Chicken Parm Bake

It's not chicken parmesan....it's better! It's a lot easier, less messy and so good! I found this recipe on Pinterest and we've eaten it twice since then.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
red pepper flakes, to taste
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (we used boneless skinless thighs)
2 cups marinara sauce
1/4 cup chopped basil (I just liberally sprinkled dried basil)
8 oz mozzarella cheese
4 oz parmesan cheese (I just used the Kraft stuff in the can...I'm too cheap to use real parmesan)
1 pkg (5oz-ish) garlic croutons

Method:

1.) Drizzle oil, chopped garlic and red pepper flakes in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Place raw chicken breasts on top. Just cram them in.

2.) Pour marinara sauce over the chicken and sprinkle basil.

3.) This is where I made a departure from the original recipe. Watch the video if you want the true non-Kirstenized recipe. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

4.) Take chicken out of the oven and add half the mozzarella and parm cheese. Top with croutons, then add the other half of the cheese. This is important. That layer of cheese separating the croutons keeps them from getting totally soggy and gross.

5.) Bake for 20 minutes more until cheese is nice and golden brown.

6.) Yum!!

PS: When I made this the first time, I followed the directions exactly and ended up with undercooked, bleedy chicken (Eww!) so I baked it longer. By the time the chicken was cooked through, the croutons and cheese were totally burned. So, the second time I made this I left the cheese and stuff off until the end, and that turned out much MUCH better.

Toffee-Pumpkin Cheesecake

I got this recipe from ourbestbites.com. They always have great recipes and wanted to share a picture or two of how my pie came out! It was DELISH by the way! May I also add, I could NOT find regular toffee chips ANYWHERE, so I had to settle for chocolate covered toffee chips and it still turned out wonderfully :o)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Toffee-Pumpkin Cheesecake
Slightly adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:
2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (just short of 2 sleeves)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 bag toffee bits
1 15-oz can pumpkin (or use homemade, it’s 1 3/4 cup)
3/4 cup whipping cream
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning
1/8 teaspoons salt
Cool Whip or sweetened whipped cream for topping

Instructions:
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Spray a 9 or 10″ springform pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix crumbs and butter. Press in bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in 2 of the eggs. Stir in 1 cup of the toffee bits. Spread over crust. Clean out your bowl (or by all means grab another one.)

Mix pumpkin, whipping cream, 2/3 cup sugar, the cinnamon, pumpkin pie seasoning, salt and remaining 3 eggs just until blended. Slowly and carefully spoon over cheesecake layer.

Bake for 2 hours or until edge of cheesecake is set at least 2 inches from edge of pan but center still jiggles slightly when moved. Turn oven off; open oven door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes. Run spatula around edge of pan. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Run spatula around edge of pan; remove side of pan. Pipe whipped topping or whipped cream around edges of cheesecake; sprinkle with remaining toffee bits.

Poverty Meal....Don't be fooled, it's actually good!

So, I was writing my grocery list last week and trying to think of something that uses pasta and all I was coming up with was lasagna and spaghetti and other things I do ALL THE TIME. A few keystrokes later, I found myself at food.com and discovered this lovely little recipe. The best part, aside from the deliciousness, is the cheapness and lack of weird ingredients and the good leftovers. The other best part is my kids inhaled it. My toddler actually cried when I showed him the empty pot after we had eaten all the leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or some garlic powder if you don't feel like mincing garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb ground beef

2 (16 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes (I used one giant can of diced tomatoes) 

1 (16 ounce) can water (since I used a giant can, I only used half a can of water) 

8 ounces elbow macaroni, uncooked

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese (optional...but not really)

Method:

• Throw the onions, garlic, olive oil and uncooked ground beef into a really big frying pan, or in my case, a big pot. I also sprinkled some salt and pepper on. If you have really fatty beef, you might consider cooking it separately so you can drain it.
• Brown the beef and saute the onions until they are both cooked.
• Pour in the tomatoes (undrained...you'll want that liquid), water and macaroni. At this point I also added some basil and (heehee) a little hot sauce.
• Simmer on medium for 10-20 minutes, just until the pasta is cooked.
• Top with Parmesan cheese
• Yummmm!

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I love this website! I find myself going there a lot to find fun recipes.
I stumbled across this taquito recipe (because my husband loves mexican food so much) so I thought...might as well give it a try!
It's amazing! The best part.....you can totally freeze it for later! So, all you mommy's to be, or all us lazy people...this right here is a great prepared meal for those times you just don't want to cook!

Recipe:
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro (or less if you don't like cilantro, like me)
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (I like flour tortillas the best)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

I made these for dinner last night (first time out with this recipe) and it was AWESOME! The barbecue sauce appears to be the key. So if you try this, make sure and buy good sauce. We used Sweet Baby Ray's.

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (I used a couple of packages of the shrink-wrapped thighs that you can get at Costco). Make sure you get all the little bits of fat off the chicken or you'll end up with greasy sauce. Yuck!
1 medium onion, sliced
1 bottle (18 oz-ish) of barbecue sauce
Buns

Method:

1.) Throw everything in the crock pot and turn it on! If you use 1 lb of chicken, you won't need the whole bottle of sauce.

2.) Cook for 8 hours on low.

3.) When you're ready to eat, pull out the chicken and shred it with a fork. Then, plop some on a hamburger bun.

4.) Dinner!

