Recipe: Chicken with Spinach-Parsley Rice and a Lemon Cream Sauce

This dish is bursting with fresh, clean flavors—tart lemon, fresh baby spinach and flat-leaf parsley, creamy fontina cheese, and velvety cream. After days of cold weather, rain, and snow, we finally got a bit of a break today, and this dish, which I'd consider more of a spring or summer meal, was the perfect thing to highlight the little bit of warm weather we got today. Simple white rice gets a kick with the addition of a pesto-like mixture of baby spinach, Italian flat-leaf parsley, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and a handful of fontina cheese, and it pairs nicely with lightly seasoned chicken breasts and a delicate lemon cream sauce. Crisp, clean lemon flavor, from both the juice and zest of the fruit, is the highlighted flavor in the dish and really gives it a great pop of flavor—use the real thing, not the bottled stuff, because it'll taste so much nicer.

The sauce was served on the side

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: Approx. 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Food processor

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cut in half, and pounded out to about 1/2-1 inch thickness
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Dried lemon peel, to taste (not necessary, but it's great on the chicken)
• Olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a pan)
• Butter or margarine (just a pat to add to the pan with the chicken)

For the rice

• Approx. 1 cup long grain white rice (makes about 3 cups cooked)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Juice from one lemon (about 3 tbsp.)
• 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup baby spinach (be sure to pack it down to fit in more)
• 1 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley (be sure to pack it down to fit in more)
• Approx. 5 oz. fontina cheese, grated
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the lemon cream sauce

• 2 tbsp. dry white wine (cooking wine)
• 1/2 - 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream
• White pepper and salt, to taste (the white pepper will ensure the sauce stays a nice, solid white color)

Directions
Cook the rice according to package instructions (for me, it's cooking rice in 1&3/4 cup salted water with a tbsp. butter)—this should take about 20 minutes. In the meantime, add the ingredients for the rice "pesto" (olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, spinach, and parsley) to a food processor and pulse to blend. After it's well-blended, add the grated cheese and pulse to blend, then set aside. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper (I sprinkled mine with dried lemon peel too) on both sides. In a large pan, heat a little olive oil and butter over medium heat, then add the chicken and cook until done, turning occasionally to evenly brown it. While the chicken is cooking, heat the lemon juice, zest, and white wine for the sauce in a small pot over medium heat. After about 2 minutes over heat, gradually whisk the heavy cream into the mixture (do this very slowly). Season with salt and white pepper and reduce to low heat. The mixture will thicken to a certain degree, but it is naturally a thinner, more delicate sauce. When the rice is done, fluff it gently and pour the spinach and parsley mixture into it, then gently toss the rice to evenly coat it. Serve the rice alongside the chicken and drizzle the sauce over both. A sprinkling of Parmesan cheese works well with the dish.

This dish is full of lemony flavor, which really brightens it up and wakes up your senses. The light sauce adds flavor to the simply-seasoned chicken and it pairs well with the rice. A small baby spinach salad with a light dressing (and oil-and-vinegar dressing would be perfect) would go well with this, along with any sort of white wine.

Recipe: "Almond Joy" Pie

My mom just celebrated her birthday on Thursday and I really wanted to surprise her with some sort of birthday dessert. I came across a recipe online for "Almond Joy" pie a little while ago and I'd saved it on my "Recipes to Try" pinboard on Pinterest, thinking my parents would enjoy it someday—both are big fans of coconut, and they both enjoy Mounds and Almond Joy candy bars. We have two birthday dessert traditions in our house, Buster Bar ice cream cake (Oreo cookie crust topped with vanilla ice cream, homemade fudgy chocolate topping, and peanuts) and Double Fudge Fancy Fill (a chocolate cake with a layer of sweetened cream cheese in the middle, topped with homemade chocolate icing), but my mom always makes those, so I thought I'd try something new, and birthday pie sounded like a good idea. The pie is essentially a coconut cream pie, but a chocolate cookie crust, whipped cream topping, thick drizzles of hot fudge, and sliced almonds transform it into an "Almond Joy" pie that is to-die-for. I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but I absolutely loved this pie and, happily, so did my parents (and yes, my mom was quite surprised and loved that I made the effort to make something from scratch). The coconut cream filling is luscious and creamy, and the coconut flavor is soft and sweet (I was concerned it would be overpowering, but the flavor is just right). You'll end up with extra hot fudge, which is great, because it's perfect for ice cream sundaes, something sweet to dip fruit in, and other desserts. The recipe is easy to follow and it actually gets pulled together pretty quickly, so you'll be enjoying "Almond Joy" pie in no time!

