Creamy Chicken and Rosemary Potatoes

For the potatoes:

Peel one russet potato per person, chop into small cubes

In a mixing bowl add 2 T of olive oil to potatoes

Add 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Add "several shakes" of rosemary and a "dash" of tyme

Mix well and spread evenly in a greased baking dish

For the chicken:

Mix one can cream of chicken with 1/2 can of milk. Wisk until blended.

Pour soup mixture over raw chicken pieces in glass baking dish

For both:

Bake at 350 for one hour

Asian Noodle Salad

I'm not a fan of cilantro, so when I make this again I will probably put in less. I added cooked chicken cubes (chilled) which made it a main dish. FYI-- the proportions listed make a VERY large salad!
Other than that, this one is DELISH!!!!!!!!!!!!


■SALAD INGREDIENTS:
■1 package Linguine Noodles, Cooked, Rinsed, And Cooled
■½ heads Sliced Napa Cabbage, Or More To Taste
■½ heads Sliced Purple Cabbage, Or More To Taste
■½ bags Baby Spinach, Or More To Taste
■1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
■1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
■1 whole Orange Bell Pepper, Thinly Sliced
■1 bag Bean Sprouts (also Called Mung Bean Sprouts)
■Chopped Cilantro, Up To 1 Bunch, To Taste
■3 whole Scallions, Sliced
■3 whole Cucumbers Peeled And Sliced
■1 can (about 10 Oz.) Whole Cashews, Lightly Toasted In Skillet
■_____
■FOR THE DRESSING:
■1 whole Lime, Juiced
■8 Tablespoons Olive Oil
■8 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
■2 Tablespoons (up To 3 Tablespoons) Sesame Oil
■⅓ cups Brown Sugar
■3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger Chopped
■2 cloves Garlic Chopped
■2 whole Hot Peppers Or Jalapenos, Chopped
■Chopped Cilantro

Simple, Perfect Enchiladas

This is another favorite recipe from the "Pioneer Woman." I made them last week. They're not so kid-friendly, but great for a small size adult dinner party. The homemade touches on the sauce again make a big difference in the taste.

Ingredients
■FOR THE SAUCE:
■1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
■1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
■1 can (28 Ounce) Enchilada Or Red Sauce
■2 cups Chicken Broth
■½ teaspoons Salt
■½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
■2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro
■_____
■FOR THE MEAT:
■1-½ pound Ground Beef
■1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
■2 cans (4 Ounce) Diced Green Chilies
■½ teaspoons Salt
■_____
■FOR THE TORTILLAS:
■10 whole (to 14) Corn Tortillas
■½ cups Canola Oil
■_____
■TO ASSEMBLE:
■3 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
■½ cups Chopped Black Olives
■1 cup Chopped Green Onions
■½ cups Chopped Cilantro

Preparation Instructions
Step #1 – The Sauce
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.

Step #2 – The Meat
Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

Step #3 – Tortillas
Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Step #4 – Assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe comes from one of my favorites, "The Pioneer Woman," whose recipes, stories, and life advice are well worth the read. I enjoy both her cookbook and her blog. This recipe is one of her staples and it's delicious! I like the PW's recipes because they aren't completely from scratch (too much work) but they have a lot of home-cooked touches that make a difference in the taste. For example, for this recipe you boil the chicken and pull it off the bone. Then use the broth for part of the sauce. It's so much better than canned broth and pre-frozen chicken breasts. Oh yes, and it's cheaper that way too!

Anyway, here's how to make chicken spaghetti:

Ingredients
■2 cups Cooked Chicken
■3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
■2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
■2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
■¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper
■¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
■1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
■2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
■1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
■⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
■Salt And Pepper, to taste
■1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese


Preparation Instructions
Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

Tropical Fruit Pizza

My cousin Teresa has a delicious fruit pizza recipe that I usually make with berries and kiwi. Yesterday I didn't have any luck finding good looking fresh fruit, though, so I changed the recipe a little to use tropical flavors.

Toppings:
1 20 oz can pineapple-drain and reserve juice
1 can mandarin oranges

Crust
Mix:
1 cube butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg

Add:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp soda

Pat into greased pizza pan. (Or I used a cookie sheet since I wanted to try it on stoneware.)
Bake 350 for 12-14 minutes, or until golden.
Let cool.

Filling
Mix and then spread on pastry:
8oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbl pineapple juice

Arrange fruit on top.

Glaze
Combine and boil 1 minute, then drizzle over pizza.
3/4 pineapple juice
1 Tbl Cornstarch

Sprinkle coconut over the top.

Store in the fridge.

Buffalo Rice

This was SO good! The flavors of hot sauce and blue cheese into the creamy rice. Mmmm. We ate it as a side dish, but I could easily eat it as a main dish with some celery and carrot sticks on the side to put out the fire between bites.

6 cups water
kosher salt
1 cup long grain white rice
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" cubes
4 Tbl butter
3 TBL hot sauce - we used Marie Sharps Habenero
5 oz blue cheese crumbles

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add a big pinch of salt. Add rice. Turn heat down, cover, and cook 15-17 minutes, or until rice is tender. Reserve 1 cup of cooking water, and then drain the rice.

While the rice is cooking, melt the butter in a skillet. Cook the chicken 3-5 minutes, until just cooked through. Add the hot sauce and stir to coat evenly.

Stir together rice, reserved cooking water, blue cheese and chicken. Mix enough to melt the cheese.

Cheesy chicken and noodles

Jill gave me a fun cookbook full of things to make with top ramen for my birthday, and this recipe is based on something out of there. The ramen noodles were tasty, but I think angel hair or macaroni or any noodle would work just as well.

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (good place for leftovers)
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 Tbl butter
2 cans cream of whatever (I used celery)
1 cup milk
2 packages chicken ramen noodles
2 cups cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan melt the butter and saute the onions. Add soup, milk and 1 of the ramen seasoning packets. Stir until smooth.

Meanwhile, boil ramen noodles and drain.

In a big bowl, stir together noodles, cheese and sauce until cheese is melted. Pour into a casserole and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Banana Bundt Bread

I was looking for something fun to do with ripe bananas, and this recipe was a winner. Nathanael isn't a big banana fan, but he found this recipe "a very acceptable use of bananas."

1 cube butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 T sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Grease a bundt pan, and coat sides (like you would flour a pan) with sugar.
2. Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in banana and sour cream.
3. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to banana mixture.
4. Spoon half of batter into the bundt pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and remaining 2T sugar. Add other half of batter.
5. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness, keeping in mind the gooey chocolate layer.
6. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate.