garlic

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter is made with perfectly roasted garlic cloves, fresh rosemary and parsley, and a bit of lemon juice smashed together to form a log of delicious butter. This Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter is great for topping grilled steaks, fish or spread over bread.

This compound butter all starts with roasted garlic. Roasting garlic calms and balances the garlic while giving it extra nutty and sweet flavors. If you have never roasted garlic- do it! Roasted garlic is so delicious and can be used in so many dishes.

How to roast garlic

Peel off the outer papery layers.
Cut the top off- about 1/4 inch worth to expose the garlic cloves.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Wrap in foil.
Bake on 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

The roasted garlic will come out slightly browned and soft with a nice garlicky aroma. Just squeeze out the garlic cloves from the bulb to use on top of salads, in pasta, sauces and this Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter.

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter

Once the garlic is roasted, this Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter comes together in no time at all. Make sure to use softened butter, chop the herbs finely, use fresh lemon juice, mash the garlic cloves well and this compound butter will come out beautifully!

Now, I just need an extra juicy, grilled sirloin steak- cooked medium-rare, of course! Just add a tablespoon of this deliciousness and it is a winning steak dinner. How will you use this Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter?

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Garlic Butter, steak butter, compound butter, #butter, roasted garlic, how to roast garlic

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter is made with perfectly roasted garlic cloves, fresh rosemary and parsley, and a bit of lemon juice smashed together to form a log of delicious butter.

Roasted Garlic
1 garlic bulb
1 teaspoon olive oil
Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, roasted

Roast the garlic: preheat oven to 400 degrees, remove the excess papery layers from the outside of the garlic bulb, cut the top of the garlic bulb exposing the insides of the cloves slightly (about 1/4 inch off the top), drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil, bake for 40 minutes.
Start your Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter once the garlic has cooled.
Place all the Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Compound Butter ingredients together in a bowl. Use a fork to smash everything together. Make sure to concentrate on smashing the garlic cloves and mixing everything until consistent.
Place the butter onto some parchment paper.
Form the butter using the parchment paper into a a tube or rectangular shape.
Leave the parchment paper in place as you place the butter in the refrigerator to take shape.
Add to bread, pasta, steaks, chicken, fish and more!

You can easily cut this recipe in half but I like making a larger batch because it can be used for weeks on so many foods…. although, I doubt it will last past a couple days because it is just too delicious not to eat.

When Life Gives You Lemons: Throw a Party and Make Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

When Life Gives You Lemons:

Throw a Party

and make Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

This post is sponsored by Thyme & Table. All opinions are mine alone. #WhatAGoodThyme

Garlic Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce is a beautiful entrée made with thinly cut chicken breasts, shallots, and parmesan cheese packed with a punch of lemon and garlic flavor that is perfect for entertaining or a weeknight dinner with the family.

My collection of utensils in the kitchen have some wear- a lot of wear actually and it is long overdue for some kitchen goodies! Thyme & Table’s new product line just launched at Walmart and I felt so inspired to throw a spring themed gathering with friends ad family after receiving this beautiful collection of utensils, gadgets, knives and a cutting board! Spring is finally here and the weather is getting nicer – although it did snow this morning here in Cincinnati but the sunshine is back so I am ready to say good-bye to winter. Let’s celebrate springs arrival!

A great party always has a great theme! ‘When life gives you lemons…’ is the perfect spring theme to infuse a bright spirit in my home and give me all the inspiration needed to create a gorgeous tablescape and amazing menu for all my guests.

When Life Gives You Lemons Tablescape

My favorite part of throwing a dinner party is transforming the dining room! I had so much fun stopping by Walmart to pick up everything I needed to make my guests walk in the room and say, “WOW.” Start your tablescape with a color palette. Lemons are yellow so that was an obvious choice but I also needed another complementary color to make my table pop! Blue and yellow are always a great a combination and have such a cheery affect so blue was the winner! Before shopping at Walmart, look around your house to see what can be utilized in the space already. I was able to pull a wreath, tablecloth, plate chargers, cake stands and a few other items from other rooms in the house to use.

