It’s winter in Michigan. Meaning that (barring the last week or two) it’s cold and snowy. After what feels like months of winter (and the resulting months of minor colds) we’ve been looking for some serious comfort food. I came across a recipe for jambalaya and after making just a few adjustments here and there, came up with what you see here. It was exactly what we needed to pull ourselves out of this cold winter funk. Better still, it comes together in just about a half an hour, making it an easy weeknight dinner. 

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 package andouille chicken sausage
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 large stalks celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 small jalapeno, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups basmati rice

Directions:
Sauté the chicken sausage in a large Dutch oven until cooked through. Add the bell pepper, onion, celery, oil and bay leaves and sauté until tender and slightly golden. Stir in the salt, basil, oregano, thyme, jalapeno, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute.

Pour the can of tomatoes, chicken broth and rice and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked through. Remove bay leaves and discard, and serve.

Source: Adapted from Cooking Light

Like virtually every other family in existence, from time to time we get stuck in a big dinner rut. Tacos, pasta, chicken, lather, rinse, repeat. So recently I decided that it was time to break the streak and make something new and different for dinner. I pulled out cookbooks and cooking magazine and started to label recipes that looked good. I surprised even myself by marking and eventually selecting this recipe as the winning newcomer to the dinner repertoire. You see, pork, and pork chops especially, have never been my favorite thing. Bad pork chops are just sooo bad. Dry, flavorless and just plain gross. Turns out, that’s only when they’re overcooked with a stinky recipe (light bulb, right?). These came out perfectly. So flavorful and juicy and lovely and the sweet butternut squash combined with the cinnamon and cloves just screamed fall.

Spiced Pork Chops with Butternut Squash
Serves 4

printable recipe

Ingredients:
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 butternut squash (about 1 1/4 lbs)
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Directions:
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops evenly with pumpkin pie spice, black pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Sauté the pork in the skillet for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Meanwhile, poke several holes in the butternut squash with a fork and cook in the microwave for 1 minute, then using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the inside and seeds and discard. Cut the squash into 1 inch cubes.

Re-coat the skillet with cooking spray and add the squash, cooking covered for 7 minutes. Add onion to the pan and sauté the squash and onions for 5 minutes. Pour the water into the pan, scrapping the bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt and chopped mint.

Serve pork with squash spooned on top.

Source: Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals

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I have had this idea in the back of my mind for a long time now to print and frame or mount a few of my favorite food photos to hang above my dining room table. I have it all laid out in my head but I hadn’t gotten any further than that. Then, to my great fortune, a few weeks ago the kind folks at Easy Canvas Prints offered to send me one of my photos canvas mounted! I, of course, jumped at the chance!

The canvas came out perfect. It was super-easy and quick to upload my photo to their site and place the order, and it arrived just a few days later. I love it so much I am already trying to decide on what other food photos to pick to place around it!

Now, onto this orzotto. I’ve also had the idea for this in my head for quite some time. I love risotto. I love orzo. So every time I made one or the other I kept wondering what would come of it if I combined the two ideas. Cooking the pasta in a similar style to cooking risotto, I made it up as I went along and was thrilled when it turned out better than I had expected. Simple, easy, delicious. You can’t beat that.

Spinach and Tomato Orzotto
printable recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups orzo pasta
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken broth, warmed
2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, diced
2 cups spinach, chopped
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon herbs de province
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a small sauce pan over low heat warm the chicken broth. Keep warm.

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat, then sauté the shallot until it is translucent. Add the garlic to the pan and cook one minute further.

Add the orzo to the pan and stir to coat the pasta, then pour the wine into the pan and stir to deglaze. Simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, then add 3/4 cup of the broth. Continue to add the broth 3/4 cup at a time, letting most of the liquid absorb between each addition, until the pasta is slightly softer than al dente, adding the spinach to the pan with the last liquid addition.

