Chicken Vegetable Saute

2 c broccoli florets
3 medium carrots, cut into strips lengthwise
1 tbsp EVOO
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/2 medium red onion, cut into thin strips
1/2 c reduced sodium chicken broth
1 15 oz can of Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp of McCormick Mediterranean seasoning
1 tbsp finely shredded lemon peel
2 cloves of garlic
salt, pepper

Fill a 3 quart pot 2/3 full of water and 1 tsp of salt.  Bring to a boil and add broccoli and carrots.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Drain vegetables and place in cold water to stop the cooking.  Heat the EVOO in a very large skillet over medium high heat.  Season chicken with salt, pepper, and Mediterranean seasoning.  Cook chickenover medium high heat until browned and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally to brown evenly.  Remove from skillet and set aide.  Reduce heat to medium low and add onion and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Increase heat to medium high heat.  Add beans, broth, lemon peel, vegetables and chicken.  Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until heated through.  Serve with brown rice for a meal for 4.

Loaded Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes

3 medium potatoes or 4 small potatoes
3/4 c milk
2 tbsp butter
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c cream cheese
1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp chives
1/2 c chopped cooked bacon
optional: 2 tbsp bacon bleu cheese compound butter (I made this last week for chicken and had some left over- see Bacon Bleu Cheese Chicken)

Preheat oven to 425.  Thoroughly clean baked potatoes and prick all over with a fork.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 40-60 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.  Once cooked, chop into chunks.  Place the potatoes in a large bowl (skins and all).  Add milk.  On medium speed, use hand mixer to blend together.  Add butter, sour cream, and cream cheese (and compound butter if desired) and blend.  Add seasonings, cheese and bacon.  Mix with a spoon.  Spoon into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.

Garlic Lemon Salmon

1/2 lb to 1 lb salmon fillet
3-5 thin slices of lemon
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Place salmon fillet in a container and pour lemon juice on the fillet.  Season fillet with dill weed, salt, pepper, and minced garlic.  Allow to marintate for 30 mins to 1 hr.  Preheat oven to 425.  Spray a piece of aluminum foil with non stick spray.  Place fillet on the aluminum foil.  Place slices of lemon on fillet and place a second sheet of foil on top and pinch edges together.  Place foil package on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until salmon flakes.

Bacon Bleu Chicken

I've been in a funk with cooking this week and I had left over bacon from something else and left over bleu cheese from the buffalo chicken cheese calzones so I came up with this :) And I know-this picture does this zero justice.  It seriously is absolutely delicious especially if you're a fan of bleu cheese and bacon :) Eric asked if I could not finish my piece so he could...mmmm.

2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
6 pieces of bacon, cooked, chopped
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray an 8x8 pan and set aside.  Combine butter, bacon, bleu cheese, and garlic in a small bowl.  Use a spatula to combine into a compound butter.  Cut a slit into each chicken breast, making a pocket.  Stuff each chicken breast with compound butter.  Place stuffed chicken into pan.  Top each with a few dabs of compound butter and season with salt and pepper.  There may be some compound butter left-may be frozen or refrigerated for later use OR you may want to add more to the cooked breasts.  Bake chicken for 30-35 minutes until fully cooked.  Serve with salad or steamed vegetables.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, seasoned with salt, pepper & poultry seasoning, cooked and chopped
1 c sliced carrots
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 potato, cubed
1/3 c onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp EVOO
5 tbsp butter
1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 c celery seed
2 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c light cream
2 (9 in) unbaked pie crust
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 425.  In a pan, heat EVOO and add celery and carrots.  After cooking for a 5 minutes, add garlic and onion.  Cook till onion translucent.  Once cooked, put in large bowl and add cooked, chopped chicken.  In a small pot, boil potatoes for 5-10 minutes till just soft to touch.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed.  Slowly add the flour mixture to melted butter.  Slowly whisk in cream and then chicken broth.  Bring to boil, sitrring constantly, and reduce to simmer, cook till thick.

Spray a 9 inch pie plate and place one of pie crusts on the bottom.  Poke with a fork.  Place chicken-veggie mixture and pour hot liquid mixture over.  Cover with second pie crust, sealing edges.  Make several slits or poke wth fork.  Brush with egg.  Place pie on a cookie sheet in case to catch any spill over. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Cool for ten minutes.

Chili

We started off with a recipe from a former coworker of Eric's (Thanks Cipolla!! this recipe is the reason I started liking chili in the first place!) for his Italian Style Chili and I just modified it a little to our taste.

1 lb grounded beef
1 lb hot Italian sausage, removed from casing and crumbled
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 1/2 c carrots, chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp EVOO
1 28oz can of petite diced tomatoes, seasoned preferably
1 14.5 oz of petite diced tomatoes, seasoned preferably
2 small cans of tomato paste
1 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and washed
1 c tomato juice (more if you'd like the consistency to be less thick)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp basil
2 tsp parsley
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cayene pepper

In a large pan, cook ground beef and sausage, crumbling each as they cook.  Drain excess fat and add to large crock pot.  Turn crock pot to low heat.  In another large pan, cook celery, carrots, onion, garlic and peppers in the EVOO-cook till tender and onion is translucent.  Drain any excess oil and add to crock pot.  Add diced tomatoes, beans, paste, and tomato juice to crock pot.  Combine ingredients in crock pot well.  Add seasongs and combine well.  Cook on low heat for 4-5 hrs.  Serve with shredded cheese and crusty bread if desired.

Next time I think I'm going to add bite size chunks of potatoes.

Buffalo Chicken Cheese Calzones

Calzone Dough:
1 envelope Pizza Crust Yeast
1 1/2 c flour (more if needed)
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp veg oil
2/3 c very warm water (120-130 F)

Filling:
1 lb boneless, skineless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1/2 c preferred buffalo sauce (more if you'd like it saucier)
2 oz bleu cheese crumbles
1 c mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded

1 egg, beaten

Ranch, Bleu Cheese and extra buffalo sauce for dipping :)

Preheat oven 375. Combine 1 c flour, yeast packet, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Add very warm water and oil-mix until well blended. Gradually add remaining flour to make soft dough-should form ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic (4 mins). Cover with saran wrap and let rest while preparing the filling.


In a large bowl, combine chicken and buffalo sauce.  Add three cheeses and combine.  Divide dough into four portions. Roll one portion into an 8 in circle on floured surface. Spread 1/4 of ricotta 1/4 of the chicken cheese mixture on bottom half of dough, leaving outer 1/2 inch free of filling. Fold over top half of dough. Press edges to form seal. Repeat with other 3. Make sholes on top of calzones with fork. Transfer to greased cookie sheet carefully and brush with (beaten) egg. Bake 15-20 mins until lightly browned. Serve with dressing and buffalo sauce.
 
Makes 4 calzones.