Ranch Chicken

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italian seasoned)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I omitted since my breadcrumbs were seasoned)
4 pounds chicken pieces (legs, thighs, whatever you like)
1/2 cup ranch dressing

In a large bowl put the chicken and ranch dressing, toss with your hands to get chicken coated. Let marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour. In a bowl mix together breadcrumbs, cheese, cornmeal, and seasonings. When chicken in finished marinating coat with breadcrumb mixture and put in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

The Verdict? I was hoping for more ranch flavor, there was lots of crunch and the chicken stayed very moist. Jason loved it, he thought you could definitely taste the ranch and it was delicious. I'll make this again!

Asparagus!

Jason and I love asparagus. I typically chop it up and stir fry it with any seasonings we have on hand or roast it in the oven with some olive oil. It's great! This weekend I was in the mood for something different and found a recipe for Asparagus Herb Lasagna! I didn't have the time to make lasagna (haha), but used the recipe I found to create a similar recipe-- it's more like Asparagus Herb Zitti :)

(Ingredients can be adjusted for how many people you'd like to feed, also depending on if the recipe is a side dish or main course, these proportions made about 4 main dish servings)

1/2 box of pasta (we used penne) cooked al dente
1 lb of asparagus (chopped into 1 inch pieces)
2 links of Italian sausage sliced (completely optional, just threw it in because we had it)
2 cloves chopped garlic
olive oil
6 sliced scallions
Any other herbs you have on hand/like (we used some basil, oregano, and parsley)

Put a few tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and add in scallions and garlic. Once that gets sizzling add in chopped asparagus, sausage (if you're using it), and herbs. Stir fry until asparagus is getting tender and all the flavors are combined (maybe 10 minutes). Toss with cooked pasta and put in a oven safe dish.

Place aside and now for the sauce!

2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a saucepan heat up olive oil and than add in the 2 tablespoons of flour, stir and let the flour 'cook' for a minute or two. Add in milk and stir until mixture begins to simmer. Lower heat so it stays at a simmer and keep stirring until the sauce begins to thicken up. Once sauce starts to thicken add in Parmesan cheese and stir for about 5 more minutes. Pour sauce over pasta/asparagus mixture and mix so everything gets a coating of sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees covered for 20 minutes and then 10 more minutes uncovered. Enjoy!

Cinco de Enchaladas!!!!

Really they are good anytime, but I just made them for a cinco de mayo party and I guess they were too good because we had no leftovers :( But I'm happy everyone enjoyed them :)

Start with:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
1 green onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can black beans
1 packet taco seasoning

First cook the meat, onions, and peppers in a skillet until the vegis get soft, add in remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool so that you can comfortably handle the mixture.

You'll also need:
1 can enchilada sauce
1 cup salsa
8 (or so) flour tortillas (if you have less just stuff more filling into each one)
1 cup chopped Velveeta (you can use any cheese, but Velveeta really makes the dish!)

Coat a 9 x 13 (or so) oven pan with about 1/2 the can of enchilada sauce. Place about 1/2 cup of filling into each tortilla and roll up, place in pan seam side down. Top with salsa, remaining enchilada sauce, and cheese. Bake in 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. yummmm! I served this with Spanish rice, southwest salad, chips with salsa, guac, and queso, margaritas, and chocolate covered strawberries.

Sorry, no picture because I think it's very hard to make enchiladas look good in a picture, but I promise they are delicious! :)

Creamy Italian Chicken

I got this recipe from Shayna who got it from someone she babysits for (Mary) who said it was one of their favorite crock pot recipes. Had to try it out and was not disappointed!

2 large chicken breasts (thats what we had in the freezer, the recipe called for 4 chicken breasts so use that if you can)
1 envelope Italian Salad Dressing mix
¼ cup water
8oz cream cheese softened
1 can condensed chicken soup (don't add the water)
2 cups mushrooms sliced thin

Put the chicken, water, and Italian seasonings into the crock pot and let it cook for 3-4 hours on low. Top with the sliced mushrooms and then place the cream cheese/soup mixture on top of the mushrooms and chicken (this looked gross... but don't worry!) Let it cook for another hour and then mix everything around. If you're hungry serve now or keep it on low till you're ready. Serve over rice or noodles (we used elbow macaroni). This meal was amazing! So many flavors, the chicken was super moist and could be cut with a fork, yumm yumm yumm! Thank you Shayna and Mary!

Shrimp Stir Fry

This is a very simple recipe I learned from a friend a couple summers ago. You can easily shake up the ingredients to customize it to your palate. Basic ingredients are vegetables, a meat product, dressing/flavoring and some rice.

For the pictured dish, I used:

Broccoli

Red & Yellow Peppers

Onions

Mushrooms

Other veggies I typically use or have tried include Carrots, Boc Choy, Green Peppers, Zucchini, Snap Peas.

Shrimp

Other meats I have used are Chicken, Beef.

Italian Dressing

Other flavoring I have used includes Soy Sauce, Oyster Sauce.

Prepare the meat the night/day before by deveining the shrimp (if necessary), or cutting up the chicken/beef to bite-size morsels. Marinate the meat overnight in your flavoring, you want the meat super saturated so be generous with the dressing. I will either put the shrimp/meat & dressing in a large plastic bag or in a large bowl. The next day, when it's dinnertime, cut up your vegetables, again into morsels. Peppers work better if you employ the "box cut" technique for vertical strips, as opposed to cross-section slices. Carrots you can julienne if you have skill or ambition, otherwise cross-sections are swell.

Now you can cook. Begin with the meat, either on the grill (tastes best), or cook it before the vegetables in your fry pan/wok. Once the meat is cooked, start dropping in your vegetables, being cautionary to cook speed (onions go in first, then carrots, then broccoli, save peppers and mushrooms for last). Basically it's just stir frying 101. Drop in some dressing/flavor whenever you feel it's drying up or needs some more sizzle. This veggie/meat combo is best over some white rice, so you can fire up a cup or two in the microwave or stovetop when you're starting the meat.

For portioning, I usually gauge it something like, 1 carrot per person, 1 pepper per person, a decent clump of broccoli per person. So a 6-person meal involves 6 carrots, 6 peppers and so on.

I will say this is an excellent dish to reactivate some leftover meats or vegetables. Also, if the meal produces leftovers they are an easy lunch the next day at work.

Honey Baked Chicken

Looking for a new chicken recipe with a flavorful kick? Honey Baked Chicken is easy and different, and especially tasty with herbed chicken cous cous. Bon appetit!

Chicken (we used boneless chicken breasts, 2-3 lbs., cut into pieces)
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tbsp honey
4 tbsp margarine/butter, melted
1/4 tsp ground black pepper (we used paprika)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Rub chicken pieces with garlic powder, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with honey and butter or margarine, then brush this mixture over chicken pieces. Place chicken pieces, skin side down, in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 to 60 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear, basting with remaining butter or margarine. Just before serving, turn chicken over and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes to cook the skin on the other side.

Note: We cut the chicken breasts in half (to make them thinner), bumped the temp up to 350, and baked for 30-35 minutes. We turned it about halfway through and it turned out great. Flavorful, juicy, and best of all, easy! Inspired by recipe at http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/honey-baked-chicken-i/Detail.aspx We'll definitely make this one again :) P.S. I'm loving this blog! Can't wait to keep reading everyone's recipes and try some of them out myself.