Italian Stuffed Shells

Stuffed shells is a recipe that's always intimidated me for some reason but tonight, I took the plunge. And found out that it's very simple to make! So, for everyone else that may want to follow suit, here's the recipe:

1 lb ground turkey

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Large shell pasta (I ended up filling about 13 so adjust the recipe as needed)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1-2 cups mozzarella, shredded

1 jar spaghetti sauce 

Preheat oven to 350. Brown your ground turkey & add all the seasonings. Once it's browned and drained of grease, add 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan & cook on low. In the meantime you should boil your shells until they're al dente, or not quite all the way tender. Drain your pasta and run it under cold water to stop the cooking process. Remove your meat mixture from heat and fill each shell with a tbsp of mozzarella & a tbsp of meat, until stuffed. Do each shell this way and lay them, open side up, in a baking dish. Once all your shells are stuffed, pour the remaining sauce over them and bake for about 15-20 minutes to finish softening the shells & melting the cheese. Serve with garlic bread, salad or side(s) of your choice. Enjoy! 

Bacon Wrapped PepperJack Stuffed Chicken Breast

I'm late to the bacon-wrapped everything party but I decided to give it a try tonight. It turned out surprisingly good to someone who eats only turkey bacon for the most part. I get it. Bacon is good with just about anything! 

You'll need:

Boneless chicken breasts (however many you need to cook)

Sliced pepper jack cheese

Uncooked bacon

Preheat your oven to 400. Trim as much fat away from the chicken as possible. Lay a slice of pepper jack cheese on top of the chicken and then wrap bacon around the whole breast. I used two slices per piece. Lay it on a greased baking pan, pop it in the oven for 25-30 minutes and when you pull it out, you'll have a delicious chicken breast wrapped in bacon and oozing with cheese. Sounds pretty ideal, right? Enjoy! 

Spiced Brandy and Herb Pork Chops

Tonight's meal was courtesy of Grillmates marinade. There are a lot of options as far as flavors go. It can be found in the grocery store aisle with the package seasoning and sauce mixes. My recommendation? Try them all! I've only used them on pork, but I think they would be great on chicken, beef or fish as well. You'll need:

2 lb pork chop (I used a pack of two butterfly pork chops, which I cut in half)

1/4 cup olive oil 

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or regular vinegar works as well)

2 tbsp water

1 package of grillmates Spiced Brandy & Herb seasoning

The morning before you cook your pork chops, mix the seasoning, olive oil, vinegar and water together and pour over the pork. Coat it well on both sides and then refrigerate until you are ready to cook them. Preheat your oven to 400. Something that I've recently figured out is that baking meat on a high temp for a shorter time results in very tender, juicy meat. That's the method I used here and for my Parmesan Pretzel Chicken the other night. Okay, getting back on track now...place your pork chops in a greased baking dish or on a baking sheet. That's the method I used. I covered a baking sheet with foil (for easier cleanup) and sprayed it with olive oil cooking spray. Place your pork chops onto the prepared surface and pop it in the oven. It'll take 20-25 minutes to cook. In the meantime, I sauteed some onions, green peppers and baby bella mushrooms in 2 tbsp of olive oil and a Swanson Recipe Starters Vegetable flavored sauce package. If you haven't had this, I high recommend it. I ate a LOT of this during my weight loss journey last year and 80 lbs later, I swear by it. It's filling and delicious! Once your pork is cooked through (it's okay for it to be slightly pink), you're ready to eat. Serve with sides of your choice and enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

My husband took one bite of these and said, "where did you learn how to cook like this?!" He then elaborated on the fact that my cooking wasn't exactly up to par when we first met...in the nicest way possible. These were pretty phenomenal enchiladas though, if I do say so myself. You'll need:

2 cups shredded chicken

2 cups shredded fiesta or Mexican blend cheese

1 pouch of Velveeta queso blanco squeezable cheese

1 small can of green chiles

1 jalapeño, finely chopped

1 can of enchilada sauce

2-4 soft tortilla wraps 

Preheat your oven to 350. Boil your chicken and then shred it when cooked through. In a bowl, combine shredded chicken, green chiles, jalapeño and 1/2 can of enchilada sauce and mix together. 

