Feta Pasta Bake

So, I missed a post. I'm not proud of it, but hey, it happens. So who doesn't love Feta? It's tart and pungent and creamy and sweet all at the same time. It can be melted or crumbly. Seriously what isn't there to love? Put it on salads, in pasta, marinate it with olives (that's another time), just soooooo....wait for it....yummy.

So today we are making Feta Pasta Bake:

The first thing you want to do is get 1/2lb ground beef and brown it, draining off the grease when done.

Next you will bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and boil 1/2lb of your favorite short pasta, I used rigatoni.

While you are doing this, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and butter a casserole dish, yes butter.

Mix together the ground beef with a minimum of 12oz of pasta sauce, you can use more if you like.

Then add 1/2lb of feta, and 1 tbsp butter. Once the pasta is done drain and add to the mixture.

 

Place in the buttered casserole dish. Mix together 3 eggs and 1 1/4c milk in the same bowl you just mixed everything else, then top casserole, pressing the pasta down so that most of it is covered with the egg mix.

 Bake for 45 minutes.

YUMMMMMM!!!!


Feta Pasta Bake

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef
12 oz pasta sauce
1/2 lb pasta
1/2 lb Feta Cheese
1 Tbsp butter
3 eggs
1 1/4c milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef, drain. Boil pasta. Butter dish.

2. Combine ground beef, sauce, feta cheese, butter, and pasta. Place into prepared casserole dish.

3. Mix together the milk and well beaten eggs. Pour over pasta mix and press pasta down so it is covered by the egg mixture.

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is browned.


Enjoy!

Chicken Taco Pizza

 Who doesn't love Pizza?
Who doesn't love Taco's?
How about putting them together?

CHICKEN TACO PIZZA

Yummmmmmm.

So we are trying to eat healthier at my house. But I refuse to give up my pizza. So I came up with Chicken Taco Pizza. Just because you are eating healthier doesn't mean you have to give up your favorite foods. You just have to become creative. By using salsa instead of sauce and 3% fat cheese instead of full fat you can reduce the fat and calories by a lot. The best part...You get ton's of flavor.

Now to my favorite tip....

Take 1lb of boiled chicken breast, break into pieces. Place them into a Stand Kitchenaid mixer with whisk attachment.

Turn on low speed for a few seconds then increase the speed. About 30-60 seconds later......

 PERFECTLY SHREDDED CHICKEN!!!!!!

Do this all of the time! So easy.

Then you want to take your favorite chicken taco mix and mix with required amount of water. Place in a large skillet and add chicken, heat for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat (just enough so that the liquid soaks into the chicken).

 While this is on the stove,  get your favorite pre-made pizza crust and follow heating instructions.

Love this one because of it being whole wheat it's healthier for you, but doesn't have a harsh taste. Plus this is cheaper than some other name brand crust's and there are 2 in a pack for a little over $3.

Place 1 cup of your favorite salsa on the pizza crust, I used medium heat and when it's mixed with the chicken it's super spicy...Yumm. (Is there such a thing as saying Yum too much? I don't think so.)

Top with seasoned shredded chicken

Then top with approximately 1 cup cheddar cheese.

Bake according to instructions on crust package. Remember if using the reduced fat cheese it will not melt as well as the full fat cheese.

Top with your favorite toppings...lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeno, black olives, sour cream, guacamole, etc. The possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Chicken Taco Pizza

1lb boiled chicken breast
1 packet chicken taco seasoning
1c salsa
1c shredded cheddar cheese
1 pre-made pizza crust (I like wheat)

1. Shred chicken. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer. If using the stand mixer place large chunks of chicken in bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment. Start on low setting for a few seconds then increase speed. This will shred the chicken very nicely.

2. Mix the seasoning packet with required amount of water and place in skillet over medium heat and add the shredded chicken. Heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the liquid is completely absorbed.

3. While chicken is seasoning pre-heat oven according to package directions on the pizza packet. Take one pizza crust and top with 1 cup salsa. Then once the chicken is done, place on top of the salsa. Finally top with shredded cheddar cheese.

4. Bake according to instructions. Top with your choice of toppings. Enjoy!

Milky Way Midnight Cupcakes...Two Ways!!!!

How do I love thee...Let me count the ways..
1. Dark Chocolate
2. Caramel
3.Nouget
4. Just plain YUMMMY!!

I love Milky Way Midnight candy bars. I love them. They are just sooooo yummy. So it got me to thinking, how can I make this into a cupcake? I mean just the right balance of  sweet and not so sweet all at the same time. Then I had a brainstorm, then another. So I came up with two different ways.  The first is for the busy type, that want's the yumminess but wants to quick and easy way. The second is more labor intensive, but just as good.

Milke Way Midnight Cupcakes...Version 1

Get your favorite box of cake mix in the darkest chocolate you can find.

Mix according to package directions.

