Easy like Sunday morning...or Wednesday night

I've been trying to use up everything in my kitchen before I leave for 5 weeks and I decided to make one last meal. My criteria were: needed to be easy and I wanted to have leftovers for the next day.
Let me brag for a minute...I discovered Martha Stewart's "Everyday Food" as a magazine, but didn't know about the cookbook, Great Food Fast until Sara showed me her copy during my visit to San Angelo, TX. I literally wanted to try every page and bought it as soon as I returned to Las Cruces. If you are looking for a great cookbook, this is pretty much a WINNER.
Anyway, all that to say, Martha Stewart has a Everyday Food application for the iPod/iPhone. It's under $3 I think, and it worth it!!
I found my winning recipe, Fettucine with Spinach Pesto on the Everyday Food app, which is super handy. You can email recipes, save grocery lists, save recipes....love it!!
I've never made pesto, but it's safe to say that this will be making another appearance. The spinach pesto was incredibly easy and so tasty. I personally LOVE anything with spinach and love pasta. You could completely swap the fettucine for any other pasta...I would probably go with penne, linguine or bowtie.
I wanted this to be a little more filling, so I grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced it and put it on top. This is a great summer meal, with or without the chicken!

Fettucine with Spinach Pesto

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 12 ounces fettuccine
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, plus more for serving (optional)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon grated zest plus 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; immediately drain pasta, and return to pot.
2. While pasta is cooking, place spinach, Parmesan, nuts, garlic, and lemon zest and juice in a food processor. Process until a paste forms. With motor running, add oil and 1/4 cup cold water; process until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Add to pasta; toss, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time until sauce is thinned slightly and coats fettuccine (you may not need all the water). Serve, sprinkled with additional Parmesan and nuts, if desired.

Now...no meal is complete without dessert. At least not at my house. You will never leave here without something sweet. Again, I was looking to use up my remaining groceries and found this incredible Caramel Banana Cake from one of my favorite websites EVER, the Kitchn. Winner.

Note...I used a 13 x 9 pan and I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for white flour and it turned out perfect. So, since this has whole wheat, that automatically makes it healthy and you can feel free to have 2 pieces instead of just 1. Or, you could have a piece for breakfast. But not that I would know anything about that.

If you really want to elevate this from great to winner...top with cream cheese frosting.

Caramel Banana Cake
2 9-inch layers

3/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
1 1/2 cups caramel sauce

Heat oven to 325 F. Grease two 9" cake pans.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy then add the eggs and beat until silky and lightened. Sift the flour with the baking soda and salt. Whisk the milk and mashed bananas in a separate measuring cup and add to the eggs and butter, alternating with the flour. Beat just until smooth.

Pour batter into the prepared pans. Pour half the caramel sauce into each pan, and swirl with a knife. The pans will be quite full. Put in the oven carefully and bake for about 60 minutes, or until the centers are set and a knife comes out clean.

Cool completely before serving.

For the cream cheese icing:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package light cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum (optional)
3 cups confectioners' sugar

For the icing: In a large bowl, whip the butter and cream cheese together until very smooth, with no lumps remaining. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon rum, if using. Add the confectioners sugar, beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth.

Women's Circle

I'm hosting Women's Circle (Book study) at my casita on Thursday. I'm not feeling like trying anything crazy...just simply and delicious...I'm feeling like Sara-friend's Hummus

Sweet Roasted Pepper Hummus

15 oz. low sodium garbanzo beans, drained
4 oz. roasted red peppers
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 (or so) Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. (or less) cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Combine ingredients in food processor until smooth and slightly fluffy. Better if refrigerated before serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, if desired.



And something sweet, Paula Deen's Gorilla Bread, which doesn't require a ton of new ingredients. I happen to have everything but biscuits.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

Last week in the desert

I brought my favorite triple chocolate cake to our 20's group last night...but then again, I'm a chocolate fiend. You'll find me eating this for breakfast!

Nancy G's Chocolate Cake
1 box Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
1 small package of chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips (or whatever you have on hand, milk chocolate, semi-sweet)


Combine liquid ingredients + sour cream as directed on back of cake mix, fold in chocolate chips and pour into a greased bundt pan and bake for suggested time. I would check it prior to the end of baking, since it's going to be a lot denser with the addition of sour cream and chocolate pudding mix. It may take a few more minutes than a usual bundt cake from a mix.

While your cake is baking, here is the glorious frosting that is from heaven above:

1 stick margarine (I've done butter and margarine, for some reason margarine has a better flavor here)
7 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
7 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 box of Domino powdered sugar, or about 2 cups

Melt margarine in the microwave, pour into a mixing bowl, add cocoa and whipping cream. Beat until smooth, then add powdered sugar until frosting is desired consistency.

Veggie Enchiladas and Caramel Coconut Pecan Brownies

Dinner with my mama last night...she made these little gems from Cooking Light...simply delish

Corn and Cheese Enchiladas



Preparation Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cooking Time: 31 minutes minutes
Yield: 4 Servings

Cost per Serving: $1.98

8 6-inch corn tortillas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
5 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 2 medium ears)
1/2 cup whole milk
Salt
2 cups grated pepper Jack
1 10-oz. can enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stack tortillas, wrap in foil and bake until softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

While tortillas are baking, oil a 7-by-11-inch glass baking dish. Warm 1 Tbsp. oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in corn and milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 7 to 10 minutes. Season with salt.

Remove tortillas from foil. Set aside 1/2 cup cheese. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of corn mixture in center of a tortilla. Sprinkle with a heaping tablespoon of cheese. Roll up tortilla and set in dish, seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas, overlapping them slightly. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes.

CALORIES 457 ; FAT 25g (sat 13g); CHOLESTEROL 64mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41g; SODIUM 323mg; PROTEIN 20g; FIBER 5g


Aaaand....since I'm leaving for 6 weeks and trying to use up some ingredients in my house, I found this amazing brownie recipe (Southern Living) that happened to use up the coconut, pecans and sweetened condensed milk that I had....enjoy!!
One quick note...I also had 3/4 cup of leftover sliced almonds that I mixed in with the pecans....incredible!
Also...DO line your 13 x 9 pan with foil...you are able to lift the whole thing out and it makes cutting SO SO SO much easier!


Caramel-Coconut-Pecan Brownies (Southern Living)


Prep: 20 min., Bake: 55 min.

To easily remove and cut brownies, line the pan with greased and floured heavy-duty aluminum foil, allowing several inches to extend over sides. After baking and cooling, lift the block of brownies from the pan using the foil. Press the foil sides down, and cut.

Yield: Makes 32 brownies


4 (1-ounce) unsweetened chocolate baking squares
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Microwave chocolate squares in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 1/2 minutes, stirring at 30-second intervals until melted. Stir until smooth.

Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.

Add flour, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla and chocolate morsels. Spread batter into a greased and floured 13- x 9-inch pan. Sprinkle batter evenly with coconut, 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels, and chopped pecans. Drizzle evenly with sweetened condensed milk.

Bake at 350° for 50 to 55 minutes or until golden brown and center is set. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into squares.