Creamy Chicken Chili

I always revert to this recipe when it gets cold because I always seem to have the ingredients on hand! When you're tired most days, there is a very fine line before you just throw up your hands and go run to a drive-thru. If I can think ahead, I can take the guesswork out of dinner for several days thanks to left-overs!

Creamy Chicken Chili
courtesy of Plain Chicken

2 chicken breasts
8 oz. of fat free cream cheese
1 pkg. dry ranch dressing
1 can black beans, drained and washed
1 can corn, drained
1 can Ro-Tel, undrained
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 to 3/4 Tb. chili powder (add more if you wish, I think this spice can easily become very overwhelming!)

Place chicken on bottom of crock pot. Place black beans, corn, and ro-tel on top of the chicken. Put spices on top of the veggies. I also add the cream cheese at this point (on top of everything and let it melt), but you can wait until the chili has cooked to do so. I personally don't see much of a difference. Cook 6-8 hours on low.

Skinny Sausage Bake!

This is a SkinnyTaste recipe I ran across from a while back that I somehow missed all those times I've combed through Gina's awesome recipes! It originally calls for red pepper, but I'm not a super big fan, so I left that out. I guess you could pretty much add whatever you wanted!

Skinny Sausage Bake
adapted from SkinnyTaste

1 package of al fresco chicken sausage (so many good flavors, you could go with any one of them!), cut into slices (about 6-7 slices for each link)
1.5 lbs of potatoes (any type, I used a combo)
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 tsp. dried rosemary
garlic salt
cooking spray (I used my Misto)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet with sides on it.

Cook potatoes. I cooked mine up really quickly in the microwave, but be sure to leave them a bit underdone so they won't mush up when you cut them up into chunks.

Spread cut-up chicken sausage, onion pieces, and potato chunks (along with ay other veggie you might be adding) and spread them out on the parchment papered cookie sheet.

Spray the veggies and sausage with the cooking spray, lightly sprinkle the rosemary and garlic salt over all of it. Salt and pepper everything as well to taste.

I baked everything for about 30 minutes, tossing everything about halfway through. After the toss, I did another mist of cooking spray with salt and pepper. Of course, all of that is to taste. I like salty potatoes!!

After the 30 minutes is completed, I bumped the temperature up to 425 degrees and placed the pan back in for 10-15 minutes to get a quick crust. This will end up being one of those dishes you will need to watch at the end to ensure things aren't getting burned. Based on how thick everything is cut, it might happen quickly.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a recipe that was passed to me by a former roommate's mother. I always grew up eating chicken pot pie a certain way and didn't really enjoy it. When I tried her recipe, I was sold! I have tweaked it a bit and have made it a bit healthier. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

1 c. chopped up chicken
1/4 c. fat free italian dressing
4 oz. fat free cream cheese
2 Tb. flour
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 10-12 oz. package of steam-in-bag frozen vegetables
2 refrigerated pie crusts (I have best results with the deep dish crusts)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Steam the veggies according to directions. Saute chicken and Italian dressing in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until cooked through (unless its already cooked and shredded). Add cream cheese to the skillet, cook until melted (about 2 minutes). Add flour, mix well. Add broth and vegetables, cook about 5 minutes.

Pour mixture into the pie plate and cover with second pie crust. Make sure to cut slits in top crust if you aren't making a weaved pattern with dough strips.

Bake for 30 minutes. Make sure you put a baking sheet underneath for drips!

Baked Flounder with Crab Meat Stuffing

As a Floridian, I bring a wealth of knowledge about seafood wherever I go...at least that's the rumor. I like to think I'm the authority on all things ocean-related and will try to live up to that label. So, when we went to visit my in-laws over Christmas in NC, they told me they picked up some fresh Flounder when they were visiting the east coast of NC a few weeks prior. They were looking for some suggestions on how to cook it, so I suggested the only way to cook fish: minimally. I tried out some new recipes and they were a hit! (And tasted exactly the way my Dad had cooked flounder throughout my lifetime!)

