Sauteed Chicken with Zucchini & Summer Squash

Summer's a great time to play with produce, whether you grow it in your own backyard, hit up the local market, or head to the farmer's market to pick up something that somebody else grew in their backyard.

Here's an easy dish with lots of flavor that combines the tastes of fresh zucchini, summer squash, and tomatoes. You can grill the chicken instead of cooking it in a skillet if you like.

Two Small Announcements and One Really Big Announcement

So I've totally fallen off the face of the earth the past few months. I figured it was worth sharing why.

First small announcement - I have not forgotten about this blog. I have not forgotten how to cook or bake (though sometimes I feel a little rusty). I do plan on getting back into the swing of things as soon as possible, but it's all related to the second small announcement.

Second small announcement - Half the reason I haven't posted or even cooked much is because most of my gadgets and kitchen paraphernalia is packed in boxes. Because we moved (!) to North Carolina (!!) in April (!!!). While I have a decent kitchen in our rental, I have about half the counter space and, as I just mentioned, a lot of my stuff isn't even unpacked.

Plus, you know, increasingly mobile baby.

The Really Big Announcement, though, is probably the main reason I haven't done much with this blog.

Ready?

*ahem*

I'm going to be a published author.

What's that you say?

I'M GOING TO BE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!

*happy dances and squees*

Of course, that comes with a lot of prep work and editing and stuff that takes up a lot of extra time, which (increasingly mobile baby who also sometimes doesn't like to nap still) I don't have much of.

You can catch the details and updates as I get them over on my author blog, J. Lynn Rowan: Acts of Literature.

The fun part for readers of "Teacher, Baker, Gourmet Meal Maker" is that the first book in my chick lit series (yeah, you read that right) is baking related. So I'm planning to do some cross-posting of featured recipes when the time comes.

In the meantime, keep cooking and baking!

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Tenders

Time has flown, and it sort of feels like I completely missed the month of February. There are a lot of big but exciting changes going on around here, so I've been swamped with everything connected to that and haven't done a ton of cooking.

However, a few weeks ago I had a "we have a bunch of stuff that needs to be used up" day, and decided to play a bit with some bacon. 

Everybody loves bacon. Except vegetarians. And maybe even some of them love bacon, too, just secretly.

This looks a lot more complicated than it really is. Start to in the oven was about fifteen minutes total.

Here's how to make it.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

I recently needed a simple and quick dessert to serve to some family, and since it was going to be an afternoon (sort of a tea-time event) visit, this pound cake came to mind. I'd been wanting to try it out since seeing the recipe in The Savannah Cookbook a while back.

The beautiful thing about this pound cake is how delicious it is, despite having no frills or extra flavoring. If you really need to add something, some fresh fruit, particularly strawberries, would be an excellent accompaniment.

Unfortunately, I didn't think about taking any photographs of the process until after the fact, but here's the basic rundown:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream together 2 sticks of soft butter and 3 cups of sugar until light and fluffy.
• While that's happening, sift together 3 cups of all-purpose flour and 1/8 teaspoon of salt.
• Once the butter and sugar are ready, mix in 6 eggs, one at a time, then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• In several additions (I think I did three), carefully add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Add 1 cup of sour cream and  mix until the whole thing is nice and smooth.
• Butter and flour a tube cake pan or bundt pan, or use a cake release spray like Wilton Bake Easy.
• Evenly pour the batter into the prepared pan, run a butter knife through to release large air pockets, and give it a couple taps on the countertop.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let cool 10-15 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cake plate and allow to continue cooling (though it's delicious served warm). If desired, invert the cake a second time so the crusty top is facing up.

That's it!

Three-Cheese Stuffed Shells

I can't believe it's been over two months since I last posted a recipe. All I can say is that Mommyhood and the holidays combined to steal most of my free time.

Anyway, I have a new dinner recipe for you today. It's easy as can be, with hands-on time hovering around the 30-minute mark. They look a lot harder than they are and will impress your guests.

Here's what to do.

