Turkey Shepherd's Pie

My husband has been asking me to try a Shepherd's Pie. Neither of us have had this particular concoction to my knowledge though I have no idea why. Just not something either of our families made. I caught an episode of Ellie Krieger on the Cooking Channel and she happened to be making a Healthy version of the Shepherd's Pie. I thought to myself (imagine a quizzical look and a thought bubble here) "Self, that's an easy recipe, and healthy to boot. I could do that!" So here we go. I changed it up even more from Ellie as I wanted to use my thawed ground turkey. It's not bad with the turkey but the onion overpowers the turkey so I think they red meats may have been a better option unless you cut the onion down.
(Possibly the worst picture I've ever posted but i was trying to show the inside and got in a hurry)

Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Inspired by Ellie Kriegar

Ingredients:1.5 lbs ground turkey
3 tsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped (if you use turkey, I recommend changing this to 1)
3 medium carrots, diced
2 tbs flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
2 1/2 lbs red potatoes (peeled)
2/3 cup milk
2 tbs butter

Directions:Dice potatoes and steam them until soft. Brown meat in olive oil and set aside. Add onions and carrots to same pan (possibly need a little more olive oil) for about 8 minutes. Return meat to pan. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in broth, salt, pepper and simmer. Stir in peas.

Place in large baking dish.

Mash potatoes and stir in milk and butter while hot. Salt and Pepper to taste. Spread potatoes over Meat mixture. bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Ranch Bacon Cheddar Burgers

I ran across this recipe awhile back from one of many Blogs (though I forgot to write down which one). Now that I have my homemade Ranch seasonings I decided to give it a try. This was a super quick meal and perfect after a weekend of heavy fall eating. I even lost a pound! LOL

Ingredients:
1lb Ground Turkey
1 tbs dry Ranch Seasoning
1 egg white
¼ cup finely diced onion
8 slices turkey bacon
4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
4 wheat buns
Lettuce, tomato, mayo for garnish

Directions:
Cook up my turkey bacon in a dash of olive oil until crisp in a grill pan while assembling burgers. Stir together turkey, seasoning, egg white and onion and divide into four portions for patties. Remove crisp bacon from the pan and place four Turkey burger patties in pan. Grill until cooked thoroughly and crisp on the outside.

Assemble Burgers layered with cheese, 2 strips of bacon, mayo, tomato and lettuce. A very light, quick and flavorful dinner for a hectic weekday.

Pretzel Chicken with Mustard Cheese Sauce

I came across this recipe while reading blogs, and forgive me but for the life of me I can’t remember who’s it is. I hate when I print things out and it doesn’t have a name on it. It sounded very tasty so I decided to give it a try. I served it up with Broccoli and Rice on the side. I have to admit this chicken is some of the best chicken ever. It was so moist and tender with a lovely crunchy coating. The cheese sauce enhanced the pretzel coating only slightly though and was way too blah in flavor to do anything for the broccoli or rice. In my opinion the cheese sauce was too mild. It had a hint of cheese and a hint of mustard but neither flavor stood out and it was a little too “gooey”. It stuck together in like a cheese SHEET. Now granted I didn’t use sharp cheddar or spicy brown mustard so those two items may make the flavor stronger but I’m thinking it needs a bit more of a softer cheese to act as a complimentary background for the flavors. I’ll work on that because I am definitely making this again. I do not consider it a fail, as it was good with the chicken, just needs a little punching up.

Pretzel Chicken with Mustard Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:
3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups pretzel sticks
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
¼ inch oil in pan for frying
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
2 cups milk
1 cup mild cheddar cheese (shredded)
2 tbs mustard

Directions:
Heat the oil over medium to medium high heat. Pound the chickens flat between two sheets of Saran wrap (keeps area clean and no splatters). Grind the pretzels in a mini chopper or food processor until mostly powdered (I left a few small pieces for extra crunch). Place the pretzels on a plate or coating dish with salt and pepper. Whisk eggs in a shallow bowl or large plate.

Dip each piece of chicken in the egg and then in the pretzel mixture to coat. Cook on each side in hot oil about 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and is crispy deep golden brown on the outside. Drain on a paper towel.

When chicken is halfway through cooking, melt butter in a sauce pan. Add flour and whisk. Cook for approx one minute. Whisk in milk and brink to a low boil. Take off the heat and add: salt, pepper, mustard and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.

Serve hot over poured over chicken.

