An Experiment with Greek Yogurt

Hello, again! It's been few weeks since I've posted anything- forgive me, life got a little crazy.

I've been prepping this post for a while in my head, but haven't had the time to sit and write it all down. So tonight before we have dinner I'm making myself get this one done because I'm so excited to share it with you all!

 A couple of weeks ago Aaron and I had two of our closest friends over for dinner, Brittni and Pat. Brittni and I have been friends since forever..literally, it feels that way. We met the first day of 4th grade. She and I were in the same class and she approached me on the playground. I'm pretty sure the conversation went something like "Hi, I'm Brittni. I'm new..will you be my friend." Little did I know that her thought process on this whole "friendship" thing was based on the fact that between me and the other girl with a very similar name, I was the least smelly and most approachable. This still cracks me up because for those of you who know me, you know that I'm not always the most approachable person! She was brave though and took that first step towards me, and we've been friends ever since. (Well, we've had our ups and downs, but really regardless of what we go through in life, she'll always be my person.)

Brittni and I on my birthday a couple of years ago <3

Pat, on the other hand, has always been like family to me. Our mothers had us only 2 months apart and were close friends, so Pat and I have always known each other. We weren't always close, in fact we hardly talked after toddler-hood until we both had just moved to Rochester about 2 years ago. We went to different schools and life took us both in different directions, but the reunion was definitely welcomed. Aaron and Pat instantly hit it off and enjoy geeking out together as often as they can. It was difficult at first coming to terms with Brittni and Pat dating, but the two of them are really quite perfect for each other. I wish I had a picture of when Pat and I were little together. I know my mom and his mom probably have them. It would have been a good laugh. :)

Anywho, we had them over for dinner. It had been forever since Brittni and I had cooked a dinner together. Regardless of where we have lived, cooking with her has always just been something we did when we saw each other. I had been waiting to bust out this recipe I found (yes, on Pinterest) and I knew that it would be the perfect meal for the four of us to share. I was nervous about using the Greek yogurt instead of the heavy cream recipe I've used in the past. I know that substituting Greek yogurt is the healthier alternative, so I had to do it (we've been trying very hard to change the way we eat) So, with our wine glasses filled with one of my favorite wines, we began cooking away. On the menu: "Skinny Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo"

Here's your list of Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into chunks (about 2 cups)

2 cups roasted broccoli florets

8 ounces fettuccine

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 pinch ground nutmeg

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

*I doubled this recipe when I made it, knowing that we'd want the left overs, which was smart thinking on my behalf because it was sooo good!

*I also suggest adding just a little bit more garlic, and some salt to the Alfredo sauce just to add some more flavor.

"First step in this recipe is to cook and drain your pasta. Set that aside and then begin working on your Alfredo Sauce.
 Next step is to add some olive oil to a pan, heat over medium-low heat. Add garlic (I think I used around 6-7 cloves..because I love, love, love garlic) and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is golden. This takes about 1 to 2 minutes."

Olive Oil, Garlic

"Whisk in the flour until smooth (about 2 minutes). Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, Greek yogurt, milk, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese."

Alfredo Sauce pre-cheese.

 In the mean time, while your sauce is thickening fry up some chicken. I bought 4 chicken breasts from the meat market thinking that I'd need all of it, but I'm not sure what I was thinking. I ended up cutting 2 of the breasts in half and just pan-frying those. I heated up some olive oil and garlic and placed the chicken breasts in, allowing them to cook until they were done.

Pan frying some Chicken Breasts

When the Alfredo sauce and chicken were done I combined them in a large bowl. I threw in some broccoli from a steamed freezer bag and tossed it all together with the pasta I had previously cooked. I then tossed on some more Parmesan cheese and a little basil for extra flavor.

When all was said and done a we managed to put together a pretty awesome meal. I loved using the Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream. For both Pat and I- this was just a much better alternative. So, there you have it- "Skinny Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo".

Serve it up with a glass of your favorite Riesling and some homemade garlic bread, and you've got yourself one awesome dinner to share with friends. 

Thanks to Brittni, this bread came out AMAZING! Just butter your bread, throw on some minced garlic, Parmesan cheese and dried basil. Broil it in the oven for about 5 minutes- depending on how crispy you like it.

Special shout out to Courtney Horan, Contributor at Celebrations.com for the recipe.

Deliciousness isn't always pretty...

