Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Stuffed Shells

Made this tonight for dinner- and holy crap was it delicious. I didn't know exactly how many shells/ how much broccoli and chicken to make so I kind of winged it. I ended up having leftovers of everything - but I'll use it for lunches during the week. So the amounts below filled a 9x13 pan. The alfredo sauce was super easy too. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 box of large shells (for stuffing) cooked al dente (not all the way through)
• 1- 1 1/2 cups of cooked chopped chicken (I used thin chicken breasts seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder- cooked in a skillet with veggie oil and butter until browned- then chopped it up)
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups of steamed broccoli
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 pint of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of cream cheese
• 1 cup grated parm cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella 

To make the alfredo sauce, first in a medium sauce pan melt the butter. Add in the minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat. Add in the heavy cream and cream cheese- and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes then stir in the parm cheese. Whisk constantly or the cheese will stick to the bottom. Reduce heat to low, add salt and pepper to taste. Let thicken for a minute or two then remove from heat.

In a large bowl- combine the broccoli, chicken and about 1/2 cup of the alfredo sauce. 

Spread the tomato sauce or diced tomatoes in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Spoon the filling into the par cooked shells, and arrange in the baking dish until all of the filling is used.

Spoon as much of the extra alfredo sauce on top of the shells as you want - then springing the mozzarella cheese on top evenly. 

Cover with tinfoil- and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Serve with extra alfredo sauce on the side if you want. 

These were freaking awesome (and filling). We had our shells with a nice salad on the side, and have a bunch of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. A new fun way to make stuffed shells. I will definitely be making this again in the future. Cheers! 

Adapted from: pasta alfredo

Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Bake

Warning! This is highly addictive. I suggest doubling the amount that I made. Serve for dinner, or an appetizer... this recipe will make everyone happy. I promise!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound un cooked chicken, cubed ( I used boneless skinless chicken thighs)
• 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce (Tabasco, Buffalo Marinade, franks red hot- whatever is your favorite)
• 4-6 medium potatoes, washed and cubed
• 1/4 cup veggie oil
• 4 slices of cooked bacon crumbled
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4 cup blue cheese dressing
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl combine the cubed potatoes, veggie oil, pepper, salt and paprika. Scoop into a 9x13 baking dish.

Bake at 475- stirring every 15 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and browned- about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, and drop temp down to 400.

While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken into the same bowl the potatoes were in, with the oil and seasonings. Add the buffalo sauce- and let marinate while the potatoes cook.

Once the potatoes are out of the oven and cooked, spoon the raw chicken evenly over the potatoes. Do not just dump the chicken with all the sauce over the potatoes, it will be way to wet.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove from oven, stir in the blue cheese, and blue cheese dressing. Add the bacon, green onions and cheese to the top- then bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted.

This is a little labor intensive, and takes a bit to finish- but it is completely worth it. Obviously not the healthiest thing in the world- but we ate ours with a salad... so that makes it a little better right? Cheers!

Adapted From: Loaded Potato and Chicken Casserole

Chicken Cordon Blu pt. Deux

Last month I made Chicken Cordon Blu Rolls. Fabulous! With an amazing Creamed Spinach with Mushrooms. I tried a slightly different method a few weeks ago, and it came out pretty good. I'm on the fence as to which way I like best, they were equally delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Package of thinly sliced chicken breasts (about 5)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 pound of deli ham
• 1/4 pound swiss cheese
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

In a baking dish lay out the chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper. 

Divide the ham evenly between the tops of all the chicken. 

Top each chicken and ham with swiss cheese. 

In a small bowl combine the melted butter and bread crumbs. Sprinkle bread crumbs over each chicken. 

Bake at 350 for about a half hour, until chicken is cooked through. 

Like the last time, we had our chicken cordon blu's with the creamed spinach and mushrooms. Try out both recipes and see which one you like the best! Cheers!

Adapted from: Easy Chicken Cordon Blu

Bacon Cheeseburger Pie

You know I'm always up for trying something new (and potentially something the kids will love ) in my kitchen. So when I came across this recipe I knew I had to do it. It was actually easier than it seems. The filling of the pie is very similar to what I did in my bacon cheeseburger wraps. The kids each ate 2 servings (covered in ketchup, of course), and loved that it was a "pie". 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 pickles diced
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 uncooked pie crust

In a skillet cook the beef and onions together, until cooked through. Drain grease off. Add in the panko, mustard, ketchup, bbq sauce, worcestershire sauce, pepper, pickles and crumbled bacon. Mix to combine.

Put the pie crust in the bottom of a pie pan, and fill with beef mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk- pour over the beef mixture in the pie.

Sprinkle cheese over the top of the pie, and crimp the access pie crust in.

Cover the edge of the pie crust with tin foil, to prevent burning.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then remove the foil, then bake an additional 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with more diced pickles for garnish if you want.

