Honey Garlic Chicken

While on my endless hunt for new recipes to try, I came across this one for Honey Garlic Chicken. I bought the few ingredients I didn't have on hand already (blackberry jam, because...ewww. Who actually likes that?) and was just dying to try it.

By the time I got home though, I realized, it was already after 3:00pm and the recipe said it should be in the slow cooker on low for 4 to 5 hours, which meant we wouldn't be eating til at least 7:30pm, and that was too late. In light of that realization, I soldiered on, and decided, I would follow the exact same recipe but i'd cook the chicken in the oven instead.
Not only did it work just as good in less than half the time, but it was FABULOUS. My husband liked it so much he couldn't wait to take it for left overs to work the next day. It was sweet without being TOO sweet and it had a perfect amount of spice to give it just a little kick. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I was starving or if I was just way too over zealous about trying this, but, I completely forgot the sesame seeds. Because you're shredding the chicken and pairing it with rice and a vegetable, it's very easy to stretch this meal. I've used this chicken in tortillas and made little garlic chicken tacos, i've put it on potato rolls like a pulled pork sandwich, theres a bevy of ways to serve this chicken once it's done. Such a GREAT recipe.

Ingredients:
4 large bone-in, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup blackberry jam
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Sliced scallions, for garnish
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions: 

Arrange the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish so that they aren't over lapping.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, blackberry jam, hoisin, olive oil, garlic, onion and crushed red pepper flakes, and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place in 375 degree oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the baking dish (reserving the liquids) and place it on a cutting board. Once it's cool enough to handle, Remove the bones then use two forks to shred the chicken into smaller pieces. Place the shredded chicken in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry.

Transfer the liquids from the slow cooker into a small saucepan set over medium-high heat and whisk in the slurry. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it until it reduces and has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken, tossing to combine. Serve the chicken topped with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

**If you would like the slow cooker directions for this recipe, please see the original recipe**

Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Sammies

I did have a post started, but in the middle of cooking my camera just stopped working. So I ended up with no pictures and I was not about to post a text only post, thats not fun. I finally got the camera situation remedied and I'll have a proper recipe post up soon. For right now though, I'm gonna tell you how to make that sweet creation above, though, it's not exactly difficult.

You're gonna need to bake the gooey chocolate cookies i posted a few weeks ago...go ahead and find it, i'll wait.
 You're also going to need:
1 gallon of the cookies & cream ice cream of your choice.
1 pack of oreos (cream removed from the inside & the cookie part crushed up.)

So, once you've baked those bad boys up and let them cool (preferably overnight, but a few hours will do) you're going to put a scoop or 2 of cookies & cream ice cream on the underside of one cookie and top with another cookie. Once the sandwich is formed turn it on it's side and then roll the edges of the ice cream sandwich in the oreo crumbles.

Wrap each ice cream sandwich in plastic wrap and refreeze until you're ready to serve them.
You can do this with any combination of cookies/ice creams. some of my favorite combinations are:

-peanut butter cookies w/ chocolate ice cream rolled in reeses pices or chopped up reeses peanut butter cups.

-chocolate cookies with vanilla ice cream rolled in heath bar crumbles

-chocolate cookies with raspberry ice cream rolled in dark chocolate & white chocolate chips.

My version of a Chicken Florentine pasta

So, I honestly had no intention of blogging this recipe, which is why theres a serious lack of pictures but it smelled so good in the middle of my cooking that I snapped a quick few and thought I should share it. It was absolutely delicous. I have 3 people and a tiny little man that will vouch for that, instead of just my husband, for once. 

This is my spin on a chicken florentine dish. I don't even have measurements for it all because, like I said I didnt plan on blogging this so, nothing was measured out, I have a bad habit of just eyeballing things. Especially because I was cooking for 5 people and not just 2. So bare with me.

What you need (for the most part anyway):

1 box of Penne pasta (like always any short pasta will do, im just using penne today)

1 (6oz) bag of baby spinach

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can diced tomatoes

10 garlic cloves peeled and minced

6-7 white mushrooms sliced

Salt

Black Pepper

Garlic powder

Grated Parmesan cheese 

1 cup of chicken broth

Make it:

Get your salted water boiling for your pasta. 

While you wait for the water to boil, you want to mince the garlic cloves, save about 1/2 tbsp of the garlic for later.

put about 2 table spoons of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet and heat the garlic on medium heat til it's wilted and you smell that nice garlicky smell. 

DO NOT BURN IT. 

You will have to start all over. It gets bitter and gross and not at all appealing.

OK, moving on. while the garlic is getting all yummy in the pan,

dice the chicken breast up into pretty good sized chunks, nothing too big.

Season the chicken with a little salt, a good amount of black pepper, 

and garlic powder and add it to the pan.

Turn the heat up a bit, and cook the chicken.

