Crockpot Chicken Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Fall has finally arrived in nasty, humid, muggy Florida.  I'm told it's only for a couple of days, but today the temperatures finally dipped below 80 and it's so lovely to sit on the front porch and write.  I really hope this lasts, because I have a lot of boots, sweaters and scarves in my closet that are very lonely and calling my name.

So since the last recipe I shared was kind of a dud, I thought I'd share a much better one.  I've made this twice in the past 2 weeks.  Last week it was proclaimed Garrett's favorite, when he said "if I got this in a restaurant, I would order another one."  I made it again last night, as it's probably the easiest thing to put together, and he said he could probably eat it every day.  I found the recipe for Crockpot Cheesesteak Pulled Chicken on How Sweet It Is (one of my favorite food blogs!).  I halved the original recipe, because our Crockpot is on the small side, but it was the perfect amount for the two of us, with some leftovers for lunch the next day.  Last week, I sliced some sweet potatoes into fries, tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper, and baked on a cookie sheet at 450 for about 30 minutes.  Last night, we went old school with some tater tots.  This recipe literally takes 5 minutes to throw in the Crockpot and tastes amazing.  Enjoy!
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Crockpot Chicken Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Serves 2 (plus some leftovers)

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 large sweet onion, sliced

3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)

2-3 cloves garlic

4 oz beer (whatever you have in the fridge- I used Amber Bock)

salt

pepper

smoked paprika

4-6 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or your favorite type of cheese)

Kaiser sandwich buns (from the grocery store bakery)

1.  Layer sliced green peppers and onions in the bottom of your Crockpot.  Top with garlic.  

2.  Season chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Place on top of onions and peppers.

3.  Pour beer over chicken, peppers and onions and cook on high for 6 hours.

4.  Around 4 hours, start to shred the chicken with 2 forks and stir into the sauce. 

5.  After 6 hours, use a ladle to drain any excess liquid (I saved mine and froze it for next time!).  Stir in cheese. 

6.  Serve on toasted buns with desired condiments (we love mayo!) and top with extra cheese. 

I promise I'm not a drunk, but I might have finished this beer...before noon.  

It's not photogenic.  But it's tasty.

I'm Back!

Hi everyone!  I have definitely been MIA for a ridiculous amount of time.  I know, I know.  I guess I can blame that on the fact that I wasn't really cooking or baking enough to blog about, since I was single up until almost 6 months ago.  Combine that singleness with a stupid busy work/school schedule and you get nothing to blog about (food-wise, at least).  But enough excuses, no one cares about all that. 

What matters now is that I'm back.  Baking, cooking and blogging is something I LOVED to do, and I found myself truly missing it.  My life has really changed in the past few months.  I met an absolutely AMAZING guy, Garrett, who treats me like a princess.  I fell in love with said guy, and have since moved in with him.  He loves food just as much as I do (cooking and eating it!) and thankfully he's not a picky eater!  He's an amazing cook and an amazing taste-tester.  It's truly a blast to come home to him everyday.  <3 font="" nbsp="">

Cooking for Garrett is one of my most favorite things to do these days and a few days ago, I found myself making a meal plan for the week.  Yes, a meal plan.  If you're one of those people who wants to barf at the sight of a meal plan on a blog, I feel you.  If you'd have asked me a year ago, I would've been right there barfing with you.  And I'm no Martha Stewart, but even in the past few days, making a meal plan has been such a stress-reliever.  And it's been fun, really!  I love going through the 1600 bunches of recipes I've bookmarked over the past few years and deciding what to eat for the week!  It's actually saved us a lot of time and a lot of money on eating dinner out and buying lunches at work (since we have tons of leftovers).  So I've converted over to the meal-planning camp.  If you hate meal plans, I hope we can still be friends.  Just bear with me, because I'm going to be sharing some amazing recipes.  You don't have to be a meal planner to ogle food.  Am I right?  

So if you're still sticking around, I'm going to share the first amazing recipe I made this week (well, second.  The first was chili, but that involves me opening cans and dumping them in a pot with some ground beef and macaroni and a bunch of spices...maybe I'll share that one later.  Maybe).  

