Southwest Chicken Alfredo

For Shanna Lee. But it was pretty darn good so I thought I'd share it with all of you.

Southwest Chicken Alfredo
1 red pepper- cut into slices
1/2 an onion- diced
2 cloves garlic-minced
1/3-1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
1 can corn, drained
2 chipolte peppers-diced (I bought a can and just pulled out 2)
1 lb. chicken breast- cut into strips
6-8 strips pre-cooked bacon-crumbled
1 package fettucine-cooked according to package directions
2 packets of alfredo sauce mix- make according to package directions
cilantro for garnish
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Combine pepper, onion, garlic, tomatoes, corn, and chipolte. Heat 2-3 Tbs. oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Put veggie mix in frying pan and saute 4-5 minutes until veggies are crisp-tender. Put mixture in a separate bowl. Add 2 Tbs. back to frying pan. Saute chicken and bacon in frying pan until chicken is browned and cooked through.
Drain cooked pasta and return to pot. Add veggies, meat, and prepared alfredo sauce to pasta pot. Combine well and serve immediately. Garnish with cilantro and Parm cheese.
Note: The chipolte peppers come in a little can with sauce. You can add this sauce to your alfredo if you want. The more sauce you add, the spicier it will be.

Chicken Rice Bowl

We made this super yummy dish at a Relief Society evening where we had a "Chopped" competition. This rice bowl took first place! It is so good! There are several ingredients in the sauce that are tricky to find so I took a picture of everything so you could see what the bottles look like:

 I found the Mr. Yoshida's sauce in the BBQ sauce/ketchup section. The chili garlic sauce is by the same company that makes Sriracha sauce, if you are familiar with that. I found it in the Asian section of my grocery store. I bought minced garlic by accident. It is really suppose to be minced ginger. I found this in the produce section. Don't skip the ginger. After making it without last night, it makes a big difference. Canned coconut milk can also be found in the Asian section. OK, here we go:

Chicken Rice Bowl

2 cups chicken, grilled and cubed (I have made it with pork, and this was also good)
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets.
1 zucchini, cubes
3 celery stalks, washed and sliced
4 carrots, peeled, then chopped or grated
1 Tbs. vegetable or olive oil
Coconut Rice (recipe follows)
Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki Sauce (recipe follows)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, zucchini, and broccoli (you can really add any vegetables you want). Saute only until veggies are crisp tender. Add in chicken. Serve over rice, with the teriyaki sauce on the side. About 3 Tbs. per bowl, it has quite a kick.

Coconut Rice and Red Beans

2 c. long grain white rice
2 1/2 c. water
1 14-oz. can coconut mild (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 Tbs. sugar
1 can red beans, drained and rinsed

Combine all ingredients in a rice cooker. Gently stir it all together so the beans are all mixed. Place the lid in and start the rice cooker. Fluff rice with a fork before serving. If you don't have a rice cooker, combine water, coconut milk, and sugar in a saucepan. Stir in rice and beans. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18-20 minutes until most moisture is gone and rice is done.

Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki Sauce

3/4 cup Mr. Yoshida's teriyaki sauce
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
1 tsp. mince ginger
pinch of salt
pinch of brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water

Combine teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, garlic sauce, ginger, salt, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Combine cornstarch and cold water and then slowly add to sauce for thickening. Allow to simmer for a minute. Cool to room temperature and serve over your rice bowl. If you find that the sauce is too thick as it cools, add a little more teriyaki sauce or water. Enjoy!

 Here is my super kitchen helper. She did a great job making the rice and stir-frying the veggies.

Greek Chicken Salad Pitas

This is a picture taken of the actual recipe book (Cooking Light) that is why it's such a poor picture, we ate ours too fast to get a real one...that's how good they are!

Greek Chicken Salad Pitas

from Cooking Light-fresh food fast weeknight meals

2 c. sliced lettuce

1 c. chopped roasted chicken breast
2/3 c. diced seeded cucumber
1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion
1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. olive oil
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
6 T. hummus (I used roasted garlic)
2 whole wheat pitas, cut in half

Combine lettuce and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper and gently toss.
Spread the hummus inside the pita halves then spoon salad mixture in.

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

So easy and So yummy!

Sandwich an oreo in between two balls of any chocolate chip dough and press seams together. I baked mine at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Here's my go to Chocolate Chip Recipe:

1 1/3 c. shortening

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t. soda

1 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

3 c. flour

1/2 bag chocolate chips

ENJOY!

Kitchen Redo

So I know that I have been woefully ignoring my food blog. I am well aware that summer is over. So I offer up this excuse. I have been painting my kitchen. Most of you who look at this blog have already seen the pictures but go here for the whole story.

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

So there is my excuse. I have been busy painting. And we have been eating lots of microwaved corn dogs. In a few days Shawn and I are heading to Mexico for a week. But I promise some new posts after we get back for our trip. Have a good week, friends!

Summer Break

So, I have to admit that my heart has not been into food blogging lately. For this reason, (and because of camps, swimming lessons, vacations, reunions, etc.) I am going to take the summer off from posting. Other contributors, please feel free to post if you want to. I will take a few months off and come back in the fall recharged and ready to blog like crazy. If you need a foodie fix, look at my sidebar for some really good food blogs. And if you care to know what I am up to this summer you can check out my family blog where I will continue to post.
Hope you all have a great summer!

Homemade Pizza

Oh man, I feel bad for the lack of posting lately. My life has been taken over by soccer games and sick babies. But life is looking up: Baby is feeling better and only one more week of soccer. I love watching the girls play soccer but the time commitment is intense! I owe a thanks to my mom for running me all over the place to play soccer. Thanks mom!
So, homemade pizza. I love to make this. It is one of those meals that brings back great memories of cooking with my mom. She would pan out the dough while I grated the cheese. Then we would help mom top the pizzas. I don't think I even knew about Little Caesars until I was in middle school. I thought homemade was the only way to do it. This recipe does take some planning ahead of time. I like to do it on the weekend when I have time to enjoy cooking. With school getting out soon, maybe we will have a pizza party.


Homemade Pizza Dough

1 c. warm water
1 Tbs. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
3 1/2 c. flour
Sprinkle yeast and sugar into warm water measured into a large mixing bowl. Stir until dissolved. Let set until yeast starts to raise, about 10 minutes. Add salt, oil, 2 c. flour, and mix thoroughly. Add additional 1 1/2 c. flour, Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and let raise until double, about 45 minutes.
Punch down dough and divide into 2 balls. Place in a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet and press to fit. Half the dough will made a 12-inch pizza, or a small cookie sheet. On each pizza spread with half of pizza sauce.


Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper

Heat in a small saucepan until warm.

Top pizza's with mozzarella cheese and your favorite toppings. Place pizza in a 400 degree oven and bake until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Topping Ideas:

pepperoni
Canadian bacon
mushrooms
olives
onions
green peppers
pineapple
tomatoes
chicken
You can really use anything you have lying around. Be creative!