Yields: 1, 9-inch pie
Prep. and cooking time: Approx. 15-20 minutes for the coconut cream filling, approx.  10-15 minutes for the hot fudge, Approx. 10-15 minutes (unless you use a premade crust, in which case, it's ready to go)
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Electric mixer or handheld/immersion blender

Ingredients & Directions
Chocolate crumb crust

• 1 & 1/2 cups Nabisco chocolate wafers, crushed
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp. butter, melted 

Preheat the oven to 375*F. In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate wafers, sugar, and melted butter and stir until well-mixed and until the mixture looks slightly wet and darker. Pour the mixture in a 9-inch pie pan and press it into the bottoms and sides, creating a crust. Bake until firm, for approx. 8-10 minutes. Cool completely, then add the cream pie filling.
I couldn't find Nabisco chocolate wafers or any other sort of hard, crunchy chocolate cookie, so I used a premade Keebler brand chocolate cookie crumb crust and it was very good.


Coconut cream pie filling

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup cream of coconut
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 tbsp. margarine or butter (I used salted butter) 
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup flaked/shredded, sweetened coconut

In a medium pot, combine the sugar, salt, and cornstarch, then stir in the milk and cream of coconut. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and bubbly, then continue cooking for approx. 2 minutes more. Temper the egg yolks by very slowly and gradually adding a little bit of the hot cream of coconut mixture to them, being sure to stir the egg yolk and cream of coconut mixture constantly (you need to temper it properly—if you do this too quickly or mix too much at a time, the eggs will scramble. Here's a helpful link to explain the process of tempering). Pour this mixture in the pot with the rest of the cream of coconut mixture and cook over medium heat until it starts to bubble, then continue to cook for a minute or too. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and butter, stirring until the butter is melted, then add the shredded coconut, stirring to combine. Pour the mixture over the chocolate crumb crust and and chill, covered or uncovered) for 3-6 hours before adding the whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and almond topping.


Hot fudge topping

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's brand cocoa powder)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• (1 small bag sliced almonds to sprinkle on at the very end, once the whipped cream and chocolate has been put on)

Stir together the cocoa powder, sugar, corn syrup, evaporated milk, salt, and butter in a small-to-medium pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Let the mixture boil for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let the mixture cool. Store in an airtight, microwave-safe container (it can be stored for up to 1 week in the fridge). To reheat (you need to do this in order to get it to pouring consistency for drizzling on the pie, or any other sweet treats), heat in short bursts (20 seconds at a time) in the microwave in the container it's in or in a small bowl, until it is warm and thinned-out enough to pour.


Whipped cream

• 4 tsp. cold water
• 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• Pure vanilla extract, to taste (I added about a tbsp., maybe a little more)

In a small heatproof dish (I used a little porcelain dish, but a small glass bowl could work too), combine the cold water and gelatin, and let it sit for about 2 minutes, until firm. Bring a small pot of water, filled up to about 2 inches, to a boil, then place the bowl of gelatin in the saucepan and stir it until it dissolves (it will be clear and not cloudy when done). Whip the whipping cream and sugar in a mixer or use a handheld/immersion blender to whip it. Slowly drizzle in the dissolved gelatin as you whip the cream, then add in the vanilla. The whipped cream is done when soft peaks form when you dip a spoon in then pull it up and out. (The reason you add gelatin to this mixture is to stabilize the mixture so it keeps its shape on the pie and stays that way for a few days).

To make the finished product
Spread the whipped cream topping over the chilled coconut cream pie, then drizzle with the hot fudge and sprinkle sliced almonds all over the top. 