I saw this recipe for Chicken Broccoli Casserole Cobbler on A Cozy Kitchen and it seemed like the perfect comfort food to me.  Yes, it has more than one "cream of" soup in it.  Sorry, not sorry.  I grew up and live in the South.  "Cream of" soups are a staple.  If you don't like them out of a can, you could make your own I suppose, or just skip this recipe.  But you'll be missing out.  Just trust me.  Plus, it's topped with homemade cheddar biscuits, which might just be the best drop biscuits I've ever made.  It's a pretty simple dish to prepare, and it's even better leftover.  I may or may not be eating this out of a Tupperware right now.   Don't read that last sentence.  

Note: I altered a few things, since Garrett is allergic to mushrooms, but you can get the original recipe if you click on the link above.  

P.S.  Would you look at this grated butter?  Ohmahgarsh.

You can't go wrong with chicken, cheese, and broccoli.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole Cobbler

adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

makes 6 servings

Ingredients

Filling:

1 large can cream of chicken soup (26 oz)

1 small can of cream of broccoli soup

3 Tbsp softened cream cheese

1/2 store-bought rotisserie chicken, shredded

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp black pepper

Cheddar Biscuit Topping:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp buttermilk

1 large egg

black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cream of chicken and cream of broccoli soups with the softened cream cheese.  Stir in the shredded chicken, broccoli, and cheese until combined.  Pour into a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or large rectangular casserole dish) and set aside.  

3.  To make the biscuits, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Using a cheese grater, grate the stick of butter on top of the dry ingredients.  Place bowl in the freezer for about 5 minutes.  While the butter is chilling, whisk the buttermilk and egg together.  Remove bowl from freezer and gently crumble the butter into the flour with your hands, until you have pieces about the size of small peas.  Then add the 1 cup of cheese and mix until evenly distributed in the flour mixture.  Next, add the buttermilk/egg mixture and knead until the dough comes together.  

4.  Drop mounds of dough around the edge of the chicken and soup mixture, and add cheddar cheese (as much as you want- the more the better!) to the center.  Bake 20-25 minutes until biscuits are light golden brown and cheese is bubbly.  

Enjoy, y'all!  

P.S. Please don't make fun of my food photography skills.  I'm working with the camera on my phone for now.  Maybe someday I'll get a "real" camera.  

P.S.S.  My next recipe will involve pumpkin (are you shocked?).  And it is not a dessert.  I promise I'll hurl pumpkin desserts down your throat soon.  Stay tuned!  :) 

Just some things.....

1.  I love salted caramel so much that I just dumped salt on my frozen yogurt.  No, really.  I did.  But it was Heath Bar frozen yogurt, and I put caramel sauce on top.  So it's not that weird...right?  Right???


2.  My poor pup has been sick for 3 days with horrible diarrhea.  I read somewhere that pumpkin helps settle dogs' tummies, but that hasn't been working.  It's just been making his poo orange.  So I was told today (on good authority) that he needs to eat this:

(ewww) instead of his beloved doggy nuggets.  BTW, that's plain boiled chicken and brown rice, if you couldn't tell.  It's kind of weird cooking dinner for my dog.  Anyway.  I felt bad for him until he gobbled it up like there was no tomorrow.  Hope it helps his belly.  Or else he's going to the vet.  Which I (and my bank account) dread.
 

3.  I'm in sort of a foul mood today.  I don't know why.  The worst kinds of foul moods are when you can't figure out why the hell you're in one to begin with.

 



4.  I say all the time how much I hate Florida and how I want to live somewhere cold.  And then when it gets cold I turn into a big giant wuss and act like I'm freezing to death.  When it's 50 degrees.  However, I'm completely justified in my dramatics today, as it's currently 41 degrees.  And it's supposed to drop another 20 degrees tonight.  I hope it snows! 

 

5.  I'm going to Providence/NYC in a week and a half and will probably freeze my thin-blooded southern ass off. 



Since it's so flipping cold, I made some of this the other night and luckily still had some leftovers for dinner tonight (and maybe lunch tomorrow!)  

