Skillet Chicken Alfredo

Skillet Alfredo Pasta

RECIPE:
(serves 2-4)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cubed
3 garlic cloves, minced
14 oz chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 lb uncooked penne pasta
1.5 cups grated parmesan
parsley for garnish (optional)

In a pot, heat the oil and brown the chicken. Add garlic, and sauté for about a minute. Add broth, cream, and pasta, and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer for 15-20 min. Turn off heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Top with parsley if desired. Enjoy!

Rudolph's Tipsy Spritzer

Rudolph`s Tipsy Spritzer 

2 Cups Vodka 

5 Cups Orange Juice

2 Cups Lemon lime soda 

1/2 Cup Cherry juice

1/4 Cup Fresh lemon juice

Chill all ingredients. Add to a large pitcher and mix. Serve over ice....

Two Ingredient Microwave Fudge

MICROWAVE FUDGE

1 (12 oz.) pkg. Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 can Eagle brand milk
3/4 c. pecans (optional)

Place chocolate morsels and Eagle Brand milk in 1 quart glass measuring cup. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir to blend well. Add pecans and blend well. Put in buttered 9" square pan and refrigerate several hours. Slice and enjoy.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

Yield: 48 cookies Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Total time: 30 minutes
A holiday classic, straight from my mom's old recipe card!

INGREDIENTS:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
48 miniature Reese's peanut butter cups, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. Beat together the butter, peanut butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and vanilla and mix for another minute or so to combine. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Give the dough a final mix with a rubber spatula to ensure all of the flour is incorporated.

4. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls (about 2 teaspoons worth of dough) and place in the cups of a miniature muffin pan (keep the dough in balls - do not press into the pan).

5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until light golden brown and slightly puffy. Remove from the oven and immediately press a miniature peanut butter cup in the middle of each cookie, pressing down so that the top of the peanut butter cup is even with the top of the cookie. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pans, and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

**Be careful not to make the cookies any bigger and spin the cooled cookie in the pan before you lift them out.

Christmas Crack

Christmas Crack

Ingredients

1 16 oz jar salted peanuts
1 16 oz jar unsalted peanuts
1 12 oz bag semi sweet chocolate chips
1 12 oz bag milk chocolate chips
2 10 oz bags peanut butter chips
1 4 oz block white chocolate bar
sea salt (optional)
Instructions

Layer everything in your slow cooker except the salt (beginning with the peanuts.)
Cook on low setting for 2 hours.
Stir ingredients around and cook an additional 20 minutes.
Remove from slow cooker and place in small muffin cups.
Cool until hardened for at least one hour ~ enjoy!

Easy Baked Mini-Omelets

 

EASY BAKED MINI-OMELETS
I see great possibilities with this little recipe. Not only is this the perfect way to use those bits and pieces of veggies, meat and cheese in your fridge, but each mini-omelet can be made to order. Another reason I like this recipe is that it can easily be doubled for a crowd and there is no standing over an omelet pan while your company is waiting for you!!


Picky-picky husband loves these little omelets with just diced ham and cheese in them, but I like them with chopped mushrooms,broccoli and bacon. Either way, two mini-omelets make a very filling breakfast.

EASY BAKED MINI-OMELETS        (makes 12)

1 pound of breakfast meat cooked and drained (ham, bacon or sausage)
1 cup favorite veggies, sauteed (optional)
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (or cream if you're feeling self-indulgent)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (depending on how salty your meat is)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used swiss)

Preheat oven to 375 and spray cupcake pan with vegetable spray.

Whisk the eggs, milk or cream, oil, baking powder and salt and pepper together until smooth.

Divide meat and vegetables evenly between the 12 greased cupcake wells; top with a little cheese.  Pour enough egg mixture in each well to come to the top.

Bake in preheated 375 oven for 15-20 minutes (my oven took 22 minutes). During this time, they will REALLY dome up like a real cupcake, but they will flatten back down as they cool.

