Tonight's Dinner

So today was an amazingly relaxing Saturday. I enjoyed a fantastic cup of coffee, read, did laundry, and enjoyed some quality time with Aaron (who had the day off). As supper time approached, I began another adventure in cooking. As I've mentioned before I enjoy looking for new recipes, especially on Pinterest. Here is another great meal idea. And I actually took a picture this time. ENJOY!!!




Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce
Recipe by Our Best Bites

12 oz bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini (find them in the dry pasta aisle)
4 oz bacon or pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)*
3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¾ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or more if you like spicy)
1 medium lemon
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain. Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce. (Note: I really love lemon so I added this to my tastes. If you don’t want as strong of a lemon flavor, I suggest cutting it down to 1 teaspoon zest and 2 teaspoons lemon juice) . Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture. Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Homemade Pizza Hut Pizza

Okay, let me first begin by saying that none of these recipes are my own creation, I found them on Pinterest, if you haven't tried it out, it is a great way to find new ideas posted by others. Now that I have given credit where credit is due, enjoy this new recipe.

So Friday nights at the Turner Home are PIZZA NIGHT, per request of my sweet husband. He LOVES pizza and so we make homemade pizza every Friday and have the leftovers (if there are any) for lunch on Saturday. (The guys at work are always jealous of his pizza and rightly so). Well last night was no different, except that I had a new recipe to try out. A copycat recipe for Pizza Hut Pizza. Pizza Hut is know for their pan pizza and this is exactly what it is. If you don't have a deep dish pizza pan, cake pans work just as well. However, we have not tried this recipe on a pizza stone.
Side Note: Now I made a 13' and 8' pizza from this recipe and only used enough oil to cover the pan, all the reviews said using the 3oz of oil it called for made the crust really greasy. The toppings are endless. We had pepperoni because that is what I had but ham and pineapple are the list for next week. Aaron's vote - it tasted just like pizza hut pizza but less greasy. So enjoy!!!

Oh yeah - while eating our pizza we enjoyed "The Blindside", such a great movie. I had never seen it but had wanting to, I can truly relate with "Big Mike". Those are the child that are in my classroom, just smaller. :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/3 cup warm water (105 degrees F)
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 package dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (for dough)
9 ounces vegetable oil (3 ounce per pan)
butter flavored cooking spray
***Sauce***
1 can (8 ounce size) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

PREPARATION:
Put yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in a large (2 qt.) bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed.

Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into three balls. In three 9" cake pans, put 3 Oz. of oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans.

Spray the outer edge of dough with cooking spray. Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Sauce:

Combine ingredients and let sit for 1 hour.

For Each Nine Inch Pizza: Preheat oven to 475 degrees F Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge. Distribute 1 1/2 Oz. shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce. Place toppings of your choice in this order: Pepperoni or Ham Vegetables Meats (cooked ground sausage or beef) Top with 3 Oz. mozzarella cheese Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown

I cooked mine for about 15 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Okay here's another great recipe that we tried this week. It was delicious. Now after making it once, I will probably use less vinegar (kind of had a vinegary taste). I'll try to do better and actually include some pictures so you can see what it looks like. It was actually a team effort, as Aaron was home from work and helped cut the chicken up and fry it. We enjoyed it with a side of steamed broccoli and leftover all bran yeast rolls.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
from melskitchencafe.com
*Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients - pour half over the chicken and follow the baking directions in the recipe and pour the other half in a small saucepan. Cook the sauce on the stovetop at medium heat for 8-10 minutes until it simmers and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.
*Serves 4-6
Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.
Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve the chicken over rice.

All Bran Yeast Rolls

All-Bran Refrigerator Yeast Rolls
Ingredients:
1 cup shortening (can also substitute butter or use half butter and half shortening)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup All-Bran (see note about substitutions)
1 cup water (heat in microwave 1 minute)
2 eggs, beaten
2 packages yeast, instant or bread machine. (See note about using regular yeast)
1 cup water, lukewarm
6 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
Directions:
First: Put shortening, sugar, salt and All-Bran cereal in large mixer bowl. Pour hot water over all and allow to cool to lukewarm. Add eggs and remaining water. Thoroughly blend in flour and yeast. Beat for 1-2 minutes.
Second: Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Third: Roll 1/4 of dough into a square on a generously floured surface. Dough should be about 1/2 inch thick. Divide into 6-8 strips depending on the size of rolls you desire.(I prefer bigger rolls–softer and fluffier.) Roll each strip to round the edges and then make a knot. A little practice and you’ll be a pro.
If you prefer a different shape, this dough is most agreeable because it’s cold. Crescents or balls work great. Try big balls for hamburger buns.

