August Secret Recipe Club: Bacon Chicken Alfredo Pasta

Bacon, cheese, tomatoes, pasta, and chicken. Did I mention the cheese sauce?

Hello August. Or should I say goodbye? You've come and go so quickly. Is it really the fourth Monday? It's a good thing I remember it was time to make my Secret Recipe Club pick last night!

I was tickled when I got my assignment this month! I was assigned Fantastical Sharing ofRecipes and she had me last month! Too fun! I perused her sight and was immediately drawn to her Bacon Chicken Alfredo Pasta. It doesn't hurt that I always put bacon in my alfredo! I did enjoy that she had a different take and make it into a cheddar and parmesan sauce instead of just a parmesan sauce! I added a twist and replaced the parmesan with asiago. Feel free to use your favorite tomato as well. My cherry tomato plant is between batches at the moment, and yesterday morning I found this guy. Grr. It's going to be a bit longer before I have new tomatoes.

This recipe looks complicated from its long ingredient list, but don't be discouraged. It's easy to make and delicious!

Bacon Chicken Alfredo Pasta

adapted from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, originally from Get Off Your Butt and Bake!

Ingredients:

2 chicken bone-in chicken breasts, baked at 400ºF for 45 minutes or until done (or leftover rotisserie chicken)

1 cup diced ham

1 tablespoon brown sugar

4 slices of your favorite bacon

1 tomato of your choice

1 crown of broccoli

8 ounces pasta of your choosing (elbow macaroni works well)

Shaved or grated parmesan cheese, for passing

Sauce:

1 cup milk

1 cup chicken broth (I make mine with water and chicken bouillon)

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

1 cup grated asiago cheese

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

From a cold skillet over medium heat, fry bacon until crispy (or your desired done-ness), place on paper towels to drain and set aside. Remove all but one teaspoon of bacon grease from the skillet and add diced ham. Sprinkle a tablespoon of brown sugar on top of the ham, and toss until the ham is golden and the brown sugar has caramelized. Remove ham from skillet and set aside. Add broccoli and saute quickly until brown on the edges. Chop or shred the chicken and chop the tomato. Set aside.

Over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add 2 tablespoons flour, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder and whisk together with the butter until bubbly. Continue whisking, and slowly add the milk, cream, and the chicken broth. Whisk constantly to prevent lumps. Continue whisking until the sauce has thickened. Turn heat to low, and add the grated cheddar and Parmesan cheese, one handful at a time, stirring constantly. Make sure the cheese is melted before your next addition. Once melted and mixed thorougly, turn your heat to the lowest temperature and cover. Prepare your pasta until al dente. Drain well.

Plate the pasta, and serve the sauce over the top. Crumble your bacon on top of the sauce, and also top with ham, broccoli, tomatoes and grated parmesan cheese.

You can choose to serve it all in one dish or as a pasta with customizable toppings. 

THOUGHTS:

My word I have a lot of dirty dishes! Next time I'll combine it all into one dish (minus the tomatoes) and serve it all mixed up to prevent the use of so many bowls! In the meantime, it was easy and delicious! The sugared ham was a nice foil to the broccoli and cheese. The tomatoes brightened things up and kept the dish from being too heavy. Overall, it was great!

I have a lot of leftovers, and I'm still debating what to do with them. I've combined everything into one dish (except the tomatoes of course) and am contemplating eating them cold for lunch tomorrow (yes, I like mac and cheese cold). OR I could put it in a baking dish, crumble more bacon on top with a bit more cheese and bake it for forty-five minutes at 350. One pot mac and cheese! Many thanks to Fantastical Sharing of Recipes for sharing this outstanding dish!

VERDICT:

Not-bad-and-very-filling: 1 vote*

Hey-that's-pretty-good: 1 vote

*Bender's vote changed the next day. Now it's more along the lines of Man-this-is-awesome-it's terrific-you-should-always-serve-it-all-mixed-up-after-the-sauce-has-thickened!