Add the tomatoes and herbs de province and cook for one minute further. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan. Sprinkle with additional grated parmesan to serve.

Source: A Laura’s Recipe Collection Original

Leave it to me to take a relatively healthy concept like a chicken burger and do this to it. And in advance, you’re welcome!

By a long shot the most-viewed recipe on here is Chicken Cordon Bleu with Creamy Parmesan Sauce. And rightly so. It’s one of my favorite dinners. Relatively easy to put together and delicious. The highlight of the recipe? The sauce. Sure, the chicken itself is great. But the sauce. Oh the sauce. It, in my opinion, is the food symbol for all that is good in the world. Trust me on this one.

So a few months ago, while making chicken burgers I had the idea of adding the sauce to the burger. A few days later this gem was born. The flavor of chicken cordon bleu with half the prep work involved. I love when I can have dinner prepped and cooked in 20 minutes. I love even more when I have an excuse to use heavy cream and cheese.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers & Creamy Parmesan Sauce
printable recipe
Serves 4

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burger
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chicken
1/2 lb. thinly sliced deli ham, cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
burger buns for serving

Directions:
In a large bowl mix together the ground chicken, ham, cheese, thyme and garlic. Gradually add the bread crumbs until the mixture is well-combined.

Shape into four patties. If the mixture is sticking to your hands rinse your hands under cold water between each patty.

Cook on a grill, a pan or broiler until no longer pink in the center.

Source: An original Laura’s Recipe Collection creation

Creamy Parmesan Sauce
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/2-3/4 C half-and-half or heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup white wine
salt & pepper
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan, then sauté the garlic for a minute or two. Add in the and continue to simmer for another 1-2 minutes.

Whisk together the half-and-half with the cornstarch. Slowly pour into the sauce pan and mix until it is smooth and thickened.

Add the cheese, salt and pepper to the sauce pan and cook until melted.

Drizzle the sauce over the breasts just before serving.

Originally posted under Chicken Cordon Bleu with Creamy Parmesan Sauce, Source: Mary Ellen’s Cooking Creations

I was at work chatting with some co-workers about our dinner plans. I explained that, at my husband’s request, I was going to attempt a Detroit style Coney Dog. “Detroit or Flint style?” one of them asked, while another nodded knowingly. “Ummm… yes?” was my ever-intelligent response. Despite having lived in Michigan for most of my life I have actually never had an authentic Detroit Coney dog (unless you count one from a chain restaurant in the Detroit airport during a layover on our honeymoon. And since it was less than delicious I won’t count it, so neither should you. Glad we settled that.) And I certainly have never had a Flint Coney dog. My one and only foray in to Flint, Michigan involved getting lost in what I can only describe as the ghetto, running out of gas, then my mom driving the wrong way on a one way street. Needless to say we didn’t exactly stop for dinner and chill after all of that.

From what I understand from my Mo-Town friends, this is a pretty authentic replica of a Motor City Coney dog. Apparently to make it even more authentic you can use a bit of ground up beef heart in place of some of the beef. In this case I’m ok with lacking a smidge of authenticity.

What I do know is that this beats the pants off any chili dog, Coney dog or just plain ole hot dog I’ve ever had. Slightly spicy and very hearty, it’s a definite Man-Food that this girl downright loved. Mo-Town rocks again.

One Year Ago
White Wine Chicken with Mushrooms

Two Years Ago
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Detroit-Style Coney Dogs
printable recipe
yields enough sauce for about 12 dogs

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups beef broth
4 ounces tomato paste
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco

Directions:
Mix the chili powder, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, salt & pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the beef, chopping with a spatula to break into very small pieces. Add the onion and red pepper and sauté until the beef is browned and the onions and peppers are softened. Strain the beef mixture retaining 3 tablespoons of the fat, draining the rest.

Whisk the remaining beef fat with the flour to make a roux, stirring until golden. Stir in the beef broth, tomato paste and cider vinegar.