Spaghetti and Stuffed Meatballs

I’m not a Rachel Ray Fan. I think she’s adorable and vivacious and once in a blue moon has a good idea. I’m not a hater of Rachel Ray either. (My husband loves her). Her recipes though are lacking. They either have too much of a particular spice or are very bland. I haven’t really found a recipe that if followed exactly was exceptional or worthy of making again. I definitely have to majorly tweak her recipes and therefore rarely bother with one.

I don’t mind tweaking to take it up a notch or to suit my style better etc. I don’t want to have to tweak to give it flavor period. I did give one of her recipes a try yesterday though. It sparked an interest. I tweaked before I even began for dietary reasons this time and while a tiny bit bland, I’m not going to blame the recipe. I think it was actually pretty tasty considering how quick/easy it was. If I were a busy mom with younger kids, I could definitely see this being a life saver meal. It has the fun elements I see the kids enjoying and its fast, which I see mom (or Dad) enjoying. It’s definitely affordable and filling. A few more tweaks (like adding some shredded carrots and zucchini for added vegetable nutrition). Me personally, I would also add some onion next time for a boost of flavor.

Spaghetti with Stuffed Meatballs

Ingredients:
¼ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup milk
1 tbs Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic,smashed/chopped fine
3 cans diced tomato
1 small can tomato sauce
1 lb ground turkey
¼ cup fresh grated parmesan
2 eggs
Fresh Mozzerella cut in 1/4 -1/2 inch cubes
1 lb spaghetti noodles
½ cup Gruyere for topping
Salt

Directions:
In a medium bowl whisk eggs and milk together. Stir in Breadcrumbs and one clove of garlic. Add some salt to taste (about 1 tsp) and gently break up ground turkey into bowl. Add Parmesan cheese and gently combine all ingredients. Take about two tablespoons of mixture into hand. Gently flatten it out and place a mozzarella cube in center. Fold Meat up around cube and roll into a ball. Place on greased baking sheet. Repeat until all the meat is used. Set meatballs aside.

In a large sauce pan, heat up the Olive oil and add the rest of the garlic. Cook about 2 minutes or until garlic is golden. Add the tomatoes and sauce. Season with Salt (and pepper if you like) to taste and bring up to a medium low simmer. Carefully place meatballs down into sauce making sure they are submerged. Cook without stirring for about 20 minutes. Stir gently and cook for another 15 minutes.
About half way through the cooking time, heat another pot of boiling salted water. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente (about 10 minutes or so). Toss the cooked noodles with the tomato sauce and meatballs during the last five minutes of cooking. Serve hot topped with a little Gruyere.

Turkey Parmesan Burgers (and oven fries)

In my quest for healthier eating I have cut out a lot of red meat. We have red meat maybe once a week if that. I tend to stick to poultry and veggies (and pasta. We all know I’m a carb loader). So anytime I see a recipe for any kind of poultry burger I have to try it! These were tasty. They cooked well and are a nice basic palate to make them your own. You could spice them up with some peppers or send them over the Italian curve with some fresh basil leaves and garlic mixed in. Due to my allergies, I’m pretty careful about spices right now. Go wild with this. I served with simple oven fries made from white potatoes, olive oil and sea salt. (slice and bake in a single layer for 20 minutes on 350, flip and bake for 20 more minutes). This makes a great light summer dinner OR a healthy lunch!


Turkey Parmesan Burgers
Ingredients:
Sliced Whole Grain Bread
Parmesan cheese (about ½ cup)
Small can of Tomato Sauce
1 lb ground turkey
½ tbs olive oil
1 small finely chopped onion
Whole-milk Mozzarella cheese (thinly sliced or shredded)

Directions:
In a food processor, blend the two end pieces of bread and parmesan to form fine crumbs. Place in large plate or pie plate.

In a large bowl combine ground turkey, onion and 2 tbs tomato sauce plus ¼ tsp salt. Mix well. Shape into 5 patties and gently coat with the bread crumb mixture.

In a George Foreman Grill (or a grill pan, frying pan etc), spray with Pam and place burgers on grill. Grill for about 4 minutes or until crusty and dark brown.

Serve on toasted bread with mayonnaise, 1 tbs of tomato sauce and a thin slice or sprinkle of mozzarella.

