BBQ Chicken Spaghetti

So anyone who reads this blog on a some-what regular basis will know that I love ranch and cilantro. Well Picky Palate has done it again! She has created yet another fabulous meal using my favorite ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 lb. angel hair

4 Tbsp. olive oil (I know I am bad, but I used butter!)

1/2 large red onion, diced

2 Tbsp. + ranch dressing mix

3/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves

shredded bbq chicken (I put 3 chicken breasts in the crock pot topped with KC Masterpiece for 4-5 hours on low)

Directions:

1. Cook noodles according to package. Drain and run under cold water.

2. Place olive oil (or butter :) in large pot over medium heat and saute the diced red onion. Add cooked noodles, ranch, and cilantro. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Place noodle mixture on serving plates and top with shredded bbq chicken.

Waffle Pancakes

Mmmmm, these were so good! I found this recipe on Picky Palate a long time ago and just recently gave them a try for the first time...love them! Buttermilk just makes everything better. I highly recommend giving these a try...they would make a great Easter morning breakfast! Side note though- I have a Belgian waffle iron and the recipe only made 3. I'm sure you would get at least twice as many off a regular waffle iron though. Either way, plan according to what you need.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 stick melted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. sugar

Directions:

1. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix wet ingredients until just combined.

2. Cook in waffle iron and serve hot with lots of butter and syrup!

Chicken Spaghetti

So if you haven't had the chance to buy the Pioneer Woman's cookbook yet, I highly recommend it. She has tried and true, no fail recipes, there are always a crowd pleaser. I think she's one of my favorites now. This was a great alternative to traditional spaghetti and we enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

1 cut-up fryer chicken (I used chicken breasts)

1 lb. thin spaghetti

4oz. jar diced pimentos, drained

1 small onion, diced

1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp. seasoned salt

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Add chicken to stock pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 25 minutes.

2. Remove chicken from water and set aside to cool.

3. Remove 2 cups of broth from the pot and set aside.

4. Bring remaining broth back to a boil and add spaghetti. Cook til al dente.

5. Drain spaghetti and discard liquid.

6. Shred chicken using 2 forks.

7. Place the cooked spaghetti in a large bowl. Add the cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups cheese, onion, green pepper, and pimentos. Add seasoned salt and peppers.

8. Add the chicken and reserved broth.

9. Stir together well and taste to check seasonings.

10. Pour mixture into a large baking dish, top with remaining cheese, and bake for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Homestyle Pizza

Mmmm, good ole homemade pizza. We have been making pizza regularly at our house lately. It's such an easy throw it together meal that everyone loves it. The above pictured pizza is a pretty typical one you'd find at our house- black olives for the kids and either pepperoni or sausage for us. I love the pizza dough recipe I found over at Our Family Treat a few months back. We use it for pizza, calzones, stromboli, pizza rolls, etc. Love it, love it!

Ingredients:

pizza dough

marinara sauce (I use prego meat sauce and add italian seasonings to it)

mozzarella cheese or pizza blend

toppings of choice

Directions:

Roll out dough to desired shape- rectangle or circle. Add sauce and cheese and top with your favorite toppings. Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Ranch Mac n' Cheese

I came across this recipe while browsing the Recipe Shoebox a few weeks ago. I figured with how much we love ranch dressing in this house I had to give it a try. The kids absolutely loved it. It is very strong and full of flavor so I will probably serve it a s a side next time. It would make a great side for a bbq or picnic!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (16-oz.) elbow macaroni

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. garlic pepper blend

1 tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning

1 cup (4-oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup (4-oz.) shredded Colby cheese

1 cup (8-oz.) sour cream

1/2 cup crushed saltines

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the milk, butter, dressing mix, and seasonings; heat through. Stir in Monterrey Jack and Colby cheeses until melted. Stir in sour cream.

Drain macaroni; stir into cheese sauce. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with crushed saltines and Parmesan cheese.

Grilled Ribeye with Blue Cheese & Onions

This meal is always by request of my husband. He absolutely loves this steak. I am not a personal fan of blue cheese so I usually pull out a few sauteed onions to put on mine. This recipe is from the Pioneer Woman, so if you like blue cheese, there's no doubt it's going to be good. She is one amazing cook!

Ingredients:

2 ribeye steaks

butter

salt

pepper

4 Tbsp. butter

large yellow onion, sliced or diced

3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions:

1. Butter each side of each steak and season with salt and pepper. Grill until medium-rare, or desired doneness.

2. Saute onion in 4 Tbsp. butter over high heat until dark and caramelized. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in heavy cream. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in blue cheese until melted. Serve steaks on or over the sauce.

