance of Parmesan cheese. For this is Chicken Parmigiana.

Then prepare to be worshiped.

For at least the rest of the evening. ;)

© kevinandamanda.com, 2008. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

Remember last week when we were talking about company recipes? This is one of those recipes. I’ll never forget the first time I had this *perfect* pulled pork. I was a guest in someone’s home and this was their company recipe. And true to company recipe fashion, I immediately fell in love with it and begged for the recipe.

This pulled pork is SO yummy and flavorful and tender, it just melts in your mouth. And it really is *perfect* for company because everyone I’ve ever made this for has just raved over it. You have to try it, at least once. Really. You will be hooked. :)

Let’s pick out the perfect pork shoulder for your perfect pulled pork. The best piece of meat for pulled pork is a 4-7 lb whole boston butt.

Make sure your pork shoulder has a layer of fat on the bottom:

And it should also have a bone going about halfway through it. (It doesn’t go all the way through. Just halfway.)

Now, if you notice, my pork shoulder is 7.91 lbs. I got a big one because I wanted to feed 6 people *and* have tons and tons of leftovers. Normally I hate leftovers, but I LOVE this leftover. People always want some to take home with them and it *just* as yummy heated up the next day. Just pop it in a 350-375 degree oven for about 5 mins. You’ll know when it’s done because the whole kitchen will start smelling so good and your mouth will be watering and you just won’t be able to wait any longer before you yank it out of the oven and put it on a plate. It even freezes really well, although we never want to freeze it because we always want to keep eating it for the next couple of days. lol.

After you pick out your perfect pork shoulder, you may want to pick up a few other items while you’re out..

You’ll need a 3″ deep roasting pan that’s big enough to hold your pork shoulder so that there is at least 1″ of extra room on all sides. Of course you may have a nice roasting pan at home that you can use. Lucky. I don’t, so I just pick up one of these babies at the grocery store. Disposable, yet oh so dependable. You’ll also need something LARGE to brine the roast in. I use a 2 gallon ziploc bag. And the last thing is a digital thermometer with an alarm. You don’t *have* to have one of these, but I find this an *extremely* useful piece of equipment in my kitchen. The thermometer stays in the meat, in the oven while the digital reader sits outside on top of the stove. You set the alarm and it will go off when the meat has reached the desired temp. I LOVE it because I don’t have to constantly keep checking on the roast. I just put it in and forget it! :) You can pick one of these up pretty cheap (less than $20) at the grocery store (and almost anywhere- Target, Walmart, Linens-N-Things, Bed, Bath and Beyond, etc). And you can use it for everything- chicken, steak, burgers, etc. I love it for baking chicken because you know exactly when the chicken is done and it doesn’t get dried out. :)

So! Now that you’ve got all your equipment, let’s start out by making the special dry rub that makes this pulled pork so perfectly seasoned and savory.

Dry Rub
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together well and store in an air tight container.

This smells absolutely divine. Cover it and set it aside for a sec.
Now for the brine – A brine solution gives the meat the extra moisture it needs for a long, slow cooking process so you don’t end up with tough, dried out meat.

Brine Solution
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 qts cold water
3 tbsp dry rub mix
2 bay leaves

Add salt to cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then add the brown sugar and dry rub and stir well to combine.

Rinse the pork shoulder in cold water and place in a 2 gallon ziploc bag (or a container big enough so the shoulder is completely covered in brine solution).

Carefully pour in the brine solution. When you get towards the end, slosh the brine solution around and make sure all that yummy dry rub seasoning gets poured in. :)

Now you heard me mention bay leaves earlier. If your neighbor doesn’t grow these fresh in her garden, like mine does, (heh heh heh) you can get these in the spice section of your grocery store. They are *perfect* for seasoning roasts. If you’re using the dried kind, 2 leaves is plenty. But since I was using fresh, I grabbed a whole handful (5-8 maybe) of the fresh ones right off my neighbor’s plant. :D Michele, if you’re reading this, I heart you and your beautiful garden.

