Oven Roasted Potatoes

A big thanks to Molly for posting this recipe she found on allrecipes.com! These were so simple and tasty. I only used 2 taters and just eyeballed the measurements below - turned out great!

Ingredients

* 1/8 cup olive oil

* 1 tablespoon minced garlic (I used 4 cloves)

* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (I used fresh b/c I had it on hand)

* 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

* 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed

* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

* 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

* 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (I left peels on)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine oil, garlic, basil, marjoram, dill weed, thyme, oregano, parsley, red pepper flakes, and salt. Stir in potatoes until evenly coated. Place potatoes in a single layer on a roasting pan or baking sheet.

3. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, turning occasionally to brown on all sides.

Asiago Stuffed Chicken Breast

Another delicious chicken recipe :) I served it with the oven roasted potatoes in the above post.

Ingredients (for 2 people)

* 2 pieces boneless skinless chicken breast

* Marinade of your choice (I used garlic and herb)

* 1/4 cup shredded asiago cheese (I originally planned to use feta cheese, which I think would be equally as good)

Directions

1. Marinate chicken breasts for a couple hours in your favorite sauce.

2. Create a slit "sandwich-wise" in the chicken breast about 3/4 of the way through so that you can open the chicken breast without it completely separating into 2 pieces.

3. Add asiago cheese inside each chicken breast; close and secure with toothpicks if needed.

4. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 min.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza (Take 2)

I made this recipe again tonight with a few additions - I didn't think this pizza could taste any better than last time, but it did! First, I used a lot more minced garlic than last time. I sauteed the garlic in EVOO and added some onions, fresh basil, and fresh parsley. I melted about 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese into the sauce and then of course added mozz on top of the pizza. I also used pre-made round Boboli crust instead of the Pillsbury kind, which I've found to taste much better. Oh, and I took a better pic this time! :)

Simple Ranch Chicken Macaroni Salad

Now that the weather is warm here I've really been craving pasta/macaroni/potato salads. This was really good! (From allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

* 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 1 (2.25 oz) can chopped green olives (omitted)
* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 2 tablespoons milk (omitted... didn't miss it)
* 1 (10 oz) can chicken chunks, drained (I used a baked chicken breast... canned chicken is gross) * 1 (1 oz) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
* 2 teaspoons paprika (omitted)

* Added: crumbled bacon

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, and pat dry.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the celery, olives, mayonnaise, sour cream, milk, chicken and Ranch dressing mix. Stir in macaroni until well blended.

3. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Stir, and sprinkle paprika over the top before serving.

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

I found this recipe on the What's Cooking board and altered it a little bit to my taste (my recipe below). I didn't realize until I tasted this that is very similar to my Simple Baked Mostaccioli. Either way, it was really good!

Ingredients

* 2 cups penne pasta, uncooked
* 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
* 1 tsp fresh basil leaves, chopped

* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 jar (14.5 oz) spaghetti sauce
* 2 oz neufchatel cheese, cubed
* 1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
* 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta as directed on package.
2. Cook and stir chicken, basil, and garlic in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 3 min. Add spaghetti sauce; bring to boil. Simmer 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in neufchatel cheese.
3. Drain pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 8-inch square baking dish.
4. Bake 15-20 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min.

PW's Penne a la Betsy

After hearing so many great things about this dish, I decided that I needed to make it asap. OMG. Go make this now. Seriously. This is probably one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had in my life. And that's a HUGE compliment coming from me, the girl who could eat pasta for every meal. MMMMMMMM.

A HUGE thanks to Pioneer Woman for this recipe!

Ingredients

* 1 lb shrimp

* 3/4 lb penne pasta (I used Mezze Penne)

* Butter

* Olive oil

* 1 small onion

* 2 cloves garlic

* 1/2 cup white wine

* 8 oz tomato sauce

* 1 cup heavy cream

* Fresh parsley

* Fresh basil

* Salt & pepper

Directions

1. Cook the penne pasta until al dente.

2. Peel, devein, and rinse 1 lb of extra large shrimp (I used large). Heat about 1 tbsp butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook! Remove shrimp to a plate and let cool.

3. Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves garlic.

4. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute, stirring occasionally. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board, pull off the tails, and chop shrimp into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

5. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit, add the white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Add 8 oz plain tomato sauce and stir until well combined. Add 1 cup heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn the heat down to low and let simmer while you chop your herbs (about 1 tbsp parsley and 1 tbsp basil).

7. Add your the chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Stir and add salt/pepper. Add herbs and stir until well combined.

8. Add pasta and stir everything together.

9. DEVOUR!

Italian Pasta Salad

I decided to make pasta salad today so that I could take it to work for lunch this week. This is really tasty and is perfect for warm weather!