I saw this White Bean Chicken Chili on Annie's Eats the other night and it looked so warm and yummy and comfort-foody.  I made this on New Year's Day.  I HATE black-eyed peas and I thought I needed some good luck for the new year, so do white northern beans count?  I think so.

 

The original recipe looked pretty healthy, with the exception of sour cream and heavy whipping cream.  I replaced those with fat free sour cream (use Breakstone's, it's still super thick and does not seem like fat free at all!) and fat free half and half.  I also added in mushrooms (love them!) and replaced one can of green chiles with a can of jalapenos.  I like some spice.  I think this would be really good with some corn in it too.  I may try that next time.  This is definitely really super tasty and will warm you up on a chilly night! 

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White Bean Chicken Chili

adapted from Annie's Eats 

makes 6 servings

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 package sliced baby bella mushrooms

2 15.5 oz cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed

1 14.5 oz can fat free chicken broth

1 4 oz can diced green chiles

1 4 oz can diced jalapenos

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp smoked paprika

1 cup fat free sour cream

1/2 cup fat free half and half

scallions, smoked paprika, and sour cream for garnish

1.  In large saucepan or dutch oven, saute chicken, onion, mushrooms, and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. 

2.  Add beans, broth, chiles, jalapenos and seasonings.  Bring to a boil.

3.  Reduce heat to a simmer and let simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and half and half. 

4.  Garnish with sour cream, smoked paprika, and scallions, if desired.

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This, along with my salty ice cream, helped pull me out of my funk a little.  What will maybe help a little more?  Hiding under my covers and watching an episode of Bones.  I'm so jealous of Dr. Brennan. She has all these cool gadgets and tools to ID her bodies.  It's not like that in real life.  We don't have those.  She also has a delicious FBI Agent driving her around all the time, too.  We don't have those, either.  Oh well, a girl can dream.  



Happy Healthy New Year

Yes, I know this blog is called jilliebeenBAKER.  But I also like to cook.  I don't cook very often (at least anything that is interesting enough to put on here) simply because it's just me and it's hard to cook for just one person.  When I do cook, it's usually something that I can freeze some of the leftovers since I get sick of eating the same thing for a week.  Usually when I get home from work, I'm too tired to do any cooking, so I will either eat a Lean Cuisine (I know, I know, not the healthiest thing in the world but it's quick and easy portion control), make some eggs (LOVE eggs), or pull out some of those leftovers I've frozen. 

Lately I've had the urge to cook more.  Probably because I've come across some great looking recipes.  And since it's the New Year, I thought I would lighten up some of the recipes a bit and see how they turned out.  I actually have been doing this sporadically the past few months, but haven't really posted much on here.  So I decided I'm going to start posting some good dinner recipes too. 

I made this recipe the other night for dinner.  I was checking my Google reader at work (bad, I know...but we were reeeeeallllly slow and I had nothing to do) and this just popped out at me and looked amazing.  Jessica told me to make this for New Year's, but I couldn't wait.  I was actually awake enough after work to go to the store, get the ingredients, and make it for dinner.  Plus it was a Friday night, so I could stay up past my bedtime. :) 

The recipe is already pretty light, but I made a few substitutions to make it just a bit more low-fat.  I replaced the oil in the crust with fat-free greek yogurt (sounds weird, but it is a great substitute!).  I also like spicy foods, so I used a whole jalapeno and a whole onion instead of the 1/2 of each called for.  I replaced the shredded cheeses with fat-free cheese and the gorgonzola with the reduced-fat version.  I know all of this reduced and low fat crap sounds bad, but when fat-free cheese melts you can't tell the difference.  I promise.  But I'll include the link to the original recipe, in case you want to try the full-fat version. 

I also couldn't find whole wheat pastry flour.  It's different than regular whole wheat flour, apparently.  I Googled substitutions and there were many.  I replaced whole wheat pastry flour with 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 cake flour with no issues.  I think you could probably just use all purpose flour too.  I've reflected those changes below, as well.

