Cheese Tortellini Soup

October is the beginning of soup season in the Lansing household and this soup is by far our favorite.  I first had a version of this soup many years ago at a Christmas dinner party and I thought it was so good that I never made it past the soup course.   As is typical for my cooking, I tweak and tweak until I get the dish to where I am finally happy with it and this soup is no exception.

Jambalaya

Jambalaya was always very intimidating to me. My husband Matt had spent quite a bit of time in New Orleans following the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, working on the return to flight investigation.  During his time there he became well versed in Cajun food.  I think hearing him talk so fondly of the delicious food down there was part of intimidated me.  I figured my jambalaya could never measure up.

I was wrong.

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

Let me start with a disclaimer.  This is not an authentic Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich.  In my opinion it is better.  It tastes just as good but you don't have to take Tums chased with Pepto Bismol after eating it.

Pork Barbecue

Pork barbecue can be intimidating.  Trust me.  I will smoke just about anything to avoid smoking pork barbecue but I must say this has been my most successful attempt to date.  I am here to set your mind at ease by showing how you too can have a beauty like the one above in 16 hours and 32 easy steps.  I kid.  About the steps part at least.  It really does take 16 hours but the labor intensive parts only require about 30 minutes.  Not too bad if you ask me.

Egg Nog Bread Pudding

It happened again last week.  We were out as a family at the grocery store when suddenly Matt stopped at the dairy case and smiled.  He had something he wanted to show me.  Egg Nog was back in the dairy case for the holiday season, and that could mean only one thing: Egg Nog Bread Pudding.

Meatball Subs

Ever have one of those days where you get crazy ambitious and three hours later you have cleaned the bathroom like the Tazmanian Devil on performance enhancing drugs (surprising since I just ran to the bathroom to grab a hair clip, not turn cleaning into an Olympic sport), cooked enough meat for four dishes, a dinner, a dessert, and finished three loads of laundry?  I had one of those days this past week.  I returned home from a meeting at work and thought "maybe I should go ahead and cook this meat".  Next thing I knew, we were sitting down to tasty meatball subs (but not before random Extreme Sport cleaning).  And yes, it is as big as it looks.  I was only able to eat half.

Perhaps the easiest cake you will ever make

I am almost embarrassed to put this on the blog.  It really isn't a recipe.  It simply involves opening a box and a can.   But this "recipe" has been a go-to for me recently when I have needed a dessert in 30 minutes and I don't have the desire or time to really bake.

Beef Pot Pie, It's What's for Dinner

I am not going to lie, beef pot pie has been a thorn in my side for over two years.  Matt challenged me to make one as an alternative to my chicken pot pie and I gladly accepted the challenge.  I tried approaching this with the same approach as my chicken pot pie and it was an utter failure.  

Grilled Pork Chops

I stand before you today, a woman reformed.  I used to be in the marinade camp when it came to grilled meat.  I would come up with these elaborate marinades that went on and on with ingredients.  When we sat down to eat, we ate marinade with a side of meat.  I am now proud to be in the less is more camp.

Funnel Cake

Have you ever attended a festival looking forward to getting festival food, only to return home hours later with that elusive funnel cake still on your mind?  Matt, Wylie, and I attended the Fiddlers Convention this weekend in Athens, Alabama where we enjoyed the fantastic music and crafts but never made it as far as the tasty vittles.

Pizza Dough and the Homemade Calzone

This tasty goodness can be enjoyed by your family too.  Whenever I tell someone that we make our own pizza dough most react by telling me, "I work and don't have time to make pizza dough".   I am here to tell you that it really is no big deal.   Yes, yeast can be intimidating.  I cannot tell you how many times I bought packages of yeast just to let them spoil in the pantry after years of not using them.  Finally, last year I faced my fear of the yeast and I am so glad I did. 

Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake

The Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake came about in the form of a challenge from Matt.  He happens to love the orange creamsicle ice cream pops so the cheesecake challenge really wasn't that far out of left field.  The problem I had the first round or two was that the swirl of orange wasn't packing enough of a punch.  It looked pretty but the cake was really more cream cheesey than orange.  Several iterations later, I finally found a way to pack the orange punch I wanted into the whole cheesecake while still providing the orange swirl that lets everyone know this cheesecake is special.  You will notice the Grand Marnier in the recipe below.  I happen to love cooking with this orange flavored liqueur so you will see it fairly often if you stick around.  It by no means makes or breaks this cheesecake so feel free to leave it out and just add additional orange juice in its place.    You will also notice I use less flour in this recipe than in my basic cheesecake.  I have found the thickening provided from the orange jello when used with the usual 1/4 cup of flour, makes the cake too dry.  

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I have tried variations of this recipe for years.  Here are some of my attempts and the issues I have had with them:

1. Butterflying the chicken, stuffing it with the ham and cheese, sealing it with a toothpick, and then carefully coating it in bread crumbs.  I hate this version for many reasons.  When I try to butterfly chicken each piece is butchered to pieces and I invariably find myself searching for band-aids to cover my cuts.  
2. Beating the chicken to death with a mallet, rolling the ham and cheese up in the chicken, sealing with toothpicks, carefully coating it in bread crumbs.  I hate this version but not as much.  I should mention at this point that I am a germaphobe so the idea of being sprayed with chicken juices is less appealing to me than to most.  And I don't care what the cooking shows say about wrapping the meat in cling wrap before using the mallet.  I have been sprayed with enough meat juices to tell you that the first hit breaks the saran wrap letting the juices fly.  Also, by the time you wrap it all up it gets pretty thick, taking longer to cook and drying it out.  
3. Filet the chicken breast, batter each filet, and then make a chicken sandwich of sorts, placing the ham and cheese in between the two layers of chicken filets.  The problem with this method is that your ham/cheese/chicken ratio is way off.  Also, it takes forever to get it cooked through because each serving is so thick.  

New York Style Cheesecake

This recipe is your basic, run of the mill New York style cheesecake.  In my opinion it is merely a springboard to tasty goodness.  There are plenty of folks out there that like to go old school and eat cheesecake with a fruit topping of some sorts and call it a day.  I prefer a challenge.  This is a perfectly respectable place for anyone to start.  

Chicken Pot Pie--Riley's Favorite

Chicken pot pie can be a sticky issue.  Some folks like biscuit topped pot pie, others like old school pie crusts.  You say po-tay-toe, I say po-taaa-toe.  Wait a minute--that doesn't make much sense when it is typed.  

Matt happens to be in the 3 to 1 crust to pot ratio camp.  I made a  Bacon Cheddar Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie  two years ago and Matt is still dealing with the shock.  This chicken pot pie from Southern Living Magazine is perfect for a ladies night or a brunch but won't fly with a classic pot pie fan.