Mini Penne with Spicy Chicken Alfredo (Sandra Lee)

8 oz dried mini penne pasta 1 jar Alfredo sauce 1 can Italian diced tomatoes 1 T Italian seasoning 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 2 pkgs refrigerated cooked chicken breast strips, or cook and cut your own 1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives shredded parmesan cheese 1. Boil pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain well and return to hot pot. Cover and keep warm. 2. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, combine Alfredo sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes over medium heat. Stir in chicken and olives. Brink to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. 3. Serve over hot cooked pasta and top with parmesan cheese.

Creamy Chicken with Broccoli Shells (Sandra Lee)

I have made these and they are delicious! 1 box (12 oz) dried jumbo pasta shells 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli (I use florets) 2 T water 1 large egg 1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese 1 cup chopped cooked chicken 2 c shredded mozzarella cheese 1 T dried Italian seasnonign 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1 jar roasted garlic Alfredo sauce, Classico brand (I just used a regular jar since it's what I had and added some fresh minced garlic) 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook pasta for 12 minutes or just until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside. 3. Place broccoli and the 2 T water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 5 minutes. (or if you're anti-microwave, which I am not, you can steam it). Drain and transfer to a large bowl. 4. In a small bowl, beat egg with a fork. Stir egg, ricotta, chicken and 1 cup of the cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into broccoli until thoroughly combined. 5. Spoon 1 cup of the pasta sauce into a 13 x 9 baking dish and set aside. Fill the pasta shells with the chicken mixture and arrange in a baking dish. 6. Spoon remaining pasta sauce over the shells. Sprinklw with remaining motz cheese. Cover loosely with foil. 7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 5 to 10 minutes more.

Chicken with New Potatoes and Spinach (Sandra Lee)

I am always looking for good dishes with spinach as it a super-food! 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts 1 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp salt 1 lb small quartered red potatoes 2 bags (6 oz each) fresh baby spinach 1 cup frozen chopped onion 1 can cream of celery soup 1. Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet wtih aluminum foil. Trim fat from chicken and sprinkle with s and p. Arrange chicken on baking sheet. Broil 6 in from heat for 10 minutes or until chicken is golden. (This step can be omitted but it produces a better flavored dish). 2. In a slow cooker, arrange potato quarters. Top with spinach and onion. Spoon 1/2 the soup on top of the vegetables. Add chicken and spread remaining soup. 3. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Cooking on high not recommended.

Chicken Fajitas

I made chicken fajitas last night for supper because I needed a meal I could serve Elyse's favorite food of beans and rice and have it not be weird. David has been working like a madman the last few weeks since he went back after his Christmas vacation. So even though her birthday was on the 10th, we didn't celebrate as a family until last night. I like to make my own taco and fajita seasoning - way less sodium, no msg, and much better flavor. This recipe was awesomely fantastic. Try it. You'll like it. I promise.

1 teaspoon pure chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 whole skinless, boneless chicken breast (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 green bell pepper—cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
8 flour tortillas, warmed in the microwave
Shredded lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream, for serving

1.In a resealable plastic bag, combine the chili powder with the salt, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, cornstarch, water and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the chicken, bell pepper and onion, seal and knead gently to coat. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
2.Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet until shimmering. Empty the contents of the bag into the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice.
3.Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a large bowl and serve with the warmed tortillas, lettuce, cheese, salsa, sour cream and lime wedges.

This was off the Food and Wine website via Google. :)

No pictures because my camera battery is dead and I can't find my charger. Story of my life. I'm thinking it's a really great excuse to get that Cannon T3i I've been eyeing....we'll have to see how good our tax return is to us! I'm tired of taking pictures with my phone though!

Cafe Rio Salad

There are some days people vividly remember in their lives. My mom says she remembers where she was and what she was doing the day JFK was shot. I remember watching the Challenger disaster in Kindergarten as a 5 year old. September 11, 2001 is burned to everyone's memory I would imagine, and my wedding day and the births of my three children are stand-out days as well.

There's a large part of my memory that holds food memories as well. I know. I have problems. I'm sure there is therapy available for it somewhere, but not here in Clovis, New Mexico. I have vivid memories of my fondue experience in Switzerland, my nutella crepes in Paris, my gelatto in Italy. But the first, and sadly the only time, I had a Cafe Rio Salad is a day not to be forgotten. I have Scott and Alicia Buchanan to thank for introducing me to the deliciousness that is Cafe Rio while I was visiting Utah. It was fantastic, fresh Mexican. And those who know me well, know I could eat my weight in Mexican food. And that, my friends, is a lot of Mexican. I think Cafe Rio would have to take the cake, so to speak, in fast-food Mexican. How I wish there were a franchise closer to here.

A few weeks ago, some friends at church did a Cafe Rio style dinner for a church activity. I was fortunate to partake of some leftovers, and I have been dreaming about Cafe Rio ever since. Last night I had our missionaries from church over to eat dinner, both of whom happen to be from Utah, so I thought it was the perfect time to whip up some Cafe Rio.