Thyme & Table Winged Corckscrew shown in copper plated stainless steel.

What you need to complete a beautiful tablescape:

Salad and dinner plate for each guest.
Water glass for each guest plus wine glass for those over 21 years old. Place a lemon slice into each water glass for taste and décor.
Silverware set for each guest. I tied a knife, fork, salad fork and spoon into a bundle with some string to also bring in some decoration to each place setting.
Napkins. The blue and plaid napkins were perfect for my theme creating a picnic feel.
Tablecloth and runner. This is optional but it is also the easiest way to brighten up the table with a white tablecloth and blue runner which matches the plaid napkins.
Flowers! Walmart has a flower section with a lot of options for you. I bought some tulips to place in a pitcher on the drink table and carnations to place into jars. To pull in some more yellow, I put lemon slices into the flower jars spread out along the table runner. Wrap a small bow around each jar and you have a beautiful, affordable and colorful centerpiece.
Thyme & Table utensils for each dish you serve with appropriate size bowls or plates.
Take those extra items you found around the house to decorate. I took down a large picture and replaced it with a wreath, set up my beverage server(which I recently found at Walmart) with lemon slices and water, placed cake stands everywhere and then just played with the design. I have a pitcher of flowers on top of a cake stand that is on a tray full of lemons. Think outside the box and layer your items and fill in areas with color! Fresh, whole lemons act as the perfect color filler.
Name cards or a place setting decoration. A little décor on each place setting will go a long way. You can make adorable name cards, place a whole lemon on each plate, use a single fresh cut flower, or a small flower pot with a faux or fresh flowers.

Thyme & Table Winged Corckscrew shown in copper plated stainless steel.

When Life Gives You Lemons Menu

Menu planning can be stressful for a dinner party. My advice is to keep it simple. Pick an entrée, salad, two sides and a dessert. If you feel overwhelmed, ask guests to bring a dish. Nobody will mind throwing together a salad or picking up a dessert before they come over – people like to contribute so just ask for what you need.

Thyme & Table utensils shown including the mini silicone funnel.

When life gives you lemons menu:

Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce. Recipe card below. Note that the Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce recipe card serves 4-5. I used two pans and doubled the recipe to feed 10.
Roasted Green Beans with shallots and garlic.
Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes.
Spring Salad with strawberries, blueberries, sliced almonds, feta cheese and poppy seed dressing.
Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake with a peach lemon glaze.
Wine of choice for those over 21. I recommend a Riesling or Chardonnay and half of a bottle per person.

Thyme & Table knife shown from the 3-piece set and Acacia Board chopping block.

Prepping with Thyme & Table

I know you are scrolling through these photographs and eyeballing all these gorgeous kitchen utensils and gadgets! Thyme & Table doesn’t just offer beautiful products for your kitchen but the new line is full of items to make cooking more efficient. The Thyme & Table knife set is impressive with comfortable gripping and easy chopping.

Thyme & Table Grater shown in copper plated stainless steel and Acacia Board chopping block.

What else am I loving from the new Thyme & Table line? The copper plated stainless steel everything! From the cheese grater to wine opener to the collection of utensils- they are crazy gorgeous! Mother’s Day is approaching and I am envisioning a beautiful gift basket with the copper plated stainless steel collection and one of the Thyme & Table cutting boards.

Thyme & Table Whisk shown from the whisk and tong set.

I could talk all day about the new Thyme & Table line but we have some dinner party tips and an amazing recipe for Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce coming up and you don’t want to miss this recipe!

Tips to Make Your Dinner Party a Success

When inviting guests, ask if there are any food allergies so you can plan the menu accordingly.
Set up your tablescape the day before to make sure you have everything needed and to play with the arrangement until it is perfect. Also, make sure to iron the tablecloth and napkins.
Prepare dessert the night before or the morning of party to check a big menu item off the to-do list.
Prep all ingredients a couple hours before party. This includes measuring, chopping, washing produce and more. When dinner comes, you can cook in a clean kitchen more efficiently and quickly leaving you more time with guests.
Before guests arrive, get your beverage station set-up an fill water glasses.

