Running Mama Cooks

I told you I would be posting about this rice soon!!! OMG, So good!!! If you like pineapple, make this now!

I adapted it slightly (realized at the last minute that I didn't have any onions!!) and served it with grilled chicken marinated in soy sauce, white wine, olive oil, garlic powder and parsley. My Aunt makes it that way and its so yummy.


Thai Pineapple Rice
Adapted from Taste of Home Cooking

1 cup basmati rice, uncooked
1 tbs olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
20 oz can crushed pineapple
Soy sauce and cilantro to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and the jalapeno or red pepper flakes and cook until softened. Add the uncooked rice and coat with oil and shallots. Add broth and pineapple. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover. Allow to simmer for approx 20 minutes until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed. Add a few splashes of soy sauce and a handful of chopped cilantro, stir and then taste. Add more soy or cilantro until it tastes good to you. The rice can be served hot, but it's also great at room temperature.

ZACH'S RATING - ****

Is it hard for you to get your kid to eat veggies? I usually resort to bribes to get Cecily to eat them, but it wasn't necessary with these! She gobbled them up.

They were Allison's idea and they were so good!!! I served them with these turkey burgers .

Zucchini Chips

Ingredients:

1 Zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thin
1 egg
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450

Mix the Parmesan and panko together. Dip zucchini slices in egg and coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Please on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes

ZACH'S RATING - ****

Week 3 of the recipe swap and I got super lucky again! I am sitting here in a major food coma after eating way too many of these delicious and rich potatoes. Saturday nights are usually my splurge night, so this meal was perfect (there will be no weight watchers points for this one!) I served the potatoes with grilled flank steak and steamed asparagus. The only change I made to the original recipe was adding a handful of shredded cheddar to the top of the casserole dish before baking. Added a nice crispy, cheesy crust.

These would be perfect for a special occasion dinner, over the holidays, or just a nice dinner party with friends. And it gave me the perfect excuse to buy a mandolin slicer which I have been wanting for awhile!

The theme this week was side dishes. I shared the recipe for caramelized green beans.

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes
Recipe very slightly adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

4 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 onion, sliced into rings
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, plus more

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 1 quart casserole dish.

2.Layer 1/2 of the potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with the onion slices, and add the remaining potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds. Pour cheese over the potatoes, and sprinkle with a handful of cheddar.

4.Bake covered for 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven.

ZACH'S RATING - **** 1/2

I love having the chance to entertain during the holidays, especially having our great friends the Maizels and Lucianos over. This tradition started 3 years ago when the "big kids" were only 2 1/2. I cannot believe how much our families have grown! Next year there will be another place at our table since Allison is having another little girl in a little over a week!

This was the perfect excuse to take out my good china and crystal and set a beautiful table. I served baked chicken, mashed potatoes, baked acorn squash, and caramelized green beans. Everything came out great, if I do say so myself :)

Here is the acorn squash, the only new recipe I used. Really festive and delicious.
Baked Acorn Squash
Recipe from Paula Deen

Ingredients:


The Big kids, so grown up compared to last year!

First apples, then pumpkin, and now squash. Its my third fall cooking obsession. I made this last week with chicken cutlets. They were so good, I could eat them like candy. I popped one in Cecily's mouth before she had a chance to argue and she ended up eating a whole serving.

Caramelized Butternut Squash
Recipe from food.com, by way of Beantown Baker

Ingredients:

1 lb butternut squash
1.5 tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat oven to 400°F.

Peel squash and chop into large pieces.

Combine squash, butter, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss.

Pour squash out onto a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for about an hour or until browned.

ZACH'S RATING - *****

I usually make a dessert for Thanksgiving but this year I decided to contribute a side dish. I came across this recipe on the Beantown Baker and had to try it. I love spinach and I love squash, how could I go wrong?

It was really unique and delicious. I will definitely be making this again. It was a lot of prep work, but easy to put together once all the chopping was down. The only change I would make next time is to add more pecans, possibly double what the recipe calls for.

Butternut Squash and Spinach Bake
Recipe from Beantown Baker

Ingredients:

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 6 cups)
10 oz fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions, trimmed, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups)
1 cup whole or low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1/2 cup bread crumbs, toasted
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup pecans, toasted
2 cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking dish or 4-quart casserole.

