Chicken Florentine Casserole and Kitchen Fatigue

I think I have an illness called "Kitchen Fatigue".  It's a real thing.  Okay, well I saw it on a Burger King ad on my Pinterest page.  Nevertheless, I feel like I really do have it.

With all the restaurants opened, then closed, then open...take out, no wait...you can eat indoors now.  Just kidding...you have to take out again.  It is literally making my head spin!

I find myself struggling for new meal ideas.  Not that there isn't short of one million recipes out there, I'm just getting tired of searching and trying to mix it up...hence the "kitchen fatigue".

I did find this dish in one of my rabbit holes.  It's simply elegant for guests, but easy enough for a week night dinner.  Lots of layers, flavor, and beautiful sauce!  I would have been happy just eating spoonfuls of this sauce alone for dinner.

Have a blessed weekend and continue to stay safe, healthy, and sparkly!

Chicken Florentine Casserole

Courtesy of 365daysofeasyrecipes.com

1 Tbl butter

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 cups fresh baby spinach

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved

1/4 cup butter

1 Tbl minced garlic

1 Tbl lemon juice

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled 

2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded

* Your choice of pasta

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a casserole dish and set aside.

Melt butter in a large frying pan.  Add the sliced mushrooms an cook until tender.  Add the spinach and cook until wilted.  Transfer the mushrooms and spinach to the casserole dish.

Place the sliced chicken breasts over top of the spinach.

In a separate sauce pan, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat.  Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.  Stir in the lemon juice, can of soup, half and half and Parmesan cheese until well combined.  Add basil, oregano, and salt.

Pour the sauce over top of chicken.  Cover with foil.

Bake in oven for about 40 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  Remove the foil and sprinkle bacon pieces on top of the sauce, then add the cheese.  Bake for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is crispy.

While chicken is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta as per package instructions.  Serve the chicken over your pasta.  Cheers!

One Year Ago:  Pork Chops with Raspberry Balsamic Glaze and Blessings

Two Years Ago:  Potatoes au Gratin aka Julia Child's Dauphinoise Potatoes and Red Chicken

Three Years Ago:  Slow Cooker Pork Loin and...Another Woman

Four Years Ago:  No Post

Five Years Ago: No Post

Six Years Ago: Lemon Drop Martini and How To Be A Grown Up

Seven Years Ago:  Birthday Party - Chapter 2 - Pasta Bar and Garlic Knots

Sausage Gravy Breakfast Skillet and Shopping

 

One thing...I had just one thing I needed to pick up at the grocery store for this breakfast dish.  I wanted to get a head start on it and have everything ready on hand in the morning, so I could start an early breakfast for our weekend.

I was going to "just run in really quick" for my potatoes o'brien, while I was out taking care of some errands.  

And then this happened!

It doesn't look like just one thing does it.  One aisle led to another aisle, and so on, and so on.  At this point in my mind, I was "well...okay, here we are, let's do this".

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, as they say, my little sous chef helped me make this awesome breakfast.  Super quick and even better the next day.  Love working with my cast iron skillets, they truly are wonderful.

Sausage Gravy Breakfast Skillet

Adapted from PlainChicken.com

1 (2.75 ounce) package sausage gravy mix, plus water called for on package

1 lb. frozen diced Potatoes O'Brien, thawed

1 lb. Jimmy Dean original Regular pork sausage roll

5 large eggs

1-1/2 cups shredded Fiesta blend cheese

Lawry's season salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink.  Add a pinch of black pepper and Lawry's season salt to the sausage while cooking.  Remove sausage from skillet.

Brown potatoes 5-6 minutes in sausage drippings.  Remove skillet from heat. 

 Add sausage to skillet. 

 Top with shredded cheese.

In a separate bowl, whisk together gravy mix, water,, and eggs.  Pour mixture evenly over potatoes.

Bake 30-40 minutes, or until filling is set in the center.

One Year Ago:  Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Bake

Two Years Ago:  Bourbon and Vanilla Creme Anglaise and Construction

Three Years Ago:  New Year, New You...and a Potato, Bacon, Mushroom and Gorgonzola Pizzette

Four Years Ago: No Post

Five Years Ago: No Post

Six Years Ago:  Pasta Salad with Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes

Seven Years Ago: Birthday Party - Chapter 1 - Pottery and Painting

Beef and Red Wine Stew

When I was in elementary school, our class put on the play "Wizard of Oz".  We all had to audition...it was the 4th grade after all.  I was selected for the part of Wicked Witch of the West.  I was not happy about this decision from the casting director.  In fact I'm quite sure I cried for days, because I wanted to be Glenda the Good Witch of the North.  Performance night came and I put my feelings aside to be the best Wicked Witch ever!

