Cream Cheese Chicken with Broccoli - Crock Pot

Oh. My. YUM! But may I begin with these disclaimers:
1. Don't try this if you're trying to lose weight or you're watching your cholesterol.
2. Because this is so rich, make sure it's eaten up -in moderation!- in one night... invite friends over!
3. Michelle Obama probably wouldn't approve, but like I said, moderation!!

Ok. Back to business. This is seriously SO GOOD. It smells good. It's easy. It tastes good. It goes in the crock pot. What more could you want? The recipe is from Rival's Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes

RECIPE:
4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 in pieces
1 t olive oil
1 pkg (1 oz) Italian salad dressing mix
2 c sliced mushrooms
1 c chopped onion
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed low-fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 bag (10 oz) frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 pkg (8 oz) low-fat cream cheese, cubed
1/4 c dry sherry
hot cooked pasta (I used fettuccine)

1. Toss chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian salad dressing mix. Place in 5 quart slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 3 hours.

2. Coat large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add mushrooms and onion; cook 5 min over med heat or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Add soup, broccoli, cream cheese and sherry to skillet; cook until hot. Transfer to slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 1 hour. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta.

This was a pot of creamy goodness. I wouldn't do anything different (except not have leftovers because it's not an every day meal). I'd follow exactly what the recipe says. I'm sure you could use chicken broth instead of dry sherry, but the sherry adds some zip to the recipe. Seriously. I think it's worth the splurge.

Pecan Brownies

Brownies... you know how I usually make brownies? However the store bought brownie mix box tells me to, so the fact that I attempted these makes me feel accomplished ;) They aren't difficult, just a little involved, and they are good - chewy in the middle and a little crunchy on the outside. I'm a fan. It's another recipe from that Company's Coming book I got for Christmas.

Pecan Brownies
1/2 c hard margarine or butter
3 (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate baking squares, chopped

3 T hard margarine or butter
1/3 c Brown Sugar
1 T evaporated milk (not skim)

1/2 c pecans, coarsely chopped

3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 large eggs

1 c all purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

**note: I used butter**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat first amount of margarine and chocolate in small saucepan on lowest heat, stirring often, until smooth. Do not overheat. Remove from heat. Pour into small bowl. Cool to room temperature.

Heat second amount of margarine in same saucepan until melted. Stir in first amount of brown sugar. Add evaporated milk. Heat and stir on low until smooth. Pour into greased foil lined 9 inch round pan. Tilt pan to coat evenly.

Sprinkle evenly with pecans.

Beat granulated sugar, second amount of brown sugar, vanilla and eggs together in medium bowl. Add chocolate mixture. Beat well.

Add flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until just moistened. Spoon over pecans. Carefully spread in even layer. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 30-35 min until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out moist but not wet with batter and brownies are risen evenly across pan. Do not overbake. Immediately invert onto plate. Remove and discard foil. Let stand for 20 min before cutting into 16 thin wedges.

NEXT TIME: 
1.I will make sure there's enough foil around the edges of the pan. The stuff on the bottom kind of bubbles up the sides and as I pulled the brownies out of the oven to check if they were done the stuff OOZED onto the bottom of my oven!!! UGH! Time to bust out the Easy-Off. 

2. I'll probably use pecan halves and arrange them nicely on the bottom of the pan to make the dessert look pretty. As you can see, it looked, well, not pretty. Sometimes presentation is important, and sometimes you just want stuff to look good.

Let me know if you make this recipe and what you think of it. I believe I'll be making it again. 

Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala

If you know me, you know I love my slow cooker (a.k.a. crock pot). I actually have 3 of them. In fact, I've nicknamed this winter "the winter of the crock pot" because they've been working overtime. I'm always looking for new things to make in the slow cooker, so you'll probably see many slow cooker recipes in this blog! (Check out the tried and true page for some of my staple recipes - slow cooker and otherwise.)

This recipe comes from Pillsbury.com. It says the prep time is 10 minutes... I guess it may take that long  if you can't find the can opener or something like that. It's more like 2.5 - 5 minutes of prep - does it get better than that???

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/slow-cooker-chicken-marsala/d00785b5-3bcb-4a19-a752-d175d763441f/ or search pillsbury.com for Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala

Notes: I did exactly what the recipe said (except for the use of parsley) and used Holland House Marsala Cooking Wine not chicken broth. It was served over rice.

A confession: I've had this recipe before, but I didn't make it. My mother-in-law did. So is this a new recipe for this week? I guess that's up to you. But do note, I made another new recipe this week, so my resolution is not broken. :)

The verdict? 3 words: OH YEAH, BABE! I'll be making this again (you need to make it twice to use up all the cooking wine anyway :) ). It smells good. It tastes good. It presents well. The mushrooms soak up all that marsala wine goodness. YUM.