Pretzel Jello Dessert

Pretzel Jello Dessert Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups crushed pretzels
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• FILLING:
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
• TOPPING:
• 2 packages (3 ounces each) strawberry gelatin
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup cold water

Directions

• 1. In a large bowl, combine the pretzels, butter and sugar. Press into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool completely. 
• 2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in whipped topping. Spread over pretzel crust. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. 
• 3. For topping, in a small bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add cold water; chill until partially set. Carefully pour over filling. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or until firm. Cut into squares. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small jar (3-4 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, or use 3-4 oz fat-free sun dried tomatoes
• 1 lb chicken breast tenders 
• salt 
• paprika (just a little bit)
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 8 oz penne pasta (for gluten free, use Tinkyada gluten free brown rice pasta)
• 1 tablespoon basil (if using dry basil), if using fresh basil you can add more
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (at least, add more to taste)
• 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)
• salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained oil for sauteing as described below:
2. In a large pan, on high heat, sautee garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil) in 2 tablespoons of oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar - see note above) for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant. Remove sun-dried tomatoes from the pan, leaving the oil, and add chicken tenders, salted and lightly covered in paprika (for color) and cook on high heat for 1 minute on each side. Remove from heat.
3. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water (to stop cooking). 
4. Slice sun-dried tomatoes into smaller bits and add them back to the skillet with chicken. Add half and half and cheese to the skillet, too, and bring to a gentle boil. Immediately reduce to simmer and cook, constantly stirring, until all cheese melts and creamy sauce forms. If the sauce is too thick - don't worry - you'll be adding some cooked pasta water soon. Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the creamy sauce, and stir to combine. Add 1 tablespoon of basil, and at least 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. 
5. Add about 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water because the creamy sauce will be too thick (do not add all water at once - you might need less or more of it). This will water down the thickness of the cheese sauce and make it creamier. Immediately, season the pasta with salt and more red pepper flakes, to taste, if needed. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine. 
6. Note: Make sure to salt the dish just enough to bring out of the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

Albondigas Soup

INGREDIENTS

For Meatballs

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ onion, chopped
• ½ cup long grain rice, I used Basmati
• 1 egg, beaten
• ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh oregano, chopped or about 1 tbsp dry oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste

For Albondigas soup

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped to your liking
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups beef broth
• 3 cups water
• 1 can (14.5 oz) chopped tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• juice from ½ lemon
• dash of cayenne pepper
• fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish
• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a bowl add all the meatball ingredients together and mix well. Shape into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. You should get about 30 to 35 meatballs, depending on how big you make them. Place meatballs in fridge until ready to add to soup.
2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom 5 qt pot to medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add chopped carrots and potatoes to pot and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until you get a nice caramelization going.
3. Add broth, water and can of tomatoes and seasonings. Bring to a boil and turn down heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Add meatballs to pot one at a time, slowly. Using a wooden spoon slowly stir. Cover and let cook over low to medium heat for another 15 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Add lemon juice and herbs and taste and adjust for seasoning.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Homemade Chicken Nuggets Recipe

For about 24 nuggets
Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken
• ¼ cup old-fashioned oats
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning, divided (optional) sub paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¾ cup breadcrumbs

Steps:

1. In a large bowl, combine chicken, oatmeal, half the grated parmesan (1/8 cup), half the Zatarain’s seasoning (or paprika) (1/2 teaspoon), garlic powder and pepper. Knead dry ingredients into ground chicken.
2. Moisten hands to prevent sticking and form 1 tablespoon of chicken mixture into a ball. Press into a cookie cutter for shaped nuggets or flatten with fingers for a basic nugget shape.
3. In small bowl, combine breadcrumbs with remaining Zatarain’s seasoning and grated parmesan.
4. Press nuggets into bread crumb mixture and turn over, patting crumbs into surface to coat evenly.
   –At this point you can freeze– or
5. To bake: Preheat oven to 375° F. Arrange nuggets on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Lightly spray nuggets themselves with cooking spray or olive oil for a crispier coating (optional). Bake 15-20 minutes, turning once, and checking – don’t overcook! These baked nuggets will not really brown (unless you pan fry in oil) – if browning is desired, place under broiler for a couple of minutes at the end of cooking.