Dinner Diva’s: Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie

It’s that time again! This month 2 of the recipes were chosen by Christine of Journeys of Mangonett. Go check out her blog for other yummy ideas. You can also go to the Dinner Diva site to see the other recipes that were chosen for the month.

I was pretty excited to see this recipe as one of the choices for the month. Another cooking group called Barefoot Bloggers, named after the fact that they cook recipes out of The Barefoot Contessa’s cookbooks, had recently made Chicken Pot Pie. I was craving Chicken Pot Pie but not feeling brave enough to tackle it! Someone must have read my mind!

This recipe turned out really well. Next time I will make some additions. Yes, I will be making this again. Next time I will add some potatoes to help thicken the sauce as it was a bit “soupy” and I add a bit more to the vegetables. I might also finely chop up half an onion for added taste.

Enjoy!

Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie

source: Paula Deen

Ingredients: 2 cup chopped cooked chicken breast 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced (I omitted) 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots 1/2 cup frozen green peas 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup Salt and pepper, optional 1 1/2 cup instant biscuit mix 1 cup milk 1 stick melted butter (I used 1/2 stick) 1 cup chicken broth
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a greased 2-quart casserole, layer the chicken, eggs, carrots, and peas. Mix the soup, chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Pour over the layers. Stir together the biscuit mix and milk, and pour this over the casserole. Drizzle butter over the topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

Dinner Divas: Caramel Apple Cheesecake

It’s that time again! Dinner Diva recipe time is here. This months recipe was chosen by Julie at Jewels in the Kitchen. Go check out her blog! When I saw the choices for this month I was excited to see something that I could bring to the dinner party that Nate and I were going to this past weekend. This was my first cheesecake and I must say it was a great first cheesecake to try out. I loved it and it was quite well received.

The only minor snafu that I had with the recipe was how to decide if the center was done. Since I have never made a cheesecake before I didn’t have much to go on. I’ve eaten cheesecake but I was still stumped!! So I did what anyone does when they have a cooking/baking question. I called my mom!! Sadly, she didn’t know how to tell if the center was done either but she thought it would be similar to a pumpkin pie so she suggested putting a knife in the center and seeing if it comes out clean. I did that a few times with no success after giving the cheesecake several more minutes. So my next idea was to consult the all know Internet!! Several sites said to use the knife method but one said to insert a thermometer and the temperature should reach 160 to 165 degrees. Eureka! That worked!

I pretty much followed the recipe to a T with the exception of the way it instructs you to decorate the top of the cheesecake with the pecans. I can’t wait to make this recipe again! These pictures were taken after the party because I forgot my camera. I actually took the pictures a few days later and the cake still tastes great. I confess that I had to clean up the pan a bit but it was worth it!!

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

source: Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 12 pecan halves
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Reserve 3/4 cup of apple pie filling and set aside.
2. Spoon remaining pie filling into crust. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth then add eggs and mix well. Pour over apple filling in crust.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes, or until center is set. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
4. Mix reserved apple filling and caramel topping in a small saucepan. Heat for about 1 minute. Arrange apple slices around outside edge of cheesecake. Spread caramel sauce evenly over. Decorate with pecan halves around edge. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Chill until ready to serve.

Dinner Divas: Mexican Lasagna

Yummo! Well, Ms. Rachel Ray may have redeemed herself with this recipe! I was skeptical if I would like this recipe because I usually find her recipes to be pretty bland. This one was not bland at all. As I got further into my portion I started to like it more and more! My husband also like it. I had great joy in telling him after he had cleaned his plate that he just ate tomatoes and onions. Usually he picks them out if he can see them. I’m so sneaky! If I make this again, which I probably will, I think that I will add black olives. I was also thinking that this might be interesting with a Taco Seasoning mix instead of the spice mix the recipe suggests.

My last post about an RR recipe was found by a person who does a website about Rachel Ray and her talk show, that can be found here (scroll half way down). She mentioned me and posted the link to my blog! During that time my blog was getting about 6 hits per day that were referred from that site. My husband told someone he worked with about the blog and RR’s blog and the lady actually thought that Ms. RR herself looked at my not so glowing review!! Haha!!

I did make few changes to the recipe. Instead of ground chicken (expensive) I used ground turkey. I also omitted the green onions because I didn’t have any. I think that I built the lasagna different than the directions say. In any case it turned out well!

This was a Dinner Diva’s recipe. You can see more recipes that we are making this month here.  This recipe was chosen by Julie at Jewels In the Kitchen Enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna

source: Food Network: Rachel Ray

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds ground chicken breast, available in the packaged meats case
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• Salt
• 8 (8 inch) spinach flour tortillas, available on dairy aisle of market
• 2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack
• 2 scallions, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil – twice around the pan. Add chicken and season with chili powder, cumin, and red onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste.

Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and serve.

Dinner Divas: Grilled Chicken Pesto Farfalle

I really am enjoying being a member of the Dinner Divas. This recipe was chosen by Carrie at Carrie in the Kitchen.  The four chosen recipes for the month definitely help make menu planning for the week easier! This month Grilled Chicken Pesto Farfalle was chosen from Cooking Light. Cooking Light has still yet to fail me! I will make this recipe again but next time I will use different pasta, like penne. One of the few things that I did differently was the pesto. I had previously frozen pesto into ice cubes so instead of using store bought pesto I used 3 cubes of pesto. For some reason my bow tie pasta totally fell apart when it was boiling. I suppose that could be because I cooked it for 14 minutes, 2 less might be a better idea for the future. Good choice on this recipe! My changes are below in red. The original recipe says that it makes enough for 10 servings but that was going to be too much for just my husband and I so I halved the pasta and a few other ingredients. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle

source: Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves ( I used 2 chicken breasts)
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• Cooking spray
• 20 ounces uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta) (I used 10 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (3.5-ounce) jar commercial pesto (about 1/3 cup)
• 3/4 cup half-and-half (I used 1% milk)
  
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
• 4 cups halved grape tomatoes (about 2 pints)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (I omitted)
  

Preparation

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

2. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 10 minutes or until done, turning after 6 minutes. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch pieces; keep warm. I grilled in a frying pan

3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Place pasta in large bowl.

4. Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Combine 1/2 cup milk and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in pesto. Gradually add remaining 1 cup milk and half-and-half, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 8 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 cup reserved cooking liquid, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1 cup cheese; stir until cheese melts.

5. Add chicken and sauce to pasta, tossing well to coat. Add tomatoes and basil; toss gently. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Serve immediately.

Dinner Divas: Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli

This is my second recipe this month from Dinner Divas. This recipe comes from Rachel Ray, who personally annoys me as well as my husband. He makes fun of the way she talks with her hands all the times. I really have not had good luck with her recipes. A few years ago I made another one of her recipes that was similar to Mac n Cheese and I had the same problem that I had with this recipe. It came out super duper soupy! When I make Mac’n’Cheese I bake mine, so I think that could be part of the problem. I also found this recipe to be on the super spicy side. I like spice but I think that it over powered the other ingredients. I have heard a lot of people say that they find RR’s recipes to be blah. This one wasn’t blah but super spicy. I also don’t recommend using the full amount of whole milk that it calls for. I think that I will be sticking to my traditional Macaroni and Cheese. It was fun to try a new recipe though! I didn’t make any changes to the recipe. Enjoy!

Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli

source: Rachel Ray

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatapi corkscrew shaped pasta twists
• 2 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets, available packaged in produce department
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar
• 1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard

Directions

Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.

Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.

To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water. Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.

While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken about 5 minutes.

Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to pot and add chicken to the pasta and broccoli.

Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings, transfer to a large serving platter and serve.