Apple Bacon Chicken Salad

Crisp fall apples atop a bed of fresh greens paired with red onion, savory chicken, blue cheese, maple-cinnamon candied pecans, and bacon pieces. The salad is finished with a garlic-dijon vinaigrette. 

Spud-o-licious Pizza

A savory pizza with cheddar and mozzarella, bacon, parmesan cheese, and sliced potatoes. It's like potatoes au gratin in pizza form. The sprinkle of fresh rosemary and chives or (green onions) is the perfect finishing touch for this delectable pizza!

Cloud-like Hummus

Super-smooth hummus, thanks to a little tip I picked up from Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen. Popping the chickpeas out of their skin gives the hummus an almost "whipped" texture. It's billowy. It's delicious. It's cloud hummus.

Ina Garten's Ribs

Moist, fall-off-the-bone ribs smothered in a thick and sticky barbecue sauce. The mesquite chili flavor of the sauce has the perfect amount of spicy undertones. Did I mention that these ribs are made in a slow cooker? Fix it and forget it, baby.

Asian Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce

These grilled skewers are simple to make and yet have an impressive Asian flavor profile. Try these out soon and switch up your summer grilling routine!

Boneless Buffalo Wings

We really love boneless wings around here. I've got making them down to a science. It used to take me a while and now it's a breeze. They are 10x better than any boneless wing from a restaurant. We like to enjoy our wings with ranch dressing and homemade macaroni and cheese. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I was going to have an actual pie recipe for you today, but I've been trying to eat dessert only once per week. So, as it turns out I am actually going to share a pizza recipe with you. Pizza Pie. That's a thing, right?

I happen to be in love with this pizza. David and I have been searching for a tasty BBQ chicken pizza for a long time. We really like this one mainly because the sauce is tomato based, not BBQ sauce based. It sounds a little backwards for a BBQ pizza, I know. But we noticed that pizzas with just BBQ sauce as the base taste a little too vinegar-y (which we weren't too fond of). 

This particular recipe also adds pineapple as a topping, which we were skeptical of at first but it definitely paired well with the chicken and the sauce.

So far it's the best BBQ chicken pizza I've ever eaten. I think some crumbled bacon and sliced red onion would be perfect toppings for this pizza as well (in addition to the other toppings).

BBQ Chicken Pizza

enough pizza dough for 3 (12") pizzas

Sauce:

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 large tomato, finely chopped

4 teaspoons italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

Pizza Toppings:
2 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled with BBQ sauce (then let cool and slice)
1 small can pineapple tidbits
3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
3 cups cheddar cheese, grated
fresh cilantro, chopped

Prepare pizza dough and roll into 3 (12") rounds.

To make the sauce, briefly saute the garlic in olive oil. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced tomato, and italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 20 minutes (this is a great time to grill that chicken if you have not already done so). Once sauce is finished simmering, remove it from the heat and stir in the BBQ sauce.

Spread one cup or so of sauce over each pizza dough round. Sprinkle each pizza with 2 cups of cheese (1 cup of mozzarella, 1 cup of cheddar). Then top with chicken, pineapple, and cilantro. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes .

Recipe Yield: 3- 12" pizzas
Recipe Source: adapted ever so slightly from Favorite Family Recipes

Ree Drummond's Lasagna

I've always loved lasagna, but until now I had never really found a recipe that I loved making. You see, some lasagna recipes are very high maintenance. They require a lot of work and a lot if time and that is just not my thing.

This recipes takes a little bit of time (mostly just waiting time), but not a lot of work. It's also very tasty. Probably my favorite part about this recipe is that it calls for Kraft parmesan cheese--- you know, the powdery white stuff that comes in a green plastic container. Normally I don't really like that stuff, I usually use fresh parm, but the powdery kraft cheese just really works for me in this instance. YUMMO.

Thanks to Ree Drummond {The Pioneer Woman} I've found my go-to lasagna recipe. Oh yeaaaaaah, and we even made some with horizontally sliced zucchini instead of noodles. It was also oober delish.

The Best Lasagna. Ever.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 pound hot breakfast sausage *the ground kind, not in casing

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

4 tablespoons dried parsley, divided

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

1 (24 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese- about 3 cups

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Kraft grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling on top

18 slices mozzarella cheese *found in any grocery store by the pre-packaged sliced sandwich cheeses

12 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

Brown ground beef, sausage, and garlic together in a large pan. Once the meat is cooked drain off half of the fat. Then add in the whole tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, and the salt. Stir in the fresh ground black pepper to taste. Simmer mixture on medium low heat for 45 minutes (it does make a difference). Stir occasionally.

While you are waitin' for the sauce to finish simmering, cook and drain your noodles if you haven't already. This is also a good time to grab a small bowl and mix the cottage cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley together. Set aside.

Once the sauce is ready, it's time to assemble the lasagna. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Lay four lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan. I do three lengthwise right next to each other and one horizontally at the top. Spread 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture over these noodles. Lay 6 slices of the mozzarella cheese over the cottage cheese. Top this layer with 1/3 of the meaty sauce. Repeat two more times ending with the last third of meat sauce.

Sprinkle a generous amount of Kraft parmesan cheese over the top of the lasagna. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the edges are bubbly.

According to Ree you can make this up to two days ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to bake it. It also freezes well. I recommend visiting her post on this lasagna because she has step by step photos on how to make it!

Recipe Yield: 12 servings
Recipe Source: The Pioneer Woman; Ree Drummond

Cream Cheese Enchiladas

Enchiladas stuffed with a savory cream cheese filling and topped with a spicy homemade chili gravy and cheese. These enchiladas are so simple and to die for!