Thyme & Table spoon and slotted turner shown from the 2 pack Acacia utensil set.

Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

Chicken is always a great choice for dinner parties because it is simple and most people are happy to eat chicken. I wanted to create a chicken dish with spring in mind so it has a strong lemon taste that pairs so well with the garlic, shallots and parmesan so here comes the Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce.

Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

Garlic Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce is a beautiful entrée made with thinly cut chicken breasts, shallots, and parmesan cheese packed with a punch of lemon and garlic flavor that is perfect for entertaining or a weeknight dinner with the family.

4-5 chicken breasts, thin cut
1 cup chicken broth
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 shallot, diced
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
garnish with a lemon slice

Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts.
Place the pan onto the stovetop on a high heat and let it heat up. You can use a skillet or non stick pan.
Mince the garlic cloves and dice the shallot. Grate the parmesan cheese and juice a lemon.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the chicken 5-7 minutes on each side.
Remove the chicken and place on a plate while you make the sauce.
Place the pan back on the heat on low-medium.
Add the butter, minced garlic and diced shallots. Stir often for 3 minutes keeping on eye on the garlic not to burn.
Add 1 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup heavy cream and ,5 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Let simmer 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, Mix the teaspoon cornstarch with tablespoon water and add to pan. Stir in the cornstarch mixture with sauce.
Add the grated parmesan cheese and lemon juice. Stir ingredients in and add the chicken back in.
Spoon the sauce over chicken and add a lemon slice garnish if you would like.
Serve.

Before stopping by Walmart to pick up your Thyme & Table products, visit their site by clicking HERE! Don’t forget to stop back in and comment below to tell me how your When Life Gives You Lemons spring-inspired dinner party went!

Homemade Parmesan Croutons

Thank you Idahoan® Steakhouse® Soups for sponsoring this post. Stay warm with this winter with a cozy bowl of soup!

Homemade Parmesan Croutons are made with day old bread, seasonings and parmesan cheese nestled on top of a delicious, warm bowl of Idahoan® Steakhouse® Soup.

There is a lot of hustling about this time of year between school activities, holiday parties, shopping to check all the items off that Christmas list and trying to find a moment to spend with the family. We all need a few go-to items in the pantry in these chaotic times that are quick, easy and still allow you to put a comforting meal on the dinner table that will warm up the whole family.

Idahoan Steakhouse® Soups bring together real, red Idaho® potatoes with flavorful seasonings and rich cheeses to provide a creamy taste in every spoonful – all you have to do is add water. In just 5 minutes, you can have flavorful, slow-cooked taste of restaurant-quality soup at home!

Idahoan Steakhouse® Soups are available in four delicious flavor varieties:

Loaded Potato
Creamy Potato
Cheddar Broccoli
Cheddar Potato

Visit Idahoan Steakhouse® Soups to get more information by clicking HERE.

Homemade Parmesan Croutons

Homemade Parmesan Croutons are so easy to make! If you have not made your own croutons before, you want to try out this recipe. You will never go back to the store bought and homemade croutons are such a great use of a food you would probably just throw in the garbage. They are delicious and reduce waste. Win, win.

Today, I am sharing my Homemade Parmesan Crouton recipe but this is one of those recipes that you can easily tweak to utilize whatever you happen to have around the house. Swap some of the spices, opt out of the cheese and any kind of bread can be used. Have a loaf of ciabatta bread that has been sitting around for a week? Chop it up, add some spices and olive oil and then toss it in the oven for some great croutons!

Let’s get cooking!

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Remove the crust from the bread slices or leave the crust on-up to you! Then, slice the bread into 1 inch cubes. In a mixing bowl, add your seasonings and some parmesan cheese. Add in the cubed bread and drizzle with olive oil. Mix everything together and place on a baking sheet.
Bake the croutons for 20 minutes.
Remove the croutons from the oven and flip. Sprinkle with more parmesan cheese and bake another 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the croutons the last 5 minutes to make sure they do not burn. You want the croutons to be toasted and golden brown.