Crabmeat Stuffed Flounder
Based on a recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagesse

2-4 fresh flounder filets, deboned (ours were about 10 oz, but you should be able to easily find them in 4-6 oz size)
3 Tb. butter
1 lb. fresh lump crab meat, picked through to remove all shells
2 tsp. seasoning (we use Tony's)
1/4 c. minced onion
2 Tb. minced celery
2 Tb. red bell pepper
2 Tb. finely chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tb. mayonnaise
1 egg, slightly beaten
4 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire
3/4 tsp. hot sauce
10 crushed saltine crackers
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 lemons, sliced


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add 1 tsp. of the seasoning and mix in with the crab meat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Put 3 Tb. butter into a saute pan. Add the onion, celery, and red pepper, cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat until soft, stirring constantly. Add the garlic and parsley, cook for 1 minute and remove from heat.

Add the cooled veggies to the crab meat and stir. Add mayo, beaten egg, lemon juice, Worcestershire, hot sauce, saltine crackers, 1/4 tsp. of salt, and pepper to the crab mixture and stir until just combined.

On baking sheets, lay out big pieces of nonstick foil (enough to make tin foil tents for the fish). Place the filets on the foil and salt and pepper them. Place the lemon slices all over the filets. Split up the crab meat dressing into equal parts to completely cover the filets. Bring the foil up and fold over the filets, but NOT tight. Try to make the tops of the foil tented.

Bake for 20 minutes. Undo the foil tents so the filets are uncovered and cook for another 20 minutes or until heated all the way through. Check the fish often so that it doesn't overcook!

Spinach & Sausage Quiche

I through this one together with whatever I had in the fridge--that always makes the best kind of quiche!

Spinach and Sausage Quiche
1 frozen pie crust
1 c. chopped, cooked spinach (if previously frozen, be sure to drain completely)
1/2 c. crumbled turkey sausage
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
3 oz. softened cream cheese
4 eggs
1/8 c. chopped onion
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Poke holes in crust with a fork and pre-bake crust for 10 minutes.

Softened onions, either in a skillet or microwave.

In a bowl, mix eggs, crumbled sausage, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and softened onion. Mix until completely combined. Add salt and pepper.

Pour mix into pie crust and bake for 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, take the quiche out of the oven and with a fork, stir the egg mixture. This will help ensure a more even cooking process.

Put the quiche back into the oven for another 10 minutes, or until completely cooked through. The amount of time needed to finish will vary.

Summer Vegetable Alfredo Pasta

This recipe came together on a whim, based on stuff I had in the fridge that needed to be used! It ended up being super tasty, and I think you'll like it too!

Summer Vegetable Alfredo Pasta
1 box multi-colored rotini pasta
3 medium yellow squash
3 medium zucchini
2 Tb. canola oil
1 turkey sausage kielbasa
1 c. Alfredo sauce (I used Ragu's Light Parmesan Alfredo)

Cook pasta according to directions.

Chop yellow squash and zucchini. Saute in canola oil until soft.

Chop kielbasa into small slices. In a separate pan, saute kielbasa until browned. Add pasta and kielbasa in with vegetables. Add the Alfredo sauce and stir all together. Heat through and serve warm.

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce

This is my favorite pasta sauce! Its really easy to make and now that I've discovered this gem, I simply cannot accept jarred pasta sauces anymore!

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce
adapted from Italian Food Forever
1 lb. ground mild Italian sausage
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tb. olive oil
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
3 Tb. dried basil (start off with 2 Tb. and add more to taste)
2 tsp. dried oregano (start off with 1 tsp. and add more to taste)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
cooked pasta (your choice)

Saute the chopped onion and minced garlic in the olive oil until onions are translucent. Add Italian sausage, cook until just done. Drain any grease and add back into saute pan. Add in crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes on a low heat. **Adjust seasonings to taste**

Pour over pasta, and enjoy!

Best Ever Meatloaf

So begins the litany of birthday recipes. This particular recipe is long overdue. Every year, my husband requests a particular dinner for his birthday: meatloaf, baked beans, and Mac and cheese. It makes birthdays very easy, because I can prepare in advance. You can find the recipe for the baked beans here.

This recipe has two parts, the meatloaf and the sauce topping. The meatloaf recipe was from my husband's sister and the sauce recipe was from his mom. Together they make a fabulous combo!!!

Best Ever Meatloaf
as created by AT, my sister-in-law

2 eggs
2/3 c. milk
4 slices of bread, torn into bits
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (do not use pre-shredded!!)
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. lean ground beef

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and eggs, let stand until liquid is absorbed. Stir in the onion, cheese, and seasonings. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.

