Italian Chicken Stroganoff

The Recipe: From yummly.com, a recipe called "Simply Divine Crock Pot Chicken"

How it Went: Yummly was right. It was pretty divine. I changed the name because I served it with egg noodles, which seems stroganoff-ish to me. You could also serve it with rice. It was quite tasty.

What You Need:
1 package chicken breasts (3 breasts)
1 C Italian salad dressing
1 can cream of chicken soup
*OR homemade version: 2 T butter melted on the stove, whisked with 2 T flour, blended with 1/2 C broth and 1/2 C milk until smooth and thick*
1 C chicken broth
about 4 oz soft cream cheese
about 4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
egg noodles

Your Turn:
Place 3 chicken breasts in crock pot.

Drench with 1 C Italian dressing.

Cook on low for 8 or 10 hours.

When you return to it, tear it all up with a pair of forks.

Drain the juice / dressing out. You can save it as a sort of stock, or just toss it.

In a medium bowl, mix:
1 can cream of chicken soup (or homemade substitute)
1 C chicken broth
about 4 oz soft cream cheese
4-5 fresh basil leaves, chopped small
1/2 tsp dried thyme
pinch each of salt and pepper

Pour over chicken in crock pot, and continue to cook on low about 1 hour.

It will become a divine thing.

Serve over egg noodles with a fresh steamed vegetable.

Meatball and Pasta Casserole

The Recipe: A variation of Baked Ziti... which I've never actually made.

How it Went: This was tasty. Husband thought it was a bit strange to have the onions and peppers in there. Kind of like a cheesesteak, he said. But I thought it was quite a tasty meal. Also, it made a lot of food!

What You Need:
one box pasta (any shape you like, but I used medium shells)
one jar pasta sauce (Francesco Rinaldi, Tomato & Basil is good)
one half bag of frozen meatballs
one yellow onion
one half green pepper
one half package shredded mozzerella
one half package shredded Parmesan 

Your Turn:
Boil water and cook the box of pasta to al dente.

Chop one yellow onion and half of a green bell pepper into small pieces. Heat a bit of butter in a small skillet and saute the onion and pepper until tender.

In a large saucepan, heat the jar of sauce and about 30-35 small meatballs. (It's not as many as you think. I promise.)

In a large casserole dish, greased with butter (I actually ended up using two medium dishes), layer cooked pasta, peppers and onions, sauce and meatballs, and cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Pasta with Meat Sauce

The Occasion: Any quick dinner night

The Recipe: Improvised from my mom

How it Went: Love this super-easy dinner. Absolutely nothing fancy; just a cozy comfort-food dinner. Yum!

What You Need:
1 box pasta, any type
1 jar pasta sauce (Francesco Rinaldi Four Cheese is good)
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
1 lb ground turkey

Your Turn:
Boil 1 box pasta as directed to al dente.

Chop 1/2 green bell pepper and 1/2 yellow onion. 

In a large skillet, cook 1 lb ground turkey with a little salt and pepper. Add pepper and onion. Drain grease from skillet when turkey is cooked through.

Stir in 1 jar pasta sauce. Bring to a low simmer and let cook several minutes, until heated through.

Serve sauce over pasta with grated cheese on top.

For a complete meal, add fresh cooked green beans or broccoli.

Garlic Chicken Pizza

The Occasion: Nothing special.

The Recipe: From CookingLight's Weeknight cookbook, which I borrowed from the library. (Why did I never think to borrow cookbooks from the library before?)

How It Went: This was yummy. Making pizza at home is pretty easy. I'd do this again with lots of variations!

What You Need:
1 prepared pizza crust (store bought)
2 T red wine vinegar
1 and 1/2 T dijon mustard
1 minced garlic clove
1 and 1/2 C shredded cooked chicken breast
1 or 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
3/4 C shredded mozzerella cheese
1/4 C crumbled feta cheese
1/4 C shredded Parmasen cheese
1/4 C chopped scallions

Your Turn:
Whisk together

• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1 and 1/2 T dijon mustard
• 1 minced garlic clove

Brush this mixture over pizza crust.

Top with 1 and 1/2 C shredded cooked chicken breast. Then add diced tomatoes (1-2 Roma tomatoes). Sprinkle top with cheeses (3/4 C shredded mozzerella cheese, 1/4 C crumbled feta cheese, 1/4 C shredded Parmasen cheese). Scatter 1/4 C chopped scallions over the top.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, or until cheeses are melted.

Taco Casserole

The Occasion: Satisfying that taco craving, but with a new twist.

The Recipe: From Pillsbury's Annual Recipes 2009 cookbook.

How it Went: This seemed like an easy thing to make, but you can never be sure with something this straightforward. Sometimes the easy things are actually too easy for their own good and end up tasting totally blah. Also, Husband is never too thrilled when I set out to try something new, and I know he was nervous about this one. However, when I brought it piping hot to the table, and the taco-y aroma wafted through the room, I had a feeling it was all going to be OK. We both loved it.

What You Need:
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 can refried beans
1 jar medium salsa
1 package taco seasoning mix
tortilla chips
1/2 green bell pepper
4 scallions
1-2 tomatoes, depending on your tomato preference
1 C shredded cheese (cheddar or colby jack or something similar)
1/4 C sliced black olives
shredded lettuce
sour cream

Your Turn:
Chop 1/2 green bell pepper. Slice 4 scallions from the white end about halfway up the green part. Dice up 1 or 2 tomatoes. I used just one, but if you like tomatoes more than me, use two. Set this mixture aside.

