Chicken Parmesan

Okay...well this is the cheater version that I made up the other day...& it only takes about as much time as it takes to boil your noodles.


Ingredients:
Noodles
Sauce
Frozen Chicken Patty (the kind that is breaded)
Parmesan



1. Boil your noodles...how ever much you normally cook when making spaghetti. I actually used cheese ravioli the other day because it sounded really good.



2. Cook up your chicken patties...I would say one per person & I cook mine in the toaster oven so that they aren't soggy. Once it's cooked I like to cut it up into strips just so it doesn't look like a chicken patty.



3. Heat up your sauce...I just use the stuff out of a bottle and nuke it for a bit.



4. Put some noodles on your plate, put some sauce on top, put the chicken on top of that and then add some parmesan.



5. Eat. I promise this is super good, and just as good as the real stuff from a restaurant.



This isn't the most appealing picture, but it get's the point across.

The best Roast EVER!!

Hi girls!

K I don't have the recipe for this Best Roast EVER....cuz it's pretty-gosh-darn- easy!!

List:

Roast (we buy the cheap kind and about as big as a football)
<--A jar of pepperoncini (or banana peppers as Subway like to call them)
A can of beef broth
some water
Salt and Pepper
Red Peppers (like from a pizza place)


1. Put roast in the crockpot first. (It's okay if it's a little frozen in the center. I usually take it out of the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge.)

2. Pour the juice and everything of the pepperoncinis.

3. Pour in beef broth.

Add salt and pepper and red peppers, if you like.

Then cover roast with water.
(It will depend on how big you crockpot is, on how much water you put in. Don't worry about how much. All the flavor will stick around and the water will go away.)

Turn on low for 6 hours OR high for 4 hours.

This is a perfect Sunday meal. You stick in the crockpot just before you get ready to go to church. When you come home, make some mashed potatoes and you are set for dinner! Gotta love it!!

Tell me if you make this, and let me know what you think!PS This isn't my picture...I can't find mine...but it looks just as good, if not better!

PSS Leftovers are GREAT on sandwiches with melted cheese...I'm just saying!! YUM!

Spanish Style Beef and Rice

I didn't have green pepper (that's a first), so I used red instead.
From Rachael Ray

I've taken this to pot lucks and gotten rave reviews.

2 cups beef stock
1 3/4 cups water
1 T butter
2 cups white enriched rice
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb ground sirloin
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley


Heat beef stock, water and butter to a full boil. Add rice, reduce heat and cover pot. Cook 20 minutes, until tender and liquids are absorbed. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, 2 or 3 minutes. Add onion, garlic, bell pepper, Worcestershire. Cook together 5 to 7 minutes, until veg are just tender. Add tomato sauce, cloves, cumin and parsley. Bring mixture up to a bubble and reduce heat to low. Combine cooked rice with meat mixture and serve.

This recipe is very versatile, you can even use it to stuff peppers.

Delicious Cabbage Rolls!

Vola!


They look like this after you roll them



And this just before the oven

Ingredients
Sauce:
2 teaspoons butter
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes and their juices
3/4 to 1 cup cream
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 head cabbage, cored and scalded in hot water until soft and easy to separate
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 cup cooked long-grain white rice
2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and sugar and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Separate the cabbage leaves and remove the hard spine from each leaf. Spread on paper towels and pat dry. Set aside.

To make the stuffing, in a medium skillet melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until very wilted and starting to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Lay the cabbage leaves, rib side down, on a flat work surface. Spread a thin layer of the sauce over the bottom of a baking dish. In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, rice, Essence, salt, pepper, egg, and cooked onions. Mix well with a heavy wooden spoon or your hands.

One at a time, spoon the filling into the center of the cabbage leaves, about 1/4 cup in each, depending upon the size of the leaves. Roll each into a neat cylinder and place in a layer on the sauce in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, stacking the cabbage packages, as necessary. Pour the remaining sauce over the rolls, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until the meat is cooked through and the rolls are tender, about 2 hours. Remove from the oven and serve the rolls with the sauce spooned over the top.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

I had been craving my Grandmas homemade cabbage rolls for weeks, and finally tried to make some. These were sooo good, and easy to make too! I might even go as far as they were a little better then Grandmas! lol I added one more tablespoon vinegar and one more tablespoon sugar into the sauce, just because I like that flavor. I also used short grain rice because I didn't have the other. yum

Paula Deen's Creamy Mac & Cheese

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stuck) butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes.
Drain.
In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese.
Stir until the cheese melts.
In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well.
Then add drained macaroni and stir again.
Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.


