Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Hurricane chicken and spinach Alfredo casserole

Of course hurricane Isaac rolled in today and I of course was hopping for power just so I could cook supper. So here is what I threw together. This little casserole has all the food groups rolled into one and before you say it has no fruit, think again those sundries tomatoes totally count!
3 chicken breast seasoned with salt and peppers and  seared and cooked through. Roughly chopped.
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 can quartered artichokes
1 package of defrosted and squeezed dry spinach 
tbsp of pesto
1jar bertolli garlic Alfredo sauce
1 package  of julienned sundried tomatoes
3oz of crumbled feta cheese 
8 oz sour cream
3/4 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup half and half
Salt 
Pepper
1 package boiled linguine noodles
1 bag of mozzarella and parmesan mixed bag cheese

cook your diced onion and chopped garlic in the pan you cooked the chicken in let onions get translucent and then remove from heat. everything except for the bag of cheese, can be thrown into one big bowl and stirred to mix well. Then pour all of it into a very large casserole dish. I used one bigger than a 9x13 but I'm not sure what size it was. sprinkle the cheese onto the top and cover with foil then bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Makes quit a good bit so plan to share! The taste is quite phenomenal and this casserole can't get much easier than that!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Blueberry Crisp

So i got a request for my recipe for Blueberry Crisp about a week or so ago. Since joining the world of kindergarten I have not had a moment to myself it seems. I managed to get some things done this morning and then remembered I still had not  posted that recipe! So here it is and I hope you enjoy it!

Blueberry Summer Crisp
3-4 cups of fresh or Thawed frozen blueberries
1 c of sugar
1/2 c of brown sugar
1 C of flour
1 C of Oatmeal
 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter melted
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 c of half and half or heavy cream
1 half gallon or vanilla bean ice cream

place berries in a 9x13 dish that is coated with butter. sprinkle about 1/4 -1/2 cup of white sugar over top of berries and kinda stir to coat them. now in a separate bowl mix up the flour, the oatmeal, the salt and cinnamon then pour the butter over the top and stir it till it has blended together. set aside. now pour the half and half or heavy cream over the top of your berries and begin sprinkling your oatmeal crust mixture over the top. I press it down just a tad to kind of set the crust down in there. but leave holes because you want that berry juice to bubble up and through. bake at 350 for about 45min or till crust is nice and deep brown. remove from oven and let cool while eating supper just a tad and then dish it up with a huge scoop of that ice cream and ENJOY!!

* tip for the future: when freezing summer blueberries it is such a pain when they burst or they come out tasting bitter. Do this and the berries do NOT burst and taste just as sweet as the day you picked them!!! ~~make a sugar syrup by using 2 cups water and 1 cup of sugar and bring it just to a boil. let cool to room temp  and then place berries in quart bags and pour a little cooled sugar water on top. Freeze and you are good to go!!!



Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Shrimp linguine Alfredo

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I wish I could say this is low fat (it's not) but it is phenomenal! It's so rich and creamy that I am positive that it is sinful. It most certainly hits the spot! Don't be afraid of making Alfredo sauce. It's joy nearly as hard as some think it is. And it most certainly taste better than that store bought jar stuff! Give it a try!
1 stick of butter
 2 garlic cloves minced
1 shallot minced
1 1/2lbs. Peeled shrimp sprinkled with salt, pepper, pinch red pepper flakes, and a squirt of lemon to coat them.
3 tbs. lemon juice
2 C heavy cream
1/2 cup half and half
8 oz block of Parmesan cheese shredded( do not get the bag stuff)
16oz of whole wheat linguine boiled aldente in salted water and drained.
Chopped parsley (optional)
Melt butter in large fry pan on med. high heat. Throw in garlic and shallots and let them begin to soften.
throw in your shrimp and let them cook till pink. Remove with a slotted spoon. And keep warm. 
 Add lemon juice to pan and swirl it around. Let sizzle for a min or two. 
Pour in your heavy cream and whisk.  Then add the half and half . Keep whisking till it starts to come together and boil. Let boil on med. low and reduce for 20 min. Stirring occasionaly. Add your grated parmesan and wisk till smooth. Add your al dente pasta. It needs to be al dente so it will soak up some of the sauce and flavors. Let set for a 10 minutes to give it time to do this.
 Dip up a nice big bowl of creamy pasta then toss shrimp on top and sprinkle with parsley. Enjoy!