Bruschetta Chicken Pasta {recipe #49}

This recipe marks the half way point in my goal for 100 recipes for 2012! Hooray! I have plenty more that I am behind on for posting. So here we go!

This meal is the PERFECT fresh pasta. Completely delicious. Make it as much as possible before all of the delicious summer tomatoes are gone!

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

Borrowed and Adapted from First Real Kitchen Cookbook By: Megan and Jill Carle

Serves 4 

{we cut in half, which is good because I don't think the leftovers would have been all that great in comparison!}

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts {2 or 3}

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

12 oz of whole wheat angel hair pasta {spaghetti works too}

4 large tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

One 2/3 ounce package of fresh basil

2 T. olive oil

1 T. Balsamic vinegar {or to taste}

1 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1) Preheat grill, george forman or grill pan. 

2) Season chicken with sea salt and pepper. Put on grill and cook for 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Let sit for 5 minutes and then cut into strips. Keep warm.

3) Meanwhile: Cook pasta according to box directions. Drain and keep warm.

4) Halve, seed and cut the tomatoes into pieces. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Roughly chop the basil leaves. Combine tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil and small bowl and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

5) Divide the pasta between 4 plates. Evenly divide the tomato mixture between each plate as well and then top with chicken. Drizzle the Balsamic vinegar over the top and sprinkle with the fresh Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

mmm doesn't that look delicious!?!??!?! 

Run don't walk to the kitchen and make it.. now.

What is your favorite fresh and healthy pasta recipe? 

All for now,

Alexandra

Jerk Pork Chops with Chipotle Mashed Potatoes {recipes #46 & 47}

Pork is not a meat that we eat a lot. So once I tried to switch it up a little by looking specifically for pork recipes.

I stumbled upon this pork chop and mashed potato recipe and it was pretty good! 

Jerk Pork Chops & Chipotle Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

Pork Chops

4 green onions

2 jalepeno peppers

2 cloves garlic

2 T. fresh lemon or lime juice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 thick cut pork chops

Mashed Potatoes:

2 lbs russet potatoes (4-5)

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

salt and pepper (found in the ethnic or Mexican section of your supermarket)

Pork Chops:

1) Thinly slice the green onions (both parts). Halve and seed the jalepenos. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Put the onions, jalepenos, garlic, lemon juice, salt, allspice, and cinnamon in a bowl, stir until combined. 

2) Spread the mixture over both sides of the pork chops and put them in a baking dish. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.

3) Preaheat a grill or grill pan on high heat. Put the pork chops on the grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until the middle is no longer pink.

Chipotle Mashed Potatoes:

1) Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Put the potato chunks in a large sauce pan of salted water. Add the garlic and cook over medium high heat for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

2) Drain off the water and return the pan to the stove. Add the butter and milk to the pan and cook over medium heat until the milk comes to a boil. Smash the potatoes and garlic with a fork or potato masher until fairly smooth. Finely dice the chipotle pepper and stir it into the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Serve together and Enjoy!

*to make it prettier, I would suggest setting aside some of the green topping to put back on in the end!*

What is your favorite way to spice up pork chops or mashed potatoes?

All for now,

Alexandra

Apricot Chicken Paninis {recipe #43}

This is a recipe that we found in Pioneer Woman's newest cookbook. It sounded strange, but for some reason I wanted to try it. Plus, I had just found a jar of organic apricot preserves on clearance at Target. So we went for it! Thank goodness we did! This recipe was AMAZING! :)

Apricot Chicken Paninis

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts (flattened if you'd like and cut to a good size for your bread)

French Bread

Mayo

Apricot Preserves

Fresh Sage Leaves

red onion slices (thin)

Oil

Butter

1) Pan fry chicken breasts in oil. Fry the fresh sage leaves also, take out before they turn brown.

2) mix mayonnaise and apricot preserves to make a spread.

3) Cut up the bread into slices. Spread with mayo-apricot mixture. Put the fried sage leaves on one side and the onion slices on the other. 

4) Put the sandwich together with the chicken in the middle and spread butter on both pieces of bread. 

5) Put in panini press, grill pan or skillet. We used our cast-iron grill pan with a smaller cast iron skillet on top. It worked out great! If using the grill pan or skillet. Flip and cook on other side as well.

6) enjoy this messy messy DELICIOUS sandwich! :)

Enjoy!

What is your favorite panini recipe?

All for now!

Alexandra

Sausage Skillet Hash {recipe #42}

We had some sausages leftover from when we made jambalaya so I searched for a recipe that included that type of sausage and this is what I found. 

I was a little hesitant at first because I really really dislike the taste of apple cider vinegar. But the picture looked good and I liked the other ingredients. It turns out that you can't even taste the vinegar and that this makes a delicious and easy meal! + it is all in one pan! Always a plus in my book! :)

Sausage Skillet Hash

{borrowed and enjoyed from: taste of home busy family favorites}

Serves 4 {maybe..?}

Ingredients:

1 lb red potatoes, cubed

3 T. water

3/4 lb smoked kielbasa or polish sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 T. olive oil

2 T. brown sugar

2 T. cider vinegar

1 T. Dijon mustard {we used grey poupon - it gives it a little zing!}

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. pepper

4 cups baby spinach {it cooks WAY down!}

5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled {we skipped this to save our bacon :)}

1) Put potatoes in a covered microwave safe container and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender, drain.
2) In a large skillet, saute kielbasa and onion in oil until onion is tender.