Savory Beef and Root Vegetable Stew

The chilly weather is moving in here in the Northeast, and that means it's the season for soups and stews. Beef stew is a winter staple in our house, but I decided I wanted to play around a little bit to see if I could come up with something with some different flavors.

This stew is pretty versatile, as you can adjust the herbs and spices to your liking, as well as play with which root vegetables you include.

Read on to see what I did.

Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Fall is officially upon us, and around here the leaves are starting to change to some brilliant yellows and oranges. Root vegetables are a wonderful dinnertime staple in the fall. There's something sort of cozy about cooking with them.

I recently played around a bit with a recipe for roasted sweet potatoes that, originally, calls for honey and rosemary. I had no rosemary on hand, and my honey had crystallized. So I needed to be a little creative.

Enter maple syrup and Italian seasoning.

This recipe is so simple, you can prepare it in less than ten minutes.

Babycakes!

Despite this post's food-related title, I don't actually have a recipe to share tonight. Rather, an announcement!

A while back, you may remember I shared a recipe for Stuffed French Toast from the What to Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting cookbook.  I didn't come right out and say it, but many of you may have figured out by my semi-cryptic answer to those who may have been asking themselves that I was expecting myself.

Babycakes arrived on last Thursday evening. All of us are doing well - but there's very little time for much besides our sweet baby girl. Hopefully in a few weeks when things start to settle down, I can share more yummy recipes!

Until then, keep cooking!

Oreo Truffles

I wish I could take credit for coming up with this recipe, but Oreo truffles are not my personal creation. I just love eating them, and they're so easy to make.  Honestly, up until a few years ago, I'd never tasted them. But these happen to be a coworker's specialty, and I was quickly hooked.

I'll take you through the basic step-by-step of making these, with a couple tips I've found that make it a little easier. The original recipe comes from Kraft Recipes.

Cherry Berry Cobbler for the 4th of July

(Raise.com is a platform to buy and sell gift cards. Their July 4 Fun campaign is intended to hear about everyone's holiday weekend, and share party and recipe ideas. For more creative July 4th recipe ideas, take a peek at the  "July 4th Fun" campaign with Raise.com, which features a lot of beautiful recipes for this holiday and a place where you can buy and sell gift cards that can help you save money before you even hit the stores!)

It never quite feels like summer has arrived until the 4th of July rolls around. Something about the parades, fireworks, patriotic shindigs, barbecues, and general merriment just makes the season, for lack of a better word, start.

Friends of ours hosted a 4th of July party (actually, as they call it, a 4th of Ju-Luau party, with a Hawaiian theme), and my contribution to the festivities was a cherry berry cobbler - sort of a variation on my mixed berry pie, in cobbler form, with a tweak or two.

Cobblers, as it turns out, are considered to be a pretty American dessert. Early European settlers used whatever ingredients were at hand in an attempt to make some of the familiar dishes from their homelands, and as such there are as many variations on cobblers as there were variations on settlers. In general, the requirements are some kind of fruit filling topped with some kind of crust, either a crumbly crust, a biscuity crust, or some combination thereof. Once upon a time, cobblers were served as main dishes for breakfast, or a first course for other meals. Eventually, they were relegated to the dessert category, and we sure do still love them!

This recipe was particularly nice to put together, as I still had a lot of cherries, black raspberries, and blueberries frozen from last summer, and this allowed me to make some room in the freezer.

For more great American-themed recipes and party ideas, check out Raise.com's 4th of July Fun blog post!

Zucchini Stew with Tomatoes and Onions

Wow, I did not mean to go more than two whole months without posting any new recipes! But school's finally out for summer, and I have a few things up my sleeve to share.

It's still a little early in my neck of the woods for most of our local produce to make an appearance, but one vegetable that has a recurring role at my dinner table is zucchini. There are many, many ways to prepare this veggie, but my favorite (and one of the few ways my husband will willingly eat it), is a sort of Italian-style stew with onions and tomatoes. My mom used to make this all the time when I was a kid, and for some reason we referred to it as "fixed" zucchini. Not necessarily because other ways of cooking zucchini were "broken", of course, but I think because it was "fixed up" with herbs and such.

