Kitchen Adventures

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

2014-03-04T09:40:00.001-08:00

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

8 oz French bread, cut into small pieces, about 5-6 cups
2 cups half and half cream
3 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
3 tbs melted butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Butter a bundt pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl toss the bread with half and half; set aside.
In another bowl, combine eggs, sugars, pumpkin, melted butter, spices and vanilla, blend well.
Pour pumpkin mixture over soaked bread and stir to blend.
Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.
Bake 45-60 minutes.
Serve with brown sugar sauce, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.

Sorry I don't have a better picture of the bundt version. I made this for Kyle's work party and never got to see the bundt, but I doubled the recipe so I could have some too! This is the piece out of the little pan I made for myself :) This is truly a delicious and easy dish!

Banana-Oat Muffins

2014-03-04T09:27:00.001-08:00

Banana-Oat Muffins

Adapted from Health.com

Yield: Makes about 9-10 muffins

(Depending on tin size. I doubled this recipe and got 23 muffins total)

Ingredients

2 mashed ripe bananas
1 tbs coconut oil (melted)
3 tbs milled flax seed
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine bananas, oil, flax, egg, milk, and vanilla in a medium bowl; mix well, and set aside.
Whisk the remaining dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until they are just combined.
Spray muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners, and spoon 1/4-1/3 cup batter into each cup (cups will be full).
Bake 16 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Found this recipe when my poor bananas were on the verge of being tossed! These turned out very moist and yummy! I modified it a bit to add some extra nutrition and they were great! I put half the batch in the freezer so we'll see later how they freeze and then hold up when reheated.

Slow-Cooker Chili

2014-02-28T11:21:00.001-08:00

Slow-Cooker Chili

Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground beef (you can sub 1 lbs for pork sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes, un-drained
3 cans beans (kidney, pinto, black are the ones I used)
1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder (more or less depend on your spice level)
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Sautee onion and garlic and cook beef/sausage (drain off fat)
Combine all ingredients into a slow cooker. When adding the beans I reserve the liquid and add it at the end. how much you put in is up to you and how thick you like your chili.
*you can also add bell peppers and carrots in if you wish for more nutrition. Just make sure you sauté until tender.
Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or 4 hours on high.

**Just make sure to taste your chili as you season it so you can adjust the spice level to where you like it!

Avocado Stuffed Pork Chops

2013-03-19T15:31:00.003-07:00

Ingredients

2-3* (1-inch thick) boneless pork loin chops
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 avocado mashed
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil or butter
2 cloves galic (minced)
1/2 avocado diced
1/4 cup flour
2 tbs olive or canola oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a deep pocket into the side of the pork chops, be careful not to poke through the other side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, combine mashed avocado, lemon juice, oil/butter, garlic and s&p to taste and mix well. Stir in diced avocado.
Using a small spoon, fill the pockets in the pork chops with the avocado mixture. Secure with toothpick if needed. Dip both sides of the pork chops in the flour.
Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet and add the chops. Brown on both sides and transfer to the oven.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until done (meat thermometer reads 155 degrees). Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve.

I loved this dish, it was easy to make and was a great way to have pork chops! Even my husband who is not a huge avocado fan loved them!

*I used 2 pork chops but had plenty of the filling to do a 3rd.

Chicken and Potato Soup

2013-03-05T13:26:00.002-08:00

Chicken and Potato Soup

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 Tbl Butter
2-3 cups diced chicken breast
2 Leeks cut in half and sliced
2-3 medium potatoes, diced
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 (11 oz) can corn, drained
1 1/2 milk
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
water (add extra as needed to cover veggies, I ended up using about 1-2 cups)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (you can also use fresh garlic)
Hot pepper sauce to taste (make sure you do taste it because it can get spicy!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, add the chicken and cook 10 minutes, or until evenly browned and juices run clear.
Mix in leeks, potatoes, carrots, and corn. Pour in milk, broth and water enough to cover all ingredients. Season with hot sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, and continue cooking 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and carrots are tender.

This was a great tasty healthy soup. I used veggies from my Bountiful Basket I got and boy was it good! I got to use 4 different color of carrots and that really made for a pretty soup. Fell free to experiment with the veggies you throw in whatever you have on hand really. You could even use a frozen mixed veggie bag.

