Secret Recipe Club - Bacon, Egg and Asparagus Salad

It's Secret Recipe Club time again. Man, that month goes by fast!


As soon as I got my blog assignment (Kudos Kitchen by Renee) for March I started to look through all her recipes. Renee does crafts in addition to cooking and has some beautiful handmade items. After a quick spin through her blog I knew I wanted to make this Bacon, Egg and Asparagus Salad. Just the name made my mouth water. Unfortunately the post didn't include a recipe. One of my biggest pet peeves about the whole Dorie Greenspan blogging community is that those who participate aren't allowed to post the recipe on their blog. I love food porn (aka photos) as much as the next person but if a meal looks good I'd like to be able to make it at home, especially if the blogger made some changes to the original recipe. Thankfully Renee saw my comment on her post asking for the recipe and responded quickly so I was able to get this made before the SRC deadline. Renee, I'm sorry I wasn't able to explain why I was so anxious to get this recipe but now you know. :)


Like I said, I was in love with this salad just from Renee's photos. It combines some of my favorite things - asparagus, runny eggs, pine nuts and bacon - into a gorgeous salad with a tangy dressing. I ended up subbing white wine vinegar for the sherry vinegar because I already had some on hand. Besides the asparagus and mixed greens I didn't have to buy anything else - all the ingredients are things I keep on hand. A tip - if you belong to a wholesale club look for pine nuts in their baking aisle. They're so much cheaper than the grocery store and you can keep them in the freezer so they don't go rancid. This recipe used up the last of my pine nuts so it's a good thing we're headed to the wholesale club this weekend.


This would make a great first course at a dinner party because you can assemble the plates while the asparagus is roasting and then fry or poach some eggs and serve. I fried my eggs in bacon fat to stay true to the original recipe, but I don't think it added anything extra to the taste. Next time I'll poach the eggs to save some calories. Regardless of how you cook your eggs a runny yolk is key. It mixes with the dressing to create something luxurious. If you don't like runny eggs this isn't the salad for you.

The final bite:


I knew SP wouldn't be into this salad so I made it for lunch one day (one of the perks of working from home). I was very happy that it made enough for two salads so I could enjoy it again for lunch the next day.

I can't say enough good things about this salad. I may or may not have licked the plate clean to get up all that delicious dressing and egg yolk. What a winner. Thank you SO much, Renee. This was a great treat and surprisingly simple to make. It was the perfect light lunch and I can't wait to make it again soon.

Bacon and Eggs and Asparagus Salad
Slightly Modified from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
Makes 2 main course salads or 4 first course salads

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sherry or white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and coarsely-ground black pepper
4 large eggs
1 bunch asparagus spears, preferably thick, trimmed
6 strips bacon
3 handfuls mesclun or other mixed salad greens, rinsed and dried
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

To make the vinaigrette: Put all the ingredients in a small jar, cover, and shake to blend; or use a small bowl and a whisk. Set aside, and shake (or whisk) again before using. (You can make the vinaigrette up to a week in advance and keep it in the fridge.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until just cooked through, about 5 mintues.

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat, turning as needed, until the bacon is golden and crisp on both sides. Remove the strips and put them between a double thickness of paper towels; when the bacon is cool, cut it into narrow strips or chop it into bits. Leave 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the skillet. Rewarm the bacon fat over medium heat. Cook eggs over-easy, making sure the yolks are still runny.

Season the mesclun with salt and pepper, then toss it with about three quarters of the vinaigrette, and arrange in the center of the platter or your plates. Toss the asparagus with the remaining vinaigrette and lay the spears over the greens. Lift the eggs out of the skillet and place them on top of the asparagus. Scatter the bacon bits and toasted pine nuts over the salad and serve immediately.

Secret Recipe Club - Cookies and Cream Brownies

It's that time again, time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal. We had January off so when I feel like it's been a very long time since I did one of these posts I'm actually right.

This month I got the blog Everyday Sisters. It's written by four sisters with 10 kids between them. A lot of the recipes on their blog have been passed down from various family members or are from magazines and cookbooks their mom used. It was fun to look through the blog and get a glimpse into their lives through the food they cook.


