Pesto Pasta with Chicken

I made this a few weeks back for my dad and husband and we all loved it. I love pesto, and sometimes like a little something extra added into the sauce. The best pesto I had was in Italy, of course, but this is delicious and easy for at home.
(Next time I make it, I'll come back and add a picture.)

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package rotini or penne pasta
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts - cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup pesto
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese


Directions
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken and garlic until chicken is almost cooked.
3. Reduce heat and stir in salt, pepper, cream, pesto and Parmesan cheese. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside.
4. Stir in cooked pasta and serve.

I serve it with a green salad and garlic bread.

Enjoy!

Spring Treat: Bird's Nests

This is a perfect kitchen project for moms and kids...

or ladies who just like to act (and eat) like kids. 

: )

They are so yummy.

 Chocolate bird's nests.

We make them every spring - just before Easter.

I suggest you install the same tradition.

Here's the recipe:

Full post HERE.
Pictures taken by Ashley Miller.
Recipe by Mrs. B.

: )

Happy Spring!

Ciabatta Bread

 I came across a super easy bread recipe and decided to give it a try. My niece said "Amy's yummy bread is THE best ever"!  You'll just have to try it for yourself!

Ciabatta Bread

4 cups flour
2 tsp kosher salt (1 tsp if using table salt)
1/4 tsp yeast + 2 cups warm water (put in microwave for 30 seconds)

Mix all ingredients together just until moist.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 8-12 hours on counter.
Put on greased cookie sheet (or silpat on cookie sheet) and gently form.
Bake at 400 degrees 35-40 mins.

I added sunflower seeds to the top. You could also try cranberries. Let me know if you have other great ideas!

Cake Mix Cookies

These are the EASIEST cookie to make! There are only 3 ingredients and they are fantastic!

Cake Mix Cookies

1 Cake Mix (your choice!)

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Oil

Roll into a ball. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 7-10 min. (I usually bake mine 7-8 min because I like mine chewy)

I love to experiment with this recipe and see what I come up with. Here are some ideas:

• Roll the top of the cookies in sprinkles. I especially like the Wilton Mint Crunch (see here).
• Make homemade Oreos with vanilla frosting.

Enjoy!

Uncooked Tortillas

My sister in law makes the best tortillas from scratch, but there is no way that I have that kind of time. So, I found these Uncooked Tortillas that are a great substitute. They are really easy to cook. They are great for Quesadillas, Fajitas, Tacos, Wraps, etc.

I have found them at Costco, some Grocery Stores, Walmart.

For quesadillas, I usually just add cheese, chicken, salsa. Makes a great lunch!

Porcupines!

Okay People....prepare yourself for this one. It will make your mouth happy. So So So Happy.

Porcupines!

This is a picture of them right when I started cooking them...they were devoured before I could take an "after" pic...

So here's the story...one of my besties lives in NC and I was staying with her for a mutual friends wedding weekend. We were crazy busy, but the first night I arrived, she made these delicious little delights for dinner and I demanded the recipe! Turns out it is her moms recipe...and her mom is one of my favorite people because once upon a time she was the only mom we could get ahold of on a major holiday when we needed help figuring out how to get the stupid turkey's legs apart...but that is a whole other story ;-)

So here is the recipe..and I will have you know...I quadrupled the recipe so I would have left overs. And this recipe is really only enough for one person...double it and it's good for 3 people...quadruple it and it's enough for a couple meals and it is just as good reheated :)

1/2 lb ground beef

1/4 cup uncooked white rice (I used minute rice)

1/4 cup milk or water (I used milk)

2 Tbsp chopped onion (I use the equivalent amount of dried minced onion, instead)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/8 tsp garlic salt or powder

dash of pepper

Sauce 8 oz can of tomato sauce (You can never have too much)

1/2 cup of water for every 8 oz of tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix first set of ingredients together and form into balls about golf ball size or a little smaller. Should make 4-6 balls. Mix sauce ingredients in a deep covered saute pan or frying pan. Put meatballs in sauce and spoon sauce over them. You want to have enough sauce to come up at least halfway on the porcupines.

Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 40-45 minutes. Flip them over about halfway through the cooking time and add some water if the sauce has cooked down too much, but resist the temptation to uncover them more than once. When they're cooked when get firm and the rice should be soft. I usually break one open to see if the rice is cooked. Chef's prerogative to taste test. ;)

Serve with egg noodles or mashed potatoes to soak up all the sauce.

You are Welcome.

Joyfully,

Jamie

Egg Salad Sandwiches

I have never been a fan of egg salad. So I was shocked to find that I loved this recipe. I tried it out of desperation cause I haven't gone grocery shopping in ages and because of some drama, I couldn't get into my pantry. And now I think I will make this part of the regular rotation in my meal planning.

Here goes!

7 eggs (that is all I had)
1 1/2 TBS Miracle Whip (you can use mayo but I prefer the sweetness of MW)
2 TBS Hot Mustard (dijon)
1 Tsp Dried Dill Weed
1 Tsp Paprika
salt and pepper to taste
(you could add some chopped red onion or celery or both if you like a little crunch)

Makes enough for 4 sandwiches.

1. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil; cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop. (I used my pampered chef chopper...super easy and fast)
2. In a large bowl, combine the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, dill, paprika and salt and pepper.
3. I served it on toast (I hate soggy stuff so toast is my solution with most sandwiches to avoid it) with a little more mayo on the bread and some crispy lettuce. It was out of this world delicious!

The ingredients!

My handy dandy chopper!

Vwala! dinner is served!

Fettuccine Alfredo

This is a truly delicious and incredibly easy recipe that I got out of the William's Sonoma Pasta cookbook.  I love fettuccine alfredo, but I'm super picky about my alfredo sauce.  I'd say 95% of the alfredo sauces I've had in restaurants, have been too bland or just not good.  This one, however, is divine.  I make it for my family probably once a month.  It's a household favorite!


The key to this recipe, is the level of freshness of the ingredients you use.  The fresher, the better.  At the bottom, you will see a picture of a box from the cookbook.  Take it seriously.  I do, and I am convinced it's the key to alfredo greatness. 

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

1 lb fresh fettuccine

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over high heat, bring the cream and butter to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 1 minute.  Add 6 tablespoons of the grated Parmesan and whisk over low heat until smooth, about 1 minute longer.  Remove from the heat and season with salt.  (Be judicious with the salt.  The Parmesan is itself salty, and too much added salt will throw this creamy, sweet sauce out of balance.)

Generously salt the boiling water, add the pasta, and cook until al dente, 1-3 minutes, depending on the freshness of the pasta.  Drain pasta well.

Put pasta in a warmed, large, shallow bowl.  Pour on the sauce and sprinkle with 6 more tablespoons of the cheese.  Toss well.  Serve immediately.  Pass the remaining cheese at the table.

Makes 4 main course or 6 first course servings.

Study this picture (you can on the photo click for full size):

-Bon Appétit

Hamburger Noodle Skillet

This was SUPER easy...and tasty too!

3 slices bacon
1/2 an onion chopped (my onion was kinda big)
1 pound lean ground pork/beef/turkey
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 green peppers chopped
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
3 cups noodles, uncooked (we used tri-color rotini)

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp; eat bacon if you want or toss it :) I ate mine! Add onion to the bacon drippings; cook until tender. Add ground meat and brown. Stir in tomatoes, green bell pepper, chili sauce, salt, and a dash of pepper. Add the uncooked noodles. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, or until noodles are tender.

I am serving mine with some yummy french bread.

easy peasy!

Jamie

Improvising a Panini

Well, I don't own a panini press but I was really really really in the mood for a Panini...so I improvised...

I used the cast iron frying pan as the press and the cast iron grill that you heat up on the stove top to get the lines and grilled panini effect I was desiring.

Basically, I cut up some amazing simple Focaccia bread, spread olive oil on the outside, pub cheese on the inside, added some fabulous pepper turkey breast and red onion and then grilled it to perfection.

