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!