Creamy Tomatoe & Artichoke Pasta

3-4 Roma tomatoes
4 T. melted butter
2 T. sundried tomatoes
3 fresh leaves basil
1 tsp. garlic Salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 C milk
1 C heavy cream
1 T minced garlic
1/2 onion chopped
2 C sliced mushrooms
1 (14oz) can quartered artichokes, left whole or chopped up.
1/4 C sundried Tomatoes
1/4 C fresh basil chopped
Penne Pasta

Directions

Peel the skin off of the roma tomatoes & combine them with 2 T sundried tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic salt, butter, pepper & milk in a blender until smooth. Once blended smooth, add cream & pulse once or twice to combine. (make sure not to do it more or it will start whipping it & making it thick). Sauté minced garlic, onions & mushrooms in skillet with some olive oil over medium heat until tender. Add artichokes, sundried tomatoes & basil & cover with sauce. Heat through on medium-low heat until sauce & artichokes are just warmed up. Serve over penne pasta.* I created this for dinner last night & I loved it! I actually think that I loved it even more today for lunch. These are all of my favorite ingredients combined into 1 pasta.... Can't go wrong there ;)

Crock Pot Sunday Roast with Gravy

Ingredients

2lb Tip pork loin roast
1 package french onion soup
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2/3 can water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in crock pot & cook for 4 hours. Serve gravy on mashed potatoes.

*Ok, I know this is ridiculously easy, but I wanted to post just in case no one has tried this before. This is SO tender and the flavor of the gravy is awesome. If you have a Costco close by, we purchase our roasts in a 4 pack and they are only like $16 for the the 4. It is an AWESOME deal. Each roast is individually packaged so we just freeze them & pull them out as we need them. These are the only roasts that we eat anymore.

Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts (I used 2 large breasts & cut them in half)
1/2 cup honey (I used agave nectar & a little less than half cup)
1/4 cup dijon mustard (I added a couple extra tablespoons)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased pan. Mix honey, dijon mustard, butter and pepper in bowl and pour on top of chicken. Bake for 45 minutes, basting with the sauce about every 15 minutes.

* This is such a simple, quick chicken dish! I was looking for something that wouldn't take much effort for dinner tonight and I got it. The best part, my husband raved about it the whole dinner & said it was a keeper!

Shrimp Asian Salad

Ingredients

2 T honey or agave nectar
2 T soy sauce
1 lime, juiced or 2 1/2 T lime juice
2 tsp sesame oil or peanut oil
1 T vegetable oil
3 T olive oil
1 T toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cucumber, peeled & cut into small pieces
1 lb cooked medium shrimp

Directions

Combine honey (agave nectar), soy sauce, lime juice & oils in a bowl. If shrimp isn't cooked, cook shrimp on medium- low to medium heat with a small amount of olive oil until pink on both sides. Combine cucumber & shrimp with sauce in bowl. Toss with romaine lettuce & top with sesame seeds.

Swiss Chicken

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breasts
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 can water
2 c. stuffing mix (coarsely crushed)
melted butter

Directions

Place chicken breasts in 9"x9" baking dish; cover with cheese slices. Combine soup and water and pour over cheese. Cover with stuffing & drizzle butter over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Serve with rice.

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts cut in half to make 4 small pieces (or four smaller chicken breasts).
1/2 c. fine, seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 lg. egg
1/4-1/3 c. olive oil
1 (32 0z.) jar Classico brand pasta sauce (I like the Tomato & Basil flavor)
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
4 c. hot, cooked linguini pasta

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and 1/4 c. of the Parmesan cheese. Place egg in another shallow bowl and beat. Dip chicken into egg, letting excess drip off, then in bread crumbs. Coat thoroughly. Shake to remove excess crumbs. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken pieces, saute 5 minutes on each side, turning once, until golden brown. Remove to plate. In baking dish, add pasta sauce, garlic, parsley and oregano & stir. Place browned chicken pieces into dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and top each piece with mozzarella cheese & remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese & bake for 10 minutes longer until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Serve on top of linguini pasta.

*I love this dish & my husband who isn't a real big pasta eater also loves this! This really is quite simple to make.

