Quick Chicken Cacciatore

Picture is from the website.

My hone cooked this for us tonight and it was delicious! We gave it a 4.5 out of 5. She said it wasn't as easy as the recipe made it out to be, but overall it was not difficult. I loved the mushrooms with the tomatoes. We had rice and vegetables with it! Here is a link to the recipe--Quick Chicken Cacciatore

QUICK CHICKEN CACCIATORE

by: Steve Dunn, adapted from a recipe in Fine Cooking by: Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

notes: Serves 4-6

yield:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 8 chicken cutlets, about 1/4-1/3 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons EVOO
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Leaves from 1 large sprig of rosemary, finely minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

• Pour enough EVOO into a large skillet to fully coat the bottom and set the pan over medium-high heat.   When the pan is hot, toss in the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally until they have released all their moisture and caramelized to a rich, dark brown.  Pull them from the heat and dump them off into a bowl, reserve in a warm spot.
• Season the cutlets liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.  Place the flour in a shallow bowl, then dredge each cutlet in the flour, shaking off any excess.
•  Put the pan back over the heat and add some fresh oil.  When the oil is shimmering, but not yet smoking, and working in batches, cook the cutlets till golden brown and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side.  Remove the cutlets to a plate or cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. 
• Put the pan back over medium heat and add the butter, onion, and garlic.  Cook stirring frequently until the onion is translucent.  Add the wine, tomatoes and most of the rosemary, turn the heat to medium-high and cook until reduced to a sauce-like consistency.  Turn the heat to low, add back the chicken and mushrooms, spooning the sauce over the cutlets.  Check for seasoning adjusting as necessary.
• Serve with your choice of side dish, sprinkling the remaining rosemary on each cutlet when plated, and topping with freshly grated parmesan if you wish.

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Very Berry Cheesecake Salad

This is after all the berries are mixed in.

This is one of our absolutely favorite desserts. We make it during the spring and summer when berries are available and not very expensive. It is easy to make and even better to eat. You need to be careful when you mix in the berries, but don't stir too quickly or you could crush the berries. You can find the recipe at this website--Very Berry Cheesecake Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 8 oz cool whip, thawed*
• 6 cups berries, I used:
• 3 cups strawberries, sliced
• 1 cup blackberries
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup raspberries

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Fold in the thawed cool whip.
2. Add strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Fold carefully into the cream cheese mixture. Serve immediately.
   

   

   This is before we mixed in the berries.

Pork Chops Milanese with Creamed Spinach

This is from our meal tonight!

My honey made this tonight and it was YUMMY! We gave it a 4.75 out of 5. The spinach was very tasty and the recipe wasn't too difficult. Here is a link to the recipe on the Kraft website-Pork Chops Milanese with Creamed Spinach








Ingredients

• 6 boneless pork chops 1/2 inch thick
• 3 TBS mayonnaise
• 1 TBS dijoun mustard
• 1 packet shake 'n bake original pork seasoned coating mix (we used bread crumbs)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1 TBS butter
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1 TBS milk
• 2 packages (6 oz each) baby spinach leaves
• 1 lemon cut into 6 wedges

Directions

Heat oven to 425ºF.

Pound chops between sheets of waxed paper to 1/4-inch thickness. Combine mayo and mustard. Mix coating mix, Parmesan and oregano in pie plate.

Spread 1 tsp. mayo mixture onto top of 1 chop; place, mayo-side down, in coating mix. Repeat to coat other side of chop. Place on rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining chops.

Bake chops 12 to 15 min. or until done (160ºF). Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan on medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 min. Stir in Neufchatel and milk; cook 2 to 3 min. or until Neufchatel is melted, stirring constantly. Add 1/3 of the spinach; cook 2 min. or just until spinach is wilted, stirring frequently. Repeat with remaining spinach.

Place chops on platter; top with spinach mixture. Serve with lemon wedges.

One Skillet Chicken with Bacon and Green Beans

This is from the website!

Jacob and I made this recipe tonight. It got a 4.5 rating out of 5. I have to say the beans cooked up nicely and were very tasty. It wasn't a hard recipe, but it did take some time to prep with several steps. I enjoyed cooking with Jacob. We made mashed potatoes to go with the meal. Here is a link to the recipe One Skillet Chicken with Bacon and Green Beans

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 strips center-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into thin cutlets
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
• ½ cup crisp white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc (use broth for Whole30 or Paleo)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 8 ounces French green beans

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the bacon and sauté until brown and crisp.  Remove bacon pieces with a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Discard the majority of the bacon grease, leaving a very thin coating in the pan.
2. Season both sides of the chicken pieces with 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper and add to the skillet. Cook 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
3. Add the shallots to the now empty skillet and sauté 1 minute, scraping up brown bits.  Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds more. Add the broth, wine and thyme and stir.  Add the green beans, increase the heat to medium-high and cook for about 8 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and the green beans are crisp tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Transfer the chicken breasts and green beans to a serving platter. Season beans with 1/8 teaspoon salt and fresh pepper. Pour chicken juices into sauce with 1/8 teaspoon salt, stir and cook for an additional 30 seconds.  Pour sauce over the chicken and green beans and top with chopped bacon.