Yummy cheesy goodness!

Secret Recipe Club: Homemade Fajita Seasoning

I used to love making those layered sand thingys!

It's Secret Recipe Club time! Believe it or not, I have four dishes ready to go on the blog, but have failed in the writing-it-up stage. I seem to have writer's block. Or at least, that's what I'm calling my I'm-too-busy-obsessing-over-house-hunting-to-focus-on-anything-else brain. :) But alas, Secret Recipe Club beckoned and I temporarily came out of my house obsession to make some scrumptious food!

Secret Recipe Club comes around once a month on my blog, but you can check out Secret Recipe Club creations 4 Mondays a month! Are you a blogger interested in joining in the fun? Sign up here!

I have to admit I was quite intimidated when I saw the blog I was assigned: Anne Jisca's Healthy Pursuits! This woman is pretty amazing. She grinds her own flours and her normal kitchen stock is incredible. One day I'll be like her! I drooled over Anne's breads (spelt biscuits, Hearty Harvest Bread, Rye Bread, Spelt Bread), and came thisclose to making her granola bars. I'll definitely have to try out her recipe when I finally decide I'm ready to make granola bars!

So what did I go for? A recipe where I had everything in the pantry! Woot! I love it when that happens! I was also able to tie it into a Double Take with Tabitha. I love multi-tasking recipes! Almost as much as I love spice rubs! So yes, I picked a spice rub-ish. We'll call this one a spice mix :)

All Shook Up!

Homemade Fajita Seasoning

adapted from Anne Jisca's Healthy Pursuits

2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp cumin
½ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Combine ingredients in an air-tight container. Two heaping tablespoons is equivalent to one packet.

THOUGHTS:

I modified my fajita seasoning because I was using the crock pot and cooking the chicken directly in chicken broth, so I did not need chicken bouillon. Also, I left out the cornstarch because I wasn't sure how it would hold up in the crock pot. If someone else knows, do let me in on your secrets!

In the future, I would stick to Anne's use of the fajita seasoning rather than going for shredded chicken in the crock pot. Check out her original post for the recipe and directions! Also, I think the mix would make an excellent rub on grilled chicken for tacos. The fajita seasoning has a nice balance of flavors. If you like heat on your fajitas, feel free to double the cayenne and/or red pepper flakes.

VERDICT:

The-fajita-seasoning-is-a-hit: 2 votes!

Pulled Chicken Tacos with Queso Blanco, Tomatoes, Lettuce, and Salsa

Secret Recipe Club: Crispy Panko-Coated Ranch Chicken Thighs

Crispy Panko-Crusted Ranch Chicken Thighs

My how time flies! It's Secret Recipe Club time again and I still haven't posted anything other than SRC reveals. Heavens. When will I get back into the swing of things? It certainly won't happen between now and Christmas. Bender and I are leaving our beloved Winston-Salem on December 23 and will be moving to Nashville a few days after Christmas. Wish us luck!

November Secret Recipe Club: Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

It's Secret Recipe Club time reveal day again! I have no idea how it crept up on me so quickly. I'm quite embarrassed that I have not posted a single thing since the last Secret Recipe Club reveal! Oops. Things are moving along quite quickly here. Bender and I only have one more month in Winston-Salem and have been taking advantage of what little time we have left to spend with our friends. Alas, that means things like the my Fabulously Fun Food blog have gotten the cold shoulder. Perhaps when we are in Nashville I will have a bit more time to dedicate to this blog. After all, it has provided me with the support and outlet I needed when I was living in Germany. So, stay tuned after the new year for more frequent updates.