In a word, it was AWESOME (and easy!). I feel like I can't hold back with these recipes. I have to share them so you can experience Cafe Rio as well. Everyone should at least once in their life! Bon Appetite!

Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken

5lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into pieces
8oz zesty italian salad dressing (the cheap Great Value brand works great)
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
3 cloves garlic, pressed

In a crockpot, combine chicken, salad dressing, spices and garlic. Stir well to combine. Set crockpot on high and let cook for four hours. Shred chicken. (I use my Pampered Chef salad choppers to quickly and easily shred the chicken right in the crockpot. I also use my Food Chopper to shred chicken, but this is kind of soupy, so I opted for the salad choppers and it worked great!)

Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice

2 cups white rice, not instant
4 cups chicken broth
2 T lime juice
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 14 oz can salsa verde
1 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
pinch of salt

Prepare rice according to package directions, except use chicken broth instead of water. After rice is cooked, stir in remaining ingredients. Keep warm.

Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing
1 c buttermilk
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c mayonnaise
2-4 tomatillos, depending on size (smaller ones use four, if larger, use two)
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves
1-2 cloves garlic
1 T lime juice
1 Hidden Valley Ranch packet

Throw everything in a blender and blend until smooth. I used my new Ninja blender, which I looooovvvee.

And this how you build your Cafe Rio Salad:

1. First, put a flour tortilla down on a plate. A big plate. My friend Laura introduced me to homemade flour toritillas. It is amazing how much better they taste than store-bought tortillas. At Wal-Mart of all places, I discovered the next best thing. These are in the refrigerated section near the cream cheese.
It's an extra step to brown them on a griddle or in a skillet, but WORTH THE EXTRA STEP.

2. After the tortilla, top with some shredded cheese. Cheddar, Mexican blend, monterrey jack, whatever you like.

3. Then, scoop some of the shredded chicken over the cheese. Don't drain the marinade off the chicken. You'll want a little of that saucy goodness.

4. Top with a generous scoop of the cilantro lime rice (and for the record, I am not a big cilantro fan, but it just works in these recipes).

5. Then top with beans of some kind, pinto or black. I used black beans. And it's better if they're warmed in my opinion.

6. On top of the beans go lettuce. And load it down with lettuce.

7. Then top with the tomatillo dressing, crushed corn chips, and I like to add a little salsa as well.

Delish. Such a fun dinner for a crowd or when entertaining. Now I'm off to eat leftovers!

A twist on Chicken Salad

I have been absent from my cooking blog lately. Almost immediately following my last post, Ethan started kindergarten, then my sweet granny passed away. I spent a week in Alabama for that. Then Sara Katherine started preschool. Then I have to dial 911 on my wife-beating next door neighbor (and consequently, have to be a witness for the prosection in his preliminary hearing tomorrow). Then we spend two days dealing with the Ethan-rock-up-his-nose fiasco. Ethan starting kindergarten has absolutely rocked my world. For some silly reason, I thought I'd have more time once kids were in school. Wrong. I haven't quite gotten my groove down yet, but I feel like I'm close. Ethan is in Tae Kwan Do, Sara Katherine is in ballet, and in a matter of weeks, I feel like I'm living a whole new life. Needless to say, this hasn't given way to many opportunities for experimenting or baking. I have done enough to feed my family, but little that is blog-worthy. I did make some yummy bruschetta using tomatoes from our garden, but failed to take a picture, and a food blog is no fun without pictures. If someone is just dying to have that recipe, then just leave me a comment. Anyhow, with fall coming, the cooking blog will be nicely resurrected. Now until December is my favorite time of year for just about everything; baking and cooking included. I already have a list of things I want to make and blog about. And now that my synthroid has kicked in, I actually have a lot of energy again. So I'm excited.

Anyway, back to the point. I'm fortunate to have some really fun friends here in Clovis. On Tuesday, the (very brave) bishop's wife opened the doors to her home for a drop-in crafting day. Everyone could bring their current crafting projects (mine included hairbows and a do-it-yourself Scentsy warmer) and bring a treat to share and craft and visit and eat. It was seriously so much fun. All the kids who weren't in school played with each other and relatively stayed out of the way of the glue guns. Debbie set up big tables all over the kitchen and living room and covered them with protective vinyl covering, and we ate and crafted to our hearts content. Some people didn't even come with crafting projects, but just to visit and eat.

And boy, did we eat.

Debbie made this to-die-for chicken salad. I am a big chicken salad fan anyway, so I was thrilled to get a different way to prepare it and eat it. It was so good that I made it tonight for my family. If you love chicken salad, get ready. You're going to want to eat this all.day.long. Yum!

