Again, I neglected to get a picture. This has a little back story. A WONDERFUL woman from our church decided to start a small group for young women from 25-35 to gather together to learn and try new recipes and share a little bit of life. It's great for us ladies and our husbands seem to like it too. :) Last group we focused on appetizers and this recipe was absolutely amazing. It was so pretty and delicious that I wasn't quite sure I could pull it off, but I attempted it for another family Christmas and it was, again, a huge hit! Give it a try!


Baked Brie with Pesto and Tomato

1 round (10 oz) Brie Cheese - 4 inch diameter (I used 5 inch diameter)
1 Tbsp purchased Pesto sauce
3 oil-packed dried tomatoes, patted dry and chopped (Don't forget to PAT DRY! otherwise, too much oil)
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17 1/4 ounce box), thawed according to pkg directions
Glaze: 1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Cut Brie in half horizontally. Remove top half. Spread bottom half with pesto sauce and tomatoes, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; replace top. Roll out puff pastry on lightly floured board with a lighly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch square. Using a ruler and sharp knife, cut an 8 inch square out of the pastry. Reserve remaining pastry. Place Brie in center of square. Bring corners to top center of cheese, being careful not to stretch dough. Brush edges with egg mixture and press together to seal. Flip wrapped Brie over smooth surface. Use remaining pastry to make decorations (cut them out with cookie cutters to place on top of wrapped Brie). Brush Brie with glaze; add decorations, brush decorations with glaze. Let dry 5 minutes. Cut five or six 1/2 inch slits on top. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place Brie on an ungreased pie plate. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until pastry is evenly golden (cheese may leak out slightly during baking). Serve with thin water crackers.

SO beautiful and DELICIOUS!!!

I forgot to get a picture of this, but I made this warm drink for a family Christmas and it was a BIG hit!

Warm and Spicy Fruit Punch

4 cinnamon sticks
1 orange
1 tsp whole allspice
1/2 tsp whole cloves
7 c water
1 can (12 oz) frozen cranberry-raspberry juice (thawed)
1 can (6 oz) frozen lemonade (thawed)
2 cans (5 1/2 oz each) apricot nectar

Break cinnamon into pieces. Peel orange with vegetable peeler and squeeze juice into a small bowl.
Tie cinnamon, orange peel, allspice and cloves into a small cheesecloth bag.
Add squeezed orange juice, water, cran-raspberry juice, lemonade and nectar together in a large slow cooker. Add cheesecloth bag of spices.
Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.
Remove and discard spice bag.

Grilled Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa

2 c cubed pineapple
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 c finely chopped green pepper
1/4 c minced fresh cilantro
4 tsp + 2 Tbsp lime juice
1/8 tsp + 1/4 tsp salt, divided
Dash cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp canola oil
8 tilapia fillets (4 oz each)
1/8 tsp pepper

Combine first 7 ingredients in bowl and chill.
Combine oil and remaining lime juice and brush fillets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Grill over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily.
Serve with salsa (stuff you combined and chilled).

Ken's rating: *****
Chalsea's rating: ***************************
I freaking LOVED this! Ken did too, but he's less emotional than me. :) The pineapple salsa is absolutely delicious and I cannot wait to serve it again. Served with the side dish (below), this was a fabulous dinner - and SO easy!


Citrus Broccoli

2 Tbsp butter
10 oz frozen broccoli, thawed
1 1/2 tsp orange peel
1 1/2 tsp lemon peel
salt and pepper

Melt butter over medium heat. Saute broccoli until crisp tender. Sprinkle with zest, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Heat through.

Ken's rating: *****
Chalsea's rating: *****
LOVED it.

Pizza Chicken Bake

3 1/2 c uncooked pasta
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 c sliced mushrooms
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 tsp pizza seasoning
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (quartered)
1 c shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package, drain, and put into a casserole dish.
Heat oil in a skillet, add mushrooms and cook for 2 min. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in sauce and seasoning.
Pour 1/2 sauce over pasta noodles, layer uncooked, quartered chicken over sauce, and pour remaining sauce over chicken.
Bake 50 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Ken's rating: ***1/2
Chalsea's rating: **
This was an 'ok' dish. I didn't like the chicken with the pizza flavoring. If I had a hankering for chicken and pasta, I'd go for good old chicken parmesan or something.

Mexican Macaroni Medley
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

4 cups (12 oz) uncooked pasta shapes (any kind is fine)
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp onion powder
2 1/4 c milk
1 loaf (8oz) prepared cheese product, cubed
1 package (8oz) shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided
1 can (4oz) chipped green chilies, drained
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1 c chili cheese or barbecue flavor corn chips, coarsely broken (I would skip this part next time)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking dish with vegetable oil. In dutch oven, bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Add pasta and cook 8-9 minutes or until al dente (tender but firm to the bite). Drain and pour into large bowl.
Meanwhile, combine flour and onion powder in a saucepan. Over medium heat, gradually stir in milk with a wire whisk. Cook 5-7 minutes or until mixture is as thick as heavy cream, stirring constantly. Remove saucepan from the heat. Add cheese product (I cubed it so it would melt faster), 1 1/2 c of the shredded cheese and the chilies; stir until cheese is melted.
Mix cheese sauce with pasta and spoon into baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until bubbly. Top with tomato and corn chips (again, I'd skip corn chips).

From Pampered Chef Main Dishes

Ken's rating: ****
Chalsea's rating: ****1/2
I really liked this twist on regular mac and cheese. No, it's not good for you, but it's good for the taste buds! :) I did put the chili cheese fritos on top, but I would skip that next time. It was plenty good without it. If you're desperate for a crunch factor, you could probably use plain fritos.