In an 8" x 8" greased baking dish, spread meat mixture out across dish. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Meatloaf Topping
as created by EGC, my mother-in-law

3/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. allspice

Combine ingredients and spoon half of mixture over meatloaf. Bake 30 minutes longer, or until meat it no longer pink and thermometer reads 160 degrees. During cooking time, continue to brush sauce on meatloaf.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

I found this recipe on the Panera website, actually, and was so excited to try it! I've always made just a traditional meat and cheese lasagna, and never tried roasted veggies before. This recipe is easily customizable, and you can add or subtract to suit your needs!

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
as adapted from My Panera 
12 lasagna sheets
2 red peppers, core removed and cut into slices
2 eggplant, peeled and cut length-wise into 1/4 inch slabs
3 medium zucchini, cut length-wise into 1/4 inch slabs
3 medium yellow squash, cut length-wise into 1/4 inch slabs
24 oz. ricotta/cottage cheese
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 28 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 Tb. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3 tsp. dried basil (more to taste)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Take the chopped onion and tsp. of minced garlic and saute in the Tb. of olive oil over medium heat until the onions become translucent. Add the can of tomato sauce and dried oregano and basil and reduce the heat. Simmer while cooking vegetables.

Take two cookie sheets and lay out all slices of vegetables. Brush each side or each slice with olive oil (or spray each side with a Misto...seriously I need royalties, I talk about those products so much!!) Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes on one side, flip and roast for another 15-20. This is will change based on how thick you cut the vegetables. So watch closely if the slices are thinner!

In the meantime, cook the lasagna noodles until slightly underdone. Once they are done cooking, set them aside to cool.

In another bowl, combine the ricotta/cottage cheese, 1/4 c. of Parmesan, 1 1/2 c. mozzerella, egg, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Taste to determine if more salt or pepper is needed!

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

In a 9"x13" pan, spoon a bit of tomato sauce in the bottom. Layer noodles, cheese mixture, sauce, and vegetables. Repeat the process until all vegetables are used up. (I got three layers). Top final noodle layer with remaining sauce and sprinkle with the other 1/4 c. of Parmesan.

Bake until cooked through and browned on top, about 30-35 minutes.

3 Envelope Pot Roast

This is so easy!! And so delicious!! I'm all about a crock-pot meal, and this one does not disappoint :)

Three Envelope Pot Roast
original recipe by Plain Chicken

1 3-lb. beef or pork roast
2 c. water
1 envelope onion soup/dip mix
1 envelope au jus mix
1 envelope zesty Italian dressing mix

Place roast in slow cooker. Pour water over roast. Sprinkle all three envelopes on top of roast. Turn slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.

Sauteed Lemon Chicken

This was another Pinterest recipe I discovered and couldn't wait to try! The original recipe called for Meyer Lemons to be used but, unfortunately in our town, there aren't any Meyer lemons to be found. At least not at our Publix. So I had to go with regular old lemons. Honestly, it still tasted great, and wouldn't have thought otherwise!

 (My lemons got a little burnt, hence the black-ish color. Don't be like me--keep an eye on the food you're cooking!)

Sauteed Lemon Chicken

adapted slightly from Shrinking Kitchen

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 c. flour

1 Tb. butter

1 Tb. vegetable oil

2 lemons

2 tsp. minced garlic

salt

pepper

Place each piece of chicken, individually, between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound out until thin. Sprinkle each side with salt, pepper, oregano, and flour. Shake off excess flour from each piece.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, melting the butter and oil together. Add chicken and cook until browned on each side. Remove chicken from skillet.

Slice lemons. Put garlic into skillet to heat up. Place lemon slices over the garlic.

Place chicken pieces over lemons. Reduce the heat to medium low for a few minutes until lemons soften and chicken is reheated through.

Whiskey BBQ Sliders

A lot of people completely sink once football season is over. However, my husband is a huge UNC basketball fan, so once basketball season comes around, we just keep on tailgatin'. We usually move the party inside and make lots of little goodies. I love this, because it lets me try out fun recipes I find online. For the latest ACC championship, I made PW's Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders, Chile Con Queso, and Deep Dish Fruit Pizza. (Our version of the queso and fruit pizza are here and here.)