Fill lined cupcake tin about 1/2 way each cupcake.

Following the baking directions on your box place in preheated oven and set timer for 5 minute

While the cupcakes are baking cut up 6 Milky Way Midnight candy bars into quarters.

Once the timer goes off pull the cupcakes out of the oven and place one piece of the candy bars in each cupcake, making sure to push down so it is covered by the  batter.

Continue baking according to directions.

Once the cupcakes are cooled top with your choice of chocolate icing.

Enjoy your easy Milky Way Midnight cupcakes!

Milky Way Midnight Cupcakes.....Version 2!

These are dark chocolate cupcakes with a caramel center and marshmallow cream on top.

Start off with getting your ingredients together.

For the Dark Chocolate Cupcakes...this recipe was adapted from one I found on Allrecipes.com
10 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/4c white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2c all-purpose flour
3/4c unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with liners.

In a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and almost double in size.

Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Remember to always start with the dry ingredients and end with the dry ingredients. I usually split the dry into 1/3 portions and the wet in 1/2.

Spoon the batter into prepared tins and bake for approximately 15-25 minutes. Please remember that ovens vary heat times. Mine took 15 min. but the original recipe called for 20-25 min.

Once the cupcakes are done place entire pan on wire racks to cool.

Once cool, leaving in tin, you will cut out a cone shape from the middle of each cupcake. Pull out the cone and  cut off the bottom leaving only the top.

Fill the cone space with already made caramel ice cream topping.

For the marshmallow Cream you will need

4 eggs
1 c sugar
1/3 c water
1 tsp vanilla

Separate eggs and place whites in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Let the egg whites stand and combine the sugar and water into a heavy bottom sauce pan. Whisk them together and boil over medium-high heat using a candy thermometer until it reads 245 degrees F.

While the sugar is heating up, start the stand mixer on high and run until soft peaks form.

Once the sugar reaches 245 degrees slowly pour into the egg whites while the mixer is running. My sauce pot has a pour spout on it so this was super easy.

Continue to mix on high for 7 minutes, after 6 minutes add in the vanilla.

Once all combined top cupcakes.

Voila.....Milky Way Midnight cupcakes

Milky Way Midnight Cupcakes...Version 1 

6 Milky Way Midnight candy bars
1 box of your favorite chocolate cake mix
        Ingredients required for the cake mix
Your favorite frosting (I used one can because I'm not a fan of store bought frosting)

1. Follow instructions on cake mix box.
2. Fill cake tins about 1/2 of the way full.
3. Bake for 5 minutes, while baking cut up all of the candy bars into quarters.
4. Pull cupcakes out of the oven and place one piece of candy in each cupcake, making sure to push down so it is in the middle and slightly covered by the batter.
5. Continue baking according to directions.
6. Cool and frost.

Milky Way Midnight Cupcakes....Version 2

For the Cupcakes: (adapted from allrecipes.com)

10 Tbsp unsalted Butter
1 1/4c white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2c all-purpose flour
3/4c unsweetened dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4c milk

Already made Caramel Ice Cream Topping

For Marshmallow Cream:

4 egg whites
1c sugar
1/3c water
1 tsp vanilla


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins.
2. In stand mixer beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract. While this is mixing combine the flour, cocoa, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Make sure to stop and start with the dry ingredients. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake tins.
3. Bake for approximately 15-25 minutes depending on your oven.
4. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan. Once cool, cut out a cone  from the center removing the excess from the bottom of the cone. Fill the space with the caramel topping.

5. For the Icing. Place egg whites into stand mixer. In a sauce pan combine the sugar and water into a heavy bottom sauce pan. Boil over medium-high heat using a candy thermometer heat to 245 degrees F.
6. Turn your mixer onto high and beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually pour in the sugar mix while the mixer is still running. Have mixer run for 7 minutes, at 6 minutes add in the vanilla, continue to mix for the last minute.
7. Spoon on top of the cupcakes.


I hope you enjoy making these as much as I did. Just remember that knowing your oven is key to baking times.

Hello,

Welcome to Rockabilly Kitchenette. This blog is all about food, life and love. Mostly my love of food. Everyday I think about cooking and baking, I dream about it, talk about and generally drive everyone crazy. 

Let's start with the name. I named it Rockabilly Kitchenette because I love everything Rockabilly and everything kitchen/food. I thought what better way than to combine the two. I long for the days of swing dresses and having a family meal at the same time every night. My goal since I was little was to be a housewife like in Leave it to Beaver. However I know that today that's really hard to pull off, so I at least try to keep up with my ideal in the kitchen. I love to deck out the kitchen with helpful gadgets, but only ones I'll actually use. 

I want to show that it doesn't matter what the size of kitchen you have or budget. You can make delicious food and have fun doing it too. So let's get to it and remember, cooking is fun. It may not always turn out the way you think it will, but just try again and don't worry.


Thanks for coming,

Rachel