Baked Spaghetti-the NEW way

I do not normally post every meal I make, repeats or randomness. I also do not cook fancy new recipes EVERY day of EVERY WEEK. Occasionally there will be a whole week where I rely on tried and true rotation recipes and have very few posts. (What, you really thought I cooked gourmet EVERY NIGHT? PAHLEASE..southern farm girl here...with a big garden and a full time corporate america job...I do not have time for all that).

However, every once in awhile, something mundane and boring jumps out at me. A creative use of leftovers (in my effort of not wasting food)for example that made an extremely yummy quick and easy meal. A "new" way of doing Baked Spaghetti and planning out meals that I think is worth sharing. Plus, I'm posting for Mama Bird's Whatcha Cooking Wednesdays (since I cooked absolutely NOTHING of interest last wednesday! LOL


So here goes:

Baked LeftOver Spaghetti
Ingredients:
4 cups (or so) of Leftover Homemade Tomato Soup (which was also used in the pizza so this recipe got a lot of use and none was wasted!)
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh grated Gruyere
1/4 cup Fresh grated American
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 fresh Mozzerella Ball (crumbled)
1 1/2lbs spaghetti noodles
1/2 pound ground turkey browned(leftover from the pizza as well)

Directions:
Boil noodles in salted water till al dente. Spread in a 9 x 13 casserole dish with about 1/4 cup pasta water (to thin out chilled soup). Pour soup (cold) over noodles and mix well. Layer cheeses and turkey over the top. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until cheese is melted and has formed a crust.

Serve.

Surprisingly, I liked this BETTER than making regular spaghetti sauce and baking it up. This had so much more flavor and the noodles absorbed all the soup.

Healthy Soft Tacos

I'm not kidding. For Soft Taco's I don't think you can get much healthier than this. Quick, easy and easy to portion out for several meals and lunches.

Healthy Soft Tacos

Ingredients:
3 yellow straight neck squash
1 pound ground Turkey
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
1 can Ortega Green Chili's (drained)
Garlic powder
Flour tortillas

Directions:
Chop Yellow squash into 1/2-1 inche cubes. Lightly oil baking sheet. Place squash on sheet and lightly oil over cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes until tender and edges starting to turn brown.

While squash roasts, sprinkle oil in saute pan and saute onion for about 2 minutes. Add turkey and season with garlic powder (dash)and cook until browned. Rinse blackbeans and add to turkey mixture. Add tomatoes and green chilies. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread mixture on warm tortilla's followed by a few pieces of the roasted squash. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream. TASTY!

For a Gluten-Free version use Corn Tortilla's!

Chicken Souffle

MY FIRST SOUFFLE! And that was worth e-shouting about! Souffle's are one of those daunting dishes full of strife and complication. Perils that rival seafaring colonists of yesteryear. Rumor has it that a cough or loud noise will make your souffle fall, though this may be more of a myth. Souffle's by nature are made to fall once removed from the heat. In fact, souffle itself means to "blow up" or in cooking terms "Puff up". It is the distinct combination of cream sauce with thick eggs yolk combined with whipped stiff egg whites. When heated through the dish "puffs". Once removed from the oven, it falls as it cools. That's the nature of the beast. For the record, mine did not fall, ever. It was fabulous.

I've always wanted to try a souffle but never quite had the guts. The mixing and combining of the ingredients is a simple task. I was never quite sure what there was to fear. In my ever growing addiction to the Food Network, I discovered Giada making a savory version from her Husbands family. I figured this would be as good a recipe as any to cut my teeth on.

I changed VERY LITTLE about the recipe. I do think a very important tip on this one though: Get all your ingredients READY to go before making. The sauce comes together very quickly. Basically in the time the KA Mixer takes to whip the egg whites, the sauce is finished.

Chicken Souffle
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter for greasing the souffle dish, plus 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons), at room temperature
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded mild Cheddar
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 package frozen chopped spinach
3 roasted/baked chicken breasts, cubed
6 egg yolks, at room temperature, lightly beaten
2 (1/2-inch thick) slices country-style white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 egg whites, at room temperature

Directions:
Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 2-quart souffle dish. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 stick of butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheeses, the spinach, chicken, egg yolks, and bread cubes. Stir until combined (mixture will be thick).

Using a KA Mixer with Whisk Attachment, beat the egg whites at high speed until they hold stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the chicken mixture. Using a spatula, fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon the batter into the prepared dish and bake until the souffle is puffed and the top is firm and golden, about 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Turkey Meatloaf

Sounds blah right? I'm not a big meatloaf fan myself. THE HORROR! It's a staple in Southern family menues right? Don't get me wrong, every once in awhile, I really enjoy a good meatloaf. In fact, the Cheeseburger Meatloaf recipe is probably my favorite and was a staple in our house as a newlywed.

