Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Monday, November 19, 2012

Saturday night Derek and I decided to eat in, which almost never happens on the weekend, but we actually  ate in Friday and Saturday, so that's a double money saving win right there. Anyways, I saw this recipe over at Closet Cooking and decided that I had to give it a try! I think next time I would probably saute the jalapenos first because they didn't cook much so they were practically raw and almost burned my face off! So if you make this- cook the jalapenos!

Ingredients

• 4 small chicken breasts, pounded thin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 jalapenos, diced
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 8 slices bacon

Directions

1. Lay the chicken flat, season both sides with salt and pepper, place 1/4 of the mixture of the jalapenos, cream cheese and cheddar on the chicken and roll them up.
2. Wrap each chicken breast up in 2 slices of bacon and place them in a baking dish.
3. Bake in a pre-heated 400F oven until cooked, about 25-35 minutes.

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Hershey Kiss Peanut Butter Cookies

Sunday, November 18, 2012

I'm pretty sure growing up whenever I saw these cookies at a bake sale, they were my go to cookie! My mom never made them for us, but she was really just a brownie baker. But, my friends moms made them and they were ALWAYS amazing! Then yesterday when I was reading December's issue of Parents magazine (don't judge me, I like it), I saw a recipe for these cookies and got super excited to know the magic behind them. However, in the magazine, it just called for a peanut butter cookie mix, but I decided to use the recipe from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook because that was the recipe my grandma always made and it's what I'm used to and grew up on. Can't change tradition!

Wahoo! Didn't even have to edit this one!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour

1 package Hershey Kisses

Directions

In a large mixing bowl beat peanut butter and butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and refrigerate dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape dough in 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies by making crisscross marks with fork tines, dipping fork in sugar between flattening each cookie. Bake about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Pull out of oven and immediately press one Hershey Kiss into the center and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Makes about 3 dozen.

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Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Saturday, November 17, 2012

I promise, one day I will stop taking crappy pictures of the food we eat with my phone, and I will move on to taking better pictures with my DSLR, one day! I promise! But today is not that say, so here is a snap shot and the recipe to go with the barbecue chicken pizza that we had for Sunday dinner a few weeks ago! 

Recipe From: Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Oil
1 cup Cooked And Shredded Chicken
1 cup Barbecue Sauce, Divided
1 whole Pizza Crust
½ cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
½ cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
½ pounds Bacon, Cooked And Crumbled
½ cups Thinly Sliced Red Onion
Chopped Cilantro, For Garnish (optional)

Directions:Warm oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, 5 to 6 minutes per side, until just cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Toss chicken with 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce in a bowl.

Position a rack in the bottom of the oven and preheat to 500°F.

Place pizza crust on a large baking sheet or pizza paddle for pizza stone. Sprinkle with half of both cheeses, arrange chicken and bacon on top, and then add remaining cheese and onion. Drizzle with the remaining barbecue sauce.

Bake until cheese is melted and golden brown, 20 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro, cut into slices and serve hot.

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"Best" Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Everybody says that they have the best recipe for enchiladas, and I think I've probably tried about 5 different recipes in the past year, but I do have to say that these ones that have gone viral all over pinterest, just might be the best chicken enchiladas! Derek and I both loved them! I really think that the part that makes these so delicious is the fact that you basically make the sauce from scratch instead of just buying a can from the store so you can really taste the wholesome ingredients and everything!

Someday I promise I'll stop taking snapshots on my phone!

Recipie from: America's Test Kitchen
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
1 teaspoon canola oil
3 medim cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons sugar
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 large beefsteak tomato, seeded and chopped
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
1 cup extra sharp white cheddar, shredded
1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
cooking spray
salt and ground black pepper


Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.

Combine the onion, jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and oil in a large saucepan. cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.

Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through (thickest part reaches 160 degrees), about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool.

Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and set aside. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to the onin mixture, and add 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheese, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.

Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with plastic wrap; Microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40-60 seconds. Spread the tortillas on a clean work surface, and spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each. Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly (skip this step if you don't like the crunch).

Reduce heat to 400. Remove enchiladas and pour sauce evenly on top. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, additional cilantro, etc.

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Pizza Biscuit Casserole

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

I sometimes think that the word casserole is a really gross word. When I hear the word casserole my first thought goes to egg noodles and some really gross brown sauce. Maybe I just went to a high school where the cafeteria food must have been really bad or something but the word casserole does not usually put a pretty image in my head.

HOWEVER, this casserole puts an awesome image in my brain. The bright colors make it look awesome. And it even taste better than it looks! I rated this a 9.9 out of 10 and Derek agreed! We like to save our 10's for a rainy day apparently! 

So like I said, all my recipes this week for the most part are coming from Six Sister's Stuff! But I changed a few things in this one to better suit what I had on hand and everything. 

IT TASTED EVEN BETTER THAN IT LOOKS!

Ingredients:
3 cans of fridge biscuits (10 per tube)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 6-8 oz package of pepperoni
1 green pepper
1 can black olives
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 cups Mozzarella, shredded

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°

Cut biscuits in half, and then in half again and place in the bottom of a 9x13in casserole dish.

Pour sauce, 1 cup of cheese, Italian seasoning, and 3/4 of the pepperoni over the biscuits and then stir all together.

Then sprinkle the last coup of cheese, pepperonis, peppers, and olives on top and then bake in the oven f or 30 minutes, or until the biscuits are cooked all the way through!

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Cheesy Chicken Ranch Crescents

This week I hope that I don't get sued from Six Sister's Stuff for making all of my dinners from their website! Well, not all of them, but I'm pretty sure about 3-4 of the recipes this week are from their site. Last night for dinner I made these Chicken Ranch Crescents and they we're really good, but SUPER filling! I ate 1 and slightly felt like I was going to die, but they were so good I wanted another one, and then I got a 1/4 of the way through the next one and just gave up! Derek also only ate one. So either we're light weights, or these are super filling! I'm going to go with the second one!

No editing was done on this picture! Does that mean I'm finally learning how to use my big girl camera?

Ingredients:

1lb chicken breast

1 8oz package fat free cream cheese

2 cups cheddar, shredded 

1 package ranch dressing mix

1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°

Cook the chicken! I boiled mine but you could bake it or cook it on the stove top. I then tossed my chicken into my kitchen aide mixer with the paddle attachment and then that shredded my chicken up for me. 

Then I tossed in the cheese, cream cheese, and ranch dressing mix. 

Then I scooped 1/8th of the mixture into each crescent and then rolled them up. 

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown!

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Tuna Casserole - 2012 Tue, Nov 13

Monday, November 12, 2012

Before my days of being an awesome Mormon, I was an awesome Catholic. Which meant that for 40 days in the months of March, April, or May, depending on when Easter was going to hit that year, I participated in lent. Which meant that I could not eat meat on Friday's but I also went to my Grandma's house every weekend on Friday's. She pretty much made this recipe EVERY.SINGLE.FRIDAY. So at one point I actually had a deep deep hatred for tuna casserole. BUT, then I didn't eat it for like 7 years straight and then Derek's mom made it for us when she came to stay with us after I had Jay and then I remembered how much I actually did like it before my Grandma did overkill on it, and now it's back to being an enjoyable meal for me!

That being said, during Relief Society they did a sign up sheet for a freezer meal exchange and I was going to make a grilled lime chicken, however I randomly had about 13 cans of tuna in my cabinet and thought that I should probably go ahead and use that up instead of buying more food and spending more money! I also had about a ca-gillion pounds of frozen peas and egg noodles so I really didn't have to buy much to make this!

CREAMY GOODNESS!

Recipe From: Me

Ingredients:

2 cups egg noodles, uncooked

1 can tuna

1/2 cup milk

1 cup frozen peas

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and then transfer to a 11x7, 8x8, or 9in round casserole dish.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes and then you are good to go! 

