Garlic Chicken Farfalle

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

When I first saw this recipe, I immediately started salivating when I read a couple of the ingredients: GARLIC and BACON!!! Sign me up!!! I think I could eat this every single day. No lie! It is that good!

I'm posting the recipe exactly as I found it and then I'll tell you my adjustments.

Ingredients:

16 oz. Farfalle pasta
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed OR garlic salt (I do a spoonful of crushed garlic)
1 Tbsp. pepper*
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, crumpled**
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

*Seems like a lot of pepper, but it has a wonderful flavor when everything mixes together. If you’re apprehensive, do less pepper. You can always add more.

**We like to cook our bacon in the oven (400 degrees, convection). Way less messy. And it’s crispy every time. Time varies, so you just have to watch it. I think it’s usually around 30 minutes. Allow to cool and then crumple (I totally wear disposable gloves for this part – surprise, surprise).

Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (I pull it apart). Set this aside. SOOO GOOD!

About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta. The kids loved this cute bow-tie pasta. :) It's the little things that get them excited! lol

In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes.

In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through.

Doesn't this look delicious???

I mean, really?!?!? DELICIOUS. I'm getting hungry just looking at this.

Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

My notes: I took the advice that was given on the blog I found this recipe from and I will pass it along to you! Trust me--don't use the bacon bits or the grated parmesan cheese in the green container. Use REAL BACON and REAL PARMESAN!

Also, I used about a tsp of black pepper (not a tbsp). After all, I have young kids and they couldn't stomach that much black pepper. :)

Source: Becky Higgins Garlic Chicken Farfalle

Spaghetti Crescent Roll Casserole

Spaghetti Crescent Roll Casserole

Our whole family really enjoyed this for dinner tonight and I couldn't wait to post it! I love that this recipe can be so versatile.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey)

Your favorite jar of spaghetti sauce or homemade :)

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 can crescent rolls (I used reduced fat)

Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Brown hamburger meat and add spaghetti sauce. Simmer.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix mozzarella cheese and sour cream in separate bowl

Pour spaghetti meat into 9x13 baking dish.

Spread mozzarella cheese/sour cream mixture on top of meat sauce.

Top with crescent rolls and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

This is what my kid's plate looked like after her second helping!

Be prepared to not have any leftovers. Boo! :)

I'm already thinking that I could do the same for my favorite chili recipe or taco meat, too! Love that. :)

Source: Cooks.com

Cookies 'n' Cream Oreo Fudge Brownie

Cookies 'n' Cream Oreo Fudge Brownie <------ Um, YES PLEASE!!!!


Ingredients:

1 box Brownie Mix
eggs & oil (as called for by the brownie mix)
OREOS
1 heaping half cup (6 oz) Cookies & Cream ice cream
1/4 Cup hot fudge topping (chilled or room temp)

Directions:

Preheat oven & spray an 8×8 baking dish generously with cooking spray. Combine brownie mix, eggs, and oil as directed on the back of the box, but do not add the water. Add ice cream and hot fudge to the brownie batter and stir to combine. Pour half of the brownie batter into the baking dish, layer with Oreos,
then top with remaining batter. Trust me, the batter is thick so no worries about your oreos sinking to the bottom!

Bake for 40-50 minutes or as directed on the box.
Original recipe found here!

Linking up to Designs by Gollum, Paisley Passions, Skip to My Lou, Wise Antics, Make Ahead Meals

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

OH.MY.GOODNESS. I love this twist on one of my favorite cookies and I think you will, too!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 package plain white cake mix or yellow cake mix
1 cup whole milk (I used skim milk and it still tasted delicious)
1 stick of butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and flour & grease 2 9″ pans (for cakes) or line your cupcake tin. Place cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend for three minutes (stop to scrape once).

Pour into pans and bake for 27-29 minutes (for cake) or 22-25 minutes (for cupcakes). Allow the cakes to cool completely.

Snickerdoodle Frosting Ingredients:
1 stick butter
3 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
3-4 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Beat butter until fluffy for frosting. Add all other ingredients.

