Creamy Chipotle Southwest Black Bean Chicken

Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 7 servings
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!


2 chicken breasts
3 C chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Mexican stewed tomatoes, diced or whole
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can corn
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies
1 (8 ounce) cream cheese
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/2 t chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, blended
flour tortillas, or corn chips

Go to the website for the directions and some great pictures to go along with it.

A couple of notes:

This was really good. John and I gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up, and our kids ate it, too.

I can't make a recipe without modifying it a little. I only used 1/2 a package of cream cheese and I added 1/4-ish teaspoon of chipotle powder. Also, I couldn't find smoked paprika, so I used regular.

The chipotle peppers and adobo sauce is a little can in the mexican food aisle at the store. She suggests blenderizing the whole can and freezing it in a bag and then breaking off chunks, but I found it so thick that I thought it would not blenderize well. So I just put in the freezer without blenderizing it. And I was able to break off a piece easily and then blenderize what I needed for the recipe with a little of the chicken broth (and the green chilies and tomatoes, since my kids and I are opposed to chunks)

It seemed too runny to put into tortillas, so we just put it in bowls with avocado and ate it with chips.

Ranch Parmesan Chicken

I made this over the weekend and it was SO good. Find the original recipe here (and a recipe for twice baked potatoes that look yummy as well), because as always, I changed it. :)

Ranch Parmesan Chicken
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 sourdough English muffins
3 TBS. melted butter
1 tsp. garlic
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (sounds like it will make it hot, but it doesn't, just adds flavor)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 jars ranch dressing

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray your cooking pan/casserole dish with non-stick spray. In a blender or food processor, add English muffins and pulse until crumbs. I had to do this in sections since my blender didn't get the muffins on top. Put crumbs in a pie tin. Add the butter and mix together. Add Parmesan cheese, garlic, and peppers. Take your chicken and dredge it in ranch dressing. Dip the chicken into the bread crumb mixture and set on the baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with a potato side and veggies.

Those are the simple directions, some extra things I did were that I pounded my chicken flat - not thin - flat. Mostly I thought it would help it cook more even. I put it between wax paper (or you could use parchment paper) and pounded it with a mallet/tenderizer until it was evenly flat (if I had to guess thickness, I would say the chicken ended up about 1/2 inch thick maybe even 3/4 inch). Then I took this fandangled tenderizer I have and tenderized the chicken. Not necessary, but helps it to be tender and soak up juices.

Chicken side note, if you clicked over to the original recipe you'll see that she used double the chicken. Our family is small, so I halved it. And along with pounding the chicken, my hubby and I actually just split one chicken breast for us. We ended up having leftovers. So adjust the recipe to fit your family needs.

I didn't do this, but will try it next time, but thought the recipe be good if your replaced the ranch with BBQ sauce. The crumb mixture on top would compliment the BBQ flavor as well.

A ranch suggestion, I followed the original recipe and used the expensive ranch she suggested. I didn't like it and neither did the hubby. The hubby and I decided that a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix made into the dressing (ahead of time so it has time to firm up a bit) would've been MUCH better. But, to each his own. Use your favorite! She also suggested adding a bit of the dry ranch mix to your crumble mixture which I thought sounded good. I'll try that next time.

Bourbon Chicken

I made this a couple months ago, and while planning my menu this week remembered it and then remember I hadn't blogged about it. Then while cleaning out my email, I realized I had taken pictures (which is rare for me) so I figured it was a good time to share this.

Don't be scared by the title, this is Bourbon-less Bourbon Chicken. No alcohol. But super duper good. I was really impressed by it. You can find the original recipe here that includes cooking pictures, but I changed the recipe a little, so here is my recipe of it.

