Italian Chicken

 

This is probably one of my very favorite things I have ever made! It was so easy and so yummy.  I have leftovers and I can't wait until tomorrow to eat them.  I found this recipe on pintrest and the original posting is here.  I made a few adjustments when I made it myself.  It took probably less than 10 minutes to get in the oven.  This will be going in my meal rotations for awhile.

Italian Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Salt and Pepper

1 can diced tomatoes with Garlic and Olive Oil (I believe I used the Western Family brand)

Additional fresh tomatoes and chopped garlic if preferred. (I added 2 Romas and a couple globs of chopped garlic from a jar)

1 can of artichokes, drained

2 tablespoons flour {since the chicken will produce so much liquid}.

Shredded mozzerella cheese

Chopped fresh basil

Lightly grease 9x13 pan. Place chicken breasts in pan and season well with salt and pepper.  In a bowl, mix together tomatoes, garlic, artichokes, and 2 tablespoons of flour.  Spoon mixture over chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees until chicken is no longer pink. 30-40 minutes.  Sprinkle shredded cheese and chopped basil over chicken.  Put back in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and yummy.

You can serve over pasta, but I didn't want the carbs and I don't think it's necessary.

Pancake Squares

Sarah and Henry (and if I'm being totally honest, myself) could eat pancakes everyday.  When I don't feel like standing at the stove flipping pancakes while I am also pouring syrup, getting cups of milk, frying eggs and cleaning up spills, I make these: Pancake Squares.  Simply make up the batter and stick it in the oven.  The flavor is dead-on for regular pancakes although the texture is a little cake-like but I think Sarah likes them more. Justin doesn't think they can ever replace fried in bacon grease pancakes and he's right but it's nice to mix it up a little and give my griddle a break. If it's just me and the kids, an 8x8 pan is enough but if Justin's home, we double it for a 9x13 and bake for 27 minutes.

Pancake Squares
3/4 cup milk
2 T. melted butter
1 large egg
1 T. sugar
1 cup flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, beat together milk, butter and egg. Add sugar, then gradually beat the flour in. Carefully stir in the baking powder and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serves 4-6.

From bigredkitchen.com

Dijon Grilled Chicken Thighs

I make this a couple times a month and Justin always tells me I should have made a bigger batch.  Even my picky kids scarf it up. This is so easy to put together, especially since I just eyeball most of the ingredients.

Dijon Grilled Chicken Thighs

1 1/2 - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I've used bone-in)
4 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Combine all ingredients except for chicken. Mix well. Pour over chicken (I use a ziplock bag) and let marinate for 1 hour or up to overnight. Remove chicken from marinade and grill until done (165 degrees - this takes us around 10-12 minutes).
from http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/08/dijon-grilled-chicken-thighs.html

4th of July Popcorn

Kenny created this for our fireworks party tonight and it's fun and yummy, so I wanted to share.  We did this recipe twice, once with cherry Jello, and once with berry blue Jello.  When they were both cooled off, we mixed them together.

*We did add a few drops of blue food coloring to the blue jello to give it a more patriotic blue hue.

Ingredients

1 c	sugar
1/2 c	powdered sugar
2 Tbsp	light corn syrup
1/4 c	water
3 oz	package of jello
1/2 c	unpopped popcorn

Directions

1.  Pop popcorn into a large bowl, set aside.

2.  In a medium size sauce pan, mix together, sugars, jello, water, and corn syrup. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until lightly boiling. Don't over cook.

3.  Pour jello mixture over popped popcorn stirring continuously until evenly covered. Continue stirring until popcorn has cooled down and dried to keep popcorn from sticking together. Popcorn should have a sugary, crispy coating, not gooey. 

Grandpa Baadsgaard's Apple Crisp

DAD'S RECIPE "APPLE CRISP"

Cake:
4 cups granny apples, about 1/2 in. pieces
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
2 eggs stirred with
1 T. vanilla
1/2 cup oil

Topping:
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter

Mix all parts of cake except flour. Then mix in flour.
Place in pan, smooth down. Thru (sic) all nuts to top, then spread brown sugar then add melted butter with brush.

Bake at 375 for 55 to 60 min.

Apple Crisp

I crave apples like crazy right now. I have had a hankering for apple crisp. I got Grandpa B's "apple crisp" recipe from Mom that I will post on here for fun, but it is more of a apple nut cake and I really wanted an oatmeal type apple crisp. I searched the web and found a recipe here and it was dang good!! So here ya go if you are wanting some apple crisp.

I only made a small batch because I thought the kids wouldn't eat it. (I was wrong.) However, even though I only did half the apple mixture part, I made the full amount of the crumb topping because I think that more crumb topping is best, and it for sure wasn't too crumby :) ***My suggestion is if you make the full 9x13 size, make more crumb topping.

Ingredients

• 10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup water
• 
  
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Baked Smores

I found this recipe on Pinterest, made them and dream about them a lot. I bought the ingredients to make more just days after we finished off the pan. It was so easy too.  Here's the link to the blog where I got it, complete with pictures. I followed the recipe exactly and made it in a 11x7 pan.

Baked S'mores
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 5 full graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
2 or 3 super-sized (5 oz.) chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (or mini marshmallows if you must!)


Directions


Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom of pan.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt.

Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly [for 8 by 8] side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer. [use 3 Hershey's for 12 by 8 pan]

Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the creme. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms or rolling pin to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up and carefully spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely or almost completely for the melty factor before cutting into bars.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Heart Oreo Cookies

I just mixed these up for my kids for when they get home from school today. They were super easy and because I am such an awesome baker...I messed one up taking the pan out of the oven as a result I had an ugly one to "sample". They are yummy.