Smelling this whilst it cooks will drive you insane. Mmmmm. I do prefer my own macaroni from scratch but it was nice to have this in the crock pot whilst going about my daily business and it tasted quite close to my own...

Fettuccine Alfredo

I have an actual recipe today for you and it is sooo good and sooo easy! My sister-in-law actually gave it to me a long time ago and I never made it until the other day. It was really yummy & I should have used it sooner.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb. fettuccine (uncooked)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breats, cut into strips (dont make the strips too small)
1 1/4 C chicken broth
4 tsp flour
4 oz (1/2 of 8oz pkg) Cream Cheese, cubbed
3 Tbs Parmesan Cheese (or more)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Cook pasta as directed on package.
Meanwhile heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high head. Add chicken; cook 5-7 min. or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet. Mix broth and flour in same skillet. Stir in Cream Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, garlic powder and pepper; cook 2 min., stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in chicken. (add more water or broth if too thick)
Drain pasta; place in large bowl. Pour chicken mixture over pasta; toss to coat. Sprinkle with more Paremsan Cheese.

EAT AND ENJOY!

FYI- I was in a hurry and just used spaghetti noodles, and cut out the chicken so I could be fast and it was real yumy still.

Guacamole

The following recipe is taken from the Rick Bayless cookbook, Authentic Mexican. This man is a genius! He's been on Iron Chef, has a plethora of books and has even hosted his own show on PBS. After you make this guacamole, you'll never buy any from the dairy section again.


1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno or 2 serrano peppers, stemmed seeded and finely chopped
1 ripe, medium large tomato, cored and very finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and very finely chopped
10 sprigs of fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
3 ripe, medium avocados
salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
1/2 lime, juiced

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the finely chopped onion with the peppers with the tomato, garlic and coriander.

2. Close to the time you are going to serve, halve the avocados lengthwise from cutting from the stem to the flower ends, around the pits. Twist the avocado in opposite directions to loosen the meat from the pits, then scoop out the pits then reserve.

3. Using your hand or a spoon, roughly mash the avocado while mixing in the other ingredients , making a course, thick mass. Flavor with salt, then enough lime juice to add a little zing, if you wish. Return the pits to the guacamole and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap pressed directly ont0 the surface of the mixture. Set aside for a few minutes to let the flavors blend.

Returning the pits to the guacamole with help slow down the browning -- if it lasts that long.

4. The guacamole is very attractive in a pottery bowl or Mexican mortar, sprinkled with chopped onion, coriander, radish slices and crumbled fresh cheese; radish roses really dress it up.

QUICK Chicken Tortila Soup

Okay well I am not a very technical cook. I just sort of add until it tastes good. Therefore it's sort of hard for me to give exact measurements, but here are my best directions:



3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Chicken Broth
Rotel (or something with stewed tomato and green pepper)
Crushed Red Pepper
Minced Onion
Cheese
Corn Tortilas or Chips


Okay hopefullly this will make sense...sorry for not having EXACT measurments, but really I don't think you can screw this up...especially if I can do it.

Okay put your chicken in your soup pot and add your broth. As to how much broth to use: make sure that your chicken is covered. Your pot should be about half full of broth....make sense? Haha. Okay. Then your going to cook the chicken. Once it is cooked through I pull out the chicken breasts and shred it up into smaller pieces...you could cube it if you prefer that way. Then put your chicken back into your boiling broth. I then add a couple shakes of Crushed Red Pepper and a couple shakes of dehydrated onion in there, but you could use a real onion too, I just normally don't have a real one on hand.

It should look something like this:

Okay then you will add your Rotel. I used 2 cans of Rotel and this is what it looked like after I added it:

Then bring it back to a rolling boil.

Then while my soup is boiling I start to make some crunchy things for the soup. I like to use corn tortillas and kinda fry them up in vegetable oil until they are golden brown. I like this way better than chips because they stay crunchier longer when they are sitting in your soup, but I have used tortila chips before and that works great as well.

Check your soup, and by check I mean stick a spoon in there and taste it. If it tastes too salty or condensed add some more water and bring it to a boil again. If it still doesn't taste right add some more onion or maybe some chicken boulion cubes until it tastes yummy.

Once your soup is done put some of your crunchy things in your bowl and pour your soup over them. Then sprinkle some cheese over top.

Did that make any sense? It might sound harder than it actually is, but really it shouldn't take too long and it's really good!

I've also done this in my crockpot as well and that works too. If you want to do a longer version then instead of Rotel use fresh tomato, green pepper, and onion...it will take longer to cook, but it's really good as well.

Eggs Benedict.

The trickiest part of this meal is the hollandaisse sauce. It takes a little attention but is absolutely worth it. I'll break down the recipe seeing as you'll have 3 different things going at once. You need to make sure you have your wits about you so you don't get flustered!