Now that I'm eating healthier though, and have cut out a lot of red meat from my diet, I've turned to using Ground Turkey to lighten things up. Let's be real for five seconds. Turkey is NOT the same. Yes, you can make a nice turkey chili or turkey burger but it does NOT replace red meat chili or a juicy beef burger. They are their own things and if you appreciate them for being what they are and not try to use it as a substitute, you will be much happier. Trust me. I've been down that road and learned that lesson.

Having said all that, I have been making a turkey meatloaf that is easy, quick and dare I say it: Better than beef meatloaf. GASP! It's so moist, firm and tasty. Served up with a side of asparagus, its a perfectly healthy dinner that I don't feel guilty about!

*Side Note: I keep trying to post this recipe but we dig into it so fast I never get a picture snapped, so don't be expecting any pictures with this recipe. Sorry. It's that good though!

Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients:
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 ts tomato paste
1 pound ground turkey
1/3 cup Panko
1 small egg beaten
1/8 cup ketchup

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix gently until blended. Do not mix roughly or over mix. Just FOLD the ingredients into each other.

Place mixture in a glass loaf pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour.

1st Blog Challenge Recipe: Chicken Stew

In our family, there are many recipes that bring to mind comfort and home. One of my favorite though? Cousin Tim's Chicken Stew. I'll never forget when I first had it. Everyone had been saying for years how great of a cook my cousin was and he even had a small catering company. For some reason, I had never gone to his annual Christmas Eve Chicken Stew. Then one year I did. That first buttery creamy taste of stew MELTED in my mouth and I fell in love with chicken all over again.

I never could come close to mimicking his recipe though. I didn't know the secret. When our wedding came around I could think of no better dish to serve for an outdoor Halloween/Fall wedding than Chicken Stew and Eagle's Chili. So I approached Tim about the price to make a big pot. This sweet darling of a man, made GALLONS (I'm not even sure how many but I'm pretty sure he used at least 20 chickens that's how much there was!) for my wedding as a wedding gift to me. It was fabulous and my guests RAVED about it for MONTHS. So I finally broked down and asked him (begged him and groveled along the ground, see, I'm not above these things) for the recipe. It is fabulous. We do it a tad different but the KEY is the same. So I will tell you how I do it. Play around with it but make sure you follow the first part exactly because that is the key.

Cousin Tim's Chicken Stew
Ingredients:
1 whole roasting chicken
1 large onion
1 whole garlic clove
2-3 large carrots
2 celery stalks
salt and pepper
Half and Half
1 stick of butter

Directions:
Place all of your ingredients (except Half and Half and Butter) in a crockpot. Make sure the bird is washed and dried inside and out and well seasonged with salte and pepper. Just cut your cleaned vegetables in half or quartered in the cavity of the bird. Cover with water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours until bird is falling apart. Place a large collander in a large bowl and pour contents through strainer. Place the broth you collected in the bowl BACK into the crock pot. Throw butter into broth and melt. When melted, add cream until broth turns a golden cream color. SAlt and pepper liberally.

Debone meat and rough chop or shred chicken. The key here is to DISCARD the vegetables. The flavor is infused into the broth and chicken. Add the chicken back into the broth/cream mixture and THAT's IT. Serve with cornbread. You can play with the vegetable flavors that you want as well as how creamy you want your stew but this is the best simple stew you have ever had.

ENJOY!

I took pictures but as you can imagine, with my dinky camera, they didn't come out well. I will post them anyway soon. Promise.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Lemon Vinaigrette

My second dish for Pasta week is a creation of my own comprised of reading SEVERAL recipes. There wasn't anything quite like I was looking for so I just made it up. It was a pretty big hit. Fresh and lively with strong flavors that tantalize your tongue. This healthy eating thing's not so bad after all! And it was QUICK. Just use leftover chicken from a Garlic Lemon Roasted Chicken and the rest of the recipe takes max 30 minutes! Enjoy!

*Pictures coming this weekend*

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, diced large
2 straight neck squash, diced large
1 zuchini, diced large
1 small onion, sliced thick
1 shallot, sliced thick
4-5 cloves garlic, deskinned (either whole or halved)
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1-2 cups diced chicken
1 lb fusilli pasta (or penne)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (optional)
1 can diced tomatoes

Lemon Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of One lemon
1 1/2 tsps of dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
(I did not use lemon peel or shallot since I'm mixing with lemon chicken and roasted veggies.)

