Dinner for 2

We typically don't have a huge celebration for Valentine's Day.  While I think it's imporant to recognize the one you love and celebrate your togetherness, I don't think it requires an expensive dinner, jewelery and dozens of roses.  I'm perfectly happy making a meal with Jeremy and enjoying a quiet dinner at home!  Which is exactly what we did!!!!

Dinner for Two Menu

Butter Chicken

Broccolini

Rice

Molten Lava Cakes

with Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream

I found the recipe for Butter Chicken on the Tasty Kitchen website- they have great recipes.  I really liked the butter chicken and it's pretty simple to prepare, but lots of the reviews said "best chicken ever" and I don't think I would go that far.  But very tasty nonetheless!

You can find the recipe for Butter Chicken here!

If you haven't tried broccolini, you're really missing out.  It's more delicate and tender than regular broccoli.  It is often mistakenly referred to as baby broccoli, but it's actually a hybrid between broccoli and a Chinese broccoli.  I'll spare you the specifics!  You should definitely give it a try!  It's available in most stores (if I can find it in OKC, you should be able to find it, too!).  I roasted it and used a sauce with garlic, dijon mustard, and balsamic vinegar.  Yum!

Let's move on to the real star of this show!  Dessert!

This recipe came straight from Mrs. Paula Deen.  I think you're gonna love it!  I substituted Bailey's Irish Cream for the Grand Marnier, because a) that's what I had at my house and b) I don't like orange and chocolate together.  I think it turned out well, so feel free to use one of your favorite "flavorings."

 Molten Lava Cakes

6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange liqueur

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.

I baked mine just a tad too long- they could have been a little gooey-er, but still delicious!  And the vanilla ice cream is the perfect compliment!!!

I thought we looked a little sleepy in this pic . . .

Ah, much better.

Hope you had a lovely Valentine's!!!

You are what you eat. For example, if you eat garlic you're apt to be a hermit. ~Franklin P. Jones

If you love bruschetta and garlic, you'll really like this dinner! The recipe is very simple and I thought it was good. Jeremy had seconds, which usually means that he is a fan! You probably have most of the items in your pantry or fridge. I didn't make very many modifications. But be prepared, you might not want to make this on a "date" night.

Dinner tonight- ceasar salad and bruschetta chicken bake.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

(original recipe here)

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Place tomatoes in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside.
PLACE chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture.
BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

E’s Notes:

• I used chicken stock instead of water.
• I seasoned chicken with salt and pepper and I used some Italian seasoning and basil.
• I used petite diced tomatoes.

Quick & Easy

I saw this recipe on the Food Network and I thought it looked pretty good. It's so easy!!! I know I say that about a lot of recipes, but if you're reading this blog at 4:30 today, you have plenty of time to serve this for dinner tonight at 6:00. It's also a great recipe for leftover chicken. The recipe calls for 1 lb. of penne, but I had a little bit of 3 different pastas, so I just threw them all in there together. Still tastes the same! This has very simple ingredients, but it's a very flavorful dish and relatively healthy. Although pasta isn't necessarily always the healthiest choice, it doesn't have a sauce and the boneless, skinless chicken breasts are lean.

Dinner tonight- easy lemon pasta with chicken

Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken

(from FoodNetwork)

1 pound dried penne
2 chicken cutlets, cut into fingers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain well.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan over medium high and add chicken. Grill until golden and completely cooked. Remove to a plate and slice.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to a saute pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute until fragrant. Add the cooked pasta and turn heat off. Mix all together. Remove pasta to a large bowl. Add chicken to the warm pasta and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in chopped parsley. Add the juice of 2 lemons and mix. Before serving top with Parmesan.

E’s Notes:

• Even if you are a little shy about using red pepper flakes, you definitely need to use them in this recipe. It’s just a little kick at the end of every bite!


• You could use leftover chicken.The parsley isn’t really necessary- it just looks pretty, but all the other ingredients really make this delicious!


• I put 4-5 whole garlic cloves in the olive oil with the red pepper flakes. Then, I removed the cloves before adding the pasta to the oil. It still had a garlic flavor, but it wasn’t over powering.

As I was finishing up the dishes, I realized that I could not hear Ivy or see her. That's a very bad sign! I was pretty sure she was upstairs, but normally, when she's upstairs, she's chasing a ball around and that is clearly audible. I start up the stairs and in the distance, I hear a licking sound. I round the corner into the bathroom . . .