Jiffy Jambalaya

I found this recipe online and then modified it a little.  It is SO yummy.  Plus, whenever I watch "Princess and the Frog", I get inspired to whip this up :-)

INGREDIENTS:


1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound chicken breast, diced
1 pound fully cooked andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes,undrained
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 drops Tabasco (or more, if you like it hot!)
1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a skillet, saute chicken, onion and green pepper in oil until chicken is mostly cooked and veggies are tender. Stir in the sausage, tomatoes, water, sugar and seasonings. Bring to a boil; add the rice. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the rice is tender.

You can also make this with shrimp, if that's your thing.

Serve with some sliced french bread and butter- especially if you make it hot and spicy!

Engagement Chicken

Whether you're looking for that special someone to pop the question or you just want a different and delicious way to cook chicken, this recipe is for you! The real recipe is found here, but I didn't feel like adding all those garnishes, so I simplified it a bit and added lemon juice to the sauce.

Ingredients:

1 whole roasting chicken
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 or 3 whole lemons
salt
pepper

Method:

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2.) Remove giblets and rinse chicken thoroughly, inside and out. Make sure it's dry-ish (like no puddles of water left inside)

3.) Pour the lemon juice all over the inside and outside of the chicken.

4.) Salt and pepper the chicken, inside and out.

5.) Prick the lemons with a fork a few times all over, then place them inside cavity of the chicken. I only needed two lemons and I had to shove pretty hard to keep them inside. I think I broke a few ribs, so don't be shy about getting those lemons to stay put.

6.) Place the chicken breast-side down in a roasting pan with a rack. Bake for 15 min at 400 degrees F.

7.) Take the chicken out of the oven and flip it over. My chicken wasn't too hot, so I could do it with my hands, but a pair of tongs or wooden spoons works too. Reposition the lemons if they fall out.

8.) Lower oven temp to 350 and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on the weight of the chicken. The recipe gave an equation of 18-20 minutes per pound plus an extra 15 minutes because it's stuffed with lemons.

9.) When the chicken is cooked, let it rest for 10 min. before serving. Take the lemons out and squeeze them into a bowl. They'll be nice and soft and everything will come out easily. Pour the drippings (which they called "marry me juice") into that bowl as well and pour the concoction over the chicken as you eat it.
10.) YUM!!!!

Glass Block Holiday Jello

So, I looked this awesome recipe up. It can be made for ANY occasion. Heck, it can be made anytime! I used this recipe for Easter. It was SO delish and you get so many compliments. I call it "mosaic jello".

Glass Block Holiday Jello

4 3-oz. packages assorted Jello (in coordinating colors)
2 packets unflavored gelatin
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Spray 4 small food storage containers (like Tupperware/Gladware/Rubbermaid) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Bring 5+ cups of water to a boil. Combine 1 c. boiling water with 1 package of Jello, stirring until dissolved. Place the dissolved Jello in one of the prepared containers. Repeat with the remaining packages of Jello. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferable overnight.

When the Jello has set, bring another 1 1/2 c. of water to a boil. While the water is heating, sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin over 1/2 c. of cold water. Allow to stand for about 4 minutes. When the water is boiling, pour 1 1/2 c. boiling water over the dissolved gelatin and stir to combine. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Allow to come to room temperature.

Lightly spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully cut the colored Jello into cubes and gently toss to combine in the 9×13″ pan. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the colored Jello and, if necessary, rearrange some of the colored Jello to make sure it is evenly distributed and not sticking out of the white mixture too far.

Place the 9×13″ pan in the refrigerator and chill overnight. Cut into squares, rectangles, or various shapes with cookie cutters and serve.

Low calorie fruit smooties

These are super yummy, healthy, and low calorie.  They are great treats for Weight Watchers (only 3 pts on the new system, 2 on the old system), and are low carb too.

Ingredients:

1 c. (8oz) 1% or skim milk
6-8 fresh strawberries, or about a cup of a fresh fruit(s) of your choice*
1 tsp. vanilla extract (imitation vanilla is fine too)
6 ice cubes

Throw it all in together, blend, enjoy!

*Frozen berries or fruit work fine too- and won't change the calorie amount as long as they aren't sweetened.

If you have an 'ice cream' craving, put it in a glass or bowl after it's been blended and stick it in the freezer for an hour.  Yum!!

Steak Pizzaiola

It's fun to say (Steak Pete's-eye-Ole-uh), easy to make and less expensive than it sounds!  I discovered steak pizzaiola by watching reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond.  I also discovered braciole by watching this show, which I haven't tried yet since it looks kind of hard and messy.

Steak Pizzaiola
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• cooking oil 
• 4 small steaks (I used chuck steaks I found on sale)
• 1 large onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• hot cherry peppers (I didn't use these, but I did add a dash of red pepper flakes) (optional)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 28 oz can or 2 14 oz cans peeled plum tomatoes or diced tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Don't use olive oil at high heat because it scorches and tastes gross. 
2. Add the steak and brown well on both sides.
3. Meanwhile slice the onion and mince the garlic.
4. Remove the steak from the pan and reduce heat to medium.
5. Add olive oil if you need it, the onion and garlic and cook for about one minute.
6. Add the hot cherry peppers, if desired, and then the tomato paste.
7. Roughly chop or squeeze the tomatoes and add to the pan along with the spices.  The recipe was vague, so I didn't drain the tomatoes, which worked out well. 
8. Bring to a boil, put the steak back in the pan. Cover and lower to a simmer.
9. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours until extremely tender.  This depends on the amount of meat you have.

We cooked up some pasta to eat with this.  It was good!  

NOTE:  Because you're cooking the heck out of the meat, you can use really tough ie: cheap steaks.  The recipe originally said to use one 3 lb steak, but we used 4 quarter-pound steaks (there's only 3 of us after all) so we only needed to simmer it for 45 minutes.