Pomegranate Scented Stuffed Mushrooms

These mushrooms were served as the appetizer during my Pomegranate Party a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd get the recipe out there before Thanksgiving. These were a big hit at my party, and I wish I would have doubled the recipe- everyone inhaled them, and it seemed like 2 per person wasn't enough!

This would be a great alternative to traditional stuffing for Turkey day- I'm a big stuffing fan, but don't like it soggy from inside the bird. I like stuffing that's been cooked separately and has a bit of crunch to it.  I used a little bit of the glaze from the main course, the Pomegranate Citrus Glazed Chicken, to marinate the mushrooms in instead of Marsala wine like the original recipe called for. The glaze was enough to make the mushrooms stand out, but not overly fruity.

I'm going to be a bit lazy today because I've got a lot to do...so the recipe isn't going to be posted here, but you can get the Printable Recipe here.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Enjoy your family and friends, and be sure to keep those far away in your thoughts and prayers.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Pomegranate Citrus Glazed Chicken

When I was selected to host a Pom Party, I knew I wanted to somehow combine Chicken, Pomegranates and Goat Cheese. Why?  I love chicken- and one of my favorite restaurant dishes is the Chicken Bryan at Carrabbas. It's the first dish I ever tried that contained Goat Cheese- and I was hooked! It seemed to me that the tartness of the pomegranates and the tang of the Goat Cheese would work well together. When I started searching for recipes, I found that others found the combination pleasing- which meant I had to try it!

I found a recipe for Pomegranate Glazed Chicken on Martha Stewart's website that looked promising. It combined pomegranate juice, orange juice, and a few savory herbs to make a glaze that sounded delicious to me. I used a bit of the glaze in one of the other recipes, which is why I'm posting this recipe first. It made a great substitute for Marsala Wine in my Pomegranate Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms.

I found the process of making this glaze very enjoyable- it was fun to see how the flavors combined to make such a tasty glaze- without being overly sweet or overly savory. It is the perfect combination!

Reducing the juices and spices into a nice thick glaze

Printable Recipe


Pomegranate Citrus Glazed Chicken adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 8

3 cups pomegranate juice
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
5 garlic cloves, smashed
coarsely ground salt and pepper
3 teaspoons red wine vinegar
8 chicken breasts
4 oz goat cheese
1 bag baby spinach
1 cup pomegranate arils

Preheat oven to 425. In a large skillet, combine juices, rosemary, garlic and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Boil over high heat, until reduced to 1 cup, stirring and scraping sides of skillet often. Pour glaze through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bits of garlic. Stir vinegar into glaze. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate if not using immediately. Reserve 1 cup of glaze for later use.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place in baking dish, and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven, brush chicken with glaze and return to oven to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Brush chicken with glaze every 5 minutes. Remove from oven when chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Place a chicken breast on a layer of baby spinach, top with a dollop of goat cheese and sprinkle fresh pomegranate arils on top. Drizzle with reserved glaze before serving.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Loaded Potato Pierogi

I have a confession. I am a carboholic. If they had a 12-step program for people addicted to carbohydrates, I  would definitely benefit (not that I would participate- I'd run in the opposite direction and hide. Denial is my friend.) I love bread..and pasta..and potatoes..and any combination thereof! Naturally, when I discovered Pierogi, I was in a carboholic's heaven! These little polish dumplings have become one of my comfort foods- when I'm sick (like right now) and nothing sounds appetizing, pierogi somehow seem palatable. For those of you who aren't familiar with pierogi, they are little dumplings made of pasta and filled with a creamy potato filling along with any combination of savory fillings. Cheese. Onions. Cheese and Onions. Sauerkraut. Broccoli and Cheese. You catch my drift..just about anything you can combine with cheese and potatoes can go inside a pierogi.

Until recently, I've relied on Mrs. T's frozen Pierogies when I had the urge to overdose on carbs. I never considered making them myself- I've always been a little afraid of any kind of dough. Well, when I first started  reading food blogs on a regular basis, I discovered a post on Brown Eyed Baker about making your own pierogi. This recipe immediately went on  my "to-make" list. The opportunity came my way a few weeks ago to make an attempt of my own, and they turned out way better than I expected! I cheated a little, and used a mashed potato mix instead of whole potatoes (like I've said before..I improvise, and try to cook with what I have on hand). I don't think you could tell at all that the potatoes weren't boiled and mashed here in my kitchen! I was super surprised at how easy these were to put together...part of my fear of dough has been the misconception that dough = complicated. I've tried several recipes lately that are finally clearing my mind of that dirty little thought!