Add the beef back into the pot and stir together. Stir the seasonings into the pan and mix until combined. Let simmer for 15 minutes to an hour.

Serve over a hot dog in a bun. Traditionally served with chopped onion and mustard. Ever better if served with bottle of Vernors ginger ale!

Source: AmazingRibs.com

I’ve made a few different potato soups in the past, all of them good. But for some reason when I wandered across this recipe when browsing Pennies on a Platter I just couldn’t get it out of my mind. A few days after finding this recipe I made it for dinner and let me tell you it was Heaven-sent, in so many ways. First, of course, it was delicious. But a very close second: It was super fast and easy to put together.

The night I had this scheduled I was running a bit behind schedule getting home from work and was feeling a bit frantic. I called Brian and asked him to chop some potatoes for me, and beyond that I’d deal when I got home. Maybe our kids could eat PB&J that night since there was no way soup would be done before they needed to get to bed. Right?

Wrong! About 20 minutes after I got home and got started dinner was sitting merrily on the table. Madeline, in between painting her high chair with it and giving herself a facial with it, ate almost as much soup as Brian or I did. Rebecca, confessed hater of all things potato (including French Fries. Somehow I gave birth to a child that hates French fries. Someone do DNA testing, STAT!) took her required taste and declared that she didn’t hate it. She didn’t spit it out, she didn’t complain. I’ll call that a win.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
printable recipe

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 large baking potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)
4 green onions, sliced, plus more for garnish
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Stir the flour with the butter mixing until smooth. Pour the milk into the pot and stir until thick, about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and onions to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Stir in the cheese, sour cream, bacon, salt and pepper until cheese is melted and combined.

Garnish with additional bacon, sour cream and green onion if desired. Serve

Source: Pennies on a Platter

I firmly believe every busy mom needs to have a few dinnertime tricks up her sleeve. This, dear friends, is one of mine. It’s quick, it’s simple, and it’s pretty tasty. A great weeknight dinner that my kids devour.

Sure, it’s not exactly Beef Wellington, but who says every night has to be fine dining. We can slum it with hot dogs like the best of ‘em. I kid, of course, about the slumming thing. Sometimes hot dogs just rule.

Cheeseburger Pasta
printable recipe
serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef (this would be great with ground turkey also)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoon butter or Olive Oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup chicken or beef broth
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 ounces dry pasta shape of your choosing

Directions:
Sauté the onion in the butter until soft and translucent. Add the beef to the pan and brown, chopping into small pieces as it cooks.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions and drain.

Once the beef is cooked through add the chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, pepper and flour to the pan. Mix to combine well. Pour the broth into the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the broth has reduced by half and is starting to thicken slightly.

Turn off the heat and add the milk and cheese to the pan, stirring to melt the cheese and combine evenly.

Mix the sauce with the pasta and serve!

Source: What’s Cooking in the Orange Kitchen

Packing a lunch for work every day gets really, really boring. I can only take so many turkey sandwiches before I absolutely lose my mind from the monotony. I really like salads, but I’m really finicky when it comes to dressings. My preference always goes towards the buttermilk-laden fatty dressings that are tasty but not exactly health food. Imagine my delight when I stumbled across this Panera salad. Immediately I knew I needed to find a copycat recipe for this salad to make for lunch and low and behold, it’s awesome. Light, healthy and incredibly flavorful without being overpowering.

I made a few tweaks to the original recipe, omitting chicken most of the time and adding a few dried cranberries or dried cherries just for some extra color.

One Year Ago on Laura’s Recipe Collection
Best Ever Chocolate Cake

Two Years Ago on Laura’s Recipe Collection
Pepperoni Cheese Bread

Other favorite lunches
Caesar Salad
Cherry Pecan Chicken Salad

Fuji Apple Salad
printable recipe

Ingredients:
for the dressing
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon White Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 small shallots, finely chopped
1 1/2teaspoons Dijon Mustard
3 Tablespoons Frozen Apple juice Concentrate

for the salad
spinach
green leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
pecan halves
dried apple slices
feta or blue cheese, crumbled
red onion, diced
dried cranberries

Directions:
Mix together all of the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl.