Homemade Parmesan Croutons

Homemade Parmesan Croutons are made with day old bread, seasonings and parmesan cheese nestled on top of a delicious, warm bowl of Idahoan® Steakhouse® Soup.

6 slices day old bread (4 cups cubed)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Slice your bread into 1 inch cubes. You can remove the crust or leave crust on.
In a mixing bowl, add your seasonings and mix.
Mix in half the parmesan cheese.
Drizzle the olive oil on top and mix all ingredients together.
Place on a parchment paper covered baking sheet.
Bake 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and flip croutons. Sprinkle the remainder of the parmesan cheese on top and bake another 10 minutes.
Let cool and store in a sealable container.

Place your Homemade Parmesan Croutons into a sealable container once completely cooled to be stored. Toss them on salads, eat them for a snack or on top of cozy, warm bowl of Idahoan® Steakhouse® Soup.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Steak with Rosemary Garlic Sauce

Steak with Rosemary Garlic Sauce has petite sirloin cut steak with an amazingly flavorful rosemary garlic sauce with a touch of lemon and shallots.

As a child, I hated steak. I thought it was horrible and gross. I wanted nothing to do with it. When I got older, I started trying more foods and different cooking methods and came to love steak. My mother would always cook our steak well done growing up. I mean WELL done. Sorry mom, steak isn’t your department. It was flavorless and hard to chew. For full flavor, keep some pink in your steak. I prefer my steak medium-rare and cook my kids a few minutes longer to be a medium to medium-well.

Let us start by talking about the steak. I buy petite steak a lot. It is affordable and flavorful. However, petite steak can be less tender than other cuts. You can certainly swap out the cut of steak in this recipe for whichever cut you prefer. I know when you have kids to feed, staying affordable is a must and the petite is a great option for those who love steak but don’t always love the price tag.

Grilling the steak really gives the best flavor so that is what we need today. I say “we” because I haven’t grilled anything in a decade. My husband is the grill chef in this household. I’m just the supervisor… which he isn’t too entertained by but marriage is what it is.

Cooking time on the grill is important. Set your grill on a medium heat. I stick to the cooking times Bobby Flay recommends. I’m pretty sure the guy knows what he is doing. Place the steaks on the grill and cook until golden 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the steaks over and continue to grill 3 to 5 minutes for medium-rare, 5 to 7 minutes for medium or 8 to 10 minutes for medium-well. We cook the steak about 5 minutes each side and let the kids steaks cook another few minutes.

Steak with Rosemary Garlic Sauce has a really great sauce. This sauce was inspired from a steak on the menu from Long Horn Steak House. Long Horn’s has a steak with a rosemary gravy, mushrooms, topped with onion straws that is pretty tasty. This is not a copy cat sauce, the sauce was just my inspiration. Instead of onion straws, I used shallots and lightened it up with some lemon. I did not leave out the amazing rosemary flavor though so if you love that Long Horn steak, this is not the same but much of the flavor profile is there so you are sure to love this too.

We made mashed potatoes on the side today and drizzled the sauce over those too and it was delicious in replace of a thick gravy. Plus, it is so simple to make with just a few ingredients.

Steak with Rosemary Garlic Sauce

1.5 pounds steak (we went with petite sirloin today)
1 lemon
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup beef broth
1 shallot
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons olive oil

Finely chop 1 shallot, 2 tablespoons worth of rosemary and 3 garlic cloves. Cut your lemon in half. Put to side for later.
Place steaks on the grill on a medium heat.
Cook until browned, 4-5 minutes, and flip.
Cook another 3-10 minutes depending on how well done you like your steak. We typically do 5 minute each side. A few extra minutes for the kids steak.
Make your sauce. In a saucepan on a medium heat, add your chopped shallots and 1 tablespoon butter. Mix often for 2 minutes.
Add your garlic, rosemary, olive oil and squeeze the lemon. Let simmer for 2 minutes.
Add half cup of the beef broth. Simmer.
In a small bowl, place the remainder of the beef broth (1/4 cup) and 1 tablespoon flour and mix well. Pour into the saucepan.
Mix the saucepan ingredients until it thickens.
Drizzle the rosemary garlic sauce over the steaks and serve.

