BBQ Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

So when I was making up my menu this week, I was really in the mood for macaroni and cheese, but wanted a new twist on my usual buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese.  I thought, why can't I do this with barbecue sauce?  So that's what I did. It came out really good!  Next time, I will add a little more barbecue sauce, or bake it a little less so that it's moister.  Yum!

Look at that cheesy goodness!  

I obviously couldn't wait to dig in, so I don't have a picture of the complete dish.  Whoops!

BBQ Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
1 pound fusilli
1 pound cooked, shredded chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium green pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup barbecue sauce
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350. Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling.  Add pasta and cook per directions on box; drain.
Place pepper over open flame to roast.  Turn frequently until the outside is charred.  Wait until cool, rub off charred layer and cut into small pieces.
In a saucepan, melt 3 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.  Sprinkle in flour, and whisk for 1 minute.  Pour in milk, garlic, and sauce, whisking until it boils. Simmer three minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in  8 ounces cheese.  Add pasta, peppers, and chicken.  Put in a casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
Microwave remaining tablespoon of butter for 30 seconds.  Stir in breadcrumbs and sprinkle over cheese.  Bake 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbled and breadcrumbs are crunchy.
Enjoy!

Blueberry Torte

Though dinner for when Tara came over was only okay, dessert was rockin'.  (If I do say so myself).  Blueberries were on sale this week (buy one get one free!) so I picked up a couple of cartons and opted to make something with blueberries... plus if there's fruit, it's healthy right?  I also liked this recipe because I made it the night before, and then just added the blueberries right before I served it.

Look at those blueberries, dripping with sugar!

Simmering Blueberries!

I apologize for the half-eaten pie, we couldn't contain ourselves enough to take a picture of the whole thing!!

Blueberry Torte!

Blueberry Torte

Ingredients:
1 ready-made graham cracker crust (I know, I cheated a little!)
1 8-oz. package 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 cup sugar, divided
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup fresh blueberries + a handful of mashed blueberries
2 Tbsp. flour

Preparation:
Cream together cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, and eggs.  Pour over crust and bake for 25 minutes at 325.  Throw the rest of the sugar, flour, and the mashed blueberries into a small saucepan and cook until thick.  Add the berries and cool.  Cool cake in refrigerator with berries separate if planning on serving the next day.  The berries may be spooned on top right away if planning on serving a few hours later.
Enjoy!

Source: The Country Art of Blueberry Cookery

Country Chicken

Today we had company over for dinner, Matt's cousin Tara!  I wanted to make something really yummy but more on the healthier side, so I picked this recipe from one of my cookbooks.  It turned out okay, but not as good as I would have hoped.  It also took a little longer to cook than anticipated because the chicken was still a little frozen when I started cooking.  Whoops!  Good thing there was good conversation to be had while we waited!

Country Chicken

Country Chicken

Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons butter
3.5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 large zucchini, sliced
2 large green peppers, sliced
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup white wine

Preparation:
In a large skillet, brown the chicken in butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Place onion in pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover and cook slowly about 15 minutes.
In another skillet, heat 1.5 tablespoons olive oil and saute zucchini and peppers until soft (about 10 minutes).  Sprinkle with basil.  Transfer veggies to skillet with chicken and pour in wine.  Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes, or until chicken is very tender and veggies are cooked.
Enjoy!

Source: The Culinary Arts Institute Cookbook

Chicken Stir Fry

So I probably should have decided what I wanted to cook for dinner with the chicken I pulled out sooner than 10 minutes before I decided to start cooking.  That way, I could have actually marinated my chicken, but a quick marinade had to do for today, whoops!  However, I was really excited to use my electric wok for the first time!  I felt super fancy!  I also should have read the directions a little better because it said to wipe off the chicken before throwing it into the wok, which I didn't do, but then it burned onto the wok.  Then, after I threw the water in to steam everything, the burnt part came off and came into the food flavor.  Oh well, now I know for next time!  All in all, the meal came out pretty good, plus the Quick Pickled Cucumbers I made were a lovely crisp bite in between.  Super easy for summer!