  

Husband's Delight

I forgot to take a picture before we started spooning it out!

My honey made this recipe tonight. We rated it a 4.5 out of 5. I really liked the cheese on top and the filling had good flavor. It did involve several steps, but it didn't seem too difficult. We had plenty to put away for leftovers, which we always enjoy. Here is a link to the recipe! Husband's Delight Oh, and we laughed at it being named "Husband's Delight" because there is no husband in the house, only two wives!





Ingredients

• 10 ounces of egg noodles
• 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
• 1 (14.5 oz) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 TBS white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of sour cream
• 3 ounces of cream cheese
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. 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.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef. Add the tomatoes with juice, salt and sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes.
4. In a separate medium bow, combine the sour cream, cream cheese and onions and mix well. In a 9x 13 inch baking dish, place half the egg noodles, then all of the meat mixture, then the cream mixture. Top with remaining noodles and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Cherry Cheesecake Lush Dessert

Hello again! I wanted to share this dessert recipe with y'all today. I won't say this was an easy recipe but it wasn't very difficult either. Leave time to make the crust and let it cool. You will need a food processor or blender to chop up the vanilla wafers and pecans. I made the crust and then waited about 45 min to  let it cool and put together the rest of it. It is now sitting in my refrigerator to eat later tonight. Here is a link to the recipe--Cherry Cheesecake Lush Dessert




Serves 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 16 oz whipped topping, divided
• 2 small boxes of cheesecake flavored pudding
• 3 cups of milk
• 1 can Cherry Pie Filling
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine vanilla wafer crumbs, finely chopped pecans, and melted butter.
2. Press into a 9x13 inch baking pan; bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, remove from oven and cool.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 1/2 cups of whipped topping.
4. Mix until smooth; spread evenly over cooled crust.
5. Combine cheesecake pudding mix, milk, and 1 1/2 cups of whipped topping and mix until smooth.
6. Spread evenly over cream cheese layer in pan.
7. Top with 1 can  of  Cherry Pie filling, remaining whipped topping, and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.

Bruschetta Pork Chops

Jacob took the picture. They look better on a plate!

This happens to be a recipe that I found on the Kraft website. Jacob cooked it this evening and I have to say his looked a lot like the picture on the website. They were really good. We gave them a 4.75 rating out of 5. We did not have the sun dried tomato vinaigrette dressing, but my honey found a substitute. She used 4 TS of vinegar with 2 TBS of  sugar with some sun dried tomatoes cut into small pieces. We were all quite impressed with Jacob's cooking ability. Here is a link to the recipe! Bruschetta Pork Chops




Ingredients

• 2 butterflied pork chops (we used 6 thin pork chops)
• 1/4 shake 'n bake original pork seasoned coating mix (we used bread crumbs)
• 1 large plum tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomato vinaigrette dressing
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. coat chops with coating mix as directed on package. place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Bake 20 minutes or until chops are done (160 degrees F). Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and dressing.
4. Top Chops with tomato mix and cheese. Bake 5 min or until cheese is melted.

Barbecue Beef Cups

This is a picture of the barbeque cups I made!

I made this recipe last night and it turned out quite well. We all gave it a 4.5. I actually used one pound of ground beef and added a bit more barbecue sauce and minced onion. I also used muffin cups so I didn't have to worry about the biscuit dough sticking to the inside of the muffin pan. Here is a link to the recipe--Barbecue Beef Cups













Ingredients

• 3/4 ground lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup barbeque sauce
• 1 TBS dried minced onion
• 1 (12 ounce) package refrigerated biscuit dough
• 1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Prehead oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the cups of a muffin pan.
2. In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, cook beef until evenly brown. Drain excess fat. Stir in barbeque sauce and dried onion. Simmer for a few minutes over low heat.
3. Flatten each biscuit, and press into cups of the prepared muffin pan (I used muffin cups). Make sure the dough comes to the top of the pan. Spoon a portion of the meat mixture into each dough cup.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake for 3 more minutes.