Crab Fries with Garlic Aioli

Crab Fries with fresh snow crab and a simple garlic aioli set on top of some delicious seasoned fries.

We went on a vacation last year to Clearwater, Florida. All vacations on the beach involve a mission to find the best fish tacos in town. While we did not find any fish tacos to brag about in Clearwater, we did stumble on some pretty dang good crab fries at Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill! My crab fries are inspired by Frenchy’s Crab Fries. If only my house had that ocean view like Frenchy’s, we would be set!

To get great crab fries, use French fries with really good seasoning. I used Rally’s seasoned fries today because I didn’t have to add any extra spice, they are ready to go. Also, make sure to use real crab and not imitation. Depending on where you live and time of season, your options may vary for crab. I always prefer Alaskan King Crab but we used Snow Crab with the crab fries and it was fantastic. Check your grocery store next to the imitation crab because we have fresh crab in containers ready to eat which saved a ton of time not having to cook the crab and tear it all apart, plus it was affordable.

The garlic aioli is strong on flavor but pairs so perfectly with the seasoned French fries and crab! Garlicky and lemony goodness galore!

Have you ever had crab fries or visited Clearwater, Florida? Tell me what you think of these fun fries.

Crab Fries with Garllic Aioli

1 pound seasoned French fries
8 ounces crab meat, cooked and shredded
.5 cup mayonnaise
.5 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
1.5 tablespoon lemon juice
3 clove garlic
2 tablespoons butter
.5 teaspoon sea salt
.5 teaspoon pepper
chives to garnish (optional)

Bake the French fries according to package directions.
As the fries cook, make your garlic aioli sauce.
In a small bowl, add mayo, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, 2 minced garlic cloves, sea salt and pepper. Mix well and set to the side.
In a microwavable safe container, add crab, 1 minced garlic clove and 2 tablespoons butter. Heat in microwave for 1 minute. Mix.
Remove the fries from oven.
Top fries with the crab and drizzle your aioli sauce.
Dice some chives and sprinkle over top to garnish.
Enjoy!

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Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes

Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes with loads of fresh parsley, garlic and ghee. Perfect side dish for chicken, steak, pork, ham, meatloaf…. oh my gosh I could go forever with the list of foods it pairs well with. Bacon Wrapped Turkey Meatloaf possibly? I think so.

By the way, what the heck is ghee? To simply put, ghee is much like butter but produced slightly different. Ghee is commonly used in Indian and Pakistani cuisine, especially with rice. Most grocery stores should have ghee or you can check out a specialty store. Can’t find ghee where you are? That’s okay. Swap with butter.

It is that time of month once again for Recipe Swap Club and Simply Made Recipes got tasked with Cook at Home, where you can find a lot of Whole30, gluten free and lactose free recipe options! I browsed and browsed the site for what I wanted to recreate and found these Herb and Garlic Smashed Potatoes. We are potato lovers in this family and I jump on any chance to try a new potato recipe. Plus, there is garlic…. tons of garlic. Who can say no to that?

Check out the original recipe here.

I made just a couple changes to the Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes recipe. One, the recipe calls for almond milk and I used regular 2% because that’s what I have on hand. Two, I chopped up some fresh parsley over dried because I prefer fresh herbs and spices. Third, the instructions were to steam the potatoes but I made a large batch and my steamer does not hold the amount of potatoes I needed so I boiled them and added the garlic after cooking the potatoes. If you steam the potatoes, add in the garlic while cooking and keep the same cook time. Either way you cook your potatoes, the outcome will be right on.

Potatoes skins on or off before cooking? I leave potato skins on as often as possible, especially for yellow or red potatoes. What is the benefit of leaving the skin on? Well, to get the full nutritional value of the potato you need to eat the whole potato full of fiber and numerous nutrients.

Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes

3 tablespoon ghee
2.5 pounds small yellow potatoes
1/4 cup-3/4 cup milk (almond milk is recommended)
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
6 garlic cloves
salt
pepper

Wash potatoes and chop into quarters.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop your potatoes in. Add a pinch of salt.
Let cook 30 minutes or until potatoes are softened.
Drain and place into large mixing bowl.
Mince 6 garlic cloves and add to potatoes along with freshly chopped parsley, 3 tablespoons ghee, pinch of salt and pepper.
Use your potato smasher (I use my avocado smasher) to smash the potatoes and mix all the ingredients together.
Add 1/4 cup milk and mix. If you want to thin out your potatoes more, add another 1/4-1/2 cup milk.
Garnish with a pinch more of fresh parsley and a bit of ghee.
Serve.

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What are you going to cook up first with these garlic & herb Smashed Potatoes?

Date Night with Bertolli® {+ Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread Recipe}

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older #MangiaTonight #CollectiveBias

Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching. I feel like once Thanksgiving hit, time went into fast forward and winter is flying by. Valentine’s Day reservations have not been made nor have we set up a babysitter. Time to get creative! This year, we are having date night in with Bertolli® Frozen Meals set up by the fireplace with a cozy blanket, flowers, wine and a freshly baked cheesy garlic pull apart bread. Life is all about the little moments like this. The simple, spontaneous, unexpected, small moments that mean the most.

First, drop by Kroger and grab everything you need to create your own date night at home. Bertolli® Frozen Meals are found in the freezer section under family meals. There are many different options to choose from but I went with the Chicken Florentine & Farfalle because it is a creamy pasta with loads of spinach packed with flavor and big chunks of lean chicken. There are bags for 2 servings which is what I bought for today for our romantic dinner for two by the fire. Family size bags are also available so grab the one that is appropriate for your needs.

Bonus! For the month of February at Kroger banner stores, Bertolli Meals for Two will be the lowest price of the year.

You can’t have an Italian pasta dinner without a garlic bread. I didn’t want to do any kind of garlic bread though for our special night. I am making a gooey, cheesy garlic pull apart bread. You will find fresh Kroger bread in the bread and pastry section. I went with the Italian round bread. The sourdough round loafs would also be a great choice. Mozzarella, garlic cloves and butter will also be needed.

You have the perfect pasta dish, a crazy good cheesy garlic bread planned, so now for the drinks and flowers. It’s date night! Grab some pretty flowers that smell wonderful. There is just something about fresh flowers that just automatically make a person happy. What is it? The color? The smell? Flowers just top off everything and romanticize the night.

Now for the drinks. We are wine drinkers so we grabbed a simple, light wine. For the Chicken Florentine and Farfelle, I recommend a white wine. A light dish pairs with white wines beautifully. Think of a chardonnay, white zinfandel or a reisling. Even a champagne would be fantastic and appropriate for a romantic Valentine’s date night.

As part of date night, we both participate in the cooking. It can be a fun experience just being in the kitchen together watching my husband cook, chatting, laughing and having a glass of wine. Separate the tasks and have on person make the cheesy garlic pull apart bread while the heats up the pasta. Start with the bread since it takes longer to cook. You want to remove the bread from the packaging and make slices one inch apart both diagonal and horizontal. When making your slices, do not cut all the way through the bread. Check out the photo below as a guideline on your slices. Just make the slices go down towards bottom and stop. Melt the butter in a small bowl, add the cheese, fresh chopped parsley and minced garlic to mix together. Now, add your mixture into the slices of the bread spreading it equally throughout. Cover in foil and place in oven for 35 minutes.

As the bread finishes cooking in the oven, begin the pasta. In a large sauce pan on a medium to high heat, add the package of Bertolli. Cook for 11 minutes covered while stirring often to avoid sticking and for thorough cooking. That is it! How easy is this?

Now time for the fun part! Setting up your night date at home. One of our favorite date night tricks is an indoor picnic. This is where we grab a comfy blanket and lay it out by the fireplace to eat. Set up your blanket like a picnic with your Bertolli Chicken Florentine and Farfalle in a big shareable bowl, lay out the cheesy garlic pull apart bread, a bucket of ice with the wine bottle, wine glasses and vas with fresh flowers.