Directions:
In a large bowl coat ALL the veggies with olive oil. Spread out on greased baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15-18 minutes on 450 in the oven.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water till tender. In large bowl, combine drained pasta, chicken and roasted vegetables (and cheese if you opt to use it).

Whisk vingaigrette ingredients together and pour over pasta mixture and mix well. Serve warm or cool.

Penne with Asparagus and Tomatoes

First Recipe of Pasta Week! It was far different from most pastas I cook. Here in the south we smother everything with, creams, gravys, sauces, and cheese. Literally. If its not fried, its smothered in something. I'm trying to expand my horizons.

I'm not sure how you feel about Giada on the FoodNetwork but other than the fact that her arms are short and I feel like I'm watching a pretty little Tyranasaurus Rex (and I don't mean that to be mean in anyway, I have a lot of respect for her), the girl can cook up some pasta! So I have taken note of a few of her pasta dishes that incorporate veggies and barely any "sauce" to speak of other than some light broth and olive oil. So I'm kicking up our pasta palatte with the help of inspiration by Giada and so far, SO GOOD!

Unlike my love affair with all things spaghetti, I don't think I'll be making this dish once a week, but once a month? Yea, I can see that! Especially in the spring when asparagus is fresh! Definately worth a try and I felt NO GUILT eating it, AT ALL.

*Pictures coming this weekend*

Penne with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients:
8 ounces penne pasta
3 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch thin asparagus (about 1 1/2 lbs), tough ends trimmed
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cherry tomatoes (my cherry tomatoes had mold on them -1 DAY after buying them, stupid Aldi's- so I used two roma's diced from the farmer's market)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup grated moneterey jack cheese (My addition)
1 cup diced roasted chicken breast (my addition)

(Giada calls for parmesan and fresh basil but I didn't do this).

Directions:
Boil pasta in salted water till Just Tender.

Saute over medium-high heat the garlic in the oil for about 1 minute. Add asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Cook about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and peas and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and simmer about 3-5 minutes.

Add the chicken just to heat it up. (1 minute). Combine drained pasta, vegetables and cheese in a large bowl and toss well. Serve hot.

Simple, tasty and pretty healthy.

Biscuit Surprise a.k.a Stuffed Biscuits

I got the bright idea to play with my empanada stuffing using buttermilk biscuits instead of pie crust. I chuncked up the chicken in large dices to make it a little more substantial and whipped up some Buttermilk Biscuits. The beauty of this is that you can add and change anything about the recipe and still have a fabulous meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner that is perfect to reheat and on the go. For example, add some green peas and celery for a nice spring dinner. Add some bacon bits, cranberry and apple for a great fall breakfast. This is one of those PERFECT starter recipes that is delicious on its own but can be taylored for you and I'm very proud of this one. It was light, hearty, fluffy, soft, warm, cozy and satisfying all in one dish. A big hit amongst friends and family.

One of the few dishes my husband said "Mmmm, this is good, make this again!" He calls them Biscuit Surprise because when you bite into them, there is yummy filling in what looks like an ordinary biscuit. ENJOY!!

Stuffed Biscuits
Filling Ingredients:
1 tsp salt
5 ounces cream cheese
6 ounces colby jack shredded cheese
4 cups diced cooked chicken (I used leftover of the roasted lemon garlic chicken)
1 diced small onion
1 diced small shallot
1/2 tsp pepper

Biscuit Ingredients:
Ingredients:
5 cups of flour
3/4 cup crisco
2 cups buttermilk

Directions:
Mix your filling ingredients and set aside. Mix your flour and shortening with a pastry cutter and add in your buttermilk. Mix until moistened. Turn your biscuits out on a floured service and kneed gently to form a ball. Press out with your hands to about a 1/2 inch thick, square it up and cut into large squares (about nine pieces) (as if you were cutting for scones). The pieces will be about the size of your hand. Place a generous cookie scoop size dollop of filling in the center of each square and fold the endes up around it. Smooth into a rounded biscuit. (you should see no filling).

Brush biscuits with cream or butter.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until biscuits are lightly browned. Enjoy a warm flaky gooey biscuit and be sure to come back and tell me how much you love them because I know you will! And the only reason I added this dark blurry picture is because Cody is in the bottom corner begging which I didn't notice until I uploaded it. Hillarious.