Fast forward, I think I was having flashbacks to the tornado sound effects from our performance night.  We have had wind upon wind storms here this week.

I have lost sleep two nights in a row from the sound of wind gusts everywhere and certain our house was going to blow down.  My poor Traeger took a spill in the wind and ended up half way across the back yard.  I don't even want to think if it's broke or not.  I can't bear the thought about having to purchase a new one...I might cry again!

Since it has been straight up cold here, I have been making warm, toasty, comforting meals.  I stumbled on this while binging Food Network for a few hours last weekend. Giada De Laurentis used lamb stew meat, but lamb is not kind to my stomach, so I used beef stew meat.  WOW was this good!!  I mean really, really amazing.  Never would I had thought of putting olives in a stew...game changer!!  I served it over creamy polenta and took this to a new level.  

Enjoy and stay safe, healthy, and sparkly!

Beef and Red Wine Stew

Adapted from Giada De Laurentis

2 Tbl olive oil

1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

Kosher salt

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

1 onion, diced

2 Tbl all-purpose flour

2 Tbl tomato paste

1-1/2 cups dry red wine

1-1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth

5 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 cup green Cerignola olives, smashed and pits removed

2 Tbl chopped fresh Italian parsley

* Mashed potatoes or crusty bread, for serving

Place a medium Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the oil and heat another 30 seconds.   Dry the beef meat well and sprinkle with 1-1/2 teaspoons salt.  Place the meat in the pot and leave undisturbed for about 4 minutes.  When the first side is deeply browned, us tongs to flip the meat.  Continue to brown the meat for about 4 minutes on each side until the pieces are evenly browned on all sides, about 20 minutes total.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat to a plate.  Add the carrots, celery, garlic and onions.  Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.  

Stir in the flour and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more.  Deglaze with the red wine.  Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often to reduce slightly, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the broth, thyme, bay leaf and reserved meat.  Reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Stir in the olives.  Partially cover the pot, leaving a small opening, and simmer until the meat is completely tender, about 30 minutes more.  Stir in the parsley.

Serve with mashed potatoes or crusty bread to sop up the juices.

One Year Ago:  Construction, Carpet, and Cocktail (Spiked Lemonade)

Two Years Ago:  Beef Bourguignon and Post Holiday Blues

Three Years Ago:  New Year, New You...and a Potato, Bacon, Mushroom and Gorgonzola Pizzette

Four Years Ago:  No Post

Five Years Ago: No Post

Six Years Ago: Orange Olive Oil Cake

Seven Years Ago:  Black and White Parfaits and Tinis and Back To School

Ranch Chicken and Cornbread Waffles

Growing up in Pasadena, The Rose Parade was a time honored tradition every year for my husband and his family.  They would sell parking spots in their front yard to parade goers and offer their home to strangers to spend the night with a sleeping bag on their floor for $5, way before Airbnb was ever a thing.

This year a little different.  No parade.  No magic.  No high school bands who auditioned from all over the country to have their 15 minutes of fame.  No beautiful horses doing their special routines.  Very sad.

Our New Years Day without a doubt was definitely interesting, to say the least.  

We are still in full construction mode, praying for a light at the end (which isn't a train).  Today was insulation day.  I stepped up in my full "Inside Man" movie costume and got to work.

Steve, Stevie, or Steve-O...watch the movie and you'll understand.  It's "Baby A's" top 10 favorite film.

So there I was with 120 batts of insulation that needed to be trimmed to fit into the ceiling framing.  I measured and cut and my "contractor" was up and down the ladder tucking it all in.

By the end of the day I thought I was going to die.  Every inch of my body ached from using tendons and muscles that I didn't know existed at all.

We did it though and very successfully...at least it took our minds off of the no parade day!

My husband picked up this drywall lift on Craigslist.  What a miracle!  I could kiss whoever invented this beauty!!!  It saved my husband so much time, potential injuries, and "discussions" (we'll just leave it at that).

Another historical part of Pasadena is Roscoe's House of Chicken n Waffles.  Roscoe's made Chicken n Waffles famous many, many, many years ago.

I thought it would be fun to make a play on their famous dish.  I made BBQ Ranch Grilled Chicken with a Caesar salad and then...wait for it....my Suzie's Cornbread mixture in the waffle iron!  

Such a fun spin on cornbread!  Enjoy!!

Prepare mixture, per directions.

Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick butter spray.

Pour 1/2 cup of cornbread mixture in waffle iron.

Cook "waffle" until golden brown.  Serve hot.

