Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I used to make this every now and then when we lived in MI, but this is the first time I've made it in a while. This is a super easy, yummy meal!

Ingredients

* 2 small or 1 large chicken breast, cooked and cut into bite size pieces

* 1 container Pillsbury pizza dough

* Appx 1 cup jarred alfredo sauce

* Minced garlic to taste (or just use garlic flavor alfredo sauce)

* Bacon bits

* Shredded parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven according to pizza dough directions. Put plain pizza dough on pan and put in oven for appx 5 minutes, and take out.

2. Mix alfredo sauce w/ minced garlic (if desired) and then pour onto pizza dough and spread evenly.

3. Arrange chicken pieces over dough.

4. Sprinkle bacon bits over pizza.

5. Sprinkle cheese(s) on top.

6. Bake in oven according to pizza dough directions or until crust looks done.

7. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Tonight my husband is gone, so I decided to get in the holiday spirit. I turned on some Christmas music and started baking! These cookies are GREAT! Recipe from MyRecipes.com. Enjoy!

(Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. I halved the recipe. We are cookie monsters, but don't need THAT many cookies for just the two of us!)

Ingredients

* 1 cup butter, softened

* 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

* 1/2 cup granulated sugar

* 2 large eggs

* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 3 cups uncooked regular oats

* Appx 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate mega morsels (we used semi-sweet chocolate chips)

* 1 cup chopped toasted pecans (omitted)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.

3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring well. Add oats; stir well. Add to butter mixture; stir until well blended.

4. Gently stir in chocolate morsels and pecans.

5. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until brown around edges. Cool on pan 2-3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.

Crockpot Chicken Parmigiana

This was SUPER easy and really yummy! We served it over spaghetti. mmm. (We halved the recipe and just used one large breast cut in half for the two of us. Serves 6 normally.) Recipe from CDKitchen.

Ingredients

* 3 whole chicken breasts

* 1 egg

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

* 1 cup dry bread crumbs (we used italian)

* 1 1/4 cup butter

* 10 1/2 ounces can pizza sauce (we used garlic parmesan spaghetti sauce)

* 6 slices mozzarella cheese

* Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cut chicken breasts into halves.

2. In a bowl, beat egg, salt, and pepper; dip chicken into egg, then coat with breadcrumbs.

3. In large skillet, saute chicken in butter.

4. Arrange chicken in crockpot; pour pizza/spaghetti sauce over chicken.

5. Cover and cook in crockpot on low 6 to 8 hours.

6. Add mozzarella cheese, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Cover and cook an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Grown Up Hamburger Helper

This is another great recipe from Shelly! (Adapted from Rachel Ray). This was DELICIOUS and is also great as leftovers! Shelly halved the recipe, but I will post the full recipe below. This easily makes enough for 4-6 people.

Ingredients

* Appx 4 cups pasta (elbow/cavatappi/penne/etc. are fine)
* 1 lb ground beef (we used ground turkey)

* 4 tbsp grated onion (we omitted)

* 4 tsp worcesteshire sauce (we used soy sauce)

* 4 tbsp butter

* 3 tbsp flour

* 1 cup chicken stock (we used Campbell's chicken broth)

* 2 cups half and half

* 1 tbsp dijon mustard (we used spicy brown mustard)

* 2 1/2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

* Garnish: chopped dill pickles, diced tomatoes, or salsa (we omitted)

Directions

1. Boil a pot of water and add the pasta, cook per the box. Don't drain until the rest is ready.

2. In a large skillet brown the meat. Add the onion and worcestershire then some salt and pepper. When fully cooked, remove to a paper plate and get rid of the grease.

3. In the same skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute. Whisk in the half and half and the chicken stock. Bring to a bubble and cook for a few minutes until it thickens up. Stir in the dijon. Add the cheese and keep stirring until all melted into gooey goodness. Add more salt and pepper.

4. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce skillet along with the meat. Serve with the dill pickles and tomatoes/salsa if you wish.

According to Shelly's hubby, one should also add the special ingredient: Little Caesar's spice pack! We used Pizza Hut red pepper flakes. mmm.

