Creamy Pasta with Chicken, Bacon, and Jalapenos

Last week I had a night where I felt like using up some things I had left in my fridge - some bacon, a jalapeno, a few peppers, and 2 chicken breasts. I was craving pasta, so I came up with this pasta dish featuring the chicken and bacon, and given a punch of flavor from the jalapenos.

Ingredients
(note - I made this up as I went along; measurements are approximate)

• 5 slices bacon, chopped (I like chopping it raw instead of crumbling it after it is cooked)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 chicken breasts cut into thin 2 inch pieces and seasoned with chili powder and salt
  
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 1 c light cream
• 1 c shredded cheese - I used a mix of cheddar and Monterrey Jack
• 8 oz cooked pasta; I used rotini

Directions

• Cook pasta; drain, set aside
• Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add bacon and cook until crispy. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
  
• Remove all but 1 tbsp bacon grease from the pan and add 1 tsp olive oil.
• Add chicken to the pan and saute 3-4 minutes.
  
• Add peppers and onions; saute until chicken has cooked through, about another 3-4 minutes.
• Add cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.
  
• Add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss; top with bacon.
  

Quick, easy, and full of flavor!

French Onion Braised Chicken

Do you love French Onion Soup as much as I do? If you do, you will love this chicken dish. It honestly tastes just like French Onion Soup - rich, flavorful, and hearty. Make sure you have an entire baguette handy because you will want to sop up all that delicious gravy with the bread!

I came across the recipe for Braised French Onion Chicken with Gruyere while browsing recipes shared on Pinterest, and it comes from the blog TheKitchn. I made a few changes, including using only 2 pots, deglazing with brandy instead of broth,, and using Jarlsberg Swiss instead of Gruyere. My version of the recipe is below.

Ingredients (for 4)

• 1 tbsp olive oil for onions
  
• 2 tbsp butter
  
• 3 large yellow onions, sliced
  
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 c brandy
• 1 c beef stock
  
• 1 tsp olive oil for chicken
  
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1/2 c freshly grated Jarlsberg Swiss cheese
  
• 2 pots: Dutch oven or a heavy bottomed, oven safe pan and a saute pan
  

Directions

• In your Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions and let cook down, stirring occasionally. You are caramelizing them, not frying them, so if they start to brown too quickly, turn the heat down. This process can take 30-45 minutes or longer. About halfway through, add the garlic and herbs. Once fully caramelized, move the onions to the edges of the pan and add the brandy. Stir to scrape up all the brown bits. Redistribute onions evenly in the pan.
  
• In the meantime, heat 1 tsp olive oil in the saute pan. Add chicken and brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to the pan with the onions, nestling it into the onions.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  
• Add beef broth to the saute pan over high heat, quickly stirring and scraping up the brown bits. Pour broth over the chicken/onion mixture.
  
• Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through.
  
• Top chicken with the cheese and place under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese has melted.
  
• Serve with a sliced baguette. It also works well served over mashed potatoes.
  

Mini Chicken & Biscuit Dinner

A few weeks ago I made a whole roast chicken and had a ton leftover. While browsing the food pins on Pinterest, I came across an interesting recipe using leftover chicken. Now this is not a recipe typical of the type of food I make, but something about it just screamed "comfort" to me. It was a cold week and we were all a bit under the weather, so this recipe hit the spot.

The original recipe was called Incredibly Easy Chicken Broccoli Pies and is by Betty Crocker, but I changed up the ingredients. My pies tasted like Thanksgiving, and I now know what I'm going to do with all of those leftovers come November!

I had some leftover gravy which was great poured over the pies. I even think a mashed potato topping would be cute, especially for kids!


Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 tsp olive oil
  
• 1 c cooked roast chicken, chopped
• 1 sm onion, diced
• 1/2 c frozen corn
• 1/2 c frozen peas
• 1/2 c frozen or cooked chopped carrots (I blanch baby carrots for my toddler every week, so I took a handful of them and chopped them up)
• 1/2 c shredded Cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Any other herbs you'd like to go with the ingredients you choose; I added a touch of poultry seasoning.
  
