Mexican-Style Chicken with Penne

You're probably thinking it's about time I make something other than a dessert! (Don't worry, I do have more desserts planned - but it seems like our dinners have all been repeats or nothing worth blogging lately.) We tried this recipe over the weekend and it turned out really great. It was quick to put together and had nice flavors full of fresh tomatoes, spiciness from the peppers, and a little bit of gooey cheesy goodness.

I made a few adjustments: used boneless/skinless chicken breasts, added a seeded jalapeno, hot banana, and sweet lipstick pepper, and completely forgot the corn (I always forget something!). We both really liked this recipe a lot. It was a bit spicy for me, but I was trying to make good use of our peppers so they didn't go to waste. The tomatoes and garlic also came from our garrden and I like to think the flavor was better than store-bought :) This recipe makes quite a bit and would be good for a crowd or just to have leftovers the next day.

Source: Food & Wine

Ingredients:
3/4 pound penne rigate
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large garlic clove, minced
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 large chipotle in adobo sauce, seeded and minced, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/4 pound queso blanco or mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (1 1/3 cups)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until al dente. Drain the penne.

Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until the onion is softened and the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, chipotle and adobo sauce and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the corn, season with salt and pepper and cook until the corn is heated through, about 1 minute.

Add the penne and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the sauce and toss to coat. Add 1 cup of the queso blanco and toss. Transfer the pasta to bowls, sprinkle with the remaining queso blanco and the cilantro and serve.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

Not being a fan of chocolate covered strawberries, I was happy to find these CHEESECAKE stuffed strawberries on The Novice Chef. You only need a few ingredients to put these together and they turn out to be quite impressive. Try them - you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:
2 quarts of fresh Strawberries
1 box Jello No Bake Cheesecake (I used this box mix and it came with the graham cracker crumbs. This was good, but next time I think I'd try making my own filling - just to compare.)
Crushed Graham Crackers
Milk Chocolate for drizzling (I also used white chocolate because I had some)

Directions:
Wash the berries and hollow out the centers. I used a small paring knife for this. Mix the cheesecake according to the directions. Put the cheesecake in a piping bag and fill each strawberry until slightly overfilled. Then, place the graham cracker crumbs into a bowl and dip each strawberry into the crumbs to coat the top. Melt the chocolate in the microwave (I used just 1 block of the bark type chocolate from Kroger) in 30 second increments stirring between. Again, transfer to a piping bag with a narrow tip and drizzle onto each berry. Refrigerate until you're ready to eat!

Thomas the Train Cake

My latest cake this month was for a Thomas the Train themed birthday party for our friends' son Sebastian - turning 5! Done in all buttercream with fondant railroad tracks. This is an easy design that was inspired by several cakes on cakecentral.com

Soccer Cake

The second birthday cake last weekend was for a soccer player turning 7. I have never made a ball-shaped cake, so I was a little worried it might end up not quite looking like a ball, but it was surprisingly very easy and took little time to put together. I used the wilton soccer pan and found a template online for cutting out the white/black fondant shapes to piece over the ball. The stitches were made using a toothpick. I think it turned out pretty good and I'm ready to make another one of these!

The ball pan can be used to make cakes other than sports balls - check out some of the fun ideas from Wilton.

Ladybugs & Flowers

Another round of birthdays...another round of cakes! My next few posts are just some pictures of a few birthday cakes I've been making this month. Last weekend I made 2 cakes, one of which was this ladybug & flower cake for a 2 year old birthday! This was fun to make and I always like making girly cakes. The cakes are iced in buttercream and decorated using gumpaste.