This turned out great, and I think I may use this crust again, but experiment with different toppings.  It came together quickly and oh my, was it good.  I felt like I was eating something really unhealthy.  This didn't last long enough for me to freeze any leftovers. 



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Whole Wheat BBQ Shrimp Flatbread

adapted from How Sweet It Is

makes 4-8 servings

Ingredients:



1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

olive oil for brushing

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

2 oz shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

2 oz shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese

1/2 lb raw deveined and peeled shrimp

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 small red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

2 oz reduced fat Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

cilantro and scallions for topping (I omitted cilantro because I'm not a fan)

1.  Preheat oven to 450.  In a bowl, mix shrimp and paprika.  Set aside. 

2.  In another bowl, combine flours, salt, pepper, and baking powder and mix until combined.  Add water and yogurt, then mix until a dough forms.  You can do this with your hands.  Place dough on a floured surface (or between two pieces of parchment paper) and roll out into a thin rectangle.  Place on non-stick baking sheet and bake 5-7 minutes.

3.  Remove crust from oven and brush lightly with olive oil.  Spread 2-3 Tbsp BBQ sauce on crust, then top with garlic, mozzarella, and cheddar.  Add shrimp, onion, peppers, and top with Gorgonzola and remaining BBQ sauce. 

4.  Bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and outside edges of crust are golden.  Remove and let cool for 5 minutes, then top with cilantro and scallions.

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This recipe made 8 nice-sized pieces for me.  I ate two at a time and was satisfied.  Delicious!!! :) 

I did some baking yesterday and I have something yummy (and healthy!) bubbling on the stove right now, so I will post those recipes soon!

My Thanksgiving/Sweet Potato Bonanza...Part 2

Look at this little booger!  He and a bunch of his turkey friends sat on top of my Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes.  I know it's after Thanksgiving and pretty much too late to make these (unless you are just obsessed with turkeys...in which case, make them- I won't judge), but they are too cute not to share.  They're basically 2 Oreos glued together with icing.  Candy corn for the tail and the little white tip of the candy corn for the beak.  Black sprinkles for the eyes (from my Halloween sprinkle collection).  A heart-shaped sprinkle for the gobble-thingy (from my Valentine's sprinkle collection).  I knew all those holiday sprinkles would come in handy someday.  A Whopper for the head and a Reese's Cup for the body.  How freaking adorable? 

A couple words of caution: I would highly suggest making these when it's NOT 80 degrees and humid as crap outside.  If you happen to live on the freaking Equator in Florida like me, work quickly and throw them in the fridge to set up overnight.  I also suggest that if you're going to put these on top of cupcakes to not put them on the cupcakes I gave you the recipe for.  The marshmallow icing is really...boingy?  It's not soft enough to hold these guys up.  I would use a softer icing- like cream cheese or a butterceam without marshmallow fluff in it.  All the little turkey dudes rose up out of the boingy icing and toppled over.  Anyway- they're really cute little decorations and would be totally fun to make with some kids.  I'm just going to give you the link to Our Best Bites for the instructions.  They explain it a lot better than I would be able to and there are better step-by-step photos. 

Now for part 2 of my ridiculous sweet potato obsession.  First, can I just say that I STILL had some leftover sweet potato casserole (recipe in just a sec) tonight?  I said "ugh, I'm sick of sweet potatoes" and put the rest of it in the pup's bowl to eat.  And then I proceeded to BAKE A SWEET POTATO and eat it for dinner.  There is something wrong with my brain.  

There's a story I've been told a few times by various family members about when I was a baby.  One day, Mom and Dad noticed the bottoms of my feet were orange.  They took me to the doctor and the doctor asked about my diet.  My parents told the doctor that I loved sweet potato baby food and ate a lot of it.  The doctor told them that was the problem.  I ate so many sweet potatoes that I turned ORANGE, people.  I'm afraid that's going to happen again.  Except now maybe it will look like a tan.  Which would be pretty awesome.  (Not sure if that story is true or not. I've been told this story a few times, and I've always believed it.  Now I see how ridiculous it sounds...hmmm.  Whatever.) 

