Pinterest is the best, especially for reciepes. You can find a reciepe for ANYTHING! I've tried multiple things that I have found on there. Some are better than others, but here is one that I have made and is SCRUMTIOUSSSSSS.
BUFFALO MAC 'N CHEESE :D
Courtesy of this LOVELY LADY
For the most part I followed her recipe, but I made some changes, slightly easier, and more MEAT! So here is my version. Make sure you check out her blog, I see some other things I'd like to try!
1/2lb pasta
1lb chicken
1 tbsp flour
4 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup milk
1 to 1 1/2cup-ish of shredded blend of cheddar & monterey jack
1/3 cup Franks (I used the one in the bottle labeled "wing sauce")
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
Unfortunatly I have a small kitchen and only one big burner on my stove (who does that?!) which always complicates recipes that involve doing multiple things at a time.
Cube chicken and cook, set aside. (Food can sit at room temp. for 2 hours so don't worry! I checked with the USDA)
Cook pasta according to package directions. While cooking pasta, heat butter in saucepan over medium until melted, add the flour and continue to stir/whisk until the mixture is golden! ( I learned this is called a roux). About 2 minutes.
Add milk and turn down to low. Be careful when your adding the milk not to burn it. I took it off the heat before I poured the milk in. Stir until it begins to thicken, then add cheese and whisk until smooth. Add hot sauce, and salt and pepper if you wish!
Lightly grease a 7x11 pan (I used the large glass pyrex) Im sure a 9x 13 would come out fine, but maybe cook it less since it would be more spread out... Put pasta and in pan, and spread chicken throughout. Pour sauce mixture over pasta/chicken. Top with more shredded cheese and bread crumbs. I like it crunchy so I used a little more crumbs!
Cook at 350 for 20-25ish minutes. All depends on your pan. Serve with Ranch if you want it to taste even better!
I used the same amount of sauce as the original recipe with 1lb of pasta called for becuase I like it saucyyyyy! This lil beauty will definatly be on the menu again! This would be a good dish to take to a party or somewhere, WHO DOESNT LOVE BUFFALO SAUCE!?!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
More Chicken!
There are alot of ingredients out there that I don't like, surprise surprise! I have learned to eat around them, but I have noticed sometimes the dishes just don't taste the same when you take things out! One of those hated items would be mushrooms, but I like chicken Marsala. My hubby likes mushrooms so this ends up working out perfectly, I make it as called for and eat around the fungi :)
Chicken Marsala
Courtesy of Betty Crocker
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups sliced mushrooms (I only make this much for my hubby)
1/4 c sliced green onion
3 tbsp butter
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c dry Marsala or dry sherry
*Betty says that Marsala can range from dry to extremely sweet, and to use dry. I bought a bottle of Marsala at Food Lion, it just says Marsala and on the label it said something about gourmet cooking so that's why I chose it, plus it was less than $10!
In a bowl stir together flour, marjoram, salt, pepper. Place chicken between plastic wrap, and pound out to 1/4in with flat side of meat mallet. ( I suck at measuring :( so good luck with that, hopefully you can judge thicknesses. If it ends up thicker, it will just take longer to cook. This is where my handy dandy thermometer comes in to play). Coat both sides of the chicken in mixture.
In large skillet cook mushrooms, green onion, and 1 tbsp of butter over medium-high until tender. (Betty says to remove from skillet afterwards, but I don't because well, I didn't wanna :) and I can tell you that it does taste slightly different if you take them out vs. leave them in, and my hubby thinks its better to leave them in. Up to you though). Cook chicken in the other 2 tbsp of butter for 5-6 min, turning to brown evenly.
Remove from heat (add mushrooms again if you took them out), carefully add broth and Marsala to skillet. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 2 more min, stirring occasionally.
I make this with only 2 chicken breasts, although it calls for 4. I like to have some sauce leftover for the pasta or mashed potatoes, both go good with this!
Happy Eating Y'all!
(I've developed a southern accent after 4 months)
Chicken Marsala
Courtesy of Betty Crocker
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups sliced mushrooms (I only make this much for my hubby)
1/4 c sliced green onion
3 tbsp butter
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c dry Marsala or dry sherry
*Betty says that Marsala can range from dry to extremely sweet, and to use dry. I bought a bottle of Marsala at Food Lion, it just says Marsala and on the label it said something about gourmet cooking so that's why I chose it, plus it was less than $10!