• 1/2 c Original Bisquick mix
• 1/2 c milk
• 2 eggs

Directions

• Heat oven to 375 degrees
• Spray 12 regular sized muffin tins with cooking spray
• Heat olive oil in a saute pan; add onion and cook 3-4 minutes.
• Add chicken and veggies; stir to mix.
  
• Season with salt and pepper; remove from heat and stir in cheese.
• In a medium bowl stir together the bisquick, milk, and eggs.
  
• Fill muffin tins about 1/3 of the way with the baking mixture. Top with a spoonful of the chicken mixture.
  
• Bake about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes before using a knife to loosen them from the tins.
  

Chicken and Edamame in an Orange-Ginger Sauce over Quinoa

I am not one to cook with fruit - I don't really like it in salads, prefer savory over sweet, and have only used citrus in marinades or the occasional sauce, such as in chicken piccata. But for some reason, when I saw this recipe for Chicken and Edamame with Orange-Ginger Dressing on the blog Confections of a Foodie Bride, I was intrigued.

I used this cold salad recipe as inspiration to create this warm dish - Chicken and Edamame in an Orange-Ginger Sauce over Quinoa. I couldn't get enough of it - light, fresh, bright, and healthy. And I'm always looking for new ways to use quinoa - it was the perfect base for this dish.

Ingredients (for one serving)

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Spices - salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin
• 1/2 c quinoa cooked according to package directions (using water or chicken broth as your liquid)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 red onions, chopped
• 1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
• Juice from 1/2 an orange
• Juice from 1/2 a lime
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Handful of shelled edamame
• Cilantro for garnish

Directions

• Season chicken with the spices; cook in the oven on 400 until done, approximately 12-15 minutes. Set aside.
  
• Cook quinoa
• In a saute pan, heat olive oil.
• Add red pepper and red onion; saute 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; saute 2-3 minutes.
  
• Mix broth, orange juice, and lime juice; add to the pan. Bring to a simmer for a few minutes. Toss edamame into the sauce to warm.
  
• Plate your quinoa. Slice the chicken and place over the quinoa. Pour the sauce over the chicken and quinoa and garnish with cilantro.
  

Potato Roast

I love potatoes. Baked, roasted, covered in cheese and gravy, fried, scalloped, au gratin, mashed, smashed, chips, sticks - basically any way you can prepare a potato, I love it.

Unfortunately my husband and daughter don't share my love of potatoes... seriously, how can you not like a potato!! So I made this recipe for my friend Jenny because she, like most people, likes potatoes. Jon and my daughter just don't know what they are missing.


The recipe for a Potato Roast was part of the most recent Taste of Home Cooking Recipe Swap and it came to me from the blog Prevention RD. I had seen this recipe floating around the blog world and Pinterest, so I was happy when I got it in the swap.


Crispy, herbed potatoes - yes please. And since I served them alongside a roast chicken, I had good, homemade gravy to pour over them. I loved these, and they were even great with some eggs the next morning.

The original recipe called for three pounds of potatoes. Since it was only the two of us, I used three potatoes, and it still made five servings. The recipe below reflects my small changes.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 Russet Potatoes, sliced thin using a mandoline or food processor
  
• 2 shallots, cut into rounds
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp dried thyme

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  
• In a cup or bowl, melt the butter in the oil. Pour a small amount in the bottom of a baking dish.
• Arrange the potato slices vertically. Wedge the shallots between the potatoes.
  
• Pour the rest of the oil/butter mixture over the potatoes.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Add the thyme and bake another 15-20 minutes. Turn the broiler on high for 5 minutes.
  

Recipe Makeover - Veggie Lo Mein

When I was a kid, my parents always took us to Philadelphia's Chinatown for dinner and I LOVED it. I couldn't get enough of the tea, the wonton soup, the fried noodles with duck sauce and spicy mustard, and my favorite dish to order was Vegetable Lo Mein. Still, to this day, I always get Lo Mein when having Chinese food.