FIVE Minute Ice Cream

YES, you read that correctly. FIVE Minute Ice cream! It was delicious and scored a 5 out of 5. We used frozen pineapple to make ours, but I think we will try strawberry or blackberries next. We cut up the pineapple this morning and froze it. We wanted to try it with fresh fruit. The key is the fruit has to be frozen so when you mix it all together the cream turns to ice cream! It does work, but you do need a food processor or blender! The picture posted is from the website. I forgot to take one tonight, but when we make it again I will post a picture! Here is a link to the recipe! Five Minute Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounces) package frozen slice strawberries (you can use any fruit, just weigh it)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2/3 cup of heavy cream

Directions

Combine frozen fruit and sugar in a food processor or blender. Process until the fruit is roughly chopped. With the processor running, slowly pour in the heavy cream until fully incorporated. Save immediately, or freeze for up to one week.

Approximately four servings.

Summer Vegetables with Sausage and Potatoes

This is a picture of our meal tonight!

This is a recipe that my honey made tonight. I really don't know how easy or hard it was to make, but she put it together quickly and didn't complain that it was difficult. We rated it a 4.5. Everything cooked up nicely and it was a nice meal on a summer evening. We didn't need any side dishes since there were vegetables within the recipe. Here is a link to the recipe- Summer Vegetables with Sausage and Potatoes

I hope you enjoy it!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb baby red potatoes, cut in half or quartered
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper
• 14 oz Italian chicken sausage, sliced 1-inch thick
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of the knife
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
• 1 red bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary (or other fresh herb such as thyme)
• 2 cups zucchini, 1/2 inch thick and quartered

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place oil and potatoes in a large, deep non-stick skillet with a tight fitting lid on high heat; season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
2. When the skillet gets hot and starts to sizzle, reduce heat to low and cook with a tight lid on for about 20-25 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent the potatoes from burning.
3. Remove from heat and let them sit 5 minutes without removing the lid, then set the potatoes aside on a dish.
4. Add the sausage to the skillet and saute on medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until browned but not quite cooked through, about 10 minutes.
5. Season chopped vegetables with salt and pepper. Add onions, peppers, garlic and rosemary to the skillet and mix.
6. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until onions and peppers become slightly browned.
7. Add zucchini and cook an additional 5 minutes, mixing as it cooks until cooked through.
8. Return the potatoes back to the skillet and mix well. Adjust salt and pepper as needed; cover and cook 5 more minutes.

Makes about 7 1/2 cups.

Easy Banana Cream Pie

This is a piece of the pie!! It was so good!

I decided to post two recipes for today! I made this Easy Banana Cream Pie yesterday. It was very easy and we all gave it a 5 out of 5. The only thing I want to add about the recipe is that this made a LOT of filling. I could not get it all into the pie shell and so the boys and I ate it with vanilla wafers as a snack! I waited to add the cool whip to the top until we actually cut the pie and put it on the piece of pie on the plate. I got this one from the Kraft Recipe web site. Here is the link. I forgot to take a picture yesterday, and so I took one today, but as you can see I had already taken a bite!
Easy Banana Cream Pie










Ingredients

• 2 medium bananas, sliced
• 1 ready-to-use reduced-fat graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz)
• 2 1/2 cups cold fat-free milk
• 2 packages (4 serving size each) JELLO-O Vanilla falvor sugar free fat free instant pudding (I used the store brand)
• 2 cups thawed COOL WHIP FREE whipped topping, divided

Directions

1. Place half of the banana slices on bottom of crust. Set remaining banana slices aside.
2. Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk for 2 minutes , or until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping. Spoon half of the pudding mixture into crust. Top with remaining banana slices; cover with remaining pudding mixture.
3. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set. Serve topped with the remaining one cup of whipped topping. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.

8 Servings
Calories--200 per serving

Chicken in a Creamy Parmesan and Tomato Sauce

This is a recipe that I made tonight for dinner. I even took a picture of what it looked like when I was done. Now I didn't use fresh basil and I forgot to chop up the sun dried tomatoes. I also didn't use fresh garlic, but used garlic powder instead. We gave it a 4.5 out of 5. The sauce didn't quite thicken as much as I would like it too, but it still tasted good. OH and I just realized, I forgot to pound the chicken thin......cooking is not really my thing sometimes, but I still manage to get it done!

Here is a link to the actual recipe and what it is supposed to look like!
Chicken in a Creamy Parmesan and Tomato Sauce






Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 4 (~6 ounce) skinless and boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
• 3/4 cup chicken broth 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
•  1/4 cup oil packed sundried tomatoes, chopped
•  1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan),
• grated salt and pepper to taste
•  1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until lightly golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, before setting aside.
2. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
4. Add the broth, cream, sundried tomatoes and parmesan, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens a bit, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Mix in the chicken along with any juices, season with salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat and mix in the basil.