NEXT TIME: I might use more mushrooms. I love mushrooms. And when the mushrooms taste like they've been marinated in wine, well, then I just don't think you can have too many mushrooms! I'd also purchase some fresh parsley and invite people over for dinner... it's that good!

If you end up making this (or any of the recipes on my blog) please comment and let me know how it went for you!

Smart Lasagna

Morning. I generally don't do well in the morning. Brain is foggy. Children are crying. Coffee has yet to be consumed. The TV goes on to some morning show, mostly for background noise and not actual information. However, one morning I overheard something about more food with less calories... I then actually tuned in. Because I was still sans coffee I can't remember what show I was watching. But it was the cooking segment where a woman was showing us all how to reduce our caloric intake while maintaing the amount of food we eat by integrating vegetables into main dishes... mostly Italian pasta dishes. One of the tricks I thought I could try was alternating lasagna noodles with roasted eggplant (i.e. instead of layering sauce, noodle, cheese, noodle, sauce..., you would layer sauce, noodle, cheese, eggplant, sauce, noodle, cheese, eggplant...). It can't be bad, right? I mean, I've had eggplant parmigina. I've had lasagna. I think I've had eggplant in lasagna. It'll be fine, right?

You may have noticed the title of this post: "Smart Lasagna". Other than the calorie conscious aspect of this lasagna, it's also "smart" because you use a jar of pasta sauce and no-boil noodles. I'm all about fast, too :)

The Recipe:

Roast Eggplant: http://www.ehow.com/how_2058670_roast-eggplant.html This recipe has you season the eggplant. I did, but I think just the olive oil is necessary for roasting.

Lasagna: Feel free to use your favorite recipe and alternate sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce, eggplant, cheese, sauce... I used a recipe from the January 2, 2011 issue of Parade Magazine (don't judge me. I just go through it to see if there's a coupon hiding in there... and now any interesting recipes). This recipe caught my eye because they used the jar of pasta sauce. I chose no-boil noodles. I've listed the recipe as it appears in the magazine with my modifications in red.

Cooking spray
12 low-carbohydrate lasagna noodles, such as Dreamfields (I used Barilla's no-boil noodles - if you do, be sure to follow the layering instructions and baking time listed on the box)
5 cups Paul Sorvino Foods marinara sauce, or preferred brand (I used 2 jars of what was in my house)
1 15 oz container fat-free ricotta
2 cups shredded, part-skim mozzarella (packaged, not fresh)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 13x9x2 inch glass bakind dish with cooking spray.
2. Cook noodles according to package instructions. (followed no-boil instructions and DID NOT BOIL)
3.  Spread 1 c pasta sauce on bottom of baking dish. Arrange 3 (4 overlapped) noodles side by side on top of sauce, overlapping slightly. Spread about 1/2 c of ricotta and 1/2 c of mozzarella on top of noodles.
4. Repeat layering with pasta sauce, noodles and cheeses 3 more times.
5. Top with 1 c of sauce. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover top with remaining mozzarella and bake 25 to 30 more minutes or until cheese is golden brown. (I followed no-boil baking instructions and used the final amount of sauce to fill in the edges around the pan.) 

Here it is in all its lasagna glory. The curved black line left of center is eggplant.

NEXT TIME:
I can see how this would be a good option if you're working on healthier eating, but straight up lasagna is WAAAAAY better!  I would be inclined to do the eggplant again since it sneaks a little something in there that my husband and toddler wouldn't be interested in. But this also needs meat. And maybe mushrooms. And probably whatever else you would normally put in your lasagna that isn't present in this recipe. Oh well. 2/3 left of the pan for the next couple days and then we never have to see it again. :) I think I will try the other suggestion from the morning show, which was 1/2 zucchini ribbons and 1/2 fettuccine with your favorite sauce and veggies and chicken. I think it was the lasagna recipe that made this a first-time flop.

Cinnamon-Sugared Pecans

Have you ever had the pleasure of shopping at Trader Joe's? If you haven't, I'm so terribly sorry. It's like going to Disneyland. The employees are in costume, not to mention they are very helpful and friendly, the experience and food is unique, and they have great snacks (which is the point of this entry... point yet to come...). The biggest difference between Trader Joe's and Disney, other than the obvious, is that you don't have to spend a fortune at Trader Joe's. A lot of items are less expensive than what you'd pay at your big chain grocery store. Ok, now for the point...

