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 

3 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!

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!!!

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!

squash fetta-chine

This is a great little summer squash recipe for those who need something to do with all those summer squash you have left out the garden.

4 small yellow squash. cut in half inch wedges with seeds trimmed out

1 small zucchini cut in half in wedges with seeds trimmed out

2 oz pine nuts (optional)

3 garden fresh tomatoes chopped and seeded

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 yellow onion chopped

2 T of parsley chopped

1 T of chopped chives

1 tsp of thyme leaves

1 T crumbled feta cheese
2 T philly cream cheese 

2 T of good Parmesan

salt and pepper

salt water boiled whole wheat pasta
in a saute pan heat a tbs of oil and throw in your onion and garlic. let it begin to soften and then add your squash and zucchini and let them cook down on a med-high heat. Then as they begin to soften you can add your tomatoes and herbs. While that is cooking down you want to have you pasta boiled but don't drain it dry. save just a little of that pasta water because if your pasta is to dry it will help the cream cheese work its way into a sauce better. After the tomatoes and softened up a bit ( 5min or so) your going to stir in your cheeses and then add your noodles and stir it all together. if it looks to dry then you add a tablespoon or so of the pasta water and stir it gently.  it should look sorta creamy and a little damp. Salt and pepper it then toss on top a few pine nut (if you like) and enjoy it hot!!! 

summer veggie good stuff

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1 spaghetti squash baked and cooled

2 cups of diced fresh garden tomatoes (seeds removed) ( I used black creole, yellow pear, san marzan, grape and cherry tomatoes)

2 small diced sweet peppers ( I used a yellow and a red for color contrast)

2 oz of feta cheese crumbled

1 onion

3 cloves of diced garlic

6 basil leaves

1 sprig of thyme

chopped fresh chives

salt and pepper

swirl some olive oil in the bottom a pan. add your onions and garlic and saute till soft. throw in your peppers and let them soften up too. Add your tomatoes while the pan is hot and they will soften with the remaining heat releasing some of their juices. then scrape out your spaghetti squash and gently add it to your softened veggies in the pan. add your feta and fresh herbs and salt and pepper and stir it very gently. Let it sit on warm for about 10 min. to let the flavors meld together and get happy.

 I hope you enjoy it!!

Lightened up Salmon Patties

 I have to say I have been eating these for years! My stepmother, Joyce, made them all the time when I lived at home and we always fought over the last one. I still love them and thought how can I lighten these up a bit without loosing flavor? So as for lightening them up I'm not sure how many calories we saved but they really turned out well!

3 6oz cans of boneless skinless salmon in water lightly drained but not pressed dry.

2 green onions sliced thin

5 basil leaves torn into small pieces

2 sprigs of Thyme (pinch of all the little leaves and leave the stem)

1/4  cup of light sour cream

2 Tbs of light mayo

2 Tbs of lemon juice

2 eggs

little salt and pepper

2 cups of oyster crackers (put them through the food processor and make crumbs)

2 cups of panko bread crumbs on a plate ( you may need more)

1 egg plus a little milk mixed into a wash to roll your patties in.

Place everything except the panko crumbs in a large bowl and stir till  its all mixed well. make small patties in your hand and then roll in your egg wash and then in  panko crumbs. I press my crumbs in kinda tight. Then place in a pan that doesn't have high sides and don't let the edges touch. I tend to use a cookie sheet. Do this till you run out of  pattie mix. then once they are all made and in the pan , I sprinkled a little salt, pepper and dill on top. I also sprinkle a tad of the left over crumbs on top just for extra crispies!  Then lightly spray the tops of each with olive oil. I have one of those pump oil misters (found it at tj maxx for 7 bucks and totally worth it!) But if you don't have one of these, first i recommend you get one and secondly then you could try to spray a little Pam on them. You really need a little something there because it helps the  crumbs do their magic. Bake them at 375 for about 25- 30 min. just till they begin to brown. Pull them from the oven and serve them up!

Richest cake....from a cake mix

Guess what? Some times I cheat....shocker, I know. But its true. I am sharing with you my little idea so I don't feel so guilty about it. So soak it up and be grateful. Up until this point I have tried boxed Red Velvet Cake mix and a Devil's Food Cake mix. My theory is that I would work with any cake mix but the turn out is a rich cake that taste made from scratch and super moist. I can't describe it. You really should just try it.
Here's the plan:
1 box of cake mix
3/4 c of greek yogurt ( I like Fage 2%)
1/4 c of real sour cream ( i like Dairy Fresh )
4 eggs room temp
1 stick of butter melted and cooled
and enough milk mixed in to make that cake batter consistency. I'd say start with 1/2 cup and add more if its too thick.

You drop all of this into one big bowl and mix it up till all the lumps are gone. Then pour in a pan / muffin cups and bake as directed. I have gotten so many complements and to many people's surprise I have to confess that I just jazzed up a boxed  cake mix! So all the inquiring minds out there.....here is how I cheated!