Secret Recipe Club: Jamie Oliver's Perfect Roast Chicken

It's that time of the month again: Secret Recipe Club time! The Secret Recipe Club is the brain child of Amanda of Amanda's Cookin. It's become so popular that it's been split into groups and I am a member of group B, lead by the corageous Tina of Mom's Crazy Cooking! Each month, every particpant is assigned a blog to cook from. You can see my previous posts of Red, White, andBlueberry Cheesecake Bars, Green Tomato Gazpacho, and Baby Bok Choywith Shitake Mushrooms. Interested in joining in the fun? Fill out the form here to join!

Double Take: Pecan and Rosemary Oven-Fried Chicken

Tabitha and I have had great fun cooking together again. Occasionally Bender will join us to enjoy the meal, but mostly we enjoy cooking things he doesn’t find interesting. In an effort to include him in some of our fun, every once in a while I’ll pick something I’m certain he’ll like, and we’ll make it at our place. That’s exactly how this dish ended up on our menu!

Double Take: Spicy Roast Chicken from The Wednesday Chef

How about a nice place of Spicy Roast Chicken?

I have the tendency to spout the joys of roasted chicken. I will spare you that this time around because you heard it back in June. But rest assured. I’m still roasting chicken up a storm. Well, maybe not a storm since I didn’t have A/C, and the windows in the kitchen were placed so that the kitchen table gets the breeze rather than the cooking area. Grr.

Double Take: Almost Bourdain's KFC (Korean Fried Chicken)

Sticky, yummy, messy Korean Fried Chicken

Tabitha and I are finally getting around to making a recipe that has been going around the blogosphere for as long as we’ve been food blogging: Korean Fried Chicken. With all the hype, I wasn’t quite certain how I would like it. I also wasn’t totally convinced that I had access to the key ingredient: gochujang. So when Tabitha added it to our “to-make” list, I decided to look for it. Turns out, it was relatively easy to find since Ellie at Almost Bourdain had actually taken a picture of the container. If she hadn’t, I’m sure I wouldn’t have agreed to post this recipe since nothing in the store actually said “gochujang.” My smart phone came to the rescue and Wikipedia informed me that its name is also Hot Pepper Paste. The Asian store in Jena is quite small, but its shelves are also packed to the brim. Yay! Now I just had to figure out when to make it…

Double Take: Pioneer Woman's Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore: chicken, peppers, onions, tomatoes,
mushrooms, and noodles.

I have had a strange relationship with bell peppers. As a kid, I loved them. Hand me a green bell pepper and some ranch dressing, and I'd go to town. It was the perfect snack. Well, really alfalfa sprouts and ranch dressing were the perfect snack, but bell peppers were a close second. As I got older though, my love of bell peppers faded. I began to dislike the side effects. And I began to taste them more than one should. When they were added to a tomato based dish, such as a tomato sauce, they completely overpowered the rest of the flavors in the dish. And I began to notice them in meatloaf. I got to where I would only eat my mom's meatloaf and bell peppers were the reason why.

Double Take: Rosemary Grilled Chicken Thighs

Rosemary Grilled Chicken with Cheddar Cheese Grits and Spinach

Sometimes a recipe can be surprising. You look at the ingredients and think, “Meh.” While you are making it, you think, “Oh gosh, I hope Bender likes this. I'm beginning to think it might be too heavy on the mustard and rosemary for him. And he's not a fan of honey either. Oh, dear.” Then the kitchen gets smoky because you're using your grill pan and the hood is still broken (see NOTE below recipe). So you open the window in an effort to get rid of some of the smoke. In the process you knock the almost full bottle of olive oil into glass recycling bag. And that's when you realize the olive oil is still open. Annoyed with yourself for wasting all that olive oil and not wanting to think about the mess it created, you set the food on the table. And then you hear, “This chicken is really tasty,” from your picky-eater spouse. So you taste it. And boy, is he right! All is well again. Olive oil be darned.

