Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Berries

Yesterday morning, I watched a video online and the guy was making a Cream Cheese Pound Cake. I love pound cake and knew that I had some berries in the refrigerator that needed to be eaten. We were going to a Bible Study in the evening, so I decided that this sounded like a great dessert to bring along to share. I did a quick search and found a recipe on PBS website that sounded pretty close to the one on the video and ran with it. It was super easy and super yummy! It sounds like it should be super heavy, but surprisingly it didn't seem heavy. Interestingly, when I cut each loaf into 20 slices and used the light cream cheese, it worked out to be only about 130 calories per slice (according to my recipe software). Now, I'm guessing the average person might slice thicker, but I'm trying to control calorie intake and figure that it is easier to eat an entire thin slice than half a normal slice.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
3/4 pound butter
8 ounces cream cheese
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt

Yield: 2 loaves

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Add sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

With mixer on low, add flour and salt in two additions, beating until just combined. Remove from mixer and gently fold from top to bottom to ensure even mixture of the flour.

Generously coat two loaf pans (1-1/2 quarts each) with cooking spray. Pour batter into pans. Gently tap pans to fill in corners and remove large air bubbles.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out almost clean, 60 to 75 minutes (if the tops begin to brown too quickly, tent with aluminum foil).

Cool 10 minutes in the pan. Turn out the cakes; cool completely, with top sides up, on a wire rack.

Look at that crumb - yum!

Macerated Berries
2 c Berries (I used blackberries and blueberries)
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp corn starch

Combine in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for about 30 seconds. Cover and store in refrigerator.

I find that the microwaving helps to 'juice' the berries and makes them ready to eat a little sooner.

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Pineapple Salsa Chicken

I have a collection of recipes that I have been wanting to try, but because they are out of sight in a folder, I rarely think to look through them to find something to make for dinner.

This recipe is from Dole and appears to be something I tore out of a booklet of some sort. I made some adjustments, adding more bell pepper and using a smaller pineapple than was in the original recipe.

The fresh salsa flavor was a welcome addition to our winter menu, but would be excellent in the summer on grilled chicken. We enjoyed it with a side of rice. We have a good amount of salsa left, so we will enjoy that with some tortilla chips.

Pineapple Salsa Chicken

Servings 4 (but there was salsa leftover)

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets
2 cups pineapple tidbits
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
2 teaspoons chopped, fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons chopped jalapeno peppers


Prepare chicken on the grill or in the oven.

In a bowl, combine the pineapple, peppers, green onions, cilantro and jalapeno peppers.

Serve chicken with the salsa.

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Beef Taco Skillet

This recipe was inspired by Campbell's Beef Taco Skillet. A few weeks ago, they had a recipe in the Parade magazine that I snipped out with plans to make it. As I made it, I thought it needed a bit of pizzazz and so I modified the recipe to make it more my own.

Beef Taco Skillet
1 # Ground Meat
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup
1 c Salsa
1/2 c water
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 green chili (canned), diced
5 flour tortillas, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Brown your ground meat and drain. Add in the taco seasoning packet and cook down according to packet directions.

Stir in soup, salsa, water, tomatoes, and chili.

Mix and then add tortillas mixing them into the sauce. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

I had already prepared, seasoned taco meat in the freezer, so this meal was very quick to put together. I pretty much put everything in, brought to a boil, and then cooked 5 minutes. So, in about 10 minutes, I had dinner on the table. The salsa and chili pepper gave it a really nice flavor. I served it with chips on the side.


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Sonora Chicken Pasta

Many of the dishes that I like to make for dinner are knock off versions of recipes from restaurants that we have eaten at. One such dish is Sonora Chicken Pasta, which I believe was from the menu at Ruby Tuesday's. I think that this is one where my husband was traveling on business and had dinner at a Ruby Tuesday's. Upon returning home, he asked me if I could make something like it. I found a recipe and made a few tweaks like substituting milk for the cream. The dish has a great flavor, the contrast of the warm pasta and chicken, the spicy cheese sauce (and beans), and the cold tomatoes creates what I consider to be a great experience. There is something about mixing hot/spicy with cool that makes a dish very appealing to me. It is great with fresh tomatoes or diced, canned tomatoes.

Sonora Chicken Pasta
Yield: 8 servings

1 pound Kraft Velveeta Cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
1/4 cup minced green chili
1/4 cup minced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can black beans
1 dash paprika
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 dash Italian seasoning
3/4 pound Smart Taste prepared
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes or diced Roma tomatoes
2 green onions chopped

Combine cheese with milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir cheese often until it melts and becomes smooth.

Saute the red chili pepper, 2 tbsp green chili pepper, 2 tbsp onion and 1/2 clove garlic a couple of minutes. Then, add water to the pan so that the peppers do not scorch. Simmer another 2 minutes until the water has cooked off.
When cheese is smooth, add the sauted peppers and onions, 1/4 tsp salt, sugar, vinegar and cumin.