Bourbon Chicken
2 lbs. B.S. chicken breasts - Cooked and shredded
1 garlic clove, minced (fresh or dehydrated)
1/2 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar (the recipe called for light, but I only had dark, so either works)
2 TBS. ketchup
1 TBS. cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce

Cook chicken how ever you prefer - cut into pieces and fry in olive oil. Bake. Crock pot. Boil. Just cook and shred. (I prefer to boil it, and then shred it, then I continued the recipe in the crock pot, I thought that way it would really soak up the flavor - I ALSO doubled the sauce recipe for extra juicy flavor. I would suggest if you are using more than 2-3 chicken breasts that you double the sauce.)

The fast was to cook this is to combine remaining ingredients. Heat and stir over medium heat until well mixed. Add chicken and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes. Serve over hot rice, in a lettuce wrap, on a salad, etc.

You can also cook your chicken in the crock pot, shred it...put it back in. On the stove, make the sauce and pour it in the crock pot over the chicken. Leave the crock pot on to keep everything warm.

No matter which way you cook it, it turns out great. The recipe made enough for our small family to enjoy it a couple of different times. We decided to try different stuff each time. The first night we served it over rice:

The second night we had lettuce wraps with the left over rice. Green leaf lettuce, rice, chicken and avocado (cuz I love them) and a splash of soy sauce. My husband likes his food spicy so he added cayenne pepper to his.

The third night we used the remaining chicken for salads. Green leaf & ice berg lettuce, carrots, chicken, avocado, and cubed cheese. No dressing needed! Super yummy!

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Like my last post, I mentioned that crusts just don't work for me. There are 3 things in the cooking world that I don't do very well. Crusts, yeast for breads, and corn starch. For some reason, those things hate me when I cook with them. The cornstarch is a big reason I've never attempted Sweet & Sour Chicken before. Most of the recipes I've looked at call for it in the sauce, so I never made them. I did some digging and found some recipes, then made up my own recipe from those. Now, I know what you're thinking, you're not going to try this recipe because it's an experiment; experiments in my house growing up were always a little scary. But I promise this one is good. I didn't make up everything, I combined about 5 different recipes, and added my own flare. Try it, it's now become a staple in our house!

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Chicken Breast (usually one per person that you are serving)
Olive Oil
1 can Pineapple chunks
Veggies (Carrots, Onion, Bell pepper, celery, water chestnuts, garlic - anything you want)
Minced garlic - optional
Minced onion - optional

Sauce:
1 cup sugar
pineapple juice from can
1/8 - 1/4 cup white or rice vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1 ½ tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey - optional

Cut up veggies into bite size pieces (not minced, good size: bell pepper or onion 1 inch x 1 inch squares, carrots sliced about the thickness of two quarters together) and set aside. Cut up chicken into bite size pieces. Cook chicken in skillet with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil until done. Remove from pan. Cook veggies in the pan with remaining olive oil or add a small amount of oil to coat veggies, cook for about 5minutes covered, until just tender (don't over cook, you want them a little crunchy). Remove from pan. While cooking chicken and veggies, combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to keep warm. (**Add vinegar slowly, it can over power the sauce - so if you tend to like vinegar add the full amount, if not add less. Although, tasting the sauce doesn't give an accurate taste because baking it changes the flavor. Trust the recipe, it will turn out good.) Place cooked chicken, cooked veggies, and pineapple in a 9x9 or 9x13 pan (depending on the amount of chicken cooked) and pour sweet and sour sauce over the top. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Serve over rice.

*I know there aren't measurements for the chicken and veggies, but it's all about what you like. The last time I made this, I used 3 chicken breasts, 4 carrots and a small bell pepper. After I cooked it, I thought it could've used a few more veggies. Next time, more carrots, celery, and a little more pepper, maybe red and orange for more color. I didn't use raw onion because I don't care for it, so I did a tbsp of the minced onion along with a tbsp of minced garlic. Go wild!

**A lot of the recipes I found called for coating in the chicken in egg (or milk) and then dredging it in flour followed by deep frying it. I cut out that step to save on calories, but feel free to add in that step. With keeping leftovers in mind though, flour coated chicken doesn’t warm up well the next day, it tends to be mushy. As where pan cooked chicken with a little olive oil warms up great. We had this for leftovers twice and each time it was fantastic!