Debbie's Chicken Salad

(As a warning, this is one of the "approximated" recipes)

For the salad:

Torn romaine lettuce (I actually had a coupon for a free big bag of lettuce, so I used the larger size bagged romaine. Otherwise, I would have chopped my own because I think it tastes better and it's cheaper, and I would probably use an entire head of romaine).
Shredded swiss cheese, about one cup
Chopped Tomatoes (I used three)
Chopped Red Onion (I used 1/2)
Chopped Pecans (I used about 1 cup, measured before they were chopped)
Chopped cooked chicken (I used about 3 cups)

For the dressing:

1 cup mayo
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Fresh cracked black pepper to your taste
about 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, added 1 T at a time until you get the consistency and tang you like.

Toss salad ingredients in the dressing until fully coated. This is one of those salads where you really do need to toss the whole thing. It won't be as good if you just pour the dressing on top.

We ate this on crossaints (but you could also use pitas or tortillas) and even my children gobbled it up. A perfect paper plate kind of meal. Dang. Just typing this post makes me want to go eat some, now, at 11pm.

Also, Debbie gave me a good tip. She said if you happen to have leftovers for this, the lettuce will get a little wilty-like from being coated in the dressing. She said before you eat it the next day, just toss it again with some fresh romaine, and you won't even be able to taste the wilty stuff. Awesome. We had just enough left for David and me to have lunch tomorrow. I.can't.wait.

Chicken Italiano Appetizers

I made these for a bridal shower I helped with. I actually pulled the recipe out of a Wilton Cake Decorating book. They were great! It'd be good as a filling for a crescent roll braid or wreath, Pampered Chef style, too!

18 wonton wrappers (I found these in the produce section)
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
2 t olive oil
2 c cooked chicken, finely chopped (roughly two boneless skinless breasts) (I used my Pampered Chef food chopper for this!)
1/3 c mayo
2 T parmesan cheese, I used grated
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t basil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray standard muffin cavitites with vegetable pan spray. Press wonton wrappers into cavities.

In small skillet, cook red pepper and green onion in oil until soft, about five minutes. Meanwhile, combine chicken, mayo, cheese and seasonings. Stir in cooked red pepper and green onions. Spoon 3 tablespoons filling into wonton cup (my medium Pampered Chef cookie scoop put the perfect amount in all 18 cups).
Bake 7-8 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 18 appetizers.

Chicken/Spinach/Alfredo/Feta Pizza

Before the oven.

I hardly ever cook anything without a recipe. This is for a few different reasons: 1. I'm really not all that imaginative when it comes to food, and 2. If I make something that is a bust, I can just blame it on the recipe!

But tonight, I did create this out of my head. Not that it was all that hard, mind you, but no recipe was used. My mother-in-law never cooks with recipes...she said cooking for a family of five on a limited budget that she just had to use what she had. I admire her for that. I stress myself out sometimes and make extra trips to he store for an ingredient for something specific I want to make, not to mention the way I cook is likely more expensive than the way she did for her family. Maybe by the time I reach five kids, I'll be cooking with no recipes either!

Anyway, here is my creation for tonight's dinner. I didn't measure anything, so I'll be guessing on amounts:

Chicken/Spinach/Alfredo/Feta Pizza
1 pizza crust*
1/2 jar prepared alfredo sauce, or get really industrious and make your own
about 1/2 bag of bagged fresh spinach
1-2 cups of cooked, chopped chicken
3 pressed fresh cloves of garlic
a handful or two of feta cheese
a few drizzels of olive oil over the whole thing

Spread pizza crust out on your baking stone. To keep crust from sticking to the stone, sprinkle a little cornmeal on the stone prior to putting the crust down. Spread the alfredo on top of the unbaked pizza crust. Spread spinach leaves over the top of the alfredo. Sprinkle the chopped chicken on top of the spinach, then using a garlic press, press about three fresh garlic cloves over the chicken. Then throw a couple handfuls of feta over the whole thing and drizzle with olive oil (or EVOO as Rachael Ray calls it, and I can't stand it when she does!)

Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes or until your crust turns light brown.

Next time I'm adding artichokes to this, just didn't have any tonight. It was gooo-ooood. Ethan told me he wanted me to make it again tomorrow night!

*You can use lots of different kinds of pizza crusts. The Boboli prepared ones, the Jiffy Mix Pizza Crust mix, the Pilsbury ones in the tube, or use my friend Sara's pizza dough recipe. It's my favorite. For this crust tonight, I had a box of Pampered Chef pizza crust/roll mix. The dry ingredients come premeasured, you just add in the yeast packet that comes with it in the box and some olive oil and hot water, knead a few times and then spread out over your pan. So easy and so yummy. I'm looking for a good whole wheat pizza crust recipe, so if you have one, send it my way.

Sara's Pizza Dough Recipe (I use this for pizza and calzones).
1 pkg yeast
1 1/4 c warm water
2 T veg oil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups plain flour

Mix ingredients, stirring to form a ball of dough. Knead 8-10 times using extra flour as necessary to create a good consistency. Let rest five minutes before rolling out for the crust. Poke a few holes in the crust with a fork so it doesn't bubble up on you when baking. After the oven.