Fried Chicken Tender Salad with Honey Mustard

This is SUPER EASY and super yummy and can be made anyway you like. Sometimes the simple is the most comforting.

Fried Chicken Tender Salad

Cook your chicken tenders just like you would Fried Chicken. The only thing I did different was to add some breadcrumbs to the flour mixture to give it extra crispness since it didn't have the skin.

Toss your salad ingredients together and serve with Honey Mustard Sauce.

Honey Mustard Sauce
Ingredients:
1/4 cup mayonaise
1 tbs Prepared Mustard
1 tbs honey
1/2 tablespoon Lemon juice ( I used half of one lemon)

Directions:
Whisk ingredients until smooth. Serve.

Simple Chicken Soup

On a cold blustery winter day, there is nothing more comforting then a pot of soup, stew or chili. Many people go after bread, milk and eggs. Not me. I'm going after soup fixings. When bad weather strikes, I made a big pot of soup. If we lose power, I can heat it up on the grill and if you are stuck in a cold house, you definately want something WARM to eat, not cold sandwiches! This recipe can be done in the crock pot or on the stove. I at least start it in the crock pot.

Simple Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
4 carrots, peeled and coined
2 ribs of celergy, finely diced
1 onion, diced
1 whole chicken
1/2 pint of cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 box elbow macaroni noodles, cooked just under al dente

Directions:
Cook chicken in crock pot (covered in water) for 8-10 hours until it falls off the bone. Debone chicken and use 3/4 of the meat. (I save enough meat out to do a small dinner or make chicken salad for lunches) as this recipe will feed a family for a few days.

Use about 4-6 cups of the broth, and place all your ingredients (except cream) in a pot and simmer until noodles are finished cooking. Add cream. Serve hot.

Chicken Parmigiana

I've been looking for very simple dishes that I can keep on the bland side ingredient wise but still have a nice flavor to them so that I can eat them and my husband doesn't get bored.

With my sister coming over last night for a night of girl talk and scrabble, the pressure was on! She was going to make me eat! So I put together a simple Chicken Parmigiana that was both mild enough for me to eat and flavorful enough that everyone enjoyed it!

(and sorry about the picture quality. I didn't realize how blurry it was till I downloaded it!)

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients:
3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs beaten (with a little water added)
1 1/2 cups fine bread crumbs or panko (with 1/4 cup grated parmesian added if you wish)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups shredded mozzerella or cheese blend
Italian herbs/parsley (optional)
1 Quart Home Canned Tomatoes (1 can diced plus 1 can stewed of storebought)
1 shallot
1 small yellow onion
1 can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
2 tbs tomato paste
Italian seasoning (optional)

1 lb spaghetti noodles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Pour oil in pan and heat to medium high heat. Dip chicken breasts in egg, then flour, then egg again, then breadcrumbs. Place in heated oil and brown both sides (about 4 minutes each).

While chicken is browning, chop onion and shallot and place in blender with tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Pulse till tomatoes are not in chuncks and mixture is blended.

Place browned chicken in 9 x 13 casserole dish. Pour tomatoe sauce over it and spread cheese over top of chicken breasts. BAke for about 30 minutes till cheese is golden and bubbly and chicken is cooked through.

While chicken is in oven, cook pasta in salted boiling water till tender. Serve chicken with sauce over pasta.

Southern Fried Chicken

I have never been able to do Fried Chicken. It was the one thing on my Southern Girl passport that was not checked off and it bugged me greatly. My grandma was a helluva chicken fryer. My Momma has made some mean fried chicken too, but I mostly remember my grandma's fried chicken thighs and biscuits. She would always have those around it seemed. So it has been one of my great disappointments that I couldn't fry chicken.

I finally conquered it. Thanks to a little obscure tip I pulled out of a SouthernLiving magazine in the Dr.'s office. (See something good DID come out of those copays!) And Yes, I'm one of those that swipes pages and magazines out of the waiting room...but rest assured, its only if there's a damn good recipe in it.

Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
Buttermilk
One Whole Cut up Chicken with skin and bones
3 cups flour in a bag with salt and pepper
Oil

Directions:
Rinse and dry chicken pieces. Place in a large bowl and cover completely with buttermilk. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in refridgerator for atleast 2 hours but up to overnight (8-12 hours).
Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil to about 275-350 degrees in large skillet. You want about 1/4-1/2 inche of oil in pan.
Take two pieces of chicken at a time and place in flour bag and shake until chicken is coated. Place pieces in hot oil and cook about 5 minutes on each side until Crispy and golden brown. Place pieces on a baking sheet (one with sides) and repeat until all pieces have been cooked.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes to finish cooking chicken.

