Baked Chicken-Bacon Alfredo

I just found this draft from July, and didn't realize I hadn't posted it. This dinner was amazing!! Thanks Jessica!

Baked Chicken-Bacon Alfredo
by Our Best Bites

8 oz penne or bowtie pasta
1 recipe Guiltless Alfredo Sauce (recipe follows or a 16-oz. jar would work in a pinch)
2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped (about 2 cups chopped chicken)
6 oz (1/2 package) cooked bacon, chopped
1 14 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions (about 1 decent-sized bunch)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, prepare Guiltless Alfredo sauce. When pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce. Toss with chopped chicken, bacon, artichoke hearts, green onions, and 1/2 cpu mozzarella. Season to taste.

Transfer mixture to an 8x8" baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

Serve with a green salad and breadsticks or a loaf of garlic bread made with Garlic Bread Seasoning.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
by Our Best Bites

2 cups low-fat milk
1/3 cups (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 TBSP flour
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP butter
3 garlic cloves
1 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Toss the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender. Process until smooth and set aside.

In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don't want to burn it. Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it's nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I halved the amount of chicken and tortillas for this recipe, but used the full amount of sauce. That was a mistake. The honey lime sauce overpowered the dish. It was still good, but next time, I'll make sure to half the sauce too!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

by Your Homebased Mom

6 TBSP honey
5 TBSP fresh lime juice (1-2 limes)
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2-3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
8 – 10 flour tortillas (depending on size)
1 lb of a Mexican blend cheese (monterey jack, colby, cheddar), shredded
1 large can of green enchilada sauce

Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder together with the shredded chicken. Allow it to sit for at least 1/2 hour or you could do it hours before and just cover and refrigerate.

Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce into bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Place chicken and cheese into middle of a tortilla and spoon about 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce over it and roll up. Place seam down in the pan. Reserve about 1-2 cups of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Pour enchilada sauce over the top of rolled enchiladas (reserve a little bit to add after they are baked) and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Mexican Rice
by Ann Bowman via Your Homebased Mom

2 TBSP olive oil or vegetable oil
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cup chicken broth
1 small can tomato juice
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the rice. Stir frequently and slightly brown the rice (more like, make it tan) over a medium high heat. Add the chicken broth. Add the tomato juice. Add some salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly. Reduce heat to simmer and cover tightly with a lid. (I ’stir’ the mixture several times while it’s cooking by just shaking/moving the skillet back and forth so that I don’t take the lid off.) Simmer/cook for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed. Once the liquid has been absorbed, turn off the heat and leave mixture alone with the lid on it for another 10-15 minutes or so.

Chili's Chicken Club Tacos

Last week on a quick trip to St. George we stopped at Chili's for lunch. I had some amazing Chicken Club Tacos! I am not sure exactly how they seasoned the chicken, but I'm sure any combination of spices will work. I think the magic to this recipe is in the dressing and the bacon!

Chili's Chicken Club Tacos

seasoned grilled chicken

ancho-chili ranch dressing (I don't know how to make this, but I'm sure ranch dressing would be fine)

applewood smoked bacon (cooked and crumbled)

lettuce

cheese

tomatoes

Combine ingredients and serve on flour tortillas.

Burger No. 39

Inside my Food Network magazine was the insert "50 Burgers". When my sister came to visit last week we made Burger No. 39, and we both agreed this is our new favorite burger!

Turkey Burger
by Food Network

1 lb ground turkey
1 grated green apple
1/2 cup minced scallions
1/4 cup panko (or bread crumbs)
salt and pepper

Mix ingredients together and form into four 1 inch thick patties, make an indentation in the centers and cook 4 to 5 minutes per side on an oiled grill. Serve on whole wheat buns.

Peanut Butter Cup(cakes)

VERY rich cupcakes, but VERY good! This is the perfect chocolate & peanut butter treat!


Peanut Butter Cup Cake
by Parents.com

1 devil’s food cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped peanut butter cups (plus more for garnishing - about 2 bags)

Frosting (half frosting recipe for cupcakes)

8 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides after 1 minute. Fold in 2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups. Pour batter into pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cakes completely. Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and then pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.

For a 9-inch (two layer) cake:

Coat two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line with wax paper and coat paper. Pour batter into pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cakes completely.Trim each cake layer so the tops are flat. Place one layer on a cooling rack and pour 1 cup frosting on top. Spread evenly with a spatula. Add second layer and pour remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Smooth out with spatula. Allow frosting to set for a minute and gently press remaining chopped peanut butter cup pieces all over top and sides of cake. Place in refrigerator for about an hour to set. Remove and serve.

For cupcakes

Pour batter into a lined cupcake pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely. Dip cupcakes one at a time into frosting. Allow frosting to set for a minute and gently press remaining chopped peanut butter cup pieces all over top of cupcakes.

Oven-Fried Picnic Chicken

Image Source Betty Crocker

Oven-Fried Picnic Chicken
by Betty Crocker

2/3 cup buttermilk
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 1/2 lb)
1 cup Country Corn Flakes cereal
1 cup Original Bisquick mix or Gold Medal all-purpose flour
2 packages (1 oz each) ranch dressing mix (dry)
Cooking spray

Heat oven to 400ºF. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Pour buttermilk into shallow glass or plastic bowl. Add chicken; turn to coat. Let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in 2-quart resealable food-storage plastic bag, crush cereal with rolling pin. Add Bisquick mix and dressing mix (dry) to cereal in bag. Remove chicken from buttermilk; discard buttermilk. Add chicken to cereal mixture. Seal bag; shake to coat. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F).

My Notes: I'm not sure what "Country" Corn Flakes are, so I just used "Regular" Corn Flakes. The chicken was great, I loved the flavor and the crunch. Next time I will bread the chicken in a pan, the bag didn't distribute the corn flake mixture evenly enough for me. I also used chicken tenders/strips and only cooked it for 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Sugar

When I was little I loved having cinnamon toast for breakfast. One morning we ran out of Cinnamon Sugar and devastation hit. My mom came to the rescue and "made" Cinnamon Sugar... from scratch! I was so little that I had no idea you could "make" Cinnamon Sugar. I was amazed and thought my mom was awesome!

So, today we ran out of Cinnamon Sugar and Hannah was only mildly impressed that I could make my own. Oh well, I guess in the age of iPhones and computers, Cinnamon Sugar is low on the list.

Cinnamon Sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 TBSP cinnamon

Mix together and pour into shaker. This amount fit perfectly into my McCormick sized container.