Whiskey BBQ Sliders
as adapted from the Pioneer Woman

1 lb. ground beef
2 Tb. butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. BBQ sauce
1/4 c. whiskey (1 mini bottle is the exact amount you need!)
several jalapeno slices (to taste)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
12 Hawaiian rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Form beef into 12 little patties. Place into a cast iron skillet with 2 Tb. of butter. Cook until almost done. Remove from the pan, scrape out any grease.

Put about 2 Tb. of grease back into the pan with the onions, cook until soft.

While the onions are cooking, split the slider rolls and put them into a 9x13 baking dish and into the oven to toast for a few minutes. Watch carefully so they do not burn. Times can vary, depending on whether you simply want them warm or actually toasted.

Once the onions are softened and cooked down, add in whiskey and jalapenos and cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Add in BBQ sauce and cook for another 2-3 minutes. 

Once the sauce is thickened, add burgers back in to cook for another few minutes.

When ready to assemble, place one slider burger on bottom half of each roll, top with sauce and a little bit of cheese, and other roll half.

Enjoy!

Italian Balsamic Chicken

I don't really know how to describe this marinade, except it is so full of flavor and delicious for grilled chicken! Try it soon!

Italian Balsamic Chicken

as adapted from Plain Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 c. EVOO

4 Tb. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 pkg. zesty italian seasoning/dressing mix

2 tsp. onion powder

Combine all ingredients in a gallon bag, except for chicken. Make sure all ingredients are well combined and then place thawed chicken into bag. Let soak for several hours, even overnight, and mix chicken around in the bag often. For best results, grill it up!

Chili Dogs

My husband almost cried. Literally, came over and gave me a huge hug, told me how amazing dinner was, and started pacing. He then told me (1) he made a good wife choice and (2) I was a cooking master today. (Full disclosure: I made some of these for brunch.)

I ran across this chili dog recipe on In the Wabe, after some late night pinning on Pinterest. (Just as an FYI, weird stuff gets pinned late at night on Pinterest.) Anyway, there's a semi-secret ingredient hidden inside these things: mayo. You have to put some on the inside of the bun and something delicious happens while these things bake. Also, the oven makes the cheese all melty and the buns super crispy. Its an awesome combo.

Since they are chili dogs made by you, they are easy to make relatively healthy. You can use the whole wheat buns, turkey dogs, healthy chili, small amounts of cheese, and low fat mayo. I didn't do really any of those things (except the chili, and reduced fat Hebrew Nationals), but you can :)

Last thing...I used some left-over chili I made a few nights ago, which you can find here. I'm tellin' you----use the homemade stuff. It makes these things so much better.

Amazing Chili Dogs

as adapted from "Oven Hot Dogs" from In the Wabe

8 hotdogs
8 hot dog buns
chili (made my own, recipe here)
shredded cheese (I had less than 1/8 c. available in the fridge. Use as much or little as you like!)
chopped onion
mayonnaise
yellow mustard

Break out a 9x13 pan. Line with aluminum foil. You either need to spray some non-stick spray on the foil, or do what I do. Use this. It is seriously the most amazing thing ever.

Preheat oven to 350.

While oven is preheating, take each hotdog bun, open it up, and add mayo to each side of the insides of the buns. (Does that makes sense? That sounds confusing. But I know you understand.) Place a hotdog in each bun, lining the 9x13. You can usually get 6 along the botton and two across the top. We used reduced fat Hebrew National hotdogs, which are amazing, btw, but they come in packs of 7. Weird.

Once all the hotdogs are lined up, add a line of mustard to the top of each hotdog. Then top each with a generous amount of chili! Add some cheese to each, and sprinkle the tops with chopped onion.

Here is our odd 7 hotdogs. See the space for the eighth? Weird. But notice how packed in the 6 along the bottom are. Be sure to do this, it keeps the shape of the buns.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

*Recipe linked up at The Sweet Detail

Amazing Steaks

I love a good steak. Growing up, my Dad always threw them on the grill. Sometimes they were awesome, sometimes they got a little dry, but I loved the way they got that crust on the outside. But grills can be super finicky and its so easy to over cook them. When I lived on my own, I almost never cooked steaks because I didn't want to bust out the grill for just one. When BC and I got married, I became more proficient with the grill, but still, a ton of work for two lil tiny steaks, and, again, so easy to over cook. We went the Georg Foreman route but, no offense George, dang those things things cook so fast, and sometimes they totally char up the outside before the middle is nowhere near being ready.

Enter the cast iron skillet.

Its so simple.

