Sunday, April 17, 2011

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

Great SPRING dinner! -  recipe and photos from thepioneerwoman.com

TPW_6708

Ingredients
  • 4 whole Grilled Chicken Breasts, Sliced
  • 1 pound Penne Pasta, Cooked Until Al Dente
  • ½ sticks Butter
  • 3 whole Lemons, Juiced
  • ¾ cups Heavy Cream
  • ¼ cups Half-and-half
  • 1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano)
  • Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
  • 20 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander.
In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 3 to 4 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-heat. Whisk until hot. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.
Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts. Serve immediately!
Posted by on July 21 2010

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

This has become a favorite at our house.  Homemade pizza dough really is best but refrigerated dough is so quick!  Yum!
Recipe and photos from OurBestBites 1 roll refrigerated pizza dough* (or make your own)
marinara/pizza sauce (click here to make your own)
2T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1  t dried Italian seasoning
mozzerella cheese, diced or grated
Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

*You can use regular pizza dough, or thin crust. 

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package.  Usually it's 400 degrees.  If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8".  You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to.  Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares (bet ya didn't see that one comin' did ya?) 

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.  (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after)  You guys are smart, right?  Just eyeball how much.  You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind.

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.  Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I've used both and there's not much difference in result) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.  (In lieu of the Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning you could  substitute this garlic bread seasoning.)

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Keep an eye  on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Recipe and photos from www.ourbestbites.com

My kids gobbled these up!  They are really yummy served with homemade cafe rio dressing.

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese
small corn tortillas (and actually, flour ones are really good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.
Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.
Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.
.Dip ‘em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole or cafe rio type dressing.  Make it a meal by serving with black beans, a small salad and lemonade.
Makes 12-16

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Dutch Baby

2 tablespoons oil
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoons
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon melted butter


Pour oil in an oven safe skillet. Place in 450 degree oven until it's hot. Beat eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add milk, lemon juice, and melted butter. Pour into heated skillet. Bake 15-20 minutes. Serve with raspberry syrup, butter cream syrup, or any yummy topping. (Like a german pancake)

Grandma's recipe (Country Kitchen Cookbook)

Ooey Gooey Butter Pecan Bars

1 butter pecan cake mix
3 cups powdered sugar
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese
2 cubes butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease 9x13 pan. Mix cake mix, 1 cube butter melted, and 1 egg. Press mixture into pan. In bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, other cube butter (melted) and 2 eggs. Blend and stir in pecans. Pour over top of cake mixture. Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown. If using a dark pan, cook less. Cool completely and enjoy!

Lisa's recipe

Creamy Fudge Frosting

4 semi-sweet chocolate baking squares
1 2/3 cups confectioners sugar
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 tablespoons butter, softened, cut up (no substitutions)

Heat chocolate, sugar and cream, stirring constantly, in saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Transfer to mixer bowl, and place in large bowl of ice water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until cold and thick. Remove from ice bath. Gradually beat in butter at high speed; beat until fluffy and stiff enough to hold its shape.

Grandma's recipe (from some Woman's Magazine)