Place 3 quarts water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the squash to the water, return to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. The squash will turn a deeper orange. Add spinach to squash and boil one more minute. Drain squash and spinach and set aside.

Melt the butter in the stockpot and add the oil. Add the onions and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent and limp, about 8 minutes, stirring to prevent browning. Add the warm squash and the buttermilk, eggs, thyme, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, 1/8 cup pecans and 1 1/3 cups cheese. Blend with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients are well combined.

Spread the mixture evenly in the baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining 1/8 cup pecans and 2/3 cup cheese. Bake 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

And now some holiday pictures!

The table at my Aunts house, Thanksgiving #1 for 48!!

Me and the kids

Zach and I

This awesome side dish from Our Best Bites was a big hit tonight. My friend Ryan who doesn't like green beans cleaned his plate and thought they were awesome. Can't wait to make them again!!

Caramelized Green Beans
Adapted from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh green beans
4 oz prosciutto, thickly sliced and cubed
1/2 red onion, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
olive oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

Directions:

Begin frying the prosciutto in a large skillet. Start boiling a large pot of water. Place beans in a colander and rinse them well. Then snap the ends off and snap them in half.

Prepare the sauce by mixing sugar, soy sauce, and salt in a small bowl

Add onions and garlic to skillet

Add beans to boiling water. Place colander in a clean sink. Boil for one minute; you're not cooking them until they're done, just blanching them to take the edge off. Meanwhile, stir the onions and garlic so they don't scorch. After one minute, drain beans in the colander in the sink.

Once beans have been drained, add them to the onions and garlic. Stir fry 2-3 more minutes.

Give your sauce a quick stir and then pour on top of the beans. Keep stir-frying until the beans get kind of glazy. Stir fry for another 2 minutes. Keep stir frying until the sauce sticks to the beans and the prosciutto. Transfer to a serving dish and allow to stand a few minutes so the beans cool down a bit and the glaze thickens up a little.

A closer look at the beans

Served with grilled flank steak that I marinated in Wegman's Teriyaki marinade. SOOO good.

Seriously delicious. And easy. Might be my new go to appetizer.

Fettunta with Prosciutto
adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:

6 slices good French boule, sliced 3/4-inch thick
1 to 2 plump garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup good extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 ounces thickly sliced prosciutto, minced
1 1/2 ounces finely grated smoked mozzarella or good Parmesan
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
10 large basil leaves

Directions:

Heat oven to broil

Toast the bread on a baking sheet under the broiler until golden. Remove the bread from the oven and immediately rub the garlic cloves over the top of the bread's surface. For really garlicky fettunta, rub hard and use both cloves of garlic. Drizzle a generous tablespoon or more of olive oil over each slice of bread.

Combine the prosciutto, cheese, basil and parsley in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over each slice of bread. Return the bread to the broiler and cook the fettunta just long enough to melt the cheese and rewarm the toast a bit, about 1 minute. Serve hot.

ZACH'S RATING - *****

Our first veggies from the garden this year!! I can't take much credit at all, I have a black thumb, Zach is the gardener in the family. He grilled up these awesome zucchinis tonight, marinaded in the balsamic tomato dressing Ive blogged about a few times. SOOOO good!!!

I made this quick pasta as a side dish to tilapia tonight. It was a nice, light sauce and the fresh tomatoes and zucchini were really yummy.

Fresh tomato and zucchini bow tie pasta
A Running Mama Cooks Original Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 lb bowtie pasta ( I used Barilla Plus)
8 cloves garlic
Olive oil
16 baby roma tomatoes, cut into half
2 zucchini, cut into chunks
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Handful Parmesan cheese, plus more for the table


Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt water and add bow tie pasta.

Coat bottom of a medium sized pan generously with Olive oil. Heat over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, be careful not to burn. Add zucchini and cook for a few minutes, until tender. Add tomatoes, white wine, red pepper flakes, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer until pasta is cooked. Stir in bow ties and toss with Parmesan cheese.

Today was all about culinary challenges for me. I've never made risotto and have honestly been a little intimidated by it. Well, it was not that hard, but definitely a little tedious. The end result? Totally worth it. Super delicious and I really loved this flavor combination. This recipe, from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations, was excellent. I can see using the base recipe and adding any flavor combo I feel like, which Mary Ellen has done throughout her blog.

