Baked Chicken Parmesan

My husband and I are TRYING to eat healthier, but, sigh....... sometimes that's not so much fun. Last week we had salads for dinner for four nights. That got old pretty quick. I was excited to find this recipe because I really love chicken parmesan. It was SO good. I was sad that there wasn't any left overs.




Baked Chicken Parmesan

Recipe from SkinnyTaste

Ingredients:

4 (8 oz) chicken breast halves, sliced in half
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup marinara
cooking spray


Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with spray.

Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb mixture. Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Lightly spray a little more cooking oil on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over, bake another 5 minutes. Remove from oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top with shredded cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

S'Mores Bars

Umm, I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you how good these bars were. Just look at it for crying out loud!! I've already been asked to make this again, I was told it was the best thing ever created in the existence of Earth, I was offered a bribe to give someone an extra piece, I could go on and on. This dessert was VERY well received!!!



S'Mores Cookie Bars

Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen


Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, room temperature (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 king-sized Hershey’s milk chocolate bars
1 large egg
1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme/fluff
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
(7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, processed til fine)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan (I line my pan with foil for easy removal and cutting). Use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Set aside. Meanwhile,whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined.

Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place blobs of it on the chocolate and then spread it around.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (I rolled the dough out between two pieces of waxed paper and use a spatula to place pieces of it on the top and pressed the pieces together). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (I did mine a little longer to get that nice brown color), until lightly browned. Be sure to cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16 squares.

Spagetti Carbonara

I decided to try another recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara and I'm glad I did. I like this one a lot better than the one I previously posted. I forgot to buy pancetta, but you can substitute bacon and I luckily had some bacon I could use, because you KNOW I didn't want to make a last minute run up to the grocery store.




Spaghetti Carbonara
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen


Ingredients:

1 16 oz box spaghetti
2 tablespoon olive oil, separated
8 slices bacon or Italian bacon, diced
1/2 small onion, chopped (I omitted this of course)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 - 1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)(I didn't use this)
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp heavy cream or milk (I used half and half)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Extra grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well and reserve a bit of the pasta water, about 1/2 cup. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside. While the pasta cooks start on the bacon. In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute.

Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. To ensure a creamy, silky sauce, mix the cheese, cream and beaten eggs together then stir into the pasta, off of the heat. Tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. If the mixture is too thick add a bit of reserved pasta water. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty). Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.

Bolognese Sauce

I found this recipe on a site where there are a lot of healthy recipes because I'm making those baby steps towards eating better. This is so good it's hard for me to believe that is good for you, but there you go.


Mental note: things that are good for you can also be tasty Kathee!!!

Good to know!



Bolognese Sauce
Recipe from Skinny Taste


Ingredients:

4 oz pancetta, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, minced
1/2 cup carrots, minced
1 lb 95% lean ground beef
1/4 cup white wine (I didn't add this)
2 - 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and fresh pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup half & half


Directions:

In a deep heavy saute pan, saute pancetta until fat melts. Add butter, onions, celery and carrots and cook until soft. Add meat, season with salt and pepper and saute until browned. Add wine, cook until it reduces down, about 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaf. Simmer covered on low, at least 1-1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add half & half and parsley, cook 2 minutes longer. Makes about 8 cups.

Cheeseburger Rolls

I am all about making easy, fast meals - as if you couldn't tell. If I wasn't in a hurry, there is a really good chance I would have made homemade dough for this recipe (really!), but I was having a busy day, so I left out some Rhodes rolls to thaw and they worked out perfectly. These were great, I will definitely make them again.



Cheeseburger Rolls
Recipe made up by me after seeing similar things here and there.


Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
Salt, pepper, and garlic to taste
2 tsp. Worcester sauce
12 Rhodes rolls, thawed out
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

(I'm sorry about these directions, for some reason I had a hard time putting in writing what I did!!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef in a pan. Add salt, pepper and minced garlic to your taste. Add 2 tsp. Worcester sauce. Stir everything together and set aside.