Applebee's Chicken Fajita Rollups

Chicken Marinade

2 large chicken breasts cut into tiny bite size pieces
2 c water
1/3 c soy sauce
3 T sugar
2 T salt
2 T white vinegar
1 T chipotle pepper or 1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp hickory smoke flavoring or liquid smoke
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper

Place cut up chicken pieces in marinade and refrigerate 2-4 hours

Mexi-Ranch

1/2 c mayo
2 T minced onion
2 T diced tomato
1 T buttermilk (or you can use regular milk if you don't have buttermilk)
1 T white vinegar
2 tsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp green chili pepper
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
pinch dill weed
pinch cumin
pinch cayenne

Mix all ingredients together.

Directions

Remove chicken pieces from marinade and cook in skillet on medium heat until no longer pink. Add Mexi-Ranch mixture & 1 store bought container Pico de Gallo (is found in the produce section of the store by the refrigerated salads & salsas). Mix everything together and let warm up for about 1-2 minutes. Serve 1/2 cup chicken mixture, shredded iceberg lettuce, & mexi style cheese on a large burrito size tortilla & roll up tucking in the sides first. Serve with Sour Cream.

*I used to get these all the time and love them, I did some searching online & found some different recipes and came up with this combination that we all love. It isn't exactly like Applebee's but they are SUPER good!

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup diced onions
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3 cups sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Add cream to sauce & cook for 5 minutes longer. Serve on top of Capellini or Angel Hair pasta.

*I found a recipe and made some changes to it, so this has my changes in it already. I have to admit that I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this dish, definite keeper!

For anyone concerned about the wine in it, the alcohol does cook out.

Favorite Spaghetti Sauce

Cook until soft in 4 T. butter:
4 med. onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

Add & Cook:
1 1/2 lb. ground round
1 t. salt
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce

Add:
2 (14 oz) cans tomato puree
4 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
2 (8 oz) bottles clam juice
4 bay leaves
4 or more shakes tabasco
1 t. each:
oregano
sweet basil
salt
sugar
lemon juice
3/4 c. parmesan cheese
4 c. red wine (alcohol cooks off)

Simmer 3-4 hours.


*This is AWESOME! But BEWARE, it makes a HUGE batch.... this is a party size. I made the normal batch size and froze half of the sauce, but it is probably enough sauce for 4-5 dinners for my family of 4 (2 being little girls, but they still eat it). I made a few changes and it was still amazingly good. I used 2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce instead of tomato puree, I drained the juice of 2 minced clams cans and used the juice from that (I used the clams in a clam chowder so I could kill 2 birds with one stone), and I only used 3 cups Red Cooking wine.... it just seemed like a lot of wine. I also added more mushrooms than it calls for and used dried parsley instead of fresh.

I will never be able to go to any other spaghetti sauce!

Sweet Pork (enchiladas, burritos, etc.)

Ingredients:

6 pounds boneless pork roast

1 12 oz. bottle taco sauce

1 12 oz. can Coke

2 cups brown sugar

Directions:

Cook pork in crock pot with a little water about 6 hours, until it shreds easily. Two hours before serving, shred pork and return to crock pot (discard juice from pork). Pour taco sauce, Coke, and sugar over pork and mix well. Cook for 2 more hours.

*To make enchiladas, make the pork and substitute it for the chicken in this recipe.

To make burritos, fill tortilla shells with rice, black beans, cheese and pork. Fold in both ends and roll up. Place in a 9x13 baking dish with fold side down. Do not try to squish too many into one pan. Cover with green chile enchilada sauce and add more cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

You can also serve it on rolls like a pulled pork sandwich.

*YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY.....

Chili glazed Shrimp & Noodles

Ingredients:

3 T. Sesame oil or Peanut oil

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 c. thinly sliced green onions

2 c. sugar snap peas with ends cut off

1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 c. honey

1-2 T. chili sauce (located in the asian section) add more if you like it spicy

1 tsp. ginger powder or freshly grated ginger root.

2-3 c. rice noodles, cooked (located in the asian section)

Directions:

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan. Add garlic and shrimp. Stir-fry 1 minute. Mix soy sauce, honey, chili sauce, and ginger in bowl. Pour over shrimp and add green onions, snap peas, & rice noodles. Toss everything together coating it all in the sauce. Serve in a bowl with chopsticks! :)

*I found a recipe that had some of these ingredients together but I thought it was quite bland so I changed it up and created my own. James liked the original recipe only so-so and then I made it a second time with my changes and he loved it! I think from shrimp being frozen to the dish on the table took me only about 20 minutes! A great recipe to make when short on time and need something quick.