It was amazing. Between my husband and I we ate every last bit of it up. I think it would have been even better if I'd added tomato...otherwise I was totally happy with this meal. And quite proud of my improvisational skills too :) I served some strawberries on the side and that was the extent of this meal...just perfect!

Jamie Willow

Green Beans with Pepper & Onion

I'm often looking for a new way to spice up vegetables, although we like them all just steamed too. I made these green beans last night, they were delicious!



Ingredients:
1 lb fresh Green Beans
1 Tablespoon Butter And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 cup Chopped Onion
1/2 - 3/4 cup Chopped Red Bell Pepper
1 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 - 3/4 tsp Kosher Salt (or 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Regular Table Salt)
Ground Black Pepper To Taste

Directions:
1. Snap or cut the stem ends of the green beans.
2. Add oil and melt butter in a skillet over medium low heat. Add garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Then add green beans and cook for a minute until beans turn bright green.
3. Add the chicken broth, chopped red pepper, salt and black pepper. Turn heat to low and cover with a lid, leaving lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until liquid evaporates and beans are fairly so3, yet still a bit crisp. (You can add more chicken broth during the cooking process, but letting it all cook away will help the onions and peppers caramelize.)

YUM!

Cooking...

We had steak and roasted baby potatoes too. (Also salad, not pictured.)


(I can't take credit, this recipe is from the amazing PW.)

Avocado & Chicken Salad

This is one of my favorite summer lunches. I don't have an exact recipe.

Avocado & Chicken Salad

1 Avocado

1 can of Chicken Breast

Mayo

chopped Celery

Curry Powder

Pepper

Chicken Salad:

Put 1 can of Chicken Breast in a bowl. Mix in a (2-3) of spoons full of Mayo. Mix in Curry Powder to taste. Add chopped Celery to mixture.

Place cut up Avocado on a plate. Top with Chicken Salad mixture. Add pepper to taste.

Summer Salad

As I was looking in my almost empty fridge today I decided to make a salad. I don't often make salads - Honestly I think they are overrated. But maybe I should make an effort to try. This is what I made today and it was Great! Now, would you please share your favorite salad with me?

1 romaine - washed and roughly chopped
Handful of cherry tomatoes halved
Handful sweet peas
Handful frozen corn
1/2 green pepper diced
1 roasted red pepper thinly sliced
Carrot thinly sliced, I do this with my potato peeler
Handful of chopped cilantro
tbsp chopped basil
Handful chopped cashews

Small amount of Katie's recommended Balsamic and it just turned out amazing.. I even had seconds ;)

Velbekomme!

Banana Bread

This recipe is fast, easy and very basic.

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Optional: Walnuts

• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• With a wooden spoon, mix melted butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add walnuts if you wish. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan.
• Bake for 1 hour.
• As soon as I pull it out of the oven, I add brown sugar to the top just to give it a little extra sweetness.
• Cool on a rack until you are able to remove from pan for easy slicing.

~ Kassandra

Honey Chicken Kabobs.

(A.J at 18 months first time eating chicken kabobs )

This is A.J's favorite thing to eat. He loves to eat kabobs, he will ask for seconds, and thirds until there's none left! It's a super easy recipe, and I've made mass quantities of it for BBQ's.

Honey Chicken Kabobs

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cloves garlic
skewers


DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken and garlic in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (the longer the better).
Preheat the grill for high heat.
Drain marinade from the chicken and discard marinade. Thread chicken onto skewers. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Enjoy!

Hot Beef Sandwiches

3 lbs. beef chuck roast
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbs Lemon Juice
1 tbs Ketsup
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce


This is a crock pot meal. So warm her up! It takes about 8-10 hrs of slow cooking so start it early and relax, dinner will be ready later!

Place meat in crock pot and cover with the chopped onions.

Combine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, lemon juice, ketsup and worcestershire sauce.

Pour over meat. It won't seem like much liquid at first but once it gets cooking the juices from the meat will add to it. I repositioned the meat a few hours into the cooking process so most of it was submerged.

