Coffee and Cannolis

One of my favorite dishes is Chicken Cordon Bleu, and I know I've often commented on how I like to make Chicken Cordon Bleu inspired dishes.  One of my most recent recreations was this Chicken Cordon Bleu Risotto.  I love creamy risottos so it was no surprise that I loved this dish.  This dish takes a relatively basic risotto recipe and adds the flavors of Chicken Cordon Bleu (chicken, ham, Swiss cheese and the rich crunchy topping) to the final touches.   If you're interested in some of my other Chicken Cordon Bleu inspired dishes, check out: Chicken Cordon Bleu Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Chicken Cordon Bleu Panini Chicken Cordon Bleu Pizza Chicken Cordon Bleu Risotto Ingredients: 1 Cup Risotto 3 Cups Chicken Broth 1 clove garlic, finely diced 1/4 onion, finely chopped 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 1 Tablespoon Butter 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken 3 oz. cooked ham, diced 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, shredded S&P to taste For Topping: 1 slice high-quali

We're approaching the time of year that my Crock-Pot is going to start getting a workout!  The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are getting colder, and our schedules are getting busy with holiday preparations, events, work schedules, etc.  I have a few recipes that I love to make this time of year in my crock-pot, which I plan on posting soon, but one of my new favorites is this Pulled Pork I saw on Chaos in the Kitchen a few months ago.   This pork is tender, juicy and meaty - perfect for pulled pork sandwiches.  With just a little bit of prep required (searing the meat) the crock-pot really does most of the work for you.  Because this makes a large portion, this recipe is also great for serving a crowd, or to freeze for an even quicker meal when you're really rushing to get dinner on the table.  To freeze - prepare completely and then portion what you want to freeze in freezer weight ziplock bags or reusable containers (I like to freeze 2-3 portions per freeze

When initially sitting down to eat this dinner I noticed just how "50s & Retro" it was, however I forgot that until I took a look at the pictures.  Wow, what a well balanced meal we have here - protein, starch and a veggie.  Too bad I didn't think to put a glass of milk in the shot! With that being said, there is something ultimately comforting about "retro-style" foods, such as meatloaf.  With just two of us to feed it doesn't make sense to make an entire meatloaf unless I plan to freeze leftovers, which is very possible with meatloaf, however my freezer is a little cramped right now, so I decided to make little mini meatloaves.  I've seen a lot of people making them in muffin tins, which is a great idea, however when you're planning to make a lot of cupcakes and need all the muffin tins you can get, you don't necessarily feel like dirtying one up.  Bring in the trusted casserole dish - she works for so much more than just casseroles!  Exa

There is something about an open face hot sandwich that I absolutely love.  I couldn't really tell you exactly what it is though.  One day when playing around on the Williams Sonoma web-Site I decided to gander through the recipes, which is a pretty frequent occurrence, might I add.  Anyway, I had a hankering for a sandwich and was looking through their sandwich recipes and landed on this one for an Open Face Croque-Monsieur.   A traditional Croque-Monsieur is basically a fancy grilled ham & cheese sandwich but on steroids because it has a creamy delicious bechamel sauce layered in as well.  Many people also love the Croque-Madame version - a Croque-Monsieur topped with a fried egg.   After falling in love with the idea of this sandwich I decided that I needed to add it to our menu and stat!  The great thing about this sandwich is that it's easily adaptable to how many people you need to serve.  I ended up making this sandwich one night when my husband was in work meetin