In a bowl stir together flour, marjoram, salt, pepper. Place chicken between plastic wrap, and pound out to 1/4in with flat side of meat mallet. ( I suck at measuring :( so good luck with that, hopefully you can judge thicknesses. If it ends up thicker, it will just take longer to cook. This is where my handy dandy thermometer comes in to play). Coat both sides of the chicken in mixture.
In large skillet cook mushrooms, green onion, and 1 tbsp of butter over medium-high until tender. (Betty says to remove from skillet afterwards, but I don't because well, I didn't wanna :) and I can tell you that it does taste slightly different if you take them out vs. leave them in, and my hubby thinks its better to leave them in. Up to you though). Cook chicken in the other 2 tbsp of butter for 5-6 min, turning to brown evenly.
Remove from heat (add mushrooms again if you took them out), carefully add broth and Marsala to skillet. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 2 more min, stirring occasionally.
I make this with only 2 chicken breasts, although it calls for 4. I like to have some sauce leftover for the pasta or mashed potatoes, both go good with this!
Happy Eating Y'all!
(I've developed a southern accent after 4 months)
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The One Egg Conundrum
I was really in the mood for some good, homemade lasagna. But as you all know, leftovers are the enemy. I decided I'd give it a whirl to attempt a HALF LASAGNAAAAAA! So luckily my mom started a reciepe book before she passed away of all the recipes that she had that were our favorites, or were family recipes so that we had them all in one place, what a smart lady! In there I found my grandmother's lasagna recipe, all made from scratch (except for the noodles obviosuly).
All was well until I saw egg... what to do when the recipe calls for one egg... how do you half an egg? Hence, THE ONE EGG CONUNDRUM.. I thought I could either use the whole egg and hope it turned out ok, or I'd scrabmle it then scoop half/some out. I ended up doing the second. I'm sure it would have worked if I had used the whole egg though :)
Half Lasagna
Courtesy of Gram Ferrari
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 clove garlic (I used 2 because I'm a rebel)
1/2 lb ground meat (this is what the whole lasagna called for as well but I still used it, again REBEL)
1 1/4 tsp salt
14oz can of diced tomatoes
4 oz of tomato sauce
3 oz of tomato paste
*The above two are sold in 8 & 6 oz cans so I just estimated half of both cans. I put the other half of them together in a rubbermaid, and put in the freezer for next half lasagna night!
6 tbsp of water (strange I know, but its 1/2 of 3/4 cup!)
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp dried parsely flakes
1/2 package of lasagna noodles
1/2 lb ricotta (aka 8 oz)
1/2 EGG
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup or 1 cup parmesan
Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan, saute onions and garlic about 5 min. Stir in beef and cook over medium until meat is browned. Add salt, tomatoes, sauce, paste, water, basil, oregano, sugar and parsely. Bring to boil, simmer for 45 min. *I figured half the sauce, half the time? That and I didnt have the patience to wait 45 min to cook the damn sauce! I let it simmer for about 20-25 min. My sister insists you must wait the full 45. Will it be better? Im sure it will. Did it taste good after 20-25? Of course!
Cook lasagna noodles, add 1 tbsp of oil while cooking to prevent from sticking. I used half the box which was about 11 noodles. I ended up cutting the noodles to fit in my 9x9 pan. I made a 3 layer lasagna and had enough noodles, so I guess I only needed 9 noodles. IF you really wanted to you could use less and use the short pieces to make the middle layer.
In bowl blend ricotta and 1/2 EGG. Preheat oven to 375. In pan arrange alternating layers of sauce (yes sauce first), lasagna, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese. Finish last layer with sauce! Like I said, I got 3 layers worth. Sprinkle with parmesean cheese. Bake in oven for 30-ish minutes, let stand for 10-ish before cutting.
I made garlic bread with this as well. But make sure you dont use moldy bread, and not realize its moldy until your putting it up to your mouth like I did :(
If you want to be brave, try adding in pepperoni. Its my secret ingredient and is my fave thing in lasagna!!! But again, the pepperoni I had was moldy. FML, I'm sensing that I dont eat things fast enough?
One day I'll take cooler pics.....
