Lemon Cheese Logs (by Dessert Diva)

Today was our annual Diva Cookie Day! We made hundreds of cookies to share. The following is a recipe for cookies I made at last year's Cookie Day. These are a favorite in my house during the holidays. I grew up making these with my mom and sister. I have absolutely no idea where the recipe originated, but they are absolutely delicious!

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
3 oz. cream cheese
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. lemon rind
6 oz. chocolate chips
Sprinkles

Directions
Combine first 3 ingredients. Cream until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk; beat well. Stir in flour, nuts, salt and lemon rind; mix well. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Shape into 2 inch logs; place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Dip half of the cookie into melted chocolate and immediately decorate with sprinkles.

Yield: 12 dozen

Paula Deen's Chicken and Rice Casserole

I am the queen of efficiency!

Ok, not really. Things just worked out really well for me this month. Not only was this recipe the October Cookbook Club recipe (chosen by my fellow MCHS alum, Molly) but the theme of DTD this month was comfort food.

This recipe is definitely comfort food! The ingredients were simple, the preparation easy, and the outcome was delicious. I'll admit that I was a little nervous about adding water chestnuts to a casserole, but it adds a whole new dimension of texture.

I'll be adding this recipe to my regular rotation!

Oh! And it's pretty too! You'll have to trust me on this one. I totally forgot to take a picture before we scarfed this one down. My apologies.

Ingredients:
3 cups diced, cooked chicken
1 medium onion, diced and sauteed
1 - 8oz can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 - 14 oz cans french cut green beans, rinsed and drained
1 - 4 ounce jar of pimentos, rinsed and drained
1- 10.5 ounce can condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup mayo
1- 6oz box of Uncle Ben's long-grain and wild rice, cooked according to directions on the box
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese


Prep:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 3 quart casserole dish.
3. Bake for 25 minutes.

WARNING! This recipe makes ALOT of casserole! It can easily serve 6-8 people. I halved the recipe for DTD and it was still plenty for 3-4 people.

Pizza Casserole

This is my "comfort food" for this month. Its super easy and super delicious. When you use healthy/lean/low-fat products, it's not TOO bad for you :-) Because my grocery store had NO meat, my DTDs got extra fancy, ground ANGUS. That's how we roll up in here ;-) Enjoy!

Pizza Casserole

1 ½ Lbs ground beef
1 oz package of spaghetti noodles (or other pasta)
1 can Cheddar Cheese soup
1 jar pizza sauce
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350°

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Brown beef and drain fat.

In a large bowl combine cooked pasta, cooked beef, cheese soup, pizza sauce, and cheddar cheese. Mix until thoroughly combined. Place in 9 x 13 pan. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 40-45 min, or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

Slow-Cooked Chili (from Dessert Diva)

I know, I know...I've been M.I.A. for quite some time now. I've been just a tad bit busy...being sick. You see, our next Baby Diva is due at the beginning of April and so far, pregnancy has not agreed with me. Now that I'm beginning to feel better, I hope to start posting more recipes!

I'll start with the recipe for the meal I'm taking to our next Supper Club on Monday...slow-cooked chili. What better way to celebrate fall and football season than cozying up with a nice, hot bowl of chili?

Ingredients
2 lbs. ground beef
2 - 16 oz. cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 - 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
8 oz. tomato sauce
2 onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Directions
Brown beef in a nonstick skillet; place in slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover; cook on high 4 hours or on low 8-10 hours. Garnish with cheese or whatever makes it a great bowl of chili to you!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake (aka...Autumn in a Loaf)

I love the word loaf. Good things come in loaves. I enjoy loafing around the house. So I was super excited to see that my first Cake Slice Bakers recipe was for a pumpkin chocolate chip pound cake...in the form of a loaf!!

What is Cake Slice Bakers you ask? Well its a somewhat "secret society" of bloggers who work out of one cake cookbook a year and one recipe a month. On the 20th of each month, we reveal our recipes on our blog. So drumroll please.....

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake!!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Prep:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the inside of a 9x5 loaf pan.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg
in a medium mixing bowl.
- Comine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric
mixer on medium high speed until fluffy.
- With the mixer on medium, add the eggs one at a time. Stir in the pumpkin,
vanilla, and milk.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time until well
combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
- Bake until firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean...about an hour (mine
took about an hour and 15 min.)
- Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack, flip back over and let
cool all the way.


Taaaaaaadaaaaaaa!

I loved preparing this cake! My entire house was filled with the smells of fall. It turned out to be a beautiful orange color with delicious chocolate bites throughout.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This was my contribution to DTD this month. Its a lighter version of the fried sweet and sour chicken you get from the asian take out establishments.

Ingredients:
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup sliced green bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Preparation:
1. Brown chicken in oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion and garlic and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and soy sauce and mix together; pour mixture into the skillet, along with the pineapple and liquid, vinegar, sugar and ginger. Stir together and bring to a full boil.

Serve over rice.

Beef Tenderloin Bites on a Bed of Arugula

Guess who's back, back again? Saucy's back, tell a friend...

First of all, my apologies for my lack of posting lately. School started, camera broke, stuff happens. In my efforts to be a regular poster and not get the diva boot, I joined a cookbook club. It is a collection of wonderful bloggers that all make the same recipe once a month and blog about it. This month we are cooking from a Rachel Ray book and the recipe is Italian stuffed shells (pssst, Saucy, look at the title of the post, there are no mention of a stuffed shell). I know. I've been a little stuffed shelled out lately. I made my own Italian stuffed shells not too long ago, and the Big Cheese made some scrumptious Mexican stuffed shells last month.


Luckily, the creator of the cookbook club offers an alternative recipe. Hence, Beef Tenderloin Bites on a Bed of Arugula! It was fantastic! I made it after a busy workday, and it was a light but delish meal that hit the spot. One note: Make sure your beef is cut in cubes similar in size. I rushed a little and some of my smaller pieces were way over done.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs, eyeball it
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it, plus some for drizzling
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tenderloin steaks, 1 inch thick, cut into bite sized pieces
Salt and pepper
5 to 6 cups arugula, chopped
1 lemon, juiced

Directions:
Preheat broiler to high.

Mix bread crumbs with parsley, cheese. Warm the oil and garlic over low heat to infuse flavor, 5 minutes. Pour oil into bread crumbs and combine to distribute equally and moisten the bread crumbs.

Season the meat with salt and pepper. Coat the meat in bread crumb mixture to coat evenly. Spread meat onto baking sheet and broil until crisp and meat is tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Serve meat on bed of shredded arugula. Give a squeeze of lemon juice over the beef and arugula.


Another note about the picture: Remember the broken camera? Still broken. So thank you to the Rachel Ray website for the picture!