Ingredients

* Any kind of small pasta, cooked (I used a mix of small shells and rotini)

* Salami, sliced into small pieces

* Pepperoni, sliced into small pieces (I used turkey pepperoni)

* Orange pepper, sliced into small pieces

* Green onion, sliced into small pieces

* Pepperjack cheese, cubed

* Italian dressing (any kind you like)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and refrigerate overnight. Enjoy!

Bonizio Sangiovese

If you like Sangiovese, you have to try this! We had it at an italian restaurant in our hometown and couldn't find it anywhere in the MI stores... but luckily the wine store by my work down here in TN carries it! Yum, this is one of our favorites.

Kitteh in the Kitchen

Waiting by the kitchen counter for mom to leave a piece of food unattended is exhausting...

Pear Grapefruit Martini ♥♥

Martinis are pretty much my favorite. I bought some Absolut Pears the other day and decided to try it out tonight!

Ingredients

* 1 oz Absolut Pears vodka
* 1.5 oz grapefruit juice
* Slice of lime

Directions

1. Add vodka and grapefruit juice into martini shaker. Shake.
2. Pour into martini glass and garnish with lime. Squeeze the juice in if you'd like. Or if you're like me, just put the whole damn lime in! :)

Spicy Orange Shrimp and Asparagus

I found this recipe on Thyme for Nourishment, who spun off a Pioneer Woman recipe. This had a different flavor, but was really good! I love finding new ways to incorporate shrimp in our dinners. It's such a nice change from our typical chicken dinner :)

Ingredients

* 1 lb shrimp (we used 31-40 count)

* 1 lb asparagus cut into 1" pieces

* 6 tbsp butter

* 6 cloves of garlic (we used minced)

* 1 1/2 cups orange juice

* 2 tsp Old Bay (we didn't have any so we used Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy)

* 1 tsp cayenne pepper (we used more.. we like it hot!)

Directions

1. Mix the orange juice, garlic, cayenne, and Old Bay together and set aside.
2. In a large saute pan melt 2 tbsps of butter and saute the asparagus for 3-4 mins. Add the shrimp and cook till done.

3. Remove the shrimp and asparagus from the saute pan.

4. Add the orange juice mixture to the pan and allow it to reduce by half, then add the remaining 4 tbsps of butter and continue cooking untill the sauce becomes thick enough to coat and stick to the shrimp and asparagus.

5. When the sauce has reached a consistency that you like return the shrimp and asparagus to the pan and mix well. Serve over rice.

Redskin Potato Salad

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com - super easy, super yummy, and perfect for our first 75 degree sunny day in TN this year :)

(I halved the recipe since Keith won't eat this, but the full recipe is posted below.)

Ingredients

* 2 pounds clean, scrubbed new red potatoes
* 6 eggs
* 1 pound bacon (I used up some crumbled bacon we had)
* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 1 stalk celery, finely chopped (omitted)
* 2 cups mayonnaise
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and set in the refrigerator to cool.
2. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.
3. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. (or just use crumbled bacon like I did!)
4. Chop the cooled potatoes, leaving skin on. Add to a large bowl, along with the eggs, bacon, onion and celery. Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste. Chill for an hour before serving.

Asparagus Roll-Ups

I have to give (most) credit to Molly of MyHappyMeals... I told her today that I had bought some asparagus and asked her what I should do with it. She started telling me about this Rachael Ray recipe using crescents and cheese spread... of course I was instantly intrigued since crescents and cheese are some of my favorite foods! She eventually found Rachael's recipe online and linked me to it... and I knew that I just had to make this for dinner tonight.

This recipe was SO good! I have to admit that this was my first time ever buying asparagus and eating it at home... but this was so yummy that I'm sure I'll be making it over and over again! Enjoy!

PS ~ I halved Rachael's recipe so that I didn't have too much food (since Keith doesn't eat veggies). Halved recipe is below.

Ingredients

* 1 sheet Pillsbury Recipe Creations (crescent sheet without the cuts)

* Appx 3 oz. soft herbed cheese (I used Rondele Pub Cheese: Garlic and Herbs)

* 6-7 asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Unroll sheet of dough onto flat surface and spread cheese all over.
3. Cut sheet of dough into 6-7 strips, appx 1"x9"

4. Starting on the diagonal, roll up each of the asparagus spears with a strip of dough in a spiral shape. Make sure to leave a little of the tip at the end of the asparagus sticking out on each end.

5. Transfer dough-wrapped spears to a parchment lined or greased bakign sheet. Bake until golden brown and puffed, appx 12-15 minutes. Serve warm.