Chicken Parmesan Casserole

I am going to try this one for dinner tonight.  It comes from the website foodwishes.com and had a recipe video and since there were no written directions, I typed the instructions for myself and figured I ought to share it here as well.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole
The end of Chicken Parmesan as you know it, by Chef John




 

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
hot red pepper flakes, to taste
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 5, but they were huge!)
2 cups marinara sauce
1/4 cup chopped basil
8 oz mozzarella, shredded
4 oz Parmesan, grated
1 (5-oz) package garlic croutons

Put crushed garlic and olive oil in 9 x 13 pan and mix and spread to coat bottom.  Sprinkle with red pepper flakes.  Put chicken breasts in pan.  Put 2 cups of marinara sauce on top.  Sprinkle with basil.   Put on half the cheeses.  ( 4 oz. of mozzarella and 2 oz. of parmesan)  Put on croutons over the top.  Put remaining cheeses, other half.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Just a quick update.  My brother passed away on September 14.  He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on June 28.  He went very quickly and now is without pain.  During his illness I became ill with a viral infection called Parvovirus B19.  I had two emergency room visits and spent three days in the hospital while they tried to find out what was wrong with me.   In children it is called fifth disease, but if it hits adults it attacks the joints.  In my case it settled in the hips.  I am slowly recovering.  It's been three weeks now and I'm still using a walker.  Each time I try and just use walking sticks I pay for it in the evening with lot's of pain.  I'm trying to be patient and I do realize that each day I'm getting a little stronger and I'm thankful for all of your prayers offered in my behalf.  My brothers's have teased me that I have a puppy disease and I've gone to the dogs.  HA HA  My brother in law teased me about what some people will do for attention.  HA HA again.   Thanks for the love. 

Broccoli Salad

I typed this one up for myself today and thought I better add it here too. This recipe is from my Aunt Vickey. I have had a lot of Broccoli Salads, but this one is my favorite.

Broccoli Salad Vickey Carlson

2 heads broccoli – cut into very small bite-size pieces
12 strips bacon – crisped and crumbled
1 small apple – chopped fine
½ onion – chopped very fine/ or grated (maybe less if onion is strong)
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup sunflower seeds


Dressing:
½ cup mayo
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. white vinegar


Mix dressing and pour over salad just before serving.

Santa Rosa Rice Salad

Santa Rosa Rice Salad

1 box long grain wild rice (Uncle Bens Original) cook and let cool
1 lemon, juiced
3 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked, seasoned, and cubed
4 green onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
3 oz. pea pods, blanched 1 minute
2 medium avocados
1 cup pecans, chopped
¼ - ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil

Mix up dressing. Add everything together, except avocados and pecans, including dressing and chill 2 to 4 hours. Just before serving add nuts and avocados.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

I am IN LOVE with this Recipe. Well 3 recipes in one. Please try it NOW. So- delish. And guess where it came from... ya... the Sisters. They rock, huh? I think I may be their biggest fan. :)
They suggest you marinade the chicken and make the pesto the night before.This helps and makes it pretty simple to assemble this delicious dish.

Preheat Pizza Stone in 400° oven.  (NOTE: My pizza stone cracked, sad day! So... I used just a cookie sheet and it rocked. )
Roll out dough on pizza stone and layer pizza in this order:

Pizza
1) Pesto (LIBERALLY spread pesto over the pizza, so you can’t see the dough through it, and up on top the edges so the crusts will have pesto on them as well.)
2) Feta cheese (about 4 oz)
3) Red onion slivers (about 1/3 onion)

4) Chicken pieces (about 1 1/2 Grilled Lemon marinated breasts, petite diced and cooked)
5) Tomato slices (1-2 tomatoes, bite-sized slices)
6) Mozzarella cheese (to your liking)
7) Pine nuts (sprinkle over top)

Bake in 400° oven for 18-20 minutes.

Pesto from Barefoot Contessa.

I agree with the Sisters, decrease the olive oil to 1 cup to 1 1/4 cup olive for best results.

¼ c. walnuts
¼ c. pignolis (pine nuts- I found mine at Costco)
3 T. diced garlic (9 cloves)
5 c. fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ c. good olive oil
1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add the parmesan and puree for a minute. (I added extra because I ♥ Parmesan) Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top. Makes 4 cups.

Pizza Dough

1 c warm water, divided
1 tsp sugar
1/4 oz package active dry yeast
3 Tbsp oil (olive oil or canola)
2 ½ c flour
1 tsp salt

Put warm water in bowl, mix in sugar & yeast and let proof until bubbly (about 10 mintues.) Stir in rest
of ingredients. Mix until a ball, knead 10 minutes. Put additional oil in bowl and let rise in oil bowl for 1 ½ hours.

Lemon Delish Chicken
Juice of one lemon (3 Tb lemon juice)
3 Tb oil
1 tsp minced garlic ( 2 medium-large cloves)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper (fresh of course!)
½ tsp oregano
1 lb chicken breasts

Marinate chicken overnight. I dice it really small and then just pan-grilled it. It was delish just like the name I gave it! :)

Bountiful Baskets

I posted this on my other blog, but wanted you guys to know about it too!

Hello all.
I know that I am probably the last person to have tried this, but I finally tried a Bountiful Basket! Have you heard of them? They are AWESOME! It is a food co-op thingy that lets you get fresh produce for cheap! I got a laundry basket full of produce for only 16.50. There are tons of these things around the state. I feel sheepish because it took me so long to try it out. Check it out HERE

Main Basket:

Cheeries & Plums

String Beans

Tomatoes & Bananas

Broccoli

Can you believe all this loot? I got some more stuff, but we had already put it in the fridge! Wowzers. That is at least $50.00 worth of produce.
I know there are lots of options lately for fresh produce, but I love the surprise that this option gives you. It kind of makes you learn how to cook with stuff if you haven't before. My friend Rachel likes this because she is a foodie and gets to try new recipes with her "surprise" ingredients. I think they gave out Bok Choy & Brussel Sprouts last week.
I am just so excited to save money on healthy things for once. I know that couponing can save you TONS of money, but often I find that the coupons are for stuff that we don't eat because it is so processed. So...Yay for saving money and for eating healthy!
Try it out and let me know what you think. Oh.. and make sure you check it out before Monday because Monday is typically the day that they "place orders" and the slots go quick.
Happy Weekend. Anyone else going to see Toy Story 3?

Peanut Butta Cups

Hey, it's me again. Natster. :) Here is a lovely recipe that rocked the Holidays. Seriously, everyone that tried these LOVED them. Hope they rock your world.

I found this lovely recipe over at Chow. Head over there for the recipe.
I made a few substitutions so that the filling would be a little thicker (more graham cracker, more PB.)
They were great and we liked them the longer they sat. Enjoy! (note...as I am NOT a self-proclaimed food photographer, I am pretty proud of this one! :) yay! )