Try these...you'll be amazed at how easy, and yummy, and satisfying they are!

Printable Recipe

Pierogi adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Makes 24-30 large Pierogi

2 cups flour, plus more for rolling dough
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces

Filling of your choice- Loaded Potato Filling recipe below
Butter for sauteing
Onions and peppers for sauteing, if desired

Make the Dough.
Mix together flour and salt in medium bowl. Beat the egg in a small bowl, and add flour mixture. Add butter and sour cream and mix well until the dough is no longer sticky. I mixed this by hand with no problem- you can use an electric mixer with a dough hook if you'd like, but be careful not to over mix.  Form a ball with the dough, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes- overnight is fine too. The dough can be refrigerated for a maximum of 2 days.

Make the Filling.

Loaded Potato Filling chez Moi


1 4 oz package Idahoan Buttery Homestyle Mashed Potatoes
2 cups cold water
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Prepare potatoes using 2 cups cold water as directed.  Remove from microwave, and stir until creamy. Stir in bacon and cheese, and season with salt and pepper as desired. Set aside half of the potatoes to use as a side dish later in the week!

Assemble Pierogi.
Lightly flour your work surface, and roll out dough until 1/16" thick. Cut circles of dough using a circle cookie cutter, biscuit cutter, or drinking glass. I used a drinking glass, and it gave me good sized pierogi. Place a tablespoon of filling (or less, depending on the size of your dough circles) on each circle, and fold dough over to create a semi-circle. Press edges of dough together using a fork, and a bit of water if the edges won't stick.

Pierogi waiting to be boiled

Prepare Pierogi.
Boil a large pot of water. When at a full boil, drop in a handful of pierogi at a time. Boil for 7-8 minutes, remove from water and pat dry. Repeat with desired amount of pierogi. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and peppers if desired. Add pierogi in a single layer, and turn when nicely browned and crispy.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Cheesy Bacon and Scallion Quiche

First of all, please excuse the horrible picture quality...a little pair of hands happens to love my camera, so much so that it's broken..and on it's way in for repair (THANK YOU Target for your extended warranty!!).

Secondly, Yes, most of my posts are sweet items..But, I need you to know that I don't live solely on cake and cupcakes (as much as I'd like to!)

I had some bacon and scallions that needed to be used up, and I didn't think they'd go with cupcakes well..So I decided to make quiche for lunch yesterday. I LOVE quiche. With a passion...I think this goes back to my love of all things french! This was my first attempt at making quiche, and my first attempt at making a crust from scratch. Both turned out fantastic..and were still yummy reheated for breakfast today!

First,  the crust...

Cheesy Quiche Crust from Allrecipes.com

3/4 cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 teaspoons cold water

Place flour and butter in large bowl, and work with your hands until combined well to resemble bread crumbs.
Work in the grated cheese, and sprinkle with a little bit of water and continue to work with your hands until the dough forms a ball. I didn't find it necessary to use much water at all, in fact after the first teaspoon I added more flour because the dough was too wet. Wrap ball of dough in plastic wrap, and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Remove dough from fridge, and roll out into a circle to fit your pan. I found that this wasn't quite enough dough for my pie plate- I didn't have pretty edges, but it still tasted fantastic!

The original recipe says to preheat oven to 375 and bake crust for 9 minutes before filling. I skipped this step (I don't follow directions well, remember?) I filled my crust while it was raw, and it turned out just fine.


Now the filling...

Cheesy Bacon and Scallion Quiche adapted from About.com: Southern Food

1 prepared crust from above recipe
6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
2 scallions, sliced, green part only

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare crust as above, or use a store bought crust (but I promise the cheesy crust is worth the little bit of effort it takes to make!) Whisk eggs in a bowl, add cream and milk and whisk until combined. Stir in thyme and pepper, and pour into crust. Sprinkle bacon, scallions and cheese into egg mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until quiche is lightly browned and just slightly jiggly. Remove from oven, and let rest a few minutes before serving. Attempt to not eat the whole quiche in one sitting...yes, it's that good!

Enjoy!