Chicken Alfredo Casserole

I was given the original version of this recipe from  my friend, Penny. Of course I had to tinker with it a little to make it my own. You know its a hit when your husband loves it. I like this recipe because it is simple- a great Sunday supper. It makes enough for Monday, too!

 Chicken Alfredo Casserole

• 3 chicken breasts, boiled and cut into bite-size pieces
• 8 oz bowtie pasta, cooked according to directions
• 2 jars Alfredo sauce (I use one home style and one artisan cheese) *If you prefer a thicker, less creamy casserole, use lass sauce.
• 10 oz spinach, cooked and drained (remove as much liquid as possible)
• 1 small jar marinated artichokes, drained and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 small jar sun dried tomatoes, drained and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
• 2 T minced garlic (from a jar)
• 1 small container shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 small bag shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 325.

While pasta is cooking, cut up the chicken and add to a large bowl.

Squeeze all the moisture out of the spinach, and add it to the chicken.

Add the alfredo sauces, artichokes, tomatoes,  dehydrated onion, garlic, and about half the parmesan and mozzarella (a large handful of each, anyway). Stir to combine, then add the drained pasta. Put this into a large baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover with foil and heat about 10 minutes. Uncover, add more parmesan and mozzarella, and heat uncovered until melted.

As always, I love your comments and appreciate all follows!

The Best Mac 'N Cheese EVER!!!

I first tried this mac 'n cheese when my distant cousin, Lisa, brought it to a church dinner.  I loved it! I'm a huge mac 'n cheese fan, and I am really picky about it.  Most restaurants make it too bland.  It can't be too dry, or too runny.  This one was great!  I do feel like I cooked it a little too long, and it was dryer than it should have been.  That's just me, though.  Everyone else devoured it!  I play around with every recipe until I get it just the way I want it.  This one is pretty terrific as it is, though.

Best Mac 'N Cheese

Ingredients:

1 8 oz pkg cooked macaroni

1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 16 oz. sour cream

1 16 oz. cottage cheese (no, really...trust me)

4 eggs (Yes, 4)

1 stick butter, melted.

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients and cook 30-40 minutes.  (It sets pretty quickly, so don't over cook it!)

Peaches and Cream Cake

This started out as a recipe I found on Pinterest, but (as usual), I had to play around with it.  As it turns out, this is a really delicious cake- and it isn't heavy.  Best of all- it's easy!!

Peaches and Cream Cake

1 box cake mix- either yellow or white*

1 box vanilla instant pudding mix

3 eggs (yes, I said 3)

1 c. milk

1/3 c. oil

1 15 oz. can peaches in heavy syrup (Make sure they're sliced, or you will have to slice them)

2 pints heavy cream

2 tsp. sugar (You can add more if you wish.)

2 tsp. almond flavoring

*The Pinterest version called for white cake mix. Hello?! If you put 3 eggs in that thing, honey, it's gonna be yellow, OK?

Mix the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, milk and oil with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour into 2 greased and floured cake pans.

It will be super thick.  I added a little extra milk and it was still thick. I finally said OK, whatever, and poured it in the pans.

Bake at 350 degrees about 35 minutes.  (Just do the toothpick check- if it's clean, it's done.)

Cool on racks until COMPLETELY COOL. The cream icing has to stay cold- so make sure that cake is completely cool.

Meanwhile, mix the cream, sugar, and flavoring.  I added more sugar and a tad more flavoring before I got it to my liking.  Pinterest said mix until "semi stiff" but I wasn't impressed with that. I let it get a little thicker.  I used the "whip cream" setting on my mixer. (Duh!)

This needs to be stored in the fridge until you are ready to put it on the cake.  It needs to stay COLD.

(Pinterest called for half this much icing. PPHHHTTT!! I'm a southern girl...come on...)

Drain the peaches.  Layer cream icing on the first layer and arrange the peaches in a circular pattern (Or just throw 'em on- nobody will ever know!)

Add the next layer of cake and slather on the cream!  Arrange the remaining peaches on the top in a pretty circle. :o)

Keep this cake COLD until serving.  If it gets too warm the icing turns to...well, let's just say it isn't pretty...

Hope you love this as much as I did.  My cousin Terry said he'd like to taste it with fresh peaches. Hmmmm......

Happy eating.

Beth :)

Tex Mex Scrambled Eggs

An easy and yummy way to start the morning.
For each person you need:
1/2 c. your favorite salsa (thick)
2 eggs beaten & seasoned with salt & pepper
about 1/8 cup finely diced onion
about 1/8 cup finely diced bell pepper
garlic to taste (optional)
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 sliced green onion
2 T. butter (a little extra may be needed.)

