Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce

E: This chicken is so delicious and flavorful and I just can't get enough. Our basil plant has been growing like crazy lately and I've needed to use the basil leaves for something. This was perfect! I can't wait to make this again!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients:
1. Place milk and bread crumbs in separate, shallow bowls.
2. In skillet, heat butter to medium heat. Dip chicken in milk, then coat with crumbs. Cook chicken in butter, on both sides, until juices run clear (about 10 minutes). Remove and keep warm.
3. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds over medium heat. Add the chicken broth to the skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and stir to loosen browned bits from pan. Stir in cream and sun-dried tomatoes; boil and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat.      
4. Add Parmesan cheese, basil and pepper. Stir sauce and cook until heated through.
5. Serve chicken with sauce poured over the top.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

Erin: I found this great recipe on Pinterest and its the perfect dish to make on Sundays and then take to work for the week. I've made it almost 3 times now and it's quickly become Sam's favorite dish


Ingredients:
5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 cup sour cream
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 T poppy seeds


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.
3. Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. Pour over the chicken.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve!

Prove to Your Mom You Aren't Going to Starve Meatloaf

Erin: I couldn't wait to try out my new loaf ban I got (yes, I'm a loser). I was reading through 100 Recipes Every Girl Should Know cookbook and found a great meatloaf recipe.  It was pretty easy to make and doesn't take too many ingredients, but it does take over an hour to cook and that was kind of annoying. Nonetheless, I loved this recipe and will be making it again very soon!

No pic this time. Although the meatloaf tasted amazing, it definitely did not look too pretty :(

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
Half of a medium sized red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large egg, slightly beaten
5 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
6 tablespoons ketchup
1.5 teaspoons Worcestershire
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add garlic, onion and bay leaf. Cook over moderate heat for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally
3. Add bell pepper and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the parsley and thyne and cook for 2 minutes. Let cool. Discard the bay leaf.
 4. Meanwhile, combine 4 tablesppons ketchup, meat, eggs, bread crumbs, Worcestershire, salt and pepper and onion and bell pepper mixture.
5. Blend ingredients with your hands (but don't over do it).
6. Transfer meat mixture to the baking sheet and form into a loaf (or mold by using a loaf pan). Coat the load with the extra ketchup.  Cook for one hour 

Sweet and Salty Honey Cheese Spread

Another appetizer I served at the party. I looove goat cheese and with the honey, this cheese spread and delicious! I served with water crackers and oh my goodness, I was in heaven!

Ingredients:

1 (10.5-oz.) goat cheese log
1/2 cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds
Honey to drizzle on top

Directions:
1. Press or roll goat cheese log in sunflower seeds, thoroughly covering cheese, including ends. Arrange cheese on a serving platter with any remaining sunflower seeds. Drizzle with honey
2. Serve with crackers

Hot Corn Dip

Erin: Sam & I had our housewarming party this weekend and it was wonderful! We had so much fun with friends and family. I served little appetizers and finger foods (and a ton of booze!) and it was great. This recipe is for hot corn dip and it is fabulous. Everyone LOVED it and it was gone in about 20 minutes. I'll be making this a lot more often! (Excuse my shadow in the pic)

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded chedder cheese

1 cup shredded Montery Jack

2 tbs chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced small

1 small can (4oz) diced green chilies, undrained

1/2 cup Mayo

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 11oz can of corn, drained

1 small tomato

2 tbs cilantro, chopped

2 tbs green onions, sliced thin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the cheeses, chiptole and green peppers, mayo, garlic powder and corn together. Pour into an oven safe dish.

3. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly

4. Top with diced tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

Corn & Zucchini Salad

Erin: I found this recipe for corn and zucchini salad and it was such an easy way to incorporate some veggies into our usual routine. I paired it with fresh salmon and it was sooo good :)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp.  KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
2 cups  fresh corn kernels (I used canned)
1  zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup  chopped onions
1 cup Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese
1/2 cup  Sour Cream
3 slices Bacon, cooked, crumbled
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat dressing in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add vegetables; cook and stir 8 to 10 min. or until crisp-tender. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in cheese and sour cream; cook on medium heat 3 to 5 min. or until cheese is melted and mixture is heated through, stirring frequently.
3. Top with bacon and cilantro and enjoy! :)

Shrimp and Spinach Pasta

Erin: Another pinterest recipe! This was so healthy and so delicious and I can't wait to make it again! :)

Ingredients:

1/2 pound extra large shrimp, thawed, peeled and deveined
2 tsp lemon zest, divided
1 pinch crushed red pepper
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
1 sprig fresh oregano, leaves removed and chopped
2 basil leaves, torn
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (I skipped the tomatoes)
4 cups baby spinach
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 pound angel hair pasta
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. On a plate, toss the shrimp with the crushed red pepper, half the lemon zest, chopped herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let it sit while you start the rest.
2. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add the garlic and bloom 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes along the remaining lemon zest. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add the shrimp in a single layer and sear on one side for 2 minutes. Flip and sear another minute, or until shrimp is cooked through. Keep tossing the tomatoes just a little bit.
4. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the angel hair until al dente, maybe 5 minutes.
5. Drain all but about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and toss with the shrimp and tomato mixture, along with the spinach. Squeeze a lot of lemon juice right in.
6. Season with coarse salt and pepper. Add as much pasta water as you want to create a thin, glorious sauce.

