Being adventurous...

In the two years that I have been with Scott, I am finally starting to feel slightly comfortable with my cooking abilities. Two Thursdays ago, he asked me to prepare dinner (on my own, mind you). Usually, we are in the kitchen together, each with our individual roles. He's usually the slicer and dicer, and I'm normally the seasoning queen. (Those are thoughtfully prepared names, by the way). 

Anyway, Scott had been at work all day, and had to run to a soccer game after, so the least I could do was cook dinner, right? I wanted to try something totally out of the box, but something that I could still pull off in a reasonable amount of time. I saw this recipe for a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce on Pinterest, and it definitely piqued my interest. It seemed a little too expert for me, but I said "what the hell" and gave it a try. If Scott didn't like it, at least I tried, right? So, off to Publix I went. 

These are the ingredients I used:

• 3 red bell peppers
• 1/2 of a medium white onion 
• 2 tbsp garlic
• a coupe sprinkles of basil (the original recipe called for fresh, but it was too expensive, and the dry worked just fine).
• 3 tbsp oil 
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 tbsp flour (again, the original called for cornstarch, but flour seems to work just the same).
• 1/3 cup grated romano cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1lb cheese ravioli

Preheat your broiler to high, while you the cut the peppers in half and remove the stem and seeds. Coat them with oil, and place on a baking sheet cut side down. Broil the peppers until they are charred. After about 10 ish minutes, they should be ready. Transfer them to a bowl and cover it for another 10 minutes. The skins should be easy to peel off by now.

Once all your peppers have been peeled, chop them up with the onion and garlic, and add to a saute pan. Add the basil and cook for another 10 minutes. At this point, in a separate bowl, you can mix the flour and half and half until there is no lumps. (And don't forget to boil some water for the ravioli. Cook them according to the package)

Carefully transfer your pepper mixture to the blender and puree it until it's mostly smooth. Return to the saute pan. Add in the half and half, butter and cheese. Season to taste, and let the sauce simmer for a final five minutes. Add the drained ravioli to the sauce and voila! 

I stuck with the Italian theme that night and made a salad with mescaline greens and balsamic vinaigrette. I also toasted up some garlic cheese Texas Toast and called it a night. Scott was so pleased, and to be honest, I was beaming! 

I made the recipe for my family about a week and a half later, and they enjoyed it as well. This time around, I completely omitted the flour, and just added more half and half. It worked out just fine! It was my mother's idea to add ground pork. It definitely stretched the meal out, and made it more heartier for a family of four (that eats like a family of 8). 

My younger brother suggested that we use Penne pasta next time. What pasta would you choose?

This Chicken is all dressed up for Date Night!

I am so proud of this recipe that I am about to share with you, because I came up with it all on my own, from the depths of my memory banks. No help from Pinterest or from the Food Network. I wanted to make some thing real special for Scott, and this is what I came up with:

• 1 pkg of chicken cutlets
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced 
• 2 small yellow summer squash, diced
• 2 cups brown rice
• 1 cucumber diced
• 1/4 of a red onion, minced
• 1/2 bottle Italian dressing
• 1/4 cup of sesame dressing

1. Marinate the chicken cutlets in Italian dressing, at least one hour before you plan to cook them. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. (My go-tos!)

2. Start cooking the rice according to the package.

3. Dice the cucumber and onion, and marinate them in sesame dressing for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

4. In a large sauce pan, on medium-high heat, saute the pepper, zucchini and squash until they are fork tender. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

5. While you are sauteing the vegetables, put some oil in another large saucepan and heat it to medium-high heat. Cook the chicken through until there is no more pink. 

6. When the rice is done, add it to the mixed vegetables.

You can use the rice vegetable medley as a bed for the chicken. Finally, just place the cucumber onion mixture on top. It will act like a cold, refreshing salsa-like salad on top of the chicken. Scott and I were both extremely pleased with the recipe, and I will definitely add it to my date night recipes. If you need a special meal to wow the one you love, or are trying to impress, feel free to steal this one!

Do you have a special date night meal that you make for your significant other?

Date Night Dinner for Two: Chicken Cordon Bleu

The days I'm not on Pinterest surfing through dinner recipes, I look to the Food Network for inspiration. Since my Typical Thursday journey, I have adopted a few fancy, yet inexpensive go-to dinner recipes, and Chicken Cordon Bleu is definitely one of them. Tyler Florence of the Food Network, hits it out of the park with his version.

Minus the thyme leaves, Scott and I stick to this recipe step by step. It's absolutely fool proof and absolutely delicious. All you need is:

• 4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
• 4 slices of thin prosciutto
• 1/2 lb Gruyere cheese, grated (you can use any type of Swiss cheese)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs 
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap. Use a mallet, a rolling pin, the back side of a pan, anything you have handy in the kitchen that can pound the chicken down to a 1/4 inch thickness. Scott has a surfboard shaped, wooden carving board that I use to pound out the chicken. If you're having a bad day, I suggest you be in charge of this step...It's a great stress reliever! 

Remove the plastic wrap from the chicken. Place a piece of the prosciutto down on each chicken breast. Then, sprinkle with some of the Gruyere cheese. Roll up the chickens like a jelly roll. Be sure to not over stuff the chicken so all the contents stay in side, and be sure to roll everything up tight so it stays intact. 

Season the flour with salt, pepper, garlic, melted butter, and thyme (if you choose to use it). Lightly coat the chicken in flour, dip into the egg wash, then into the panko bread crumbs. Be gentle with the chickens during this step so they don't unravel. 

Place the chicken roulades into a greased baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. When the chicken is done, it will come out crispy, and bubbly, and delicious. If you're trying to impress a mate with a fancy date night dinner, pull out this recipe! I guarantee that it will score you brownie points! Do you have a go-to date night recipe that you would like to share?