New Favorite Recipes!

Hello!
 I'm returning from the land of silence to post about my recent favorite meals!  Today, I wanted to update you on all my delicious finds on Pinterest. Check out my Recipes I've Tried folder on Pinterest to see all the recipes I love!

Here they are- all pictures belong to the original blog.  Have fun!

Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes from two peas & their pod

These are fantastic little bundles of yumminess. They are moist and the pumpkin flavor really comes out.  I dipped just the tops in the Cinnamon/Sugar mix, and it was heavenly! Just as good a day later as just out of the oven. (If they last that long!)

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Lasagna Bake by Pinch of Yum

Delicious.  Creamy and rich, every family member enjoyed this.  A few notes:

I used my own Alfredo Sauce recipe just because it was easier.

I would take out the peas next time. They really didn't add anything to the dish; except that my kids got their veggies! 

Very, very good dish that is on the meal rotation list!

 

by Frieda Loves Bread

I can't believe I haven't posted about this cake.  Last November I was looking for an easy, one layer cake that I could decorate for my boy's Minecraft party.  Frieda answered my call on Facebook. I ended up cutting this into squares, and using pieces of foot rollups to made Minecraft shapes.   We LOVE this cake.  Love, Love, Love.  My daughter asked for it for her birthday in March, and still mentions it as her favorite cake.  The vanilla flavor is so good. Add cherries on top = divine.

 

Thai Beef Tacos from How Sweet it is

One more savory to add to this list.  These tacos are AMAZING! The Thai flavor is perfect, and the mangoes really punch up the whole thing.  The recipe only makes a few; double or triple as needed.  I did try this with stew meat in the crockpot once: not as good.   Use Flank steak and marinate them!

These are enough to get you started.  Check out my "Recipes I've Tried" board on Pinterest to see more tried and true recipes! 

Do you have a favorite recipe you found on Pinterest?  Let me know in the comments!

White Chicken and Veggie Lasagna

Well, I've given up and joined Pinterest. And found yet another source of great recipes! Now I'm really never going to get through my "new recipe" file! 

I love lasagna. Mainly the traditional red beef lasagna, like my family favorite.  When I saw this White Chicken and Veggie Lasagna on Pinterest though, I knew I wanted to try it. 

I added a few veggies to the original recipe, and feel free to add more.  I cut down the amount of cream cheese, since it was just too rich and creamy for me. The original recipe called for 2 bricks of cream cheese and 1 cup of milk. If you like extra creamy, go for it!

Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna

Adapted from Taste of Home.com


2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 cups spinach, finely chopped
½ Red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cans chopped tomatoes, drained. Chop into smaller pieces

1 8oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup milk
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teas Pepper
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil, chopped, divided

12 lasagna noodles, cooked

Heat oven to 350°F.
Start cooking your lasagna noodles according to the package directions.

Combine chicken, artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, red bell pepper, and tomatoes. 

In another bowl, beat cream cheese, milk, pepper, and garlic with mixer until well blended (it will still be a little lumpy, especially if your cream cheese is cold). Stir in 2 Tb basil. Mix half the cream cheese mixture with the chicken.

Spread half the remaining cream cheese mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with 3 noodles and 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Repeat layers of noodles and chicken mixture twice. Top with remaining noodles, cream cheese mixture and mozzarella; cover with foil.

Bake 25 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining basil. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.

Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic and Asiago Cream Sauce

We went out to dinner a few weeks ago, and this sauce caught my eye on the menu. I didn't try it there, but knew that I had to make it at home. Nothing is better than roasted garlic! (Chocolate doesn't count...)

I wish I had pictures for you, but our camera has broken. This picture is from my basic Alfredo Sauce.

I used my basic Alfredo Sauce recipe, and adjusted it to make a super creamy, tasty sauce.

I served it over baked herb chicken, with a side of wild rice and roasted asparagus. It would also be wonderful on noodles or vegetables.

Roasted Garlic and Asiago Cream Sauce

1 clove Roasted Garlic (see instructions below)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Sauce:
1 block Cream Cheese (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup of milk
1 cup grated Asiago Cheese
Roasted garlic cloves (I used 5 or 6; use what you are comfortable with)
1 TB Basil
Pepper to taste

To roast garlic:

Set oven to 325.
Peel the outer layers of the garlic clove away- leaving enough layer to hold the cloves together.
Cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch off of the top of the garlic head to reveal individual cloves.
Set the cloves on a square of foil, and drizzle with 1 teaspoon Olive Oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Fold foil up around garlic, enclosing completely.
Put foil packets in a shallow baking dish, and bake for 40-50 minutes. The garlic is done when a fork pierces them easily.

Allow to cool, then squeeze the cloves out of the skin. Mash them slightly before adding to sauce.

Sauce:
Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan, and heat on medium until melted and combined. Stir frequently to make a smooth sauce.

Serve immediately!

Pumpkin Curry Alfredo

The yumminess of Alfredo; the tastiness of pumpkin, the spiciness of curry...what else could you wish for? (Besides chocolate of course!)

Pumpkin Curry Alfredo

1 Package Bowtie Pasta
1/2 batch Alfredo Sauce
1/2 T real butter
1/4 C minced onion
1 C canned pumpkin
2 T Chicken broth
1T Rosemary

1/2 to 1 teas curry powder

Cooked, diced chicken is wonderful in this dish as well!