This gives you perfectly crispy fried chicken that is cooked all the way through and tender and juicy. For real southern flair serve it up with Paula's Cheesy Garlic Grits. Pure Southern Heaven.

Simple Chicken Alfredo

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking Book. I needed a simple quick recipe for chicken and I really wanted a creamy pasta. With a little modification, this was perfect for what I had on hand.

Simple Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts
8 tbs butter (one stick)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded/grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb fettucine or angel hair noodles (any noodles will work really)

Directions:
Grill chicken (I use George Foreman Grill). Cook pasta in salted water till tender. In a sauce pan, melt butter. Add cream and stir. Season with Salt and Pepper. Add cheese and stir. As sauce gets thick with the melting cheese (one-two minutes) add drained noodles and toss gently until all noodles are coated. Serve with chicken breast or cut up the chicken into chuncks and mix in with noodles.

So easy, simple and delicious.

Turkey Patty Melts

In my quest to not only eat healthier but to eat things less likely to send me scurrying for an EPI pen, I've entered the realm of using lots of ground turkey.

Rather than just substitute I'm looking for things that can be flavorful and preferable as ground turkey, so I decided to try my hand at turkey burgers, but not JUST turkey burgers, Turkey Patty Melts.

Turkey Patty Melts

Ingredients:
Block cheese (your choice, I used Chedder and Monterey Jack) cut into slices
1 onion
1 lb turkey
salt and pepper
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
8 pieces of bread
mayo/mustard
1/2 stick of butter (healthy what?)

Directions:
In large bowl mix, 1/2 of the onion (finely chopped), salt and pepper, egg and bread crumbs. Pat into four burger patties and grill on a George Foreman grill or grill pan.
While patties are cooking, melt 1-2 tbs butter in pan and caramelize the other 1/2 of the onion cut into rings.
Place mayo/mustard on bread, add cheese slices on both sides, top with onions and turkey patties. Melt the rest of the butter (1 tbs per sandwich) and grill sandwich till cheese is melted and bread is golden brown and crisp.

DELICIOUS! Okay, so despite the use of turkey, the butter kind of makes it not so healthy but its all in proportion people and I love my butter!

Mild Turkey Spaghetti

So we all know my current nightmare of recovering from a food allergy that took a turn for the worst right? Right. Well just to catch you up, two days after the ER visit I was still suffering from the spreading rash, coughing, feeling tight in the chest and numb lips, so I left work and hotfooted it to the Dr. where I was treated to breathing treatments and a diagnosis of 70% lung capacity due to swelling in the airways. So now I'm on a steroid inhaler in addition to the regular steroids, xanax (to keep me calm and my lung tissue relaxed), an emergency inhaler, benedryl, and if all else fails an EPI pen just in case. Back to being a science experiment and this time its not for infertility.

So, I'm afraid to eat ANYTHING until I go to the allergist or atleast get the allergy blood panel back from my regular doctor. Even chicken noodle soup is a scary thought because of the high sodium and MSG content. So what does that mean for my precious foodie blog and demanding southern palate? Experimentation in a mild lighter fair. Turkey Spaghetti hit the spot and after a few helpings over the past two days, no severe threats to my current situation so its all good!

For those who have allergies or just trying to lighten up your fair to drop some of the holiday weight, I hope this recipe will help you out.

Mild Turkey Spaghetti
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey Browned and crumbled
1 lb turkey sausage (mild) browned and crumbled
3 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 chopped onion
1 tbs crushed garlic
1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lb spaghetti noodles
Shredded cheddar/mozzerella blend cheese to top (optional)

Directions:
After browning turkey and turkey sausage in pan move to large stock pot, melt 2-3 tbs butter in drippings (if any) of skillet and saute onion and garlic till onion is translucent. Pour onion/garlic mixture into stock pot with turkey. Add remaining ingredients (except noodles) and simmer for about an hour. Meanwhile cook noodles. When noodles are al dente drain them and add desired amount (depending whether you like a dryer spaghetti or a soupier spaghetti) to sauce pot and let them continue to cook in sauce until they are tender. Serve hot topped with finely shredded cheese. YUM.