Chicken Pillows

The recipe I am sharing with you today involves crescent rolls, chicken, CREAM CHEESE, and butter (among other ingredients). These little lovelies are called chicken pillows, and boy would I love to nuzzle my head into one of these at night. A girl can dream, right?

Between the fluffy crescent roll with a crispy exterior, the creamy chicken insides, and the delish chicken gravy, I dare say that these are on my list of favorite meals ever. If I end up on death row someday (just to be clear I won't), these will be one of the things I request for my last meal.

Am I doing an okay job at convincing you of just how good these are?

If not, I guess you'll just have to make some yourself. Do it.

Chicken Pillows

1/2 cup sour cream

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons dried chives

1 large shallot, minced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)

3 cups cooked* and diced chicken breast

3 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls (8 rolls per tube)

6 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 cup finely grated parmesan

Gravy:

1 cup homemade cream of chicken soup (or one 10.75-ounce can store bought)

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon 

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sour cream, cream cheese, salt, pepper, chives, and shallots together until smooth. You can do this by hand, but I prefer to use a hand mixer. Fold in cooked chicken.

To prepare crescent rolls for filling, take two of the triangular pieces of dough and press the dough together on the diagonal perforated line. I like to pinch up and then press down, turning over to repeat. In the end you'll have 12 rectangular pieces of dough instead of 24 triangles.

Place 1/4 cup of chicken filling on the center third of each rectangle. Fold the ends over the filling, pressing the sides so they are sealed.

Mix together breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow dish. Dip prepared pillows first in the melted butter and then in the bread crumbs. You want them to be evenly coated in breadcrumbs on both sides.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they've puffed up and are golden brown.

In the meantime make the gravy. In a small saucepan over medium high heat, stir the first three gravy ingredients together until smooth and heated through. Stir in the heavy cream and more salt and pepper to taste. Pour gravy over chicken pillows and serve.

*I always roast my chicken breasts because I find that roasting the meat produces a more flavorful and tender end result than boiling it does. First rub some salt and fresh ground black pepper into your thawed chicken breasts. Then bake at 350 degrees until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees. Remove from the oven and cover with an aluminum foil tent. Let rest for 10 minutes. Cool completely before dicing. To get 3 cups total of cooked chicken for this recipe you will need two large chicken breast {halves} or 3 small.

Yield: 12 chicken pillows

Recipe Source: The Taste Tester, adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

We double the gravy recipe IF we have mashed potatoes on the side.



Shared here: Pin Me Fridays @ Diana Rambles

Homemade Velveeta Cheese

Do you have a bucket list? If you don't know, a "bucket list" is a list of things to do before you die. According to urbandictionary.com it comes from the phrase "kicked the bucket". I've never heard that phrase before, not once in my life. I'm actually pretty sure the movie The Bucket List (you know, with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) made bucket lists more popular than they ever had been before. 

I have a bucket list. More specifically, I have a culinary bucket list. Everything on it has to do with food. Some things are simpler and less crazy (like making homemade pop-tarts). Other things are kind of daring and more scary for a person like me (eating escargot, for example).

I've noticed one theme with my bucket list; a lot of the things I want to cook are homemade versions of processed foods. Hence, today's post: Homemade Velveeta Cheese--- just crossed it off the list.

Just for the record, this stuff is very good and melts beautifully on a good ol' grilled cheese sandwich. It's one of those things I won't be making often but when I do I'll be glad I did.

That grilled cheese sandwich up there looks real good, doesn't it? Oh did you want it? Too bad, I already ate it.

Homemade Velveeta Cheese

1 tablespoon water

1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin (unflavored)

12 ounces Colby or Colby Jack cheese, grated*

1 tablespoon non-fat or whole dry milk powder

3/4-1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk

Line a 5x4 inch disposable aluminum bread pan with plastic wrap, allowing some plastic wrap to hang over the edges. I just used a small tupperware dish because I am cheap and saw no need to buy disposable pans.

Place water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over the top of the water. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Pulse cheese, dry milk, salt, and cream of tartar together in the bowl of a food processor until combined (3-5 pulses). Start with 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Once you have added the milk you can taste it and determine if more salt is needed. I myself thought that 1 teaspoon of salt was a bit too salty for my taste.

Meanwhile bring milk to a boil over medium high heat. Once it reaches a boil, remove from heat and stir in prepared gelatin until dissolved. Pour hot milk into a liquid measuring cup with spout. With food processor running, gradually add hot milk. Process mixture until it is thoroughly combined and velvety smooth.

Immediately pour into prepared pan, folding excess plastic wrap over the top of the cheese mixture. Chill for at least three hours or overnight.

*I used Colby Jack Cheese because it was on sale and Colby was not. It worked just fine, and actually I am sure you could experiment with any number of cheeses when making this to get the flavor you want.

Recipe Source: America's Test Kitchen

Shared here: On The Menu Monday @ Stone Gable, Pin Me Fridays @ Diana Rambles

Big Batch Chili

We are going to keep it super sweet and simple today. Saying that I have a million things to do would be the understatement of the century, big time. So here it goes.

I have an awesome chili recipe for you today and a recipe for the best cornbread I have ever eaten. The chili recipe makes a freaking ginormous batch. We froze three quart size bags, had enough to eat two very-full-bowls each (that's four bowls total), and had enough leftover to make these chili cheese dogs.

In short, this recipe title is not lying. It is a huge huge huge batch of chili. It is easy to make ahead of time because 95% of the work is done by your crock pot. It also freezes well, a double make ahead bonus.