Lemon Meringue Pie

The Recipe

Courtesy of: allrecipes.com

1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 cups water
2 lemons, juiced and zested
2 tbsp butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 pie crust, baked (see the Cherry Pie recipe posted August 15, 2013 for a pie crust recipe)
4 egg whites
6 tbsp white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

To make lemon filling, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, corn starch, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Stir in water, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil.

Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture.  Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly, until thick.

Pour filling into baked pastry shell.

To make the meringue, whip egg whites in a large glass or metal bowl, until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Review

Do we really need to review this? I think it's obvious that lemon meringue pie is amazing, and this homemade version is no exception! This pie actually got better the longer it sat in the fridge, which wasn't very long! So with the summer months coming up, try a cool slice of this amazing pie!

Chicken and Bacon Waffles

The Recipe

Courtesy of: Food Network Magazine - March 2014 Issue

For the waffles:
16 slices bacon
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
Kosher salt
3 large eggs plus 1 egg white
3 cups buttermilk, plus more if needed
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Cooking spray

For the chicken:
3 cups peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1.5-inch wide strips
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Maple syrup, for serving

Make the waffle batter; Dice 10 bacon slices; cook in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Add the remaining 6 bacon slices to the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, 9 to 11 minutes. Remove the paper towels; reserve the drippings in the skillet.

Combing the flour, backing powder, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl. Whisk the whole eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter in a separate bowl, then whisk into the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the cooked dived bacon. Transfer 2 cups of the batter to a separate large bowl for the chicken; reserve the remaining batter for the waffles.

Make the chicken: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Add the peanut oil to the skillet with the reserved bacon drippings; heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees. Add the thyme, paprika, and cayenne to the 2 cups waffle batter; add up to 2 tbsp buttermilk if the batter is too thick. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper, then toss with the flour. Add the chicken to the batter and set aside until ready to fry.

Set a rack on a baking sheet. Working in batches, remove the chicken from the batter, letting the excess drip off, then fry until golden brown, 2 minutes per side; transfer to the rack and reason with salt. Transfer to the oven and bake until no longer pink in the middle, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the waffles: spray a waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat. Whisk the egg white in a bowl until soft peaks form; fold into the reserved waffle batter. Ladle 1/2 to 1 cup batter into the waffle iron for each waffle and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Serve with the fried chicken, bacon slices, and top with maple syrup.

Tips/Tweaks

Keeping it Healthy

This recipe has a pretty large (supposedly makes 6 servings) and unhealthy waffle batter. We used our favorite waffle recipe, which can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/waffle-of-insane-greatness-recipe.html
The "Waffles of Insane Greatness" batter does make less than the above recipe, so we only used 1 cup of the batter for the chicken and only about 1 lb of presliced chicken tenders.

Another thing we did to try and make this recipe a little healthier was to pan fry the chicken instead of deep frying it. We used olive oil and pan fried the chicken until it was crispy, then baked it according to the above recipe.

Review

This was Sarah's first experience of chicken and waffles, something she had wanted to try for a long time. Well, it was a success! We both loved the addition of the bacon, who wouldn't? We were a little skeptical about using the batter to coat the chicken, but it was a very nice way to maintain the sweeter side of waffles with the savoriness of the chicken. Perfect combination!

Pasta with Bacon and Leeks

The Recipe

Courtesy of: Food Network Magazine - March 2014 Issue

Kosher salt
12 oz mezzi rigatoni (or other short pasta)
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 bunch leeks (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced, and rinsed well
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
Chopped fresh parsley, for topping

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; pour off all but 1 tbsp of the drippings from the skillet. 

Add the leeks to the drippings in the skillet. Season with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook until it begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.

Add the pasta to the skillet along with the parmesan, half of the backon, and 1/2 tsp pepper; toss to coat, adding enough of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen. 

To serve, top with the remaining bacon, more parmesan, and parsley.

Tips/Tweaks

Keeping it Healthy

Although the recipe calls for heavy cream, half and half works just as well. We also always use whole grain or whole wheat pasta. The Barilla whole grain pasta tastes just like normal pasta, if you are worried about trying that. And as always with bacon, we use low-sodium bacon.

Review

This recipe was very easy to prepare and therefore, a wonderful weeknight meal idea. The use of heavy cream and bacon drippings is actually not as rich as the recipe makes it sound. We definitely would recommend this recipe.

Hamburger Pie

The Recipe

Courtesy of: Joshua mom, Kris Ericson

1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
12-16 oz frozen green beans
1 can condensed tomato soup
salt and pepper
mashed potatoes
cheddar cheese

Brown meat and onion. Drain. Salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 12-16 oz package frozen green beans. Mix soup with one can of water. Stir into meat mixture. Heat until beans are cooked to desired doneness. While cooking, prepare 4 servings of mashed potatoes (leftovers work well). Mix potatoes a bit dry. Drop spoonfuls onto meat mixture. Garnish with cheddar cheese. Serve promptly.

Tips/Tweaks

Keeping it Healthy

Whenever a recipe calls for ground beef, we always substitute a lean beef/turkey ground mixture (found at Festival Foods). We also use reduced sodium tomato soup.

Tips

If your looking to save some time, use pre-made mashed potatoes, like Bob Evans brand, found in the refrigerated section. You can also brown the meat ahead of time.