My husband LOVES the Trader Joe's Praline Pecans. If you go to TJs, buy some. They're sugary pecan goodness for like $5. Matt likes to find the really small pecans because the ratio of sugar to pecan is like 4:1.

Anyway, I got a new cookbook for Christmas - Company's Coming 2-in-1 cookbook collection: Sweet Treats. It's like 300 pages of desserts. My sweet tooth is quivering. I went through the book and found a recipe for, you guessed it, Cinnamon-Sugared Pecans. Well, I figured this MUST be further investigated!

The verdict - NOT the same as Trader Joe's, but that's OK because these are FRESH and great in their own way. So we'll probably still get TJs once in a while, but this recipe is a keeper for sure!

Recipe:
1 Egg white (large), room temperature
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 c granulated sugar
1/4 c butter or margarine, melted and cooled
2 c pecan halves, toasted the clooed slightly
1/2 tsp salt

1. Toast Pecans: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place pecans in single layer in ungreased shallow pan or cookie sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes, shaking often, until desired doneness. When finished, reset oven for 325 degrees F.

2. Beat egg white in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in cinnamon and sugar until stiff peaks form. (this took me what seemed like forever)

3. Fold in butter/margarine. Fold in pecans until coated. Turn into 9x9 inch pan (I had an 8x8 and that wasn't a problem). Bake in 325 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until coating begins to look granular and nuts are loose. Remove from oven.

Immediately sprinkle with salt. Stir. Cool completely. Makes 2 cups.

serving size is 1/3 c: 338 calories, 30.5 g total fat; 262 mg sodium; 3 g protein; 17g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber

 Hello nutty, sugary goodness!

NEXT TIME:
These are SO GOOD. It doesn't require modification. Matt loved these, especially that they were fresh. Like I said, they aren't TJs - they're different.  Just for an experiment, I may add coarsely ground black pepper on a handful of nuts to see how it tastes. UPDATE: I tried them with pepper. One word: DON'T.

*Note: as with all my posts, I'm receiving compensation from NO ONE. Disney, Trader Joe's and Company's Coming, their affiliates, subsidiaries, etc., etc., have no idea I exist.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Oh, glorious mac n cheese. You are my first food love (the kind in the blue and yellow box).

Fortunately, I've grown up and decided to leave the blue and yellow box at the store. Because this is OH SO MUCH better.

I started with this recipe from The Pioneer Woman: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/04/macaroni-cheese/
She says you can eat it after you've combined the sauce and noodles, or you can bake it. Naturally, I tried it both ways. It's much creamier without baking and is quite good. Baking is great too, especially when you add bread crumbs on top (see B and C under NEXT TIME).

NEXT TIME:
A. I'm not a fan of so much ground mustard. You do need it, but I would maybe just use 1 heaping teaspoon instead of 2, or 2 level teaspoons if you must follow rules and have exact measurements.

B. I added homemade soft, Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. Here's what you do:
  1.  Take 5 pieces of white bread, tear and put them in a food processor. Process until they are nothing but crumbs.
  2. Season with your favorite Italian seasonings to taste. Mine involved garlic powder and dried oregano, and let me tell you, it smelled so freaking good I wanted to eat the bread crumbs alone. I refrained as this seemed inappropriate for anyone over the age of 10.
  3. DO NOT THINK YOU CAN USE STORE BOUGHT IN-A-CAN BREADCRUMBS for this step. It won't be right. It won't be good. Just don't do it. Leave it out if you have to. The recipe is good alone and your canned breadcrumbs will ruin the goodness.

C. I wish I would have mixed the bread crumbs IN THE WHOLE CASSEROLE! That's right, you heard me correctly. Not just for topping, but THE WHOLE THING. Yes, the crumbs were that good and the whole thing was AWESOME.

I'm sorry I don't have pictures of this one, but it looked pretty much like The Pioneer Woman's pictures, except mine had glorious bread crumbs... I can almost taste them now... and not because I'm eating them out of the tupperware container I stored them in!

The Resolution - An Intro

Did you make a New Year's resolution? I usually don't. But today I thought to myself, why not? I hope I haven't missed the boat because here it is: I resolve to make at least one new thing for my family to eat every week. That's not crazy, is it? Totally attainable, I think. I've already lived up to my resolution before even making it! I'll tell you about that in the next blog post. First, what's in it for you:

My plan is to make the new-to-me recipe, share it with you, tell you what I'd do differently, if it's a keeper or a don't-waste-your-time. There shall be photos, of course, except for the ones I made this past week, since all that goodness has been consumed.

If that sounds good to you, subscribe, share your comments and let's get cooking this year!