If you are planning on making this a freezer meal then you would just wait for it to cool and then transfer it to a freezer bag and then put it in the freezer. Then when you want to cook it again just take it out of the bag and put it in a baking dish and bake it at 375° for 30-40 minutes, or until cooked all the way through!

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Toasted Ravioli

Saturday Derek and I rearranged our living room furniture and we were pretty self conscious about it so I decided to invite our friends Katy and Jordan over for dinner so that they could also judge us for how we did our living room. Turns out they liked it so it looks like we won't have to switch the living room again for a while! However, I did break the rule about how you're not supposed to try new recipes on guests just in case they turn out bad. But Derek also saw me in my wedding dress 2 weeks before we got married so... who needs rules? Anyways, everyone agreed that it was really good so it looks like toasted ravioli is a win!

Adapted From: Six Sister's Stuff

Ingredients:

1 25oz bag of frozen 5 cheese ravioli

3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Thaw the ravioli in the fridge overnight

Preheat the oven to 375°

Mix the eggs and milk together in one bowl and the breadcrumbs and cheese together in another bowl. 

Dunk each ravioli into the egg mixture and then coat well on both sides in the breadcrumb mixture.

Then place ravioli on cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Serve with marinara to dunk!

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General Tso's Chicken

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Remember in this post where I kind of went on and on about how I've been a Chinese food freak lately? Well here is yet again, another Chinese recipe for you to try out. Pretty much my goal is for Derek and I to never have to order takeout Chinese food again, because I'm still mad at the place right next to us that refused to give me steamed vegetables instead of fried rice, even when I offered to give them more money. So yes I am saying that Saigon Cafe in Provo, UT are not only very bad business people, but not very accommodating to their health conscious customers. So don't eat there, cause I'm boycotting it, so you should too. The original recipe for this came from Tracey's Culinary Adventures but I just used her recipe for the sauce and then did the rest my way.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup water

3-4 tablespoons cornstarch

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated

hot pepper flakes (optional)

2 eggs, whisked together

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°

In a small sauce pot pour in the 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and then add the ginger and cook on medium high until fragrant. Then add the brown sugar, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, hot pepper flakes and water. Mix together and let boil for 1 minute then remove from heat. 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Coat the chicken pieces in cornstarch, and then dredge them in the eggs, and then transfer to the hot frying pan. Let the chicken lightly brown on each side. About 45 seconds to one minute per side. Then transfer chicken pieces to a 9x13 casserole dish and pour the sauce mixture over the top. Let bake for 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Serve over rice. 

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Baked Ziti

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Growing up I went to my grandma's house all the time, and one of my favorite dinners that she made was baked ziti! It's such a great comfort food for me and it's perfect for these cold nights that we're heading into. I made this on Sunday night for dinner for Derek and I! We loved it so much that we saved half of it in the freeze for later and then have been picking out of the rest of the leftovers from it all week, which is a rare occasion for Derek and I because we normally never eat or leftovers and they go to waste. Yes I know, starving children in Africa, but one day I plan to go there and help them, and so that should just make up for all my wasted food right? OK cool! The original recipe for this was found on All Recipes but then I just adjusted it to what I had in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 16 ounce bag of ziti

1 onion, chopped,

1 pound lean ground beef

2 26 ounce jars of spaghetti sauce

1 carrot, chopped

6 ounces non smoked provolone cheese, sliced

1 1/2 cups sour cream

6 ounces mozzarella

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°

Brown the meet together with the onions and carrots and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add the pasta and cook for about 8 minutes until al dente, then drain. 

Layer ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish as follows: half the ziti, all the provolone, all the sour cream, half the meat mixture, one jar of sauce, remaining ziti, all the mozzarella, rest of meat mixture, the last jar of sauce, and then sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. 

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes!