Double Take: Sortachef's Peri Peri Chicken

Give me a whole chicken, and I’ll make your taste buds happy. The first time I roasted a chicken was frightening success. Frightening because my oven did not work at the time. It took many more months for me to discover that my oven cooked hot because the heating element never turned off. Once I figured that out, cooking in it was a breeze: leave the oven on for ten minutes, then turn it off for ten minutes. And so on and so forth until the item in the oven was fully cooked. I’m still in shock that I cooked this way for the better half of a year. But I must say, this method worked perfectly for roasting a chicken.

Daring Cooks May Challenge: Gumbo- Let the good times roll!

Gumbo served with rice and filé powder. 

Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh. For a pdf file of all of Denise’s info, click here.

This was my first foray into Gumbo land. It's been on my to make list for a while, but since I don't live in the US anymore, it has had a low priority. I'd read that you couldn't make true gumbo without filé powder and I'd never seen that in my US grocer, so it was on hold. Early one morning in April, however, while killing time before my flight to the US in a hotel room in Frankfurt, I logged onto the Daring Kitchen and discovered that I would be making gumbo within the next month. I added filé powder to my must-buy-while-I'm-in-the-US list and got excited. 

I also had to admit that part of the excitement came from the creator of the recipe: John Besh. I was a Food Network junkie when I lived in the US and definitely remember John Besh from The Next Iron Chef. He was one of my favorites, and while he did not win, he did make the final two. And now I got to try out one of his recipes! 

Double Take: Culinary in the Country’s Panko-Crusted Chicken with Mustard-Maple Pan Sauce

Quick weeknight dinner. 

I’m always looking for a quick weeknight meal for us. I love mustard and panko, so this one was a no-brainer in that respect. But it also had maple syrup. Bender and I aren’t big on the sweet-savory combos, so I waited until he went out of town to make it. In other words, I figured there was a strong possibility I might like it, but a very strong possibility that he would not like it. I’m still on the fence about the sauce, but I did really like the chicken. And the best part? Minimal dirty dishes. Score!

Double Take: Krista's Kitchen's Baked Chimichangas

Messy, delicious, naked enchiladas! 

Welcome to the new and improved Double Take challenges! For the foreseeable future, we'll be picking recipes from some of our favorite blogs to make and review for you! I'm also willing to take requests, so if there is a recipe that you'd like to see reviewed, please send me an email at fabfunfood AT gmail DOT com. 

For eating out, Mexican food is my ultimate comfort food. My parents and their friends meet at this one Mexican place every week, so whenever I go visit, I’m sure to join them. They’ve been going there for so long that I don’t feel like I’ve gone to visit my parents unless I go there, too. Which has made Mexican food comfort food. It’s homey, it’s delicious, and when I’m with my parents, it’s free to me! Yes, it’s true, I’m not yet old enough for me not to enjoy getting a free meal. Particularly when it comes with free margaritas!

Daring Cooks Challenge: Confit and Cassoulet

Our January 2011 Daring Cooks Challenge comes from Jenni of The Gingered Whisk and Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. They have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn how to make a confit and use it within the traditional French dish of Cassoulet. They have chosen a traditional recipe from Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman.

Double Take: Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas (sort of)

Whilst everyone is gathered around the Thanksgiving table in the US today, I’m stuck at work. I’ve been reading facebook status updates all week: 3 days til vacation, 2 days, Today will feel like Monday and Thursday at the same time!, etc. Well, not me. I really can’t complain though, I had a wonderful week of vacation at the beginning of November, am taking a weekend trip to London soon, and will be spending Christmas with most of my immediate family (yay!). But on Thanksgiving Day, I went to work. And ya know what that means? It means I am incredibly lucky to have picked the field of environmental science when I got my bachelor’s degree. And even luckier that I decided I wasn’t ready for the real world so I went to graduate school for a master’s in biology. All of that led me to a point where, when Bender announced he got a job offer in Germany, I was able to get a job there too. I am thankful for the ability to work in a foreign country. This time last year, I knew I had a job lined up for me, but did not yet know when I would start. Tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of when I started my job. Today is a day of giving thanks, and I am thankful to be at this point in my life and to be able to call it good. And incredibly thankful that you are reading my blog so I’m not talking to myself over here!