Heat salsa in a small pan & keep warm.
Melt butter in a skillet. Add onion (not green onion) and bell pepper.
Cook until almost done. Add garlic now, if desired.
If you need to add more butter before adding the eggs, do it now.
Add the eggs and scramble with onions & peppers until done.
Transfer to a plate and top with cheese, salsa, and green onion.
You can add a little sour cream it you wish.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

It's another lazy and beautiful Sunday! I'm one of those people who like to spend my Sundays with my family and doing things I love to do. I don't like to spend the day on drudgery. One of our favorite Sunday meals is chicken and dumplings. It's easy and it doesn't keep me standing in the kitchen all day. Once I get it started, I can do other (fun) things while it cooks.
Chicken and Dumplings is a southern tradition. Chicken and Dumplings lovers are divided into two camps: flat dumplings or round dumplings. One of my grandmothers was a flat dumpling person. She mixed them up, rolled them out flat, and cut them up into strips. My other grandmother made the round dumplings- she mixed up a basic biscuit dough, rolled it into balls, and dropped them into the broth. I confess, I am more of a round dumpling person (sorry, Granny). However, I have found a short cut in to form of canned biscuits. Would my grandmothers gasp in horror if they were alive today? Most likely not. They'd probably cheer me on for finding a way to save time while still serving up a great dish. So.. here goes:
If you happen to have a fresh, whole chicken lying around, well, good for you, sister! Get that baby into a pot! If you are like the rest of us (rummaging through the freezer thinking, "I know I had some chicken in here somewhere..." well go see what you've got. I had some frozen chicken breasts. Works for me. The fact is, our grandmothers learned to make use of all they had and waste nothing. If they didn't have a whole chicken did they give up? Heck no! Got some chicken? Go get it...

Put the chicken in a pot and cover with a good bit of water. (That's right, I said "good bit". Unless I am trying a new, difficult recipe, I rarely measure things.) I filled the pot enough to cover the chicken by a good 2 1/2 inches. My chicken was frozen, so that takes longer to cook than fresh chicken. I turned the heat to medium high and added 1 medium onion:

2 ribs of finely sliced celery:

I topped this with 1/2 stick of REAL butter, sliced:

When the chicken begins boiling away nicely I also add about 1 tsp. poultry seasoning, a chicken bouillon cube, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. (You can always adjust them later.) Some people add a bay leaf- it's really up to your personal taste. I don't usually add a bay leaf.

 Cover, turn the heat to low, and go do something interesting. Read a book, watch your kids play..... Cook until the chicken is falling off the bone. I cook mine slowly- always on low. The longer it takes, the better the flavor. When the chicken is ready to fall off the bone, remove it to a plate and let it cool (until it is cool enough to handle). You can keep your broth simmering on low while the chicken cools. Add 1 can cream of chicken soup and whisk it in. It can make friends with the broth while you work with the chicken and the dumplings.

While the chicken cools, take 2 rolls of canned biscuits from the fridge. (Use the small "cheap" kind for this- the big, fat ones don't work well at all.) Quarter each biscuit and place it ON TOP of the broth in the pan. IMPORTANT: NEVER (ever) stir the broth once the dumplings are added!! If you do, they will sink to the bottom, stick there, and burn. Cover the dumplings with the chicken pieces. The chicken presses the dumplings just underneath the broth, where they will cook, but not sink enough to scorch. on the bottom. Cover and simmer until the dumplings are cooked all the way through. Once they are done and you turn off the heat, you can stir it a little.

The final dish:

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as my family. Have a great Sunday!
Beth :-)

A cool thing for cooks

 I made a cool discovery on a recent trip to Trader Joe's (traderjoes.com). As a working mom, I am all for anything that makes my life easier. However, I want to feed my family healthy food. I worry about chemicals, hormones, etc. in our food. (Don't even get me started on my GMO rant.) This is one reason I love TJ's- you get good, high quality food.
Last Saturday I found these-

It's crushed garlic and chopped cilantro in little frozen cubes. (How cool is that?!)

You keep them in the freezer. If you need a clove of crushed garlic- just pop one cube out!  Each cube of cilantro equals 1 tsp. (Notice I have already used one cube.)
I know this is a small thing, but any small thing that saves me time without sacrificing quality is a good thing.
Happy (FAT) Tuesday. See you on Wordless Wednesday!
Beth :o)

What a peaceful weekend! After a week of Monday-ballet, Wednesday-dentist, Thursday-PTO, Friday-groceries and errands (all after a full work day) I was so grateful to be at home. After spending Saturday morning cleaning up the house and catching up on the laundry, I put on a slow cooker of home made chili and made some bacon-ranch roll-ups. They are a super-easy addition to chili, soup- you name it.
To make the roll-ups, just open a package of crescent roll-dough roll it out into two long triangles. (It automatically comes out of the package like this. Just don't divide into triangles.) Pinch the seams together firmly. Cover each rectangle with Ranch dressing and sprinkle with bacon pieces. I buy the pre-cooked kind, but if you are feeling all industrious- fry your own. :) Cover with shredded sharp cheddar and roll up "jelly-roll" style. Slice into thin (about 1/4 in) slices and bake at 400 until golden brown. They would probably slice easier if they were chilled awhile- but who wants to wait?

Bacon-Ranch Roll-Ups

I don't measure things much when I cook. I go on a look or  a feeling. That's how my mother and both my grandmothers cooked. To me, a recipe is just a suggestion- a springboard for your own creativity. I'd like to come up with some new versions of these roll-ups. If you have some- please share!
I finally placed my seed orders today. After a careful inventory of my seed box, I discovered that I needed less than I thought. Therefore, I ordered some NEW things...ha! I can't wait til I start them!
Well, Manic Monday is rapidly approaching. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!