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Spinach, Feta, Mushroom, Bacon Quiche

By now I think I've mentioned a hundred times that Derek served a mission for our church in France for 2 years. So he was exposed to a lot of awesome food while he was there. So I've been trying to incorporate a bunch of different kinds of quiches into our weekly meals. This one I really enjoyed and it was super healthy, minus the bacon. But sadly Derek is a HUGE stinker and wouldn't eat it just because it LOOKED to healthy. So if anyone has tips on how to sneak health foods into their husbands bodies, let me know! However, I think that the sauteed mushrooms, feta, and bacon added so much good flavor that you could hardly taste the spinach. I got the original recipe from The Tasty Kitchen, and then added the bacon to please my husband, who then didn't want to eat it... but then I baked it according to how I like to bake my quiches, and now how they did it. 

Ingredients:

1 storebought pie crust (you can make your own, I didn't)

5 slices of bacon

10 ounces frozen spinach

8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 ounces feta cheese

5 eggs

1 cup milk

1/8 cup parm cheese

1/8 cup mozzarella 

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°

Bake bacon in the oven for 15 minutes in a slotted broiler pan and then remove from oven, let cool, and then chop into small pieces.

Press crust into pie plate and bake for 8 minutes, then remove from oven.

Thaw, Drain, and squeeze any excess liquid out of the spinach and set aside.

Sautee the mushrooms and the minced garlic in a lightly greased skillet and then set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, parm, mozzarella, feta, mushrooms, bacon, and spinach, and pour into the pie crust. 

Bake for 10 minutes at 400° and then reduce the heat to 350° and then continue baking for another 25 minutes! 

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Mongolian Beef

I've been on a HUGE Chinese food kick in the kitchen lately. I've made orange chicken, sweet and sour chicken (recipe to come), firecracker chicken (recipe to come), and tonight I'm making General Tao's Chicken. I think it's just because they all taste SO good and it's SO much CHEAPER to do it at home then to get take out, and my husband loves it, so it's always a good winner. This recipe was really good. My only down fall was that I could not find flank steak when I went to the store, so I used stew meat instead and I think that a better meat definitely would have made this better, so definitely get some flank steak if you can find it! (Does it have another name? if so let me know, I am an amateur after all!) The original recipie was from Just A Taste but I adjusted the cooking and everything, to my preferred way of making Chinese food. 

Ingredients:

Vegetable Oil

1/2 tsp minced ginger

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 pound flank steak

1/4 cup corn starch

3 scallions

2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°

Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a small sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce and water, stirring to combine. Stir in the brown sugar and increase the heat to medium. Bring the sauce to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4-inch pieces, then toss it with the cornstarch. Then toss the steak in with two eggs until well coated.

Then in a lightly greased non-stick spray pan fry the meat until lightly browned on all sides. Don't worry about cooking it through all the way because it's going to be baked in the oven where it will finish cooking the rest of the way. 

Then pour the lightly browned steak pieces into a 9x13 casserole dish and then pour the sauce over the top and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring half way through!

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Baked Potato Soup

Derek's mom makes a really good baked potato soup, I got the pleasure of trying it last year when I got to tag team Christmas Eve dinner with Derek's mom (huge honor, possibly in the top 10 greatest moments of my life) I made my bread bowls, and Derek's mom made her baked potato soup. Mine probably doesn't compare to how good her's is, because according to Derek it was too healthy, but I thought it tasted really good!

Ingredients:

2 russet potatoes, washed and dried
1 small head of cauliflower, stem removed cut into florets
1 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth
1 1/2 cups 1% reduced-fat milk
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cup light sour cream
10 tbsp reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 tbsp chopped chives, divided
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (you can use turkey bacon if you prefer)

Directions: 

Bake the potatoes in the oven for one hour at 400°

While potatoes are baking, steam cauliflower with water in a large covered pot until tender. Drain and return to pot. On medium heat, add chicken broth, milk, potatoes and bring to a boil. Pour soup into blender and puree until smooth, and then return to the pot. Add sour cream, half the chives, salt and pepper and cook on low another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl. Top each serving with 2 tbsp cheese, remaining chives, and bacon.

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