I had to throw in a picture of my beautiful helper, Kelsey Grace. The kids always get so excited when I let them lick the leftovers.
Handsome boy!
We had fun frosting these together!!!
Look at this! Source found here!

Linked up: Designs by Gollum & Alli-n-Son

Oven Chicken Risotto

This was surprisingly delicious! Putting all the ingredients together, I kept thinking to myself "this doesn't look like much of anything." We really enjoyed this one.

I love how you can easily tweak it to make it healthy by simply using fat free or reduced fat cheese.

I can't stop thinking about those cherry tomatoes growing in my garden this summer. I love finding recipes like this!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter (I omitted)

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup uncooked Arborio rice (short-grain)

1/2 small onion,

diced 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups chopped deli-roasted chicken

1 (8-oz.) package fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1/4 cup

shredded fresh basil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Place butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish; bake 5 minutes or until melted. Stir in broth and next 3 ingredients.

2. Bake, covered, at 400° for 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Fluff rice with a fork. Stir in chicken, mozzarella, and tomatoes; sprinkle with shredded basil.

Serve immediately.

My friend, Margaret, introduced me to this recipe found here!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Who doesn't love to eat cookie dough? You never do because you know you aren't supposed to since they have raw egg in them, right? Well, not these babies!!! I made these and could actually lick the spoon guilt-free! WOO HOO!!

Ingredients:

• 1 C butter, room temp (or 2 sticks)


• 3/4 C granulated sugar


• 3/4 C packed brown sugar


• 1/3 C milk


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 2 1/2 C flour


• 1/4 tsp baking soda


• 1 tsp salt


• 1 C Mini semi-sweet choc chips


• 1 pkg Semi Sweet Baking Chocolate (usually a box of bakers choc is 8 oz, i ended up using 2 boxes)

Directions: Beat butter and sugars in large bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Cover and chill for about 30 min. When dough is firm enough to handle, form dough into 1 in balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Place sheet/sheets in freezer & let chill for 30 min. Melt baking chocolate in a microwave according to pkg directions. Dip the cookie balls into the melted chocolate, covering completely with the chocolate.

Let harden in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Yep, you can thank me later. :)

Linking up: Skip to my Lou, Designs by Gollum

Credit: The Whole FamDamily

Lemon Panko-Crusted Salmon

I found this recipe from my friend's blog. It is a delicious, easy and HEALTHY recipe that our whole family loves. No kidding, I've made it three times in the past month. It really is that good. I should've known because it is adapted from a Barefoot Contessa recipe.

Panko-Crusted Salmon
adapted just slightly from Barefoot Contessa, How Easy is That? by Ina Garten

2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
grated zest of 1 lemon (I have even sub'd lemon juice and it's great. However, zest is best!)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 (6-8 oz) salmon fillets, skin on (I always take the skin off and it's delish!)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon canola (or vegetable) oil
lemon wedges, for serving


Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine the panko, parsley, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl. Add the olive oil to the bowl and stir until all of the crumb mixture is evenly coated with the oil.


With the salmon fillets skin side down on a work surface, use a pastry brush (or spoon, ha!) to spread the mustard generously over the tops of the fillets. I never would've thought to use mustard on salmon but trust me, it is AMAZING!

Season the fillets with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, then distribute the crumb mixture evenly over the fillets and press to adhere.
Heat the canola oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes to brown the skin. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for about 5-7 minutes, or until the salmon is just about cooked through, and the panko mixture has browned. Remove the skillet from the oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve with the lemon wedges (or just drizzle w/ lemon juice).
My notes: I did not cook these in the skillet. I have covered them in foil and grilled them-YUM! I have covered them in foil and baked them in the oven--YUM! I have also dumped everything in a baking dish and baked them in the oven all together. I loved this because we had enough bread mixture for every bite-YUM! My point is, it doesn't matter how you cook it. It turns out amazing every time!

Recipe found here

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