I have made Lo Mein at home before, but could never get the sauce just right... until last week that is! I think I finally figured out what makes the sauce. Besides the right flavors, it's flour! Flour mixed in with the broth and other liquid ingredients makes the sauce stick to the noodles and veggies. My Lo Mein was perfect!

Here is what I did -

Ingredients

• 1 head of broccoli chopped into florets
• 1/2 red pepper, julienned
  
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 sm can water chestnuts
• 1 sm can bean sprouts
  
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 lb thick spaghetti
• 1 tbsp oil (I used olive oil; vegetable oil would work well)
• 1.5 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tsp flour
• Approximately 1/2 c low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp mirin

Directions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop broccoli in for 2 minutes; remove and run under cold water. Drain and squeeze gently to get the excess water out.
  
• Cook paste in the water you used to blanch the broccoli.
• In a large saute pan or wok, heat oil over high heat
• Add carrots and peppers; saute 3-4 minutes.
  
• Add broccoli, garlic, bean sprouts, and water chestnuts. Saute 2-3 minutes.
  
• In a bowl, mix the broth, soy sauce, and mirin with the flour. Add to the pan and bring to a steady simmer.
  
• Add pasta and toss everything to coat.
  

Crock Pot Asian Pulled Pork

The theme for the most recent Taste of Home Cooking Recipe Swap was healthy dishes, and I was given this recipe for Crock Pot Asian Pork from Jenna's blog. There they were, those two little words... crock pot.

Confession - I have never cooked with my crock pot. Never. I used it once to keep meatballs warm at a party, but that's the most use it has ever gotten. I always figured that whatever I could do in a crock pot I could also do in my Dutch oven, so why bother with the crock pot? And believe me, as I started to cook my swap recipe I was tempted to just throw it all into my Dutch oven because it just didn't feel like I was cooking, but I stuck with it. The pork was amazingly tender and pulled apart very easily, but I'm honestly not sure if I'll use the crock pot more frequently - I love my Dutch oven. I will, however, be making this pork again!

Upon reading the recipe I immediately knew I had to change one thing - the use of splenda. I do not consider any artificial sweeteners to be healthy, at ALL. No nutra-sweet, splenda, "sugar-free" products or diet sodas here! So I decided to use agave nectar as a sweetener. Agave nectar is a lot sweeter than sugar or artificial sweeteners, so you don't need as much.


Below is the recipe using agave, and with a few other minor changes.

Ingredients

• 2 lb lean boneless pork roast
• For the pork: kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1.5 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root
• 3/4 cup of water
• Optional: 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I like to balance the sweetness with something spicy)
  
• 6 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• Toppings: fresh cilantro and sliced green onions

Directions

• Season pork with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; brown pork on all sides, approximately 7-8 minutes.
• Combine chicken broth, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, agave nectar, sesame oil, crushed garlic, ginger root, water, and optional red pepper flakes in the crock pot
  
• When the pork is browned, place into the crock pot
  
• Cook on low for 8 hours (I only had 6 hours so I cooked it for 3 on high and 3 on low). Note: your pork may not be completely submerged in liquid. If it isn't, flip it every 30 minutes or so.
  
• About an hour before you're about to serve, remove the pork and shred it. Put the shredded pork back into the crock pot with the mushrooms until the mushrooms are soft and have absorbed some of the liquid.
• Serve over rice and top with the green onions and cilantro

YUM! I loved the sauce - sweet, rich, and just a hint of spice - and the cilantro added the perfect fresh burst of flavor. The pork was so tender and flavorful, and my toddler even loved it! And I had so much fun taking pictures of this pork since I actually had some natural light when it was done, I'm going to share another one with you. Enjoy!

Lager Braised Beef Short Ribs

Pennsylvania is home to one of the best beers around from the oldest brewery in America - Yuengling. And when at a bar in PA and you want a Yuengling, you only need to say that you'd like a Lager and everyone knows exactly what you want. I decided to use Yuengling to braise my short ribs over the weekend based on a recipe I saw on the Magic Hat web site. Below is my version using Yuengling. Ingredients

• 2.5 pounds of bone-in beef short ribs (this was 8 short ribs)
  
• 2 tbsp flour
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 carrots cut into chunks
• 2 stalks of celery cut into chunks
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 8 oz Yuengling lager
• 2 c beef stock

Directions

• Heat oven to 300 degrees.
  
