Dinner

Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken Pizza

I needed to use some chicken, we had extra pizza dough and we found this delicious Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce and fell in love with it so I came up with this recipe. It is tangy, spicy and delicious!

• 2 premade or homemade pizza crusts
• 4 chicken tenderloins
• 1 small onion (or 1/2 of a large one)
• Sweet Baby Ray's-Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce (or any spicy or regular BBQ sauce you prefer, I used 3/4 of an 18 oz bottle)
• 1/2 pound of pepper jack cheese (or another that you prefer)
• Approx. 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon olive oil (I use enough to coat the bottom of the pan and enough to brush on the dough of the pizza)

1. Marinate chicken in BBQ sauce (enough to cover all the chicken). Let sit for an hour or more.
2. Chop your onion. Put approx. 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and saute the onion until translucent (you can put it on some paper towels to drain the excess oil if you prefer to do so).
3. Line a cookie sheet with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Put the marinated chicken on the sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (flip once @ 10 minutes).
4. Take approx. 1/4 cup olive oil and spread on pizza dough (not the crusts and just enough to cover the dough). Spread BBQ sauce on top of the oil (again just enough to cover, add more if you prefer).
5. Shred the 1/2 pound of cheese and add on top of the sauce between the two pizzas. Also equally divide the onions.
6. After your chicken has cooled a bit slice it and divide it between the two pizzas.
7. Follow the cooking instructions of your pizza dough. Mine said to preheat oven to 450 degrees then before putting the pizza in turn it down to 425 degrees (I added a couple minutes extra to their cooking instructions) this pizza was cooked for about 12 minutes.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did (especially my husband)!

Shredded Beef Tacos

This recipe is leftovers from my roast the other night. Plan ahead.

• The leftover roast beef (about half) shredded
• 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans (or whatever your preference is) drained
• 1 (6 oz) can large black olives (drained and sliced into thirds)
• 1 package Lawry's taco seasoning (follow package directions)
• Cheddar cheese (grated for topping)
• Vegetable oil (for tacos)
• Corn or flour tortillas (depending on your preference)

1. Add drained beans in a pan and turn on low. Let them cook for a couple minutes.
2. After a few minutes start adding shredded beef to beans. Then add seasoning and water (package instructions).
3. Heat for a few minutes on medium low just to heat through the meat, stir occasionally.
4. Add the olives and turn to low.
5. In a separate pan add enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom. Turn to medium low heat. Put a tortilla in the oil and let it get firm on one side before flipping. Then shape the tortilla in half like a taco. You want it a little brown on both sides but be careful not to burn it. Put finished tacos on a paper towel to let excess oil run off.
6. With your finished taco shell add your beef mixture and to with cheese (you can also add sour cream and salsa if you like). And enjoy!

I am not very good at explaining my own recipes but these really are very simple to make especially if you make the roast the night before. I hope you can all enjoy this simple recipe as I did! Play around with it and make it perfect for you!

Meatballs

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (a mixture of 1 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound ground pork will work well also)
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (or use enough to hold the meat together)
• 1-2 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste)
• 1-2 teaspoon salt (or to taste, I use 2 teaspoons seasoned salt)
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup milk (can use up to 1/2 cup milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• favorite spaghetti sauce(1 jar)

1. Mix all ingredients(except sauce) together in a large bowl.
2. Shape into small meatballs (at this point you can place on a jelly-roll/baking sheet and freeze to use later, or cover with plastic wrap refrigerate up to 24 hours before using).
3. Drop the meatballs into simmering pasta sauce, do not stir for at least 20 minutes or you will risk breaking the meatballs.
4. Continue cooking in the simmering sauce for another 20 minutes (depending on how fast your sauce is simmering 40 minutes total should fully cook the meatballs).
5. After the 40 minutes cooking time continue cooking your sauce with the meatballs in for as long as desired.
6. **note** you may also bake the meatballs at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

I got the recipe here: http://lets-eat-recipes.blogspot.com/2010/03/meatballs-i-used-for-meatball.html 

Roasted Broccoli & Pasta

This is one of those recipes where I had stuff in my house and had to use it!
Here's what you need:

• 1 big bushel of broccoli
• (For the prep of the broccoli you will need-- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper)
• 8 oz bag of pasta (I used half of the 16 oz bag)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used pepper jack because we always have it)

1. Wash your broccoli thoroughly and cut into similarly sized pieces (I cut them so one side was flat allowing me to set them down).
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set pieces of broccoli onto baking sheet (you can coat the broccoli with oil before this or you can pour a little on top of each piece of broccoli while on the baking sheet). Add your salt and pepper (season to your liking).
3. Let them cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Cook for longer if you want them really soft but you don't want to burn them! (The littler pieces cook faster)
4. As the broccoli is cooking, prepare your pasta (I like mine more cooked rather than al dente).
5. Now combine... And add cheese! Very good! I would have preferred more broccoli. BUT you never know until you try SO... Give it a try!

