Madeleines with Zucchini and Gruyère Cheese

Nov 15, 2012 by lovelypantry

Today I’m doing a guest post for Renee at Magnolia Days. Renee is certainly one of the most helpful, knowledgeable and friendly food bloggers I’ve come across in my year of blogging. Renee was nice enough to guest post for me a few months ago while I was on vacation and now I’m honoured to do the same for her. One day, Renee and I will meet. And we’ll have a good old talk as good friends do. Most likely after we’ve cooked and baked up a storm.

I’ve always loved unusual, simple, tasty little treats. Madeleines certainly fit that description. These little cakes (they have also been called cookies) have French origins and are made with a special pan which can be purchased from specialty cooking stores, or online. I remember when I brought my Madeleine pan home. I was so excited because I had a new baking utensil to play with. I searched through my cookbooks and found a recipe that was so unusual for me, but had my favourite ingredients. I decided to give it a try and now I will share my very first Madeleines with you all. Remember to check out my guest post for the recipe, and be sure to say hello to Renee 🙂

 

 

Zucchini and cheese. Such a great pairing. I enjoyed these little darlings with some tea- any kind will do. I also added some cream cheese to each savoury bite. I think this is a great way to spend these chilly afternoons. There’s really no fuss in making Madeleines. The ingredients are simple and the recipe is quite versatile. The recipe used was slightly adapted from “Quick Cooking, 1,001 Recipes”.

 

 

 

I haven’t had my Madeleine pan for long, but without a doubt… I know I will get lots of use out of it.

 

 

 

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Honey Cornbread Gruyère Muffins for #MuffinMonday

Oct 15, 2012 by lovelypantry

Good Monday morning to you all! Ready for another #MuffinMonday? I hope so – because today’s recipe is nothing short of tasty simplicity!

Our recipe is by Down Home With The Neelys from Food Network. I’m always looking at ways to bake with cornmeal. Yes, I’m quite fond of it. I was more than happy when I saw the ingredients. I was wondering what I could do to make this one different. I was tempted to leave it just as it is, actually. I’ll probably follow the original recipe at some point. But I decided to use up some Gruyère cheese that I had to see how well it would incorporate into the recipe. As fate would have it….it turned out FABULOUS! I liked the sweet and salty combination.I think next time, I’ll take hubby’s advice and cut the cheese into cubes instead of shredding. Perhaps it will be interesting to bite into chunks of melted cheese. We’ll see!!! Something tells me he enjoys #MuffinMonday just as much as I do.

For now, I just want to let you all know, that this muffin is perfect with a cup of coffee….especially on a Monday morning after a super busy weekend.

 

 

 

Yes, this is exactly how I had it. The kids were waiting patiently for me to finish taking pictures. They even offered to help because I was “taking sooooo long.” They were very kind this time. Probably due to the absence of chocolate chips.

 

 

And there you have it! A perfectly moist and cheesy muffin to start your week! A little bit of sweet, and a little bit of savoury all bundled up in a muffin.

 

Happy Monday and have a spectacular week!!

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week. Check out Muffin 101 here.

~Lyn

 

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Quinoa Pasta with Roasted Zucchini and Cheese

Mar 26, 2012 by lovelypantry

Last nights dinner was so very interesting to me. I knew I had to roast some zucchini that was begging to be eaten. I also wanted to try the Quinoa Pasta that I bought a few days ago. I had never seen it before and I wanted give it a try so I could see how it tasted and how the texture compared to regular pasta. And there’s the cheese. I’ve always had a thing for cheese. It’s not something that I will give up easily, so bear with me as you see cheese all over this recipe. I kept it subtle. Promise 🙂 …Although I purposely avoided measuring how much cheese I used…

It was tasty, meatless and certainly something I intend to have again. My hubby thought it was quite nice. I don’t think I could convince him to have this without some meat though. He is far from a part-time vegetarian, like what I’m on the path to becoming. Baby steps. As I read more about it and find recipes that suit my palate, I’m truly considering reducing my meat consumption.