• Put short ribs in a large bowl. Toss with the flour, salt, and pepper.
  
• Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add short ribs and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
  
• Add onions, garlic, carrots, and celery to the pot; saute 10 minutes.
• Return short ribs to the pan in a single layer, nestled into the veggies.
  
• Add the thyme, chipotle powder, brown sugar, tomato paste, beer, and stock.
  
• Stir everything together, cover, and transfer to the oven.
• I cooked the ribs for one hour on 300 then 3 hours on 275. I still had about 30 minutes until we were ready to eat, so I turned the oven to 225 just to keep them warm.

The meat was falling off the bone tender - just the way they should be!! Short ribs are pretty fatty, so you might want to pour the gravy through a separator before serving.

I served the ribs over bacon-cheddar mashed potatoes - just perfect!!!

Cheddar-Bacon Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes have to be one of my favorite foods. And with bacon and cheese? Yes please!

Over the weekend I made Lager Braised Beef Short Ribs. The author of the inspiration recipe served them with cheddar-bacon grits. I decided to use potatoes instead of grits.

I don't measure my ingredients when making mashed potatoes - you just have to go by look, feel, and taste. So here is a loose recipe for the potatoes.

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs red potatoes
• Salt
• Butter - approximately 2-3 tablespoons
• Whole milk - approximately 3/4 cup
• 2 handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese
• 5 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled
• Next time I will also add a tablespoon or two of sour cream

Directions

• Put potatoes in a large pot of water; bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender, drain water and return pot of potatoes to burner over low heat.
  
• Add butter, salt, and most of the milk.
• Mix with a hand mixer until creamy and smooth, adding more of the above ingredients as needed.
  
• Add cheese and bacon near the end, and garnish with more of the bacon.

YUM!!! Even better, these potatoes turn into great potato pancakes for breakfast the next day!

Simple Lasagna

I haven't made lasagna in years, but have been craving it recently so I picked up a box of the no-boil noodles. I didn't follow a recipe, only the instructions on the back of the box for how to make sure the noodles cook properly.

I made a very simple, basic, meat and cheese lasagna. Below is my recipe.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs of ground beef
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb mix
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley, separated
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  
• 1 24 oz jar of your favorite tomato sauce
• 1/2 c water
• 20 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 4 oz shredded mozzarella
• salt and pepper
• 6 oz fresh mozzarella
  
• Handful of shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 box of no-boil lasagna noodles (12 noodles)
  

Directions

• Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat
• Add your beef and brown for a few minutes while separating the meat into small pieces
  
• Add onions and garlic, let cook another few minutes, stirring continuously
• Add the oregano, Italian herbs, and 1T of the dried parsley
• Once the meat is completely cooked, add the jar of sauce. Pour the water into the empty jar, close it an shake it up, an pour that into the pan as well. Let simmer just a few minutes.
  
• Mix the ricotta with the egg, salt, pepper, remaining parsley, and the shredded mozzarella.
• Start to assemble the lasagna - start with a very thin layer of sauce at the bottom of a greased pan, top with 3 noodles laid crosswise (make sure they aren't touching - they will expand when they cook), then some of the ricotta mixture, meat, a few pieces of the fresh mozzarella. Repeat - noodles, ricotta, meat, fresh mozzarella; noodles, ricotta, meat, fresh mozzarella; last 3 noodles, rest of the ricotta, meat, fresh mozzarella, then the Parmesan.
• Bake on 350 - covered for 45 minutes, uncovered for 15 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
  

Perfect! Like I said, I have never used those no-boil noodles, but was pretty happy with how they worked. And wow, so much easier than boiling noodles and trying to get them out of the water and into a pan without breaking them or dropping them. This lasagna hit the spot!