While the chicken is cooking, slice up the mushrooms.

When the chicken has those nice golden brown spots and it's cooked through, and theres all those browny bits at the bottom of the pan add in the mushrooms.

While the mushrooms are wilting, open up a can of diced tomatoes and drain 1/2 the liquid into a bowl, and the rest of the liquid with the tomatoes into the skillet.

Add a little salt (to help the tomatoes reduce), and lower the heat while the tomatoes do their thing.

By now, your water should be boiling, add in your box of pasta and cook it until its done. 

Don't worry about your stuff in the skillet, just keep it on medium-low heat.

While the pasta is cooking, add a cup of chicken broth to that bowl of liquid from the tomatoes. 

Add about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and wisk it.

When it's all mixed, add it to the skillet and mix it in really well.

If it's too thick, add a little extra chicken broth, if its too runny add a little extra cornstarch.

In a seperate frying pan, add that 1/2 tbsp of garlic you saved and 1 tbs of olive oil. 

Heat it up and add in the bag of spinach. 

Cook the spinach until its wilted and still bright green.

Add about 1 tbs of grated parmesan cheese and mix it in well.

Toss the spinach into the skillet with the chicken and mix it all in evenly.

When the pasta is done (you really want it al dente for this dish) drain the water out of it really well and toss it into the skillet with the chicken, spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes.

The pasta should soak up all the liquid in the pan and just be glazed with the flavors.

Serve with grated parmesan cheese and try not to eat so much that you dont have any to snack on later... Please let me know if you try this and what you thought. 

Enjoy!!

Gooey Chocolate Cookies

I can cook just about anything, what I cannot do, is bake. I can bake super amazing moist cakes but that's the extent of it. I stop at cake. So, when it comes to desserts, I look to recipes to guide me every little step of the way. I can't change them up and own them like I would a savory dish, baking is a very exact thing.

Anyway, that said, I'm baking cookies today. This is a recipe I saw on the food network many moons ago, on Paula Deens show. These cookies are super easy, super soft, and absolutely melt in your mouth delicious. They also contain a stick of butter, but you expected that the moment I said "Paula Deen", right? It's kind of a given.....
Anyway, cookie time! Ready? Let's get the party started.

You need:

 1 brick of cream cheese,(8oz) at room temperature
1 stick of butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 box of chocolate cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

 Directions:

In a large bowl mix the cream cheese and butter until smooth. 

Beat in the egg. 

Then beat in the vanilla extract. 

Beat in the cake mix. 

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. 

Bake 12 minutes. 

The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." 

Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

I don't even like Chocolate and I eat these cookies like they are going out of style. They are THAT good. Let me know if you try them!!!

Cous Cous! The food so nice they named it twice...

Todays second recipe is a Tex Mex Cous Cous Salad. It is a cold salad, and perfect for a light lunch, or even a little snack. It's packed with crisp veggies and lots of flavor. I found this recipe online a couple years ago and just adjusted it to suit my tastes better. I apologize for the picture. I took this picture of it when I made it a for lunch a few months back and since I wasn't making a fresh batch today I had to use the old picture.

What you need:

 1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro)
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
salt and pepper

Directions:
Bring chicken broth to a boil in a sauce pan and stir in the couscous.
Cover the pot and remove it from heat and let the cous cous sit, covered for 5 minutes.
While the cous cous is resting, In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and cumin.
Add the green onions, red & yellow pepper, corn and beans to the dressing.
Remove the lid from the cous cous, and Fluff the couscous well with a fork, breaking up any big clumps and transfer to the bowl containing the vegetable & dressing mixture.
Mix everything well, making sure it's all coated evenly.
Season with salt and pepper and garnish with Parsley (if you're feelin fancy, I always feel fancy...)

Sour Cream & Beef Pasta Skillet

A few days ago, my very best friend asked for a recipe that she could use ground beef for. She had recently bought a bunch of it and wasn't sure what to make. I could have suggested the usual go to suspects, meatloaf, tacos, burgers, but as I was about to suggest them, I realized there aren't quiet enough things to really make with ground beef and it's something we usually have on hand.

I really love skillet meals (you'll learn that quick). They are quick, easy, usually inexpensive and very easy to stretch especially when you are on a budget. I'm not generally one for many vegetables, I just don't like them. There are some I will eat, mostly green things, oddly enough the ones I used in todays recipe, are actually ones I do not like. I found a way to cook them in a way I would eat them though, so, if your cooking for a picky eater (or you are one), this could be a good dish to try!

Alright, here we go.

