Parmesan chicken drumsticks

Ingredients:

12 chicken drumsticks 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese 1 cup Italian bread crumbs 1 egg

1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.	In a shallow bowl, mix together salt, pepper, bread crumbs and cheese. In a separate bowl, beat egg until lemon colored. Dip chicken in egg, coating well. Roll in cheese.
2.	Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) on a greased broiler pan or 9x13 pan for 45 minutes, or until brown.

Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

Always nice to find a recipe my kids like.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. mustard
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Preparation:

Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and carrots and cook for 8-10 minutes until chicken is browned on bottom. Turn chicken and add remaining ingredients. Cover pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-13 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve over hot cooked rice or couscous.

Black Bean Pot Stickers

Black Bean Filling for Pot Stickers
*measurements are approx.

1 can black beans drained
Minced onion 1/2 to 1 cup depending on how much you like
2 cloves of garlic minced
fresh or powdered ginger to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
tablespoon of sesame seeds
tablespoon of soy sauce
Sesame or Olive oil
Won Ton Wrappers

Cook the onions, garlic and ginger in oil until the onions are translucent. Add the can of beans, lemon juice, sesame seeds and soy sauce. Cooked till heated thru.

Place a spoonful in your favorite won ton wrap, pinch closed, cook and serve.

* we fried them, but on the won ton wrap wrapper all recipes provided were baked in the oven. so we'll try that next time to see the difference.

CAVATELLI WITH BREADCRUMBS, PANCETTA AND CAULIFLOWER

CAVATELLI WITH BREADCRUMBS, PANCETTA AND CAULIFLOWER

Cavatelli con Pancetta e Cavolfiore

Makes 6 servings

Simply delicious........

……….

What you’ll need:

Salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Three ¼-inch slices pancetta (about 8 ounces), cut into 1 x ¼ x ¼-inch sticks (about 1 ½ cups)
1 pound dried cavatelli, cavatappi or shells
2 medium onions, diced ½ inch (about 2 cups)
½ head cauliflower, stalks removed, florets cut into ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
Crushed red pepper
1 ½ cups hot chicken stock
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
¼ cup fine dry breadcrumbs, or as needed

……….

What to do:

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta has rendered some of it s fat and is lightly browned but still soft in the center, about 4 minutes. Don’t overcook the pancetta.

Stir the cavatelli into the boiling water. Return to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, about 10 minutes.

Stir the onion into the skillet and cook until barely wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is wilted and begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Season lightly with salt and a little crushed red pepper.

Pour the chicken stock into the skillet, bring to a boil and lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is reduced by about one-half, about 5 minutes.

If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly into sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, tossing and stirring to coat the pasta. Check the seasoning, adding salt if necessary. Stir the breadcrumbs, parsley and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil into the pot. Cook, stirring and tossing the pasta until the sauce is lightly thickened. Serve at once.

Chicken with Olives & Pinenuts

Chicken with Olives & Pinenuts
Pollo con Olive e Pignoli

Serves 6

* This recipe is from Lidia’s NEW cookbook, “Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy,” published by Alfred A. Knopf.

Pan- cooked chicken, caramelized and sticky to the fingers, moist and flavorful inside, is a favorite food around the world. If there are chicken- lovers in your family (as in mine), this Le Marche version is sure to be a hit. Its special taste and texture come from the region’s big fat Ascolane olives, which imbue the chicken with flavor, and the crunch of native pine nuts.


Though authentic Ascolane olives are fantastic in this dish, they’re only occasionally available in the United States. But other varieties of green, brine- cured Italian olives (such as Castelvetrano or Cerignola) will be delicious, too; just keep in mind that the saltiness of olives will vary, and season accordingly. “How about black olives?” you ask. And I say, “Black oil- cured olives will be delicious as well; even a green- and- black combination would be nice.”


Choose your preferred chicken pieces, too. A whole bird, cut up, is fine, though all dark meat— drumsticks and thighs—are my favorite. And if you are in a hurry (or watching your fat intake), use breast pieces. With these, you can cut the oil and butter in the recipe in half and, because breast meat cooks faster, brown the pieces initially for only 10 minutes, turn them, add the olives, then cook for an additional 10 minutes.

…………………………..

3½ to 4 pounds assorted cut- up chicken pieces

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

3 plump garlic cloves, peeled

2 bay leaves, preferably fresh

1 cup brine- cured green Italian olives or oil- cured black Italian olives

½ cup white wine

¼ cup toasted pine nuts


Recommended equipment: A 12- inch cast- iron or other heavy skillet or sauté pan, with a cover; an olive pitter


Rinse the chicken pieces, and pat dry with paper towels. Trim off excess skin and all visible fat. Cut drumsticks off the thighs; cut breast halves into two pieces each. Season the chicken all over with the salt.