Parmesan Chicken Bake

2013-02-26T11:28:00.001-08:00

Parmesan Chicken Bake
(modified from this blog)

Ingredients

6 chicken breasts
1 cup mayo (I use olive oil mayo you can also sub with Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, plus a little more for the top (don't sub for the canned powdered stuff)
1 tsp seasoning salt (I used 1 1/2 tsp the first time and found it to salty for my liking so i reduced it a bit. You can add more or less depending on taste.)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease the inside of a 9x13 pan. Lay the chicken in the pan.
Mix together remaining ingredients and spread the mixture evenly over each piece of chicken. Make sure to cover all exposed meat, this will keep it moist. Sprinkle a little more Parmesan over all the chicken.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

This is a definitely a winner for me!! The first go around was to salty for my taste, but with a small modification it is now a family favorite! Kyle gave this one 2 thumbs up! Found out today at lunch that this makes awesome leftovers so go ahead make some extra!!!

Sorry I've neglected this blog so much! I'll try and do better! I wish I had a picture of this dish, but we were in a hurry to eat and I forgot to snap a picture. Check out the link at the top and see how her dish turned out. It is a very pretty dish!

Bavarian Pretzels

2012-09-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
2 Tbs butter, softened
1 1/3 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbs baking soda
3 cups water
2 Tbs butter melted
Coarse sea salt to taste

Directions (READ INSTRUCTIONS all the way through first!)

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup of flour, yeast, sugar, 2 Tbs of butter, and 1 1/3 cup water. Let this mixture stand until bubbles begin to form, about 15 minutes. Stir in the salt and gradually stir in the remaining flour until dough can be picked up and kneaded on the counter. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, adding more flour if needed.
Divide the dough into 6 pieces (more if you like smaller pretzels) and let them rest for a few minutes. Roll out one piece at a time into a rope about 15 inches long. Loop and twist into that cool pretzel shape, or any shape you like! Set on a baking sheet while you roll out the remaining portions.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bring the remaining 3 cups of water to a boil and add the baking soda. Remove from heat. Dip pretzels into the water bath for about 45 seconds, flipping over about halfway through. Place the soaked pretzels on a greased baking sheet. Brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.

When I first tried this recipe I got a head of myself and botched step 3 of the directions! So please remember to read all the way through! If done right these taste so awesome! The water bath really gives them that unique pretzel taste!

If you don't like salt on your pretzels feel free to get creative with toppings! I've also used a cinnamon sugar topping that turns out really yummy!

I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post! I feel like I've disappointed you 3 faithful readers of mine! All this pregnancy and baby stuff has kind of consumed my life these past months. I've got a few yummy dishes I need to share with you all! I'll try and get them updated before baby girl comes!

Stuffed Jalapenos

2012-02-16T10:46:00.001-08:00

Ingredients

12 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
12 slices bacon, cut in half
Franks RedHot Original sauce to taste (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Whip together cream cheese and Franks hot sauce. You may leave out the hot sauce if you want, but it give it such a yummy flavor :)
Stuff each jalapeno half with whipped cream cheese mixture.
Wrap a half slice of bacon around each stuffed jalapeno half and secure with a tooth pick. Arrange wrapped jalapeno halves in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven 45 minutes, or until bacon is evenly browned and crisp.

These little babies turned out so good for our Super Bowl party!! I made some with the hot sauce and some with plain cream cheese. Both turned out good, but I personally liked the ones with a bit of Franks in them the most. I wish I had a picture of them, but I forgot to bring my camera.

I ended up using more cream cheese then expected because the jalapenos I bought were huge!!! So if you have large peppers make sure to have extra cream cheese on hand.

Shrimp Scampi

2012-01-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

1 pound large shrimp, shelled and de-veined (you can use any size shrimp, I used medium this time, adjust for size)
2-4 garlic cloves, slivered, or 1 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs olive oil
2-3 Tbs real butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped parley (use less if using dried)
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use less for less of a kick)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 Tbs lemon juice

Directions

Heat a saute pan on high heat. reduce the heat to medium-high and add the olive oil and butter. Once the butter melts, foams up and subsides, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for a minute, or until you see the edges of some of the garlic just beginning to brown.
As soon as the garlic begins to brown, add the shrimp to the pan. Then add the white wine and stir to combine and coat the shrimp with the butter, oil, and wine. Spread the shrimp out in an even layer in the pan. Increase the heat to the highest setting and let the wine boil vigorously for 2-3 minutes.
Turn the shrimp over, or toss them so the cooked sides are mostly facing up, and boil the wine for another minute. Remove from the heat, add the parsley and toss to combine. Add the lemon juice and black pepper.