Basil Italian Sausage

• 5 links mild Italian sausage
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried basil

1. Heat olive oil and basil in a pan over medium low heat.
2. Slice sausage into ½ inch to 1 inch chunks. Add sausage to pan.
3. Cook sausage until lightly browned on the outside and cooked on the inside (this took 10-20 minutes depending on the thickness, the thinner the better!)
4. Put a paper towel on a plate to blot some of the oil off or use a slotted spoon to drain it.
5. Enjoy with roasted potatoes! So good!

This is very simple obviously. This is what I had to work with so I threw some basil in and it turned out super good!

Slow Cooker Chili

We don't eat chili very much but I had some ground beef I had to use so I decided to find a recipe: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/slow-cooker-chili-ii/Detail.aspx

• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans tomato puree
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans with liquid
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1. Place the beef in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
2. Place the beef in a slow cooker, and mix in onion, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, tomato puree, kidney beans, and cannellini beans. Season with chili powder, parsley, salt, basil, oregano, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce.
3. Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low.

This chili was very good! I like a little bit more kick to my chili so next time I may add a little more something to do, but it had a really good flavor to it. I served this with our favorite wheat bread (because I don't like cornbread). It was delicious and so easy... Who doesn't love cooking in their crockpot? 

Flatbread Pizzas

I went to Olive Garden the other day and had some flatbread pizza...
My recipe looks more like pizza rather than the flatbread pizza
at the restaurant but anyways, here it is: 

• 1 recipe herbed flatbread
• 1 recipe marinara sauce (a couple of tablespoons should be enough)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• Your favorite pizza toppings: I put pepperoni, salami, black olives
• After you roll out the dough (6 to 8 inches per pizza, make it pretty thin), add sauce to the rolled out dough. Add toppings.

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put pizzas on a cookie sheet (I placed them on parchment paper). I baked them for about 20- 25 minutes. Make sure you check on them so they don't burn and be careful not to cook them too long because the dough can get too dry (30 minutes was too long in the oven). Just test this recipe out. It is delicious!  

Macaroni & Cheese

The original recipe came from here (although I didn't really follow it)~http://whiskflipstir.com/2010/09/09/basic-macaroni-and-cheese/

• 1/2 pound penne or elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons, 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk , heated
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup finely chopped pepper jack cheese
• Salt and freshly ground pepper or white pepper.
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Butter a 4 inch deep casserole pan.
3. In a large pot, cook penne until al dente.
4. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter until foamy. Whisk in the flour. You are making a roux – it will be pasty. Then gradually whisk in the milk a cup at a time. Bring milk, flour and butter mix to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it and stir as necessary.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the pepper jack cheese. Season to taste with salt, pepper.
6. Combine the remaining cheeses. Spread one third of the penne over the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with half of the shredded cheese, all of the Parmesan and a third of the sauce. Repeat, using another third of the penne, most of the remaining cheese and half of the sauce. Finish with the remaining penne and sauce and your last sprinkling of cheese.
7. Bake until bubbly and golden brown around the edges, about 30 minutes.

We enjoyed this very much and because I cut the original recipe in half there wasn't too much for the two of us (I love not having leftovers!)

Chicken Enchiladas

So easy!

• 1 batch enchilada sauce.
• 3 chicken tenderloins, cooked and shredded (my method was salt and pepper, on a sheet pan wrapped in foil @ 350 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping halfway)
• Tortillas (I used small corn tortillas and I used 8 for this)
• About 2 cups of shredded cheese (I used pepper jack)
• Sliced black olives (Optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Make your sauce and have it simmering before you set up your enchiladas.
3. Heat corn tortillas in the microwave so they are easy to work with (about 40 seconds).
4. In a 9x13 (mine was smaller, maybe a 9x11), add some sauce to the bottom of the pan (enough to cover it).
5. Take a tortilla and add some chicken and cheese (I used a cup of the cheese to fill the enchiladas) and roll it placing the open side down in the pan. Repeat until dish is full.
6. Use the rest of the sauce to cover the top of the enchiladas and add the rest of the cheese to the top (add olives if you use them).
7. Place in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes or until all the cheese is melted.
8. Let cool and enjoy!