So I was trolling Google Reader for a sweet potato dish before Thanksgiving- and believe me, there was no shortage of recipes for sweet potatoes.  Along with butternut squash, cranberry EVERYTHING (nasty), pumpkin EVERYTHING (yay!) and recipes for about 938039823927387 pies.  In the midst of all of that (and after starring about 938039827386 of those recipes), I found THIS.  I know it says "lightened up."  Please don't let that scare you away.  These were the best sweet potatoes I have ever had in my entire LIFE.  Seriously.  The recipe calls for coconut milk in the actual sweet potatoes.  Don't worry: it does NOT add coconut flavor, just creaminess.  There's also coconut in the topping, which I left out because I have a couple of family members who DESPISE coconut.  But I think it would be really tasty.  If you're allergic/one of those crazy people who pukes at the thought of coconut, you could always use regular milk or even sweetened condensed milk would be awesome. 

This recipe is now my total go-to sweet potato casserole.  I will never bake another one again.  It's that good.

OH.  And it has brown butter in it.  Just saying.

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Lightened-Up Sweet Potato Casserole

from How Sweet It Is

Sweet Potato Layer

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/3 cup canned lite coconut milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter

Peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Add to a pot with cold water, then bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 20-30 minutes, then drain. While sweet potatoes are cooking, add butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, cook until little brown bits appear in the pan – about 4-5 minutes. Remove immediately from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or a large bowl, using a hand mixer), add sweet potatoes. Add all remaining ingredients – sugar, syrup, spices, salt, vanilla extract, coconut milk and brown butter – and mix on low speed until combined about 30 seconds. Mix on medium speed for another 1-2 minutes, until potatoes are whipped. Spread in an oven-safe pan or dish. I used a casserole dish (I have no clue what size!).

Oatmeal Coconut Pecan Crumble

1/2 cup chopped unsalted pecans

1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1 Tbsp flour

1/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of salt

2 Tbsp butter, softened

1 cup of mini marshmallows

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I forgot to take pictures.  I was too busy licking the saucepan that had the brown butter in it. 

I'm Alive!!!

Yes, I've disappeared again.  And yes, I seem to have come down with the Plague again.  Twice in 6 weeks...not so hot.  I'm still coughing like I have Tuberculosis, but otherwise I am back to 100%. 

Some exciting things have happened since I last posted!  I got a new phone (buh-bye Blackberry).  It's a Droid Bionic and it is amazing.  It takes better pictures than my camera, and I can upload the pictures directly to Picasa and then put them on here.  Woo!  I'm sure no one else is as excited as I am about that, but maybe the pictures will turn out better.  All the pictures from this post were taken on my phone, so we'll see what they look like on the big screen!!

I also got a new computer!  My laptop took a crap about a year ago and I used my Blackberry (so slow) to get by for awhile, until my bud Jeff let me borrow a netbook until I could save up for a new computer.  I got so used to the netbook (it was a good little computer!) that when my 15.6" laptop came, it felt like a big screen TV!  It still does, actually.  I looooove it!  It's not the Apple I wanted (it's a Dell), but I've had good experiences with Dells in the past and it was a great price (got a nice discount through work!). 

So after reading tons of blogs about DIY-ing, I finally decided to give it a go and re-stain a piece of furniture I have.  The top of it got ruined (more on that later) and I just wanted to find a matching stain and get it looking good again.  Well, I went to Home Depot and bought everything I needed.  Then I decided that since the day before, I got a memory foam topper for my bed (sigh. heaven.) I needed new sheets and bedding.  So I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and got new sheets.  Then I decided I was sick of the ugly blinds in my house (I'm sorry- blinds are hideous to me) and that I wanted to sew some curtains.  So I went to JoAnn's and got some fabric to make some adorable living room curtains.  I couldn't find any fabric that I liked for bedroom curtains, and I needed curtain rods, so off to Target I went.  Found some curtains at Target for my bedroom, got them hung, and made up my new bed.  By that time, it was dark and the furniture did not get stained. 