So! After you’ve got your pork all covered in brine, go ahead and throw in your bay leaves.

And refrigerate for at least 8 hours. I like to clean out a spot in my door and keep the pork there because it seems to be the best place to keep the shoulder completely covered in brine.

At least 8 hours later…

Preheat oven to 225, remove the pork shoulder from the brine solution and place in the roasting pan.

Pat the skin dry with paper towels. I remember reading once why this was an important step, but I forget what it said now. Just take my word for it, kay?

Ohhh baby now the good stuff! Generously, generously, cover the WHOLE thing in your dry rub mix.

And massage it into that skin real good. Be sure and get it up under any flaps you may come across.

It should look like this when you’re done massaging. You should also still have plenty of dry rub mix left- and that’s okay. We will be using it later! :)

Make sure the fat layer is facing UP and stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone.

Place uncovered in a 225 degree oven on the middle rack. Resist the urge to use a higher temperature.

Set the alarm on the thermometer for 200 degrees. We don’t want to take it out of the oven until the center of the shoulder reaches at least 200 degrees. The first time I made this, I was like what?? 200 degrees?? Are you kidding?? Isn’t a roast usually done at 170 degrees?? Won’t my meat be tough and dried out?? But here’s what I found out. The pork is finished to the point of being sliceable at 170 degrees, but to get that tender, falling apart shredded meat, the ideal internal temperature should reach at least 200 degrees. And it’s still just as tender, juicy and flavorful because of our seasoned brine solution.

Now, cooking at 225 degrees, this shoulder will take between 1.5 to 2 hours per pound to cook. As it happens, this 8 lb shoulder took 13 hours, so a little over an hour and a half per pound.

Here’s how I normally do it… The morning on the day before I want to serve this, first thing when I get up, I prepare the brine solution and let the shoulder brine all day in the fridge. That night right before I go to bed, I season the shoulder with the dry rub and put it in the oven and let it cook overnight. The alarm has never woken me up the next morning, I’ve usually already been up a couple hours before it goes off. And I am not an early riser. (yeah, yeah I can hear ya’ll laughing at how much of an understatement that is)

When the alarm goes off and the shoulder has reached 200 degrees, turn off the oven and let the roast cool for about 2 hours before removing from the oven. Turn off the alarm, but keep the thermometer in the meat, so you can monitor the temperature. If the bottom of the pan is dry (or crusted with dried spices) then cover the pan with foil to retain internal moisture of the meat during the cooling period. Mine still had lots of juice in the bottom this time, so I didn’t have to cover it.

After a couple hours, when the temperature drops to 170 degrees or slightly lower, remove the shoulder from the oven.

Place on a large, clean work surface such as a cutting board, and remove the large sheet of crusted fat on the top. Using two large forks, begin pulling the meat apart. It will fall apart *very* easily and it should not take you long at all to pull apart this whole roast.

Now remember how I said that a 4-7 lb roast was best, but I ended up getting an 8 lb roast? Well, that was just fine and dandy, but my meat wasn’t as seasoned as it normally is with a smaller roast. But that’s no problem cause I had plenty of dry rub mix left! So take a few taste test bites, then generously sprinkle the shredded meat all over until your heart’s content. Be really generous with the dry rub and really mix it in good. This seasoned meat is fantastic. Keep taste testing along the way. ;)

Our favorite way to eat pulled pork is on hamburger buns. We pile ‘em high and let the meat overflow onto our plates and eat that with a fork. :)

But it really doesn’t matter how you serve it because it won’t be on the plate more than 3 seconds anyway. ;)

Having a Labor Day get together with friends & family this weekend? Go ahead and knock their socks off with this slow roasted, seasoned and savory pulled pork.

Have fun and enjoy!

