Penne Gorgonzola with Chicken

Can you imagine how it would feel to win $25,000 for one of your recipes? Forget the money for a minute...wouldn't that be the ultimate compliment? This recipe for Penne Gorgonzola with Chicken was Taste of Home's biggest grand prize winner ever. I first saw it over on my friend Lara's site, Recipe Shoebox. I knew instantly that it would be a hit at my house. I just wish I had made it sooner.

This recipe is everything that good comfort food should be: creamy, cheesy, flavorful, and downright lip-smacking good. It's the kind of food where you go back for more, not because you're hungry, but because it's so darn good. If you're a fan of blue cheese, please make this recipe. I promise that you won't be sorry.
Penne Gorgonzola with Chicken
Adapted from Taste of Home Magazine
Time:30 minutes
Serves: 8
1 pound penne pasta
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" pieces (I used rotisserie chicken)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large garlic cloves, minced (I used 2 cloves)
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 cups (8 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
6-8 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or minced fresh parsley

Cook the pasta to according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, make the sauce.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in oil on all sides. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. (Note: I used leftover rotisserie chicken and just added the chicken to the sauce at the end until it was warmed through).

Add cream and broth; cook until sauce is slightly thickened and chicken is no longer pink. Stir in the Gorgonzola cheese , sage, salt and pepper; cook just until cheese is melted.

Drain pasta; toss with sauce. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and parsley.
Notes/Results: This was one of those recipes where I knew it was going to be good, but was surprised by just how good it was. I loved it! When I first started making the sauce I was a little worried about adding 2 cups of Gorgonzola. I was afraid the Gorgonzola would take over and be too powerful, but it didn't. While most creamy pasta recipes are on the bland side, this recipe was perfectly flavorful with fairly subtle hints of the Gorgonzola. I was also happy that I used leftover chicken to make this recipe. Don't get me wrong. I would've loved to have the browned bits from freshly cooked chicken, but I think I preferred the softer texture of the rotisserie chicken in this recipe. This recipe truly does make enough for 8 full servings and would be great at a dinner party or to serve a crowd. This is one of those keeper recipes that I will make again and again.

Trick-or-Treat Turnovers

These Trick-or-Treat Turnovers are lots of fun for the kids (and adults too)! Canned biscuit dough is flattened to a four inch circle and filled with a beef filling. A second biscuit is flattened into another 4 inch circle and carved just like a pumpkin. The carved biscuit is placed over the biscuit with the meat mixture and pinched to seal the edges. Each Trick-or-Treat Turnover is brushed with a lightly beaten egg and baked until golden, about 15 minutes.

The filling for the Trick-or-Treat Turnovers can easily be switched to anything your heart desires. The possibilities are endless. You could even build a little "build your own station" with lots of chopped up little fillings and different cheese so that each person could customized theirs to their own liking. Either way, it really is a very fun way to spend time together in the kitchen.

Trick-or-Treat Turnovers
Adapted from Taste of Home Ultimate Halloween Magazine, also found online HERE
Makes 8 very large turnovers
1/2 pound of ground beef (I used 95% lean)
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
4 ounces cubed part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup prepared mustard (I subbed tomato paste)
2 tubes (16.3 ounces each) large refrigerated flaky biscuits (I used Grands Golden Wheat,Reduced Fat)
1 egg, lightly beaten

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add cheese and mustard; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Cool slightly.

Flatten each biscuit into a 4-in circle; place four biscuits in each of two greased 15-in x 10-in x 1-in baking pans. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of meat mixture onto each.

Using a sharp knife or cookie cutters, cut out jack-o'-lantern faces from remaining biscuit circles; place over meat mixture and pinch edges to seal tightly. Reroll scraps if desired and cut out stems for pumpkins.

Brush with egg. Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes (mine took about 20 minutes) or until golden brown.

Notes/Results: These turnovers are probably our favorite Halloween-inspired recipe so far. Everyone really had a great time and enjoyed customizing their own pumpkin. I'm thinking of making these for our neighborhood Halloween party and creating a build your own station for the kids. There are a couple of notes worth sharing. The turnovers themselves are quite big. I think it would be possible to cut one biscuit in half and use one one biscuit to make each turnover. Also, depending on the filling they can be a little on the dry side. I think they would be great served with a dipping sauce on the side. Depending on your filling you could use honey mustard, marinara, cheese sauce, or barbecue sauce.

I am submitting these little handheld Halloween treats to my friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sundays event. Happy 2nd birthday Souper Sundays!


I am submitting this to my friend Brenda at Brenda's Canadian Kitchen for her weekly celebration of cookbooks, Cookbook Sundays.

I am also submitting these turnovers to my friend Roz over at La Bella Vita for her Seasonal Saturdays event.

Strawberry Mascarpone Crepes

Are you guilty of buying cooking magazines in the check out line? It's hard to resist, isn't it? There you are standing in line and the magazines are glaring at you, tempting you with their pretty cover dishes. I'm convinced it's a form of torture. I used to be really bad about buying cooking magazines, collecting so many that I couldn't even go through them all. I seem to have a little more control lately, except when it comes those huge Taste of Home Editions. You know the ones I'm talking about? The magazine that is more like a book than a magazine. It's like a mega magazine with 240 recipes. Packed with mostly family style dishes, sweet treats, and breads, they are almost always worth buying.

Armed with my new mega magazine, I can hardly wait to get home and flip through it. This is serious business for me! A new cookbook or magazine is such a delight. An adventure that you can immerse yourself in for a short time. Settled on the couch with a notebook and pen, I'm in pig heaven (literally)!

I have a special weakness for breakfast/brunch recipes and these Strawberry Mascarpone Crepes were seriously calling my name! Even better, I had half a tub of mascarpone and some strawberries to use up. It was like it was meant to be.

Strawberry Mascarpone Crepes
Adapted from Best of Taste of Home 2010
Serves 8, can be halved
Batter:
3 eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons butter, melted (I think I used 5 tablespoons, oops!)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1 cup (8 ounces) Mascarpone Cheese
2 tablespoons Confectioner's Sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries (sliced into bite-sized pieces)
Strawberry Topping:
2 cups slices fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice (I used lemon juice)
1 teaspoon strawberry or vanilla extract (I used vanilla extract)
Dash of Salt
To make crepes:
4 teaspoons butter, divided (I found I really didn't need any butter when using a nonstick skillet)

For the batter: In a blender, combine the batter ingredients, cover and process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Meanwhile, for filling: In a small bowl, combine the cheese, confectioner's sugar, basil and lemon juice. Gently fold in the strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

For the topping: In a small bowl, combine strawberries, sugar, orange juice, extract and salt. Let stand on counter for 30 minutes.

To make the Crepes: Melt 1 teaspoon butter in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat; pour about 1/4 cup batter into the center of the skillet. Lift and tilt pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between (I used paper towels with good results)

Spoon filling over crepes; roll up. Serve with strawberry topping.

Notes/Results: These crepes were heavenly! Delicate, light, creamy and fruity. I really loved them and will most definitely be making them again. I really wish that I had been able to add the minced fresh basil to the filling, but I didn't have any basil on hand. I'm sure the basil is a wonderful addition. I had to laugh when I typed this recipe out. I realized that when making the batter for the crepes I had added 5 Tablespoons of melted butter instead of 5 teaspoons. No wonder the crepes were so good! The crepes are gorgeous when plated and would make a wonderful addition to any Spring Brunch Menu, perfect for Easter or Mother's Day.