Balsamic Chicken and Mozzarella

From allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 4skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 (16 fl oz) bottle balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
• 1 tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 1 bunch fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Marinate chicken for 4-6 hours in balsamic salad dressing. I poked holes in my chicken breasts in order get more flavor.
2. Pour chicken breasts and dressing into baking dish. Bake chicken for 30 minutes at 350.
3. In the last 10 minutes, I put tomatoes around the chicken to cook a little.
4. In the last 5 minutes, I put one basil leaf and a slice of mozzarella on each chicken breast.
5. When serving place, tomato on top and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Note: This dish is so easy but also elegant. I would definitely serve this for a dinner party with salad and garlic bread!

Smoky Turkey Shepard's Pie

From Rachael Ray's 365 Recipes, No Repeats.

Very labor intensive, but definitely worth it in the end!

Ingredients

• 3 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed
• Coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons EVOO - extra-virgin olive oil - 2 turns of the pan
• 1/4 pound smoky bacon or turkey bacon, chopped
• 1 1/3 pound ground turkey breast
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, available in small cans on spice aisle of market
• (You may substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons each sweet paprika and cumin combined)
• Coarse black pepper
• 2 tablespoons, 5 or 6 sprigs, fresh thyme leaves
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 ribs celery from the heart, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream, divided
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 10 to 12 blades fresh chives, chopped or snipped

Directions

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, salt it, and cook the potatoes until tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

Heat a deep, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, to the skillet. Add bacon and brown it up, then add ground turkey to the pan and break it up. Season the turkey with smoked paprika, salt and peppe,r and thyme. When turkey browns up, add: onions, carrots, celery. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, then add red pepper and peas cook another 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook flour 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and combine. Add 1/2 cup of sour cream and combine. Simmer mixture over low heat.

Preheat your broiler to high.

When potatoes are tender, add a ladle of cooking water to the egg. Drain potatoes and return to the warm pot to dry them out a little. Add remaining 1/2 cup sour cream, butter, half of the chives, and salt and pepper. Smash and mash the potatoes, mashing in the beaten, tempered egg. If the potatoes are too tight, mix in a splash of milk.

Pour turkey mixture into a medium casserole dish. Top turkey with an even layer of smashed potatoes and place casserole 5 inches from hot broiler. Broil the potatoes until golden at edges and remove the casserole from the oven. Garnish the casserole with the remaining chives and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

From the Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients nocoupons

• 1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted
• Good olive oil
• 4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (2 large onions)
• 3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
• 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus 2 ounces shaved with a vegetable peeler
• 4 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet)
• 1 large tomato, cut into 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices
• 3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves

Directions

Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 by 11-inch square. Using a 6-inch wide saucer or other round object as a guide, cut 2 circles from the sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps. Repeat with the second pastry sheet to make 4 circles in all. Place the pastry circles on 2 sheet pans lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture remaining in the skillet. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the wine, and thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from the heat.

Using a sharp paring knife, score a 1/4-inch-wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a tablespoon of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside the scored border.

Place 1/4 of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Crumble 1 ounce of goat cheese on top of the onions. Place a slice of tomato in the center of each tart. Brush the tomato lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with basil, salt, and pepper. Finally, scatter 4 or 5 shards of Parmesan on each tart.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. The bottom sheet pan may need an extra few minutes in the oven. Serve hot or warm.

Comments: I didn't have goat cheese so I just used mozzarella cheese. I put it in the oven for 20 minutes and it was overcooked, next time I would do 18 minutes. Also, the Barefoot Contessa doesn't say to do this, but I always serve mine with Balsamic Vinegar drizzled on top.

I also don't do all of the fancy stuff with the pastry. I just cut the puff pastry into squares.

Leftover Mexican Casserole

Like I said previously, SUB had tons of leftovers from Moe's last night, so we took home some leftovers and I made a casserole to freeze today.

We had onions, peppers, rice, chicken, and salsa. So, I just combined all of it into one and froze it.

I'll let you know how it is...

Black Bean Soup

Elon's Student Union Board ordered Moe's (like, Welcome to Moe's) last night for dinner and of course, there were tons of leftovers. I felt guilty throwing away a huge tray of Black Beans, so I took it home and made Black Bean Soup today.