All was well until I saw egg... what to do when the recipe calls for one egg... how do you half an egg? Hence, THE ONE EGG CONUNDRUM.. I thought I could either use the whole egg and hope it turned out ok, or I'd scrabmle it then scoop half/some out. I ended up doing the second. I'm sure it would have worked if I had used the whole egg though :)
Half Lasagna
Courtesy of Gram Ferrari
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 clove garlic (I used 2 because I'm a rebel)
1/2 lb ground meat (this is what the whole lasagna called for as well but I still used it, again REBEL)
1 1/4 tsp salt
14oz can of diced tomatoes
4 oz of tomato sauce
3 oz of tomato paste
*The above two are sold in 8 & 6 oz cans so I just estimated half of both cans. I put the other half of them together in a rubbermaid, and put in the freezer for next half lasagna night!
6 tbsp of water (strange I know, but its 1/2 of 3/4 cup!)
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp dried parsely flakes
1/2 package of lasagna noodles
1/2 lb ricotta (aka 8 oz)
1/2 EGG
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup or 1 cup parmesan
Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan, saute onions and garlic about 5 min. Stir in beef and cook over medium until meat is browned. Add salt, tomatoes, sauce, paste, water, basil, oregano, sugar and parsely. Bring to boil, simmer for 45 min. *I figured half the sauce, half the time? That and I didnt have the patience to wait 45 min to cook the damn sauce! I let it simmer for about 20-25 min. My sister insists you must wait the full 45. Will it be better? Im sure it will. Did it taste good after 20-25? Of course!
Cook lasagna noodles, add 1 tbsp of oil while cooking to prevent from sticking. I used half the box which was about 11 noodles. I ended up cutting the noodles to fit in my 9x9 pan. I made a 3 layer lasagna and had enough noodles, so I guess I only needed 9 noodles. IF you really wanted to you could use less and use the short pieces to make the middle layer.
In bowl blend ricotta and 1/2 EGG. Preheat oven to 375. In pan arrange alternating layers of sauce (yes sauce first), lasagna, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese. Finish last layer with sauce! Like I said, I got 3 layers worth. Sprinkle with parmesean cheese. Bake in oven for 30-ish minutes, let stand for 10-ish before cutting.
I made garlic bread with this as well. But make sure you dont use moldy bread, and not realize its moldy until your putting it up to your mouth like I did :(
If you want to be brave, try adding in pepperoni. Its my secret ingredient and is my fave thing in lasagna!!! But again, the pepperoni I had was moldy. FML, I'm sensing that I dont eat things fast enough?
One day I'll take cooler pics.....
Before
After
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Chicken par-my-gosssh
We. Love. Chicken. I love Italian, so chicken parmigiana is perfect! So easy to make :) Most of these things you will already have!
1/3 cup chopped onion (frozen onion comes in handy *wink wink*)
1 clove garlic (I used 2)
1 tbsp butter
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes undrained
1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
dash black pepper
1/4 cup snipped basil
Cook onion and garlic in butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in basil. Keep warm and set aside. *When I made this I didn't see where the basil ever went in and so I saved it until the end and sprinkled it on top of the whole dish, but to be honest, it probably would have been just as good without it and I would have saved $2.50ish from not buying fresh basil! Up to you though.
4 skinless chicken breasts
*I used 2, but they were huge!
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (it said seasoned but I used plain)
4 tbsp grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp dried crushed oregano
1 egg beaten
2 tbsp milk
3 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
In between 2 pieces of plastic, use meat mallet and pound chicken lightly to about 1/4 inch thick. In small dish combine egg and milk. In another dish combine bread crumbs and 3 tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then in crumb mixture, evenly coating both sides in each mixture. In large skillet, over medium heat, heat oil and cook chicken about 2-3 minutes per side. *If you do not pound the chicken out, or to 1/4in, it will take longer to cook, which is what happened to me since apparently I missed the day in school on how to measure things in inches! Took about 5 minutes per side, but be careful not to leave it to thick or the breading will start to burn!
Transfer to serving dish (or in this case our plates) and spoon sauce over chicken. Top with mozzarella and remaining Parmesan. Enjoy!