3) Add potatoes and cook for 3 to 5 more minutes or until potatoes and sausage are lightly browned.

4) Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper in a bowl. Stir into skillet and bring to a boil.

5) reduce heat and simmer uncovered for a few minutes or until heated through.

6) Add spinach and bacon, cook and stir until spinach is wilted.

What is your favorite all in one pan meal?

All for now,

Alexandra

Belgian Waffles {recipes #40 & 41}

For one of our wedding showers my sister-in-law Kelsey gave us a Belgian waffle iron. It was a really fun gift, especially since his family has always loved waffles for breakfast!

Its a really nice Food Network waffle iron from Kohl's and it makes square waffles which I think is kinda fun!

We tried the waffle recipe that came with the instruction manual {#41}, but it was really a let down. It had nutmeg in it and it was just ok. Not to mention we couldn't figure out how to measure the batter and it ended up all over the floor.. :)

So we tried again with a cookbook that we got at one of our showers. This recipe was FANTASTIC! We added cinnamon and vanilla {as we did with the pancakes} and it was just perfect! 

Belgian Waffles

{Borrowed and enjoyed from: The Great Breakfast Book by Nordic Ware}

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 T baking powder

2 T. Sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 large eggs, separated

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

cooking spray or oil

We added: 

1 tsp. vanilla 

1 tsp. cinnamon

1) Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

2) In another bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk and oil.

3) Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture. Blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moistened.

4) In a small bowl, or kitchenaid mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. Don't over mix.

 5) Preheat the waffle iron lightly coating with cooking spray or oil. 

6) Bake in waffle iron according to machine. 

7) Serve warm with your favorite topping.

Enjoy!

We served ours with strawberry slices, warm REAL maple syrup and cinnamon sugar dusted on top. It was a treat, but not too sweet! We had bacon on the side, but anything will do!

What is your favorite waffle topping?

All for now,

Alexandra

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BATs {recipe #39}

Here is another fabulous idea from pinterest!

Bacon, Avocado, Tomato Sandwiches!

Who doesn't love the classic BLT? But its just as good, if not better if you swap out the lettuce for avocado slices! {this is definitely Kyle's preference as he prefers BT's} 

YUM!

What is your favorite way to switch up a sandwich?

All for now,

Alexandra

Veggie Pot Pie {recipe 32}

One one particularly cold spring day I made this veggie pot pie.

It was easy, delicious and very warm. 

Its perfect for a cold or rainy day!

Veggie Pot Pie

{Borrowed and Enjoyed from: College Vegetarian Cooking by Megan and Jill Carle}

Ingredients:

3 potatoes

2 carrots

1 small onion

8 oz of mushrooms {we didn't think this was necessary}

2 cups water

1 veggie bouillon cube

1 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper

1 sheet frozen puff pastry {thawed!, the rest from the upside down chicken pot pie?}

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2) Peel and cut veggies into small pieces.

3) Place water, bouillon and veggies in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add the peas to the pan.

4) In a bowl, mix dry ingredients and milk, stirring until smooth. Slowly add the milk mixture to the pan, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

5) Pour the mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish and top with the sheet of puff pastry. Press the edges of the pastry down so it sticks to the sides of the pan. Cut 4 slits in the top of the pastry.

6) Bake for 30-35 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Your puff pastry will probably have creases in it where it was folded and frozen, but that's ok it tastes good! :)

All for Now,

Alexandra 

Recipes #20 Fish and Chips and #21 Crock Pot Corn Chowder

We decided to make fish and chips.

Afterall, I really like seafood and we both like fish and chips.

And, this recipe was baked so its much healthier.

However, it was kinda bland and not my favorite.

So I won't post the recipe.

The "chips" were really good though.

"chips"

Ingredients:

Potatoes

Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

Olive Oil

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2) Clean and cut potatoes into wedges.

3) Put olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper into a bowl. Toss potato wedges in oil mixture until potatoes are coated.

4) Bake on a baking sheet for 45 minutes.

Crock Pot Corn Chowder

The Corn Chowder was just ok.. And it made WAY too much for us. Eating it multiple times was not a preference.

But something great came of it!

Kyle said "I definitely approve of the way you cook bacon!"

Which was super sweet and made me laugh!

But it also made me feel great because while bacon is not hard to cook, I've never made it myself. :)

So that was fun!

I calculated that with my goal of 100 for the year I need to make 8.3 recipes per month.

January: 16 recipes

February {so far}: 5 recipes

Total {so far]: 21 recipes!

I'm ahead of schedule! :)

Any specific types of recipes you would like me to try?

All for now,

 Alexandra