Suzie's Italian Chicken

Here's another one from Paul's Italian cookbook (the one with recipes from Home Ec teachers). I don't know who Suzie is, but it's a good recipe! :)

Suzie's Italian Chicken


Ingredients:
1/2 c. bacon, chopped
1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts*
4 to 6 Roma tomatoes, seeded, chopped**
1/2 c. chicken broth (it also said you could use cooking sherry for this, but I don't have any on hand)
1 T. dry Italian seasoning
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 lb. fettuccine (the recipe calls for a pound, but we found that the ratio of pasta to sauce was off)
1 T. butter
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

*I used thighs...but I don't recommend it! I saw that they were cheaper at the store and didn't know why I never bought them. Now I know. There is a huge difference that is most definitely not worth the dollar or two in savings. They are fatty and greasy. Gross!

**I was a little scared that it asked you to seed the tomatoes because I had never done it, but it wasn't bad at all. I just cut the tomatoes in quarters the long way and scraped out the seeds before chopping them up. I didn't worry about getting every last seed, and it only took a minute or two.

Directions:
Cook pasta according to directions given. Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Discard all but about 1 tablespoon bacon grease. Add chicken and cook, stirring until done. Remove chicken. Add tomatoes, broth, seasonings, and garlic. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Return chicken to pan, stirring until heated through. Toss pasta with butter. Serve pasta topped with sauce, bacon, and Parmesan cheese.

Chili Chicken Tacos

It's a new day with more new recipes! I'm going to try and post a couple recipes each day until I'm caught up. :)

This one was another Chef Britta masterpiece. I've had a lot of success with her recipes.

Chili Chicken Tacos
Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used breasts because that's what I had)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 c. salsa, plus more for serving
1 to 2 T. canned chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped (a little goes a long way!)
1 T. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
hard and or soft taco shells
other toppings, as desired (tomato, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, cilantro, etc.)


Directions:
Combine chicken, sliced garlic cloves, chiles, salsa, chili powder, salt and pepper in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for four hours (or on low for eight hours). Shred chicken with two forks (it falls apart easily). Serve with desired toppings.

This chicken is really quite spicy, but it's yummy! The chipotle chiles are what makes it spicy, so if you want it to be more mild, you can put fewer chiles in. I put a whole 2 tablespoons in, maybe even slightly more, because I didn't know how spicy they were. And it was pretty intense! ;)

Here's a link to the original recipe (she has some great pictures of the process, you should check them out!): Chili Chicken Tacos.

Pasta Toss

If we had a category that was easier than easy I'd almost want to put this one there. It's a very basic recipe that I got from the Hatrack Cookbook...which doesn't seem to be available online anymore. It was a collection of recipes someone put together from the people who post on the Hatrack Forums. Oh well. Anyway. You can really put whatever you want in it, as far as vegetables go. And it's quite good for you, since there's not much to it aside from pasta and vegetables.

Pasta Toss
Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
2 yellow squash, chopped
2 c. mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 t. oregano
1 lb. pasta of your choice (I used some whole grain fettuccine)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook pasta according to directions given. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add veggies and spices. Cook and stir for about 7 minutes (veggies should be slightly tender). Toss with pasta and Parmesan cheese.

I actually halved the recipe for me and Paul. And I didn't measure the Parmesan cheese. I just sprinkled it on our bowls. It was fast, simple, and yummy!

Italian Crescent Bake

I have a whole bunch of recipes to post that I never got around to! I was looking, and I couldn't believe how long it has been since I posted something that wasn't a menu. Crazy! We'll see if I can put a dent in the "stack" of recipes I have waiting to be posted! :)

This first one is from a cookbook of Paul's that I recently discovered. It's an Italian cookbook full of recipes from Home Economics teachers in California (one of those school fundraiser cookbooks, you know?). Well, I figured Home Ec teachers should know a thing or two about good recipes, and so far it hasn't let us down. We've tried three recipes, and they have all been delicious. Not exactly authentic Italian recipes, but delicious nonetheless.