Put the olive oil and butter in the pan, and set over medium- low heat. When the butter is melted and hot, lay in the chicken pieces, skin side down, in a single layer; drop the garlic cloves and bay leaves in the spaces between them.


Cover the pan, and let the chicken cook over gentle heat, browning slowly and releasing its fat and juices. After about 10 minutes, uncover the pan, turn the pieces, and move them around the pan to cook evenly, then replace the cover. Turn again in 10 minutes or so, and continue cooking covered.


While the chicken is browning, pit the olives (if they still have pits in them). If you’re using small olives like Castelvetrano, use a pitter and keep them whole. If you have larger olives (such as Ascolane or Cerignola), smash them with the blade of a chef’s knife to remove the pits, and break them into coarse chunks.


After the chicken has cooked for 30 minutes, scatter the olives onto the pan bottom, around the chicken, and pour in the wine. Raise the heat so the liquid is bubbling, cover, and cook, gradually concentrating the juices, for about 5 minutes.


Remove the lid, and cook uncovered, evaporating the pan juices, occasionally turning the chicken pieces and olives. If there is a lot of fat in the bottom of the pan, tilt the skillet and spoon off the fat from one side.Scatter the pine nuts around the chicken, and continue cooking uncovered, turning the chicken over gently until the pan juices thicken and coat the meat like a glaze.


Turn off the heat, and serve the chicken right from the skillet, or heap the pieces on a platter or in a shallow serving bowl. Spoon out any sauce and pine nuts left in the pan, and drizzle over the chicken.

crock pot chicken & rice

I tried out this recipe and the kids ate thier entire plates so I knew I needed to post it.

3-6 frozen chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 - 4oz can green chiles diced.
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Garlic salt

Rice (enough for your family)
crunchy ChowMein Noodles

Put chicken, soup, chiles, spices in the crock pot on high -4-5 hours. Low for 6-8 hours.
Once cooked through, shred chicken.
Place on top of rice
Put crunchy noodles on top of chicken.

Pour sauce over chicken and rice.

Enjoy. Yum!

Crockpot Creamy Shredded Chicken

Crockpot Creamy Shredded Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 package dry Italian seasonings mix *
1 stick butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
8oz of cream cheese (i only used 4oz)

Directions:
In a crockpot place your chicken breasts. Sprinkle on them the Italian seasoning mix. Take the stick of butter and cut it up and place it on your chicken. Cook on Low 4-6hrs. 1/2 hr before serving shred chicken while still in crock-pot. Add in cream cheese and cream of chicken soup. Stir together. Replace lid and cook until heated through. Serve over rice.

* I'm sure if you added more cream cheese it would have made it more creamy then ours was. we decided it would be great on croissant sandwiches.

*the seasoning is sold in the salad dressing aisle. (with the powered ranch dip)

Mexican Manicotti

I adapted this recipe from Simplifysupper.com, which gives you a customizable calendar every month of different recipes (no recipe is repeated) as well as shopping lists. :)

1 pound ground beef
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 can refried beans
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 package jumbo shells (I used 15)
1 can enchilada sauce, 10 ounce size
8 oz Mexican style cheese, shredded

Cook ground beef with onion. Boil jumbo shells according to package directions. In a bowl, combine cooked beef, refried beans, chili powder, oregano and 1/2 the cheese. Spoon into cooked shells. Arrange shells in the bottom of a 8*8 baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. You can also top with diced green onions, sour cream, diced tomatoes, sliced olives, etc. Bake additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

The girls both asked for seconds, which means this recipe is a keeper.

Mac N cheese

A friend made this for us after our baby was born- and my kidds loved it. Thought I'd share it!

Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 12 (You can easily divide this recipe in half: Use a 1 ½ quart casserole dish.)
1 stick butter, plus more to grease dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into ¼- ½ ” pieces
5 ½ c. milk
½ cups flour
2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 ½ c.grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 18 oz.)
1 ¼ cups grated Pecorino Romano Cheese (about 5 oz.)
1 pound elbow macaroni=5-6 c.raw macaroniHeat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3 qt. casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 TBS. butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set bread crumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 TBS. butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick. Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside. Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2-3 minutes less than manufacturer’s directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce. Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/1/2 cups cheddar cheese, ¼ c. Pecorino Romano, and bread crumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 mins. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 mins.; serve hot.

Veggie Baguettes

• 1 Loaf of baguette style french bread

• Chive and Onion cream cheese

• Grated Carrots

• Grated Cucumber

Slice the bread in 1-inch slices. Arrange bread on a cookie sheet and broil the bread on one side in the oven for a few minutes until golden brown. Spread cream cheese on the toasted side of the bread. Top with the grated carrots and cucumbers. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. Keep chilled until served.

This is great as an appetizer, or even a snack. My daughter and I can't stop eating them!