This family recipe is very easy and can be adjusted for any number of servings. If you serve it with some nice crusty bread, it can stand in as a light main course, perhaps for lunch. It also pairs well with grilled chicken as a side dish. I still recommend crusty bread to sop up all the juices.

Grilled Shrimp with Homemade Barbecue Sauce (Guest Post)

Author Bio: This is a guest post by Elizabeth L. on behalf of Alexia Foods. Visit www.alexiafoods.com to find oven roasted French fries, whole wheat rolls, and more.

Are you dying to have some barbecue now that the weather is warming up? Try out this recipe to remind you that summer is definitely on its way. You can even make your own barbecue sauce! It will take about 37 minutes to prepare this dish so you won’t even need to slave away in the kitchen all day to have a great meal. It will be ready in no time at all!

Ingredients

Grilled Shrimp

• 16 large jumbo shrimp
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

• 1 slice bacon
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika (or smoked paprika if available)

Method:

Shrimp: 

• Use a pair of scissors or paring knife to slit the backs of the shrimp and remove the vein. 
• Combine the shrimp and olive oil in a bowl and toss evenly to coat. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to grill. 
• Prepare homemade barbecue sauce (directions below).
• Prior to heating, wipe down the grates of a large outdoor grill with oiled paper towel to create a nonstick surface. Next, heat the grill to medium-hot. 
• Season shrimp with salt and pepper and place on the grill. Baste with the homemade barbecue sauce and grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. Brush with more sauce just before serving.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce: 

• Wrap the bacon slice around the bunch of thyme and tie with kitchen twine so you have a nice bundle.
• Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. 
• Add the bacon-wrapped thyme and cook slowly for 3 to 4 minutes to render the bacon fat and give the sauce a nice smoky taste. 
• Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly without coloring for 5 minutes. 
• Add the remaining ingredients, give the sauce a stir and turn the heat down to low. 
• Cook for 20 minutes to meld the flavors. 
• Once the sauce is done cooking, remove the thyme bundle and discard. 
• Take about 1 1/2 cups of the sauce and reserve for serving alongside the shrimp and Alexia Sweet Potato Puffs at the table. Sweet potato fries would taste delicious with this, too!

Fried Polenta with Italian Vegetables (Meatless Meals for Lenten Fridays)

Polenta is kind of a weird food. It's basically cornmeal that's cooked into a sort of paste, and depending on the consistency, can be served either as a soft, almost pudding like base for Mexican and Italian dishes alike, or shaped into a sort of sausage that can later be sliced and fried.

This dish, based on the Fried Polenta with Vegetable Marinara from The Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner cookbook, requires the use of the second type of polenta. I've made it a couple times before, and this time I played quite a bit with the veggies to make it more my own.

You can make your own polenta, but it's also readily available in most grocery stores.

Continue reading to find out how I made this, my way.

Caprese Chicken

Back in November, I was looking for a new and tasty but easy to prepare dish that I could serve when we invited our priest to dinner. In my search, I discovered a creative recipe for Caprese chicken from The Novice Chef, and it turned out delicious.

Last night, in my efforts to finish up a few odds and ends around the kitchen, I realized I had the ingredients to make Caprese chicken again. But this time, I added a few slight twists to make it my own.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can easily multiply the ingredients to increase the servings - or just make it for one! Here's how I made it.

Spicy Sicilian Style Sauce (Meat Free for Lenten Fridays)

Since I'm finally getting back the energy and drive to cook again, it felt good to be in the kitchen, putzing with one of my favorite recipes. This was something I experimented with a couple summers ago when we had a boom year for tomatoes, and it was so tasty, this spicy Sicilian style sauce has become something of a standard in our house.

I'm not 100% sure if it's accurate to call this "Sicilian style", but based on what I saw and ate when I was actually in Sicily a few years ago, I think it's close enough.

Stuffed French Toast

My holiday hiatus lasted way longer than I intended, and for good reasons. But now I'm back, and I have a delicious recipe to share with you today.

So what can you make with all of this?

Stuffed French Toast!