Leave on low heat stirring ocassionally until the other ingredients are ready.
Pour the entire can of beans into a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining onions and peppers and paprika.

Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until everything else is ready.
Rub chicken with olive oil, season with salt and Italian Seasoning. Grill for about 5 minutes per side, until chicken is done.

Remove chicken from grill and slice into strips.
Spoon pasta, cheese sauce, chicken breast, black beans, and chopped tomatoes into serving dish. Sprinkle with green onions.

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Mountain Dew Cupcakes

The other day, while playing around online, I came across a recipe that I knew that I had to try. It was called Mountain Dew Cupcakes. My husband is a huge fan of Mountain Dew. I made some slight adjustments (like making 1/2 the frosting), but otherwise followed the recipe as I found it.

Mountain Dew Cupcakes

1 c butter
2 c sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
4 eggs
2 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c Mountain Dew
1/4 c lemon/lime juice

Cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each. Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl. Mix on low, just until incorporated.

Add the Mountain Dew and lemon/lime juice. Mix to combine.

Scoop into cupcake liners, 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 for 20 - 22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely.

Mountain Dew Buttercream

1/2 c butter
3 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp Mountain Dew
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon/lime juice
yellow and green food coloring (or neon green if you have it)

Beat butter until creamy. Add half of the sugar and mix on low. Add the Mountain Dew, zest and lemon/lime juice. Beat until combined. Add remaining sugar until desired consistency.

I had a lot of trouble with the consistency of the frosting. It seemed too thin to me even after adding all of the sugar, more like something I would drizzle on a cake than something I could frost a cupcake with. I did some doctoring to get where I had something that would spread/set. I think that next time, I would leave out the lemon/lime juice and see how that does. If that's not enough, I might bump the butter to 3/4 c to give it more body to start with.

You can definitely pick up the Mountain Dew in the cupcakes, but I would say it has more of a citrus delivery than a true Dew delivery. I'm thinking it would be a yummy bundt cake too, with it's citrus-y freshness.

Based on my recipe builder, these cupcakes each have about 275 calories, with frosting (9 Points Plus). Guess I better make sure that I view it as an occasional treat.

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Chicken Bruschetta

When I looked at the calendar last weekend, I noticed that our Saturday was rather open, so I suggested that we do a dinner with friends. We had two families able to join us. I was debating between some favorite standby recipes or trying a new one that I had found when I was on the search for a coupon. I decided to go with the new recipe for Bruschetta Chicken. I found the recipe on Hunt's website and made some adjustments.

Bruschetta Chicken
1 can tomato sauce (15 ounce)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cans petite diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce)
2 tsp dried basil
2 c shredded Italian blend cheese
2# chicken breasts
1 1/4 cups croutons, crushed slightly

Drain the juice from the diced tomatoes. Pour the juice into your skillet over medium heat and add garlic. Once garlic begins to brown, add the tomato sauce to the pan.

Add the basil and 1 cup of cheese to the tomatoes. Set aside.

Pound chicken breasts and cut each piece in two. Place into sauce and top with tomato/cheese/basil mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for 15 minutes.

Top with croutons and remaining cheese. Allow to cook for another minute to melt the cheese.

Based on the recipe software that I have, assuming 8 servings, there are about 200 calories per serving. The sauce was delicious and was excellent soaked up with the Italian bread that we were enjoying.


Disclaimer

Arrabiata Sauce

My husband is Italian. I am not. When I was growing up, I remember having pasta. It was generally spaghetti with meat sauce or it was lasagna. I do not remember having other pasta dishes at home. As a result, I don't need to have pasta more than once a week, but my husband would be content with it being a near daily entry on the menu plan. In order to meet in the middle, I have had to learn to make a variety of pasta dishes. I simply could not have the same thing each day. Many of the dishes that I make are inspired by meals we have had at a restaurant. Today, I made Arrabiata Sauce - it was inspired by the $8.95 jar of pasta sauce that we found at the grocery yesterday when my husband suggested that we pick up a jar of some spicy pasta sauce. This one was cheaper - I probably spent less than $3 on the ingredients (the tomatoes were only $2.45).

It was easy to make and the results were pretty tasty. I used a number of recipes as my inspiration, I will share a link to Una Mamma Italiana Arrabiata Sauce, as it was her brown sugar addition that was the most unique - otherwise the recipes were all similar.

Arrabiata Sauce

1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 c red wine
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 small can tomato paste
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp dried Basil
2 cans crushed tomatoes

Melt butter in pan and add olive oil. Saute onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.

Add in red wine, brown sugar, tomato paste, lemon juice, Italian seasoning and basil. Stir to combine.

Add crushed tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

We served it over Penne, with Parmesean cheese and some Italian Bread.

This sauce was very tasty. My husband indicated that it could be spicier, but it was just right for the kids. We talked about how it would be a good sauce to bake chicken in (or have with chicken and pasta).

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