One Year Ago: Oven Baked Crispy Mashed Potato Cakes

Two Years Ago: The Wedding Dress and Tuxedo Cupcakes

Three Years Ago:  New Year, New You...and a Potato, Bacon, Mushroom and Gorgonzola Pizzette

Four Years Ago:  No Post

Five Years Ago:  No Post

Six Years Ago: Crepes for Cranky Mom

Seven Years Ago:  Black and White Parfaits and Tinis and Back To School

Happy Merry New Year

Dear God,

On this day I ask You to grant this request?

May I know who I am and what I am, every moment of every day.

May I be a catalyst for light and love, and bring inspiration to those whose eyes I meet.

May I have the strength to stand tall in the face on conflict, 

and the courage to speak my voice, even when I'm scared.

May I have the humility to follow my heart, and the passion to live my soul's desires.

May I seek to know the highest truth, and dismiss the gravitational pull of my lower self. 

May I embrace and love the totality of myself?  My darkness as well as my light.

May I be brave enough to hear my heart?  

To let it soften so that I may gracefully choose faith over fear.

Today is my day to surrender anything that stands between the sacredness of my humanity and my divinity.

May I be drenched in my Holiness and engulfed by Your love.

May all else melt away.

And so it is.

-Debbie Ford

Fork and Cork 2020 Favorites

As we prepare to say goodbye to 2020, I was taking a look at the year on "Fork and Cork", and found these were the top 5 favorites of Front Range Fork and Cork's followers recipes this year...I have to admit, they are some of my top favorites as well.  

I'm so glad you all enjoyed these and that I was able to share a little part of my kitchen and home this past year with each and every one of you.  Thank you for joining me in my journey.

I hope that 2021 brings you wonderful blessings, and that you continue to stay healthy, strong and remember...always keep sparkling!

#1 - Roy's Braised Beef Short Ribs, Purple Potatoes and New Plates

#2 - 24 Hour Salad (And To Departure)

#3 - Potatoes au Gratin aka Julia Child's Dauphinoise Potatoes and Red Chicken

#4 - Aurora's Chicken Pepperoni

#5 - The Hobbit's Famous French Sandwich

Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas!

"God of love, Father of all,

 the darkness that covered the earth

 has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh.

 Make us a people of this light.

 Make us faithful to your Word,

 that we may bring your life to the waiting world.

 Grant this through Christ our Lord.

 Amen.”

Wishing you all a peaceful, safe, and healthy 

Merry Christmas!

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Muffins

If you have ever been to an Einstein Brothers Bagel shop, you know the plethora of treats they have in their case on any given day.

I have developed an unhealthy addiction to their Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake.  Luckily they are somewhat small, but oh my goodness, sinfully good!

The good news is that I have found a copycat recipe....the bad news is that I have found a copycat recipe.  Which means, I can make these anytime I want.  They will warm your bones on a chilly holiday sunrise with a hot cup of coffee.  My husband is loving these little beauties!

If you are wanting a special treat for Christmas morning, these will undoubtedly do the trick.  Enjoy!

I highly recommend using these Parchment Lotus cup liners, so that your streusel and chocolate chips stay in place and not all over your oven.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (Muffins)

Courtesy of The Yellow Apron Blog

Makes 8 Regular Size Muffins

Streusel Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup flour

1-1/2 Tbl shortening

1-1/2 Tbl margarine or butter

1/8 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

dash salt

Cake:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 egg whites

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sour cream

1/8 cup corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the Crumb Topping - 

Cut shortening and margarine into flour to make coarse crumbs.

Stir in sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Refrigerator or freezer until ready to use. 

For the Cake - 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place muffin liners in muffin pan, and use non-stick pan spray.

In a bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine egg whites, oil, sour cream, corn syrup, and vanilla.

Combine dry and wet ingredients.  Mix until almost smooth.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way , top with about 1 Tbl of the streusel crumb topping, and sprinkle with 1 Tbl of the chocolate chips.  

Bake 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

One Year Ago: Birthday Weekend

Two Years Ago:  Bang Bang Shrimp and David Benoit

Three Years Ago: No Post

Four Years Ago:  Whipped Shortbread Cookies

Five Years Ago:  Stuffed Mushrooms and Memories

Six Years Ago:  Blueberry-Banana Muffins and Mangers

Seven Years Ago:  Rouladen and Relatives

Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recently my husband went on a boys golf weekend to celebrate one of his friend's milestone birthdays.

Since I was going to be home alone, I invited my two daughters and their friends for a chick-fest-sleepover.

We had such a great time.  Just when I think "this is the best age" to hang with my girls and their friends, a new age comes along and we have even more fun.

We started our evening with some snacks, fine wines, and Prosecco.  Then of course, the inevitable Gourmet Pizzas with a side of Garlic Knots and Pesto Dipping Sauce. We then jumped into our jammies, watched Christmas movies and enjoyed some hot cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps.  Also for dessert, one of the girls made these Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Oh my word!!!  These cookies!!  I just don't know what else to say.  She soared at making these and I'm so happy she shared them with us.