You can serve this over pasta, bread, rice, or just eat plain :) We had this with a whole wheat thin spaghetti.

I found this recipe here (http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/shrimp_scampi/) on a lovely site called Simply Recipes :) It turned out fantastic and so simple to make! I'll definatly be making this again.

1 year blog :)

2012-01-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

So I guess I've had this blog for a whole year now! 19 posts, not to bad for me since i'm a terrible blogger! I'll try and do better this year! I've tried some really good recipes lately!
My most recent I need to blog about is the delectible Baked Avocado Fries!! So so good!

So here is to a better food and blogging year! :) It has been fun to share some of my passions with other people through this blog, even though only like 5 people actually read it. haha :) My hubby sure likes it.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

2011-12-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe on Pinterest it comes from a blog called http://www.lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com/

Ingredients

3/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 Tbs Italian seasoning

pinch of salt (optional)

pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

3/4 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup cubed pepperoni

1/2 cup prepared pizza sauce for dipping

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes. Whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni. Let stand for 10 min.

Stir the batter and divide among the muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden. 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Note: I didn't use all 24 cups. It all depends on the size of the muffin tins you have.

These turned out fantastic! Kyle was surprised at how much he enjoyed them. These would be great for kids or for party finger food. These were also very quick and easy to make. You can alter the fillings and add olives or mushrooms, whatever you like on regular pizza :) The pepperoni ones were wonderful just by themselves.

Papa La Huancaina

2011-12-01T09:37:00.000-08:00

This food is as fun to say as it is to eat! It is a traditional Peruvian food. It can be served as an appitizer to share or as the main dish. Word to the wise, this is spicy! If you like it a little more mild go easy on the pepper sauce. Do it to taste.

Ingredients

6 potatoes

1 bar Cream Cheese (traditionally you use a 1/2 round of queso fresco sold in any Latino store instead of cream cheese)

20 Saltine crackers

2 tbs Peruvian Yellow hot pepper sauce (Aji amarillo molido)

2 cups evaporated milk

1/8 cup oil

salt to taste

Hard boiled eggs

Large leaf lettuce

Directions

Blend together milk, yellow hot pepper, crackers and cream cheese until well blended

Next while blender is running add oil.

Separately boil potatoes then peel and slice into rounds.

Boil eggs

To serve lay the boiled potatoes on a bed of lettuce leaves. Then pout creamy sauce over potatoes. Add sliced eggs on top and serve.

Zucchini Bread

2011-09-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3 tsp ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup applesauce

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch bread pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Beat eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and sugars together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

My first attempt at this i didn't have any nuts so I put in chocolate chips. It didn't work out the best :( they made my bread stick to the bottom of the pan and so it didn't come out very clean. next time I will use the walnuts.

This bread came out moist and so yummy :) This is a great way to use up some of that huge supply of zucchini everyone has sitting around their house!

I will post pics of it later :)

Sushi!!

2011-08-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

Look at what I made :)

This doesn't have a recipe, its kind of a California roll. It has cucumber, imitaion crab, avacado, and cream cheese. It is rolled in sushi rice and a nori sheet.

This was like the third or fourth roll I did. It was fun learning to make sushi with Kyle :) It turned out pretty good. I'm going to try different and more fun rolls next :)

Quick Pizza Dough

2011-07-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (optional)

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (to taste/optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (if using a pizza stone, preheat stone as well)

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 min.

Stir in flour, salt oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll unto a round. Transfer crust to a lightly grease4d pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 min. before serving.

I love this crust recipe! It is so quick and easy, and it always turns out so good! It comes out fluffy and soft, yet when done on the pizza stone, it gives it a nice crisp bottom. Oh can I just say I love love love my pizza stone!? I got it for my birthday and I don't think I can do regular pizza in a pan again!

My friend Taylor and I made these 2 specific pizzas. Give us a break on the shape. I'm terrible at doing a round pizza, plus they were both baked on my new pizza stone, so we had a little trouble with getting it on the stone... ha ha :) but they both tuned out wonderful. The first one is a chicken artichoke pizza with a garlic butter sauce. The second is your basic Hawaiian pizza.

