provolone cheese

Three Cheese Tortellini Soup

July 1, 2015 by Dana

Well….I’m just going to go right ahead and say this recipe is a certified cheese-bomb! Shall I shamelessly explain myself or blame it on the pregnancy? 🙂

Ok, now that the cheese-bomb cat is out of the bag, let’s talk about why I needed this in my life today… You know because it was 85 degrees here in Central Pennsylvania and I needed a bowl of hot, creamy, comfort-food style soup. Obviously. Again, the baby. The hormones. The cheese. Oh my!

But then I realized this soup was so deliciously dreamy, creamy, and oh-so cheesy that everyone needs this in their life once in a while. You know, like when your friend gets dumped and she is not that into chocolate… Or when you realize one of your kids just peed all over the bathroom (Oh, I’m sorry.. Is that just MY kids??)… Or that time you realized your cheat day just turned into a cheat month and you must have one final “Hoo-RAH” before getting back on track. And let’s not forget this soup contains tomatoes and tomatoes = healthy fruit/vegetable or whatever you classify a tomato as. So there…it’s not that bad after all.

Now let’s review.

TOMATOES = HEALTHY.

MY KIDS = PEE EVERYWHERE.

The End.

AND Moving On…Not only is this soup a cheesy-hot-mess, it is also really versatile. A versatile dinner is a great thing in my world because let’s face it… Taking 3 (soon to be 4) kids to the grocery store before dinner to pick up ingredients is basically a tantrum roulette. Maybe someone will have a meltdown, maybe we will all pretend to be normal. Who knows? And better yet, WHY risk it? If you are missing one or two ingredients, chances are you can make a simple sub and all will be well in tantrum land. Plus you won’t have to fight the after word crowds at the grocery store. 🙂

Just a few quick substitution suggestions:

Sub tortellini for 100% whole wheat elbow macaroni (If you are wondering about my stance on the tortellini, check out my Spinach and Tortellini Salad post). I would go with 1 cup of macaroni.
Omit beef, sub 4 Tablespoons butter. Melt butter in saucepan, add flour, then slowly add liquids.
Sub freshly grated parmesan cheese for asiago cheese. If you decide to go the powdered parmesan route, I would suggest cutting back a little because it may turn out a bit salty.

*For reference, here are the tomatoes I always use for soup. FYI, this is a bulk listing so the price looks very inflated. 🙂<br>

Cheesy Stuffed Garlic and Herb Chicken

February 15, 2015 by Dana

**To check out more about Simply Organic’s Steam Gourmet Line and to help me win the Win @ Blogging Grand Prize (a ton of blogging goodies that will help me bring you more recipes this year) PLUS be entered to win prizes for YOURSELF follow this link: http://bit.ly/19msUDo. Simply Organic is giving away prizes until the end of February so head on over to vote!

Hello EASY and delicious dinner, cooked in 1 parchment paper bag (sides and all!), with minimal cleanup. Is this real life?? Yes! With Simply Organic’s new Steam Gourmet line this can happen in your kitchen in 40 minutes. 🙂

When the folks over at Simply Organic reached out to me to try their new product, it was an obvious win-win situation for me! I get to work with a brand that I already know and love, AND I get to bring their new product to your attention so you can try it as well. Since I was already familiar with some of their products I was confident this would be something that my family would enjoy because it is a simple, easy way to get a healthy dinner on the table. With baseball season right around the corner, I’m going to need minimal effort, maximum flavor meals that I can have prepared when my son gets home from school. Enter this glorious product that requires little to no brain power when you have nothing left to give on a busy day when you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off, trying to get your child dressed for a game, while looking for hats/gloves/other baseball related items that are seemingly right in front of your face. Whew! I know. Been there, done that! Did I mention easy, delicious, no brain power?

I have to admit, I did really enjoy the Cheesy Stuffed Garlic and Herb Chicken that I cooked up for a few reasons:

No potentially harmful plastic bags that other seasoning kits often come with.
My sides were cooked in the bag too, allowing the seasoning packet to season the whole meal.
A protein/veggie/starch meal all in 40 minutes!
After preparing this I only had two dishes to wash. TWO!!!! (cutting board, glass baking pan that was almost clean already)
Organic seasoning packets contain mostly 100% spices, and very little sodium. Most of the time you’ll find companies using an array of random, unpronounceable ingredients in seasoning packets, with LOADS of sodium. After I started reading ingredient labels I got rid of all of those packets I may have used before because I realized the main ingredients weren’t spices at all. Something just didn’t seem right about that. Simply Organic hit the nail on the head by using real spices, and you can definitely taste the difference.
There is no need to add any extra fats or oils to your parchment bag, so if you are looking to cut calories or are on a diet the Steam Gourmet line would be an awesome addition to your weekly meal prep.