This morning I woke up (in my fab new fluffy bed with silky new sheets) with new inspiration.  I was going to get my living room curtains made and stain that damn piece of furniture if it killed me.  So I pulled out Aunt Peggy's sewing machine (which is on indefinite loan to me).  Mind you, this sewing machine and all the goodies that go with it have been sitting in my house for 3 months.  And it has not been used.  Over the summer, my Aunt Sis taught me to sew.  What I didn't realize is that Aunt Sis has the newest, coolest, push-a-button-and-it-practically-sews-itself sewing machine.  I pulled out Aunt Peggy's, knowing it's old, but thinking it can't be much different.  Uh I was wrong.  After Googling instructions on how to load the bobbin and thread the machine (and after typing in the particular model number for this machine), I was informed that Aunt Peggy's sewing machine is so old, that it is, in fact, VINTAGE.  Wow.  Well, I was having problems.  I had a breakdown.  I called Aunt Peggy 394304983094830948 gazillion times to help.  Finally after about 2 hours and 3 breakdowns we got the damn thing working.  And I was on a roll.  I got my living room curtains done, and it only took me....what?  6 hours?!?!?!  Time sure flies when you're sewing.  After the initial frustration, I actually found myself getting lost in it and relaxing.  And I made my own curtains from scratch.  Cute?  I think so!

(Haven't figured the flash out on the phone yet...)



Don't mind all the cat supplies on the floor.  Sorry. 

Well, since the time changed, there are far fewer daylight hours (it doesn't seem to get light all that much earlier, does it?).  And thus, my day was spent making curtains and I still didn't get to my poor little piece of furniture.  Which is still sitting in its little corner giving me sad eyes.  I'll get to it soon.  When I have daylight.  I am NOT using paint stripper in my house and fumigating myself. 

Since it gets dark at about 4:30pm now, I decided it was going to be dinner and then an early night.  I starred this recipe for Chicken Enchilada Spaghetti from How Sweet It Is a couple of weeks ago.  If you haven't read her blog, go now (well, after you finish reading this).  This girl kills me.  And she has yummy recipes. 

This recipe seemed pretty easy (I wasn't in the mood for some long, drawn-out gourmet meal), relatively healthy, and yummy.  I subbed the cheese for fat-free (which, when melted, is just fine) and instead of using half a red and half a green pepper, I just used a whole green pepper.  And no herbs that taste like dishsoap cilantro.  This was SO yummy and came together in about 20 minutes (plus another 20 to bake the chicken, but if you have leftovers or a rotisserie chicken, that would be even quicker!).


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Chicken Enchilada Spaghetti

from How Sweet It Is

serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp pepper

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/2 lb dry whole wheat spaghetti (this is a little much...I used maybe 1/4 lb and had PLENTY of pasta)

1 10 ounce can of red enchilada sauce

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

cilantro (OPTIONAL!)

Boil water for pasta and cook according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.  Add onions, peppers, salt, and pepper and let cook until veggies are soft, about 5-6 minutes.

Add garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes, then stir in chicken, cumin, cayenne, paprika, and chili powder, along with the can of enchilada sauce.

Reduce heat to low, drain cooked pasta, and add pasta to skillet.  Fold in cheese and mix thoroughly until melted throughout. 

(I also added a fresh chopped tomato at the end...just because I had it and didn't want it to go bad!)

Enjoy while watching old re-runs of Beverly Hills 90210.  Or not.  :)

Chicken Parm and Snickerdoodles

So after the chewy cupcake incident I was still in the mood to cook and bake.  I had been wanting to try this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker for quite some time.  I've mentioned in earlier posts that I've been trying to eat a little more healthy, so this recipe for Lighter Chicken Parmesan sounded perfect.  I made it with some whole wheat pasta (healthy, right?) and I substituted Italian bread crumbs for the panko, just because I didn't have panko on hand.  But I bet the recipe would be amazing with panko too.   Oh, and I didn't toast the bread crumbs and it still worked fine.  The oven-frying method used in the recipe makes the chicken SUPER crispy and you don't even notice it's not fried.  I actually think I like this better than fried (gasp!).  I think it's even crispier.  I didn't take a lot of pics, but there's one up there.  So no more babbling.  Here's the recipe. 