Chicken Pot Pie Crumble

I've made this meal twice now, and it was amazing both times! I usually remember to take a picture about the time I take my last bite, so no picture, sorry. But you can go view a picture here on the post I got the recipe from. I loved this recipe because I don't do crusts, they just don't work for me, so this was perfect for me. The crumble is so tasty, and the insides are so good too. Seriously, try this!


Chicken Pot Pie Crumble
*Serves 6-8

Chicken and Sauce:
1 ½ pounds chicken (about three medium-size chicken breasts)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1 cup)
2-3 stalks celery, chopped (about ½ cup)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
½ cup flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup frozen peas

Crumble Topping:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream

To prepare the chicken, place the chicken and broth in a large Dutch oven or pot and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Cook the chicken until it is just done (don’t overcook or it will dry out) – about 10-12 minutes. Alternately, if you are planning in advance, you can place the chicken and broth in a slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5 hours. Transfer the cooked chicken to a medium bowl. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup and reserve.

Return the pot to the stovetop (no need to wash if you used it to cook the chicken).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Sprinkle the chilled butter pieces over the top of the flour. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Add the cream and stir until just combined. Crumble the mixture into irregularly shaped pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the crumble topping until fragrant and starting to brown, about 15 minutes, tossing halfway through. Set aside.

For the filling, heat the olive oil in the now-empty pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, shred the chicken into small bite-size pieces. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the bowl with the chicken; set aside.

Over medium heat melt the butter in the empty pot. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the reserved chicken broth and milk. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes, taking care not to burn the bottom. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat and stir the chicken, vegetables and peas into the sauce.

Pour the mixture into a 9×13 pan. Scatter the crumble topping evenly over the filling. Place the 9X13-inch pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until the topping is well browned, about 15-20 minutes. Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Four Cheese Macaroni with Bacon

This was Heavenly! That could be because I love bacon, but who doesn't?! (I found this recipe in the October 2010 Family Circle Magazine)

Four Cheese Macaroni with Bacon
1 box (1 pound) Cavatappi - I couldn't find this pasta so I just used elbow noodles
6 slices of bacon
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 cups 2% milk
1/2 tsp. onion flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 pound Sharp Cheeddar Cheese
1 cup shredded colby-Jack Cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
8 slices Kraft Deli Deluxe American Cheese (6 oz)

1. Heat oven to 350. Coat a 3-quart dish with nonstick spray. Bring a large pot of water of lightly salted water to boil.
2. Cook pasta 8 minutes in boiling water, then drain. Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp. Let cool on a paper towel. In a medium sauce pan, put 2 tbsp of bacon drippings in pan and add butter.
3. Whisk in flour until smooth. In a thin stream, whisk in milk. Stir in onion flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. In a large bowl, toss together sharp chedder, colby-Jack and mozzarella.
4. Remove milk mixture from heat; Whisk in American cheese and 1 1/4 cups of the cheddar mixture. Toss bacon pieces with the remaining shredded cheese.
5. In pasta pot, combine cooked pasta and cheese sauce. Pour half into prepared dish. Sprinkle with a generous cup of the bacon-cheese mixture. Add remaining half of pasta on top. Top with remaining bacon-cheese mixture.
6. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil and broil for 3 minutes, until top is lightly browned. Cool before serving.

