Cheesy Chicken

Erin: I made this recipe about a month ago but I forgot to post it! It's definitely not a healthy meal but its delicious :)

Ingredients:
3 boneless chicken breasts
2 tubes of Pillsbury crescent rolls
2 (or 4 cups) bags of shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
2 cups of milk
1 tsp of dry mustard ( I didn't have any on hand so I just used regular mustard)
butter
Lawry’s seasoning salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place chicken, sprinkled with Lawry’s and tablets of butter in tin foil.
3. Bake, in a baking dish, for 45 minutes (or until cooked through)
4. Meanwhile, combine soup, milk, dry mustard, and a handful of cheese in a saucepan. Heat on medium low, until warm and incorporated.
5. Unroll crescent rolls and place a dollop of shredded cheese on each.
6. Once chicken is cooked, cut into cubes and place on crescent rolls with the cheese.
7. Roll up into crescent shape.
8. Pour a portion of your sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan (just enough to cover the bottom)
9. Place rolled up crescent rolls in 2 rows in the pan.
10. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and cover with remaining sauce.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Avocado Pesto Pasta

Erin: We have a huge fan of pesto in this household. Sam just can't get enough. So when I found this recipe for avocado pesto pasta, I thought it was perfect. It took no time at all and Sam was in heaven :)

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta (I used linguine)

1 cup of  fresh basil, reserve some leaves for garnish

2 avocados, pitted and peeled

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

What to do:

1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add linguine and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.2. Meanwhile, make the pesto by combining basil, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and oil in a food processor. Process until smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Toss with pasta and serve!

Summertime Bow Tie Pasta

What you'll need:
1 lb bow tie pasta
6 slices of bacon
2 avocados, diced
splash of lemon juice
olive oil
parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Cook pasta as followed and drain
2. Toss with olive oil
3. Mix all ingredients and serve!

Bourbon Chicken

Erin: You know when we were little, whenever we went to the mall we would head to the food court and get bourbon chicken from the little Chinese takeout place. Well, I found a recipe for that chicken! It's so good and actually pretty easy to make. I made the chicken with hot rice and it was fabulous! You gotta try this recipe :)

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 -2 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce

What to do:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet and add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Then remove chicken
2. In the same skillet, add remaining ingredients, heating over medium heat until well mixed and dissolved.
3. Add chicken and bring to a hard boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Serve over hot rice and ENJOY.

Chicken Gyros

Erin: Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I feel like I have had no time! I made chicken gyros last week and they were so healthy & yummy! It was a bit too much cucumber for me, so next time I might cut it in half. Enjoy :)

Ingredients:

Pita Bread

For Tzatziki sauce:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken:
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tablespoons)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

What to do:
1. Shred the cucumber or chop in food processor. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. (So important)
3. Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.

4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
5. To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.

6. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
7. Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. O

8. Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips.

9. Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.

Breakfast Bread Pudding

Erin: 3 word. Breakfast. Bread Pudding. So delicious! This is such a great dish to make the night before and pop it in the oven on lazy Saturday morning and enjoy with a cup of coffee. It's super yummy and really easy to make. I think this will become a breakfast favorite in this household :)

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1½ cups milk
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ loaf day-old bread, cut into cubes
Nonstick cooking spray
Maple (or any type) syrup

What to do:
1. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and milk.
2. Add the brown sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon, and whisk until all the ingredients are completely incorporated.
3. Stir the bread into the egg mixture.
4. Coat baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
5. Pour in the bread pudding, and cover with foil. Let sit in the refrigerator at least one hour and up to overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the bread pudding, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake an additional 10 minutes, until the pudding is browned. Serve hot with maple syrup.

"I'm mad at my boyfriend" guacamole

Erin: Catchy name, huh? The boys (Sam, Matt and Eric) and I spent Sunday afternoon outside grilling hamburgers. I decided to make guacamole to go with the burgers (great choice!!) Before dinner, Sam and I had a little disagreement so the whole time we were making the guacamole we were side-by-side in the kitchen not speaking. When we were done Sam thought it would be funny to name it, "I'm mad at Sam guacamole" which was pretty hilarious and it definitely broke the ice. We quickly made up and had a great rest of the night. This guacamole is delicious and super easy to make.


Ingredients:
1. Two ripe avocados
2. 1 tablespoon lime juice
3. 1/4 cup of chopped red onion
4. 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilanto
Salt, as desired


What to do:
1. Scoop avocados from their shells into a serving bowl, sprinkle them with lime juice and mash them with a fork 
2. Stir in onion and cilantro, add salt to taste and top with additional lime juice

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Erin: This recipe is a great twist on pesto. We have a big pesto fan in our house, Sam just can't get enough. I'm not the biggest fan but I found this recipe and it looked too yummy to pass up. And it was a big hit :)

Ingredients:
1. 2 tablespoons olive oil
2. 1 pound or about 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
3. 1.5 cups of milk
4. 1 package creamy pesto sauce mix (I used Knorr brand, right next to the gravy packets)
5. Half a cup of grated parmesan cheese
6. 8oz of pasta (I used fettuccine)

What to do:
1. Heat olive oil in large skillet and add chicken strips to brown them. (Meanwhile, make the pasta)
2. Stir in milk and creamy pesto sauce and bring to a boil
3. Stir in cheese
4. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through
5. Toss with hot pasta

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

Erin: I'm sure I've told you about my recent obsession with anything that has buffalo sauce. Yes, I have a serious problem. So when I found yet another recipe for BUFFALO chicken tacos, I knew I had to try it. They were super yummy and boy approved!

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, cut into 1 inch pieces
⅓ cup flour
3 tablespoon cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
⅓ cup Frank's buffalo wing sauce plus extra for garnishment
1 Tablespoon olive oil
10 6-inch yellow corn tortillas







For toppings, you can add whatever you usually like with tacos. I added avocado slices, green onions and topped with ranch dressing.

What to do:
1.  Heat a large sauce pan over medium-high heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, cayenne, and garlic powder. Season the chicken pieces with pepper, then dredge in the flour mixture.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the sauce pan and once it gets hot, add chicken and cook on both sides – about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
4. Once the chicken is done, set it aside in a bowl and toss with ⅓ cup buffalo wing sauce.

Assemble tacos, dividing the toppings evenly among each taco. 

Tuscan Ravioli with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

Erin: When I first came across this recipe I was a little intimidated because it looked so hard! But once I actually looked at it, it was super easy! Great for a simple and delish meal after a long day at work. And not at all expensive. I think this will become a regular in this family.

 

Ingredients:
1 (20-oz.) package refrigerated four-cheese raviol
1 (16-oz.) jar Classico sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce  
2 tablespoons white wine  
2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped (I skipped the tomatoes because I'm not a big fan) 
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 
Grated Parmesan cheese to top

What to do:
1. Prepare ravioli according to package directions
2. Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour  white wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan.
3. Stir in chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped basil
4. Cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
5. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with Parmesan cheese