When it came time to choose a recipe, though, I was stumped. Thankfully we got our blog assignment in early January and my post wasn't due until the end of February so I had plenty of time to see what the ladies came up with over the next month. We ended up being invited to a Super Bowl party and I was tasked with dessert, which if you've read my blog before you know is not my forte. I decided to see what the sisters had on their blog in the way of dessert and low and behold the first recipe to pop up that day was for these Cookies and Cream Brownies. Perfect!


Since I'm not much of a baker the fact that this recipe has two ingredients (if you don't count what you need to make the brownies) is what sold me. I also knew they'd be a big hit at the party. How can you go wrong with Double-Stuf Oreos and brownies? You can't. Just look at the inside of the brownie:


These took me all of 30 minutes to make, including the 15 minutes for baking. The most time-consuming part is dipping the cookies in the brownie batter. Here they are ready to be baked:


I was right about them being a hit. All the women at the party asked for the recipe. I felt like I was cheating telling them it was just brownie mix and Oreos, but they loved not only the taste but how easy they were to make. I sent the rest of the leftovers to work with SP. We got suckered into buying Girl Scout cookies and I don't need even more sweets around the house.

The only change I made was to the cooking time. Since the brownies have to cool in the tin I suggest under-baking them slightly. The full 15 minutes plus cooling time resulted in a much harder brownie then I typically like. I adjusted the cooking time to 12 minutes to compensate. I think these would be amazing with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Cookies and Cream Brownies
Slightly Modified From Everyday Sisters

1 box family size brownie mix
1 package of Double-Stuf Oreos

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease two muffin tins with cooking spray.

Make brownie mix per package directions. Dip 24 Oreos into the brownie batter until coated completely. Place one in each greased muffin cup. If you have leftover batter, divide it evenly among the muffin cups.

Crush the remaining 6 Oreos in a plastic food storage bag using a rolling pin. Sprinkle crushed Oreos on top of each brownie-battered Oreo. Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from tins.

SRC: Cheesy Spinach Farfalle

It's hard for me to believe that this is already my third month participating in the Secret Recipe Club. Time sure does fly when you're busy.

This month I was given Enriching Your Kid, a blog written by a Clinical Psychologist turned homemaker after having kids. She says her goal is to prepare food that is nourishing as well as enticing for kids. She actually had my blog for the first month of the SRC and made my corn fritters.

A lot of the recipes on her blog are for Indian food, which I love but rarely make at home. I wanted to find something that didn't require specialty ingredients since we are on a budget, so I finally settled on Cheesy Spinach Farfalle, which is right up my family's alley.


I made a few modifications but overall kept the recipe the same. I subbed a can of diced tomatoes for fresh tomato because tomatoes aren't in season (plus I hate loose tomato skin on cooked tomatoes). Since she didn't specify a type of grated cheese I thought mozzarella would be nice. I also upped the amount of pasta to a full pound since this needed to feed us for dinner, lunches and a little leftover for Baby Girl and also upped the spinach, garlic and cheese. I only had one small onion but I found a leek in the fridge that needed to be used, so I combined the two. I also added in white wine for some extra flavor since I thought pasta water alone wouldn't be enough to make a flavorful sauce. To thicken the sauce I opted for cornstarch mixed with cold water, which resulted in a silky-smooth sauce without worrying about lumps.

Make sure to taste as you go and add salt and pepper as needed. I absolutely loved this, but then again I pretty much love any pasta dish with tomatoes and spinach. It's an easy meal to put together on a weeknight, which is another plus in my book, along with being vegetarian and healthy. Score!

Cheesy Spinach Farfalle
Modified from Enriching Your Kid

1 lb farfalle
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup white wine
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook the farfalle according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pan. Add the onions and minced garlic, cooking until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the wine and allow to reduce slightly. Add the tomatoes with the juice and the chopped spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste and the Italian seasoning. Allow the spinach to wilt.

Combine cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl. Slowly add to the pan, stirring to combine. Add the reserved pasta water. Sprinkle in grated cheese and allow to melt into the sauce. Add the pasta, mix well and season with salt and pepper. Top with more shredded cheese if you like and serve hot.

Secret Recipe Club: Tuscan Garlic Chicken

For Round Two of the Secret Recipe Club I was assigned Fried Ice and Donut Holes, a blog written by Melissa, who is a teacher by day and cook/baker by night. She is a frequent participant in the recipe swaps I host, so I was very excited to take a closer look at her blog as part of SRC.