I have no clue how many black beans I used. So here's a recipe that I used, but I used my huge tray instead.

2 tbsps of Olive Oil (2 times around the pot)
1lb black bean, soaked over night.
1/2 onion, roughly chopped.
2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
a large sprinkling of cumin (I start shaking quickly at one end of the pan and stop at the other)
a large sprinkling of red pepper
a large sprinkling of salt and pepper
4 c. beef broth

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add Olive Oil, onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add black beans, spices and beef broth. Cook until simmering (a long time, like 1 hour). Then, take a potato masher and mash the black beans until you get the consistency you like.

Serve with a huge dollop of Sour Cream. Enjoy!

Comments: I don't like my black bean soup very smooth, but if you do, after cooking you can put it in a food processor or blender until you get the consistency you like.

Rachel Ray's Springtime Bows with Asparagus, Ham and Peas

From: Rachael Ray's 365 Norepeats
(My favorite)

Ingredients:
1 pound bow-tie pasta
1/4 cup EVOO
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 pound asparagus
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 pound prosciutto, chopped or shredded
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh basil leaves
salt & pepper

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook the bow ties al dente. Drain, reserving a couple ladles of the cooking water.

Halve each stalk of asparagus lengthwise, then cut into 2-inch pieces. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the EVOO, shallot, and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the asparagus. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the cooking water, drained pasta, and cheese. Add the peas and prosciutto as you toss. The peas will heat through quickly. Season with salt and pepper and serve in shallow bowls with lots of basil on top.

Comments: I like a little bit of sauce with my pasta so I added a teeny bit of Alfredo Sauce that I had in the Fridge. Not my favorite, but I felt healthy eating it so thats a plus.

Baked Ziti

I love pasta and sauce. Who doesn't? Baked Ziti is one of those easy dinners that you can just pop in the oven.

Pre-heat oven to 350

1 box of Ziti, or your favorite pasta.
2 jars of sauce, or like I did was 1 jar of sauce and 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes.
1 diced pepper.

Mix all together and pour into a glass baking dish. Sprinkle shredded Italian cheese and bake for 1 hour.

Pot Roast

It snowed in North Carolina. I had to make a pot roast. It was hard to not open the lid and peek at how I was doing. Very Yummy and Wintery.

3 lb. chuck roast
2 c. beef broth
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 or 2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 bay leaf
dash of salt and pepper
5 potatoes, peeled and rough chopped
3 handfuls of baby carrots
5 parsnips, peeled and rough chopped

Wash chuck roast. Season generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Coat with flour.

Place floured roast into oiled skillet and brown lightly on both sides.

While browning roast, add diced onions to skillet.

Transfer roast and onions to greased crock-pot. Toss in whole garlic cloves, carrots, potatoes, parsnips and bay leaf.

Pour in 1/2 can beef broth over roast and add salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or 5 to 6 hours on high.

Cherry Chocolate Cake

I love this cake and so does Mike Roesch. This is my Aunt Jean's recipe. I think about her when I make it!

Pre-heat oven to 350

1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 can of cherry pie filling, if you like lots of cherries you can add to cans.
1/4 c. of vegetable oil
2 eggs
1tsp. almond extract

Mix by hand and pour into a 13x9 baking pan.

Cook for 25 minutes. I always check to see if its done by sticking a toothpick in the middle. Sometimes it's not.

While baking you can make your own icing like my Aunt Jean does. She was a much better woman then I am. I use store bought icing.

Icing
Boil 1c. sugar, 1/2 stick margarine, 1/3 c. milk. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add 1 c. chocolate chips.

Club Salad

My mom made this salad one Summer for Lunch when my dad was working from home. She wanted it to be manly but healthy. I love this salad, you definitely aren't hungry after eating it.

You can choose whatever you like to put in it. I'll tell you what I did but you should change it for what fits your family.

1 bag of Romaine Lettuce
1 tomato, diced.
1/2 of a red onion, thinly sliced.
1 cucumber, cubed.
1 cup of shredded cheese
4 slices of bacon, crumbled.
8 slices of turkey lunch meat, sliced.
1 cup of frozen peas.

Eat with your favorite dressings, I like Ranch or Blue Cheese :)