The cast iron skillet is the perfect way to cook food. It can literally go from biscuits in the morning, to grilled cheese sandwiches at lunch, to steaks at dinner!

Naturally, this takes some practice. You work with such high heat, that it requires total focus to make sure you don't (1) burn your steaks right up or (2) start a fire. (Perhaps that should have been #1?) I've used this method once or twice before, and I have to say, my most recent effort was the best yet.

Before I address the recipe, its important to discuss two things:
1. Type of Steak: This is very important. You want to make sure you have a fair amount of marbling, but not so much you get barely meat and not too little that there won't end up being any juice for it to sizzle in. My favorite cut is a chuck eye. Seriously people, it is a rare gem of deliciousness, and usually ends up being pretty cheap. Tonight I made two 4 oz chuck eyes I found on sale at Publix for a little over $4!! They were on sale (and generally go on sale quite a bit) so when I find them, I load up. I've also done this recipe with filet mignons before, which worked out nicely, but cooked a little longer because they tend to be thicker cuts than chuck eyes.

2. Thickness of Steak: This will cause you to adjust your cooking time quite a bit. You'll see here, for my 4 oz chuck eyes, it was 1 minute total in the pan, two minutes total in the oven. They were long and thin. I've done 4 oz. filets before that were small and thick and ended up going a total for 4 minutes in the oven. Its all about watching the steaks, making sure the coloring looks good, and testing the temperature to make sure you don't overcook them.

Amazing Steaks

2 steaks (I used chuck eye steaks here)
peanut or safflower oil
salt
pepper

Yep, just four ingredients :)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Throw your cast iron skillet in the oven while the oven is preheating.

While you are waiting for the oven, grab the steaks, liberally salt each side, and grind some fresh black pepper on each side.

At this point you want to add a tiny bit of oil to each side. I put peanut or safflower oil on the ingredient list because they handle high heat the best. They have the highest smoking points. If you don't have this, its ok, but you might end up with lots of extra smoke. I ran out of peanut oil and used a canola blend tonight, which worked fine, just lots of smoke.

I sprayed it on with my handy Misto sprayer. These things are amazing! I found one for cheap at TJ Maxx a while back, but got two really nice ones from the ILs for Christmas!! I LOVE these things because you can use regular oil in them and not have to buy Pam or whatever with all its weird sketchy additives.

Once the oven is done preheating, take our pan out and put it on a burner on high heat for a few minutes. Ideally you want it on there for like 5 minutes. However, my pan had some residue on it and started smoking really bad and I got a lil paranoid I was going to burn down the house. So I didn't make it the full five.

Once you've let it really heat up, throw those steaks on there!!

They will be sizzly and smoky and a little scary at first. Just go with it. Now, this is IMPORTANT: leave them for 30 seconds. DON'T TOUCH FOR 30 SECONDS.

Then flip. 

DON'T TOUCH FOR 30 SECONDS. Seriously, leave them alone.

After 30 seconds are up, throw them in the 500 degree oven for 1 minute.

After 1 minute, take them out, flip, and throw back in for another minute.

After that minute, take them out, temp test them, and see where you are. For me, they were between medium and medium well, which is where I like it. Steak people think that is whack and you should eat them still mooing and super rare or something, but WHATEVER, my steak world.

When you get to the temp you want, make sure you let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes before you cut into it. I like to go ahead and put them on plates and cover with tin foil. That way the steak rests and stays warm.

Eat and be merry!

Pesto Chicken Pizza

PEOPLE. This pizza is crazy delicious. If you like pesto, you must make this pizza!! You will not be disappointed. It takes literally no time to assemble or cook, and got rave review from my husband!! We tried to make it a smidge healthier by using thin crust, and we found individual size thin pizza crusts at the store! I made my own pizza sauce and pesto for this one, and I'll include the recipes for those after the main pizza recipe.

Pesto Chicken Pizza

as adapted from Plain Chicken

1 pizza crust 

1/4-1/3 c. pizza sauce

2-3 Tb. pesto

1-2 c. mozzarella cheese

5 oz. can of cooked chicken

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix chicken and pesto. Start with 2 Tb. and add to taste. Set aside.

Brush pizza sauce onto pre-cooked pizza crust. Put a layer of mozzarella cheese on top of the pizza sauce. Sprinkle the chicken/pesto mixture over the mozzarella. Sprinkle more mozzarella over the chicken.

