Spicy Chicken Bundles

Ingredients:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. milk
1 T. pickled jalapeno slices, chopped
1/4 t. pepper
2 c. cooked chicken, cubed
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
1 T. butter, melted
4 t. seasoned bread crumbs
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. milk

Directions:
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, milk, jalapenos and pepper until blended. Stir in chicken and chopped onions.
Separate crescent dough into eight rectangles; seal perforations. Spoon 1/4 c. chicken mixture onto the center of each rectangle; bring corners up to the center and pinch edges to seal.
Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with butter; sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Combine soup and milk in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Serve with bundles.

Makes 8 servings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
I liked that these were a fast meal. They tasted pretty good, except that next time I would add more jalapenos just to give it more flavor.

Shells and Cheese

Ingredients:
1 package (16 oz) medium pasta shells
1 package (8 oz) Velveeta, cubed
1/3 c. milk
2 c. cottage cheese
1 can condensed cream of onion soup, undiluted
3 c. Mexican cheese blend, shredded
2/3 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. butter, melted

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile in a large saucepan, combine Velveeta and milk; cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in cottage cheese and soup.
Drain pasta and add to cheese sauce; stir until coated. Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the Mexican cheese. Toss bread crumbs with butter; sprinkle over the top.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.

Makes 6 servings. Total time 50 minutes.

Verdict:
When you put some fake cheese in macaroni you would figure it would be tasty. I wasn't all that impressed with this. I thought it was kinda blah.

A Little Link Love

Since I have been prepping to go on our little trip I haven't had time to type out the new recipes. I figured I couldn't leave you empty handed so here are a couple that I have tried and I think are delicious.

Pioneer Women's Favorite Sandwich (love this!)

Brie Stuffed Mushrooms (I make these any opportunity I get. No lie.)

Restaurant Style Salsa (I add 2 jalapenos, more onions and garlic and I increase the spices to 1/2 t. each. I like it better that way.)

Honey Lime Enchiladas (My cousin made these for us for dinner. While I would say that I normally am a fan of corn tortillas, I liked these quite a bit. They remind me of a smothered burrito. Kinda.)

Enjoy!

Bold and Spicy Chicken With Cranberry Glaze

Ingredients:
1/3 c. frozen cranberry juice cocktail concentrate, thawed
3 T. prepared yellow mustard
2 T. brown sugar
2-3 t. Tabasco
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
6 whole chicken wings or 4 chicken breast halves

Directions For Wings:
Preheat broiler with oven rack 5-6 inches from the heating element. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with nonstick spray.
Whisk together concentrate, mustard, brown sugar, Tabasco, and Worcestershire in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until mixture becomes syrupy, 5-8 minutes.
Cut tips from chicken wings and discard. Cut each wing in half at the joint to make 2 pieces.
Season chicken with salt and pepper, place on prepared baking sheet, and broil 10 minutes on one side. Flip chicken and baste with cranberry glaze. Broil an additional 6 minutes, flip again, and baste the uncoated side. Broil until chicken begins to brown and caramelize, about 3 minutes. Chicken is done when an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the wing meat registers 160.

Directions For Chicken Breast:
Season chicken with salt and pepper, place on prepared baking sheet and broil 6 minutes.
Flip chicken and baste with glaze. Broil 4 minutes, flip again and baste. Broil until chicken begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Chicken is done when cooked through and the temperature is 160.

Makes 4 chicken breast or 4 servings of wings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
I used the boneless skinless chicken breasts when I made this. Both Blake and I really liked it. It was spicy so the kids were a little less inclined to eat it. Laney did eat a couple of bites though.

Turkey Sausage Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 T. plus 1 t. vegetable oil
2 medium onions, halved, sliced 1/4 inch thick lengthwise
3 red or orange bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 spicy or sweet Italian turkey sausages
4 hoagie rolls or 1 loaf french bread (cut into 4 pieces), split and toasted
grainy mustard (optional)

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat 1 T. oil over medium high. Add onions and peppers; cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add 3/4 c. water; cover and simmer 3 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and liquid has evaporated, 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1 t. oil in a small skillet over medium. Add sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Place sausages and vegetables on bread and top with mustard if desired.

