Quick Chicken Braciole

Another recipe from Eating Well. You can find it Here , but you have to sign-up for their website.







Ingredients:
2 cups prepared marinara sauce
2- 8-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
4 thin sliced prosciutto
1 cup finely chopped chard leaves (without stems) I went to the grocery store, but they didn't have chard so I bought spinach
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
1. Add sauce to a large skillet, cover and place over medium heat to start warming.
2. Cut a horizontal slit along the long, thin edge of each chicken breast, cutting nearly through to the opposite side. Open each so it forms two flaps, hinged at the center. Cover with a large piece of plastic wrap and pound with the smooth side of a meat mallet to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Layer 2 slices of prosciutto, 1/2 cup chard and 1/4 cup mozzarella on each breast. Starting from the long side, roll closed. Tie the ends with kitchen string and tuck them in to keep the filling from falling out. Sprinkle each roll with pepper
3. Add the rolls to the warm sauce; cover and simmer, turning occasionally until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the rolls registers 165 degrees F, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a clean cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Remove the string and slice the rolls crosswise. Serve with the sauce. I made some pasta to serve with it.

Chicken Club Wraps

Jud was at Starbucks working on a writing assignment and I decided to go to the library to look for a book and look at some magazines while there. I found this recipe Here.  I discovered that I could just type in the recipe title and find it online. Then I could print it out. Much better than taking my recipe cards and writing while at the library.  Who knew!  Well, I guess just about everyone probably knew. I'm a little slow. This is a keeper.  I added some basil to the recipe. I also didn't have Greek yogurt so I used light sour cream.

Printable Version Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed--Jud had grilled some chicken for Memorial Day and we had some left over, so I used that.
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
3 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons minced onion--I used scallions
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
3 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
8 large leaves red or green leaf lettuce
4 - 10-inch flour tortillas
Method:
1. Preheat grill to medium-high
2. Sprinkle chicken on both sides with 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Oil the grill rack. Grill the chicken, turning once or twice, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees F, 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a clean cutting board and let cool for 5 minutes.
3. Whisk yogurt, vinegar, onion, oil, salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces and add to the bowl along with tomato, avocado, and bacon; toss to combine.
4. To assemble the wraps, place 2 lettuce leaves on each tortilla and top with the chicken salad. Roll up like a burrito.

Fruit and Smore Cones

My daughter-in-law brought these for our Memorial Day celebration. We let each grandchild put what they wanted in their cone.  The one from Pinterest, had many more marshmallows on top and they melted to an awesome goodness.
You can find it Here







Ingredients:
strawberries
bananas
mini marshmallows
chocolate chips
waffle cones
Method:
Fill your waffle cone with the ingredients listed above. We did it in this order--chocolate chips, bananas, strawberries, marshmallows. Then we repeated the ingredients.  Wrap each filled waffle cone in foil and place on the grill for about 5-7 minutes with the lid closed.  Turn them often to prevent burning.

Pastitsio

This is a recipe from Ina Garten and you can find it Here  I cut the recipe in 1/2 and didn't use the lamb.  I only used the ground beef. I will type the recipe as I made it, not as Ina recommended.  It was worth the effort.  I had decided that if it wasn't awesome, I would probably never make it again because it was pretty labor intensive.  You have to think ahead because it takes about 2 hours from start to finish.




Printable Version
Ingredients for the Tomato Meat Sauce:
1.5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion (1/2 large)
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup red wine
1 clove garlic (1 extra large or 2 small) minced
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 can (14 oz.) crushed tomatoes in puree
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Ingredients for Bechamel Sauce:
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 extra-large egg, beaten
1/3 cup Greek-style yogurt, such as Fage Total
3/8 pound small shells
Directions:
For the meat sauce, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until it is no longer pink. Crumble it with the back of a wooden spoon. Drain off any excess liquid, add the wine, and cook for additional 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Add the cinnamon, oregano, fresh thyme leaves, and cayenne pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 - 40 minutes. Set aside

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the bechamel, heat the milk and cream together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until simmering. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly for 2 minutes. Pour the warm milk and cream mixture into the butter and flour mixture, whisking constantly. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until smooth and thick. Add the nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Stir in 3/8  cup Parmesan cheese,1/2 cup of the tomato and meat sauce, and allow to cool for 10 minutes.When cooled, stir in the eggs and yogurt and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until  al dente. Don't over-cook because the pasta will later be baked. Drain and set aside.

