Posts Tagged ‘dinner’

Butternut Squash and Candied Bacon Flatbread

IMG_5258About a week ago I received a salivating photo from my dearest Amanda. She and her hubby were spending their Friday evening at their favorite spot, Sweetwater Bar & Grill. Some of you may remember my “review” post I had written back in May after visiting myself. They have the most creative, yet delicious cocktails and dishes. Anyways, as soon as I saw the photo of what they would soon be enjoying I had to know what made this dish. Amanda proceeded to list off the ingredients for me and I knew right away that I had to recreate.

Lucky for me, Girl’s Night was to be hosted by yours truly this week. This would be the centerpiece of the whole meal. However, I didn’t have the time to do a test run so tonight I just ran with it. I had purchased the ingredients that Amanda so kindly provided, along with whatever else I had brainstormed and here is what I came up with.  (more…)

Penna alla Vodka

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I feel it has been awhile since my last turn for Girl’s Night. When planning, I had originally wanted to make grilled pizzas. However, the grill is currently indisposed so I had to turn to Plan B. I obtained this recipe from a friend of mine who has told me about this dish several, mouthwatering times. I could not wait to try it myself so I figured this was the perfect occasion. I also feel that I use my Girls as my test subjects for new recipes, my guinea pigs if you will. Thanks ladies! (more…)

Linguini with Shrimp, Asparagus, & Cherry Tomatoes

This was my round for Girl’s Night. I really wanted to cook on the grill and eat outside. However, the weather prevented me from doing so. So I turned to my cookbooks and found a delicious recipe from Giada’s Feel Good Food. It was so easy to make and incredibly delicious! Paired with a nice, crisp glass of white wine and a side Caesar salad…we were ready for a fabulous Girl’s Night! (more…)

Baked Manicotti with Sausage and Peas

I got the idea for this Sunday night dinner from Giada’s Baked Manicotti with Sausage and Peas recipes. Unfortunately, I was unable to find manicotti shells without a filling. Therefore I decided to turn the filling into a sauce to pour over the shells. This is a delicious, cheesy dish that anyone is sure to enjoy.  (more…)

QMBOGP

Did you ever wonder how someone comes up with a new recipe? What get’s their creative juices flowing to figure out how to combine a few ingredients into a delicious dish? Well today my sister Michele and I did just that. Now I could just describe the recipe to you all per usual but I really think it would be more fun for you to see how we came up with it. Keep in mind that Michele and I work for the same company. So, we are able to communicate easily throughout the day via IM.

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Girl’s Night Fettuccine

It’s crazy to think that five weeks has gone by already…five weeks since the last time I hosted Girl’s Night! Deciding what to make is always a challenge. We’ve had a lot of delicious and different meals over the past month so I want to keep up the trend. I toyed around with a few different ideas and finally settled on Fettuccine Alfredo. It is something we have never enjoyed before over the past, however many years. I have not made this from scratch since Culinary School so I’m a little rusty. I wanted to find a good recipe so I perused pinterest, per usual. One of my favorite food blogs had a “skinny” version which was perfect because I had almost all of the ingredients in my arsenal. Gimme Some Oven makes an appearance at Girl’s Night often. We find their recipes fun and delcious, and usually very simple!
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Autumn Chicken Stew and Pear Salad

Girls Night has been a tradition for over four years. What started out as three friends going out to dinner every week, has now turned into five friends eating in and enjoying each others company. Since Deirdre, Tara, Dianna, Sabrina, and myself are all in the same town again we like to make time for each other once a week.
Going out to eat every week proved to be expensive and rushed. It was then that we decided to start a rotation of dinner parties. Each week one of the ladies cooks dinner and another brings the wine. This way we are all able to enjoy each other’s company without being pushed along by waiters and are also able to minimize the spending. 

Tonight was my turn to host. I decided to use ingredients of fall. I found a few variations of chicken stew that I put my own twist on. I was able to cook this in the slow cooker saving me time in the evening. I paired the stew with a pear, gorgonzola and pecan salad. My friend Dianna is a lover of fruit and cheese so I figured I would have to incorporate the two into the meal one way or the other. Lastly, we enjoyed some buttery biscuits. Unfortunatley, I did not have the time to make these from scratch. However, the store bought biscuits that come in the tube are just as flakey and delicious. 



Autumn Chicken Stew
Ingredients
1 lb chicken breast cut into cubes
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup potatoes cut into cubes
2 cups butternut squash cut into cubes
1 can (14.5 oz) of low sodium chicken broth
1 can (6 oz) of tomato paste
1 cup of water
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp corn starch

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients except the corn starch and 1/4 of water into a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. 
Mix together the water and corn starch; stir into the stew. Continue cooking cover for 30 minutes until vegetables are tender. Serve warm.

Servings: 6

Pear, Gorgonzola, and Pecan Salad
Ingredients
10 oz bag of spring mixed greens
1 pear, cut into thin slices
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Combine the above ingredients. Pair with your favorite vinaigrette. 

Servings: 4



Pear & Gorgonzola Flat Bread

I have made this flat bread a few times. Most recently was with my LM ladies, Theresa and Sarah. We had just finished a full day hike up in the Adirondack’s and we were famished. So we decided to make this and another flat bread. Something a little lighter, but still delicious. This particular flat bread was a big hit. (more…)