I've been sitting on this recipe for a while, partly because I forgot about it. But since I have a snow day and just made myself some "regular" French toast, it seemed a nice treat to post about.

There are many versions of this treat out there. I've even indulged in the version served at Cinderella's Royal Table in Disney World, which honestly was the best stuffed French toast I've ever had, despite not actually involving toast as far as I could tell. This particular version comes from What to Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting.

(And since some of you out there may now be asking the obvious question, the answer is yes.)

Coming in 2014 - The 50 Sweets of America

I can hardly believe tomorrow is the first day of December, which means Christmas is only 25 days away. Yikes!

It's been a while since I've done anything theme-related on this blog, though the Cupcake of the Month has continued here and there (and I do have one more cupcake I plan to whip up this coming month). Recently, I was putzing around the internet and stumbled across a couple sites that listed semi-official, if not official, sweet treats and desserts from different parts of the United States. So I decided, "Hey, that'd be a fun theme to play with on the blog!"

But I need help, readers! I'm looking for input on official (or semi-official) state treats from across the country, and I'd like to have a list compiled by the end of December. And yes, I do plan to bake said sweets in alphabetical order according to state.

As such, you have from now until December 31st to either leave a comment on this post or email me with your suggestions for state sweet treats from across America!

Spinach & Broccoli Quiche with Pepper Jack Cheese

Normally I'm not a huge fan of quiche. I'm not a huge fan of eggs to begin with, and most quiches taste like eggs. So I was pleasantly surprised upon trying my friend Andrea's recipe, which is a bit of a "whatever veggies you happen to have in the fridge" sort, how much I liked her version of this breakfast dish.

My attempt didn't taste quite the same as hers, and I think it may have been due to the cheese (hers was a lot spicier than what I procured).

Anyway, it's really easy, and here's how you do it. Remember, you can really put any veggies in that you like - red peppers would be another great addition, you could use kale instead of spinach, maybe kick the whole thing up with a few dashes of Tabasco.

Apple Cinnamon Empanadas

The sixth-grade team, of which I am now a part, has developed a little bit of a "let's order/make awesome lunches once a week" custom going on now. This week, the two gentlemen on our grade level team decided to make lunch for the ladies, and they settled on Mexican as the theme.

To go along with the chips and salsa and quesadillas, I decided to whip up a Mexican dessert to share. As it's also apple season, I decided on these delicious apple cinnamon empanadas from Diana's Desserts.

Okay, so empanadas aren't much more than single-serving hand pies or turnovers. Main course empanadas (meaning those filled with meat and/or cheese) are often fried, but can be baked as well, just like these dessert empanadas.

Here's how I made them!

March of the Fondant Penguins

Wow, sorry for the super sporadic posts of late. Can I blame work? I've been just staying above the Common Core waters of late, and my focus has been elsewhere.

Anyhoo, I have something fun to share today. Not a recipe per say, but a fun way to play with food.

My sister got married about a month ago, and her theme was penguins. She really, really loves penguins.

Really loves penguins.

And she wanted her cake to look like a big ice hill with penguins playing and sliding and otherwise looking adorable on it. She found a cake topper on Etsy, and then asked me to make a whole bunch of fondant penguins to match. I agreed, though I wasn't sure exactly how this would all work out. But it would give me a chance to play with all the fondant tools I bought when I took the Wilton Method fondant and gum paste course a few years ago. I also made my sister help.

Fortunately for me, Wilton makes rolled fondant that's already dyed black. Otherwise it would not have been fun tinting white fondant.

We started off by making all the bodies. Sixteen of them. Most standing, but three sliding on their bellies.

Then we formed all the teeny tiny pieces and parts. Tummies, eyes, wings, beaks, and feet.

I made a fondant glue (a pea-sized ball of fondant dissolved in 1/4 cup of really warm water) and started assembling. And three hours later - voila! Penguins! (Sorry he's so blurry!)

Sixteen dang adorable penguins of all kinds!

They sat for a week to dry. Then we brought them to the baker who was making the cake, and he arranged them on the cake. And it looked awesome.