Hollandaisse Sauce:
2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice.
4 tablespoons boiling water (I pull this from the pot for the double boiler before placing the bowl in it.)
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method:

Melt the butter and keep it warm.

Heat the vinegar or lemon juice until just warmed.

Boil water in a small pot for double boiler. *Bowl placed in it should not touch the water

When water is boiling dunk in a measuring cup and pull out enough for 4 tablespoons.

Place the top of the double boiler over hot water.

Place the egg yolks in the top of double boiler and whisk until they begin to thicken.

Add 1 tablespoon of boiling water. Continue to beat the sauce until it begins to thicken. Repeat with remaining 3 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time and beating mixture after each addition.

Now add the warmed vinegar or lemon juice.

Remove double boiler from the heat.

Beat the sauce briskly with a wire whisk.

Continue to beat the mixture as you slowly pour in the melted butter.

Add salt and cayenne and beat sauce until thick.

Serve immediately.

Poached Eggs:
Set a saucepan to boil that is about two-thirds full of water.

Add a dash of white vinegar.

Crack the egg into a small bowl.

Spin the boiling water to cool down the water before you drop in the egg.

Drop the egg into the center of the whirlpool. Make sure that you do not drop the egg into boiling water or they'll come out tougher.

Wait 3-4 minutes until cooked.

Remove with a slotted spoon being sure to drain off any water.

Serve immediately.
* If you crack the yolk before putting it in the water don't. That egg's a goner.


Prepare toast fried bread, biscuit or an English muffin.

Add a slice of ham or a rasher of bacon, slice of cheese etc...

Put egg on top and then top with sauce.

Don't forget to season it.

Nachos

We are nachos lovers in this house. Usually we just do the normal doritos, cheese, sour cream and salsa BUT this time we mixed things up a bit.

We used Sweet chili doritos, cheese, black beans, corn, salsa, sour cream and thick and creamy ranch. Mmmmm...

Peanut Butter Popcorn

1 bag of popcorn popped
1 c. white sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Put popcorn in a large bowl - make sure to shake it so the unpopped ones go to the bottom of the bag.
Combine sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat; bring to a boil stirring constantly.
Remove from heat; stir in peanut butter and vanilla.
Pour over popcorn; stir well.

You can make them into popcorn ball or like me, just pour it all out on a sheet of wax paper on the table and let cool. Then eat it all at once and feel sick. :)

I add some chocolate chips or chopped up peanut butter cups to mine :)

Cream Cheese stuffed Jalapeno Poppers.

These are simple and delicious.

Get a bunch of decent sized Jalapeno Peppers - 2-3 inches long,
Slice them in half length ways and scoop out the seeds - you might want to wear goggle when you do this :S
Fill them up with cream cheese and then wrap them in a 1/3 of a rasher of bacon,
Use a toothpick to spear the whole creation together.

Bake them at 375'f for 20-25 minutes.

Peanut Butter Truffle Cookies.

1 cup Peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1-2 cups chocolate chips
Mix Peanut butter, brown sugar, baking soda and egg.
Add chocolate chips and mix well.
Drop onto greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350’ for 9 minutes.
Be sure to cool for 5 minutes before moving to cooling rack - they're crumbly/truffly soft.

Cake mix cookies

1 Cake mix - any kind. I like Cherry Chip
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1 cup choc. chips/ nuts/ coconut or whatever else you fancy

Mix cake mix, water, egg and oil well.
Add 1 cup of whatever (or 1 cup of nothing, that works too) mix well.
Drop by the tablespoon onto a cookie sheet.

*I use a 1 tblsp cookie scoop and get about a dozen and a half cookies from one batch.

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350'f

Belgian Waffles

In honor of Conference Weekend, I'm making Belgian Waffles, homemade!

They are soo light and yummy!

This makes about 8 waffles.

3 egg whites, beaten stiff
(I always start with these in my Kitchen Aide cuz it takes awhile to get stiff)

1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp Baking powder
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix these things together. (The recipe says sift but I don't have a sifter and they still turn out great.) Set aside.

3 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup milk

Combine these together. Then mix in with flour mixture.

CAREFULLY fold in egg whites. Do NOT overmix. It will be lumpy-the bigger lumps the better.

Pour approx 2/3 cup batter to griddle.

So yummy! We have put strawberries on them, or the regular butter and syrup.

Have a great weekend!!

Welcome!

This here is a recipe blog for us all to share and steal recipes from each other!
Including pictures with your recipes are encouraged - you know you'll skip the recipe in the book if there's no picture... or is that just me?