Swiss Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts

4 slices swiss cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 can water

2 c. seasoned stuffing mix

1/3 c. melted butter

Directions:

Arrange chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish and place one slice of cheese over each piece. Stir soup and water together; spoon evenly over chicken. Crush, coarsely, the stuffing mix and sprinkle over top; evenly drizzle butter. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Serve with rice.

*This was surprisingly VERY good! My husband took a bite and said "This Recipe is a keeper"! I only made 2 chicken breasts, topped each piece with 2 slices of swiss cheese and the made the normal size sauce. I actually could have used even more sauce so I would definitely double the sauce recipe if you make more than 2 breasts.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

1/3 cup honey

¼ cup lime juice (about 2 lg. Limes)

1 T chili powder

2 cloves finely minced garlic

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded

12 corn tortillas

2 cups Mexican cheese blend

1 19 oz. can green enchilada sauce hot or mild

½ cup heavy cream

Non-stick cooking spray

1 T chopped cilantro

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the cooked and shredded chicken in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, place the honey, lime juice, chili powder and minced garlic or garlic powder. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Pour this mixture over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate while you prepare the tortillas, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.

Heat a large griddle till a drop of water skitters across (about 350 degrees F). Spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray or oil it with a little bit of canola oil in between each round of tortillas. Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible and some golden brown spots have appeared. Remove the tortillas from the griddle and keep them between a couple of paper towels until ready to use.

Spray the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about ½ cup of the mixture in the bottom of the oiled baking dish. Add a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla in a line. Cover the chicken with a large tablespoon of cheese, then roll the tortilla up from one side to make a rolled enchilada. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish starting at one end with the long edge parallel to the longest side of the pan so that you end up with two columns of six enchiladas each.

Repeat with the remaining chicken, cheese and tortillas. You will use about 1 ½ cups of the cheese for the filling and set the remainder aside for topping the enchiladas in the pan. Add the remaining marinade mixture to the enchilada sauce and cream mixture, if desired. Pour this mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake the enchiladas for 30 – 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown on top. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.

* This recipe looks long & time consuming but the directions are just really wordy, it is actually very easy and very YUMMY! It is a little bit spicy, so if you don't like spice, cut down the chili powder. I made this with a side dish of Lime Cilantro Rice (1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water, ½ of a lime, juiced and 1 T of cilantro leaves) and it was a great combo.

Restaurant Style Chicken Nachos

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, crushed

6 green onions, sliced, white parts and tops separated

3 T canola oil

1 shredded, cooked, whole chicken breast

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup salsa

1/2 (12 oz) package tortilla chips

1 (8 0z) package shredded cheddar/monterey jack cheese blend

1/2 large tomato, diced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a 12 inch skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the garlic and white parts of the green onions in canola oil until tender. Mix in shredded chicken, salt and pepper. Toss until well coated with oil. Stir in the salsa.

Arrange tortilla chips on a large baking sheet. Spoon the chicken mixture over tortilla chips. Top with cheese blend and tomato. Bake in the preheated oven 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove from heat and sprinkle with green onion tops before serving.

*James was craving nachos for about a week or so a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to get online and find a good nacho recipe for him. This is what I found that sounded the best to me and they were really good. They definitely filled his nacho craving.

Orange Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs salmon fillet

1/3 cup orange marmalade

1/2 cup orange juice

1 T Dijon mustard

1 tsp. ginger

2 tsps salt free citrus-herb seasoning

Directions:

Rinse salmon fillet under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 6 serving portions and place salmon fillets in a large zip-top bag; set aside.

In a small bowl stir together remaining ingredients. Pour into zip-top bag. Squeeze air from bag and seal. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking and bring to room temperature.

Light broiler and line baking sheet or boiler pan with aluminum foil.

Remove salmon from marinade and place on baking sheet. Discard marinade. Broil salmon 6 to 8 inches from heat source for 6 to 8 minutes or until cooked through. Do not overcook.

Serve immediately.

*This is a very good salmon that is a little bit different than any salmon I have made before. And it was very simple to make. I could not find the citrus-herb seasoning so I just made my own by adding some lemon zest, orange zest, thyme, oregano, basil, and rosemary to it.

Cheesecake Factory Southwestern Salad

Ingredients:

1-2 chopped tomatoes

6 chicken breasts grilled and sliced

1 1/2 packages frozen sweet corn

2 15-oz cans black beans drained and rinsed

2 large avocados diced

2-3 heads Romaine lettuce torn

2 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese

1 36 count corn tortillas

Dressing:

1 bunch cilantro

4 T honey

Juice of 4 limes

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 T sesame oil

4 tsp peanut butter

1 T red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 T sugar

Salt and pepper

1 cup extra-light olive oil

Directions:

Put all dressing ingredients (except oil) in blender and blend until smooth. Add oil slowly with blender still running. Set aside.

Cut tortillas in thin strips. Fry in hot vegetable oil in batches until slightly brown, draining in bowl lined with paper towels. Salt generously while hot.

Put all salad ingredients into large bowl and toss. Serve with tortilla chips on top and dressing on the side.

*The dressing for this salad is really different but it tastes really good with the combination of the salad. I have never had this at the restaurant but I really enjoyed the one I made at home. Also, this is for a large group. James and I had this for dinner 2 nights and we didn't even go through half of the dressing or even a 1/3 of the dressing.

Empanadas

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 c. bell pepper, chopped

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 pkg. refrigerated pie crust

1 egg, beaten

Salsa

Shredded lettuce

Shredded cheese

Sour Cream

Chopped Tomatoes

Directions

Brown meat with onion, garlic, red onion, and green pepper. (Drain fat.) Add taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Simmer 5 minutes. Unfold one pie crust. Place on nonstick cookie sheet. Place half the meat mixture on one side of pastry crust to within one inch of edge. Dampen edges with a finger dipped in water. Fold crust over filling and press edges together with a fork to seal. Cut slits in top of crust to allow steam to vent. Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or golden brown. Cut empanada into four wedges and serve with lettuce, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, and sour cream.

*This was a very fun and good take on the empanada. My husband and I think that it tastes like a tostada kind of. Because there are 2 pie crusts in a box, I baked one with half of the filling and saved the other half and pie crust for another night. Instead of using water to seal the edges, I actually use the egg that is already beaten for the top and use a brush to brush it on.

Chicken Roll-Ups

Ingredients

3 oz. cream cheese

2 T. melted butter

1/3 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. Ranch

1 can crescent rolls

1 T chopped onion

1/4 tsp. salt

1 large can cooked chicken

1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Fine Bread crumbs or crushed chips.

Gravy:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. sour cream

Directions

Mix everything, except crescent rolls and bread crumbs, in a large bowl. Unroll crescent rolls onto a baking sheet and put a spoonful of the mixture in the middle of each roll. Fold up the ends of each roll and seal the best you can. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

For Gravy, heat the 3 ingredients together in a sauce pan. Serve drizzled over roll-ups

*This is good recipe and I think it is kind of fun for kids. I know my daughter really liked these when I made them. Instead of using canned chicken, I actually boiled a chicken breast and shredded it. And instead of sprinkling the top with bread crumbs, I roll the entire roll-up in the bread crumbs.

Ritz Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)

Ritz crackers, crushed

1/2 c. melted butter

1 c. Ranch

1/2 c. melted butter (to drizzle)

Directions

In bowl, mix 1/2 cup melted butter and Ranch. Dip thawed chicken in mixture until coated well. Next, dip chicken into the crushed crackers and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

*This recipe is from my friend Sara Hunsaker and it is so yummy. I made this last week and my husband basically drooled over it :) For the ranch dressing, I made the ranch from the packet and I think that was a huge part of the flavor, so I do recommend doing that. Also, we like ours a bit crispy so we cooked ours about 10-15 minutes longer.

Bajio Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients:

2 Lbs. frozen medium shrimp
1/2 Cup butter
1 Cup honey
2 Tablespoons seasoned salt or lemon pepper

Mango Salsa

1 Mango
1/2 Cup red onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons Cilantro
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 Lime's juice
1/8 teaspoon chili powder

Directions:

Thaw shrimp and cut in half. Melt butter and stir in honey and seasoned salt/lemon pepper. Heat about half of sauce in pan until bubbly, then add shrimp. Cook until shrimp is pink in color.

Mango salsa- peel and dice mango, chop cilantro and onion. Add everything to bowl and toss.

Heat up tortillas in a skillet on both sides. Add cheese, lettuce, mango salsa and shrimp.

*I needed something quick for dinner the other night because I forgot to thaw any meat. I pulled out some shrimp and decided to try shrimp tacos. James grabbed a few things at the store on his way home and we were able to get this made in a very short period of time. I have actually never had Bajio's tacos, but I know that people who have had them rave about them and my husband was no exception. He loved these just as much and was very excited that I made them for him. Definitely a keeper in our shrimp recipe pile (which seems to get bigger and bigger every week).