I didn't make homemade frosting because I am lazy and I find that the butter cream flavor in the tub is sufficient. So give em a whirl :)

Tip...when they are barely out of the oven and still super hot, I took a butter knife and cleaned up the shape a little so the heart shape was a little more precise.

Strawberry Heart Oreo Cookies

• 1 package of strawberry cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup of shortening

Frosting:

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 stick of butter, softened
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 c. powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Mix together.
2. The dough will be pretty stiff-
3. it’s supposed to be that way.
4. Roll into balls.
5. Place two next to each other.
6. Pinch the bottom to create a heart.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
8. Immediately transfer to a cooling rack.
9. When cookies are cool, frost them and then
10. sandwich them like an Oreo.
11. This will only make about 12-15 cookies total
12. depending on how big you make them.
13. Mix frosting ingredients together. Spread onto cool cookies. Sandwich together.

Here is what they look like before going into the oven:

White Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce. This was so easy to make and delicious. Justin wanted it spicier so next time I'll add jalepenos to the sauce. I also added a can of white beans to the filling because I add beans to anything I can.

8-10 flour tortillas

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 can white beans
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Petite Lasagnas

I made these for our "Super bowl party". Tyler loves lasagna but I really don't like making it. This was a great substitute. I was leary of the wontons, but it really worked out. Kenny liked it that I let them bake for awhile so the tops of the wontons got crunchy. And...I am lazy and I didn't make the sauce from scratch, I just used bottled pasta sauce. But this give you an idea of you can work with. There are additional pictures of how to put them together here.

(makes 12)

12 oz raw ground turkey (I used a pound of hamburger, it doesn't matter)

¼ tsp salt, divided

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped mushrooms

14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsp dried oregano, divided

½ tsp dried basil

1 ½ cups part skim ricotta cheese

24 small square wonton wrappers (the kind near the tofu in the refrigerated section of the produce dept)

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Crumble the meat and saute the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds.

Add the crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. Bring the pan to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, a pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and the basil. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 wonton wrapper into each of the 12 cups, pressing firmly in the bottom of the cup and up the sides.

Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups. Next, using half of the turkey tomato sauce, spoon it evenly over each of the ricotta filled cups. Sprinkle with 2 tsp of mozzarella.

Gently press another wonton wrapper on top of the mozzarella layer.

Repeat the process by distributing the remaining ricotta, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Let the cups cool, remove them from the pan, and serve!

Nutrition Info for 1 petite lasagna:

Calories: 181.2, Total Fat: 7.9g, Cholesterol: 41.9mg, Sodium: 389.5mg, Total Carb: 13.6g, Fiber: 1 g, Sugars: 1.6g, Protein 14.1g

Baked Chicken Taquitos

I found this recipe on OurBestBites.com. They looked really good and relatively easy to make, but I got a little worried as I was making the chicken filling because it smelled a lot like tamales, and I HATE tamales. But the finished product was completely tamale free and delicious! Plus they're baked, not fried so they're healthy, right?Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese
small corn or flour tortillas
kosher salt

I left out the cilantro because I hate cilantro. I used flour tortillas because I like them better. And I don't have kosher salt, so I just sprinkled them with regular salt. And we dipped them in our secret dipping sauce (sour cream and salsa mixed together).

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 (or on the stove) until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. Place 2-3 Tbsp 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.

Original post here: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/04/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos/

Chopped Ham BBQ Sandwiches

This was soooo easy to put together. You can see the original recipe here including pictures. I halved the original recipe and used shredded cheddar cheese instead of Velveeta mostly because I couldn't find it in the store and my kids were acting up. And I don't love Velveeta so I didn't really care.

Chopped Ham BBQ Sandwiches

2 lbs ham, chopped
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
8 oz Velveeta cheese, diced
1 (12 oz) bottle chili sauce
12 sandwich buns

1. Preheat oven 350. Mix ham, eggs, cheese and chili sauce in a large bowl.  Make sure it is well coated with sauce.

2. Spread on buns.  Wrap them individually in foil and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.

Jam Filled Muffins

Do you have fond memories like I do of Mom making these? I asked her for the recipe and she couldn't find it or couldn't remember where it was or something. She told me to just look for a basic sweet muffin recipe.  Well here's the one I use.  They are even good plain.  We also put jam and peanut butter in the center. So good for breakfast or dessert or a cold winter day. You don't need a reason.
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• Jam

Preparation

Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
Stir together egg, milk, and oil until blended. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Spoon batter into lightly greased muffin pans, filling two-thirds full. (Or fill 1/3 full, blob of jam, blob of batter.)
Bake at 400° for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from pans immediately. Don't forget a glass of cold milk.

(Adapted from MyRecipes.com )

Cheesy Chicken Pesto Pasta

This is from my new favorite food blog, www.plainchicken.com She has 22 brownie recipes. You can see her original post with pictures here. I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta because it's much cheaper. And next time I will bust the spaghetti in half before I cook it so that it's easier to stir.

Cheesy Chicken Pesto Pasta

2 chicken breast, cooked and chopped (I sprinkled my chicken with some garlic seasoning before I cooked it)
8 oz spaghetti
6 oz pesto
8 oz ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

Cook spaghetti for 2 minutes less than the package directions specify. Drain the spaghetti well and transfer it to a bowl. Stir in chicken, ricotta, pesto, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese. Toss the mixture well and transfer it to a 9-inch square dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Bake until the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and broil for 1 minutes or until golden.