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Lighter Chicken Parmesan

from Brown Eyed Baker

1 1/2 cups panko (or Italian bread crumbs)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder (I used real garlic and stirred it in the egg wash)

salt and pepper

3 large egg whites

1 Tbsp water

cooking spray

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced into cutlets (I used chicken tenderloins)

2 cups tomato sauce, warmed

3 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (I had sliced provolone on hand so I used that)

1 Tbsp fresh basil

1.  Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Combine the bread crumbs and oil in a skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow dish and cool slightly; when cool, stir in the Parmesan.

2.  In a second shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together. In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.

3.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top, and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg whites, and finally coat with the bread crumbs, Press on the bread crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the chicken on the wire rack.

4.  Spray the tops of the chicken with vegetable oil spray. Bake until the meat is no longer pink in the center and feels firm when pressed with a finger, about 15 minutes.

5.  Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce onto the center of each cutlet and top the sauce with 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella. Return the chicken to the oven and continue to bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and serve, passing the remaining sauce and Parmesan separately.

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Okay, so I made a lot of substitutions but whatever.  It was still really good.  So after this I was craving some kind of dessert (that tasted better than the cupcakes) and I had everything on hand to make Snickerdoodles.  Can you tell I hate going to the store when I'm about to make something?  I try to plan my meals out for the week and go once a week.  Otherwise, I really really try to keep baking ingredients on hand so I don't have to do a last minute run to Publix. 

I really think Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie.  Maybe because my favorite food of all time is a cinnamon roll, and this has a similar flavor?  Who knows.  It's just a simple cookie that brings back memories of my childhood.  My Granny made Snickerdoodles whenever we went to visit her.  Now that I think about it, she made cinnamon rolls whenever we went to visit her too...hmm.  I'm seeing a pattern here.  I wish I had my Granny's recipe, but I don't.  But I've made the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook recipe many many many many times and it's perfect.  (P.S. I have the Breast Cancer edition- and it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Just thought I'd throw that in there).  BTW- if you do not have this cookbook, please go buy it.  Like now.  If you have no other cookbooks in your kitchen, have this one.  It has every basic recipe you could want, and it has intros and basic cooking lessons at the beginning of every tab.  If you can't cook, this book will teach you how.  Plus, you can trust that just about every recipe has been tested and proven to come out perfectly.  (Duh, it's BHG). 

So more about these cookies.  They are soft and chewy with a little teeny bit of crunch around the outside.  Chewy cookies are my favorite.  Chewy cupcakes are not.  All I can really say is yum. 

Whoops- a couple stuck together.  Oh well. 

Normally when I make cookies, if the recipe says "makes 36" it makes about 15 for me.  What can I say?  I like giant cookies.  This time I decided to make them the called-for size and got about 38 little mini cookies, which were quite cute.  Although I could eat about 9 in a sitting.  Probably more if I were being really unhealthy.  Oh well. 

For those of you who don't have the cookbook, BHG has this recipe on their website, so you can make some of these RIGHTNOW.

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Snickerdoodles

from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

makes 36 cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1.  In a medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.  Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.  Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.  Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer.  Stir in any remaining flour.  Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle. 

2.  Preheat oven to 375.  Combined the 2 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll balls in sugar mixture to coat.  Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden.  Transfer to wire rack; cool. 

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That's it!  Easy right?  And I promise these will come out perfectly every time.  As long as you don't burn them. 

Mmmm, can't you just taste them?

I kept some at home and took the rest to work.  They didn't last very long. 

I have a few more recipes that I've tried that I will be sharing soon!  I did my Daring Bakers Challenge the other day and it turned out GREAT!  But I have to keep it a secret until the 27th.  I also have a couple of other main dishes that I've made (one is in the crock pot now!) so I will share those recipes in the next few days. 