Review

We both forgot how good this meal is that when we made it, we made it twice in one week. It makes for great leftovers (or lunch during the week). This has been a recipe that Joshua's mom has made for many years and I'm sure it'll be a go to meal for our family as well.

French Onion Salisbury Steak

The Recipe

Courtesy of: Cuisine at Home Magazine

For the steak:
1.25 lb ground chuck
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tbsp minced scallions
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp all-purpose flour

For the sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups sliced onions
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
minced fresh parsley
shredded parmesean

For the cheese toasts:  
4 slices italian baguette, cut diagonally (1/2-inch thick)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Pinch of paprika
1/4 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 tbsp shredded Parmesan

Combine ground chuck, 1/4 cup parsley, scallions, salt, and pepper. Divide evenly into four portions and shape each into 3/4 to 1-inch thick oval patties. Place 2 tbsp flour in a shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour. Reserve 1 tsp flour. Heat oil in a saute pan over medium-high. Add patties and saute 3 minutes on each side, or until browned. Remove from pan.

Add onions and sugar to pan; saute 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste; saute until paste begins to brown, 1 minutes. Sprinkle mixture with reserved flour; cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, wine, salt, and thyme. Return meat to pan; bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the cheese toasts. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place bread on a baking sheet. Combine butter, garlic, and paprika; spread on one side of each slice of bread. Combine cheeses and sprinkle evenly over butter. Bake until bread is crisp and cheese is bubbly, 10-15 minutes.

Serve steaks on the cheese toasts with onion sauce ladled over. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan. 

Tips/Tweaks

Keeping it Healthy

Whenever a recipe calls for ground beef, we always substitute a lean beef/turkey ground mixture (found at Festival Foods). We also will use reduced fat cheeses, and did for this recipe. 

Review

We love french onion soup, so this recipe was a playful way of having a hearty meal with the delicious soup. The french onion flavor really cooks into the steaks to enhance the flavor. In the future, we may cube the toasted bread so that it's a little bit easier to eat. This is a very delicious meal and we definitely plan to make it again.

Tricolor Salad Pizzas

The Recipe

Courtesy of: Food Network Magazine - January/February 2014 Issue

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese
3/4 lb store-bought whole-wheat pizza dough, at room temperature
1 tbsp cornmeal
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
Freshly ground pepper
1 small head radicchio
2 heads endive
1 cup grape tomatoes
4 cups baby arugula
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Finely grate the parmesan and thinly slice the mozzarella. Cut the pizza dough into 4 pieces. Sprinkle a work surface with the cornmeal and use a rolling pin and/or your hands to stretch each piece of dough into a rectangle, about 5 by 11 inches; place 2 rectangles on each baking sheet.

Brush the dough with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, then distribute 4 tablespoon-size dollops of the ricotta onto each rectangle. Scatter with the mozzarella slices, then sprinkle evenly with the grated parmesan and 1/4 tsp pepper. Bake until the cheese is melted and the dough is browned, about 12 minutes.

While the pizzas are cooking, thinly slice the radicchio and endive and halve the tomatoes. Toss in a large bowl with the arugula, the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Top each pizza with about 1.5 cups salad. Serve immediately.

Tips/Tweaks

Keeping it Healthy

Instead of buying fresh mozzarella, we buy Sargento's reduced fat shredded mozzarella. It tastes just as great and is a little more healthy for you. Also, instead of using all olive oil, we use walnut oil.

Slight Changes

Joshua is a sucker for warmed tomatoes, so he preferred to put the tomatoes on the pizza before baking.

Tips

If you are wondering where to find the pizza dough, or what to use, for you local folks - we use Festival brand whole-wheat pizza dough, which you can find in the bakery. This makes the recipe extremely easy to make. Otherwise, making a quick pizza dough is not that difficult either. Just don't use the pop-n-fresh dough.

Review

We made this recipe twice in one week - that's right, TWICE! It is in the Food Network magazine issue about light cooking, so it's wonderful to be able to eat a pizza that is somewhat good for you! This recipe is very simple and extremely delicious, and I'm sure it's now a staple in our typical recipes to refer to.

Red Velvet Puppy Chow

The Recipe 

Courtesy of: www.yourcupofcake.com

5 cup Rice Chex cereal

3/4 cups white chocolate melts or chips

1/4 cups chocolate melts or chips

2 oz cream cheese, room temp

1.5 tbsp milk

1 cup Red Velvet Cake mix

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Valentines colored M&M's or other candies

Heart sprinkles for extra decoration and cute-ness

 

Measure out the Rice Chex cereal and place into a large bowl. Place cake mix and powdered sugar into a large plastic bag or tupperware with a lid.

 

Melt chocolates together in the microwave or on the stove top. Careful not to burn and stir until smooth. 

 

 

Stir in cream cheese and milk (the chocolate will get thicker, but it's okay.

 

 

Pour chocolate over Rice Chex cereal and stir until coated. 

 

 

Dump cereal into the bag or tupperware with powdered sugar and cake mix. Shake, shake, shake until coated.

 

 

Dump onto a cookie sheet and let cool.

 

 

Mix with extra colorful candies and serve! Note that because of the cream cheese, keep in the fridge if you won't be eating them that day. You can also omit the cream cheese all together if you wish...if you do that, you don't need the milk either! 

Review

The Valentine's Day twist on a classic recipe is perfect for a winter snack. It didn't turn out as pink as the picture on the website, but it tastes great! We will be making this in the future for parties or just for us around the holiday!