Grilled Chicken and Pasta in Fresh Basil-Cream Sauce

Remember my Ravioli Double Take? The sauce had potential, but it just fell short of the mark (both in taste and quantity). After reading your comments, I decided that I really need to revamp the sauce and give it a chance. So I did. Thank you readers for convincing me to try this one again!

I knew I didn't want to try more ravioli, but I also wanted to stay away from my normal pastas: macaroni, tagliatelle, and spaghetti. And, surprisingly, I stumbled across orechiette when I was looking for a grill. Crazy, huh? I grabbed the orechiette and wandered over to the chocolate section. I found a bar of Lindt salted chocolate, and feeling adventurous, I grabbed it. Hubby has never been so surprised to like a chocolate before, claiming whomever came up with the idea to add salt to chocolate was a genius. I concur.

Double Take: Beef and Chicken Fajitas

A big plate of grilled meat... yum!

I’ve always been a fan of soft tacos, but I’ve never been one to order fajitas on a regular basis at Mexican restaurants. I’d rather have the tacos de asada... or quesadillas... or chimichangas. I have always been attracted to the sizzling cast iron skilt it arrives on, and the smell of course, but not necessarily the fajitas themselves. Most likely because it always comes with tons of green bell peppers. And well, I’m not a fan of bell peppers.

But the recipe in the all-new ultimate Southern Living Cookbook (p. 248) did not call for bell peppers. In fact, it didn’t call for much of anything. It’s basically a recipe for a marinade with serving suggestions. Which means easy peasy, right? Well, actually, right. This recipe was incredibly easy.

Prepare a spice mix: chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Add Italian dressing, mix well. Add meat (steak and chicken) to a bag or glass dish with the marinade, let sit two hours, grill. You’re done. Right? Right. Except, don’t forget to prep all your toppings. But you have 2 hours plus grill time to prep, so no big deal. You even have time to throw a chile con queso together. Yum.

Daring Cooks Challenge: Enchiladas

Our hosts this month, Barbara of BarbaraBakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh. 

When I first read the challenge, I was thrilled. Mexican food! I love Mexican food (well, I know that I love Americanized Mexican food, I don't really know about the real stuff). But I came down from my excitement high pretty quickly: the recipe was asking for ingredients I couldn't find immediately. Tomatillos, peppers, cheese. Yuck. A couple months ago, a PhD student in Jason's lab hosted a Mexican cooking night of sorts at our place. The group was truly international, and the Germans wanted to know what I missed the most food-wise from the US. Well, my answer came quickly... Mexican food. And of course the guy hosting the event agreed with me, but I think he was a little surprised, too. Traditional Mexican is not the same as Mexican food in the US, and by golly, the Mexican food here in Germany resembles German food more than it resembles Mexican food. Okay, so I don't know if that blanket statement is true, but I do know that the Germans I have questioned think Mexican food is just kidney beans with that nasty movie theater nacho cheese sauce, perhaps wrapped in a tortilla. With chopped kohlrabi and bell peppers on top.  Um, that's not even bad American-Mexican, let alone Tex Mex or Mexican. 

Lighten It Up: Poulet Sauté Aux Herbes de Provence

Shortly after I moved to Germany, I had the chance to watch Julie and Julia in English. (The movie theater in town hasn't shown a movie in its original language since.) I had the fire in me, and I was determined to make a Julia Child recipe. But it was September, and hot, and there was no way I was going to make Boeuf Bourguignon. So I set out to find something a bit less heavy that didn't use my oven. With no air conditioning here, I wasn't about to turn on the oven for hours.

I came across a selection of Julia Child recipes on Epicurious.com that had been featured in the August 2009 issue of Bon Appetit. The ingredients were simple: butter, chicken, herbs; so I knew Hubby would like it.