Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage
Another great recipe for serving to guests; it looks nice and is easy to make. And, it is great for freezer cooking! I tend to do a double batch simply because I really like it. When I do that, we have four pans of stuffed shells – one for right then, and three for the coming weeks.
Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage
Adapted from: http://www.myrecipes.com/
Ingredients:
1 lb. jumbo shells
1 12 oz. container cottage cheese
1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
1 cup (4 oz.) asiago cheese, shredded
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbls. fresh chives
2 Tbls. fresh parsley
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt/pepper to taste
1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of liquid
4 cups marinara sauce (I like Newman’s Own brand)
1 lb. Italian sausage, browned
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Cook shells according to package directions, adding a dash of olive oil to the water to prevent the shells from sticking. Rinse the shells well and set them out on wax paper to dry.
Combine ricotta cheese and cottage cheese in a food processor or blend and combine until smooth. Add the asiago cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, chives, garlic, spinach, and salt/pepper.
Fill each shell with the cheese mixture. Top with marinara sauce combined with browned Italian sausage. Finish with mozzarella cheese on top.
If freezer cooking, freeze now.
To serve, bake at 375 degrees covered for approximately 70 minutes, uncovering in the last 5 minutes allowing top to brown a little.
Cheesy Basil Stuffed Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes
Cheesy Basil Stuffed Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes
Originally cooked by: www.letsdishrecipes.blogspot.com
Ingredients:
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbls. heavy cream
1 Tbls. lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbls. mayonnaise
1 cup breadcrumbs (use g/f breadcrumbs to make this meal g/f)
2 Tbls. olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes
In a medium bowl, combine shredded cheese, 2-4 Tbls. basil (depending on your preference), heavy cream, lemon juice, 2 cloves garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.
Cut a pocket in the chicken breast and stuff filling inside. Use a toothpick to hold opening closed.
Place in baking dish with a small amount of olive oil on the bottom. Spread mayonnaise on top of each chicken breast. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, remaining garlic and basil, and 1 Tbls. olive oil. Press breading on to the top of each chicken breast.
If freezer cooking, cover with foil and freeze at this point. To finish cooking, following directions below.
Mix cherry tomatoes with remaining 1 Tbls. olive oil. Spread around baking dish.
Bake chicken at 425 until crumbs are golden brown and chicken is cooked through (about 25-35 minutes).
Garnish with fresh chopped basil.
Food for thought:
This is one of those meals that is great for entertaining! It looks beautiful, tastes amazing and is relatively easy to throw together ahead of time! We served it with spinach and cheese ravioli on the side and everyone in the house liked it – not an easy feat with a picky 2 year old in the house!
Whole Wheat Pancakes Even My Husband Can Love!!!
I am always trying to figure out ways to sneak healthy ingredients into our meals. (I had definitely been inspired by The Sneaky Chef who has great recipes and tricks to making meals packed with good ingredients). Both my little guys love pancakes but I just wanted to try to make them packed full of things good for them but still tasty. Today’s pancakes were a success! Both my sons and their dad loved them.
Whole Wheat Pancakes
Ingredients:
3 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3 Tbls. flaxseed meal combined with 9 Tbls. warm water
3 3/4 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. sugar
3 heaping tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. cooking oil
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. vanilla
additional milk (whole milk worked well), as needed to thin batter out.
Combine ingredients in a large bowl and using a whisk, mix well.
Heat griddle until water just sizzles upon dropping on.
Scoop batter onto griddle in 1/4-1/3 size scoops.
Flip pancake when bubbles are rising in the middle.
Continue cooking on the other side until lightly golden.
Makes about 30 mid-sized pancakes.
Food for Thought:
These would be great with blueberries or chocolate chips in them as well. It is also easy to freeze the extra pancakes by separating each pancake with wax paper and placing them in a baggie. Then, we just take one or two out for breakfast and either pop them in the toaster or microwave them for about 30 seconds.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce
1 small can chopped green chili peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth
1-2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 10 oz. package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Chocolate Mocha Truffle Cookies
Chocolate Mocha Truffle Cookies
1/4 c. butter, cubed
1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten lightly
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. flour
2 Tbls. + 2 tsp. baking cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 c. toffee bits
1 ounce dark chocolate, for melting
Melt butter and chocolate chips in small pan on the stove over low heat. Stir until smooth.
Stir in the coffee granules until dissolved and let cool for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; add to the chocolate mixture and stir well. Stir in the toffee bits.
Drop onto cookie sheet in tablespoon size drops. (I found a melon baller works really well for this job.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool cookies 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack.
When completely cool, drizzle with dark chocolate.
Makes 15 cookies.
Hungry Like the Wilf 