Week 3 BONUS: Chocolate Peanut Butter Passion Bars

Seeing that I have a sweet tooth and we had guests coming over I decided to whip up a dessert to follow our enchiladas. My boss' husband is a culinary school teacher so when I began the 2010 challenge I polled those around me for some recipes to kick off the year. She asked her husband for his input which he responded, "I have a recipe for 25 gallons of broccoli cheddar soup ..." She determined that wouldn't work too well for me so instead gifted her Costco cookbook so I could rustle up some recipes from there. Apparently Costco gives away free cookbooks over the holidays ... did any of you nab one? I found some amazing recipes to try over the coming months; One of which is a dish with Asian peanut sauce I am really looking forward to testing.

Dominic is a real fan of all desserts with peanut butter so, for our Sunday dessert I opted for these ...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Passion Bars

Yields: 24 bars

Ingredients

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 pouch Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix

1 cup peanuts, chopped

Peanut Butter Filling

1 1/4 cups (14-ounce can) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together oil and eggs. Add brownie mix and peanuts; stir until moistened. Press half of the brownie mixture into the pan, reserving the remainder for topping.

To make the filling, stir sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in a medium bowl until smooth. Spread evenly over the brownie layer in the pan.

Drop rounded teaspoons of the reserved brownie mixture over the peanut butter layer.

Bake for 25-30 min, or until the top is set. Cool thoroughly before cutting.

My 2 Cents

I have a ton of Duncan Hines brownie mix from a mass sale last month so I used that instead of the Ghirardelli brand, sorry Costco!

Dominic's Rating

"Can you really go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter?" ... Uh, I guess not. Good thing he liked them, because there is a whole plate following him to work tomorrow!

Week 3 BONUS: Kami's Easy Enchiladas

Dominic sure lucked out with the holiday weekend! Extra time allowed me to fit in a full grocery shopping trip which resulted in ... TA DA ... another new recipe! JanMom and MarlonDad came over after church this afternoon so we could have lunch and iChat with Anton, Tasha, and Karrington in Texas (oh, the benefits of a Mac).

My co-worker, Kami, heard about my 2010 challenge and passed on this easy enchilada recipe. I figured since I was cooking for my in-laws an easy, but yummy recipe was just the ticket!

Kami's Easy Enchiladas

Prep Time: 20 min.

Cook Time: 45 min.

Yields: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 package flour tortillas

2 cans of La Victoria red or green enchilada sauce

2 chicken breasts

1 can black beans

1 green pepper

1/2 yellow onion

1 package sliced mushrooms

Cheddar cheese (optional)

2 Serrano peppers (optional)

Steps

Boil chicken breast for about 15-20 min. until no pink shows. Remove from pot and shred with two forks.

Saute onions, green pepper, and mushroom until onions are clear.

Pour 1/4 of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish (just a thin layer so the tortillas don't stick to the bottom).

Layer tortillas, veggies, chicken, cheese and beans. Pour enchilada sauce and layer another round of tortillas. Repeat layering until everything is gone. End with tortillas and enchilada sauce (so they stay moist) and top with cheese.

Cover with foil and and bake at 375 for 40-45 min.

My 2 Cents

It really was easy and it turned out great! I opted for green enchilada sauce, because I prefer it over red. I also used jarred red peppers instead of green. (Pause, these peppers are amazing in everything! They are from Trader Joe's and come in a can-sized glass jar. They are in oil, kind of like something that is pickled. They are great on pizza, in pasta, meatball sandwiches, etc. I definitely recommend picking them up.) Last, but not least, I had leftover rotisserie chicken from Costco so I shredded that instead of boiling chicken breast.

Mushrooms are new to my repertoire ... over the last few months I have started trying new foods that I used to not like. Mushrooms are one of the new things I have found an appreciation for. That and burgers! I used to hate burgers and am now in love with a hearty beef patty. Who knew?

Dominic (JanMom, and MarlonDad's) Rating

MarlonDad told me he wasn't just saying he liked them to make me feel good, he actually enjoyed them and had seconds AND plans to take some leftovers for his lunch tomorrow. JanMom and Dominic agreed. Although, Dominic felt the veggie saute was an unfortunate addition. I told him to choke it down and enjoy :)

Week 3: Neely's Baked Ziti

Dominic and I enjoy watching the Neely’s (Patrick and Gina) on The Food Network. I think Dominic likes their cooking because it is very "down home" and hearty. Those are the kind of meals he appreciates most! The Neely's are most loved for their BBQ, for some reason I only think to barbeque in the summer on the grill ... I might need to get out of that box and give one of their BBQ recipes a try in the near future. Might be a fun idea for Dominic for Valentine's Day, hmmm ....

This week I went for the Neely's Baked Ziti recipe. Since I have an Italian last name I feel called to master some Italian dishes. So far, it hasn't gone so well ... I make a mean bruschetta and have a great recipe for crockpot lasagna, but can't seem to get away from jarred pasta sauce. I don't think I'll be a real Italian until I get that under my belt! My father-in-law, Marlon, makes to-die-for chicken parmesan. I'm hoping that he'll gift me the recipe soon! It literally melts in your mouth. He also made manicotti for New Year's which was fantastic ... All that to say, I channeled him and Carmela from the Soprano's as I prepped this dish in my bright orange apron while dancing to the new John Mayer CD, Saturdays are such good days :)

Neely's Baked Ziti

Cook Time: 50 min

Level: Easy

Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

Salt

1 pound ziti

1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage, casing removed

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

6 ounces pesto

15 ounces ricotta cheese

1 (9 ounce) package washed spinach

Butter, for baking dish

2 Cups shredded mozzarella, plus more for topping

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan, plus more for topping

Steps

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add ziti and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander.