This pie is rich, creamy, and has an absolutely perfect combination of flavors and textures. Creamy, sweet coconut filling; fluffy whipped cream; warm, rich chocolate sauce; and a crunchy chocolate crust and sliced almonds on top make a delicious, candy bar-inspired pie that would be great served any time of year, for a variety of events. I highly recommend drizzling extra chocolate topping on after you serve yourself a slice and don't worry if you have to buy a pre-made crust, because it'll work out just fine. Be sure to thoroughly chill the pie before serving, because chilling firms it up and makes it a little less messy when serving.

Recipe: Hot Sausage and Plum Tomato Pasta

I've had a rare few days off—no classes, no work, and just a few errands to run—which has left me three full evenings to cook to my heart's content. Sunday night's chicken and spaghetti squash meal was fun and different—the kind of meal that called for some solid recipes to build off of—but this past night's meal was one of those that sort of came from a recipe, but mostly just consisted of me tossing random things in a pan and seasoning them willy-nilly with a variety of dried herbs to achieve what tasted like a well-thought out and recipe-driven meal (i.e. it was a delicious success): a pasta dish with hot Italian sausage, canned plum tomatoes and their juice, and splashes of dry red wine and half-and-half for a little depth of flavor. My dad is a fan of hearty tomato sauce-based pastas and he loves a little heat in his dinner dishes—my mother, not so much, but she's game to try anything I make, as long as I forewarn her about the spice level or the presence of bell peppers (she absolutely hates them). Because you cook the sausage in the pan before adding tomatoes and seasonings to that same pan, the spicy juices from the cooked sausage blend with the tomato juice, creating a subtle heat that coats your entire mouth from the very first bite. A generous sprinkling of dried basil, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper add a deeper flavor to the dish, while a half cup of half-and-half adds a very light creaminess to the sauce formed from the cooked tomatoes and sausage. It's an incredibly simple, easy dish—in fact, some of my past recipes featured on the blog are vaguely reminiscent of this recipe (the meat+sauce+pasta combo. is definitely a winner)—and it's the kind of warm, hearty dish that really fills you up on a cold day.

Serves: 4-6
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 8-10 oz. (a little over half a box) medium pasta shells
• 1 pkg. (about 5 links) hot Italian sausage, casings removed, meat pulled/crumbled into bite-sized pieces
• 1-2 tbsp. butter or margarine
• 2 tbsp. olive oil (or enough to evenly coat the bottom of a pan)
• 1 & 1/2, 28 oz. cans whole, peeled plum tomatoes, with their juice; coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup dry red wine (I use cooking wine), or to taste
• Dried basil, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste
• Italian cheese, if desired

Directions
In a large pot, bring lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until done (about 11-13 minutes). Drain, return to the pot, and put the lid on to keep it warm. In the meantime, heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan (I used a deep pan, similar to a wok, but a large skillet/pan would work or even a large, low pot). Add the crumbled sausage pieces to the pan and cook until they are browned and cooked through. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and red wine, cooking until the mixture is heated through and a thin sauce forms. Add the half-and-half and stir to blend, then continue to cook. Add desired dried herbs and seasonings and cook until the mixture is fragrant and well-mixed (total cooking time is about 15-20 minutes). Toss the tomato and sausage mixture with the pasta and serve, topped with Italian cheese and herbs if desired. For those with mouths sensitive to heat, I recommend serving a few slices of good Italian bread on the side to help soak up that heat. We sliced up some fresh ciabatta bread and served it with an herb pesto spread.

This dish is incredibly quick and easy to pull together and it's so delicious! The spice from the sausage blends with the tomatoes and their juice to add a kick of heat to the whole mixture, but the half-and-half smooths out the heat and adds a delicate and very subtle creaminess to the sauce. A mixture of dried herbs and Italian cheese add a punch of flavor to the dish and the pasta shells are the perfect medium to hold it all together.

