Fettuccine Alfredo

I will spare you the "I hate cheese" speech that usually accompanies my posts about meals with cheese. What I can say about this dish, in particular, is that it really did smell good enough to eat. Alas, I was not brave enough to try it. But everyone else chowed down and loved it. The sauce is really quick to make and simple; my short cut for the pasta was to use the ready made Buitoni Fettuccine. The pasta took 2-3 minutes to cook after the water finished boiling. The sauce took about ten minutes with tons of stirring. So Alfredo lovers, you are certainly in for a treat with this recipe.
Alfredo Sauce from All Recipes.com
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of grated Parmesan cheese 
1/4 cup of parsley 
1 package of ready made Fettuccine(such as Buitoni)

Instructions
Melt the butter. Add the cream, garlic and cheese and stir continuously.  Boil water and add pasta. When pasta is done, drain and separate with fork. Add sauce and serve. Top with parsley for garnish.

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

Let's face it. Crock pot cooking is the simplest way to get a great, home-cooked meal without much effort. Sometimes we don't have time in the morning to toss everything in the pot, so what can we do? You can still use the crock pot, just take some short cuts. This Monday was an example of how my day became so crazy, I totally forgot to set up the crock pot in the morning to get our meal going. Fortunately, this particular recipe from cooks.com was able to be made on low or high. I also found this recipe in a search for my friend Jen R., who loves cacciatore but wanted to avoid making it with a whole chicken. So here's the secret to my short cut: Perdue Perfect Portions. They sell them in the meat/poultry aisle, by the chicken cutlets and come individually sealed and marinated (I used the white wine garlic).  The cutlets are pretty thin, so cooking time is faster. The dish was done with in two hours, cooked alternately on high and low.

Crock Pot Cacciatore from Cooks.com
3-4 lbs. boneless/skinless thighs and breasts ( I used about 4 portions of White Wine Garlic Perdue Perfect Portions)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 large red or green bell peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon each basil and oregano
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 (8 oz.) can stewed tomatoes with chiles
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups burgundy wine( I used about 1 cup of Merlot and the wine did not clash with the 'white wine' taste of the cutlets)
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling before serving

Directions 
Place sliced onions on bottom of crock pot. Add chicken.
Stir together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.
Cook on low 7-9 hours or high 3-4 hours.(I alternated between high and low for 2 hours, checking the consistency/doneness of the chicken) Serve over pasta, with a salad on the side.

Quick Bites: Salsa Chicken and Mexican Rice

I have decided to dedicate my upcoming posts to the busy individual.  Anyone with a busy schedule should be able to appreciate these short cut meals.  Here's one to satisfy your craving for Mexican food without getting takeout and it only takes 20 minutes to make. The recipe is a combination of ready made items (salsa, quick rice) and items that require preparation(grilled chicken). Regarding the grilled chicken, you can purchase the chicken already grilled and portioned at the grocery story.  This will also help cut the time involved in making the entire dish.  You can also add a side of beans, green salad or tortilla chips to complete the meal.

Chicken Salsa with Mexican Rice (Serves 2 - multiply as needed)

2 8-10 oz skinless,boneless chicken cutlets
1/2 cup of salsa ( I used Jack's Special Medium Salsa)
1 bag of El Paso microwaveable Mexican Rice ( done in 60 seconds and comparable to restaurant style)

Directions
Thin out chicken breasts with a tenderizing mallet. Cook in heated grill pan, turning every 2-3 minutes. Cook instant rice in microwave; remove and vent to cool. Heat salsa in microwave for about 45 seconds or warm in small sauce pan. When chicken is done, top each breast evenly with salsa. Place on top of rice and enjoy!

Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Roma Tomatoes

Welcome to 2010! After a few week absence, I am back and ready to roll. Tops on my resolution list? Finding new and healthy recipes to make.  This particular recipe was something I threw together on one of those evenings when I had to make due with whatever I had in the house. Once in awhile, I stock up on packet marinades at the supermarket since I find they are a great fix to break up meal boredom. In my shopping travels, I came across a pesto sauce packet and decided to add it to my meal repertoire. I also had some left over Roma tomatoes in the fridge, defrosted chicken, and pasta, on hand. This all gelled together to make one of the best and healthiest meals we have had in awhile. It's particularly easy to make for someone who is always on the run and makes awesome leftovers -cold! Happy New Year and Good Eating to all!!!

Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Roma Tomatoes(Serves 2 adults and two tiny kids)
1 packet of pesto sauce (I used Lawry's or McCormick)
2 8-10 oz boneless chicken cutlets
2-3 Roma tomatoes, roughly cut
3 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 box(8oz) of Penne pasta
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Prepare pesto and pasta as directed on package and combine. Add oil to medium pan and heat. Once heated, add tomatoes. Cook until soft. Add cutlets to pan and cook until done. Slice cutlets into strips. Combine pasta, chicken and tomatoes and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Parm Snackers

I have been super busy with the upcoming holidays, but stull had time to flip through my Rachael Ray 'Big Orange Book'. My husband is a huge chicken Parm lover, so when I came across not one, but two chicken parm recipes, I had to give them a whirl. Except I had to make few changes. You can probably find the original recipe on Rachael's site, but this is the one that I created. This is a great recipe for small holiday get togethers. Just make sure you have wooden toothpicks on hand; the plastic ones I used didn't really hold the chicken together.  Also, adjust the dipping sauce to your liking; I made mine spicy. For a variety, prepare the dipping sauce a variety of different ways such as sweet, spicy or even cheesy.

Chicken Parm Snackers (Serves 4)
2 8-10 oz skinless,boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of SHREDDED Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP salt
1 TSP pepper
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP onion powder
2 TBSPS of olive oil
1 TSP of parsley, to sprinkle on melted cheese
Wooden tooth picks

Dipping Sauce
1 small can crushed tomatoes(8-12 oz)
1 TSP minced garlic
1 TBSP grated Parmesan
Pinch of red hot pepper(just a couple of flakes)
1 pinch of sugar
1 TSP oregano
1 pinch of basil

Directions
Heat oil in a medium skillet. In a Ziploc bag, combine all chicken ingredients(not sauce ingredients) EXCEPT shredded Parmesan. Add chicken strips and shake until all is coated. In a small or medium sauce pan, Add all dipping sauce ingredients and stir frequently. Add chicken to heated pan, turning every two to three minutes until chicken is cooked through and outside is golden brown. When nearing the end of cooking, carefully sprinkle shredded Parmesan and parsley on top of each chicken strip. Allow to melt fully, then remove each strip. Fold each piece of chicken over and secure with a wooden toothpick. Serve sauce on the side for dipping.

Layers and Layers of Chocolatey Goodness

I have been missing for over a week now for various reasons, but I have stock piled some quick, easy and tasty yummies to post in my blog this week. I am going to start of with one of my favorite desserts - a chocolate layer trifle. It's fairly simple to make and you can get very creative with  the dessert. I have made it several different ways, but this recipe is, by far, my favorite. Basically, you're layering different types of chocolate mousse, with whipped cream, cake, cookies or candies on top of each layer. This time, I used mocha mousse and dark chocolate mousse. I cheated and did not make them from scratch. You can buy packets of instant mousse at the supermarket, in the pudding/baking aisle. Nestle makes a fabulous instant mousse. You simply add milk and use your mixer to whip it. I used good old fashioned chocolate cake mix and prepared to rounded 9 inch cakes. This was way too much for the trifle, BUT I found that you can serve the trifle OVER the left over cake. I used crushed oreos, which I Ziploc'd and crush with a hammer. Yes, you read that right. I used a hammer since I couldn't find my meat tenderizing mallet. It worked even better! As for candy, I topped with Hershey's Kisses and each layer was filled over with Cool Whip. You can use chocolate, peanut butter or butterscotch chips in the layers. I have often used ready made marble cake or angel food cake to fill in the layers. So, here it is. A fun, creative, yummy, yet easy to make treat!

Chocolatey Goodness Trifle
2 packages of instant chocolate mousse(It's great to use different flavors)
1 container of Cool Whip
1/2 of a 9 inch round cake or 1/2 of a ready made cake loaf, such as Entemann's, cut into cubes
12 crushed Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, such as Oreos
10 Hershey's Kisses

Directions:
Prepare mousse and cake(if needed) according to box directions. Layer the first flavor of mousse into trifle bowl. Top with crushed cookies, then whipped cream. Add second flavor of mousse, then cake cubes. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle remaining crushed cookies into center of whipped cream layer, then surround with chocolate kisses. Refrigerate until serving and refrigerate left overs.

It's Cranberry Sauce Time!

Just stopping in for a quick hello and a yummy recipe for home made cranberry sauce and cranberry juice. I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday!

Easy to Make Cranberry Sauce(from the back Ocean Spray bag)

1 bag of Ocean Spray Cranberries - fresh
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water

In a medium pan, bring water and sugar to a boil. Add cranberries. Boil until completely soft. Strain over heat proof container to catch the juice. When juice is cooled, add to a picture with ice and refrigerate. Then use potato masher to mash the cranberries to the sauce like consistency. Refrigerate to cool further and enjoy the sauce at the temperature you like. Add juice to a martini glass with a shot of vodka for a yummy drink!