Enjoy date night with Bertolli. Take a few minutes to yourselves and catch up on life. Have a nice discussion, watch a movie, play a board game, enjoy the fireplace and in our case…. try your best to ignore the children running around in circles by us. Better yet, let the kids set up their own picnic area to eat and watch a movie or color in the some new Valentine’s Day coloring books.

Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread

4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
1 loaf fresh italian round bread (or something similar)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups mozzarella shredded cheese

Gather ingredients, aluminum foil, measuring cup, whisk, small bowl, cutting board, knife, bread knife, and garlic press.
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
Use the bread knife to cut your bread. Cut slices down to the bottom of the bread but not all the way through about one inch apart. Do the cross cut slices the same way making sure to not cut all through the bread.
In the small bowl, melt one stick of butter in microwave for 30 seconds- 1 minute.
Chop the fresh parsley and add to bowl.
Mince 4 garlic cloves with the garlic press and put into bowl.
Measure out 1.5 cups cheese and add to bowl. Whisk the ingredients together well.
Spread open the bread to put the mixture on the bread making sure to evenly distribute throughout. Helps to do this by sections or quadrants and spread with a knife.
Completely wrap in foil.
Place in oven for 35 minutes.
Sprinkle the other .5 cups mozzarella cheese on top of bread right when it comes out of oven allowing it to melt.
Serve.

Cheers to Bertolli for bringing date night into our home and helping us create wonderful memories together!

How are you spending Valentine’s Day this year? Can you see yourself having a romantic date night at home by the fire and a glass of wine, a delicious bowl of pasta and some fresh cheesy garlic pull apart bread?

Get some more date night inspiration from Bertolli® Frozen Meals by clicking HERE.

Bertolli® is a registered trademark of R&B Foods, Inc., used under license.

Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce

Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce is a dressing, sauce, dip all in one. The original Avocado Bomb Sauce recipe from here at Simply Made Recipes has been a huge hit and we wanted to create a spin off recipe for you all. Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce is spicy, packed with fresh cilantro and garlic and has a nice creamy base.

Why do we love this recipe? You can literally use it on everything. Top your fajitas, burrito bowls, eggs, toast, chicken fingers, salads and whatever else you can think of. Our favorite use for Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce is on top of ground turkey tacos made with ground turkey, cabbage, tomatoes, taco seasoning in a soft tortilla. The sauce replaces the need for guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Also, is a great healthy swap on salads of a ranch dressing.

Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for around 5 days.

Creamy Avocado Bomb Sauce

1 avocado
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 jalapeno
3 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 fresh squeezed lime
Pinch of salt

Gather ingredients, food processor, sealable container, knife, and cutting board.
Wash ingredients well, especially the cilantro because it can hold in a lot of dirt.
Cut lime and avocado in halves. Remove the avocado seed.
Scoop the avocado from its shell in put into the food processor.
Add 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/2 jalapeno, 3 garlic cloves, pinch of salt and 1/2 bunch of cilantro into food processor. If you do not like heat, remove seeds of jalapeno beforehand. If you want it extra spicy, add an entire jalapeno but be wary because it will have some kick.
Squeeze 1/2 lime into mix. Blend for 3 minutes.
Do a taste test. You may need to add more salt or squeeze more lime depending on your personal taste. If you would like a thinner sauce, for a dressing possibly, add just a touch of water to thin out. Start with a tablespoon of water but the water is not necessary.
Blend another 1-2 minutes.
Pour into a container and eat up!

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Crunchy Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Broccoli

Time for November’s swap from Recipe Swap Club and this month I was tasked with Pantry Half Full and chose a Crunchy Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Broccoli! Safrina is the girl behind the food blog of Pantry Half Full and has wonderful recipes and videos! Love the cooking the videos. She was born in India and now resides in London and you are sure to find some culturally inspired dishes that honestly look lovely and her instructions and videos are amazing so anyone can surely follow along. There is a recipe for Kayalpatnam Chicken Curry that is definetly on my Need to Make List but I am so happy with how this Crunchy Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Broccoli turned out. It is a great go to family meal for busy week nights and exactly the type of recipe we are all about here at Simply Made Recipes.