Assemble the salad and drizzle dressing over the top.

Source: Adapted from SparkRecipes

I do not know why this never occurred to me before. Need a way to get you kids to eat new foods or lots of veggies? Cover them in peanut butter!

A few weeks ago I was speaking to a co-worker while she was eating some Thai peanut sauce take-out from a nearby restaurant and Oh. My. Gosh. it looked amazing. It was almost (ok not almost) embarrassing how much I was staring at her plate of food. The next evening I got home and decided that I couldn’t go another day without figuring out a recipe for that delightful-looking meal. I figured that my kids would eat it, but necessarily with much enthusiasm so you can imagine my surprise when they cleaned their plates! Success!

Spicy Thai Peanut Chicken
printable recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
10 oz rice noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped into very thin strips
1 mild green pepper, chopped into very thin strips
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 large carrot, peeled with a vegetable peeler into thin strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch of broccoli florets
2-3 scallions chopped, green and white parts divided
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup cashew or peanut halves

Direction:
Pour the olive oil into a large skillet, then sauté the chicken until golden and cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Adding a touch more olive oil if needed, sauté the peppers and the whites of the scallions until soft. Add the mushrooms, garlic, carrot strips and scallion greens to the pan and sauté until soft.

Pour the chicken broth into the pan and add the broccoli. Bring to a simmer until broccoli is steamed, then add the chicken back into the pan and stir in soy sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes, honey and peanut butter. Stir until smooth and combined.

Add in the cashews or peanuts and serve over rice or rice noodles.

Source: A Laura’s Recipe Collection Original

Risotto is one of those foods that I just can’t live without. Put me on a deserted island (or better yet, a dessert-ed island) somewhere and I think I’d really need pasta & or Arborio rice, parmesan cheese and heavy cream to survive. I feel about risotto the way the clichéd woman feels about chocolate. Happy Anniversary, darling. I brought you some rice cooked in wine to show how much I care. :Swoon:

This risotto has quickly become on of my very favorites in my repertoire for a few reasons. First, of course, it’s amazing. The flavors meld so beautifully. And second, it’s a typical side dish made into a hearty comfort-food-ish main dish. And I can say from experience that it makes amazing cold leftovers- my favorite.

And because chicken sausage has quickly stormed into my heart, too, I make this with Italian chicken sausage to make it ever so slightly healthier (or as healthy as rice cooked in wine covered in cheese can be)

Italian Sausage, Red Pepper & Mushroom Risotto
printable recipe

Ingredients:
5 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons butter
8 ounces Italian sausage, casing removed, or ground sausage, broken up
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
4 ounces white button mushrooms, coarsely chopped (I often use baby bellas since they’re what I tend to already have on hand)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

Directions:
Simmer the broth in a medium saucepan. Cover and keep warm.

Melt the butter in a large heavy saucepan. Crumble the sausage into the pan and saute until golden. Add the onion, bell pepper and mushrooms to the pan and saute until tender, scraping the bottom of the pan while stirring, about 8 minutes.

Add the rice and stir to coat, about a minute.

Pour the wine into the pan and bring to a simmer. Once the liquid has nearly absorbed, about 2 minutes, add in a half-cup of the chicken broth. Stir frequently until almost all of the liquid has absorbed. Continue adding the chicken broth, 1/2 cup at a time, letting the liquid nearly completely absorb between additions. Stir frequently.

After about 25 minutes the rice will be tender and creamy. Remove from the heat and stir in 3/4 of the parmesan. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with parsley and the remaining cheese. Serve.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Other favorite risotto recipes:
Chicken Marsala Risotto
Garlic Parmesan Risotto

One Year Ago on Laura’s Recipe Collection:
Spinach Feta Pizza