This pulled pork is so delicious, it earns two pages in my recipe book! ;)

© kevinandamanda.com, 2008. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

Do you want the most perfect, flavorful, creamiest Alfredo sauce in the *entire* world? This recipe is seriously, the best. I could eat this every day. This is the perfect “for company” recipe when you want to serve a delicious dish that everyone will *love* and will super-impress your guests and have them all *begging* for the recipe. And it has a nice presentation on the plate!

I adapted this recipe from a recipe on the Sunday Baker’s recipe blog. She’s got a lot of really good recipes, check out her site when you get a chance! :)

Here’s how I make mine.. Let’s start with the chicken.

Rinse 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts in cold water.

Layer between 2 sheets of wax paper and pound until even thickness.

I almost always pound my chicken breasts, no matter what method of cooking, because if they’re even, they’ll cook more evenly *and* I think they make a better presentation. Culinary *and* cosmetic benefits! :)

Now for the marinade…

Ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice (mix together and let sit for 10 mins and this becomes a substitute for buttermilk)
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

Mix together milk, lemon juice, egg and garlic powder. In a perfect world, you’ll want to pour this in a ziploc bag with the pounded chicken and marinate in the fridge for 2-4 hours. However, I can hardly ever get my act together enough to marinate the chicken 2-4 hours before I eat so…..

Usually I just go ahead and put the chicken right in and let it hang out in there while I’m making the breading mix.

The Breading Mix…

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning

Whisk together flour, bread crumbs, salt, baking powder, and steak seasoning in a medium bowl.

Did you know that whisking produces the same texture as sifting? And it’s much easier! :)

Remove chicken from milk mixture, shake off excess, and coat both sides in flour mixture.

Now we’ve got all three of our chicken breasts nice and breaded. Let’s just let them hang out on this plate for a sec while we ready the noodles!

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tbsp of salt.

When the water has come to a nice, rolling boil, add your favorite pasta. I like to use 1/2 lb of linguine noodles for this recipe. It’s the perfect amount for 2-3 adults. Cook according to package directions.

Now… The Sauce…

Ingredients:
1 scant cup chicken broth (Scant means “a little less than”. So “a little less than” 1 cup. You may also use white wine instead of chicken broth. I give you permission. ;))
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 basil leaves, chiffonaded
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

In a medium saucepan, heat chicken broth over medium high heat, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and whisk in heavy cream, cornstarch, and garlic. Bring to a soft boil and whisk for one minute. Reduce heat to low, whisk in parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 10 mins to melt cheese, let thicken, and incorporate flavors, whisking occasionally.

Meanwhile…

Add 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.

We want to let the butter and oil get nice and hot before we add the chicken, so let it get all sizzley, then it’ll calm back down when the butter starts to brown:

When it looks like this, it’s time to add the chicken.

Let the chicken cook 4-5 mins on one side.

Wow! 3 pots at one time! I feel all professional and stuff! ;)

Back to the chicken.

After 4-5 mins, or when the bottom is nice and golden, flip the chicken to the other side and cook an additional 4-5 mins, or until the other side is nice and golden. :)

While the chicken is cooking, let’s chop our herbs. Now I just ran right over to my lovely neighbor’s beautiful garden and picked some fresh basil and parsley right from the ground! :) But if you don’t have access to your neighbor’s garden, you can buy fresh basil and parsley from the produce section of your grocery store. Usually they are hanging in bags on the wall. They are labeled and everything! Very easy. :) But, if you can’t find them, don’t let that stop you from making this recipe. Go ahead and try it without the herbs, I bet you’ll still love it. :) (Note: I would try to buy the basil on the same day you plan on using it. It tends to wilt quickly. Parsley lasts forever though. Okay, maybe a week or two. I haven’t really tested my theory.)

Oh right! Back to the herb chopping.

Grab 6-8 basil leaves

Roll them up tightly

And slice thinly with a sharp knife (I use a paring knife). Oh btw, I am using a cutting board, I’m not doing this straight on my counter! LOL. The cutting board is just clear, so you can see right through it. hah.

Now! We have some chiffonaded basil. Pretty isn’t it? :) Basil smells soooooo good.

Now let’s chop up some parsley.

You could just take a knife and chop up these parsley leaves, but…

I have this Pampered Chef chopper and it does the job for me, much better than I could ever do. :p

Keep chopping until you have about 1 tbsp of chopped parsley.

Now! At this time, everything should be coming together!

Go ahead and throw your herbs into the Alfredo sauce and stir well with a spoon.

Your chicken should be all nice and golden now.

So it’s time to put it all together.

A Parmesan cream sauce with a hint of garlic, served over fettuccine noodles and topped with a lightly breaded, golden fried chicken breast.

And if you feel like it, go ahead and pour some more sauce right over that chicken. It’s *de*licious.

This recipe as is serves 2-3 adults. If you’re serving more than that, you’ll need to double the recipe or adjust it accordingly. :)
 

Whoaaa, that seems like a lot of ingredients doesn’t it?? :) But most of the stuff you probably already have on hand. When I want to make this, I usually only have to buy the chicken, chicken broth, and heavy cream.

Have fun and ENJOY!! :D

© kevinandamanda.com, 2008. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

Nothing says “summer” quite like thick, juicy, hamburgers– even better when they’re topped with bacon, melty cheese, and prepared just the way you like ‘em.

Wanna try my recipe? It’s sure-fire, can’t-miss, and tummy-pleasin’. :D Come on, I’ll show you. :)

Ingredients
1 lb hamburger meat
1 lb bacon
2 tbsp Dale’s steak seasoning
1 pkg ranch dressing
1 egg
Montreal Steak Seasoning
6 slices colby jack cheese
6 hamburger buns
butter for toasted bun

First things first. Grab a stick of butter and set it out on the counter so it can be softening.

Now. Let’s start with the bacon. There are lots of ways to cook bacon, but I like good old fashioned frying in a skillet. :) Frying bacon is really quite easy, it just requires a little patience. I like to cut my bacon in half before frying it. It makes it the perfect size for burgers.

I like the thinly sliced, “center cut” bacon. What’s your favorite kind?

Okay. Now. Arrange your bacon in a skillet over medium to medium low heat. We’re gonna cook it lowwww and slowww. Leave it just like that for right now and we’re gonna go prepare our hamburger patties.

See this? See this bad, bad, bad for you 85% lean, 15% fatty meat? I like using lean beef as much as the next guy, but 85/15 beef makes the best hamburgers because if you try to make burgers anything leaner, they will be crumbly and fall apart. And that’s not fun. And really, health consciousness has no place when it comes to cheeseburgers, now does it? :D So throw your cares to the wind for an evening and let yourself enjoy the goodness from 85/15 juicy, bacon cheeseburgers.

Now! Take your hamburger meat and place it in a shallow dish. Mine always ends up breaking in half, and that’s okay.

Over the meat, pour 2 tbsp Dale’s…

Sprinkle 1/2 package of dry Ranch Dressing… then flip it over and do the other side with the other 1/2 package…

Now crack an egg in a coffee mug or bowl

Scramble it with a fork

And pour it over the meat

With clean hands, gently break apart the meat

Now. Make sure your hands are clean. :) We’re going to gently work everything into the meat. But you don’t want to over handle the meat or else your burgers will be tough. So just kinda kinda massage everything into the the meat, moving it around the bowl to make sure you sop up all the juicy and seasony goodness. ;)

It should look about like this when you’re done.

Form it into kind of a log and with a knife, divide the meat into 6 even sections

Grab one of those sections and gently form a ball. Do you have one of these nifty hamburger presses? They make patty-makin’ easy. If so, drop the meat into the hamburger mold (I guess that’s what you call it)

Press it down it down with the, uh, press

And you have a perfectly shaped patty! If you don’t have a press, you can just press it down with your hands. :)

And repeat! As you go, be sure to arrange your patties in the shape of a flower on the plate. This is critical to your burgers’ success.