Bake pizza for 10-15 minutes, or until crust begins to brown and cheese is thoroughly melted.

Pizza Sauce

You can totally make this on your own, and save yourself the money of buying a huge jar! The only money you put into this sauce is the cheap lil can of tomato sauce.

1 8oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2-1 Tb. pizza seasonings*

Open tomato sauce and pour into microwave safe bowl. Add seasonings to tomato sauce, starting with 1/2 Tb. Add more seasonings to taste, up to 1 Tb. Stir together. Put plastic wrap over the bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir.

*I have an already prepared "pizza seasonings" in my spice rack. This is simple enough to make on your own, though. Just combine equal parts of basil, oregano, marjoram, and garlic.

Pesto
adapted from Simply Recipes


1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed (or 2 TB. dried, crushed basil in a pinch)
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/6 c. pine nuts*
3/4 tsp. minced garlic (about 1 1/2 minced garlic cloves)
salt and fresh ground pepper

Pulse the pine nuts in a food processor a few times to break them into small pieces. Add in basil and pulse a few more times. Add in garlic and again pulse the food processor a few times.

Turn the food processor on and slowly add the olive oil in a slow stream. Stop a few times to scrape down the sides. Once the olive oil is completely mixed through, add the cheese and blend in the food processor until completely combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.


*I have heard that you can use walnuts in place of pine nuts, and I have to say...it worked!! I'm not a pesto snob by any means, so others might not agree with this, but if you don't have any pine nuts and you do happen to have walnuts--go for it!

Italian Cream Chicken

This is a recipe I found from a friends food blog, Sweet as P.I.E. She is big into slow cooker recipes, and when she posted this new one, I decided to give it a shot. I adjusted it a tiny bit, and fixed it with regular angel hair pasta. I also made roasted brussel sprouts with this dish, and you can find that recipe here. The best thing about slow cooker recipes--you can put in frozen meat! No defrosting needed!

(all the ingredients--notice the box of slow cooker liners in the back--they are great!)

(the finished product!)

Italian Cream Chicken
as adapted from Sweet as P.I.E.

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 packets of zesty italian dressing dry mix
1 8oz. package of fat free cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken and mushroom soup

Put the cream cheese, soup, and mixes into a slow cooker. Allow the cream cheese to melt until all can be stirred and mixed together. Add in chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Use a fork to shred chicken. Serve over pasta.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

My Mom downloaded this recipe from the Pioneer Woman website and was going to make it for just her and my Dad, but I offered to make it and clean up if she would buy the ingredients so all four of us could enjoy it. It was a good deal! :)

I liked this casserole, but it ended up tasting like lasagna to me. Which is fine, but I guess I just expected it to have its own unique taste. I made some adjustments to the original recipe to make it a tad healthier.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

as adapted from The Pioneer Woman, here

1 pound ground chicken breast

1 15oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

black pepper

8 oz. weight egg noodles

1/2 c. light sour cream

1-1/4 c. low fat small curd cottage cheese

1/3 c. green onion

1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground chicken in a large skillet. Drain any fat and add tomato sauce, salt, and plenty of pepper. Stir together, and simmer while you prepare other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente.** Drain and set aside.

Combine sour cream, cottage cheese, and more pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions to this mixture and stir.

With a prepared baking dish (need a big one here, like 9x13-ish size), add half the noodles to the dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the cheese. Repeat with noodles, meat, and cheese. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

**I have this instruction starred because I don't want you to be like me. Usually when I cook pasta, I put it right into the water and then turn on the heat. Mostly because I think waiting for water to boil first is dumb. And I am impatient. I took this approach with the egg noodles, and I am here to tell you, DON'T. They turned out fine, but they were way over cooked. Like, incredibly soft. Not the way a noodle should be. It ended up being fine in this dish, and no one said anything about it, but for the future, definitely boil water FIRST, and then put in the egg noodles.

Yummy Chicken Chili

As soon as the weather hits less than 60 degrees around here, I make a big pot of chili. Luckily, chili is also really easy to make into a healthy meal, and I wanted to see what I could do. For this recipe, I used a basic chili guideline, as provided by Pioneer Woman.

