Cajun Chicken & Pasta

This recipe comes from Jane.  I tried it out a few Sundays ago, and it was a hit!

Stir fry chicken, onions, and bell peppers (mushrooms, broccoli are also good) in some oil - add cajun seasoning


Cook sausage in a separate pan and drain (sometimes I cook the mushrooms, bell peppers and onions in the sausage grease - it's way yummy but not too heart healthy)

add to the chicken

pour in the heavy whipping cream

cook noodles and combine

Chicken, Mushroom & Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

This recipe is courtesy of Emeril Lagasse....thanks Mr. L! It takes a bit of work, but such a yummy twist on lasagna that maybe even Garfield would approve....or not! :)

8 TBLS (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 lb. button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 TBLS minced garlic
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
7 cups milk
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly groung black pepper
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (I just used dried)
1 lb. spinach, stemmed, washed, blanched & roughtly chopped
3 cups grated Parmesan
2 TBLS olive oil, plus more for coating casserole dish
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into pieces
1 TBLS Essence, recipe follows
1 lb. oven ready lasagna sheets
1 TBLS butter, cut into 8 pieces

I make this and put it in a container to season my chicken in almost any recipe! Yummy!

Emeril's Essence Creole Seasoning

2-1/2 TBLS paprika

2 TBLS salt

2 TBLS garlic powder

1 TBLS black pepper

1 TBLS onion powder

1 TBLS cayenne pepper

1 TBLS dried oregano

1 TBLS dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Yeild: 2/3 cup.

Directions for Lasagna:

Set a large, 12-inch saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Season the chicken with the Essence and add a 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and place in the hot pan. Sear the chicken, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and cooked throughout, about 4-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let chicken cool until ready to assemble lasagna.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often until the mushrooms are browned and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5-7 minutes. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and saute until soft and translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, to make a light roux, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly add the milk and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until thickened, 5 minutes. Add 1-1/2 tsp of salt, pepper, nutmeg, spinach and 1-1/2 cups of the Parmesan and cook, stirring until thickened about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Coat a 9 by 13 by 3-inch casserole with olive oil, and spread about 1/2 cup of the beshemel sauce on the bottom of the dish. Lay sheets of pasta across the bottom of the dish, breaking into pieces if necessary to fill in the gaps, and spread 3/4 cup of the bechamel sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle 1/4 of the chicken over the bechamel sauce, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the remaining Parmesan. Lay more sheets of pasta over the chicken. Repeat 2 additional times with the remaining bechamel sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan over the becheamel sauce and scatter the butter pieces over the top. Place the casserole on a baking sheet and bake uncovered until bubbly and well browned, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Chicken & Roasted Veggie Rice

So this recipe I found browsing the Better Homes and Garden website. Some of their recipes are hit and miss, but this was a HIT in our family! Especially the sweet potatoes....don't skimp....they are the yummiest part! Enjoy!!

Makes: 4 servings Prep: 20 minutes Bake: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 lbs.)

1-1/2 cups baby carrots, halved if large

1 cup cubed peeled sweet potato (medium-sized)

1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup chicken broth (I used the chicken base)

2 TBLS snipped fresh sage

3 TBLS olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp groung black pepper

1 box (6 oz.) cooked Uncle Ben's originial recipe long grain and wild rice

3 TBLS snipped fresh italian (flat-leaf) parsley

Directions:

1. Arrange chicken in a shallow roasting pan. In a large bowl, combine carrots, sweet potato, onion, celery, 1/2 cup chicken broth, sage, olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange veggies around chicken in pan and pour juices over the chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and veggies are tender, stirring veggies twice.

2. Cook the rice according to the box directions. About 25 minutes.

3. Add parsley to rice and then add the rice to the chicken and veggie mixture; stir to combine. Return to the oven and cook about 5 minutes or until rice is heated through.

Yummy Caramels!

Todd's sister gave this recipe to me and it's divine!  It is incredibly fast to make these little delights.

1 C butter
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
1 C corn syrup
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
dash of salt

Butter a pan.  Mix first 4 ingredients in a pot.  Then add sweetened condensed milk and the dash of salt.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for approximately 10 min depending on what heat your on, stirring constantly.  Drop some caramel into a cup of cold water and see if it forms a soft ball, if so, you're done!  Pour into buttered pan and spread.  (This doesn't cover all of a cookie sheet unless spread really thin.  So just do 3/4 or less of the pan for thicker caramels.)  Let cool, cut into pieces, and wrap in wax paper.

Artichoke Portabella Soup

½ Cup chopped green onion (I use reg. onion)
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
½ Cup butter, divided
1 bay leaf
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp oregano
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
4 Cups chicken broth
2 portabella mushrooms chopped (I buy the mini portabellas from Costco and chop a bunch of those)
1 Can (14 oz) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
3 T flour
1 Cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
In large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion, carrots, and celery in ¼ C butter until they start to caramelize. Add chopped mushrooms and sauté 3 to 4 more minutes, then add bay leaf, thyme, oregano, cayenne, broth, and artichokes. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes. In small skillet, melt remaining butter over low heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Stir into artichoke mixture. Slowly add cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened and heated through.
4 to 6 servings

Let the SOUP recipes BEGIN

Oh, it is starting to feel like soup weather and that makes me so happy! I can easily make soup 2x a week and so I have way more dinner options now that the weather has turned colder. I'll be posting some of mine and my families favs.
(Brian made this one up--I know, what can't he do well? I'll let you know if I discover something he can't do excellently...)

