Strawberry Ricotta Muffins

I actually made these muffins for Easter--sorry it's taken me so long to post. Man, I am seriously slacking off. Thanks to Courtney for giving me a kick in the you-know-what and getting me going again. I have been in a serious rut--so much so, that I had to post on Facebook and ask for dinner ideas. Sad. Anyway, I made these muffins back at Easter. They were delish. They taste more like a scone---they are quite dense. After "dehydrating" my strawberries, I realized I could have skipped this very lengthy step and just used some of my food storage dehydrated strawberries! Next time...because there will be a next time!

Strawberry Ricotta Muffins
found the recipe online: http://localfoods.about.com/od/spring/r/StrawberryMuff.htm

2 cups medium strawberries
3/4 cup ricotta
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
10 Tbsp. butter melted and cooled, divided
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. lime zest
2 cups flour
2 tsp.baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently wash, hull, and cut strawberries into quarters. Place berries on a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Bake until strawberries are partially dried, about 45 minutes. Let cool.
Increase oven to 400 degrees. Brush a 12-mold muffin tin with 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together ricotta, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in remaining butter.
In a large bowl, use your fingertips to rub together sugar and lime zest until sugar is moist. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Use a spatula to gently but quickly fold ricotta mixture into dry ingredients. Don’t overwork it. The batter will be thick and heavy. Stir in strawberries and spoon batter evenly into muffin tins. Bake until tops of muffins are golden and springy to the touch, about 20-25 minutes.

Poolgogi

A coworker of mine in Boise, ID brought her leftovers of this for lunch one day and gave me a bite. I loved it and asked for the recipe. She knew it off the top of her head and so I jotted it down on a papertowel--which I still have. Time to get it written somewhere a little safer...

Poolgogi
(thanks to Sharon, at SLRMC in Boise, ID!)

1 large or 2 medium pieces of Round Steak
(**ask butcher to put meat through tenderizer about 4 times—it will be almost shredded!)

Marinade:
1 c. soy sauce
½ c. sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tblspn. sesame oil
1/3 c. vegetable oil
½ c. minced scallions
1/3 c. toasted sesame seeds

Marinate meat for about 1 ½ hours.
Barbeque (can BBQ on piece of foil, so meat doesn’t fall through grate).
Slice meat in thin strips, across the grain.
Serve over rice.

**I also cook and reduce the marinade to make a sauce to drizzle over meat & rice when serving.
**Serve with stir-fry vegetables for a complete meal.

Strawberry Chicken Salad

I have a few other versions of a strawberry salads that I love, but Marc actually liked this one because it wasn't as sweet as my others. This one has chicken and bleu cheese, making it a bit more "hearty"--it was really, really good!

Strawberry Chicken Salad
(Simple & Delicious, July/Aug 2007)
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Strawberry-Chicken-Salad-4


5 cups spring mix salad greens
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1-1/4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 medium kiwifruit, peeled and chopped
1 large apple, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup poppy seed salad dressing

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.
Drizzle with dressing; toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings.

Basil-Tomato Grilled Cheese

Just ready to try something new, so I pulled this one out of my file. It's kind of like a grilled bruschetta sandwich--yummy! I served it with the Strawberry Chicken Salad (to follow).

Basil-Tomato Grilled Cheese
(Simple & Delicious, July/Aug 2007)
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Basil-Tomato-Grilled-Cheese

8 slices Italian bread (3/4 inch thick)
8 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 large plum tomatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

On four slices of bread, layer cheese and tomatoes; sprinkle with the basil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Top with remaining bread.
In a small bowl, combine the oil, Parmesan cheese and garlic powder; brush over the outsides of each sandwich.
In a small skillet over medium heat, toast sandwiches until golden brown on both sides and cheese is melted.
Yield: 4 servings.

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

I found a scrap of a magazine page with this recipe on it--don't know where it came from. These cookies reminded of the Little Debbie Oatmeal Pies that are so good--but these are even better because they are homemade!

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
(ripped out of a cookie brochure that came in the mail)

1 1/2 c. shortening
2 2/3 c. packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
4 c. old-fashioned oats

Filling:
3/4 c. shortening
3 c. powdered sugar
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme
1-3 Tblspn. milk

1. In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats.

2. Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. (make sure you really keep them small because they really spread out) Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

3. For filling, in a mixing bowl, cream the first three ingredients. Add enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Spread filling on the bottom half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Penne Rustica

One of Marc's favorite dishes is Macaroni Grill's "Penne Rustica"--so when I asked him what he wanted for dinner the other night, that is what he said. Well, thanks to the internet, I found a recipe that tastes exactly like the restaurant's version. I omitted a few things simply because I didn't have them on hand, but otherwise, just followed this recipe (OH, but I only used 4 c. of cream instead of 8 and it was still PLENTY of sauce for 16oz. of pasta)

Penne Rustica

(http://www.recipezaar.com/Romanos-Macaroni-Grill-Penne-Rustica-114360)

Gratinata sauce
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1 cup marsala wine
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 cups heavy cream

For Gratinata Sauce:
Saute butter, garlic, and rosemary until garlic begins to brown. Add Marsala wine and reduce by one-third. Add remaining ingredients, reduce by half of the original volume. Set aside.

Penne Rustica
1 ounce pancetta or bacon
18 shrimp, peeled and deveined
12 ounces grilled chicken breasts, sliced
16-24 ounces penne pasta, cooked
3 teaspoons chopped pimiento
6 ounces butter
1 teaspoon chopped shallot
1 pinch salt and pepper
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika
6 sprigs fresh rosemary

For Penne Rustica:

Saute pancetta until it begins to brown.
Add butter, shallots, and shrimp.
Cook until shrimp are evenly pink but still translucent.
Add chicken, salt, pepper, and mix thoroughly.
Add gratinata sauce and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.
Simmer until sauce thickens.
In a large bowl, combine shrimp& chicken mixture with the cooked pasta.
Pour into a large casserole dish or roaster.
Top with remaining cheese, pimientos and sprinkle with paprika.
Bake at 475 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove and garnish with fresh rosemary sprig.

Chicken Marsala

Even though this doesn't measure up to The Cheesecake Factory's "Chicken Marsala" (honestly, what could ever come close to that? It is the BEST!)--this was still a great meal. I found the recipe on the back of the marsala wine bottle--thanks Holland House!

Chicken Marsala
(on the back of Holland House Marsala Cooking Wine)
Here is what I really did:

8-10 chicken tenders
flour, salt & pepper
2 Tblspn. butter
3/4 c. Holland House Marsala Cooking Wine
1/4 c. water
2 Tblspn. parsley
1/4 tsp. rosemary

Dredge chicken in a mixture of flour, salt & pepper.
Melt butter in large skillet and cook chicken, about 4 minutes on each side until cooked through.
Remove chicken to serving platter.
Stir in Marsala wine, water, parsley & rosemary.
Reduce by 1/3 and then add chicken back for a few minutes until heated thru.

I served this over angel hair pasta.
This recipe calls for 2 c. mushrooms (saute before the chicken, remove and then add them back into the sauce to heat thru before serving.)