**I never stick to the recipe, so I didn't add all of the sliced cheese - because I didn't have it although it seemed like way too much cheese, so add your own desired amount. Also, I don't usually like left-over Mac & Cheese, but this was really good left-over which is good because it makes A LOT!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

These don't look pretty, but you have GOT to try these. So good. So yummy.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

4 tsp. Honey (the original recipe called for 4 tbsp, we thought that was too much, add what you will)
2 tbsp. Lime juice (I just buy a whole lime and squeeze it, it makes about 2 tbsps. but extra doesn't hurt)
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
2 tsp. Chili Powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 large can Green enchilada sauce
4 chicken breasts - cooked and shredded (or you can use 2-3 of the large canned chicken)
Mexican Shredded Cheese (or regular if you don't have this kind)
Tortillas (the recipe calls for medium size flour tortillas, I prefer the small fajita size flour tortillas, but to cut calories you can use corn tortillas as well)
Sour Cream - optional

Mix honey, lime juice, oil, chili powder, garlic powder and about half of the green enchilada sauce in a bowl with the shredded chicken. Roll chicken mixture in warm tortillas (if they are cold they don't roll well, nuke for 10 seconds or so) with cheese and sour cream if desired. Spray pan with non-stick spray, and a little of the green enchilada sauce. Layer rolled enchiladas side by side in a baking dish, top with remaining green enchilada sauce and a little cheese(I love the enchilada sauce, so I end up needing another small can to top the enchiladas off). Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Beware, these make quite a bit. The last time I made these, I followed this recipe to the letter using sour cream and small tortillas and it made a full 9x13 pan plus and 9x9 pan of enchiladas. Not a problem for us, we ate them for dinner twice!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I posted this previously, but it was smushed in with other recipes in the same post. I made this the other day and remember how delicious it was so I thought I'd post it again by itself. And since winter is coming, soups are so good and warm to serve!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 cans chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped (I'm not a big onion fan, so I just used 1-2 tbsp. of dried onion flakes)
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups milk
3 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
Broccoli florets, steamed & chopped (I used 4 broccoli crowns, steamed them until they were tender but not too soft, then chopped them into bite sized piece)

Directions: Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15 minutes in a covered saucepan, until onions are soft. (Because I just used dehydrated onions, it didn't have to heat so long) Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. In a large stockpot, melt the butter. Add the flour and pepper, whisk and cook together for a couple of minutes - it will be thick but just keep stirring. Whisk in warmed milk. Continue to stir and cook until the soup starts to thicken. Next add the chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add the cheeses and steamed broccoli.

*This is really yummy served in bread bowls, but is good with crackers or just plain as well.

Cheddar Bruschetta

Cheddar Bruschetta

24 slices French Bread (3/4 inch thick)
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. pepper

Place bread slices on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes on each side or until toasted. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spread over toasted bread. Bake 8-10 minutes longer or until bubbly. Serve warm.

Creamy Chicken Burritos

Creamy Chicken Burritos

2-3 chicken breasts
Olive Oil
1 cup sour cream
2 tbs. Taco seasoning
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Flour tortillas

Cup up chicken into bite size pieces and cook in Olive oil until done. Combine sour cream, taco seasoning and half of the cheese in a bowl. Once mixed good add chicken and mix. Heat flour tortillas until warm (I use my big cast iron pan). You can do this any way you want, one way is to, once warmed, add chicken mixture to the tortilla and top with some of the remaining cheese and roll. Or you can just take the tortilla, add some chicken mix roll and put on a plate, top with cheese and microwave until the cheese on top is melted. Enjoy!

Suggestions:
You can substitute chicken for turkey.
Serve with lettuce and other veggies!
Use low fat/no fat sour cream and tortillas to cut down calories.

St. Patricks Day Recipe Ideas

I found these on one of the blogs I read and thought I'd share in honor of St. Patricks Day. Find the original posts here, here and here (they have pictures).

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 cans chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped (I'm not a big onion fan, so I just used about a tbsp. of dried onion flakes)
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups milk
3 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
Broccoli florets, steamed & chopped (I used 4 broccoli crowns, steamed them until they were tender but not too soft, then cut them into bite sized piece)

Directions: Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15 minutes in a covered saucepan, until onions are soft. (Because I just used dehydrated onions, it didn't have to heat so long) Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. In a large stockpot, melt the butter. Add the flour and pepper, whisk and cook together for a couple of minutes - it will be thick but just keep stirring. Whisk in warmed milk. Continue to stir and cook until the soup starts to thicken. Next add the chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add the cheeses and steamed broccoli.