Sorry my pictures have been lame lately. They have just been taken with my camera phone with out any editing. I'll try to do better.

Baked Chicken Nuggets

2011-07-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons dried basil

garlic and onion powder to taste

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces.

In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, Italian seasoning, basil and onion and garlic powders. Put melted butter in a bowl or dish for dipping.

Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer. Drizzle small amount of melted butter on the chicken.

Bake for 20 min, or until no longer pink in the middle. I didn't flip them half way through this time, but I think they would turn out crispier if you did. :)

This was my first time trying this recipe. I modified it to my liking and this is my version of the recipe. Go here for the original recipe. Kyle loved them! He was a little unsure when i told him I was making chicken nuggets for dinner, but in the end it was a hit :) They were good dipped in BBQ sauce or marinara sauce, but you could use any favorite dipping sauce.

This was also really quick and easy to prepare. I got home at 5:30 and started cooking and we were almost done eating by 6:30. We ate this with some leftover rice and veggies we had in the fridge.

Kyle's food quote for the night: "You should go teach McDonalds how to do nuggets!"

Food Quotes

2011-07-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

I found this site with tons of food quotes! Here are some of my favorites :)

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.

~Jim Davis

We think fast food is equivalent to pornography, nutritionally speaking.

~Steve Elbert

Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?

~Author Unknown

As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.

~Buddy Hackett

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.

~Luciano Pavarotti

My favorite animal is steak.

~Fran Lebowitz

It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.

~Lewis Gizzard

We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.

~Alfred E. Newman

If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn't have given us grandmothers.

~Linda Henley

There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won't, and that's a wife who can't cook and will.

~Robert Frost

Avoid fruit and nuts. You are what you eat.

~Jim Davis

It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it.

~Julia Child

Live expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.

~Doug Larson

For more food quotes go here :)

Cheese Cake

2011-04-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Cheese Cake

Ingredients

1 8 0z. cream cheese bar

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

10" graham cracker crust*

Cherry pie filling or topping of choice

Directions

Soften cream cheese.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy.

Gradually add lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Mix well.

Pour into backed crust and chill.

Top with pie filling of choice, and enjoy!!

* You can buy pie crust or make your own. For this one, I chose to use a store bought one, but homemade can defiantly be more yummy :)

I got this recipe from my aunt Laraine. It is a very quick and easy no bake cheese cake! It turned out really yummy.

Flash Roasted Crispy Ranch Chicken

2011-04-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

Flash Roasted Crispy Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:

1 can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup milk

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves*

1 1/2 cups finely crushed tortilla chips

2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted

Directions

In a shallow dish mix soup, milk, and dressing mix. Reserve 1 cup for sauce.

Dip chicken into soup mixture. Coat with tortilla chips.

Place chicken on greased baking sheet. Drizzle with margarine. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat reserved soup mixture to a boil. Serve with chicken.

*You can make this with chicken tenders or even cut the breasts into strips.

This is a great way to use those left over crumbs in your chip bag! This is great for a quick and delicious meal, so easy to put together and it comes out so flavorful and juicy!

New background?!?

2011-03-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for a new background which do you guys like the best? Should I use one of these or keep it the same?! I need input! I'm terrible at decision making!! Please comment with your opinion.

French Bread

2011-03-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

French Bread

Ingredients

2 pkg. or 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1/2 Cup warm water

3 Tbs sugar (divided)

2 Cups hot water

1/2 Cup oil

1 Tbs salt

6 Cups flour

Directions

Combine yeast , 1 Tbs sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water and let sit for 5-10 minutes until it gets frothy

Add 2 cups hot water, oil, 2 Tbs sugar, and salt.

Slowly start to add flour 1 cup at a time. Mix well.

Cover bowl with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 10 minutes. Stir down and re-cover. you will repeat this step 5 times.

Knead dough 10 times.

Separate dough into 2 balls and form into 2 loaves

Place on a cornmeal lined cookie sheet and with a sharp knife cut 3 diagonal lines in each loaf.