Just kidding.

Generously season both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning.

Whoa, I almost forgot about our bacon!! Let’s check on it. This is the bacon after it’s been cooking 10 mins. It’s not quite ready yet.

That butter should be allllll nice and soft by now, so go ahead and butter up 6 hamburger buns- 6 tops and 6 bottoms.

After that, check your bacon again. This is the bacon after 15 mins.

When the fat starts turning translucent and the bottom side is getting brown, it’s time to flip the bacon. I know it’s hard to tell in the pic, but it is time to flip the bacon. :D

I only had to cook the other side about 5 mins before it was done.

Drain your bacon on a paper towel, and finish frying up the rest of the bacon. I always have to do 2 batches in my 12″ skillet.

Once all the bacon is done, pour out any excess bacon grease into a coffee mug (don’t pour it down your drain). But leave a little bacon grease in the bottom of the pan, just enough to coat it. I actually didn’t have to drain my grease this time. That thin, center cut bacon hardly produced any grease at all. Usually I have to drain it between every batch!

Turn the heat up to medium high and once the bacon grease is nice and hot…

…arrange your hamburgers in the skillet.

After 3 mins, flip em’ over. They’re going to cook on this side for another 3 mins.

So let the burgers sizzle for about 30 seconds or so, then add your bacon…

And your cheese… Whoops! I didn’t have enough cheese. One burger will be left out. :(

Cover and cook for the remaining 2 mins or so.

At this point, put those buttered buns under the broiler in your oven.

After a couple of mins, the burgers should be done and the cheese all nice and melty.

You want toasted buns?? Go sit on a microwave! Ahem, I mean, and the buns should be nice all nice and toasty.

These burgers have got so much flavor, they really don’t need any condiments.

So when you’re ready, dive right in! That’s what I did. ;)

© kevinandamanda.com, 2008. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

Have you tried the Pioneer Woman’s Penne a la Betsy yet?? I always thought it looked good, but I kept putting off making it for some reason or another… I finally tried it a few weeks ago and..

Oh. My. Gosh.

It is sooooooooooo good!! The first time I made it following her directions exactly, using shrimp. It was *wonderful* and I don’t really even like shrimp that much!! LOL. I definitely wanted to try it again, this time with chicken. You could also leave out meat all together and this would make a scrumptious pasta side dish. The sauce, really, is to die for, I don’t know where Tomato Cream sauce has been all my life but now I’ve found it and I’m never letting it go again.

So you wanna make it too?

Here’s what you’ll need:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Montreal Steak seasoning
1/2 pound penne pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy whipping cream
salt & pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded

And, I apologize for slacking off on taking pictures of the ingredients lately. I really intend to!! But I always forget. :p Hope you can forgive me. :D

Let’s get started…

First, rinse your chicken breasts in cold water, then lay on some wax paper.

Cover with another sheet of wax paper

And pound breasts with the smooth side of a mallet until even thickness.

You don’t want to get them too thin, you just want them to be even, so they’ll cook evenly. If you don’t have a meat pounder you could also use a rolling pin or the side of a can or something. See? Nice and even. :)

Season both sides of the chicken with Montreal Steak seasoning. This stuff is awesome and it’s good on everything. :D

At this point, you can either grill the chicken outside, or if you prefer, you can cook it in a skillet inside.

For Grilling…

Preheat grill for medium high heat, lightly oil grate (we spray with Pam for Grilling), and grill chicken breasts on medium high heat for 6-8 mins each side.

OR…

Heat 2 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter and olive oil is nice and hot, add chicken breasts and cook 5 mins each side.