For now, it's time to be lazy in my pajamas.  For the second day in a row.  I love days like this.  :) 

Chicken Cordon Jill

So I had some nice comments from some friends today who had read my blog.  I didn't know if anyone was actually reading or not, but to those of you who are: thank you!  It made me that much more excited to do another post tonight! 

I wasn't sure if I would have the energy to cook dinner tonight after working a 12 hour shift.  Not to mention having the energy to cook after working 12 hours AND huffing and puffing through a pain-inducing workout!  (Pain inducing workout consisted of 20 minutes of a butt and leg workout DVD by one sister of a famous alliterative reality show "Klan" on TV.  Anyone who knows me can tell you I'm obsessed.)  Anyway, great workout.  Legs are shaking and butt is cramping.  Success!  

So after my workout I was STARVED.  (Are you shocked?)  I found this recipe for Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu the other day on Cleverly Inspired.  It looked quick and easy enough to throw together after work, and I had most of the ingredients (again: broke until payday, and I didn't particulary want to go to the store).  I made a few substitutions but it turned out great!  Her original recipe is chicken breast with the classic Cordon Bleu flavors (ham and swiss) with a yummy looking creamy sauce on top.  

I had some chicken tenderloins in the freezer, so I put them in the fridge to thaw out last night.  The original recipe for the sauce calls for heavy cream and chicken stock (with some herbs and spices) that simmer together a few minutes until thickened.  I didn't have any heavy cream (and I wanted to keep things somewhat healthy- I didn't do that workout for nothing!), but I did have skim milk (which won't thicken without an agent to help it along).  I also had some butter margarine (lol) and a few tablespoons of flour.  So I made a roux with the margarine and flour, then added in the milk and stock (I used beef stock- it's what I had in the fridge, and it made the sauce taste nice and rich).  I also threw in some parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.  I like my food a bit spicy so I was a little heavy handed with the red pepper flakes.  You can leave them out if you don't like spicy food. 

Now for the weird "non-traditional" part.  Chicken Cordon Blue is supposed to have ham, right?  Well I didn't have ham.  I asked my buddy J- at work for a few slices of ham off his sandwich today, but he said no.  Even if I wrote about him in my blog.  Well, the joke is on him because I used TURKEY instead.  (And maybe the joke is on me, because I mentioned him anyway.)   Anyway,  turkey and chicken...poultry overkill?  Nah, not so much.  I had some cajun roasted turkey breast from the deli for sandwiches, so the cajun seasonings added a nice kick.  In fact, you could probably use any deli meat you want, and it would be pretty good. 

Anyway, this whole meal took about 15 minutes to make (and an hour to write about!).  And this recipe is just enough for one person to have dinner and some leftovers for lunch the next day (perfect for me!).  You can always double the recipe if you're cooking for two.  I served the chicken with some Steamfresh green beans (yum!).  So I'll quit blabbering.  Here's the recipe:

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Chicken Cordon Jill

Adapted from Cleverly Inspired

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter (or margarine)

1 tbsp flour

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup chicken, beef, or vegetable stock

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp oregano

salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

5-6 chicken breast tenders (or 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts)

a few slices of deli meat (turkey, ham, roast beef, bologna..whatever)

a few slices of swiss cheese

1.  In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter.  Add in flour and whisk constantly until flour is golden brown.  Whisk in milk and stir until lumps are gone.  Add in stock, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally.

2.  Heat a large skillet with olive oil. 

3.  Place chicken between two sheets of wax paper and pound to thin out a bit.  Dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

4.  Place chicken in heated pan and cook on medium heat until browned on both sides (4-5 minutes on each side). 

5.  Turn heat to low.  Place a slice (or two, or a few) of deli meat on each piece of chicken and top with cheese (be careful of oil splatters!!).  Cover skillet with lid and let melt about 3 minutes.  Spoon sauce on top of chicken and eat! 

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If you make this or any of the other recipes I've put on here, I'd love to know how they turned out!!!! 

P.S. Sorry my pictures aren't all that great.  My camera is a little pink point and shoot camera (I call it the Barbie Camera).  I love it, though and I will NEVER give it up!  :)