Take a roll and press it out. Put a few tablespoons of the ground beef mixture onto the roll, then put a little bit of cheddar cheese on top. Close the roll by bringing the sides up and pressing them tightly together. Repeat with all the rolls.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

I saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman's blog a while back and put it on my 'To Try' list.  I am SO glad I did, I loved this.  I made one little change, because of my issues with cottage cheese, and I've also seen modifications where people have added corn and other things.  This is a keeper

Sour Cream Noodle Bake
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:

1 ¼ pound ground beef
1 can 15 oz. tomato sauce
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 oz., weight egg noodles
½ cup sour cream
1 ¼ cup small curd cottage cheese (I used a 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese)
½ cups sliced green onions (less To Taste)(I didn't add these because I forgot to buy them)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese (ricotta cheese for me). Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.

To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.

Three Cheese Beef and Ziti

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet, I make it ALL THE TIME. I found the recipe in a random cookbook my Grandpa gave me right after I got married, so, that was pretty much just a few years ago. No? Almost 20 years ago? What the? Anyway, I started calling it Fake Lasagna after awhile, because that usually got a more favorable response than the actual recipe name. Please feel free to call it ANY NAME YOU WANT!!! I was super nice to my kids with no taste (you know who you are!), and only put ricotta cheese on half of it. You two are spoiled.

There is a reason why this is on my regular recipe rotation, this is fast and yummy!!



Three Cheese Beef and Ziti
Recipe from some old Reader's Digest Cookbook from five, twenty years ago.


Ingredients:

8 oz. ziti, macaroni, or other small pasta
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (of course I don't add this, are you kidding?)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
10 oz. frozen french style green beans, or whatever kind you like, partially thawed
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:

Boil the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, saute the beef and onion(bleh) in a large skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently to break up any clumps, until the beef is browned - about 5 minutes. Drain off the excess fat. Stir in the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the green beans, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

*** Let me just take a second to confess that I don't ALWAYS add the green beans. I would love for them to be in it, but I get a lot of complaints when I do, and sometimes, I just don't want to deal with that.

Stir in the cooked ziti, then place large spoonfuls of the ricotta on top but not touching. Sprinkle the mozzarella in between. Cover and cook just until the mozzarella melts and the ziti and beans are heated through - about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Sweet Pork

My kids love it when I make this Sweet Pork. They know it means they can make whatever they want with it; one had nachos, another a burrito, a couple had stuffed quesadillas and I made myself a big salad with it! They love having a choice, and frankly, I just love the sweet pork!! I've tried a lot of recipes for it and this recipe is what I've ended up with after mixing a whole bunch of recipe ideas together.





Sweet Pork




Ingredients:


4 lb. pork roast
2 tbsp. canola oil
32 oz. can Macayo's enchilada sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup Coke

Directions:

Heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat. Sear the roast on all sides until golden brown.

Combine the enchilada sauce, brown sugar and Coke in a slow cooker. Add the pork, cover and cook on low for 7 hours (I've done it 4 hours on high too).

Remove the pork and shred. Put back in the slow cooker and stir to combine with the sauce.

Serve on salads, burritos, nachos, quesadillas, tacos, whatever you can think up!!!

Overnight Sausage Casserole

Overnight Sausage Casserole
Recipe from Our Best Bites


Ingredients:

6-8 slices white bread
Softened butter for bread
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 oz. pork sausage browned
1 (4 oz.) can green chiles
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Directions:

Remove crusts from bread and butter on one side. Place bread, buttered side down, in a 9 X 13 baking dish. Sprinkle cheese over bread. Sprinkle sausage over cheese, then top with green chiles.

Whisk the eggs, add milk and seasonings and combine.

Slowly keep stirring while pouring over casserole.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 50 to 60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then serve.