You’re going to be slicing the chicken up later anyway, so it’s okay to go ahead and cut it right in half to make sure the chicken’s done. I always do! :)

Now let me stop you right here. This chicken is wonderful, flavorful and *delicious* just the way it is. I could eat this as a meal just like this. :D

But tonight we’re making pasta so we’re just gonna leave it on this plate and let it cool off for a bit, kay?

Let’s start making that pasta right now. In a large pot, add water and 1 tbsp salt. Bring to boil and add penne pasta and cook according to package directions. I usually dump in 1/2 of a 1 lb box of noodles and that’s plenty for the two of us. I made this for 4 adults once and I used 3/4 of a 1 lb box and that was perfect for 4 people.

Now. About that 1 tablespoon of salt. :) Salt water really brings out a wonderful flavor in dry pasta that you can’t get if you don’t salt your water properly. Noodles boiled in salt water? I could just eat ‘em plain, they’re so good. If I’m using a large pot (like for spaghetti) I add in 1 tbsp salt. If I’m using a small sauce pan (like for mac and cheese) I use 1 teaspoon. Here’s a good gauge: Taste test your water- it should taste like the sea- salt water! :) Try it, you won’t be disappointed. :)

Now… onto the heavenly, tomato cream sauce. :)

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, but do not let the garlic turn brown. This should take about 3-5 mins.

Add in 1/2 cup chicken broth and turn up heat to medium high.

Now, we’re gonna let this chicken broth reduce while we slice up our chicken. It should be cool enough to handle by now.

Slice it up!

Now let’s check on our chicken broth…

That’s what I call McSteamy! It is important to let your chicken broth reduce by half because if you don’t, the sauce will be runny and soupy. This looks good here, I could’ve left a little more broth in there, but whatever. :)

Pour in your tomato sauce…

And your cream… and try to make a psychedelic design, please.

Add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and mix it all up.

Now taste it. This is important. :D

I ended up adding another 1/2 tsp salt and another 1/2 tsp pepper because it needed it. And then it was perfect. :D

Turn your heat to low and keep the sauce warm. We’re gonna go chop some herbs. Now, if you’re like me, you can just run over to your neighbor’s beautiful, lush garden and pick some fresh basil and parsley right off the bush. :D However, I realize not everyone is as fortunate as I am to have a generous, green thumbed neighbor with a beautiful, lush garden right next door. In that case, fresh herbs can be found in your grocery store in the produce section! They are in zippered, labeled bags and hanging up on the wall. Couldn’t be easier, and if you’ve never cooked with fresh herbs before you are in for a *treat*!!! The flavor is amazing, wow, oh wow. This dish alone could inspire you to start your very own herb garden. :) Oh, one more thing, I would try to buy the basil on the same day you’re going to be using it. It really is only good for a day or so, then it starts to wilt. Parsley, on the other hand, easily lasts a week. Probably more.

Okay. So. Whether they’re from a bag or a garden, grab 6-8 basil leaves, and stack them up:

Then roll ‘em up, as tight as you can:

With a good paring knife, slice thinly:

Til you have this! This is what’s called a chiffonade. We have chiffonaded the basil. :p

Now. Onto the parsley. Grab some parsley leaves… Okay, that doesn’t look like many in the pic. I probably used about twice what this picture looks like. lol.

Can you keep a secret? I cheat chopping up my parsley leaves. You could use the same paring knife you used on the basil but….

I use this. My Pampered Chef chopper. I love it. It works great. It does a better job than me. :p

See?

You need about 1 tbsp of chopped parsley.

When all your herbs are chopped, throw em in the sauce, and mix well.

Now, my camera must’ve gone AWOL at this point because I don’t have a pic, but anyway, drain your noodles and pour them in the sauce. Stir until all the noodles are coated. At this point, you could go ahead and stir your chicken in too, or…. for a cool presentation….

Serve the noodles on a plate and top with sliced chicken:

Are you hungry yet? :D

© kevinandamanda.com, 2008. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!