Take your wraps (I made gigantic ones so it made 2 large and 1 small, but it would make 4 normal sized enchiladas as well) and fill each one with desired amount of chicken mixture and Mexican/fiesta cheese. Wrap them any way you want and line them in a greased baking dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over them, followed by the queso blanco velveeta. Bake, uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Serve with rice, refried beans or any other sides you choose. Enjoy! 

Parmesan Pretzel Chicken

It's been nearly a month since my last blog post. December was a very busy month what with Christmas and making sure that our elf on the shelf, Jack, was perfectly positioned each night before I went to bed. Then, after Christmas, I just got lazy. Think takeout Chinese and pizza...way more than socially acceptable. I also burnt a couple meals in that time and some were just not edible enough to share. But, I got back on the saddle again today and whipped up this delicious Parmesan Pretzel Chicken. Lo and behold, it was good enough to share with the public! Super simple recipe...

8 chicken tenders (or however many you'd like to prepare)

1-1.5 cups egg whites (I use the pourable Egg Beaters containers for convenience)

1.5-2 cups pretzel crumbs

1/2-1 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 450. Prepare your thawed chicken tenders by giving them an egg white bath. In a separate  bowl, combine pretzel crumbs and parmesan cheese. Coat each chicken tender with pretzel/parmesan mixture and place onto a greased baking sheet. That's literally all the steps taken between preparation and oven. Bake the chicken tenders for 20-25 minutes and there you have it...parmesan pretzel chicken, ready to eat.

Enjoy! 

30-Minute Chicken & Dumplings

Most people are a little surprised when I tell them that I can have homemade chicken and dumplings on the table in a half hour. Chicken and Dumplings are notoriously associated with the picture of mom or grandma slaving away, rolling out the dough while cooking and pulling the chicken off the bone. It doesn't have to be that hard though...and it tastes just as good! 

6 boneless chicken tenders (or 3 breasts)

32 oz chicken broth (the fridge packs are 32 oz)

1 cup water

3 tbsp Wyler's chicken granules (seasoning)

2 cups flour

1.5 cups half & half (or milk)

1 egg

2 tbsp cornstarch

Salt and pepper to taste 

Cook the chicken in the broth, granules and water. Bring it to a boil and let it cook until chicken can be shredded. Meanwhile, prepare your dough by mixing the flour, half and half (or milk) and egg. You want a workable dough, not too sticky, so you may end up adding a pinch more flour. Just use your best judgment. You'll know if the dough is too sticky. Roll it out onto floured parchment paper. Cut it into rectangles. Once the chicken is cooked and shredded, drop the dumplings in one at a time into the still boiling water. Let them cook for up to 5 minutes before turning your heat down to low and adding the cornstarch to thicken. You can also use Campbell's cream of chicken soup to thicken it and give it that extra chicken flavor. As soon as it's reached the desired consistency, it's ready to eat! 

Let everyone think you slaved over a hot stove all day, just for them. Enjoy! 

Chipotle Chicken & Rice

Yesterday for lunch, I had a Lean Cuisine Chipotle Chicken & Rice bowl and it was pretty phenomenal to say the least. I read the ingredients and knew it would be pretty easy to recreate. Since we're snowed in at the moment, I couldn't use fresh ingredients so I had to improvise with what I had on hand. 

2 grilled chicken breasts, cooked and diced up

1 can of mexi-corn (the can I used has corn, onion, black beans & red peppers in it)

1 can of Campbell's cheddar cheese soup

1 cup brown rice, cooked

2 tbsp sour cream

2 tbsp chipotle hot sauce

Salt & pepper to taste

Pour the mexi-corn and cheddar cheese soup into a pan and bring to a slight boil and immediately turn it down to medium. Throw in your grilled chicken, rice, hot sauce and seasonings and cook on medium for about 10 minutes. Move the pan off of the heat and stir in the sour cream. It's a quick, simple meal that takes less than half an hour. Enjoy!