By Request...

Chili Cheese Dip

1 package cream cheese, softened
1 can chili (I prefer the type without beans for this recipe)
1 bag mexican blend cheese

In a casserole dish, spread the cream cheese into an even layer. Pour the chili over the cream cheese. Top with mexican cheese. Bake in 350 oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips.


Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed out
1 14.5 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered (or 10 oz frozen/thawed & drained)
1 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
1 Cup Mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 scallions, sliced thin
1/2 Cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
3/4 Cup parmesan cheese, freshly shredded


Mix spinach, artichokes, cream cheese, may, garlic, scallions, and 1/2 of the cheeses in a large mixing bowl.

Pour mixture into a baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips or vegetables.

I'm back!

So, no posts because for the first 5 months of my pregnancy, I have been just too exhausted to cook. Although I am still tired on school nights, I am finally at the point that I can muster up the energy to cook a real dinner on the weekend. Tonight I made my husband incredibly happy by making his favorite: Chicken Parmesan.

Chicken Parmesan

Flour
2 eggs
Breadcrumbs
Parmesan Cheese
2 T olive oil
2 T margarine or butter
1 lb thin-sliced chicken breast (or you can save money by buying regular chicken
breasts and pounding them yourself. You want them to be about 1/4" thick.)
1 jar of your favorite sauce (I used Classico Roasted Garlic)
8 oz bag of Italian blend cheese (I usually use Sargento, but this time had to use
Kraft)
Pasta of your choice

1. In 3 different plates or shallow bowls place one of the following: flour, 2 eggs (beaten), and breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan cheese.
2. Heat a large skillet with about 2 T olive oil and 2 T margarine.
3. For each piece of chicken: dredge in flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs and place in skillet. Turn after about 1 minute. After another minute, remove from the pan. (We are not trying to cook them all the way through, just brown up the outside).
4. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 13 X 9 baking dish. Place chicken in dish. Top with remaining sauce (I usually put just a little bit aside for Jim's pasta, then put the rest of the sauce on the chicken). Top with cheese. Cover with aluminum foil (make sure the aluminum foil is not touching the cheese).
5. Bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 10 more minutes.

You can make your pasta while the chicken is baking. I used the Ronzoni Garden Pasta, which has a full serving of veggies in each serving of pasta.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Hashbrown Soup

Last night I made a new recipe. My husband has been sick with the swine flu, so I've been sticking with soup that last couple of nights. Last night's soup was cheesy hashbrown soup. It sounds weird, but it was soooo good! It was creamy and cheesy and just perfect.

Here is where I got the recipe: http://www.bigoven.com/163869-Hash-Brown-Soup-recipe.html

Cheesy Chicken Italiano

Not the first time I've made this recipe, but the first time I've made it since starting this blog. This is a quick and easy recipe I got for free from kraft. I subscribe to their seasonal recipe book, here is the link if you would like to subscribe: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/foodfamilyarchive/foodandfamilyarchivelanding.aspx

I made this recipe with chicken breast tenderloins, contadina onion and garlic canned tomato sauce, and ziti in place of the rotini. Here is the recipe: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/cheesy-chicken-italiano-57271.aspx

Last night I made rib-eye steaks with onion roasted potatoes and peas. I rubbed the steaks with vegetable oil then rubbed them with ranchero steak seasoning, before cooking them on my george foreman grill. The hubby and I like our steaks well done, so I cooked them ten minutes on each side. The onion roasted potatoes ended up tasting kinda bad so I won't post that recipe here, and the peas came from a can.

First dinner

So, I've decided to do a blog about what I make for dinner. Cooking is one of my passions, and I usually end up telling everyone what I've made anyway, so this way I can possibly reach an even bigger audience.

Tonight for dinner I made cheese-stuffed chicken, which is much more sophisticated than it sounds, and almost nothing like chicken cordon bleu. I adapted it from a recipe that I found in a magazine, and I think I've changed it enough to be able to post it here.

Ingredients:
- 1 lb chicken breasts (I buy the thin-sliced, which cost more. If you're more concerned with cost, you can buy the regular breasts and just pound them until they are about a quarter inch thick.)
- 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 c. crumbled feta
- 2 slices of bacon (It costs more, but its easier in this recipe to buy the ready-cooked bacon that only needs to be heated in the microwave.)
- 1/4 c. peanuts, chopped (I used dry-roasted, salted peanuts.)
- seasonings

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cook bacon
- If using ready-cooked bacon: heat per package directions in the microwave, then crumble into pieces.
- If using regular bacon: Cut bacon into small pieces before cooking in small skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Combine bacon, mozzarella, feta, and peanuts
4. Place about 1/4 c. of cheese mixture in the middle of each chicken breast, then roll the chicken. Place in glass casserole dish, seam side down to keep from unrolling. Sprinkle remaining cheese mixture on top of chicken.
5. Sprinkle tops of chicken with seasoning of choice (I use white pepper which adds a subtle heat. I would not recommend using salt, as there is plenty in the bacon and peanuts. If you don't like heat, rotisserie chicken seasoning would complement the recipe nicely.)
6. Bake in oven about 45 minutes.

I love this recipe. The peanuts add a little crunchy texture, the bacon flavor is subtle, and I absolutely love how salty and tangy the feta tastes.

After dinner, I decided to get a jumpstart on tomorrow's night dinner. Tomorrow, we are having barbecue meatloaf. I put it together tonight, so tomorrow I can come home from work and just pop it in the oven. This meatloaf is a little different, as it has barbecue sauce, chili powder, and mustard in it. I'm not going to just copy the recipe here (you know, copyright infringement and all that) but here is a link to the recipe:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1160599

I make mine with ground turkey (you can't tell the difference in this flavorful recipe) and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.