1/3 cup chopped onion (frozen onion comes in handy *wink wink*)
1 clove garlic (I used 2)
1 tbsp butter
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes undrained
1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
dash black pepper
1/4 cup snipped basil
Cook onion and garlic in butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in basil. Keep warm and set aside. *When I made this I didn't see where the basil ever went in and so I saved it until the end and sprinkled it on top of the whole dish, but to be honest, it probably would have been just as good without it and I would have saved $2.50ish from not buying fresh basil! Up to you though.
4 skinless chicken breasts
*I used 2, but they were huge!
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (it said seasoned but I used plain)
4 tbsp grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp dried crushed oregano
1 egg beaten
2 tbsp milk
3 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
In between 2 pieces of plastic, use meat mallet and pound chicken lightly to about 1/4 inch thick. In small dish combine egg and milk. In another dish combine bread crumbs and 3 tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then in crumb mixture, evenly coating both sides in each mixture. In large skillet, over medium heat, heat oil and cook chicken about 2-3 minutes per side. *If you do not pound the chicken out, or to 1/4in, it will take longer to cook, which is what happened to me since apparently I missed the day in school on how to measure things in inches! Took about 5 minutes per side, but be careful not to leave it to thick or the breading will start to burn!
Transfer to serving dish (or in this case our plates) and spoon sauce over chicken. Top with mozzarella and remaining Parmesan. Enjoy!
Don't pay attention to the dirty table!
This sauce is more chunky than saucy, so if your not into eating tomoatoes than you may want to rethink this sauce. I'm not really sure what you would use instead of diced tomatoes, maybe tomato puree instead?
Friday, February 22, 2013
She get it from her momma...
So this is one of those dishes that when I make it, I dont measure anything, I just wing it. I dont really know where the recipe came from, I just rememeber my mom making it all the time and I would fight my sisters to eat all the burned up cornflakes all over the pan. If there was a phone number for heaven I'd call her up and ask for all the deets... So here is the rare delicassy also know as...
Cornflake Chicken!
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Milk
White Vinegar
Cornflakes
Crush a bunch of cornflakes (again my preferred method is ziploc bag and a can). In a bowl, pour a few seconds of milk (yeah I said a few seconds, splashes, whatever you wanna call it!), then add a splash of vinegar. This mixture should thicken a little bit and when you mix it all together it kinda looks gritty on the side of the bowl but thats ok I promise, its supposed to. Dip chicken in milk mix, then cover in cornflakes. Place on baking pan/sheet. Bake at 350 for 20ish mintues, time depends on the thickness. Sometimes I use tenders, sometimes boobs (haha), and sometimes I even get a little crazy and tenderize the chicken breasts if they are huge!
If your feeling frisky maybe throw a dash of black pepper in there!
****I actually use a thermometer and it has all these different temps on it for different kinds of meats and what temperature they should be at. I work in a restaurant and according to all food safety rules, food has to be above 140 to be out of "THE DANGER ZONE!!!!!" I usually hang out around the 160 degree range. The only meat I do cook to the thermometer temp all the time is pork because in college I heard horror stories (whether they are true or false I have no idea) of eating undercooked pork and there being worms in the meat because that can be natural (?) to pork and them not being killed because it wasnt cooked to a high enough temp and then worms growing in your stomachhhhh :( ewww. SO that was my temp rant!
Cornflake Chicken!
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Milk
White Vinegar
Cornflakes
Crush a bunch of cornflakes (again my preferred method is ziploc bag and a can). In a bowl, pour a few seconds of milk (yeah I said a few seconds, splashes, whatever you wanna call it!), then add a splash of vinegar. This mixture should thicken a little bit and when you mix it all together it kinda looks gritty on the side of the bowl but thats ok I promise, its supposed to. Dip chicken in milk mix, then cover in cornflakes. Place on baking pan/sheet. Bake at 350 for 20ish mintues, time depends on the thickness. Sometimes I use tenders, sometimes boobs (haha), and sometimes I even get a little crazy and tenderize the chicken breasts if they are huge!
If your feeling frisky maybe throw a dash of black pepper in there!
****I actually use a thermometer and it has all these different temps on it for different kinds of meats and what temperature they should be at. I work in a restaurant and according to all food safety rules, food has to be above 140 to be out of "THE DANGER ZONE!!!!!" I usually hang out around the 160 degree range. The only meat I do cook to the thermometer temp all the time is pork because in college I heard horror stories (whether they are true or false I have no idea) of eating undercooked pork and there being worms in the meat because that can be natural (?) to pork and them not being killed because it wasnt cooked to a high enough temp and then worms growing in your stomachhhhh :( ewww. SO that was my temp rant!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
How this all started...