At the end of our evening, since our downstairs guest suites are not complete, I had to take one for the team.  I gave my room to two of the girls, and the other two girls took the guest bedroom.  That left me, Kylo Zen and Princess Brinkley in the office with an air mattress.

The girls were nice enough to blow up the bed and make it up for me and the pups.  I turned off the light and rested my tired body on the temporary bed.  I opened my eyes back up and felt like I was sleeping on an airport runway!

I never realized how many lights are in our office.  Really bright, colorful, little glaring lights.  Everything in our office has some type of light...6 monitors, 2 docking stations, a commercial phone system, 2 backlit keyboards, stereo receiver, wi-fi unit, and on and on.  To add to the glow, the LED string lights I put on both our side yard fences were also making their way through the window coverings as well.

Luckily, I keep a bevy of cardigans, slippers, and shawls in my office.  I had to just start covering what I could to bring that glow down to a manageable enough hue so I could sleep.  Those girls owe me big time!

Make sure to take some time for yourself and enjoy a little sweetness also.

Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Courtesy of Bon Appetit

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 (1.4) ounce chocolate toffee bars (preferably Skor), chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

1-1/2 cups chocolate wafers (disks, pistoles, preferably 72% cacao)

Flaky sea salt

Cook butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 5-8 minutes.  Scrape into a large bowl and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.

Add brown sugar and granulated sugar to browned butter.  Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until incorporated, about 1 minute.  Add eggs and vanilla, increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until mixture lightens and begins to thicken, about 1 minute.  Reduce mixer speed to low; add dry ingredients and beat just to combine.

Mix in toffee pieces and chocolate wafers with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.  Let dough sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes to allow flour to hydrate.  Dough will look very loose at first, but will thicken as it sits.

Place a rack in the middle of oven; preheat to 375 degrees.  Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, portion out balls of dough and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing about 3" apart.  Do not flatten; cookies will spread as they bake.  Sprinkle with seat salt.

Bake cookies until edges are golden brown and firm but centers are still soft, 9-11 minutes.  Let cool on baking sheets 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.  Repeat with remaining dough.

One Year Ago:  Birthday Weekend

Two Years Ago:  Bang Bang Shrimp and David Benoit

Three Years Ago: No Post

Four Years Ago:  Whipped Shortbread Cookies

Five Years Ago: Stuffed Mushrooms and Memories

Six Years Ago:  GGMa's Shrimp and The Gift of Giving

Seven Years Ago: Steak Marsala and Mangers

Pork Fried Rice and Needlepoint Memories

Along with the happiness this time of year, it also does not go without us missing those that are no longer with us.

Recently my mom sent me an ornament that my Grandmother made many, many years ago.  She has been keeping it stored this whole time and it looks like it was made just yesterday.  It reminds me of the "little white church", as everyone refers to, in my hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska.

I am so happy to have this treasure and little piece of her love with me this year.  I am missing her so much and Grandma's special craft made cards she would send every year.

My Grandma and Aunt would always go out for their special dinner during the holidays for Chinese food.  I just loved that tradition they would do every year.  I guess I have been feeling very nostalgic and thinking of her a lot.  I made this Pork Fried Rice...my first time of conquering fried rice from scratch ever.  I think "GGMa" would have really liked this dish.

Pork Fried Rice

Courtesy of Delish.com

2 Tbl vegetable oil, divided

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4" pieces

1/2 lb. ground pork

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbl grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. frozen peas

4 c. cooked white rice

2 Tbl low-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbl hoisin sauce

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tsp sesame oil

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.  Add eggs and let sit for a few minutes before lightly scrambling and folding the egg mixture over itself.  Remove from skillet and set aside.

In the same skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil then add onion and carrot.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender.  Add the ground pork to the skillet and season with salt and pepper, then cook until the pork is no longer pink and is starting to caramelize.  Stir in the ginger, garlic, and peas and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the rice then stir in the soy sauce, hoisin, green onions, and sesame oil.  Toss to combine then fold in scrambled eggs.  Serve immediately.

**Served with honey-lime glazed salmon...incredible!

One Year Ago:  Birthday Weekend

Two Years Ago  Chicken in Tarragon Cream Sauce and Bad Children

Three Years Ago: No Post

Four Years Ago:  Mediterranean Flatbread and Defining A Future

Five Years Ago:  Holly Jolly Buckets and Bark

Six Years Ago:  Traeger Salmon and A Taste of Alaska Bacon Jam

Seven Years Ago:  Almond Joy (To The World) Cookies