Millennium Meat Loaf Sandwiches
Prep Time: 20 minutes

1/2 loaf reserved Swedish Meat Loaf (see below!)
1/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 c sour cream
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dill weed
1/2 medium cucumber, scored and sliced
2-3 slices red onion, rings separated (I skipped this)
4 slices rye bread

Cut meat loaf crosswise into 8 thin slices. Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, and dill weed in a bowl. Set aside.
Slice cucumber and onion. Separate onion into rings.
To assemble the sandwiches, spread half of the mayonnaise mixture on one side of bread slices. Top with meat loaf, onion, cucumber and spoonful of remaining mayonnaise mixture.

From Pampered Chef Main Dishes

Ken's rating: ****1/2
Chalsea's rating: ****
I've always wanted to try one of those cook once, use twice meals so this was my first attempt. Being a family of 2, we often get saddled with lots of leftovers for each meal cooked. I accommodate by having 2 or 3 leftover nights each week, but I wanted to try to create something from those leftovers this time. It turned out pretty well!

Swedish Meat Loaf Supper
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

1 can (4 oz) mushroom pieces and stems, drained and finely chopped
1/2 c onion, finely chopped
1/4 c fresh parsley, snipped
1 c fresh rye or white bread crumbs
2/3 c milk
1 egg
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground all spice or nutmeg
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground pork

Gravy
1 jar (12 oz) mushroom or beef gravy
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 c sour cream

Preheat oven to 350. Mix mushrooms and onion in large bowl. Add parsley, bread crumbs, milk, egg, and seasonings to bowl; mix well.
Crumble ground beef and pork int bowl; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape meat into loaf pan.
Bake 1 hour and 15-20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink in the center of the loaf and internal temperature of meat loaf reaches 160 degrees. Remove meat loaf to serving plate; let stand 10 minutes
Meanwhile, heat gravy with milk in saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally with whisk. Whisk in sour cream; remove from heat.
Cut meat loaf crosswise in half. Cut one half into 8 slices and serve with gravy. Tightly wrap remaining half and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Yield: 4 servings

From Pampered Chef Main Dishes

Ken's rating: *****
Chalsea's rating: ****1/2
This was really good, but I liked the other meatloaf recipe I tried before a little bit better. The recipe suggested serving this with egg noodles, but I don't like them so I served them with mashed potatoes instead. Delish.

Over the past month, I've had a nice little break from cake making, but I did get to sneak in a few cute ones. The snowman cupcakes were for a work party and the Crayon Box for an InnTowne resident.

Creamy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

3 Tbsp butter, divided
1 c chopped onion
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 3/4 cubed peeled sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
3 1/2 c water
3 c chicken broth
3 c chopped carrot (about 1 lb)
1/4 c half-and-half
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 c reduced fat sour cream
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Move onion mixture to side of pan; add remaining 2 Tbsp butter to open space in pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 1 minute or until butter begins to brown. Add sweet potatoes, 3 1/2 c water, broth, and carrot; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Place half of soup mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid spatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining soup mixture. Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 c soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 2 tsp sour cream and 3/4 tsp parsley.

Yield: 8 servings

From Cooking Light Magazine November 2009

Ken's rating: ****
Chalsea's rating: ****
This tasted absolutely delicious and I would make it again and again! However, it did not turn out all creamy and chunky like the picture in the magazine. I don't know if I screwed it up and put too much liquid in, but next time I will reduce the amount of water and broth or increase the amount of carrots and sweet potatoes. Still tasted amazing, just was a little thin.

Baked Potato Soup
Prep & Cook Time: 25 minutes

4 medium baked potatoes
2 slices bacon
1/2 c celery, chopped
1/2 c green onions with tops (thinly sliced)
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 1/2 c milk
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 c light sour cream
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese (1/2 c)

Remove skins from baked potatoes (we left them on). In 2 quart batter bowl, coarsely mash potatoes.
In 4 quart casserole, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towel to drain; crumble and set aside. Discard all but 1/2 tsp drippings in pan.
Meanwhile, chop celery and thinly slice green onions. Add chicken broth, milk, mashed potatoes, celery, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper to drippings in pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes.
Stir in sour cream and reserved bacon. Ladle soup into 4 bowls. Shred 2 Tbsp cheese over each serving.

Yield: 4 servings

From Pampered Chef Main Dishes

Ken's rating: *****
Chalsea's rating: *****



Crusty Grilled Sandwiches
Prep and Cook Time: 25 minutes

1 oz fresh Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup)
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1 garlic clove, pressed
8 slices sourdough bread
8 oz sliced Monterey Jack cheese
8 oz sliced deli ham
4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 medium tomato, sliced into 8 thin slices (optional)
4 tsp snipped fresh basil leaves (optional)

Grate Parmesan cheese into 1 quart batter bowl. Add butter and garlic, mix well.
On 4 bread slices, evenly layer half of the Monterey Jack cheese and all of the ham.
For each sandwich spread ham with 1 tsp mustard; top with 2 tomato slices and 1 tsp snipped basil, if desired. Cover with remaining cheese and bread slices.
Spread butter mixture over outsides of sandwiches. Place sandwiches on griddle and cook over medium heat 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Yield: 4 sandwiches

From Pampered Chef Main Dishes

Ken's rating: *****
Chalsea's rating: *****

Creamy Pasta with Spring Vegetables

Lemon Grilled Chicken