Recipe: Chocolate-and-Butterscotch-Chip Cookies

I went out for groceries earlier this week, and while roaming up and down the baking aisle, looking for Halloween sprinkles and soft caramels (for caramel apples I'm making this weekend), I came across bags of flavored "chips," like mint and peanut butter. Among the assorted bags of "chips" were bags of butterscotch chips, something I rarely eat but really enjoy. I love the taste of rich chocolate and salty-sweet butterscotch blended together, so I thought making chocolate-and-butterscotch-chip cookies was the best way to get that flavor I was craving. Despite spending my morning in the hot training kitchen for class, slaving away (okay, not really slaving, but seriously, you really have to hustle when there's a lot of food to make) at three (yes, three) different soups, I was really eager to bake as soon as I got home, and I was especially excited about the prospect of the traditional cookies-and-milk for an afternoon snack. I followed the classic Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe (minus the nuts) that my family has used for years, substituting Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips (richer and better-tasting than Nestle chocolate chips, in my opinion) instead of Nestle chocolate chips and adding half a bag of butterscotch chips. The result: perfectly crispy-yet-soft cookies, oozing with warm chocolate and butterscotch chips. Best right of the oven, and great anytime with a glass of milk or just on their own.

Yields: About 4 dozen
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: about 9-13 minutes per batch
Difficulty: Easy
Equipment needed: Baking sheets, mixer (use the paddle attachment, not a whisk or other attachment)

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white/granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2&1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups (12 oz. bag) chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips—they are so much better than cheap chocolate chips)
• 1 cup (half of a 12 oz. bag, a.k.a. 6 oz.) butterscotch chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375*F. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. Combine the butter, brown sugar, white/granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in the mixer's mixing bowl and beat on low on medium speed until creamy. Add one egg at a time, and thoroughly beat each into the cookie dough on medium speed. Slowly add the flour mixture, beating on low or medium low speed until it's fully incorporated. Slowly add in the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips, beating on low speed to help blend them into the dough. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets, being sure to leave room in between each ball of dough to allow the cookie to spread as it cooks (I just use my hands and scoop out tablespoon-sized blobs of dough). Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until golden brown (mine took about 13 minutes to bake perfectly). Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then remove cookies from sheets and place on wire racks to cool completely. Store in an air-tight (tupperware) container. (Helpful tip: To keep cookies soft, place a slice of bread in the container they're stored in. The cookies draw out the moisture in the bread and that helps keep them soft. Be sure to replace the bread slice once it's dried out).

 These are your quintessential chocolate chip cookies, just dressed up a bit with the addition of butterscotch chips. They're soft on the inside, but lightly crispy around the edges and the "chips" have that magic way of staying melty, even after the cookies have cooled all the way. Delicious!

Recipe: Sugar Cookies with Hand-Colored Sugar Sprinkles

I made these cookies as a gift for my boyfriend, who just celebrated his 23rd birthday a little less than a week ago. I was really bummed out that I didn't get to celebrate his birthday with him in person, so I wanted to make sure he got a great birthday package, full of goodies, in the mail. Along with my little collection of fun, geeky gifts from ThinkGeek.com, I wanted to include something that was a little more personal. Being the chef-wannabe that I am, I thought I'd make him homemade cookies, with some sort of handmade decorations. I sent him a surprise care package earlier this summer with chocolate chip cookies, so I wanted to make something new. He'd mentioned once that his family makes sugar cookies around Christmas time, so I found a recipe in The Cook's Encyclopedia of Cookies that looked just right. The result of my baking efforts: lightly golden-brown cookies cut into star and heart shapes, generously sprinkled with rainbow-colored sugar. Girly and reminiscent of a bowl of Lucky Charms? Yes. Delicious? Indeed. Appreciated by my boyfriend? I sure hope so. ;D

Yields: Approx. 36 (depending on the size and type of cookie cutter you use, you'll have more or less)
Prep. time: 10-15 minute prep., 30 minutes to chill cookie dough
Baking time: 10-12 minutes per sheet
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Electric mixer

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• Various colors of sanding sugar or (if you want to dye your own, which is pretty fun—directions listed below) white/clear sanding sugar and food coloring (red, yellow, and blue)

Directions
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg into a small bowl, then set aside. With a mixer, blend together the butter/margarine, sugar (not the sanding sugar), and vanilla extract until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well into the mixture. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk (one and then the other, back and forth) to make a soft, semi-sticky dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350*F. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface (keep the flour around, because you'll likely need to add more to the surface to keep the dough from sticking to it). Roll it to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into rounds or other shapes using floured cookie cutters. Transfer cut cookies to ungreased baking sheets.