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute turkey sausage. Add onion and garlic and saute until the sausage is cooked through. Use your spoon to break up the sausage while it cooks. Add the can of diced tomatoes and pesto and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the ricotta cheese, spinach, Parmesan and mozzarella to a large bowl, and stir to combine.

Butter a 4-quart baking dish, add the cooked pasta, then sausage mixture and cheese mixture. Top with a sprinkling of mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake until completely heated through and golden and crisp on top, about 20 minutes.

My 2 Cents

It has taken me 2 1/2 years to realize that Dominic and I do not need a full portion of any recipe.

No matter how good it is we don't like to eat it one night and have a week's worth of leftovers available to make us sick of the recipe! So, I cut this recipe in half and still ended up with enough to fill a 9x13 baking dish. The only modification I made was spurred by a coupon I had for Jenny-O products. I was at Safeway and they didn't have

hot Italian turkey sausage so I opted for the Italian Style Ground Turkey. The coupon was for $1 off 2 and Safeway had 1 lb. portions on sale 2 for $5. So I got 2 lbs of ground turkey for only $4! It worked out well since I hate to remove sausage casings.

Dominic's Rating

"Good, but too many onions!" So I asked him how often he would like it, "Once a month for sure!" Phewf ... even though the onions were a turn off, turns out it wasn't a deal breaker!

I knew he wasn't going to like the onions so I minced them instead of just chopping ... looks like I didn't fool him :) I love onions so it is always my goal to incorporate them for flavor, but minimize the size so he can't really pinpoint if they are actually in the dish. I'm surprised he didn't balk at the tomatoes and spinach, but by the looks of his plate he was able to choke down those veggies! I've been telling him he needs to start enjoying his veggies, because once we have kids we aren't going to be having "That's gross!" conversations at the dinner table. All foods at least deserve a "thank-you bite".

Week 2: Pizza Dip

I had great aspirations for this week, but as with all resolutions Week 2 lacks the fervor of Week 1. Never fear, I am committed to moving forward :) Even though Dominic requested a Neely recipe our weekend got a bit thrown off, hence, I ended up with a Family Circle appetizer recipe ... PIZZA DIP!

PIZZA DIP

Makes: 6 cups

Prep: 10 min.

Bake: 350 for 30 min.

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup light mayo

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

8 ounces sliced pepperoni, chopped

2 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped

10 large, pitted black olives, chopped

4 cursty Italian rolls, cut into 1/2 in. pieces

Steps

In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayo, mozzarella, pepperoni, tomatoes, and olives. Spoon into 6-cup baking dish.

Bake at 350 for 30 min, until lightly browned and bubbly. Allow to cool slightly and serve with bread pieces for dipping.

My 2 Cents

Very quick and easy. I didn't have olives on hand and we are new fans of pepperoni and pineapple so I swapped those out. Next time I might add a splash of garlic and/or some Italian seasoning.

Dominic's Rating

He loved it! "A great little appetizer," he said. He was also a huge fan of the no olives, lots of pineapple so I guess the pineapple will become a staple once this recipe is logged.

Week 1: Salsa Chicken

I'm determined to add some new recipes to my arsenal during 2010! Every week I am going to experiment with something new; it might be a main dish, a side dish, dessert, a cocktail ... who knows :)

Dominic also wants to rate each recipe, because let's face it ... not every one will be a keeper. I'll give my two cents as well.

I found this recipe for Salsa Chicken in the magazine All You. Their tagline is "Enjoy Life for Less" which sounded like a good way to kick off the New Year. All You mentioned that you could use pepperjack instead of cheddar and/or tomatillo or mango instead of plain salsa.

SALSA CHICKEN

Prep: 5 min. Cook 25 min.

Serves: 4

Cost per serving: $1.72

Ingredients

- 1/2 oz. taco seasoning mix

- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb.)

- 1 cup salsa

- 1 cup shredded cheddar

- 2 T sour cream

Steps

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mist a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place taco seasoning mix and chicken in a ziplock bag and shake to coat, then place chicken in baking dish. Pour salsa over top.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 min., or until chicken is tender and cooked through.

Remove foil, sprinkle chicken with cheese and continue baking until cheese is melted, another 3-5 min. Top with sour cream and serve hot.

My 2 Cents

Bottomline, I would definitely recommend the recipe ... very easy to prepare. My hinderance comes from my own mistake ... when I am in a hurry at the grocery store sometimes I get the wrong thing. In this case ... chicken breast with skin AND bone. That's right ... I had to de-skin and de-bone what felt like a ton of chicken. That then turned my appetite and I actually ate this as a leftover instead of when it was hot.

Dominic's Rating

As is normal, Dominic felt this recipe would be better without the salsa. "WHAT!?!?!" was my response, "That's the whole point of this recipe, a Mexican twist on regular chicken." He was impressed with my de-boning and skinning job (I also expertly removed every ounce of fat) ... he said I was a spittin' image of Ma Ingalls. After his feedback I would guess we'll re-visit this recipe every 6 months or so.