Cook the pasta according to the directions. In a separate pan, melt the butter, and then add the onion. Saute until soft.

Add chicken broth and rosemary. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all of the onion bits. Add pumpkin and whisk to combine. Add alfredo sauce, stir to combine, and cook until heated.

Stir in Curry powder. Serve on top of prepared pasta. Top with parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Pesto Alfredo Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

I hosted a small dinner party last week. Thinking that it would be fun to try new recipes, I landed on my favorite food blog, OurBestBites.com. I found their recipe for "Creamy Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Mushrooms" and thought I'd give it a try.

I pretty much followed their recipe, except that I used my own Alfredo sauce recipe. The recipe I have for you here is their recipe, with my sauce and additions. When the salad was complete, I really felt that it needed some things other then just tomatoes and mushrooms.

The measurements on this weren't very accurate after I made my own sauce. So, I recommend, especially with the sauce, just adding a little at a time to the pasta until it is the consistency you like! The pasta will soak in the sauce, so more is better.

Pesto Alfredo Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

Alfredo Sauce
(Melt together: 1 cube butter, 1 cream cheese, 1 cup Parmesan, 3/4 cup milk, salt, pepper, basil, garlic)
Pesto - either homemade or store bought (10oz)
1 box of Farfalle/Bowtie pasta (16oz)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
Fresh Broccoli, cut into small bits.
Pine nuts or almonds, or walnuts.
Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Prepare the Alfredo Sauce. While that is cooking, boil water, add salt, and start the noodles cooking.

Placed sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, and broccoli on a foil-lined cookie sheet.
Drizzle with 3-4 T Olive Oil. Toss veggies until they are coated with the oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 12 minutes. The tomato skins will start to split when ready.

Toast the nuts. Place the nuts in a small pan on medium heat. Stir every few minutes. The nuts will start to get glossy, which means the oils are releasing. Remove when golden.

When your Alfredo sauce is done, add 1/3-1/2 cup of pesto and stir.

Drain noodles.

Put it all together! Mix in the sauce first, to the consistency you like. Save the extra sauce for serving time.
Mix in the veggies, and sprinkle the nuts and parmesan cheese on top.

For presentation: I discovered that after making and refrigerating, that the pasta appeared dry. If I had saved some sauce, I would have drizzled some extra on top, and then sprinkled the nuts and cheese.

This makes a great main or a side dish.

Chicken Alfredo

It was Mother's Day, about 4 years ago. I wanted my man to make me Alfredo for dinner. We had a fairly simple recipe for it. It would be easy? Right?

We searched high and low for that recipe. It was gone. Vanished. Kaput.

It was destiny.

We got online at Allrecipes.com and found this recipe. Even simpler. Even better. Amazing.

We've never looked back.

You know you have an amazing recipe when you are eating Alfredo in a fancy restaurant, and the Man looks at you and tells you that yours is better! (And not just for kiss-up points!)

Chicken Alfredo- also great as a Pizza sauce!

Cooked Pasta
Cooked Chicken, shredded or bite sized

Sauce:
1 block Cream Cheese
1/2 cup of Butter (can use less)
1/2 to 3/4 cup Milk (I use 3/4 for a thinner sauce. Use less for a pizza sauce)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 TB Basil
1 Teas Garlic
Pepper to taste

Nutmeg

Combine all ingredients, except Nutmeg, and heat until melted, stirring frequently.

Toss over Pasta and Chicken

Sprinkle Nutmeg over the entire dish! This is the “secret” ingredient that gives it a punch! Trust me, this is amazing!

Take one bite...mmm...close your eyes and enjoy.

Stay tuned for simple ways to turn regular Alfredo sauce into something Gourmet!

In my Kitchen

I cleaned my kitchen today. Completely.

I did the dishes. Scrubbed the counters. I even handwashed all the big bowls and cookie sheets that had been sitting on top of my microwave for a week... uh... I mean day... ;)

Then I looked around. It was too clean. I can't have that, can I?

So, I started to bake.

It was the kids turn to pick the cookie flavor. They chose Snickerdoodles, so we got out our mix from MegsCreations and went to town.

MegsCreations.etsy.com

Then, as part of dinner, I made Parmesan Popovers. I found the recipe on a blog the other day, and unfortunately, forgot where I found them! They are made with eggs, milk, herbs, parsley, and Parmesan cheese in mini-muffin pans! So tiny! My 3 yr old helped and was so proud of her little "muffins"! I'll post the recipe soon!


We then started on our Honey Whole Wheat Bread which the whole family enjoys. This brought another moment of elation. I don't have a kitchen aid, so have to knead by hand for 10 minutes. BUT... I remembered that the new hand mixer my In-laws gave me came with dough hooks! I was so excited! The job was so much easier with them. The loaves are in the oven right now. Mmmm...

We then proceeded to dinner. I remembered that I had some whipping cream in the fridge that needed to be used. So, I whipped (ha ha) out my cookbook and found a recipe for Alfredo Sauce. I'm not going to post it. It was passable, but my own sauce, made with cream cheese, is SO much better!

For desert, we had a snickerdoodle in chocolate ice cream.

So, for now, I think I'm done! Well, at least until the bread is done...then I'll have a warm slice with strawberry jam... mmm...