**This soup is SUPER good, and I'm not really a fan of soups. I served mine in bread bowls - so yummy! Also, I tend to be a salty person, but next time I make this I will probably add some salt to the soup before serving, maybe 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt.


Rainbow Cupcakes

Mix a white or Vanilla cake mix as directed (I used the egg white only version to save a couple calories). Divide the batter into separate bowls (I used 6 bowls for all the colors of the rainbow). I used food coloring to color the batter, it took about 10 drops each color. Then layer each of the colors into every cupcake liner. You can try to perfectly push each color to the edge of the liner, but bare in mind that you can only fill the cups 2/3 of the way full or they overflow when baked. Bake and frost.

**This was a really fun activity for my daughter, she enjoyed frosting them and decorating them and of course also eating them.

Key Lime Pie

Crust:
1 pkg. graham cracker crumbs
3 TBS sugar
1 stick melted butter
¼ tsp. sea salt

Filling:
4 egg yolks
1 can (14 oz.) Key Lime juice
1 lime, grated zest
*green food coloring if you want the pie to be actually green.

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Crush graham cracker crumbs with pastry roller. Add the sugar and melted butter. Work together and then press in the bottom and sides of a pie dish. Bake for 10 min. Allow the crust to cool. While the crust is resting, use a mixer with whisk attachment to whip the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until fluffy, 5 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to whip until thick, 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, or until the filling has set. Cool on a wire rack and then chill for 30 minutes, plus.

Soft Pretzels
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 TBS. brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups flour
2 cups water
2 TBS. baking soda
(Any toppings you want or dips)

Directions: Dissolve yeast in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve. Add the flours and knead the dough for a few minutes. Cover the dough and let it rise for at least a half hour. After it has risen, break of pieces and roll into thin ropes. Shape into pretzels (or any other shape). Dip it into a bath of 2 cups warm water and 2 TBS. baking soda. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover the dough pretzels and let rise another half hour or more. Bake at 450 degrees from 7 to 10 minutes until slightly golden on top. Brush with melted butter and add toppings (salt, parmesan, cinnamon & sugar, etc.)

**These were AWESOME!! My dough took longer to rise so I just let it keep rising until it doubled in size. I also let them rise on the cookie sheet longer as well. Needless to say they are a bit time consuming. I coated mine in cinnamon and sugar and they were so SO good, Bo ate most of them as soon as they were done.

Grilled Turkey & Havarti

This is something I made up. Which usually turn out being my favorite things. Although I can't really take all the credit for this masterpiece because it was inspired by one of the signature sandwiches at Safeway. It has also made me fall in love with havarti cheese.... Mmmm....

Grilled Turkey & Havarti

2 pieces of wheat bread
a slice of havarti cheese (sliced from the deli)
honey mustard
4-6 quartered artichoke hearts (marinated or not, but I prefer the little spice that the marinated ones add)
3-5 thin slices of deli sliced turkey
Spray butter

1. Lightly spray one side of each piece of bread the lay them on your pan to grill.

2. Spread honey mustard on both pieces of bread.
3. Lay your slice of havarti cheese on one piece of bread, with turkey folded on the other.
4. Place artichoke hearts on top of turkey.

5. Turn on your stove and grill for about 2 minutes until you can see the havarti start to heat. Take a spatula and put the sandwich together and grill until nice and crispy brown. Enjoy!

This sandwich is SO good! The way the make it in the store is in the oven and they toast it, but I have found that the oven scorches the cheese and you don't want to do that. Anyway, try it!

Grilled Chicken with Penne Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

I tried a recipe I found on a friends blog a while back and totally forgot to post it here because it turned out SO good. Bo couldn't stop talking about how good it was, and he doesn't even really like pasta! Anyway, it can originally be found HERE, so check it out - it has better instructions and pictures.