Fourth: Cover with tea towel and let rise until almost double. Time for this can vary widely depending on the ambient temperature–anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. If they get too big, they won’t rise in the oven and have a nice texture. You can manipulate time somewhat according to your schedule by putting them in a cool place (garage or close to drafty window) for a longer rise or a warmer place (such as a slightly warm oven–100 degrees) for less time.
Fifth: Bake at 375 degrees until light brown. Time depends on the size of your rolls. 10-12 minutes is a good average.

I often cut this recipe in half for fewer guests. OR try making cinnamon rolls with half the dough, and regular rolls with the other half. The cinnamon rolls will go first–I bet ya.
Note about yeast: You can use whatever yeast you have in the house, as long as it’s fresh. Standard procedure is to dissolve regular yeast in small amount of warm water before adding to mixture. Instant or bread machine yeast can be added the same time as the flour without dissolving first. It doesn’t hurt if you want to dissolve it first, like regular yeast, but it’s not necessary.

Christmas Recap

It's offical, Christmas Vacation is really over. Our house it back to normal, everything Christmasy has been sorted, boxed and carefully put away until next year. I must say it sure didn't take near as long to take down my Christmas trees as it did to put them up, but I sure did enjoy them while they were up. This was our first "married" Christmas and let me tell you, it was incredibly busy but loads of fun and many memories made.

I didn't actually get out of school until Monday, but we started celebrating Sunday. Sunday we celebrated Mr. Joe's birthday (which is actually on Christmas Eve) with the Miller clan. Lots of food and laughter. Tuesday we had Miller Christmas and Brittany and P.J.'s house. I tried out a new recipe of pizza rolls and they were a huge hit. Thank you Pinterest! Wednesday, we had 28 youth kids at our house for the Youth Christmas Party. I must have baked over 200 cookies and not a one were left. I did have a lot of fun baking though. Check out all the children.





Thursday, we had a quiet evening at home. Friday, we headed to Birminham to have Waters Christmas with my grandparents and uncle/aunt/ and cousins. Again wonderful food, fun, and fellowship. On the way home, we satified a craving that has to be about a year old and got Milos for dinner. (He's been wanting to eat there since Adam and Sybil's wedding a year ago). So glad to make him happy. :) Saturday, was Turner Christmas. We headed to Citronelle to enjoy Seafood and finger foods. All delicious. Then we opened presents and let the fun begin. Kelly, Aaron and I danced using the Kinect and the Just Dance game. Needless to say, I'm prety horrible at that. Sunday, CHRISTMAS DAY - we decided to open presents when we got home, so we enjoyed a lovely breakfast of cinnamon rolls and sausage pinwheels, then off to church we went. We had a lovely service celebrating the birth of our Savior. With lunch in the oven (glazed ham, dressing (homemade) candied sweet potaotes, yeast rolls, bacon rolled green beans, and cranberry sauce) we were like two kids waiting for everything under the tree. I must say that Aaron out did himself this year and was so excited for me to open everything. We actually both got each other a pair of Tom's shoes. I got a beautiful watch (which was hiding in the tree) some kitchen aid attachments, to make cooking easier, The Wizard of Oz Collector's Edition, and some gift cards. Aaron's big gift was a 160GB Classic Ipod, that was hiding in the bottom of his stocking. We had a relaxing evening, eating watching "Elf" chatting via facetime, and just enjoying the day.

Monday, we set off again, this time north, we stopped in Tuscaloosa to visit Rebekah, Brad, Andrew and Issac, and Blair and Trey. We enjoyed dinner, conversation, and a few rounds of Catch Phrase.
Tuesday, we started our trek to the mountains, which is where we were spending Christmas with my family. After a couple of stops, Chick-fil-a and two bike shops, we finally made it to our house by the river. (I'll include some pictures when I get the Mac hooked up.) We enjoyed lot of relaxation while there, great food, lots of laughs and most importantly spending time with our family.


Girls preparing supper.








Adam making sure the bikes are secure.


Aaron getting the bikes on the car.


The River House

That's a quick recap of our first married Christmas and while it was a bit different than what we traditionally were accustomed to, I for one enjoyed myself and all the time with family. 2011 was a very exciting year with lots of changes but I can't complain about a one of them. I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for the Turner Family, at least the Aaron and Laura Turner family. Unit next time...