Here’s the finished result…another freestyle recipe 🙂

 

 

As for the Quinoa Pasta, I realized that it takes a little longer to cook than regular pasta. The package suggested 13-15 minutes – spot on. Anything before that, it’s still rather firm. Also, you have to eat it right away. I decided to toss it in a cheese mixture in order to make it moist on the outside. I don’t do dry pasta very well. A cream sauce or olive oil is pretty much mandatory. The texture of quinoa pasta is just fine and I would not have noticed the difference at all. I will buy it again, if I come across it. Its Quinoa. I can’t go wrong. Right?

 

 

 

I got my son to eat the zucchini. I had to basically emphasize that it had cheese on it. Not that there was too much, but he needs encouragement to eat “new” veggies. He has lettuce, green beans and broccoli under his belt. He needs to conquer zucchini so I can move on to another vegetable. Goodness rules in my house!

 

 

 

 

Roasted zucchini, fresh out the oven. So fragrant. Even the crispy parmesan stuck to the tray looked good to me.

 

 

 

 

Zucchini never tasted so good.

 

 

What a way to start the week. Happy Monday friends!

~Lyn

 

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Chicken Parmigiana

Sep 12, 2011 by lovelypantry

I love to make dishes that are tasty and family friendly. They can be as simple or as fussy as I want them to be, since in the end, my efforts will be worth it. I am steadily appreciating the flavour of tomatoes (that’s right, I don’t like them so much) and I’m slowly incorporating them into meals a few times per week. Chicken Parmigiana was something that always looked great but I remember when I tried it some time ago, there was just too much tomato sauce. I decided to try it my way.

I went looking for a sauce that I was comfortable with. I found a Pasta Sauce by a brand called Healthy Choice. There was a limited variety from their line but I went with the Garlic and Fine Herb. It’s the only one that I use now. I’m very happy with it.

 

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Breadcrumbs

1 Egg

6 Chicken breast cutlets, seasoned with salt and pepper {If you use whole breasts, you’ll have to thinly slice it length-wise in half to get a nice cutlet.}

1/4 Cup Gratered Parmesan Cheese

1 Cup Tomato Sauce

1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (or if you’re using sliced Mozzarella cheese, 1 slice per piece of chicken)

Olive Oil for browning chicken

 

Directions:

Turn on your broiler to  high.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat a few tablespoons of Olive Oil.

In a shallow dish, add bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

Lightly beat the egg and pour into another shallow dish.

Dip each chicken breast into the egg to coat, then dip into the breadcrumb/cheese mixture. Shake off any excess. Brown each piece of chicken and be sure to do it in batches.

In an oven proof casserole dish, pour in tomato sauce to coat the bottom evenly. Place each piece of cooked chicken into the dish, slightly overlapping.

Sprinkle mozzarella over the chicken (or layer slices across the top of the chicken).

Place in your oven broiler at about 4 inches from the heat source for about 5-8 minutes. Allow the cheese to brown nicely. Serve with Pasta and Salad.

I enjoy this every time I cook it. Hopefully you will too!

 

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food.

 

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Stuffed French Toast

Sep 8, 2011 by lovelypantry

 

I love a good breakfast. The only thing is, I don’t want to spend too much time preparing it. But sometimes, you need to put in the extra effort and do something special for your family. Which is why I prepared Stuffed French Toast using French Bread.

Ingredients:

1 Loaf French Bread

1 Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge

1/4 Cup Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

[Honestly, you can stuff it with anything you like: Jam, Cream Cheese, Marmalade etc]

2 Eggs

1/4 Tsp Cinnamon

1/2 Cup Milk

2 Tbsp  Butter

 

Directions:

Slice each piece of bread about 1 1/2 – 2 inches thick. Using a pairing knife, cut a pocket into the side of each piece of bread – just big enough to fit a teaspoon inside.

Carefully spoon your filling of choice into the pockets of each piece of French Bread.

In a separate dish, whisk eggs, cinnamon to get rid of any clumps, then add milk. Whisk to combine. Soak each piece for a few seconds on each side. Do not over soak!

In a skillet, melt butter. Place each piece of bread in the skillet. Cook for about 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown.

 

Serve with fresh fruits and maple syrup. You’re family will enjoy this. This is how I got my kids to eat eggs.

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