Chicken, Greens, and Brie

Dinner for Two!!! I absolutely love this recipe. Everything from the chicken, to the pesto, and the brie; it all melts in your mouth... Yum!!  The first time I made this recipe I used a spring salad mix which made it very colorful with the red and green leaves, but the second time I made it (as shown in the photo) my husband bought only a green salad mix. Both salad mixes tasted great, but I loved how the red and green salad mix made it so colorful and pretty. So from here on out I will stick with the more visually appealing salad greens, lol. Enjoy!

Recipe:

3 cups torn mixed salad greens
1 cup seedless green grapes
½ cup walnut halves, toasted
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar, white vinegar, or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon strawberry spreadable fruit
¼ cup basil pesto
¼ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (8 ounces total)
1 cup chicken broth
2 (1 to 2 ounce) Brie wedges, sliced

1) For salad, in a large bowl combine greens, grapes, and nut halves; set aside. For dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the ¼ cup oil, vinegar, and spreadable fruit; set aside. For pesto, in a small bowl combine pesto and chopped nuts; set aside.
2) In a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook about 3 minutes on each side or until brown. Remove skillet from heat; drain fat. Carefully add broth (liquid may spatter). Return skillet to heat. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning chicken once. Remove chicken from skillet; discard broth.
3) Toss together salad and dressing Transfer salad to dinner plates. Arrange chicken and Brie on top of greens. Spoon pesto mixture over chicken.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 16 minutes | Total Time: 26 minutes | Yields: 2 servings

Source: BHG

Rosemary and Garlic Potatoes

I love this recipe because of how easy it is to make and that it uses the microwave instead of the oven. More often than not there are those times when my oven is already in use and the side dish I want to make needs to go in the oven as well and there just never seems to be a good way of timing the meal when you can't cook both at once. This recipe is perfect for those types of situations. Also, If you are a big garlic and potato fan like myself you will love this dish. It is so simple - just throw everything in a bowl, put it in the microwave and voila you are done. 

Recipe:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
8 cups red potatoes, quartered

1) In a large bowl add olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper and potatoes; toss well.
2) Cover and microwave on High for 15 minutes. Stir; microwave on High for another 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Yields: 4 servings

Graham Cracker Crust

I found a recipe for homemade graham cracker crust instead of using the store bought kind and trust me you will never go back to store bought crust again. It really is not hard to make and you will thank me for it, trust me.

Recipe:

1½ cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
⅓ cup white sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

1) Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon until well blended. Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.
2) Bake at 375°F for 7 minutes. Cool. If recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour.

Notes: Use chocolate graham crackers if you need a chocolate crust.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 7 minutes | Total Time: 17 minutes | Other Time: 1 hour for unbaked pie shell

Black Raspberry Cream Pie

When I ate this dessert I thought I was in heaven. It is so DELICIOUS!!  After seeing that this recipe used fruit spreads for the flavoring of the pie, I don't see why you couldn't try this in any spread flavor. I can't wait to try this in strawberry and raspberry.

I will confess, I was very nervous when making this because I had never made anything with whipping cream that needed to be formed into peaks before. The original recipe did not explain how to do that so I looked it up and not that it was complicated to do but there was a lot more to it than I thought. I added those instructions to my recipe below in case any of you aren't sure how to do it either. A co-worker of mine told me that I didn't need to go through all of the steps that I did, but hey it worked for me so I am keeping it this way. If you already have your own method, by all means stick with it and ignore my instructions on it.

Recipe:

1 (9-inch) graham cracker crumb pie shell recipe
1 cup whipping cream or heavy cream
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (10 ounce) jar black raspberry spread
Fresh black raspberries, and/or mint leaves (optional)

1) Place a medium sized mixing bowl and the beaters in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. After sufficiently chilled remove the mixing bowl and beaters from the freezer and place the mixing bowl in a larger bowl of ice water.
2) Add the cream in the chilled mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer for 20 to 30 seconds on low until bubbles begin to form. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until the cream begins to thicken and the beaters show a slight trail in the cream.
3) Increase mixer speed to high and beat until the cream begins to thicken and puff up. Continue to beat the cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
4) In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add black raspberry spread. Beat on low speed just until combined. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon mixture into pie shell. Cover and freeze for 4 to 24 hours or until firm. Garnish with fresh black raspberries and/or mint.

Note: To check for stiff peaks, pull the beaters straight up out of the whipped cream. The peak should hold its shape and stick tightly to the beaters. DO NOT over-whip the cream. Once it forms stiff peaks, stop beating. If the cream is over-whipped it will start to separate and curdle.

Tip: The cream should be kept in the coldest part of the refrigerator until just before using. Try different pie flavors with changing the fruit spread. If using a stand mixer, be careful because the cream can become over-whipped quickly.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 4 hours, 27 minutes or Overnight | Other Time: Pie Shell: 17 minutes | Yields: 8 servings

Source: BHG

Chicken Pesto

This is another quick meal for those of us that come home from work and want something easy and homemade. You can use jarred basil pesto from the store but I am in the process of searching for a homemade version that I like and once I find it I will add it to this recipe for you.

Recipe:

4 large carrots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ cup basil pesto
¼ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Olive oil (optional)
Fresh basil (optional)

1) In a 12-inch skillet cook carrots in olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add chicken; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until no pink remains in chicken. Add pesto; toss to coat.
2) To serve: Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and top with basil.

Note: Once chicken has been added, add more olive oil to skillet if needed.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Yields: 4 servings

Source: BHG

Tortellini Stir-Fry

I love this meal just for the simple fact that it is super easy and fast. No lie this meal is done from start to finish in 20 minutes. Great to make on those nights when you get home from work and you just don't feel like making anything. I have finally perfected this recipe using a homemade peanut sauce instead of the jarred, since everyone that we tried was way too HOT for our liking.

Tortellini Stir-Fry Recipe:

1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
1 (16 ounce) package fresh cut or frozen stir-fry vegetables (such as broccoli, pea pods, carrots, and celery)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
¾ cup peanut stir-fry sauce
¼ cup chopped dry-roasted cashews

1) Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2) In wok or large skillet stir-fry vegetables in hot oil over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes (7 to 8 minutes for frozen vegetables) or until crisp-tender. Add pasta and stir-fry sauce; toss gently to coat. Heat through. Sprinkle with cashews; serve immediately.

Notes: Vary this recipe every time by choosing a different vegetable blend.

Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Yields: 4 servings

Source: BHG

Thai Peanut Sauce:

¼ cup honey
¼ cup smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Stir together the honey, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.

Yields: 3/4 cup

Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese

I personally love Macaroni and Cheese recipes that use 3 or 4 different kinds of cheese, but my goal was to find a kid friendly recipe that was very similar to the boxed Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and I found it on the Food Network's website from Alton Brown. This recipe is simple to make and even though I do not have kids to test this on, my husband and I decided that this is what our kids will grow up knowing as Mac-n-Cheese. No more boxed stuff EVER again in our house!  So, if our kids are anything like my husband they will get overly excited when they see this on the stove.

Recipe:

1 pound elbow macaroni (4 cups)
8 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
12 ounces evaporated milk
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
1½ teaspoon dry mustard
2 (8 ounces) sharp cheddar, shredded

1) In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.
2) Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over medium-low heat continue to stir for 6 minutes or until creamy.

Notes: Can use mild cheddar cheese instead of sharp. Please note: All ingredients were doubled, so if you don't want as much just cut everything in half.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Yields: 6 to 8 servings

Source: Alton Brown