Grilled Chicken with Penne Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Montreal Steak seasoning
1/2 pound penne pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 to 1 tsp salt & pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded*

Rinse chicken breasts in cold water. Layer between sheets of wax paper and pound to even thickness. Season both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning. Preheat grill for medium high heat, lightly oil grate, and grill chicken breasts on medium high heat for 6-8 mins each side.

OR heat 2 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter and olive oil is nice and hot, add chicken breasts and cook 5 mins each side.

Set chicken aside to cool.

In a large pot, boil water with 1 tbsp salt. Add 1/2 lb penne pasta noodles and boil according to package directions.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, but do not let the garlic turn brown (about 3-5 mins).

Add the chicken broth to the pan and allow to reduce by half. Meanwhile, slice chicken.

Once the broth has reduced, stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low.

Chop the parsley and chiffonade the basil, then add to sauce and mix well. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Stir well to coat. Serve pasta on plates, top with sliced chicken or mix it in.

*If you're wondering what chiffonaded means, it means to stack the basil leaves on top of one another, roll them up and thinly slice the leaves.

Swiss Steak

From the Kitchen of Tillie the Toiler

Small Round Steak, tenderized and cut into pieces
1 Small onion, chopped
3 Carrotts, cubed
1 can Whole Peeled Tomatoes
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup Flour-Salt & Pepper, in bag

Put Season Salt on meat pieces. Shake in flour,salt & pepper mixture in bag.
Brown the meat pieces in HOT Crisco. Add onion and lightly brown.
Add Carrotts, tomatoes, and cream of mushroom soup. Add one soup can of water.
Simmer 1 hour or more.
Serve over mashed potatoes.

Zucchini Casserole

6 cups zucchini
1/4 cup onion
Boil for 5 minutes, drain. Reserve water to add to soup mixture if too dry. Add to soup mixture.

Combine:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup carrots
(I added about ½ cup zucchini water to make it more moist.)

Combine:
1/4-1/2 cup melted butter
8 oz. Pepperidge Farm Stuffing (the bag with blue on it)

Layer ½ the crumbs on bottom of 9x13 pan. Put all of zucchini mixture on top, then other half of crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serving Suggestions: Serve as a main dish with a side salad, or as a side dish. Mmm...

White Chicken Chili

Sauté in Pan:

3 Chicken Breasts (or 12 chicken tenders) cooked w/ salt & pepper, then cubed. (I prefer less chicken)
1 Tb. Vegetable oil
½ tsp. Garlic powder
1 can of chopped green chiles
½ small yellow onion, chopped

Whisk together in a crock pot:
1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup water
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 tsp. Dried or ground oregano
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ cup sour cream

Add to crock pot mixture:
1-2 cans of corn, drained
2 cans of northern beans, rinsed & drained (I usually add a third can of beans.)

Add the sauteed mixture to the crock pot & stir well.

Heat in crock pot on low for as long as you need to. I usually leave it for 5 or 6 hours. Remove the lid ½ hour before serving. This will thicken it up a bit. This recipe can also be warmed on the stove to serve immediately.

Serving suggestions: grated cheese, crushed saltine crackers, Fritos. (I prefer saltines, John prefers Fritos)

Note: To make this spicier you can add more green chiles, cumin and cayenne.

Spam, Eggs & Rice

This is one of Bo's favorite things that I make. I learned it from my friend Shawna. She laughed when she heard that we make it frequently. It's a nice, quick meal, that's relatively cheap for those times when you are straped by your budget.

Spam, Eggs & Rice
1 Can of Spam
2 cups of uncooked minute Rice
6-9 eggs (depending on how "eggy" you want it)
3-4 tbsp. Oil (I use olive oil)

Cook rice according to instructions on the box. Set aside. Cube Spam.