After about 8 hrs shred the meat (I had my DH do it cause I find shredding meat to be very annoying) and then place it back into the broth for another half hour or so.

Drain broth but save for dipping.

Serve on hamburger buns with broth on side. I added a little bit of parmesan cheese to the broth for a garnish and it melted in nicely...tasted great!

I got this recipe from a friend and added a few things. My DH thought it was amazing and so did I! It was relatively easy which was a bonus.

Enjoy!

Jamie Willow

Citrus Chicken Fajitas

I was at a loss on what to make (happens to most of us, right? Right?) with chicken. We eat a lot of chicken. It's a staple here. I go to Sam's and buy the chicken breasts in the huge bag. Multiple bags, actually. ;)

Anyway, here's the recipe for an easy, fast, Mexican dinner. It's not a perfect recipe as I just threw it together one night.

Chicken Breasts, sliced into thin strips
Orange Juice
Lemon Juice
Minced Garlic
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Red and Green pepper sliced into thin strips

Put the chicken breasts in a container covered with orange juice, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigate. Overnight is best, but you can also do it for a few hours, at least 3.

Heat a large skillet pan over medium to high heat. Spray with nonstick whatever you use. Stir fry garlic, then add chicken. Cook chicken, then add peppers. Add the rest of the marinade, until it's almost gone.

It goes great with rice, beans, and fresh pico de gallo.

delicioso!

Patty

Crockpot Mexican Chicken

I'm almost ashamed to post this for my first post on this blog because it's so easy, but it's really that good. When I was telling Katie about this, I told her that it's so easy that Audrey could pretty much make it - aside from the can opener... I really don't know what this is called, but I got it from a friend and it's amazing! We'll call it Crockpot Mexican Chicken for now...

Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (4-6)
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Can of Corn
1 Jar of Salsa (I used Pace Picante in Medium, but for kids you may want to use Mild)
(see, it's that easy!)

Directions
Throw all the ingredients in the Crockpot.
Turn on High for 3 hours.
When done, chicken is easy to shred or cut with a fork.

I usually serve it as a soft taco, so I get cheese, tortillas, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

We also had Spanish Rice on the side and chips and guacamole.

Indulge!

Cheese Tortellini Salad

Cheese Tortellini Salad

Cheese Tortellini (I used the double pack from Costco)

Bernsteins Italian dressing

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Julienne sliced Sun Dried Tomatoes

Fresh Basil

Crushed Red Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Cook the Tortellini per instructions on the package. Strain it. Once the Tortellini is room temperature add Bernsteins Italian dressing (I used the whole bottle for my double pack of Tortellini), a little Olive Oil (helps keep the pasta from sticking to each other), Salt & Pepper, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, a little crushed Red Pepper, and some Parmesan Cheese. Refrigerate until ready to be served.

* I do not have exact measurements. Just put in how much you want and what looks good. It is really simple and great for summer BBQs!

Enjoy!!!

~Amy

Simple Pork Chops

10 pork chops
salt and pepper
honey barbecue sauce
one large onion finely chopped,
water,
large pan for baking.

Put about one inch of water in bottom of pan, add a layer of chopped onion in water, then salt and pepper pork chops on both sides. Place pork chops on top of onion, then add a few onions on top of pork chops. Add water to cover.
Bake at 450°F about 1 hour. When nearly done, remove from oven (I poured the water out at this point...) and pour honey barbecue sauce over meat evenly. Return to oven for about 3-5 minutes on broil or long enough to brown barbecue sauce.
Serves 8-10 people.

I used this recipe and only cooked 2 pork chops, they were VERY thick...and they were Grass Fed CSA Pork Chops...which means there is no preservatives/salt in the meat which means you don't need to cook it nearly as long as store bought meat. I cooked them for about 40 minutes and they were plenty well cooked. I think cooking them in the water was a good way to go since they were so thick. I used a meat thermometer and made sure they got to about 160degrees...I didn't want to over cook them since it was my first time cooking grass fed meat.

This was a simple recipe and super delicious. The meat was tender and moist and the flavor was great cause I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ sauce and that stuff is divine!

Jamie