Crunchy Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Broccoli with chicken breast covered with panko and parmesan and a really nice lemon flavor. Crunchy Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Broccoli is one of those dishes that just makes you feel good eating, refreshing and energizing. You can have this meal ready in under 45 minutes and the entire family loved it. Swap out the broccoli for asparagus if you would like but my kids scarf down that broccoli, although my son kept on telling me the broccoli tasted weird today, that is was sooo lemony but he didn’t fail to eat every crumb. Basically, his complaints are invalid.

For recipes such as this one, I like to get really organized. I get my 3 bowls lined up and add the necessary ingredients. Prep what I need to and clean up what I can. Then, I start coating the chicken and moving down the line to put them on the baking sheet.

Crunchy Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Broccoli

1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter
3 lemons, zest and juice
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1.5 pounds chicken breast, sliced into strips
1 lemon, sliced thinly
2 cups broccoli
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Gather ingredients, 3 bowls, foil, baking sheet, measuring cups, knife, and cutting board.
Cover baking sheet with foil and lighly grease with olive oil.
In bowl #1: breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
In bowl #2: flour.
In bowl #3: stir together the melted butter, 5 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, and minced garlic.
Set aside 4 tablespoons of the lemon butter mixture for later.
Arrange your work station with the three bowls: flour, breadcrumb mixture and lemon butter mixture.
Coat your chicken strips in the flour, then dip it into the lemon butter and finally coat with the breadcrumb mixture.
Lay the strip on the prepared baking tray. Repeat until you have used up all the chicken. Sprinkle with any leftover breadcrumb mixture.
Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven.
Turn the chicken pieces carefully. Decorate with thinly sliced lemon.
Nestle the broccoli or asparagus in the space around the chicken and drizzle with the remaining lemon butter mixture that we set aside earlier. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake for another 14 to 16 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

Missed October’s recipe swap? Now worries. Check it out now Berly’s Kitchen Cinnamon Rolls.

Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks

Homemade Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks are a perfect side for soups or a comforting Italian family dinner. These breadsticks turn out soft and buttery with just the right amount of garlic. These breadsticks are so delicious and no equipment is needed, although a KitchenAid Mixer would save some time. We completely make this by hand and completely from scratch. Yum. Now, won’t your family be impressed when you bring these to the dinner table? Cook up some Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana for a fantastic dinner and everyone will be raving on your cooking.

Here is a little tip for you! Double this recipe for the dough and save half in the fridge for homemade pizza dough sometime through the week.

Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks

breadsticks
1 cup warm water
3.5 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast
garlic butter
4 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic
salt
italian parsley
.5 cups Parmesan cheese

Gather ingredients, 2 forks, large bowl, small bowl, basting brush, towel, pizza cutter, cookie sheet, and rolling pin.
Mix 1 teaspoon of yeast in 1 cup of warm water and let sit until yeast is dissolved. This should only take a few minutes and water should be around 105 degrees.
Dump 3.5 cups of bread flour onto your working area and make a crater in the center for the rest of the ingredients.
In your crater area, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons sugar, and the cup of water with yeast.
Using your fork, mix from the center out to the edges bringing in the flour as you mix without breaking the crater wall. Add the teaspoon of salt once the flour is mixed to point that the crater walls are not needed.
Use your hands to mix and knead thoroughly until you have a nice ball of dough. This should take around 5 to 7 minutes.
Put dough into a bowl with a bit of olive oil to coat it from sticking. Place a towel over and let sit for one hour.
After one hour, use the rolling pin to roll out the dough. Sprinkle flour if the dough is ticking.
Using your pizza cutter, make 10 even cuts to make 12 breadsticks. Twist these and lay on a cookie sheet.
Let the breadsticks sit for one hour to finish rising.
Prepare garlic butter. In the small bowl, add 4 tablespoons room temperature butter, 1 clove of minced garlic, fresh Italian parsley and salt to preference. Mix well.
Pre heat oven to 400 degrees and cook breadsticks for 10 minutes.
Immediately brush on garlic butter and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!