Delicious Chicken Pot Pie

I only have one word for this recipe...YUM!  We love this chicken pot pie and it has quickly become a favorite meal in our house.  I've made this for my parents and for friends, and everyone loves it.  Before making this recipe, I'd never had chicken pot pie, but now I know it's a delicious meal!

This recipe is another from the fabulous website of Recipezaar.com.  It's easy to put together and I usually like to prep the veggies ahead of time, so I can just throw it all together and bake it.  I use store bought pie crust (because it's easy and tasty!), cut back the chicken to 2 cups and as usual, use whole wheat flour and skim milk.  I highly recommend this pot pie...it's amazing.

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Prepped veggies.

Pre-bake.

   

Post baked and after we ate some. :)

Delicious Chicken Pot Pie, by Recipezaar

Ingredients

• 1 cup potato, diced
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1/3 cup melted margarine
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 2 pie crusts (either store bought or your own recipe)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Sauté onion, celery, carrots and potatoes in butter for 10 minutes.
3. Add flour to sautéed mixture, stirring well Cook one minute stirring constantly.
4. Combine broth and half and half.
5. Gradually stir into vegetable mixture.
6. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.
7. Stir in salt and pepper; add chicken and stir well.
8. Pour into shallow 2 quart casserole dish and top with pie shells.
9. Cut slits to allow steam to escape.
10. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly and cooked through.

Flash Roasted Crispy Ranch Chicken

Let me just start out by saying that if you like ranch dressing and tortilla chips, you have to try this recipe.  This chicken is so quick, easy and most of all delicious!  When I went to college, my mom got me a Campbell’s Soup cookbook that is filled with quick and easy recipes.  This is definitely my favorite recipe from the book! 

The chicken is breaded in a ranch/cream of chicken soup mix, then coated with tortilla chips and baked in the oven.  Delicious and so simple!

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

 

Served with brown rice and veggies.  Yum!

Campbell’s Flash Roasted Crispy Ranch Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (1 ounce) envelope ranch dressing mix, I use Hidden Valley
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast half, about 4
• 1 1/2 cups tortilla chips, finely crushed
• 1-2 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions

1. In a shallow dish mix soup, milk and dressing mix.  Reserve 1 c for sauce.
2. Dip chicken into soup mixture.
3. Coat with tortilla chips.
4. Place chicken on a greased baking sheet.
5. Drizzle with margarine or butter.
6. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 min or until chicken is no longer pink.
7. In a small saucepan over med heat or microwave, heat reserved soup mixture to a boil.  Serve over or with chicken.

Awesome Carrot Cake

Yesterday, my parents and grandma came up to visit us, meet our puppy and have dinner.  With dinner, of course, I just had to make dessert!  Since December, I've "owed" my dad a carrot cake (we make deals where I owe him a cake/treat/etc.) and this was my chance to finally make it for him. 

I found this recipe years ago on Recipezaar.  It is the BEST carrot cake I've ever had!  It's got carrots, coconut, pineapple and walnuts in it, which creates a delicious, chunky texture.  Plus, it's so moist and flavorful.  Stop what you're doing right now...and go make this cake!  It's that good.  In fact, I just had a piece for breakfast!  What?  It's got veggies and fruit in it, so it's healthy right? :)

As usual, I made some "healthier" modifications: whole wheat flour, egg whites, 1/2 applesauce for the oil and I cut back on the sugar by 1/4 cup.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

Pineapple, carrots and coconut.

 

The batter all mixed.

 

One layer, just flipped out of the pan.

 

Frosted with cream cheese icing and sprinkled with coconut.

 

About to be my breakfast!

Why-I-Joined-Zaar Carrot Cake, by Recipezaar

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

FROSTING THAT SARA USED

• 1 (8 ounce) (light - 1/3 the fat) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

3. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; make a well in the center and add sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.

4. Mix with wooden spoon until smooth.

5. Stir in carrots, coconut, walnuts and pineapple.

6. Pour into 9x13 inch pan and bake for about 45 minutes.

7. Don't panic, the center will sink a little.

8. Allow to cool; when cool, ice the cake.

9. For frosting: Cream butter and cream cheese.  Add sugar, 1 cup at a time and then vanilla.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Hello blog world!  I'm sorry that I've been MIA lately, but our new puppy has been keeping us pretty busy.  I've been taking pictures of the meals that I've made, but I just haven't found the time to blog about them...until now.

So, getting back in action, I present to you a delicious BBQ Chicken Pizza!  I love pizza and I love BBQ sauce, so whoever created the idea of BBQ Chicken Pizza is a hero in my book.  This recipe is from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade on Food Network.  Unlike a traditional BBQ Chicken Pizza, this one has sliced apples and bacon bits on top, which adds a great texture to it.  I've made this a few times and Jeremy and I love it.  I've always cooked it in the oven, as opposed to cooking it on the grill, as the recipe directs but I get it'd be great and crispy that way.  Use your favorite BBQ sauce and add any additional toppings that you'd like.  Cilantro goes great on BBQ Chicken Pizza! 

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Pre-baked.

Post-baked.

 

Ready to eat!

BBQ Chicken Pizza, by Sandra Lee

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound chicken cutlets
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza dough (recommended: Pillsbury)
• 1 cup BBQ sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup green apple, sliced
• 1/4 cup real bacon bits
• 2 green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Set up grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat. Oil grate when ready to start cooking.
2. Brush chicken with vegetable oil, season with salt and pepper. Place chicken on the grill and cook until done, about 2 minutes per side. When done, slice into 1-inch pieces, reserve.
3. Spray a perforated disposable cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Carefully remove pizza dough from can. Unroll dough and place on cookie sheet on the grill. Let cook 2 minutes and turn pizza over.
4. Spread BBQ sauce over pizza leaving a 1-inch border. Next, top with mozzarella cheese, diced apples, chicken, and bacon pieces.
5. Cover with grill lid and cook 5 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
6. Serve hot, topped with green onions.
7. Cook's Note: Cooking indoors: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. Carefully unroll dough and place on prepared baking sheet. Press out dough with clean hands to form 13 by 9-inch rectangle. Use oven mitts to place baking sheet in preheated oven. Bake in for 7 minutes or until crust just begins to brown. Use oven mitts to remove crust from oven and top as directed. Use oven mitts to return to oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted and has begun to bubble.

Steak Sandwich

Last night for dinner, Jeremy and I decided to have Philly Cheesesteaks.  I've only eaten a Philly Cheesesteak about twice in my life, but they sure are delicious.  This wasn't exactly a Philly cheesesteak though, it was more just a steak sandwich...but it was yummy and it's the thought that counts right?

For this dinner, I just kinda "winged" it, and I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.  I'm sure you could add more spices and more ingredients to jazz it up a bit; however, we enjoyed this simple, cheesy steak sandwich, and it'll definitely appear on our menu again.

Enjoy!

 

The cooked steak.

 

Grilled onions.

 

Hot out of the broiler.

 

I served mine open-faced, with fries and fruit.

Steak Sandwich, by Me

Ingredients

• Steak (I used boneless ribeye)
• 1/3 of a large onion, sliced
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Provolone cheese
• Hamburger buns

Directions

1. Season steak with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a frying pan to medium high.  Grill steak until desired wellness.  Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In same pan, grill onions until desired likeness.
3. Place steak and onion on hamburger buns.
4. Top with provolone cheese.
5. Broil for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.