I am officially a big risotto fan! It was the perfect compliment to my Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Risotto with Roasted Red Pepper and Baby Spinach
From Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

Ingredients

•1 tbsp butter
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 shallot, chopped
•2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
•Optional: a few dashes of red pepper flakes
•1 c arborio rice
•1/4 c dry white wine
•5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version)
•1 roasted red pepper, chopped (to roast, put over an open flame until all of the skin is charred. Put in a bowl covered with plastic to sweat the skin off. After 10 minutes, peel the skin to reveal your beautiful roasted red pepper)
•1 c fresh baby spinach
•3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions

•Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan
•Add shallots and garlic (and red pepper flakes); stir until tender, about 2 minutes.
•Add arborio rice and stir until coated
•Add the white wine and stir until absorbed
•Add the chicken broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Add more broth only when all of the broth in the pan has been absorbed by the rice. This entire process takes anywhere from 17 to 25 minutes.
•Near the end, stir in the spinach and red peppers.
•When you add your final ladle of broth, add the cheese.
•Serve immediately.

This meal is a staple for us in the winter, I can't believe how long its been since I've made it! The flavor combo on the chicken is so delicious. My friend Leslie makes her chicken the same way and she turned me onto it a few years ago.

I washed split breasts and placed them into a baking dish. Squeezed a half a lemon on top and sprinkled generously with Paprika and Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb. Then I add a drizzle of olive oil and dot the skin with a teeny bit of butter.

I baked it a bit differently this time and was really pleased with how juicy they were. For the first 10 minutes I put them in on 450 and then dropped the temp down to 350 for 45 minutes more. They were perfect!

All ready for the oven:

My side dishes were also really good and very easy. We love mashed butternut squash. Just boil water and then add in pre-cut and washed squash. Cook for 15-20 mins until fork tender.

This week has been so busy that this is the first meal I've made all week that has been "blog worthy," and boy was it!! Felt good to be able to take my time and prepare a really nice meal after a bunch of quick dinners all week.

Zach braved the freezing cold weather to grill us some Rib Eye steaks (marinated in Italian dressing) and I made Twice Baked Potatoes, a food network recipe, and Ina Garten's Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli
that I watched her make on Barefoot Contessa the other day. Both side dishes were winners!

Twice Baked Potatoes
Food Network Kitchens

Ingredients

4 large russet potatoes, each about 3/4 pound each, scrubbed and dried
2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup sour cream
1 scallion, finely chopped
Freshly grated nutmeg, optional
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the potatoes directly on the rack in the center of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Pierce each potato in a couple spots with a fork and continue to bake until tender, about 30 minutes more. Remove potatoes from the oven, and turn the heat down to 375 degrees F.

Hold the potato with an oven-mit or towel, trim off the top of the potatoes to make a canoe-like shape. Reserve the tops. Carefully scoop out most of the potato into a bowl. Take care to leave enough potato in the skin so the shells stay together. Mash the potato lightly with fork along with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the butter and sour cream. Stir in the scallion, nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. (I also added some cheddar cheese into the potato mixture) Season the skins with salt and pepper.

Refill the shells with the potato mixture mounding it slightly. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the potato filling. Brush the reserved top with the remaining butter and season with salt and pepper.

Set the potatoes and lids on a baking sheet, and bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.


Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli
Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Ingredients

4 to 5 pounds broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.

I cut this recipe in half. It was so tasty with all the different flavors. I've never seen Cecily eat so many vegetables!

I saw this recipe in A Year of Slowcooking blog and thought it would be a great thing to make since I love applesauce so much. An easy healthy snack to have on hand. Plus I am making pork chops tonight and thought it would be a nice addition to that meal! I used 6 honey crisp apples and adjusted the recipe accordingly.

Crockpot Applesauce

Ingrediants

This makes enough for 4 people. If you would like to freeze or can, use more apples.

--4 large apples, skinned ,cored, and cut in quarters
--juice from 1 lemon
--1/2 tsp cinnamon
--1 tsp vanilla
--1 T brown sugar
--1/4 cup H20

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart crockpot for the applesauce.
Skin, core, and cut your apples into quarters. Plop the pieces into your crockpot. Add the juice from the lemon, and the water. Pour in the vanilla (I used imitation--we were out of the good stuff), and add the cinnamon and brown sugar.
Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When the apples are super tender, mash with a potato masher or large fork. My apples were very tender after 6 hours, and I used a fork.

All the ingrediants in the crockpot ready to go: