Rich and Creamy Chicken Pasta

Nothing too spectacular but a new recipe for us nonetheless.  I liked it although I wouldn't be able to eat a lot of it since it was really rich.  Eric said he liked it but it lacked some flavor or seasoning.  So spice it up :)

1 c cooked, cubed chicken
1 box whole wheat pasta, cooked
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c flour
1 c milk
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 jar pasta sauce (26 oz jar)
1 scallion, thinly sliced
6 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese for topping

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes.  Stir in flour.  Slowly add milk.  Bring to a boil for 1 min.  Reduce heat to low medium.  Stir in cream cheese, pasta sauce, scallions, basil leaves, salt and pepper.  Stir well to combine.  Add chicken.  Cook over low medium heat until cream cheese melts about 10-15 minutes. 

Serve with salad for a meal for 4.

Cajun Raging Burgers

I've been a slacker in the kitchen lately but I do have an excuse..it was my birthday a week ago and Eric made a fabulous dinner (spicy crab imperial, crispy chicken, and veggies---I wanted to post the recipe for the crab imperial but he said he has to 'perfect' it... I laughed at that) and we had left overs for a day or two.  We also had some easy, uninteresting meals, which were not blog-worthy.  Being that it was Memorial Day weekend, we had to grill so we tried our luck at making burgers from scratch.  They were yum.

sauce:
1/4 c mayo
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
1 tsp Creole seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp grated lime peel
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt
dash of hot pepper sauce
dash of Worcestershire sauce

burger:

1 tsp dried onion flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c finely chopped carrots
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
1/8 c Italian bread crumbs
4 rolls
EVOO spray

In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.  Mix till well blended and and chill until burgers are ready to be served.  In a skillet, sautce carrot, garlic, onion flakes, and parsley in melted butter for 5 minutes.  Cool slightly.  In a large bowl, combine the vegetable mixture with Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper sauce.  Crumble in beef.  Add egg and bread crumbs.  Mix well.  Shape into 4 patties.  Grill burgers over medium heat for 5 minutes on each side.  Spray inside of rolls with EVOO and toast on grill.  Serve burgers on toasted rolls with sauce and cheese of choice.  I used blue cheese crumbles and Eric used slices of Colby Jack cheese.

Garlic Enchiladas

The original recipe had called for 1 pound of ground beef but I had about a 1/2 lb of ground beef and 1/2 lb of chicken left over from other recipes.  Plus, both were cooked, which made this easier for me.  Eric was super excited for this recipe because he loved the 'look' of the sauce.  We both liked it but decided there was too much cumin and it was a little too saucey for me.... although Eric says there could never be enough sauce ;)

1 lb meat, cooked (ground beef, cubed chicken, etc-whatever you desire)
1 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp sage
1-14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

Sauce:
3 large or 6 small cloves of garlic, minced
5 tbsp butter
1/2 c flour
2 c beef broth
2 c tomato sauce
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
6 whole wheat flour tortillas
2 1/2 c shredded Cloby-Monterey Jack cheese

In a sauce pan, heat EVOO over medium heat.  Add cooked meat and heat through for 2 minutes.  Stir in flour and seasonings.  Stir in tomatoes.  Let bubble for 1-2 minutes.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
In another saucepan, melt butter.  Add garlic and saute until tender.  Stir in flour until blended well.  Gradually stir in broth.  Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring until thickened.  Stir in tomato sauce and seasonings.  Reduce heat and heat through.
Pour about 1 1/2 c of sauce into bottom of a 13x9 greased pan.  Spread about 1/4 c of meat mixture down the center of each tortilla and top with 1-2 tbsp of shredded cheese.  Roll up and place in dish, seam side down.  Finish with the rest and top with rest of sauce.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove cover.  Top with remainder of cheese and bake additional 15 minutes.  Serve with optional sour cream.  About 4-6 servings.

Sweet 'n' Spicy Chicken

I did not think I would like this.  However, I had all of the ingredients for it and it seemed like something that Eric would like.  It also was a super fast recipe so that scored mucho points with me.  I was surprisingly pleased with the result.  Eric was happy as well especially since he said it reminded him of Chinese food.... wait... did I say I liked it?!

1/2 lb chicken breast, cut into small cubes
1 tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 tbsp taco seasoning
1 tbsp flour
1 c salsa (we used hot and loved it)
1/4 c peach preserves
1 c brown rice, cooked as directed
1/2 c broccoli, steamed

In a large resealable bag, combine flour and taco seasoning.  Add chicken and toss to combine.  In skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add chicken to hot pan.  Brown chicken.  Combine salsa and preserves, stir into skillet.  Bring to a slow boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 3 minutes.  Serve over the rice with broccoli.  Serves 2.

Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

The original recipe called for pickle slices, which you placed on the pizza prior to putting it in the oven.  Something about baked pickles grossed me out so I skipped that step.  Regardless, Eric polished off about half the pizza before I even got a chance to get one slice.

1 Herbed Wheat Pizza Dough recipe precooked
1/2 lb ground beef, cooked, excess fat drained
1 lb bacon, cooked, chopped*
1 c pizza sauce or marinara sauce
1 1/2 c mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 450 F.  On precooked pizza dough, evenly spread sauce, leaving room for crust.  Top with ground beef, bacon, cheeses, and Italian seasonings.  Cook for 8-10 minutes until cheese melts.

*May be more like 3/4 of a pound once I was done snacking on it as I was getting everything together... oops.

Herbed Wheat Pizza Dough

I had made Wheat Pizza Dough before but I wasn't 100% satisfied with it.  It was too thick for us and doughy.  So I experimented a little and arrived at this new version of dough.  It's super thin but that's fine-less carbs :)

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 tsp sugar
1 1/2 c warm water (100-110 F)
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 c all purpose flour, divided
1 c wheat flour
1 tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp parmesan seasoning (McCormick)
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp parsley
Cooking spray

Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water in a large bowl.  Let sit for 5 minutes. Add 2 1/4 c all purpose flour, wheat flour, EVOO, salt, and seasonings to yeast mixture.  Integrate as much as possible in bowl.  Turn dough onto a floured surface and begin kneading dough with floured hands, adding additional flour.  Dough will be tacky.  Knead for about 3 minutes.

Place dough in a large bowl coated lightly with cooking spray.  Cover and set in a warm place free of drafts.  Let stand for 45 minutes.  Press 2 fingers into dough-if an indentation remains, dough is ready.  Preheat oven to 450 F.  Punch dough down on a floured surface, cover, and let stand additional 5 minutes.  Divide dough into two equal portions.  Roll each dough ball into a 12 inch circle on a floured surface and place dough on a lightly sprayed pizza pan.  Cook for 5 minutes prior to placing toppings on top.

You can freeze the other dough ball.  First lightly spray with cooking spray and place in freezer bag, squeezing out as much air as possible.  Place in freezer.  Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.  Then cover and let stand in a warm place, free of drafts for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has risen.  Shape and cook as instructed.

Sausage and Spinach Pastry Squares with Cherry Tomato Salad

Another Rachael Ray [surprise surprise].  I've never used frozen pastry sheets before and I am now in love.  There are so many things you could do with these [aka fill them buffalo chicken and blue cheese, of course].  Eric absolutely loved this.  He ate a double portion of salad and two pastry squares-he added red sauce to dip with and complained forever about spinach.... but it could not have been that bad since he polished his plate.  I, on the other hand, liked it.  Things I would have done differently: used less spinach, used more cheese [Eric says cheese is going to be the death of me], not added the lemon zest to the meat mixture.  That said, I loved the salad mucho-that was delish :)

4 tbsp EVOO
1 lb Italian sausage (either sweet or hot--you preference--I use hot)
1/4 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried sage
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted
4 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 10oz box frozen spinach, defrosted (I would use 1/2 to 3/4 this amount)
zest and juice of 1 lemon (I would not use the lemon zest)
1 1/2 c Italian cheese blend, shredded
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
6 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 cups arugula
1 c romaine lettuce
1/4 c parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Heat a medium skillet over high heat with 2 tbsp of EVOO.  Add the sausage, breaking it up until it is crumbled.  Add onions, 2 cloves of garlic (minced), sage, salt, and pepper.  Cook until sausage is browned.  Remove from heat and drain excess fat. 

Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 2 equal rectangles.  With pastry brush, paint the sheets on one side with mustard.  Refrigerate until filling is ready.  Arrange defrosted spinach in a kitchen towel or several layers of paper towels.  Wrap towel around spinach and squeeze excess water.  Put spinach in a mixing bowl, add zest, cheeses, and season with salt and pepper.  Add sausage and mix well.

Arrange pastry rectangles on a sprayed cookie sheet.  Place a quarter of the sausage mixture on one half of each puff pastry.  Fold the pastry over the filling, being sure to cover all of the filling, and using a fork, crimp the edges closed.  With a sharp knife, cut two long slits on the top of each pastry.  Brush tops with beaten egg.  Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

In a salad bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, remaining 2 tbsp of EVOO, red wine vinegar, basil leaves, remaining 2 cloves of garlic (minced), and lemon juice.  With a fork, lightly crush about half of the cherry tomatoes.  Once the squares are baked, add the arugula and romaine to the tomato mixture then toss to coat.  Top with shredded parmesan cheese.  Serve the pastry square wth salad.