Pesto Chicken LC Cheese Pizza

I just kind of made up this recipe with the help of Shelly. I knew I wanted some sort of pesto chicken pizza, but the Laughing Cow cheese was a great add-on!

Ingredients

* 1 pkg Pillsbury pizza dough

* 1 large breast chicken, cooked, cut into pieces

* 2 wedges Laughing Cow cheese (we used french onion flavor)

* Pesto sauce to taste

* Minced garlic

* EVOO

Directions

1. Spread the pizza dough onto a 9x13 pan and pop in the oven for about 5 minutes.

2. Take dough out and spread Laughing Cow cheese over crust.

3. Spread pesto sauce on top of cheese.

4. Sprinkle minced garlic on top of that.

5. Add pieces of chicken on top of pizza.

6. Pop in oven for another 10 minutes or so, or until pizza looks done.

7. If pizza looks a little dry, drizzle on some EVOO. Enjoy!

Kitties Love Apple Pie Too!

No recipe here, but just wanted to share Mini enjoying some of Grandma's apple pie for dessert!! So cute!!

Awesome Broccoli Cheese Casserole

I knew I wanted to serve broccoli as a side for Thanksgiving, but I wanted something a little interesting. After finding this recipe on AllRecipes, I knew I had to try it!

PS - Sorry for the not-so-pretty picture! :(

Ingredients

* 1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of onion)

* 1 cup mayonaisse

* 1 egg, beaten

* 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

* 3 ten-ounce packages frozen chopped broccoli

* 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

* Salt and pepper to taste

* 2 pinches paprika (I omitted)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together cream of mushroom soup, mayo, egg, and onion.

3. Place frozen broccoli in a very large mixing bowl. Break up the frozen broccoli.

4. Using a rubber spatula, scrape soup/mayo mixture on top of broccoli and mix well.

5. Sprinkle cheese in and mix well.

6. Spread mixture into prepared baking dish and smooth top of casserole. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.

7. Bake for 45-60 minutes.

Mom's Cheesy Potatoes

My mom has been making this since I was little. It's one of my favorite dishes ever!! We served it as a side for Thanksgiving. Yum!

Ingredients

* 1.5 lbs Ore Ida frozen has browns (thawed)

* 1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup (I use cream of onion b/c I hate mushrooms)

* 3/4 lb sour cream (I use about 1 lb... mmm)

* 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

* 1 stick melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl, but only half of the cheese. (I forgot to leave half the cheese out and mixed it all in. Oops.)

3. Mix in melted butter.

4. (Add in bacon bits if you want. I didn't this time.)

5. Scoop mixture into 9x13 pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

6. Bake for one hour.

Crack Dip (Buffalo Chicken Dip)

This dip is sooooooo sooooooo good. We made it as an app for Thanksgiving. The recipe makes A TON, so we took the leftovers to my husband's family's house and we ended up re-heating it for a late snack while playing poker. Everyone loved it!

Ingredients

* 16 oz cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)

* 12 oz Frank's buffalo sauce

* 8 oz Ranch dressing

* 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken

* 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (we used Mexican blend)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, dressing, and buffalo sauce until well blended. Add shredded chicken and mix well.

3. Spread into a glass baking dish. Top with cheese.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes. (After baking, I transferred the dip into a small crockpot to keep it warm.)

5. Serve warm with tortilla chips (scoops!) and celery.

6. Devour! Remember to breathe!!

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

I made these as an appetizer for Thanksgiving and they were soooooo freaking good!! Thanks to Pioneer Woman for the recipe!!

Ingredients

* Fresh jalapenos 2-3 inches in size

* Cream cheese (softened)

* Thin, regular bacon, sliced into thirds

Directions

1. Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise.

2. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane (the source of the heat; leave a little if you like things HOT.)

3. Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half.

4. Wrap jalapenos with bacon piece.

5. Secure by sticking toothpick through the middle.

6. Bake on pan with a rack at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes (mine took almost 30 min). You don't want the bacon to shrink so much that it starts to squeeze the jalapeno. If after 20 minutes the bacon doesn't look brown enough, turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish it off. These are best when the jalapeno still has a bit of a bite to it.

7. Serve immediately, or they're great at room temperature too.