Spinach Stuffed Shells

The original recipe comes from here: http://cookingontheside.com/sausage-spinach-stuffed-shells/
I changed it up a bit because I didn't have sausage but had to use some ricotta I had in the fridge. Here is my recipe:

• 12-ounce package jumbo shell pasta (the filling I made only filled about half the box of shells)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces baby spinach, chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 15-ounce package part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
• 3 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used close to 1 1/2-2)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Cook jumbo shells according to package directions; drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water.
3. To a pan, add oil (I heated it up to medium heat before I added the rest of the ingredients), spinach, onion, garlic, reserved pasta water; continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
4. Add seasonings and blend well. Let mixture cool.
5. Combine egg, ricotta and Parmigiano cheese in a large bowl. Mix in spinach mixture.
6. Pour 1 cup of the marinara sauce (I used half a jar of spaghetti sauce for the bottom) into a 13×9 inch baking dish.
7. Fill jumbo shells with spinach and cheese mixture; place in dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells; sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top, cover with foil. (If you have more filled shells than will fit in your baking dish, you can always freeze the extra).
8. Bake for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

We really enjoyed this meal! I think I will play with it a little more and make it my own :)

Chicken Zucchini Alfredo

This recipe comes from: http://www.handletheheat.com/2010/09/healthy-chicken-zucchini-alfredo.html

• kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 4 4-oz thin skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• freshly ground pepper
• 12 oz whole-wheat fettuccine
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup cold low-fat milk (I used 2% because that's what I had)
• 1/2 cup evaporated nonfat milk
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan chese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add half the garlic and cook 30 seconds, being careful not to burn. Add the zucchini, cover and cook until tender, stirring, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Heat another tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook through, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Cook the pasta in the boiling water as package directs. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water; return the pasta to the pot.
4. Meanwhile, whisk the flour and low-fat milk in a bowl. Place the remaining garlic and 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, 30 seconds. Add the flour-milk mixture and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring; 2 minutes. Add the evaporated milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the cheese; stir to melt, 1 minute.
5. Cut the chicken into strips. Toss with the pasta, sauce, zucchini, and parsley, adding the reserved pasta water to loosen if necessary.

This recipe was delicious! I felt like I was running back and forth like a crazy person trying to make it but Jesse thought it was worth it :) Give it a try!

Zucchini Lasagna

I found this recipe here:
http://theitaliandishblog.com/imported-20090913150324/2009/2/11/my-moms-zucchini-lasagna.html

This was really good. We enjoyed it even more for leftovers. Choose your sauce wisely... I think the simplest sauce would be the best!

• 3 pounds large zucchini, scrubbed
• 1 quart spaghetti sauce or thick tomato sauce
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 pound ricotta cheese (more, if you like - the original recipe calls for 2 pounds)
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated

1. Slice zucchini into long slices. Cook in boiling water just until limp, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
2. Combine ricotta, eggs, parsley, seasoning and half of the parmesan cheese and half of the bread crumbs in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a 9x13 pan, spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce. Sprinkle with a quarter of the bread crumbs. Arrange layer of zucchini over this. Spoon half of the reserved ricotta mixture on top of the zucchini. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella cheese. Arrange the rest of the zucchini over this, layer more tomato sauce and the rest of the bread crumbs and top with remaining ricotta mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until top is brown. Let stand 20 minutes before cutting.

 

Turkey & Cheese Empanadas

This is my creation in the honor of Thanksgiving leftovers... I had extra pie crust and turkey that needed to be used :)

There are no exact measurements here but this is a general of what you need:

• Leftover pie crust or frozen pie crust (thawed)
• Cooked turkey (shredded)
• Cheese (shredded) I used Colby Jack
• Mayonnaise (just a little for each empanada)
• 1 egg (for glaze)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons water (for glaze)

1. Roll out crust into about a 4 inch circle ( I just rolled it out until it was thin enough to fold over).
2. Spread mayonnaise and add toppings in the middle, leaving room on the sides to fold over (you can put water around the edges to help it stick better).
3. Fold over one side and I just tucked the edges in and cut off any large excess.
4. Mix the egg and water and brush the outside of the empananda.
5. Cook at 400 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes.
6. I was honestly surprised by how these turned out.. They were flaky and delicious and a great use for those Thanksgiving leftovers you have lying around :)