Chicken Stir Fry

Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon white wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or as needed
1 frozen package broccoli florets
1 medium zucchini
2 tablespoons water
2 cloves minced garlic

Preparation:
Combines soy sauce, wine, and sugar in medium bowl.  Add chicken and refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes.  Remove chicken and pat dry.
Cook broccoli one minute less than directions on package.
Warm a wok (if you have one) or a deep frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add 2 teaspoons of oil and heat.  Add half of chicken, cook without stirring for 1 minute, then stir and cook until browned.  Transfer chicken to clean bowl. Heat 2 teaspoons oil and repeat with remaining chicken.
Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil and heat.  Add broccoli and zucchini.  Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to just soften, 2 to 4 minutes.  Add water and continue to cook vegetables until vegetables are crisp and tender, 1 to 2 minutes more.  Push vegetables to side of pan, add garlic to the center and cook for 15-30 seconds.  Return vegetables to center and combine.  Return chicken and any juices; stir to combine.  Pour in broth.  Cook, stirring constantly; until chicken is cooked through.

Quick Pickled Cucumbers

Cucumbers are not my favorite vegetable.  Actually, I almost never eat them unless they are in something.  Actually, I always pick them out and only eat them in tzatziki and as pickles.  Oh well, I like other vegetables, so give me a break!  However when I was home, my uncle gave me a bunch of vegetables from his garden and that included two cucumbers.  When I got back to my apartment, I thought, what in the world do I do with these?  One became tzatziki and the other was turned into this delicious Asian-inspired recipe for Quick Pickled Cucumbers.  Yum!  I thought they would be a nice light addition to my stir fry!

Soaking in all their glory!

Quick Pickled Cucumbers

Quick Pickled Cucumbers:

Ingredients:
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 thinly sliced english cucumber

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients except cucumber in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add cucumber.  Let stand 30 minutes (or longer for deeper flavor).  Drain.
Enjoy!

Source: Cooking Light

Golf Cupcakes

Every year at the lake we live on, there is a golf tournament.  My sister, Alyssa, wanted to make cupcakes to commemorate the event, so I decided to try my hand at being sous chef, and help her out.  We made a simple chocolate cupcake (and cheated a little) and used canned frosting.  However, we were more excited about the look.  We rolled half the cupcake in crushed graham crackers to signify  "sand traps," we rolled the other half in green sanding sugar, cut some straws and used cut pieces of paper for the flags, and used big white pearl sprinkles for golf balls.

They look like "Holes-in-One" to me!

Everyone loved them!  Well, except my Dad, the avid golfer he is, informed Alyssa and I that

having a sand trap that close to the hole wouldn't happen and therefore they weren't accurate.  We told him we weren't going for accurate, we were going for cute!  

Golf Cupcakes 

Clearly we succeeded. 

Cake Batter Fudge

I really was in the mood for something sweet today, but I had limited ingredients and didn't want to turn on the oven.  Voila, this recipe fit the bill!  (Plus, it had me at "cake batter.")
I of course was so excited to make the fudge and realized too late that I didn't have any yellow cake mix, so I decided to give it a go with chocolate.  It turned out super yummy!  (Though my sister, Alyssa informed me that it would have been better with vanilla!)
The website also didn't say what size pan to use, so mine turned out a little thin... but that's fine because I didn't feel as guilty eating it!  Perfect!

Source: Girl Meets Life
Soundtrack: Cary Brothers

Taco Pizza

Today I decided to try my hand at another kind of pizza, taco pizza!  Giving Matt and I's affinity to Mexican food, this seemed like a perfect way to get my pizza fix in too.  I did cheat a bit and use a store-bought pizza dough for this, but I was busy this week and didn't have time to make my own!
First I browned the meat with a packet of taco seasoning.  After that,  I rolled out the dough (with my homemade rolling pin... an empty wine bottle) and spread it onto a cookie sheet.  I topped the dough with  salsa (as the sauce), the ground beef, one pepper and some fresh mozzarella.  I only used the fresh mozzarella because I needed to use it before it went bad, but you can use any cheese!