Let rise for 10 minutes and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I've made this several time and it always comes out so yummy! Depending on the meal we are eating with it I will add different seasonings to alter the flavor a little. This time I added Italian seasoning and garlic powder. I also like the top brushed with butter and sprinkled with ta little cheese before its baked!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

2011-02-16T21:28:00.001-08:00

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts
4 slices of ham
4 slices Swiss cheese
Garlic Salt
Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tbs butter

Directions

Place chicken breast in Ziploc bag and pound about 1/4-1/2 inch thick with a meat hammer, or you can even use a can of soup. (I use the soup and then make a sauce with it)
Once you have all the breasts done place a slice of ham and cheese on the chicken smooth side down.
Sprinkle garlic salt on cheese and roll up chicken starting at the wide end. Secure with a toothpick.
Melt butter and roll the chicken breasts in butter.
Take bread crumbs and place on a plate then roll buttered breasts in the crumbs. Place in a greased glass baking dish
Pour remaining butter over chicken.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 min or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Sauce

Ingredients

Cream of Chicken soup (I use mine to pound the chicken)
Milk
1/4 cup Sour cream
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder

Directions

Mix together soup, milk and 1/4 cup sour cream in a sauce pan over medium heat. I just add enough milk to get the consistency that I like.
Add Italian seasoning and Garlic powder to taste. (I do 2 shakes of Italian and a sprinkle of Garlic powder)
Heat till bubbly and heated through. Pour over chicken when serving. I also like to put the sauce on a rice pilaf or mashed potatoes that i serve with the chicken.

This is one of Kyle's favorite dishes that I make. This chicken is super good and pretty easy to make. It's a perfect way to have a homemade gourmet meal!

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

2011-01-11T19:31:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 pre-shredded Italian blend cheese
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14 ounce) can/jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a small baking dish.
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Notes: This is a high fat recipe so to cut the calories a bit I made just a few small changes. Instead of using straight mayo I used half light sour cream and light mayo. I used low fat cream cheese.

This has become one of my favorite things to bring to parties now! I served this for the Olsen's Christmas Eve party and from the time I took it out of the oven and put it on the table it was gone within 5 minutes. I almost didn't get any! I didn't even get my picture, so I had to make another batch for my family the next day so I could get some pictures!

Even if you are not an artichoke fan you will probably like this! Try this out and let me know how it goes!! It is such a wonderful dip!

Herb Roasted Turkey

2010-12-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

I didn't really use a recipe for this, but I'll try to give you a good overview of what I did.

I melted about 4-5 tablespoons of real butter and then mixed in some rosemary, oregano, marjoram, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

I brushed the turkey all over with the butter mixture. I used the remainder of the butter and brushed it under the skin. To separate the skin from the meat I took a wooden spoon handle and carefully separated it a little at a time so that I wouldn't break the skin.

Next I cut up a red onion I had in the fridge and some carrots and placed them inside the turkey cavity (in hindsight I would also add a few cloves of garlic as well). I placed the turkey in a disposable roaster pan and then took some lemon juice and squirted the outside and inside with it (if I had had real lemons I would have put them inside the cavity as well).

I put it in the oven at 325 degrees for about 3 hrs and 20 min, basting it about every 30 minutes with its own juices. When I took it out I tented it with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.

This is the first turkey I have every done all by myself. Kyle brought the turkey home from his work party and I had no room in my freezer for it, so I just decided to cook it after it had thawed out.

The end result was a gorgeous, moist, delicious bird!

Breakfast Casserole

2010-12-20T11:26:00.001-08:00

Ingredients

12 slices of bread-buttered (you can also use non-seasoned stuffing bread from the store)
4-6 eggs
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
2 lbs. sausage, ham or bacon
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 can evaporated milk

Directions

Butter and broil bread, to dry. Tear or cube and place in a greased 9x13-inch pan. Sprinkle 2 cups mild cheddar cheese on bread.
Mix together the eggs, 2 cups shredded cheese, and dry mustard. Pour over bread and cheese.
Fry and crumble sausage or bacon, (if using ham, cut into cubes) and spread over egg mixture in pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, mix 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup and 1/2 can evaporated milk. Pour evenly on top of casserole. Cover and bake at 300 degrees F for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Uncover the last 15 minutes.

This has been the traditional Christmas morning breakfast for as long as I can remember. This is one of my favorite traditions that my family has. I made this for our family party on Saturday and it turned out pretty good, it was a touch dry so next time I will probably make more sauce to go on top.