To make the colored sugar: Place a piece of wax paper on a flat surface a put a small pile of sanding sugar on the paper (not too much sugar...just a few tablespoons...you can always make more if you find that the cookies don't have enough sugar topping). Add one drop of food coloring to the sugar and smooth a rubber spatula over and through the sugar, blending the color into the sugar. The color should be light and even throughout the sugar—you want to avoid clumps of sugar that are dark and coated with too much food coloring. If you want a darker color, add more food coloring, but only one drop at a time, and only after blending that drop into the sugar. Repeat the process with fresh sanding sugar and the colors of your choice (for color mixtures, like red and yellow to make orange, add one drop of each color to the sugar and blend and repeat with one drop each if you want a deeper color). Once all of your sugar is dyed, spread it out on the wax paper and let it dry for a few minutes. Pour the dried sugar in a small bowl and stir with a spoon to mix.

Sprinkle the colored sugar onto the cookies on the cooking sheet, then bake the cookies in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hand-dyed sugar

These cookies are light, with that perfect soft-yet-crunchy texture. The nutmeg adds a hint of warmth and the cookies are perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of hot tea or coffee. The easy-to-make colored sugar is a great alternative to icing/frosting (which, in my case, could easily have smeared and smushed on the cookies on their trip through the mail). The cookies are delicious, pretty, and perfect for a birthday gift, Christmas cookie platter, or just to have around the house for a sweet snack.

Recipe: Italian Chicken Strips

While trying out new recipes is a ton of fun and making complex dishes is exciting, it's always good to have a few easy weeknight recipes in your back pocket, so on those nights (like tonight, in my case) when you don't have the time or the ingredients to make a fancy dish, you can still make something delicious. I love this chicken strip dish because you more than likely have all of the ingredients in your kitchen already, and you can cheat and use jarred tomato sauce or marinara if you don't have the time or supplies to make your own. I plate my version with pasta topped with the chicken strips and a splash of marinara. Another great way to serve the chicken strips is to plate them like chicken fingers, using the marinara in place of ketchup or your usual condiment of choice, and serve potato wedges seasoned with Italian herbs (essentially, a play on french fries) as a side. These chicken strips would even be good between two slices of crusty Italian bread, topped with marinara and melted provolone (like a variation on a meatball sub).

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2-4 chicken breasts, sliced into strips (I used two to serve 3 people and we had some left over)
• 1/2 cup seasoned, dry bread crumbs (Italian seasoning)
• 2 tsp. dry basil
• 1 tsp. dry parsley
• 1 tsp. dry Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• Margarine or butter (at least 2 tbsp.)
• Tomato or marinara sauce of your choice (I use Bertolli brand)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200*F. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, basil, parsley, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and a little bit of salt and pepper. Whisk together with a fork until well blended. Put the beaten egg in a slightly smaller bowl. Dip the chicken strips into the egg, then dip them in the bowl with the crumb mixture, coating them completely. Set the strips aside on a plate to prepare for cooking. Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat and add a little butter. Cook the chicken strips in batches, being sure to flip them over in the pan so they get golden brown on eat side (add more butter to the pan as you go along). Put cooked chicken strips in an oven-safe dish and put them in the oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining strips. In a small microwaveable pot with a lid, add the desired amount of tomato or marinara sauce and heat in the microwave until hot, about 2-4 minutes. Once the last batch of chicken is cooked and added to the dish with the other chicken, remove from the oven and serve the strips with the warm sauce.

This dish is incredibly easy and quick to make, and you probably won't have to go grocery shopping to make it because the ingredients should be readily available in your kitchen. Whether served atop pasta, alongside herb-crusted potato wedges, or in another way, these flavorful Italian-style chicken strips are sure to please.

Recipe: Banana Bread

We almost always have a bunch of bananas in the kitchen to grab as a light breakfast or a quick snack for work. It's a longstanding tradition in my house to make banana bread with the two or three bananas that inevitably get left behind to turn into mottled brown, mushy versions of their formerly selves. When I was in college, my mom passed the recipe on to me and, during my junior year, there was a new loaf of banana bread sitting out on our kitchen counter just about every other week. It's a great way to make use of yucky old bananas and a slice or two of this sweet bread makes for a great snack or breakfast, much like the bananas it's made with.