Cook 1 lb ground beef or turkey in a large skillet until brown. Drain fat.

Reduce heat to medium, then stir in 1 can refried beans, 1 jar medium salsa, and 1 package taco seasoning mix.

Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.

In the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish, crumble about 2 C tortilla chips. You basically want to cover the bottom of the dish completely. Top this with the meat and bean mixture from the skillet.

Over this, scatter your vegetable mixture.

Sprinkle 1 C shredded cheese, and 1/4 C chopped black olives on top of this.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream, and additional tortilla chips.

Grilled Teriyaki Sesame Chicken

The Occasion: Husband does the grilling around here, although he prefers to grill burgers rather than chicken. But I thought having him make this would be an easy way to get out of making a dinner this week. Ha.

The Recipe: From Betty Crocker's 2009 Annual Recipes cookbook.

How it Went: I was quite pleasantly surprised with how this turned out. I really wasn't sure how it would work, but it was very flavorful! I will make this again for sure. I guess it mostly had to do with how Husby grilled the chicken, but I like to think I contributed.

What You Need:
1 T sesame seeds
2 T teriyaki sauce or marinade
1 tsp ground ginger
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 lb angel hair pasta

Your Turn:
I was lucky for this meal because I had leftover angel hair, already cooked, from a meal earlier in the week. If you're not so lucky, boil about 1/2 a lb of angel hair pasta. Toss it with a bit of soft butter when it's cooked, to keep it from sticking.

For grilling chicken, I find it easiest to slice the breasts lengthwise, like a hamburger bun, to make them thinner. This allows them to cook more quickly and with greater chance of being done all the way through. It's actually very easy to cut chicken breasts in this way if they are partially frozen. I took my package of chicken out of the freezer in the morning, stuck it in the fridge, and then did a quick defrost in the microwave when I got home from work. This softened it enough that it was no longer frozen solid, but it was still firm enough to cut easily.

In a small bowl, pour 2 T teriyaki sauce (I used a 30-minute marinade) and add 1 tsp ground ginger.

Toast 1 T of sesame seeds in small skillet over medium heat. It won't take long at all, and they burn much sooner than you'd expect so don't walk away and leave them unattended. When they just barely start to brown, they're ready. Toss them in with the teriyaki sauce and ginger and mix well.

Put vegetable oil on a paper towel and wipe over grill rack. Then place the chicken breasts (or halves of breasts, really) on the rack. I slathered them with some additional teriyaki sauce first, smeared it around on them in a large ziploc bag. You can do that, or not. Once they're on the grill, brush them with the teriyaki sauce mixture you made.

Grill about 5 minutes, then rotate 45 degrees to create some pretty grill lines. Grill 5 more minutes in this position, then flip. Brush the second side with the sauce. Grill 5 minutes in this position, then rotate 45 degrees and grill another 5 minutes. Check periodically for burning. About 20 minutes total should do the trick, but slice through the thickest piece and make sure it's no longer pink inside if you want to be sure they're done.

Discard remaining sauce mixture.

Serve with hot angel hair pasta and a veggie. Fresh green beans from a friend's garden were perfect with this summery dinner! Husby liked soy sauce on his pasta.

Penne with Basil Rosa Sauce and Bacon

The Occasion: It was Saturday night, a night I don't normally cook an organized meal. I had no plan and we were both hungry; I needed an easy meal with ingredients I already had. 

The Recipe: Pasta is a no-brainer for a night like this. I had some penne and some twirly egg noodles. It's probably frowned upon by real pasta eaters, but I blended the two. (Don't tell.) I didn't have a jar of tomato or alfredo sauce, so homemade sauce was a necessity. I wanted to make rosa sauce, something I'd first tried and loved at our favorite Italian restaurant (Giovanni's in Spring City). I found this recipe for penne with rosa sauce and used it as a springboard to create my own sauce. When I served it at the kitchen table, Husband remembered we had some cooked bacon in the fridge. He got it out and we added it to the pasta. It was this spontaneous ingredient, this last-minute addition that made the most significant difference in this meal.

How it Went: I didn't have extremely high hopes for this. It was pretty much made up and although I knew it would be edible, I doubted that it would be exceptionally tasty. To my surprise, Husby and I both loved this! The bacon, as I've said, was the key ingredient. So Husband gets 100% credit on this one. It was fabulous: a perfect blend of flavors. This might even be the central character on the table at our dinner party next weekend.

What You Need:
3 T butter
3 T flour
1 and 1/2 C milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
1 slice provolone cheese
grated Parmesan cheese (the kind in the shaky bottle)
6-8 leaves fresh basil
1 box (1 lb) penne pasta
6 (or more) slices cooked bacon

Your Turn:
Cook 1 lb of penne. When it's done, toss in some olive oil or butter to keep it from sticking.

Using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut 6-8 fresh basil leaves into small pieces. You'll need these later, so set them aside.

Melt 3 T butter in a large saucepan.

Whisk in 3 T flour when the butter is melted.

When smooth, add 1 and 1/2 C milk, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Simmer over low heat, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens.

Now, tear up your slice of provolone cheese and add the pieces, while whisking to allow them to melt in. Shake a few shakes of Parmesan cheese in.

Dump 1 can of Italian diced tomatoes into your blender and give it a few whizzes. Add the processed tomatoes to the sauce.

Now, carefully stir in your basil leaves.

Serve sauce over penne with crumbled bacon on top. Add additional Parmesan cheese on top.