When I was asked to create a recipe using one of their new products, I really wanted to keep the integrity of what the product was. Simple, EASY, quick, real. I didn’t want to add a bunch of extra steps because I felt that took away from the whole concept. What better way to do that then stuff a little cheese inside the chicken breast and Viola! Done! So I grabbed the Garlic and Herb Steam Gourmet box, pulled out one seasoning packet and one parchment bag (each kit comes with two of each) and added two slices of provolone cheese to each breast after they were seasoned. Truth: I even used a paper plate to dip the chicken in the seasoning. Gahhhh! Seriously I don’t have a dishwasher and dishes are my worst enemy. Please don’t judge. 🙂

So I threw everything in the parchment bag, folded that baby up and about 10 minutes later a glorious smell filled my kitchen. Then I had to wait another 30 minutes to actually taste it. Perhaps a con? A small one but yes!

Why yes that is cheese and seasoning on those green beans! 🙂

**To check out more about Simply Organic’s Steam Gourmet Line and to help me win the Win @ Blogging Grand Prize (a ton of blogging goodies that will help me bring you more recipes this year) PLUS be entered to win prizes for YOURSELF follow this link: http://bit.ly/19msUDo. Simply Organic is giving away prizes until the end of February so head on over to vote!

Whole Wheat Kale and Prosciutto White Pizza + #52NewFoods GIVEAWAY!

October 31, 2014 by Dana

Remember that time you got that genius idea to make homemade pizza with whole wheat flour and it was a total flop? Been there, done that! There has always been something I really hated about how the crust turned out, because truth be told shaping a pizza is really hard!

I was looking for recipes on Martha Stewart’s website and there it was..one of the most genius food hacks I have ever seen! A pizza in a cast iron skillet! Where has this idea been my whole life? I know, I know, Pizza Hut has essentially been doing this forever and calling it panned pizza but it never occurred to me that maybe this would be the tool I needed to fix my homemade pizza problems.

I decided to incorporated kale into our grocery list this week, because it isn’t something I pick up very often. This week was different though, because Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book, The 52 New Foods Challenge, made me realize I have been ignoring a few vegetables that I’d like to start using regularly. You know, when you get into a grocery shopping routine and forget about all the other stuff the grocery store has? Yeah, that has been me lately and I wanted to challenge my family to trying something new!

What better a way to introduce kale to my children then pizza? I can’t remember a time my kids refused pizza and the dough is an awesome way to get the kids involved and having fun. I kid you not, my toddler had a piece of dough that he played with for hours. Who needs toys when you have pizza dough? 🙂

If you haven’t checked out my Sweet-Fire Chilli post, Jennifer’s book is based upon challenging your family to try just one new food a week. This is a genius way to handle transitioning to cooking from scratch and eating healthier because we all know how busy life with kids can get. Jennifer suggests dedicating at least one day a week to cooking with the whole family and trying something new. Not just that, she has made it into a game for kids to play to entice them to actually eat the new food! Again, where has this idea been my whole life?

Sometimes it is important to step back and take a look at the big picture. With Jennifer’s book, the big picture of eating healthier, getting your kids to try healthy foods, and cutting processed foods seems so much more attainable for families who aren’t sure where to start. Can you imagine though, a year from now having 52 new healthy ingredients to cook for your family with? How amazing is that big picture?

Pizza Dough = Hours of fun! I do believe that is Batman getting wrapped in dough!

I know this question is coming, so I’m going to go ahead an answer it! Is prosciutto processed?

No. Prosciutto is cured, which means it was heavily salted to draw moisture out of the ham and make it safe for consumption. Although this is a process, the prosciutto I used only had 2 ingredients that were ham and salt. Some companies will use nitrates as well, but shop around and find a brand that doesn’t. Since the prosciutto is cured, it is very high in sodium, so I wouldn’t suggest using it as anything other then a heavy garnish in a dish like this. Just a few shreds will give you flavor enough to bring a really great taste without adding gobs of sodium.

If you are intimidated by mixing the pizza dough and using yeast, do not be! It is honestly easier then making cookies, I promise. 🙂 The dough only takes about 8 minutes to mix up, then rests in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, although you can refrigerate it for up to 24. I highly suggest using whole wheat white flour which is a softer wheat, therefore yields a softer and less dense product. Whole wheat white flour can be confusing because it sounds like it is similar to bleached, enriched, white flour but it IS NOT.

The Giveaway

Jennifer’s book can be pre-ordered below, PLUS I am giving away a copy this week! Simply leave a comment with 1 ingredient you’d like to challenge yourself to cook with this week! Next Thursday, I will randomly select a winner. 🙂
<br>

*Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe adapted from 100 Days of Real Food’s recipe Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza. Thanks Lisa!