 

 

Blueberry Cream Muffins

I decided to put a breakfast recipe in for today. My wife and I really like blueberry muffins as do both boys. I had been purchasing blueberry muffin cups from Schwans, but they stopped selling them. My honey then decided that we should look for our own recipe and this is what she found--Blueberry Cream Muffins at AllRecipes.com Link to Blueberry Cream Muffins

This recipe makes approximately 36 muffins. When we first looked at all of the ingredients, we knew we didn't need to make the whole recipe, so we made 1/4 of it. We were able to make nine medium size muffins. The actual recipe says that the servings is 24, but when we made the entire recipe we got 36. We really liked these muffins, but we didn't always like having to make them, so we made a full batch one Sunday afternoon and FROZE our own muffins. We have three muffin pans so we filled them all up and stuck them in the big freezer outside in the garage. We did use muffin cups. I have to say, they taste just as good after being frozen. We had some this morning. They also cooked in about 20 minutes after being frozen, after sitting out while the oven preheated!  We also tend to add more blueberries than the recipe calls for, because we like blueberries. When we can't find fresh blueberries we use frozen one!! We rate them a 5 out of 5! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 cups blueberries

Prep-10 minutes
Cook--20 minutes
Ready in 30 minutes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners. Remember when we make it we get 36 medium muffins.
2. In a large bowl beat eggs, gradually add sugar while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla, in a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda. (I start with the eggs, sugar and oil and then just mix in the other things. They taste awesome).
3. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Grilled Delmonico Steaks

This is a recipe that we made tonight! We gave it a 4.75! We were going to make it yesterday, but we had not read through the entire recipe and didn't realize the meat needed to marinate for at least 3 hours, so PLEASE make sure you give yourself enough time to marinate the meat! Really, all you have to put together are the ingredients for the marinade and then let it sit. We broiled our steaks in the oven instead of making them on the grill. We also used a top sirloin steak instead of rib eye steaks!

We found the recipe on the All Recipes website. Here is the link--Grilled Delmonico Steaks

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of olive oil (we used corn oil)
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 6 TBS of soy sauce
• 1/4 cup minced garlic (we used garlic salt and not a 1/4 of a cup, we put in what we thought would be a good amount to season the steak, maybe 3 TBS)
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 TBS salt (I used a little less)
• 1 TBS pepper
• 1 TBS crushed dried rosemary
• 3 TBS steak seasoning
• 3 TBS steak sauce
• 4 (10 oz) Delmonico (rib-eye) steaks

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Ready in 3 hours 3 minutes (due to having to marinate the steak)

Directions

1. Combine the olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, rosemary, steak seasoning, and steak sauce in the container of a food processor or blender. Process until well blended.
2. Prick steaks on both sides with a for, and place in a shallow container with a lid. Pour marinade over steaks and cover. Refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
3. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium hear, or light charcoal, and wait until the coals are completely white. Smoked wood chips may be added to the coals when ready for a smoky flavor, if you like. (We broiled ours in the oven.)
4. Remove steaks for marinade, and discard the marinade. Lightly oil the grilling surface, and place steaks on the grill. Cover, and grill steaks for about 10 minutes on each side, or to your desired degree of doneness.

Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken Recipe

This is a recipe that we made recently. In fact, Jacob made this all by himself. I did have to teach him how to broil chicken in an oven, but he seasoned the chicken all by himself. After I showed him how to broil the chicken, he took over and finished it himself. I believe we cooked it a bit longer than the recipe suggested, but we had some large chicken breasts and we wanted to make sure they were DONE!

Here is the link to the recipe. Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken Recipe

You will need:

• 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or 4 large boneless breasts)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon fresh crannied pepper 
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:
 

1. Mix spices together and set aside.
2. Mix honey and cider vinegar and set aside.
3. Un-tuck chicken thighs so they are flat. (We used chicken breast)  Cover both sides in seasoning, set flat onto sheet pan. When all chicken as been seasoned put under broiler.
4. Cook for 5-7 minutes on one side and flip. Cook for a 5-7 minutes on other side. Flip again and then baste the chicken in honey/cider mixture. Be sure to really get the chicken covered. Add to oven again and let it cook under the broiler for a few minutes until the honey starts to thicken up and glaze. Add an extra swipe of honey if you like your chicken nice and sticky.
5. Take chicken out of oven and let rest for a few minutes.