Before going in the oven

 I popped the pizza in the oven and and waited for it to come out bubbly and delicious (which it was!)  After it came out, I topped it with fresh tomatoes and fresh cilantro.  The cilantro really made it.  I can't stress enough how much better this pizza came out because of it!  I try to use fresh herbs whenever I can because of how much BETTER they make everything!!

Taco Pizza 

Anyway, though the pizza tasted super delicious, next time I would make a thicker crust because it didn't stand up to the sauce and extra liquid from the tomatoes.  It was fine for dinner, but the leftovers I had for lunch the next day I had to eat with a fork.  Oh well, it was still super yummy!

Taco Pizza

Ingredients:
1 pound pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)
1 pound ground beef
1  medium bell pepper, diced (whatever color you would like!)
1 packet taco seasoning (or your favorite taco seasonings)
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese (or whatever you have on hand)
1 cup salsa
fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425.
Add a tablespoon of oil to a skillet.
Once hot, add the ground beef and taco seasoning.
While the beef is browning, spread flour onto a clean countertop and roll out the pizza dough with a rolling pin (or wine bottle!).  Spread to desired thickness.
Move dough to greased cooking sheet.  Add salsa, then layer with cheese, ground beef, and peppers.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
After you take out the pizza, top with tomatoes and cilantro.
Enjoy!!

Zucchini Glop

Today I decided to make an old stand by in my family, "zucchini glop."  I'm not really sure where the "glop" part came from, but probably it's because that's what it looks like.  In my house, we usually just shorten the name to "glop."  My Mom usually serves this as a side dishm but you can easily make it a main course by serving it with crusty bread to dip in the sauce or with rice or couscous.
Also, this only gets better the next day.  I like to make this the day before I plan to serve it so the flavors really develop.

Zucchini Glop

Zucchini Glop

Ingredients:
1 pound Italian sausage (I used hot) or 1 pound ground beef, cut into rounds
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 ounce jar tomato sauce
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, brown the sausage over medium heat.
After it is browned, add all of the vegetables and the sauce.
Cook for about 15 minutes, covered, or until the zucchini is kind of see-through in the middle.
Remove from heat and add the cheese.
Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

Today I really wanted buffalo chicken flavor, but I had taco shells in the fridge, so I decided to marry the two and make buffalo chicken tacos.  I also decided to make them in the crockpot, so I put the chicken, 2 stalks of celery, a handful of carrots, a pepper, a cup of hot sauce, and a half cup of ranch dressing.  I put it on low and cooked everything for about 5 hours.  After 5 hours, I took the chicken out and shredded it, then put it back in the crock pot.  I let that stay in there, just as long as it took to heat some taco shells, set the table, and pour some drinks.

Buffalo Chicken Tacos 

After I set the table, I scooped out the chicken mixture, and topped each taco with bleu cheese and fresh cilantro.  They were so good!  They did turn out quite spicy though, so if you don't like spice too much, you could cook the chicken and vegetables in half a cup hot sauce, half a cup chicken stock, and half a cup ranch dressing.  You could also use bleu cheese dressing instead of the ranch and any other shredded cheese instead of the bleu!  Yay for options!

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
6 (approx.) soft taco shells
1 bell pepper, julienned
2 stalks celery, julienned
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
1/2 cup ranch or bleu cheese dressing
1 cup Frank's Red Hot (or 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup chicken stock)
1/4 cup bleu cheese
Chopped cilantro, for garnish

Directions:
Place chicken, vegetables, hot sauce, and dressing in crock pot.  Cook on low for approximately 5 hours.  Take chicken out and shred it with two forks.  Place back in crock pot.  Heat tortilla shells in microwave according to packaging.  Fill taco shell with approximately 1 scoop of chicken mixture, top with bleu cheese and garnish with cilantro.  Serve with rice if you want.  (Knorr makes buffalo chicken rice.)
Enjoy!