Eggplant Chicken ??

So I kind of made this up, and Ive made it a couple times and revised it each time, but this time it was by far my favorite. First of all, I didn't like eggplant of mushrooms before this. Something about this is so good. Even Brandon liked it, and I was shocked. It is even better the second day too. All the juices like get better or something.

- 1 eggplant
- Portabella  mushrooms (i used just one the grilling ones that are huge)
- 1 green pepper
- 1 red pepper
- 1 purple onion
- garlic clove
- 1 can diced tomatoes (I used the Italian style ones)
- fresh Parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- chicken breast
- 1 tsp curry (you don't have to, it was just sitting there and so I put it in and it was good)
- bread crumbs (I have done it with and without.....it is more dinnery with the bread crumbs, but keeps better for the next days lunch without them. They get a little soggy.)
- 2 egg whites

Cut up the eggplant into big bite size pieces. (I peel it too) dip it in the stirred egg whites then in the bread crumbs. Cook them on a frying pan in like a 1/3 cup olive oil until brown.

Cut up all the other veggies in big bite size pieces. Saute in olive oil and garlic, also salt/pepper.

For the chicken you can cook it however you like and cut it up, but the kind from Costco already cooked in the little packages all cut up was really good in it.

Mix it all together and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or so.

Even Levi loves this. The other way to do it is just cut it up and mix it all together with olive oil and bake it for like 45-1 hr. I didn't use bread crumbs when I did it that way.

Thanksgiving!

Warning! Recipe overload!

Since it was our first Thanksgiving together, and we don't have any family here, I decided to just have it with the two of us. It turned out really nice and I enjoyed a quiet night with my hubby. On the menu was:

• lemon chicken
• carrot souffle
• green bean casserole
• baked sweet potatoes
• apple pie

I felt like I was in the kitchen for SO long and then when everything was done it looked so wimpy! Everything tasted good, but it just made me appreciate all the work that goes into a Thanksgiving with my whole family!

Buca di Beppo Lemon Chicken (SO yummy)

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, (6 oz ea)
Salt, to taste
1 cup flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
4 large lemons
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
A small handful drained capers

Directions

Cut three lemons in half and use for fresh lemon juice. Pour the juice through a fine strainer. Cut the last lemon into wedges for garnish.

Begin to heat the olive oil in a 12-inch saute pan on medium-high heat. While oil is getting hot, lightly season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt. Lightly dust the chicken breasts in the flour. Shake off excess flour. Place chicken in the saute pan skin-side down.

When the chicken is golden brown, turn over and brown the other side as well. It is important to brown both sides to insure the chicken is completely cooked through. When both sides are nice and brown, add white wine and lemon juice. Continue to cook for approximately two to three minutes. The liquid should reduce approximately half.

Once the liquid is reduced, remove the chicken breasts from the pan and turn off heat. Check to make sure the chicken breasts are cooked by turning each piece of chicken over and cutting it halfway through with a knife. There should be no visible pink. If the chicken is not completely cooked through, place in a 400 degree oven for five minutes to complete cooking.

Finish the sauce by placing the softened butter in the pan. Using rubber spatula, work the butter into the sauce as it melts. Pour sauce directly on top of chicken breasts. Garnish with capers and lemon wedges. Makes 2 servings.

Recipe by Buca di Beppo

This is actually really simple and so good! Instead of white wine I just used white grape juice. Oh and I forgot to get capers... oh well.

Carrot Souffle

This is a dish that Chad's mom makes for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year, so Chad really wanted it. I had it once when I was in AZ, and I loved it! It is so good, and is even good cold the next day ;)

Ingredients

1 pound bag baby carrots

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbs flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 stick butter

2 eggs

Directions

Boil carrots in water until very soft. You want them soft enough to mash up, they take a little while so be patient!

Once the carrots are soft drain the water and smash the carrots.(a food processor would be the best but if you don't have one use a potato masher, or electric beaters)

Add all of the other ingredients and mix together well.

Pour the mixture into a baking dish sprayed with PAM.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour

Recipe by Chad's Mom

Green Bean Casserole

This is like the most common Thanksgiving food, but in my family we never have it.. but Chad does, so I made it. I actually liked it too! The recipe is from the French Fried Onion can... easy peasy.

Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Recipe by allrecipes.com

Here's what our dinner looked like! (Real special I know)

P.S. I wish you could see my cute dishes... I'll tell you about them sometime :)

Chicken Caesar Pasta

Another good one.....do not substitute the Caesar dressing for Italian- I did that the second time I made it thinking they were similar enough, they aren't. It's sick.

Ingredients:
1 (16-oz) box penne pasta
1 bottle Ken's Caesar dressing
2 whole boneless skinless chicken boobs
6 oz mozzarella cheese - (the big chunk you get in the cheese section)
1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs



Boil pasta for 10 minutes, or until done.
Boil chicken in water until fully cooked then cut into bite-size pieces.
Cut up mozzarella into small chunks.
Put chicken, pasta and mozzarella cheese in a casserole dish. Mix in the Caesar dressing - stir thoroughly. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Bake 20-30 minutes, or until bread crumbs are golden brown.

I served it with this bread and it was really good. It's just wheat french bread and some kind of parsley onion stuff I got at the farmers market. It was kind of like brushetta without the tomatoes.

Kabocha Squash and Spinach Soup

Last night our neighbor brought us half of a squash that I'd had never seen before... so I looked it up and found out it was a kabocha squash. It looks like this...

I had no idea what to do with it so I looked up recipes and found this one:

Ingredients

4 cups vegetable broth

8 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 medium kabocha squash, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 packed cups baby spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

Grated mozzarella or crumbled feta cheese for garnish

Sour cream

Method

Put broth, garlic, onions, and squash into a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer at a low boil until squash is completely soft, about 15 minutes. Mash contents of pot with a potato masher, then add spinach and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cheese and sour cream.

Serves 4

You don't have to peel the squash, unless you want to! I heard the peel is healthy, so I left it on!

I cut the recipe in half, since we only had half a squash. It looked so pretty while I was cooking it, so fall-ish! Of course it doesn't really feel like fall here, so it was a bit warm to be eating soup... oh well. It was really yummy, and super filling! We ate it with mozzarella and sour cream on top, with french bread on the side.

Mexican Shells

I have been trying out some new recipes and this was one of our favorites!

1 lb hamburger, browned
4 oz cream cheese (i cut it up in chunks)
1 pack taco seasoning

simmer cream cheese and seasoning with hamburger

8-12 jumbo shells, cooked
1/2 c salsa
1/2 c taco sauce
grated cheese
crushed tortilla chips

Pour salso on bottom of 8x8-inch pan. Stuff shells with hamburger mixture and place on salsa. Pour taco sauce over, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake at 350, covered for 20 minutes. Take it out and sprinkle the crushed chips over the top. Cook for 10 more minutes uncovered.

Pizza Night!

We used to have the BEST homemade pizza while Chad lived with his aunt and uncle in Utah. We loved it so much I had Chad call and get the recipe!

THE DOUGH

First mix:

3 cups warm water

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Then slowly add 6 cups of flour

*You can use a mixer, but by the time you get to like the 5th cup of flour, you may need to use your hands! If the dough is really sticky, just add some more flour.

Cover the bowl with a paper towel and let it raise for a couple hours till it doubles in size.

Now you can roll it out into pizzas! This recipe makes 2 large pizzas, so I would suggest cutting it in half. We ate it for dinner last night with the help of some friends, and still had dough leftover to make some for lunch today!

Check out Chad's skills

*preheat oven anywhere between 400 and 450.. and spray a cookie sheet really well

THE SAUCE

We just used some tomato sauce and added italian seasoning, basil, garlic salt, and whatever else Chad added.. he was in charge of sauce.

OR

Just use spaghetti sauce, or a pre-made pizza sauce

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the crust is firm. The crust stays pretty light, so it won't really get golden brown.

I forgot to take a picture until I started eating.. oh well.

I put mushrooms, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese on mine.

YUMMMYYYYYYYYY

Birthday Dinner

Salad, steak, green beans, twice baked potatoes and..

Homemade Razzleberry Pie!

It was fun to get out our china and have good food to put on it. I kind of outdid myself on this dinner, at least on the steak and pie. I marinated the steaks in red wine and balsamic vinegar and black pepper for a few hours, then Garrit grilled them up. They were amazing, we hadn't had steak that good since we went to Rare Steakhouse in Vegas. The pie was surprisingly easy, and delicious. In Garrit's words, "It's like a jam pie!" and just ask Grandma how much Garrit likes jam. He'll eat it with a spoon. Anyway, here's the pie recipe.