The first step was swapping the beef for ground chicken breast. You definitely do not even miss this exchange. I usually exchange the beef for turkey, but the turkey was super expensive, and I went with chicken. Side note about turkey and chicken: make sure you are using the ground breast meat, not just the regular ground meat. For instance: ground turkey breast is the healthy stuff and ground turkey can have just as many calories, fats, cholesterols, etc. as ground beef.

Also, I used my taco seasoning mix in this recipe for the seasoning. This recipe can be found here from All Recipes. I am a HUGE proponent of using non-packaged seasonings, because there is so much hidden salt in those!! By mixing up your own seasonings, you not only save money, but you can closely monitor your sodium intake.

This recipe will make 8 servings.

Without further ado: here's the recipe!

Chicken Chili
(as adapted from Pioneer Woman's Frito Chili Pie)

1 lb. ground chicken breast
2 garlic cloves OR 1 tsp. minced garlic
1 c. diced onion
1 can tomato sauce
1 can Rotel
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 Tb. taco seasoning (or 1 package of chili seasoning)
1 can Pinto beans (drained and thoroughly washed)
1 can Kidney beans (drained and thoroughly washed)
5-6 pickled jalapeno slices, chopped
1/2 tsp of pickled jalapeno juice

In a big pot, put tiny bit of olive oil in the bottom, along with the diced onion and garlic. Let those sweat together for a few minutes and add in the chicken breast. Cook until just finished and add in the tomato sauce, Rotel, crushed tomatoes, seasoning, beans, jalapeno slices, and juice. Stir together. Bring heat to a low temperature and let it cook for as long as possible!! (At least 6 hours.)

**This recipe is AMAZING with the BEST Cornbread!!

'Joes and 'Toes

I love sloppy joes. When I was younger, I hated them. I unfortunately had a Manwich one time and it totally grossed me out. (What's in those things anyway?) I guess in my tiny brain I figured that's how all sloppy joes tasted and I was not going to deal with that as a meal option ever again.

Then, one day, Mom decided to make sloppy joes from the little spice packet. And you know? They weren't too bad. My hatred therefore subsided, and sloppy joes and I were totally cool with each other.

I wanted to make a fun dinner for BC and my parents last Friday so I decided to make sloppy joes, fried green tomatoes, and sweet potato french fries.

DISCLAIMER: There is no set recipe for the sweet potato french fries. I have made sweet potato french fries forever, and love them too. I usually cut them up in little strips, toss them in olive oil and Tony Chachere's, and cook them at 425 degrees for like 15 minutes. I saw something on Pinterest that said to toss them in cornstarch first to make them crunchy from the oven. Tried it. Ended up with cornstarch-y tasting fries. BOO.

The fried green tomatoes were a first time try for me. They turned out great!

Sloppy Joes
(as adapted from Plain Chicken)

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 1/2 Tb. onion powder
1 14-oz. can tomato sauce
3 Tb. yellow mustard
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. taco seasoning (my own personal mix)

Place the meat into a pan and sprinkle onion powder all over it. Brown meat. Drain if any rendered fat. Add in the tomato sauce and remaining ingredients. Heat to medium heat and then reduce for 10 minutes. Taste mixture and adjust seasonings to taste. Continue to cook for another 10 minutes.

Its important to let this mixture cook for a while before you add in more seasonings. I discovered that the taste actually changed the longer that it cooked. The longer it cooked the better it tasted!!

Fried Green Tomatoes
(adapted from My Recipes)

2 green tomatoes
bacon grease (I know, I know)
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp Tony Chacheres (or whatever seasonings you like)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Take the bacon grease and put a couple teaspoon fulls in the bottom of a cast iron skillet. Turn on the stove top to medium low and allow that to melt. Then add in some cooking oil (I used peanut) to have just enough to fry in. (I added enough that the tomatoes could just barely be pushed under the surface and be completely covered by the oil when cooking.)

Whisk together the egg and buttermilk and set aside. Stir together flour, cornmeal, and seasonings.

Dip a slice of tomato in buttermilk mixture and then into the flour mixture. Make sure the slice is completely covered by the flour mixture. Slowly drop the tomato slice into the hot oil. I was able to fit about 4 slices in the pan at a time to ensure even cooking.

Extra salt and pepper when they come out of the oven!

**I used regular yellow cornmeal for these. The original recipe called for cornbread mix, white probably would have been less coarse, and possibly more tasty, but I wasn't about to break open one of my little cornbread mixes without using all of it!