Panna Cotta

Last night's dessert was DELICIOUS! My husband and I had panna cotta for the first time a few months ago and I have been wanting to make it ever since. The recipe only made 6 ramekins, but I didn't double it because I was almost sure my kids wouldn't even want to try it. (Was I sure, or was I hoping?) Three of them decided they wanted to try it so I divided one ramekin into thirds (yes, I am THAT greedy) telling them, "I know you will hate this, I am sick that it is getting wasted." Well, they inhaled it and pronounced, "This tastes like wiggly vanilla ice cream!!! More! More! More!" So, being greedy, I divided another one into thirds!!! I know!! But in my defense, I had made a backup pan of brownies that they had all already eaten one of, so really, I was just limiting their sugar intake. (wink). One of my boys spent about an hour thinking of all the different things we could do to panna cotta ("lemon flavored, chocolate sauce, oh, I know Mom, BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE!") so I know that they really did love it and weren't just being silly. This is easy and delicious, it's a perfect summertime dessert.


 
Panna Cotta
Recipe from Allrecipes


Ingredients:

1/3 cup skim milk (I used 1%)
1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin
2 1/2 cups heavy cream (I used half whipping cream and half half and half, that's what I had)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatin powder. Set aside.

In a saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and sugar, and set over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, watching carefully, as the cream will quickly rise to the top of the pan. Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into six individual ramekin dishes.

Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before serving.

Serve with fresh berries, chocolate sauce, use your imagination!

Pasta with Alfredo Sauce and Vegetables

This is versatile and delicious. If it weren't for that inconvenient problem of my lactose intolerance I would have 6 bowls of this. Aren't you so glad I shared that information with you?! Really, though, this comes together so fast and tastes fantastic.  (of course I don't need to mention the shining star of this recipe, BACON)


Pasta with Alfredo Sauce and Veggies (and BACON)



Ingredients:

1 lb. pasta (angel hair, fettuccine, penne, whatever you like/have on hand)
Vegetables (This is where you can really customize. I only happened to have red pepper today so I used that. You could use zucchini, broccoli, carrots, spinach, whatever you like/have on hand!!)
6 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup heavy cream (I used half cream and the rest half and half)
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is boiling, fry the diced bacon until crisp. Add in the veggies and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until they are tender-crisp.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, add the butter and cream until heated through and butter is melted. Add in the Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir until the cheese is thoroughly melted and sauce is a smooth, creamy consistency.

Drain pasta when done and add to a large serving bowl. Pour in the bacon and broccoli and toss it in with the penne. Pour the Alfredo sauce over top of the penne and stir until well combined.

* I don't actually do this because, surprise, some of my children don't like Alfredo sauce and, don't be shocked, but some also don't like vegetables. I just leave everything separate and customize everyone's serving. The children who don't like Alfredo sauce love pasta with just butter and Parmesan cheese on it, so that works easy enough.

Homemade Magic Shell

I have had an obsession with Magic Shell for a long, long time. I just really love it. I've tried several recipes to recreate it and this is by far the best. It was so delicious on my ice cream, and the bananas were amazing. I'll be putting some on strawberries for a snack later today, because, what the heck, I have strawberries and now I have a huge container of homemade magic shell to use up!!!




Homemade Magic Shell
Recipe from Smilemonsters

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut oil


Directions:

Pop in the microwave for about a minute and stir together well.

Done!

The chocolate sauce will harden as soon as it hits something cold.

Have fun!!!

Boston Cream Pie

This is delicious and so easy!



Easy Boston Cream Pie



1 yellow cake mix
1 small pkg. vanilla pudding
1 carton of Cool Whip
1 can of chocolate frosting



Make cake mix according to diretions in two round cake pans. Let cool completely. Make pudding mix according to directions but with only 1 cup of milk. Let set. Once set, add half of the carton of Cool Whip and mix together thoroughly. Put one of the cake rounds on a plate. Top with the pudding mixture. Put the other cake round on top of the pudding mixture. Frost with chocolate frosting as desired. Keep refrigerated.