Ingredients

1 box of Pillsbury pie crusts

1 bag of frozen raspberries 

1 bag of frozen blackberries

1 cup cut up strawberries

1/3 cup sugar + extra to sprinkle on the crust

2 1/2 Tablespoons flour

Crisco (to grease the pan)

Directions
1. Thaw fruit almost completely and pour in colander to strain juice.
2. In large bowl, mix fruit, sugar and flour together. Line bottom of greased pie plate with crust. Fill with fruit.
3. Before adding top layer cut design into crust as vents, or roll it out a little thinner and cut into strips to make a lattice crust.  Lay over top of crust, moisten edges with water to "glue" the two crusts together, or weave strips in a lattice pattern. With the back side of a fork, pinch edges together, or pinch with fingers.
4. Lightly brush top crust with water.
5. Sprinkle sugar over the top.
6. Cover edges with 1 1/2" strip of aluminum foil.
7. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.
8. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Good by itself, but EXCELLENT with fresh whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.

Enchilada Soup

I got this recipe from my good friend Heidi, and it has been one of our favorites! It is perfect for days like today - cold and rainy. It seems like a lot of work, but it is really easy.

Saute:
   - 1 diced onion
   - chopped up garlic
   - 2 tbs olive oil

Puree in blender:
   - 1 can green chilies with a little chicken broth

Boil/Fry/Bake
   - 2 chicken breast
   - shred

In big pan on stove simmer together:
   - 1 cup beef broth
   - 1 cup chicken broth
   - 1 1/2 cups water
   - 1 can cream of chicken soup
   - 1 tbsp A1 Sauce
   - 2 tsp Worchestershire
   - 1 tsp cumin
   - 1 tsp chili powder
   - salt pepper to taste
   - (if I want to spice it up a little I add some Tobasco sauce - or you could add jalepenos

When simmering add cooked shredded chicken. Cook together for about 45 min.

Serve with fritos or tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream!

these need a name

oh. my. goodness.

So, I don't really want to call these cinnamon balls, but that's basically what they are. Cinnamon rolls with less work :) I forgot to take a picture before we ate half of the pan, they were that delicious.

Ingredients:

• 9 Rhodes frozen rolls
• 2 TBSP white sugar
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 stick butter

Icing:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar

• Cream together until you get the right consistency. I like mine thick but still spreadable.

How to:

• Stick frozen rolls on a pam-sprayed pie plate, and microwave for about a minute, then cut each roll into 4 pieces with scissors.
• Melt butter in a small bowl.
• Combine sugars and cinnamon in another small bowl.
• Drop each piece dough in the butter, then roll in the cinnamon sugar till it's nice and coated. Repeat with all dough.
• Arrange balls in the pie plate, and cover with plastic.
• Let rise. I recommend leaving them on the counter if you have to be up at 6:30 and you're making them at midnight, and they should be just right. If you have longer before you want to bake them, stick 'em in the fridge.
• Bake at 350-ish for about 10 minutes. They will smell amazing.
• Coat with icing while still warm, and try not to burn your mouth! 

BBQ Ranch Chicken Wraps

We learned this meal from Lindsey and Pike, and it has been one of our favorites ever since! It is so easy, and so yummy!

* Chicken Breasts
* Your favorite BBQ sauce
* Ranch Dressing
* Cheese
* Tortillas
* Lettuce

BBQ the chicken. (I did it on the stove because I don' know how to work this BBQ)
Add the BBQ sauce for the last 15 minutes of it cooking.

Shred the chicken

Assemble the wrap!

Carmel Popcorn

We had this at Moms house tonight - and I thought I would write it down....mostly so I would have the recipe when I got home :-) This stuff is so yummy and creamy.

Pop 3 bags popcorn put in very big bowl

Mix in pan
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup Kayro Syrup
* 1 cup brown sugar

Cook to medium boil - stirring frequently (the longer you cook it, the harder it will set up)

then add:

* 1/2 cup condensed milk
*1/2 tsp vanilla (mom said don't put your face over the pan when you pour it in, or it will burn out your eyeballs hehehe)

Cook to soft ball stage
Pour over popcorn

apple crepes

This morning for breakfast I made apple crepes! They turned out pretty darn good if you ask me! I'm pretty proud of myself because I've never made them before. I don't have a fully stocked kitchen so they were pretty basic, but still good!

i used this recipe for the crepes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 
  

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

then I stuck them in the oven to stay warm while I made the apples:

I found the recipe from Martha Stewart.. but you know Martha... so I changed it a bit.

• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 apples, peeled and cut into pieces

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet set over medium heat. Add granulated sugar, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar turns amber in color, about 5 minutes. If caramel starts to get too dark, remove skillet from heat. Add apples, and cook, turning apples over, until soft and completely caramelized.

I took a picture of mine, but they looked like a burrito with pineapple on top. haha

enjoy. they really are easy! try it!

A yummy salad

Tonight I made salad for dinner. It's been really hot, so a nice cool dinner was perfect.

I used:

1 head of Romain lettuce

1 chicken breast

2 pieces of bacon

2 hard-boiled eggs

We just used some Italian dressing, but I think a raspberry vinaigrette would have been so yummy with it!

Chicken Fried Rice

Now that we are all very poor students, we need some really inexpensive meals, right? Well, the cost of last night's dinner came to maybe $2 total. Pretty good.

Note: This can be made with Ramen instead of rice. Just use 1/2 of the seasoning packet instead of the buillion cube when cooking the chicken and the other half sprinkle on the drained noodles

Ingredients:

chicken breasts (I used 2)

3 c. cooked rice (or 2 packets ramen)

eggs (I used 2)

1 c. frozen mixed veggies (I used peas, carrots, corn and green beans, but normandy blend would be better)

1 buillion cube- chicken or beef

1/2 c. orange juice or 1 tbsp oj concentrate (if using concentrate add 1/2 c. water)

1/4 c. soy sauce
black or red pepper for some heat

Instructions:

Cut the chicken breast into bite sized pieces and cook with some pepper, buillion, soy sauce, and OJ in a saucepan. Remove chicken from pan and set aside, reserving juices.

In a separate pan, Fry eggs until yolks are set, but not hard. Dice.

Add frozen veggies to the pan with the juices from the chicken. Cook on medium until the veggies thaw. Add cooked rice and bring to simmer. If more liquid is desired, add equal parts soy sauce and OJ.

Stir in diced fried eggs and top with chicken.

Enjoy!

CP

Hold to the Rod Eggs

I guess these aren't really a dinner.. but oh well. Chad did NOT like them AT ALL. But I did.

Mom makes these on Sundays, and so I thought I should try it out. They are super easy, and I love 'em!

1st Boil 4-5 eggs and set them aside for later.

2nd Melt a 1/2 stick of butter in a pan with flour. Add flour a little bit at a time until the mixture is like a paste.

3rd Add milk to the mixture. I wish I had measured.. but I didn't. Just add a little at a time until it is smooth, and not too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4th Cut up the eggs and add them to the sauce (you might like more or less eggs)

5th Spoon the eggs over toast torn into bite size pieces, and enjoy!

Love, CC

Crescent Dogs

I saw this recipe on the Pillsbury Crescent package and gave it a try last night:

INGREDIENTS

8	hot dogs
4	slices (3/4 oz each) American cheese, each cut into 6 strips
1	can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

DIRECTIONS

1.	Heat oven to 375°F. Slit hot dogs to within 1/2 inch of ends; insert 3 strips of cheese into each slit.
2.	Separate dough into triangles. Wrap dough triangle around each hot dog. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cheese side up.
3.	Bake at 375°F. for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

We didn't have any american cheese, so we tried swiss in some and a shredded mix in the others. They were good, but we decided they would be better with no cheese. I would try some with and some without so you can decide!

CC

Caldo de Pollo

Ingredients:

soup:

2 teaspoons oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1-2 cloves garlic diced/smashed/chopped

2 chicken breasts

5 cups chicken broth (can be made by boiling the chicken breasts with 1 knorr's buillion cube and some sage and garlic salt and pepper/whatever spices you have + 1/2 a jalepeno<-- data-blogger-escaped-div="div" data-blogger-escaped-important="important" data-blogger-escaped-it="it" data-blogger-escaped-right="right" data-blogger-escaped-t="t" data-blogger-escaped-taste="taste" data-blogger-escaped-very="very" data-blogger-escaped-without="without" data-blogger-escaped-won="won">

salsa:

1 avacado, diced

1 large tomato, diced

1/2 c. corn (canned or half thawed from frozen)

1 lime, juiced

hot sauce to taste (I used about a teaspoon of valentina)

1/3 of a bunch of cilantro, chopped

corn tortillas, cut into strips and deep friend and salted

or just chips if you're not feeling ambitious

sour cream to top with if desired

Directions:

If making chicken broth, do that first.