We had our delicious cheeseburger pie with some potato salad, and corn on the cob. It was on the smaller side and fed us 4 just fine, but if you're cooking for more- or want leftovers I suggest doubling the filling recipe to make a bigger pie, or make 2 pies, since 2 crusts come in a package. Cheers!

Adapted from: Bacon Cheeseburger Pie

Pilgrim Casserole

I saw this a few weeks ago on Rachael Ray's, Week in a Day show. Seeing this on T.V made me crave this so bad. I'm a sucker for Thanksgiving subs- you know with the turkey,  cranberry sauce, and stuffing all together on a roll. Yes! Anything to do with putting all of the sweet and savory of Thanksgiving together in one package- I'm for it! Put it this way- I made this twice in the past two weeks.
Its awesome and amazingly easy. I did cheat a little bit by using canned cranberry sauce- and boxed stuffing... but having this all complete in less than 45 minutes - it's kind of worth it. Plus the kids freaking devoured it. Putting all ingredients in one casserole, the kids can't only eat the cranberry sauce... score one for Mom!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box of turkey stuffing
• 1 can of jellied whole cranberries
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons water
• 1 pound of turkey breast (I used a package of turkey cutlets)
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper  
• 1/2 cup of gravy (home made, store bought- whatever works)
• 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese 

In the morning- combine the buttermilk, salt, pepper and cayenne together in a large gallon ziplock bag. Add in the turkey breast. Seal the bag and place in a bowl (incase of leakage) in the fridge for about 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 325, remove the turkey from the buttermilk- pat dry with paper towels- and place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 20- 25 minutes (depending on thickness), until the turkey is cooked through.

While the turkey is cooking you can prepare the stuffing according to directions on the box,  or use your own home made stuffing. Set aside.

In a small pot, combine the cranberries- sugar- and water, mix. Heat over low until slightly warmed. Set aside.

Get your gravy ready. Wether you are making home made, or store bought. And set that aside.

Once the turkey is done, let cool for about 5 minutes- then slice it up.

To assemble the casserole- Butter an 8x8 baking dish. 

Place the stuffing on the bottom.

Followed by the cranberry sauce.

Then the sliced turkey. Spoon the gravy over the turkey, and top with the mozz cheese. 

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through.

So the second time we made this, Mike suggested we put crescent roll dough over the top. We did, and baked it until the crescent rolls were golden brown. It was really good- when you ate it right away, but the longer it sat the soggier the crescent rolls got. I'd say do the original recipe, the way I posted it above- but try it out if you want to! 

This is an awesome weeknight dinner, that can be made quickly and is completely satisfying. Leftovers? Hey, throw it on some bread and have yourself a Thanksgiving sandwich! You're welcome. Cheers.

One of the kiddo's plate

Adapted from: Pilgrim Casserole

Penne alla Vodka

This was my Meatless Monday meal for this week. I've really been dying to try making this for a while now. Found a great recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers The Pioneer Woman. She always had the best, easiest recipes to follow. This really took no time at all to make- and the result was fantastic. You can make this in under an hour- and its so worth it!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound Penne pasta
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped finely 
•  3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3/4 cups vodka
• 1 can (14 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon (to 1/2 Teaspoon) Salt
•  pepper to taste
• 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Boil a pot of water and cook pasta according to the directions, do not over cook.

Heat the oil and butter in a skillet over medium/ high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes- until onions become translucent.

Pour in vodka, stir and cook for about 3 minutes. Add tomato sauce and stir.

Reduce heat to low and stir in the half and half. Simmer on low, do not over heat. Add in salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

Drain the pasta and reserve some of the pasta water on the side incase the sauce thickens up to much- you can use it to thin it out some.

Add drained pasta to the sauce, toss to combine- add in the parm cheese.

Garnish with more parm cheese when you serve the pasta.

I served this lovely dish with a side salad- and yummy garlic knots. This is by far one of the best pasta sauces I've ever made. And I make a ton of sauce- and pasta. You need to give this a try if you're looking for an easy- out of the ordinary pasta dish to cook. You'll never even notice there is no meat involved. Cheers.

Adapted from: Pasta alla Vodka

Easy Garlic Knots

Made Penne alla Vodka two nights ago- and it just seemed fitting to have some sort of yummy garlic bread with it. I had this simple recipe from a while back that I decided to give a try.

INGREDIENTS:

• Grands mini buttermilk biscuits (in the can)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl combine the melted butter and seasonings to taste.

Take each individual biscuit and roll out into a rope long enough to tie in a knot. Knot all of the biscuits and place on a baking sheet.

Brush each knot with half of the butter and seasoning.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and brush each knot with the remainder of the butter and seasoning mixture. Serve warm. 

These were seriously amazing, and so friggen simple to make. The original recipe calls for some parm cheese in the butter mixture, but I totally forgot to throw that in. Next time I will add it, but they were still great regardless. Cheers!

Adapted from: easy garlic parmesan knots