7 Up Biscuits

EG: This past weekend was spent putting the final touches on the house and making Target/Ikea/Bed Bath and Beyond runs. It was beyond exciting. (Especially when the power went out in Target and they wouldn't let us out for 2 hours because of a "tornado warning"). Ugh! Anyway, that night I was planning to make Chicken with Rosemary Sauce, recipe below, and I was realllly craving some bread to go with it but it was pouring down rain and because of the tornado warning, I wasn't going anywhere. Just then, I found a recipe for biscuits that has 4 ingredients. FOUR! Andddd, I had all the ingredients on hand! Woo hoo! You bet your ass I decided to try it. And it was delicious.





Ingredients:
1. 2 cups of bisquick
2. 1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of 7 UP (I used sprite)
1/4 cup of melted butter

Directions:
1. Add sour cream to Bisquick and mix together. Add Sprite
2. Sprinkle additional biquick on the counter and gently pat the dough out to desired thickness
3. Place melted butter in 9X9 pan (I used my loaf pan and made a loaf of biscuits and it was still delish
4. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 8-10 minutes

Chicken Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas

Erin, you know how much I looooove quesadillas. I found this recipe on pinterest a while ago and because we just got a new quesadilla maker, I knew it was time to try this recipe. And it's so good. So so good. It's a must try!!

(It was so good, you can see I took a bite right out of it before I could get a picture)



Ingredients
2 tablespoon canola oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded (I used about 2 cups of rotisserrie chicken
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 can black beans
2 ounces cream cheese
2 cups Mexican blend cheese
4 large (burrito sized) flour tortillas


Directions
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large skillet, stir in the garlic and corn and cook until the garlic is fragrant
2. Add the chicken, broth, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and black beans and bring to a light boil.
3. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors meld. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the cream cheese.

Use quesadilla maker or..

4. Heat another large pan over medium-high heat, brush pan surface with canola oil. Place a flour tortilla onto the hot pan.
5. Build a quesadilla by layering a handful of cheese, 1/4 of the chicken mixture and another handful of cheese on one half of the tortilla.
6. Fold tortilla in half and apply pressure to top to create a sear on the bottom of the tortilla and to make everything stick together.
7. Once the bottom of the tortilla is browned flip over and brown the other side, once again applying pressure to the top to help the browning process.
8. When both sides are browned remove quesadilla from pan and cut into 4 even triangles with a sharp knife or pizza cutter.

Repeat process with remaining tortillas, brushing pan with canola oil before each quesadilla.

Chicken with Rosemary Sauce

Erin: I found this great recipe in a new issue of Cooking Light magazine. It's super healthy (and easy to make). And I was surprised how good it was! I paired the chicken with some fresh veggies and a glass of pinot noir.  Delish!

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

1 teaspoon olive oil
4 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup half-and-half

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. 

2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. 

3. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side. 

4. Add green onions, wine, and rosemary; cook 30 seconds. 

5. Stir in broth; cook 2 minutes. 

6. Add half-and-half; cook 2 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through)

Chocolate Protein Bars

So it's been a longgg time since I last blogged. I'm sorry! I've been so so busy but I wanted to add a new recipe I recently discovered. It's a little different from what we usually blog about, but I wanted to post anyway. You know how much of a health freak I have recently become, and I found a recipe for homemade protein bars. They are really easy to make and taste really good. You should eat one serving (2 bars) as a midmorning snack and one in the late afternoon. Let me know what you think!

What you will need:
Oat flour (I will admit, this was difficult to find. Whole Foods did not carry it. I actually ended up finding it at Kroger in the health food isle. You can also make your own by putting oats in a food processor until it is fine)
4 egg whites
2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder (you can find this almost anywhere: grocery stores, academy, health food stores, GNC, ect.)
1/2 cup splenda or truvia (I use truvia, but I think splenda has less carbs)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz berry flavored baby food (I used organic apple blueberry-they usually come in 4 oz so buy 2 jars)
3 tbsp baking cocoa
4 oz water (I used the empty baby food jar to measure this)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix dry ingredients (flour, protein, baking soda, salt, cocoa)
3. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl (egg whites, splenda, baby food, water)
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together
5. Spray cooking dish with non stick butter spray and add batter to dish

Makes 16 squares, serving size is 2 bars