So the dinner I made last night was so good, that my hubby asked me to make it again so he could take it to work for lunch the next day. It was love at first bite. I used to make pork chops coated in bread crumbs and it was ehhhh. When I saw this I thought it would be similar, but its much better!!! Neither of us have ever had Risotto so we figured it was as good night to give it a try!
Oven-Fried Pork Chops & Risotto
(both courtesy of Betty Crocker)
Pork chops
2 pork chops
2 tbsp melted butter
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup herb seasoned stuffing mix, finely crushed.
Crush stuffing mix, I did this with a Ziploc bag and a can. Combine egg, milk, and pepper. Trim fat, dip chops in egg mix, then into stuffing mix, making sure to coat both sides. Use melted butter to coat the bottom of baking pan (I used an 8x8 glass Pyrex, fit perfectly). Put chops in pan, cook @ 425 for 10 min, flip then 10-15 more min.
The recipe originally called for 4 pork chops, so there is enough mix to do more if you wanted. Not everything can be cut in half. If there was more chops though, there would be less crumbs on each, and that was the best part. So if you like it crumby, maybe crush more!
Risotto
1 medium onion chopped (1/2 cup)
1 glove garlic minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
2 14oz cans chicken broth
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan or asiago
1/8 tsp black pepper
In a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in oil and 1 tbsp of the butter, until tender. Add rice, cook and stir over medium until rice begins to brown. Slowly add 1 cup of the broth, stirring constantly. When liquid absorbs add 1/2 cup broth, still stirring constantly. After liquid is absorbed add another 1/2 cup of broth, and keep adding 1/2 at a time until broth is gone. Stir in remaining butter, cheese and pepper.
*Start to finish the Risotto took about 15 min so it was perfect with the chops timing!
I like buying frozen diced onion because it is perfect in cases like this where you don't need the whole onion, that way you can use just what you need. Or if you buy a fresh onion, dice the whole thing and freeze the rest, then it doesn't get wasted :) I also used bouillon cubes to make my own broth instead of store bought chicken broth, I already had it so why buy more? It worked just as good! I also used a grated Parmesan and Romano cheese mix (from Trader Joe's) because that is what I had, and because its so delicious!
Oven-Fried Pork Chops & Risotto
(both courtesy of Betty Crocker)
Pork chops
2 pork chops
2 tbsp melted butter
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup herb seasoned stuffing mix, finely crushed.
Crush stuffing mix, I did this with a Ziploc bag and a can. Combine egg, milk, and pepper. Trim fat, dip chops in egg mix, then into stuffing mix, making sure to coat both sides. Use melted butter to coat the bottom of baking pan (I used an 8x8 glass Pyrex, fit perfectly). Put chops in pan, cook @ 425 for 10 min, flip then 10-15 more min.
The recipe originally called for 4 pork chops, so there is enough mix to do more if you wanted. Not everything can be cut in half. If there was more chops though, there would be less crumbs on each, and that was the best part. So if you like it crumby, maybe crush more!
Risotto
1 medium onion chopped (1/2 cup)
1 glove garlic minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
2 14oz cans chicken broth
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan or asiago
1/8 tsp black pepper
In a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in oil and 1 tbsp of the butter, until tender. Add rice, cook and stir over medium until rice begins to brown. Slowly add 1 cup of the broth, stirring constantly. When liquid absorbs add 1/2 cup broth, still stirring constantly. After liquid is absorbed add another 1/2 cup of broth, and keep adding 1/2 at a time until broth is gone. Stir in remaining butter, cheese and pepper.
*Start to finish the Risotto took about 15 min so it was perfect with the chops timing!
I like buying frozen diced onion because it is perfect in cases like this where you don't need the whole onion, that way you can use just what you need. Or if you buy a fresh onion, dice the whole thing and freeze the rest, then it doesn't get wasted :) I also used bouillon cubes to make my own broth instead of store bought chicken broth, I already had it so why buy more? It worked just as good! I also used a grated Parmesan and Romano cheese mix (from Trader Joe's) because that is what I had, and because its so delicious!
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