Add the pasta to the meat and tomato sauce, and pour the mixture into a baking dish. Spread the bechamel evenly to cover the pasta and sprinkle with additional 3/8 cup of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbly. Set aside for 10 minutes and serve hot.

Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops

 I found this recipe on Picky Palate Here  The only thing I would do differently, you know I have to do something different, is add 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.  We would prefer more gravy for the mashed potatoes.  I did not use boneless pork chops because I have heard that the bone-in have more flavor. I just put the pork chop beside the mashed potatoes and it worked fine.



Ingredients:
6 pork chops
1 package of dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz. can Cream of Chicken Soup (I would use 2 next time)
Method:
Place the Pork Chops in the bottom of the crock pot. Mix soup and Ranch Dressing together and pour over the pork chops.  I browned my meat first, only because I wanted a little color on them for the picture, so next time I would not do that.  I did not add the instruction for the Parmesan mashed potatoes so look on the site to find the recipe for those.

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

My recipe looks very different from the recipe picture. Here
The recipe calls for 2 cups of wild rice and 2 cups of white rice. We do not care for that much rice, so I only used 1 cup of rice and I did not prepare my rice before I added it to the casserole. We really liked it this way, but you might want to try Picky Palate's version. I will add ( ) to my version.



Printable Version
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast ( I used rotisserie chicken from grocery store)
2 cups steamed white rice (I used 1 cup of raw rice)
16 oz prepared wild rice (I did not use this)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
----------------
Ingredients for Cheese Sauce
4 Tablespoons butter (I used 3)
1/4 cup all purpose flour (I used about 3 T)
1/4 teaspoon each of kosher salt and black pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Top with 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
-------------------
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Saute onions, celery, and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken, both rices,( I added the cup of raw rice at this point) salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Reduce heat to low. You just want to cooked long enough to coat the rice.
2. To prepare cheese sauce, melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk in flour, salt, and pepper. Then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously. Whisk until thick and nearly boiling. Then stir in cheese until melted. Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture then transfer to a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Sunny Morning Muffins

Not sure where I found this recipe, but it is a winner.  It calls for 1 cup of chopped walnuts, but I had some toasted almonds so I put those on the top of most of the muffins. My adult children don't care for nuts in their sweets. I know, who doesn't like pecans in their desserts?




Printable Version
Ingredients:
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1 cup sugar, plus 2 T
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lemon zested (I also used the juice)
1/2 pint blueberries
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix together strawberries and the 2 tablespoons sugar. Let sit 15 minutes until strawberries give off juices.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, 1 cup sugar, strawberries, and lemon zest and juice if using.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in the blueberries and walnuts.
Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups lined with paper liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes outy with a few crumbs but not wet, about 30 minutes. Cool on a rack to room temperature.

Trisha's Old Fashioned Potato Beef Casserole

Found this recipe on Trisha Yearwood's show.  The only thing I would do differently next time is to add fewer potatoes.  I only used 2 pounds of potatoes and it was too much for me. So, I will give the recipe like I would do it next time. I did not really like this recipe, so I probably won't make it again.



Printable Recipe Ingredients:
1 pound of red potatoes
Salt
Vegetable oil, to coat the pan
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup unseasoned dry breadcrumbs
Method:
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with water to cover by 1 inch. Add a generous pinch of salt and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Potatoes cook quickly. Test often for tenderness and don't overcook them.
Drain the potatoes and arrange in a 6 X 9 casserole dish.

In a large skillet, add a little oil to coat the pan. Combine the beef and onion and cook together over medium heat until the beef is browned and the onion softened, about 10 minutes. Drain excess fat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and the flour turns light brown in color. Gradually whisk in the milk and continue to stir while cooking over medium heat. When the mixture thickens, season with salt and pepper, then stir in the cheese and browned beef and onion mixture.

Pour the ground beef mixture over the potatoes and bake for 20 minutes, until heated through and bubbling. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top of the casserole and bake until the crumbs are toasted, about 5 minutes longer.