Chicken Alfredo

I came home from work today and Alex was in the process of making this. It's very, very rich, but oh so good. Would definitely make it again (or get him to, ha ha)! It *is* a bit time consuming, but it's so worth it.

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
6 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 pound pasta
1 onion, diced
1 8-ounce package sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups homogenized milk
3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sour cream

In a large skillet over medium heat, combine chicken, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 cloves garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons butter int he skillet. Saute onion, 2 cloves garlic and mushrooms until onions are transparent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper; cook 2 minutes. Slowly add in milk, stirring until smooth and creamy, then stir in sour cream and cheeses until cheese is melted. Finally, stir in the chicken mixture and heat while stirring for about 5 minutes. Serve over the cooked pasta.

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna Rolls

This is another of those situations where I wanted to try something different...and I have to say, it turned out amazing. Charlie didn't eat it, either because he didn't like it or because he was just being 17 months old, but Alex and I loved it. It may seem to be time consuming, but if you cook the chicken and the pasta noodles at the same time, it's really not that bad.

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced and cooked
8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup Ricotta cheese (I used mozzarella because we don't have Ricotta and the stores are closed today)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (used black because we don't have white)
1 can of Hunts basil and mushroom spaghetti sauce
Sprinkle parsley and garlic

1. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, cheeses, milk and pepper.
2. Spread some of the mixture on each lasagna noodle; roll jelly-roll fashion
3. In a 13x9 inch baking dish, spread half of the spaghetti sauce
4. Arrange lasagna rolls, seam-side down, in sauce in baking dish
5. Sprinkle each roll with parsley and garlic (use as much of each as you like)
6. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce
7. Sprinkle a little more grated Parmesan cheese on top of each roll
8. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 375F for 30 minutes, or until hot

Vegetable Beef Soup

I wanted to try my hand at making soup...something I've never done before. So yesterday I did it and it was incredible. It's a slow-cooker recipe, but I imagine you could also do it on the stovetop if you don't have a slow-cooker.

1 lb. stew beef, diced into small pieces
3 regular sized cans of Mixed Vegetables including juice (I used the Compliments brand from Sobeys)
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 of a 900mL box of Campbell's low sodium Beef Broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients into the slow cooker and mix well. Cook on low for 6 hours. We actually did it on low for 4 hours and then high for 1 hour at the end, so that works as well.

Of course, if you had lots of time (and didn't have a toddler to deal with) you could chop up fresh veggies of your choice and put those in the soup instead of the canned veggies. This is just the quick-and-easy (somewhat cheating) way to make a delicious soup without spending a lot of time doing it. The part that took me the most time was dicing up the pieces of stew meat.

Alex's Burger-n-Rice Casserole

I started a new job yesterday, so Alex has been in charge of cooking supper the last couple of days. Tonight, he made up a new casserole and it is AMAZING. All three of us loved it and I told him he could make it again any time. Then I proceeded to ask him for the recipe, so I could share it with everybody. So here we go, Alex's Burger-n-Rice Casserole!

2 cups of long-grain rice, uncooked (do not use instant or minute rice)
1+ lb ground beef
1 can of chili style kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 cup diced onions
2 tbsp (approx) minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp Club House Italian Seasoning
Dash basil
Dash sage
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of shredded cheese (1 cup mozza, 1 cup old cheddar)

Cook rice according to directions on package, set aside.
Brown rice with 1 teaspoon italian seasoning. Drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large wok, stir fry onions, carrots, green peppers, the rest of the italian seasoning, basil, sage, salt, pepper and garlic until the onions are clear.
Mix in rice, kidney beans and hamburger.
Put in a casserole dish (or two), cover with the shredded cheese, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Note: This makes a HUGE amount of food, so make sure you use a really big wok. That's also why I said the (or two) when I spoke of the casserole dish. It might be too much to fit in one dish.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

That's probably not a great name for the recipe, but it beats "Oh So Good Chicken", which is what the recipe was called online. LOL. Wanted to do something different with the chicken for supper tonight and even though Charlie didn't like it, Alex and I absolutely loved it and definitely recommend it. :)

4 teaspoons olive oil
6 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1 regular sized jar of salsa (we used mild)
2 cups cooked white rice
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
A few handfuls of crumbled tortilla chips

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute mushrooms.
2. Combine mushrooms, sour cream, cheese, salsa, rice and chicken, mix well. Place in a greased casserole dish.
3. Cover with crumbled tortilla chips and bake at 350F for 25-35 minutes.

Cheesy Chili Hamburger Helper

I wanted to make my own hamburger helper, instead of buying the pre-packaged stuff. This is better than any packaged hamburger helper I've ever had in my entire life, and I will most definitely be making it again.

1 lb ground beef
1 cup hot water
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a small bowl, mix corn starch, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar and paprika. Set aside.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet, drain.

Add hot water, then add milk. Then add the pasta and the spice mixture. Stir thoroughly, and bring to a boil.

Cover and simmer on low for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. When there are about 3 minutes left, stir in the cheese, then cover again for the final few minutes of cook time.

When the pasta is tender and the cheese is melted, turn off heat and uncover. Let stand for up to 5 minutes so the sauce can thicken. Stir and serve.

(Note: I found this recipe at the following website: http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/homemade-hamburger-helper/ and they have plenty of other hamburger helper ideas there as well that I may try in the future)

Brown Sugar Biscuits

These are not your average cinnamon rolls, and they are awesome. They took very little time to prepare, and they taste amazing. Alex says they're "addictive", so there must be something to them. I found the recipe online and modified it a little bit. As always, I will post the original recipe and then list my modifications.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup butter flavored shortening

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup brown sugar

5 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or use parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cream of tartar. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in milk and vanilla. Knead briefly on a floured surface. Roll out into a large rectangle, 1/2 inch thick. Spread softened butter onto surface of dough. Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over butter. Roll tightly, and cut into 12 equal slices. Place on prepared baking sheet.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

My Modifications: 

1. I didn't have any cream of tartar, so that got omitted. 

2. I didn't have butter flavored shortening...so I used actual, real butter. 

3. Instead of spreading real butter on the dough, I used Becel olive oil margarine.

4. I used about 1/2 cup of brown sugar and only 3 teaspoons of cinnamon. We feel that any more cinnamon would have been way too much. I didn't put all of it in the dough...the leftovers got sprinkled onto the parchment paper so the bottom of the rolls would be caramelized and yummy.
5. I actually baked mine for about 25 minutes.