It's a huge understatement to say I had a tough time picking a recipe to make. I had written down 20 choices before I got through the last six months of recipes. Melissa and I have similar tastes when it comes to cooking, which made narrowing the choice down even harder. In the end I decided to make a recipe I've been seeing on a few of my favorite blogs lately - Tuscan Garlic Chicken. It has everything I like in a recipe - cream sauce (not healthy, but this one is mostly milk), chicken, spinach and pasta. I couldn't wait to make it.


When I put the plate in front of him, SP said it looked like something you'd get at a restaurant. I really enjoyed this, but we both felt the cream sauce was a little too light. I know we're both spoiled by unhealthy sauces made with heavy cream or even half and half, so next time I'll make this one with a bit more of an even split between milk and half and half for some extra body. I think it needs more garlic because I found myself wanting that flavor to come through a bit more. I think I'd like it more with tomatoes instead of red pepper, just because I'm not a big fan of peppers. Otherwise it was a great dish. I've made my changes in the recipe below.

Tuscan Garlic Chicken
Very Slightly Modified from Fried Ice and Donut Holes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
5-7 cloves garlic, grated
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
6 oz fresh spinach
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
1 lb spaghetti, fettuccine or linguine

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a shallow pie plate or similar dish, combine the flour, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Dip each chicken piece in the flour mixture until both sides are well coated.

In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat until the oil is hot and shimmering. Carefully place the chicken breasts in the pan, cooking them for 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are golden and browned but not cooked all the way through. Remove the chicken to a foil-lined, lightly greased baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside and tent with foil until ready to use.

While the chicken is cooking, heat a large pot of water to a boil and add the noodles, cooking until al dente. Also, wipe out the skillet with a couple paper towels and return it to medium heat, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and bell pepper, sauteing for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in one tablespoon flour and stir constantly while cooking for another minute. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and bring the mixture to a low simmer, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes. In a small liquid measure, whisk together the cornstarch and cream. Add the spinach, milk and cream mixture to the skillet. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted and sauce is slightly thickened, about 2-4 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

When the pasta has finished cooking, drain and return it to the pot. Toss the pasta with half of the cheese sauce. Place some of the coated pasta on each plate. Top with a breaded chicken breast and spoon some of the sauce over the top of the chicken and pasta. Serve immediately.

Secret Recipe Club: Angie's Chipotle Shredded Chicken Tacos

This is my first time participating in the Secret Recipe Club, a large-scale version of the recipe swaps I do on my cooking board, only instead of being assigned a single recipe you are assigned a blog and asked to pick a recipe, make it and then blog about it on a specific day.

I was assigned Farmgirl Gourmet, written by Heather, a mom of two who loves cooking and lives on 20 acres with 8 goats and 15 chickens. Her blog is full of gorgeous food and recipes, most of which she either grows herself or sources locally. Check it out for more delicious recipes.

I chose her recipe for Angie's Chipotle Shredded Chicken Tacos, partly because I wanted to try an experiment with my crock pot and partly because it looked delicious. We love tacos but I rarely make them so this was a great excuse.


Even though I don't usually cook with chicken thighs I decided to stick to the original recipe. I'm glad I did - the thighs were deliciously tender from the slow cooking. I served the tacos with a lot of toppings:


We really enjoyed this recipe and I had a lot of fun browsing through Farmgirl Gourmet for inspiration. I'm writing this post about 3 weeks after I made the chicken tacos and there are a bunch of new recipes on the blog that sound good. Enjoy!

Angie's Chipotle Shredded Chicken Tacos
Farmgirl Gourmet

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup salsa
2 tablespoons canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
Warm tortillas
Toppings: Shredded cheddar cheese, lime quarters, sour cream, lettuce, guacamole, tomatoes, cilantro, onion, salsa

In a slow cooker, combine chicken, garlic, salsa, chipotle chilies, chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and salt to taste. Add a 1/4 cup of water if the mixture looks too dry. Cover; cook on low for 8 hours.

Transfer chicken to a serving bowl, shred with 2 forks. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired. Spoon onto warm tortillas and add toppings.

Kitchen Tip: If your slow cooker is on the larger size (6-quarts or larger) you may have issues with recipes burning. Most slow cooker recipes seem to be for 4-quart cookers. To make the space smaller, put a Pyrex or Corningware dish into the slow cooker and put the ingredients inside the dish.