French Onion Soup

4 T Butter
2 T Olive Oil
5 lbs julienne cut onions (I am a mess after cutting these, look like I have been crying for a week!)
3+ cloves of garlic
1-2 T sugar
Cook on med-high heat until clear and slightly carmelized. Then add:

3 Qts boiling water
8 beef bullion cubes
4 chicken bullion cubes
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 T Salt
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp thyme

Bring to a boil. Simmer 20 min. Serve with topped with toasted baguette and melted swiss cheese. (Place in small crocks and broil in oven until cheese is bubbly)

This next one is from Rosie. She got it from her friend that called it,
Medical Board Soup, cause her husband would eat it the whole time he was doing his medical board test. It is tasty! I have made some variations to the recipe, that I am sure she would approve of!

1 Med onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
Cooked in 2 T oil

2 lbs cut up chicken
3 cans diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chilies
4 Cups chicken broth
2 Cups beef stock
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can black beans
red pepper flakes (a few to taste)

Cook for an hour. Serve with (this is the best part...) tortilla crisps - Spread butter on top of flour tortilla and broil until light brown on cookie sheet, cut in strips with pizza cutter. Top soup with shredded cheese and sour cream.

And last, but not least. Mom's Clam Chowder Recipe. (At Lynette's request) This is always a favorite here at our house...

Bratton's Boston Clam Chowder

2 Cans minced clams
1 Cup onion diced fine
1 Cup celery diced fine
1 Cup diced potatoes

Drain juice from clams over vegetables and add enough water to just cover veggies. Cook 20 min until tender.

3/4 C butter
3/4 C flour
1 qt milk/ half and half
1 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sugar

Melt butter, stir in flour, etc. Slowly add in milk (warmed in microwave). Stir until thick. Add to undrained veggies. Heat through add 2-3 (of course more) slices of bacon and clams.

Creamy Crockpot chicken

3 pounds of chicken
1 cup Salsa
1 can Black Beans
1 Can Corn
1 pkg taco seasoning (I just put my own seasonings in, cumin, chili powder, garlic, onion)

Put all in crock pot for a few hours. Just before serving add

1 C sour cream
1 C cheese

Serve over rice with Chips

Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

Gluten Free Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

2 Chicken Breasts
1-2 tsp Garlic powder
1-2 tsp Onion Powder
1 Tbls Parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pinch of Tarragon optional
1/2 Onion diced
1 stalk celery
2 carrots diced
Noodles

Boil 2 chicken breasts in about 3-4 quarts of water (a big pot ful). Season water with Garlic, Onion powder, Parsley, Tarragon (if you like that), Salt, and Pepper. (I also threw in some dried veggie mix I had). Cook chicken on low for about an hour. This makes it nice and tender. Dice onions and celery and fry them on the stove with a little oil. Dice carrots. Once chicken is cooked, add the carrots to the broth while you dice the chicken. Add your choice of noodle (I chose DeBoles Penne rice noodle's.) Cook until noodles are soft. Add extra seasoning to taste.

Sorry I never measure my seasonings. I just do it till it tastes good. I usually do a lot though.

Summer Squash Casserole

Hi everyone. Here is another good recipe to use up some of that proliferate squash. This casserole goes in a hurry at my house. So good! I got the recipe from Mom, who got it from someone in her book club-- wouldn't it be wild if it is one of Gaye's. It kind of looks like her handwriting.

2lbs (6 Cups) yellow summer squash sliced (I use zucchini too and do way more than 6 cups-cause I need to use up more than that!)
1/4 C onion (I use a whole onion)
1 Can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 C sour cream
1 C shredded carrot (I do more)
1 8 oz pk seasoned stuffing mix
1/2 C butter melted
(I also add shredded cheddar cheese mix and 1 lb cooked sausage)

In sauce pan cook sliced squash and chopped onion in salted water (5+ min). Combine soup and sour cream, stir in shredded carrots. Fold in drained squash and onion. Combine stuffing minx and butter. Spread half of stuffing mixture in bottom of 9x13 baking dish. (Then add sausage) Spoon vegetable mixture on top. (Sprinkle some cheese) and remaining stuffing over veg. Bake 350 for 25 to 30 min. Great summertime meal.

Raspberry Cream Pie

I can't wait to make this with my raspberries!  I saw this recipe once again on the Pioneer Woman's site and thought I'd share it here.  I want to make most things that I see on her site.  Oh, and will someone please please please make me these?

Please see this link for step-by-step photos. 

Ingredients


■25 whole Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
■4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
■1 cup (generous) Raspberries
■3 Tablespoons Sugar
■2 containers (6 Ounce Each) Raspberry Yogurt
■1 package (3.4 Ounch) Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
■1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
■Extra Raspberries For Garnish

Preparation Instructions

To make the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crust cookies in a food processor (or smash in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin). Stir in melted butter until all combined. Pour into a regular pie pan and press crumbs all over the pan and up the sides. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes—just long enough for it to set. Cool crust completely.
Place raspberries on a plate or in an empty pan. Smash them with a fork, then sprinkle on 3 tablespoons of sugar. Stir together and allow to sit for 15 minutes.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine raspberry yogurt with the instant vanilla pudding mix (just the powder itself.) Beat on low until combined, about 1 minute. Pour in heavy cream and whip on low for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Turn mixer on medium-high speed and beat for two minutes, or until mixture is thick.

Turn off mixer, then fold in raspberries until just combined. Pour into cooled pie pan and spread evenly. Freeze for two hours, or until very firm. Cut into slices and top each slice with cookie crumbs, dollops of whipped cream, and extra raspberries. Keep in freezer, allowing time to thaw before serving.