Italian Crescent Bake
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. tomato sauce (1 can)
1 c. cheddar cheese, grated
1 tube crescent rolls (8 rolls)
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 t. oregano
1/4 t. basil


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown beef with onion and mushrooms, drain excess fat. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomato sauce. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with cheddar cheese. Separate crescent rolls. Mix sour cream with oregano and basil. Spread sour cream mixture (generously) on each roll, and then roll up each one starting at the wide end. Place rolls on top of the meat mixture. Bake for approximately 20 minutes*, until rolls are lightly browned.

*So, there's a typo in the cookbook and it only says to bake them for 2 minutes. I decided to follow the time listed on the crescent roll tube (which was something like 11-12 minutes) and check them. As you can see from the pictures, they looked lightly browned, so I took it out. The rolls ended up being quite doughy, so I can only surmise that they probably meant 20 minutes instead of 2. ;) They were so yummy that we're having them again tomorrow for dinner, and I'm planning on cooking them for 20 minutes this time. I'll edit this if I find out it takes longer.

Hungarian Goulash

This is a dish that my Mom makes for my Dad on his birthday every year. I was always excited for his birthday dinner because that seemed like the only time we would have this. It's a very flavorful dish, and though it may take a little time to prepare, it's easy!

Ingredients:
2 and 1/2 lbs. Round Steak, cubed
1 c. chopped onion
garlic
1/4 c. flour
1 and 1/2 Tbs. paprika
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. thyme
2 bay leaves
2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
1 c. sour cream

Directions:
Brown meat in 1/4 cup oil. Reduce heat, add onion and garlic. Cook onions until tender, not brown. Stir in flour and seasonings. Add tomato sauce, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until meat is tender (1 hr.). Stir often towards end. Remove bay leaves, stir in sour cream and heat (but don't boil). Serve over hot noodles.

*The recipe didn't say how much garlic to put in, so I just put in a few minced garlic cloves.
*It will be really thick before adding the sour cream. I thought I might have done something wrong, but nope!
*My Dad says it's important that you let it simmer for at least an hour so that the flavors can come out and so the meat can tenderize.

Ham Casserole

This is another one of my mom's casseroles that I absolutely love. Besides being delicious, it's also really cheap and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

8 oz. cooked curly noodles
3 oz. cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can milk (we use the soup can to measure milk)
4-6 green onions, chopped
cubed ham
cheddar cheese (grated)

Directions:
Cook noodles and drain then return to pot. Add cream cheese, soup, milk, ham and green onions to noodles and stir until combined. Place half noodle mixture in casserole dish, layer with cheese and then put other half noodle mixture on top of that. Top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until bubbly.

* The amount of ham is a matter of personal preference. I usually just buy some pre-cubed ham at the store and I use about 3/4 of the package.

One Dish Chicken

Brian combined a recipe from his mom and someone on his mission to get his recipe. We actually call it Stuffing Chicken, but it is also commonly called one dish chicken. It is surprisingly very easy and quite yummy.

Ingredients:

1 box chicken flavored stuffing
2-4 chicken breasts (basically as much as you want)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Either prepare the stuffing according to the box, or you can do what Brian does. He just puts the mix in a bowl with a couple Tbs. of softened margarine and enough hot water to make the stuffing all moist (always more water than I think, probably about a cup). Then he lets it sit while he gets the other parts ready. I would say follow the box if you want to make sure it turns out right. Put the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish and top with soup and sour cream (I cut my chicken in smaller pieces so that it cooks faster). Put prepared stuffing on top of that and pop in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees or until the chicken is cooked through.

*When cooking for the two of us, I use a 8x8 pyrex and it has a bit extra stuffing. If you are cooking for more than four people, I would use a 9x13 pan. You just put in as much chicken according to how many people you are serving and then use two cans of soup. One box of stuffing is plenty for a 9x13 pan as well.

*You may have noticed that ours has carrots in the picture above. Sometimes I like to add carrots around the chicken, but it takes longer to cook if you do it that way. I have decided I like to cook them separately, as they cook more efficiently that way. I'm sure other veggies would be yummy in it if you want to experiment :).