Crack eggs & beat. Heat oil in a large pan and scramble eggs. When the eggs are still soft and semi runny add spam to heat it. When eggs are cooked add cooked rice and mix well breaking up any large pieces of egg. Serve with Soy sauce.

*This really is just a version of fried rice, except the rice isn't fried. Healthier, maybe? Okay, maybe not with how unhealthy spam is... :)

**If you don't like spam, you could use cubed ham.

Bo likes his with soy sauce and a little cayenne pepper, I stick with just soy sauce. My 3-year old even likes it.

Pesto-Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients
4 Boneless & Skinless Chicken Breasts, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Pesto Pasta Sauce
1/2 cup perlini fresh mozzarella balls (or use larger balls cut into small pieces)
1/2 cup Fire Roasted Red Peppers


Directions
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct, high heat (you can hold your hand 1 to 2 inches above cooking grate only 3 to 4 seconds; ).
While grill heats, with a sharp knife, cut a pocket lengthwise in the edge of each chicken breast half, taking care to avoid cutting through to the other side. Season chicken pieces on both sides with pepper. Spread about 1 tablespoon pesto inside each pocket, then fill each with 1/4 of the mozzarella balls and 1/4 of the roasted red pepper slices. Rub remaining pesto over exterior of chicken to coat lightly.
Place chicken on oiled cooking grate; cover gas grill. Cook, turning once with a wide spatula, until meat is browned and no longer pink in center (cut to test, but do not disturb filling), about 15 minutes total.

Asparagus Swiss Quiche

Ingredients:

10 bacon strips, diced

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)

3 eggs

1/2 cup half-and-half cream

(I used mozarella cheese, 3/4 cup evaporated milk, 6 eggs)
Directions:

In a skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels; drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. In the drippings, saute onion until browned; drain.

Cut eight asparagus spears into 4-in.-long spears for garnish. Cut remaining asparagus into 1 -in. pieces. In a saucepan, cook all of the asparagus in a small amount of boiling water until crisp-tender; drain.

In a bowl, toss the bacon, onion, asparagus pieces, cheese, flour, salt and pepper. Pour into pastry shell. In a bowl, beat eggs and cream; pour over bacon mixture. Top with asparagus spears. Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and crust is golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

others suggested you can used diced ham w a 1/8 tsp nutmeg;1 more egg & little more cream; broccoli & cheddar cheese. This is a recipe that is easy and you can really have fun with and make however you and your family like it.

Potato Casserole

My good friend Sarah gave me this recipe and it is so yummy! This is what we would call "funeral potatoes". And I can't make anything with out changing it a little, but I'll give the original recipe then add my notes of what I changed.

Yummy Potato Casserole
6 medium potatoes (par boiled)
1/4 cup margarine
1 carton sour cream (16 oz.)
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup (10 oz.)
1 teaspoon dry onion or some chopped onion
1 cup shredded sharp cheese
1 cup crushed corn flakes

Cook potatoes, peel and grate. Melt margarine with soup until blended. Add sour cream, onion and cheese and mix well. Pour over grated potatoes. (I mix them together.) Put in 9 x 13 inch dish. Sprinkle the top with corn flakes. Bake at 325 for 1 hour. It will be thick but just mix the best you can and then put it in the pan.

My notes: **So instead of parboiling the potatoes I just microwaved them for about 4-5 minutes until the were easy enough to poke with a fork but not to the baked potato stage yet. I let them cool before shredding, but still used hot pads to shred since they were still hot. Along with what is called for I added milk to mine too, I wanted it a bit more creamy. I think I added a little less than a cup. I also added salt and pepper before baking, since I'm a salty kind of person, but know that the recipe truly doesn't need it. And then instead of corn flakes on top I put bread crumbs, which I didn't end up liking. Bo and I decided it would've been awesome to put French's Onions on top for a good flavor; we're going to try that next time. I even contemplated adding some chopped ham into it, but didn't have any. No matter what, this recipe turns out tasty!