Makes 4. Total time 20 minutes.

Verdict:
I couldn't find turkey sausages in the store so I bought bratwurst. I like bratwurst, Blake does not. The topping on this was good though. Not anything out of this universe but not nasty either.

Chicken Cutlets With White Wine and Garlic

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half thickness wise
3 T. butter, melted
1/2 c. dry white wine
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 t. fresh thyme leaves
1 T. olive oil
parsley, chopped (optional) for serving

Directions:
Combine 2 T. butter, wine garlic, and thyme and whisk to combine in a large bowl. Place chicken in bowl and coat. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
Remove chicken from bowl and discard marinade. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 1/2 t. butter and 1 1/2 t. oil in a large skillet; add chicken to pan and cook until browned and cooked through, 4 minutes total, flipping halfway through and adjusting heat as necessary to prevent pan from over browning.
Serve chicken sprinkled with parsley is desired.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 50 minutes.

Verdict:
I thought this was so good. I ate my whole piece of chicken which I normally don't do. Then after I ate mine...I had some of Blake's.

Pasta and Cheese Frittata

Ingredients:
1/3 c. ricotta
1/4 c. parmesan, grated
3 large eggs
kosher salt and pepper
3 c. reserved Orecchiette with Bacon and Tomato sauce, or leftover spaghetti (with or without meatballs)
1 t. olive oil

Directions:
In a medium size bowl, stir together ricotta, parmesan, and eggs; season with salt and pepper. Fold in reserved pasta until well combined.
Heat broiler.
Heat oil in a nonstick oven proof skillet. Add pasta mixture, pressing down with the back of a rubber spatula to spread it evenly in skillet.
Cook, without stirring, until golden brown and set on the bottom, about 6 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and broil until frittata is golden brown, about 4 minutes.
Using a thin spatula, loosen frittata from skillet; invert onto a large plate.
Cut into wedges; serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes 4 to 6 servings. Total time 20 minutes.

Verdict:
Not bad. It is a nice change on how to use leftovers. We are always looking for ways to use up our leftover food.

Orecchiette With Bacon and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes
kosher salt and pepper
1 lb. orecchiette or other short pasta
parmesan, grated

Directions:
Heat oil, in a medium saucepan. Add bacon and cook until browned and almost crisp, about 4 minutes. Add onion and cook until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Add tomatoes, breaking them up as you go, and season with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted water, cook pasta 1 minute less than package instructions.
Reserve 1/4 c. pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.
Add sauce and pasta water to pasta and toss to combine; cook over med-high heat until sauce thickens and coats pasta, about 2 minutes.
Serve remaining pasta topped with parmesan.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 20 minutes.

Verdict:
This is a glorified spaghetti. I liked it. More than normal spaghetti. (On a side note: If you have left overs there is a recipe that uses the left overs in a different way. I will post that later too.)

Pork Satays With Cucumber Salad

For the satays:
1 jar hoisin sauce (8oz)
1/2 c. chili garlic sauce
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. rice vinegar
2 T. Asian sesame oil
1 pork tenderloin, trimmed

For the cucumber salad:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
2 c. cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
1/2 c. red onion, thinly sliced

For the satays:
Preheat grill to med-high.
Combine hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, honey, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a large bowl.
Prepare pork, trimming it of fat and silverskin. Then cutting it into thirds lengthwise to make 12 strips, each 4-6" long. Toss the strips in the marinade. Let sit for a 10-15 minutes, then thread on skewers.
Arrange satays on the grill. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes. Flip satays, baste with marinade, then grill until cooked through, 3-4 more minutes.

For the cucumber salad:
Combine sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper flakes in a bowl. Add cucumber and onion; toss to combine. Chill until ready to serve. (Can be made up to 1 hour ahead.)

Makes 12 satays. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
These are a favorite at our house. I think they are so yummy. They do have a little kick to them but nothing that should scare you. When you BBQ them make sure that the edges are blackened slightly, it makes them.

I Promise I Had Good Intentions.

Well I thought I was back.

That was until I got shingles.

I am 5 months pregnant with shingles.

Not awesome.

But I am on the mend and now I am really back. Really.