Torta Passionata

Doesn't that look yummy?!?!
I made this recipe as a dessert for a family party. It was SUPER easy and deliciously rich!!

I used an 11 inch Tart pan, not 9 inch as the recipe recommends so I doubled the recipe. The only thing that didn't work with doubling was that I had a little bit of extra crust that didn't fit in the tart pan. Other than that, doubling it worked GREAT!!
This is NOT the doubled recipe....this is the original. Just double all of the ingredients if needed!

-

8 Tbsp. Butter
- 2 cups ground skinned and toasted hazelnuts (I toasted them in a dry frying pan and ground them in the food processor)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (you can use orange, too!)
- 8 squares (1 oz. each) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (You can also use semi-sweet chips
- 2 Tablespoons Raspberry Liqueur (I used extract instead of the alcohol. If you use orange marmalade, use Orange Liqueur or Extract)
- 1 and 1/4 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325°.

In small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons melted Butter, hazelnuts and sugar. In 9-inch tart pan, evenly press on bottom and up sides. Bake 20 minutes or until crust is golden. On wire rack, evenly spread jelly on crust; cool.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, bring 1 cup cream just to a boil over medium heat. In blender, process hot cream, semi-sweet chocolate, remaining 4 tablespoons Spread and 1 tablespoon liqueur until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour into prepared crust. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

You can also melt white chocolate and mix with the remaining 1/4 cup of cream and serve alongside the torta.

Do not cover the Torta when you put it in the fridge to cool.

Pancakes...

No not from Bisquick, and not from Aunt Jemima, not even from a box! From SCRATCH! This couldn't be easier, and they taste 100 times better than the box mix!

Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 20 Minutes Yields: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
1.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Add your favorite Fruit to the batter and make them taste even better!

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

This is an easy and tasty dinner that requires no side dishes! It's great for a light summer meal or even perfect for a quick dinner!!

1-2 heads of fresh broccoli steamed in chicken broth

1 lb pasta- I used what I had leftover and I cooked it in a mixture of chicken broth and water.

2-3 chicken breasts- I used leftover chicken from earlier in the week. It was already cooked so all I had to was cube it and toss it in the sauce to heat up.
You can use raw chicken, too. I would season it with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and any other seasoning you like. During the summer I would grill the chicken until cooked through or you cansautee or bake it until done.



Minced Garlic- Fresh or jarred

Chicken broth- for the sauce, at least 1-2 cups

1 small to medium onion- chopped small

Grated Cheese- 1/4 cup for the sauce and more for garnish

White wine- 1/4 cup

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

Cooking spray

1 tbsp butter

Splash of Worcestershire Sauce



Boil pasta water and add pasta and cook to al dente.

In a sautee pan or frying pan heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil and cooking spray. Make sure bottom of pan is coated.

Once pan is hot add garlic and onion, allow to sweat and sautee for a few minutes. You want the onions to soften and become somewhat translucent. Do not allow the garlic to burn.

When onions are done add in the Broccoli and coat with onions and olive oil and garlic. Add cooked chicken.

At this point you want to add your white wine. Make sure the pan is screaming hot. Add wine and scrape bottom of the pan picking up all of the tasty bits on the bottom. Mix all together and let cook for 2 minutes.

Add in 1-2 cups of chicken broth. You can add more if you want a more broth like sauce. At this point I also take out about half of the pasta, along with some pasta water and add to the sauce pan. The pasta will cook the rest of the way in the sauce and the pasta water helps thicken the sauce slightly and adds more flavor.

Add in butter and Worcestershire sauce. If you want it more "saucey" add remaining chicken broth. Add in cheese and mix everything together.

Allow sauce to simmer until pasta is done or for a few minutes. Once remaining pasta is finished add to sauce and stir to coat everything.

Serve with grated cheese and enjoy!!

Candy Bar Apple Salad (Dessert)

(Picture is not mine, but from the website I mention.)

This is great, and light, and kind of healthy. I mean it has Apples in it.. HA HA HA..

This is were I got the recipe from. I love this mag. A lot of great recipes.


SERVINGS: 12
CATEGORY: Lower Fat
METHOD:
TIME: Prep/Total Time: 15 min.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups cold milk
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 large apples, chopped (about 6 cups)
4 Snickers candy bars (2.07 ounces each), cut into 1/2-inch pieces ( I used the mini's)

Directions: In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in whipped topping. Fold in apples and candy bars. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 12 servings (3/4 cup each).

Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese

This is Alton Browns recipe. My hubby LOVES IT!! So those with kids, this is a great dish. Its easy to do too.


Recipe Summary Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings


Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: For Whom the Cheese Melts 2


1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

Grilled Zucchini

The other night I made grilled zucchini. Very simple, easy and it was great!!

Cut the zucchini in half long ways.

Cover with olive oil. Both sides.

Put on some, (on the cut side)

oregano
garlic powder
salt
pepper

and top with Parmesan cheese

Put on grill parm side up. Depending on how you like it, you will have to judge how long. I believe I put it on for about 20 minutes. I like it soft. So experiment. Have fun.

Chicken and Shrimp with pasta in wine and garlic sauce

I made this the other night and the hubby loved it! Thanks to the help from A, who gave me this, this is a great and tasty dish. Its easy to do and very flexible to work with.

You can grill the chicken, I would marinate it first if you're going to grill it.

Marinate the chicken in 1 tsp olive oil, chopped garlic, white wine, salt pepper, lemon juice and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Grill the chicken and then slice or cut into chunks.

For the sauce,

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tablespoons butter

1-2 tbsp flour

chicken broth

white wine

lemon juice

garlic- lots of it!

put olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in pan...allow to heat up and butter to melt

Add garlic and saute for a minute or so. DO NOT allow it to brown or burn!!!!

If you did not grill the chicken you should add it now. I would flour it lightly with flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

If you did grill the chicken then you add white wine, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup...make sure pan is really hot before adding it.

Then add chicken broth and mix together.

Add a squirt of lemon juice, not too much, and even a dash of Worcestershire sauce.Take remaining pats of butter and "dip" them in flour to coat them. Then put in pant and whisk to melt...it should thicken your sauce a bit.Add shrimp and grilled chicken and saute for a few minutes.

If you're serving over pasta, cook pasta in chicken broth and just before it's done add about 1/4 of pasta and one or two ladles of pasta water/broth to the sauce. The pasta will help thicken the sauce and it will cook a bit more in the sauce. Once the rest of the pasta is done, toss all together and enjoy!