 I've been dying to try these Baked Apples with Oatmeal Streusel Topping I found on pinterest a couple of weeks ago- tonight was the night!
After dinner Aaron and I started watching The Descendents (that George Clooney flick where in the preview he's running and his daughter tells him his wife was cheating on him- yea, that one!) and I got about 45 mins in and was dying to make these baked apples. So, we paused the movie and began baking.
Aaron was on apple cutting duty. Given my recent streak of clumsiness, cutting apples with a knife probably wasn't a good idea. I've given myself numerous bruises and scrapes over the past couple of weeks and cutting my finger off just doesn't seem fun. While Aaron cut the apples I started making the oatmeal streusel. The only thing I added extra to this recipe was a teaspoon of vanilla- just because I love it, and think it should go in pretty much everything I bake.
The apple cutting went smoothly and the oatmeal streusel is really the perfect consistency to crumble up on top of the apple wedges. Here's what they looked like before we put them into the oven:

They took about 30 mins to bake- during which we resumed our movie and my mouth watered the entire time these bad boys were baking.
Once we took them out of the oven, we couldn't help but laugh. My perfect looking apples had turned to mush!

Oh well- they tasted AMAZING! I definitely suggest making these- they were the perfect movie snack and take way less time than making an actual apple crisp- no need to peel all those apples!


Here's the recipe: 
 
Baked Apples with Oatmeal Streusel Topping
Ingredients: 

• 3-4 apples
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter (melted)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I added this, it's not in the original recipe)

*I omitted the ginger and salt from the original as well, they just seemed like a weird add in to me. 

Directions:

• Halve the apples and scoop out the seeds/stems
• Mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, vanilla in a bowl until they are crumbly. 
• Fill the apple halves with the oatmeal streusel

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. My advice is to start watching them around 20-25 minutes if you don't want them to get as mushy as mine were.

If you get a chance to make them, let me know how they turned out! 

A Girl and Her Kitchen

Welcome to my new blog! This will be my second attempt at blogging- the first time just didn't go as planned. This time around though, I'll be blogging about something I LOVE-- FOOD! Here you will find my favorite recipes, my favorite food memories and info about my favorite kitchen products.

A little bit about me: Julie (Or, as I'm most commonly referred to by a very adorable toddler- Lee Lee) the Cook.

My husband Aaron and I this summer on a wine tasting tour!

I find myself the most relaxed in the kitchen. Whether I'm cooking (or baking) away all by my lonesome with nothing but my thoughts and a huge mess, or shuffling in a very small space with my oh so eager to help hubby, I feel at ease. My discovery of this is fairly recent. I'd say that my alter-kitchen-ego-diva was born almost two years ago, as my husband and I were settling ourselves into a new apartment in a new city. Fall of 2010 was the first time we were truly all on our own - with both sets of parents over an hour and a half away and very few friends close by, we had no choice but to learn to work together in the kitchen. My love for desserts began to flourish during this time, and my husband- Aaron's love for all things spicy grew immensely. (It's no wonder my love for all things sweet grew to its peak when we moved to Rochester- the very best cupcake boutique had just started making some of the most delicious desserts my palate had ever tasted!) I found myself eager to cook dinners, to experiment with different flavors and even volunteering to cook Thanksgiving Dinner for my family that year. I was becoming comfortable in the kitchen - in my kitchen, where there's always a mess when I've got a meal in mind.

My love to cook would have never flourished though if it were not for one of my very best friends, Candi. Her love of food is even greater than mine. There's something so incredible about watching her come up with an entire meal off the top of her head and having it turn out better than imagined. She taught me some of the most basic things about cooking, and now I share her love of Pampered Chef, Sugar Mountain,"savory" foods and all things SASS (which I'll get to in another post). It's been a running joke that when the two of us are in her kitchen cooking away (she mostly cooks, I stare and learn in amazement) that she should have her own kitchen show because everything she creates is done so with so much humor and love that the world should always be tuned in. Cooking with Candi is therapeutic, entertaining and always a learning experience. I can't even begin to thank her enough for showing me how to create wonderful and healthy meals in the blink of an eye, and have fun doing it. In a way, this blog is dedicated to you,Candi, as a thank-you for allowing me to be myself in the kitchen (in both yours, and my own), and for helping me to become a more peaceful person.

Not the best picture of us, but definitely one of our funnest days together!!

What's to Come: 

My intention is to just find a way to write about the things I love, and to share them with the people I love. So many of my memories as a child take place in someone's kitchen- whether it be my mother's or my aunt's, or even a friend's kitchen- I've learned not just how to cook, but about life in these kitchens. Sitting around a table talking about the past, laughing about something ridiculous someone said (In most cases it was me), or learning something as simple as how to cut a pepper, or how to layer lasagna- the kitchen was a place of growth for me. As an adult, a wife and a graduate student aspiring to one day figure out what I want to do with my life, life and all its stresses gets the best of me and I look to regain that familiar feeling of the kitchen I once had; the comfort and the entertainment, and the joy that it brings me. So, here, in this blog, I'll recollect old memories and record new ones to share with you. I'll share with you recipes my family has carried on for generations, new ones I've added to memory from my husband's family, and those I stumble upon as I become ever more addicted to Pinterest. There's no formality here- this is just a simple blog about a girl and her kitchen.