What you'll need:

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, minced
10 white mushrooms , stems removed & sliced
1/2 a large onion , minced
1 pound ground beef (i prefer 80/20 but you can use your preference)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups water
1 14-ounce can  beef broth
2 cups of mini penne pasta (you can use whatever short pasta is your favorite, anything goes)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions: 

Add the ground beef to a large skillet, and brown it until it's no longer pink. If you're using 80/20 the meat should have enough natural fat that you don't need to help it, but if you are using a leaner ground beef add a little bit of olive oil to the skillet before you toss in the ground beef so it won't be too dry. 

While the meat is browning, you want to mince as best you can, the carrot, onion, and garlic. 

Then you want to remove the stems and slice up the mushrooms.

When the meat has finished browning, add the vegetables to the meat in the skillet.

 

 Mix it all in so everything gets distributed evenly.

Add in the,salt, pepper & thyme (no parsley, sage, or rosemary, though...see what i did there?)

Mix that all in nicely and evenly and then, add in the pasta, water,  

3/4 of the can of beef broth and the worcestershire sauce. 

Bring it to a boil, cover it, and then turn the heat down to medium. 

Stir it occasionally.

While the pasta is cooking, measure out the flour,  and in a 

 separate bowl,  combine the flour with the remaining 1/4 can of the broth. 

Wisk until there are no lumps.

When the pasta is cooked to your preferred firmness (im more of an al dente girl, myself) add in the broth and flour mixture, and 1/2 cup of sour cream. 

Mix it all in so it's all coated in that sour creamy goodness and serve.

You can add some parsley or chives if you're feelin' fancy.

I felt fancy.

next up.....tex mex cous cous salad.

Not so white, Chicken Chili

I've been dying to make this for weeks and finally got the chance, so, I'm bringing you all along for the ride.This recipe literally came out of nowhere one day while I was walking through the grocery store. I've tweaked it a few times and I think I finally got it jussssstt right. I call it White Chicken Chili, but, it's really not quite so white at all. It is, however, DELICIOUS. Todays post is definitely coming with A LOT of pictures, I always find that fun. Ok, Ready? Here we go.

What you need:

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up into chunks
1 can of black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
(you can also used stewed tomatoes if thats your thing just be sure to dice them before you add them to the pot)
I pkg of McCormick white chicken chili seasoning
1-2 Andouille sausages  (depending on the brand and size of the link, in this case I'm only using 1)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 tbs Salt
1/2 tbs Ground Black Pepper
1 table spoon Garlic powder

Make it:

Season the diced chicken with the salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Once the chicken is coated evenly toss it in the skillet and brown it, 

(you want all those nice browny bits at the bottom)

While the chicken is cooking, cut up the Andouille sausage. 

Slice it and then cut each slice in half. 

When the chicken is done, remove it from the skillet and set it aside.  

Add the andouille to the same skillet.

When the Andouille is browned nicely, add the chicken back in.

Then add in the tomatoes & chicken chili seasoning & mix it all in evenly.

Then add the black beans & water & stir.

Let it cook on medium heat for 10-15 min or so, Stir occasionally.

Top with shredded cheese & serve with tortilla toast points.

I'm supremely proud of this recipe, it was one of the first ones I ever came up with by myself. I hope you'll try it and enjoy it as much as we do.

As always let me know if you try it & how you liked it.

Creamy farfalle w/ chicken

My original plan for this first post got blown to bits when I realized I lacked one of the most important ingredients of the recipe.....
So, I decided to post a different recipe. I came up with this particular concoction after seeing a recipe in a magazine and tweaking it to make it my own.

What you need:
3 cups of the pasta of your choice (im using bow-tie but other short pastas like penne,and rigatoni work best but any kind is fine), uncooked


4 cups of steamed asparagus chopped in bite size pieces (steamed broccoli florets would be fine too)

2 cups of KRAFT Italian Roasted Red Pepper Dressing

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (or 2 large ones)

1 & 1/2 cups tomato sauce (i make my own but a jared sauce is fine)
4 oz. (1/2 a brick) of cream cheese (any brand is fine)
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Make It:
-Cook pasta. It's not hard but theres directions on the box if you get lost.
-While the pasta is cooking, heat dressing in large skillet (preferably one of the nonstick variety) on medium-high heat.
-Add the chicken and cook for about 5 min. on each side or until chicken is cooked completely.

-When the pasta is done, drain pasta & set aside.

-Add pasta sauce and cream cheese to chicken & dressing in the skillet;
-cook on medium-low heat 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese & pasta sauce are completely mixed and chicken is coated with sauce, stir occasionally to remove any clumps of cream cheese that may be remaining.

-Remove chicken from skillet and set aside on a cutting board.
-Add pasta & asparagus to the sauce mixture & mix well.

-Transfer pasta & asparagus mixture to individual serving bowls.

-Cut chicken crosswise into 1/4 inch or so thick slices; place chicken over pasta mixture. -Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.

This is one of our favorite meals in our home, I hope it will be one of your favorites too.

Let me know if you like it!