Beautiful golden brown loaf, cut while it was still warm. The slices are spread with a little butter, just the way I like it.

Serves: Many
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, mashed bananas (about 3 medium-sized bananas)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
In a small pot over medium heat, melt the stick of butter/margarine. Remove from heat and cool slightly. In the meantime, mash the bananas in a large bowl and mix in the sugar and eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and sift (I just run a fork through the mixture repeatedly a few times). Pour the sifted mixture into the large bowl with the banana mixture. Add the melted butter and stir together the ingredients until completely combined (mixture will be a little lumpy and it will be a pale creamy yellow color). Pour into an oven-safe, greased, 8"x5" loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes at 350*F or until tester (use a knife or fork) can be stuck in the bread and come out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then remove and let cool on a plate or rack for 10-20 minutes. Wrap in waxed paper and foil to keep it fresh. Slices can be served plain or spread with a little butter.

I love getting a slice of banana bread spread with a little butter served with a glass of skim milk for breakfast, and it's great as a snack too. It keeps well and you can even freeze it and thaw it out for later (make sure it's wrapped up tightly though and placed in a freezer bag. It's easy to make, it makes great use of bananas that are too ripe to eat as is, and it's really delicious.

Recipe: Ziti with Prosciutto, Asparagus, and Mozzarella

My parents are driving over to State College tonight and spending most of Saturday there, so I was left to fend for myself for dinner tonight. I'd thought about just tossing together a salad or heating up a Smart Ones meal (hey, even cooks are entitled to a few "off" nights), but I hadn't had much to eat today and I was craving one of my all time favorite dishes (and the dish my boyfriend most often asks me to make): Giada De Laurentiis' Ziti with Asparagus, Smoked Mozzarella, and Prosciutto (from her Everday Italian cookbook). Now, I have a habit of tweaking almost every dish I make (sometimes even on the first try making them, which is typically a no-no in the cooking world), and this one is no exception. I use regular mozzarella instead of smoked and I saute the prosciutto to give it a little crunch in the pasta. I'm also at that stage in my cooking where I only loosely follow measurements and timers, and once I've made something once, I can usually do it again and again without the recipe by my side. So, I'll share her recipe, but share the way I make it and do my best with the technical stuff, like measurements and timing.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• Salt and pepper
• Butter or margarine
• Dried basil
• 8 oz. dried ziti or other tubular pasta (about 1/2 a box of pasta)
• 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (they're sold in bundles, and I usually use the whole thing)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 oz. (about 1/2 cup) mozzarella cheese, diced (I just buy an 8 oz. Bel Gioioso brand mozzarella ball...and use all of it...what can I say?—I like cheese!)
• 3 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into small squares
• 3 tbsp. thinly sliced fresh basil
• Italian cheese (to sprinkle on top of the finished product)

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the asparagus and cook until the pasta is al dente and the asparagus is bright green and crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid (I typically don't reserve any liquid, but if you want a wetter pasta, or more of a sauce, keep it).
In the meantime, while the ziti and asparagus are cooking together, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over a medium flame. Add the minced garlic and prosciutto and cook the prosciutto until it turns to a darker brown/pink and is slightly crispy. Toss the cooked prosciutto, cubes of mozzarella, and fresh basil with the pasta and add in butter (about 1 tbsp.), olive oil (about 4 tbsp.), dried basil, salt, and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Italian cheese of your choice and serve.

This dish is very filling and reheats wonderfully. The prosciutto gives it a bit of a salty flavor, while the butter and olive oil create a light, almost-creamy sauce (trust me, you don't need cheesy or tomato-packed sauces to make pasta delicious). Be forewarned: The mozzarella will melt quickly and it can make the dish a little tricky to eat (you may even need a butter knife to cut through the melty, stringy cheese), but I personally love getting globs of the cheese in my bites of pasta.  All in all, a delicious and easy dish to make, and perfect for lunch the next day.