By now, Ivy has probably licked the entire tub. I have no idea why she enjoys that. I'm sure there is a little water leftover from the shower I had earlier, but she has a completely full bowl of water downstairs. Crazy dog!

All is well that ends well . . .

We got off to a very rough start this morning. Jeremy had a little work luncheon today and he was supposed to bring an appetizer and dessert. With all the cleaning and organizing yesterday, I didn't have time to make anything, so I decided I would start cooking this morning and bring it up to his office a little before lunch time.


I got up while Jeremy was getting ready and I started getting the ingredients out to make brownies, and then, I took Ivy out for a little walk. While I was outside with Ivy, Jeremy kissed me goodbye and left for work. Ivy and I headed back inside, so I could start the baking BUT . . . the door was locked!!! In following his normal routine, Jeremy walked out of the house and locked the door behind him. (He has been in trouble a few times when I've headed into the living room to find one or more doors unlocked)


Jeremy was too far down the road for me to try to run after him, so I had to try to find a neighbor at home. Let's also take this opportunity to mention that I looked like I had just rolled out of bed- pj tank top on, glasses, no makeup and crazy bedhead (not the cute, trendy bedhead, either!). I found a neighbor at home and called Jeremy on his cell phone- no answer, work phone- no answer. I finally tried his cell again and he answered. He was already half way to work!

Ivy and I sat and waited on our little porch. After several minutes, Jeremy let us back inside, so I could start on the brownies (again) when I saw a little silver shiny HP laptop. That's right- Jeremy's work computer. I called him and said- forget something?!?! So I put Ivy in the car and drove up to Jeremy's office and dropped off his laptop. I rushed back home and started on the brownies.


I made brownies and sweet chicken bacon wraps. I had to drive them back up to Jeremy's office- I was a little late. Too bad gas is $4 a gallon!!!

Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Brownies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
(Original recipe here)

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons water
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

COMBINE granulated sugar, butter and water in large bowl. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; stir into sugar mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread into prepared baking pan.

BAKE for 18 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into bars

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a saucepan melt 1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool. In a small bowl stir together two 3 ounce packages softened cream cheese and ½ cup sifted powdered sugar. Stir in melted chocolate until smooth.

I was exhausted before noon! The frosting on my brownies looks a little cracked, because I had to put them in the freezer to speed up the cooling. Everything turned out well!

No Use Crying Over Spilled - - - Saffron Rice

Tonight I was preparing dinner and I cut open my package of saffron rice, I grated the lemon zest right inside the package (so clever- I thought). I was waiting for the chicken stock/ water to come to a boil. Somehow in all my preparations, I knocked over the open package of rice. Rice went everywhere! Of course, Ivy was right there to start licking up the numerous grains of uncooked saffron rice. I don't think uncooked rice is on the list of "don'ts for dogs", but I didn't really think it could be healthy. So I put her into the living room and put up the baby gate. She immediately jumped onto the back of our couch, so she could watch me clean up the mess. As I'm vacuuming, sweeping, and swiffering up all the rice, the pot of chicken stock boils over in a major way. So now, chicken stock is all over my cook top. Awesome. I move the chicken stock and turn off the burner. I finally get everything cleaned up, but dinner was a little late!

This was originally a Rachael Ray recipe and as I go over the changes I made, I realized that it hardly resembles the original recipe. However in the past, I made the dish with shrimp and used RR's marinade and it was delicious. This just worked better for me tonight.

Spanish Shrimp and Chorizo with Sweet Pea Couscous
(I really should have renamed it- Cajun Chicken and Andouille with Sweet Pea Saffron Rice)

1/4 cup (about a handful) parsley, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (eyeball it), divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Package of boneless, skinless chicken breast
Package of saffron rice (see pic for the type I used)
1 tablespoon butter
5 cups chicken stock, divided (or what packaged rice calls for)
1 cup frozen peas
Package of andouille sausage, sliced
Cajun seasoning

Cut chicken breast into 1 inch cubes and season with cajun seasoning.
Combine the chicken stock, and lemon zest in a medium-size sauce pot. Note- packaged rice will call for water, using chicken stock will give the dish more flavor (I used a combo- 4 cups chicken stock, 1 1/3 cups water). Cover and place over high heat to bring up to a boil. Once boiling, add the packaged rice. Follow cooking directions on package of rice. When cooked, add the peas and let them warm through.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO. Add the chicken and cook, stirring every now and then for about 4-5 minutes. Add the andouille and cook another 4-5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sausage is brown. Add rice into meat mixture and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

** Tip- do not open packaged rice until ready to add to boiling water/ stock.