-boil chicken with spices and jalepeno

-strain broth so you don't have any floaties

-chop chicken into bite size chunks

NEXT

-In a large pan (I used the same one that I made the broth in) heat oil over medium heat

-add garlic and onions and cook until onions are translucent and starting to brown slightly

-add chicken broth and bring to a boil

-add chicken and simmer for about 10 minutes, while you make the salsa

SALSA

-combine diced tomatoes, avacado, lime juice, hot sauce, corn and cilantro. Season to taste.

DONE!

Serve by spooning the soup in to bowls, then topping each serving with the salsa. Add a dollop of sour cream if desired, then some totilla strips.

Makes enough for two for dinner plus some leftover

Enjoy!

CP

orange chicken

Yesterday I found a bag of orange chicken in the freezer. While the chicken baked, I made the sauce a little better. It came with some sauce stuff, but it was overly sweet and basically gross. So I added about a quarter cup of OJ concentrate and a little bit of Mr. Yoshida's sauce (you can get it at costco and it'll last forever) and some garlic salt and red pepper flakes. I let it all cook together, then mixed the chicken into it and served it over noodles. Quick, easy and good!
Right now I have some chicken, rice and veggie stuff in the crock pot for tonight's dinner, and I'll let you know how that turns out.

CP

BBQ Chicken

We love cooking on our little $12 charcoal grill from wal-mart. My favorite thing is bbq chicken. Its super easy and yummy.

Just filet a couple chicken breasts and put some salt and pepper them.

Cook them on the grill for a couple minutes on each side (they cook fast)

They should be cooked through, and then cover the chicken with BBQ sauce and put them back on the grill until the sauce is a little crispy on both sides.

YUMMY :)

we also love these frozen veggies from Costco... Normandy Style Vegetable Blend...and they go great with the chicken

CC

giant hostess cupcake? YES!

Dinner this week has been pretty much amazing. We have a ton of meat in our freezer that needs to get used up before the move, so I've gone crazy cooking. Sunday we had bratwurst with pototoes and carrots, Monday we had Tacos and homemade mango peach salsa, Tuesday we had chicken stir fry and edamame and sweet and sour rice and Wednesday was pork roast, baked poatoes with broccoli and cheese. Last night I wasn't actually hungry but really wanted to make something sweet, so I figured this cake would do! It's devil's food cake with hostess filling between the layers covered with fudge frosting. SO GOOD. I brought it to work today, and we decided that cake like this is the reason that lipo exists! The recipe I found for the filling wasn't as good as Mom's, so I'll post mom's recipe when I get it from her.

CP

Love ya girls!

DeeeeLISH

I don't cook. We eat beef jerky, almonds, and cliff bars all day.

It tastes good.... but gives Chad terrible gas.

When we have our own place I will start cooking.

Until then, we are on a strict diet. And not a good one.

CC

mancakes

Garrit doesn't actually like meatloaf, so these probably shouldn't be called mancakes, but who cares. They are too manly to be called cupcakes.

Meatloaf cupcakes:

prepare meatloaf as usual, but instead of using a loaf pan, put it into a cupcake tin. use liners if desired. cook for about 30 minutes (because they're tiny, they'll cook faster)
( i made my meatloaf by toasting leftover garlic bread until it was really dry instead of using crackers or oatmeal or something like that. i cracked in a couple of eggs, sprinkled lots of oregano and montreal steak seasoning, and garlic salt and fresh ground pepper with my ground beef, and it was really tasty. don't forget the brown sugar and ketchup on top!)

make some mashed potatoes in the meantime. put mashed potatoes in a plastic bag with the tip cut off. try putting ranch in the potatoes if you're using food storage potatoes. believe me.

when the meatloaf is done, pipe mashed potatoes on as frosting, and top with shredded cheddar cheese!