The Perfect Dinner Roll

So I found this recipe over at My Kitchen Cafe and thought it was a nice basic dinner roll. I still love my family favorite roll that I make all the time but they are a little sweeter so this was a nice change. It's good to change things up every once in a while. These are a perfect compliment to a nice bowl of soup, nice and thick. My family enjoyed them, they were simple to make, and only make a dozen at a time. Give them a try and see what you think.

*Makes 12 rolls - if doubling the recipe (which I do all the time), only increase the yeast to 1 tablespoon or else the dough will taste to yeast-y*

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour (I've had great results using half white, half wheat flour, also)
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
Whisk water, oil, sugar, and yeast together in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup until the yeast dissolves. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or by hand, mix flour, potato flakes, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt until well combined. Add water mixture in a steady stream with the mixer on low (or stir in by hand) until the dough comes together, about one minute. Knead the dough until it is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl, about 6 minutes (add additional flour if absolutely necessary to make a soft dough that doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl while kneading). Knead the dough briefly until it forms a smooth ball.

Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about an hour and a half. (For a quicker rising method, before you start making the dough, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. When the oven has reached 200 degrees, turn the oven off. Place the covered bowl in the oven and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.)

Punch down the dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces (divide into quarters and cut each quarter into thirds). Form each piece of dough into a ball by lightly cupping the dough in the palm of your hand and rolling it on an unfloured or ungreased surface in a circular motion until it forms a smooth ball.

Transfer to a parchment-lined or lightly greased rimmed baking sheet. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (about an hour). (Again, you can return to the warm oven and let rise for 20 minutes for a quicker method.) If you are making them the night before, do not let them go through this rise, instead transfer to the refrigerator. Take the rolls out 2 hours before baking to allow them to come to room temperature and rise.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush rolls with lightly beaten egg and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve.

Chocolate Dipped Tofee Sugar Cookies

Mmmm, and just in time for Valentine's Day! I found this idea on Our Best Bites last year and thought they looked so yummy. I used my own sugar cookie recipe and crushed Skor candy bars instead of using Heath bits. I definitely recommend using semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate. Milk chocolate just doesn't do it for me. I thought they turned out great.

1 recipe for sugar cookies, you want the cookies a little firm so they don't break when dipping

dipping chocolate, I used Baker's semi-sweet

white chocolate chips or almond bark

Heath bits or crushed Skor/Heath candy bars

1. Make sure your cookies have cooled completely. I baked mine the day before and placed them in a sealed container. If you want to dip them same-day, I recommend putting them in the freezer for a little while.

2. Melt your chocolate according to packaging. Place melted chocolate in a shallow bowl. Dip one-half of the cookie in the chocolate. Smooth out chocolate and remove excess with a small rubber spatula. Place dipped cookie on a lined (parchment or wax paper) cookie sheet. Top immediately with toffee bits. Place sheet of cookies in refrigerator until chocolate sets up.

3. Melt white chocolate according to package. Pour into a ziploc bag and snip corner of bag. Drizzle chocolate over dipped cookies and return to refrigerator to set up.

4. Remove from wax paper and remove any excess chocolate.

*keep refrigerator till ready to serve.

Secret Ingredient Burger

I've been meaning to share this tip on here for a while but I could never remember to take a picture when we had burgers. I finally remembered! My sister told me geeez...probably over a year ago to add a Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce to a pound of ground beef before shaping my burger patties and it would add the best flavor. I've heard a lot of restaurants do this. So I did, she was right and we've done it ever since. Try it and see!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef (I like to use 80/20 for burgers)

1 Tbsp. +/- Worcestershire sauce

garlic salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine ground beef and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Shape into hamburger patties then season with garlic salt and pepper, to taste. Grill to your desired done-ness (yes, I just made that word up).

Meatball Calzones

I found this pizza dough recipe on Lindsay's blog Our Family Treat a month or so ago and I love it! I have made both pizzas and calzones with it and it always turns out great. It's super simple to throw together and it only has to rise for 20 minutes so it's a quick meal to make. I usually divide the dough into four equal parts when making calzones and it makes 4 pretty large ones. Try it and let me know what you think. Stop by Lindsay's blog as well, she's got some great recipes!

Dough

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Yeast

1 Cup 2 Tablespoons warm water

1 Tablespoon Sugar

Set aside and let grow.

2 Tablespoons Shortening

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Sugar

3 Cups flour

Combine, and then add yeast mixture.

Once mixed well, let rise for twenty minutes.

Calzone Ingredients:

meatballs (I put approx. 4-5 meatballs, cut in half, in each one)

marinara sauce

4 slices mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Divide your dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each piece out into a small circle.

2. Put about 1 Tbsp. of marinara sauce on one side of the circle, top with meatballs, a slice of cheese, and 1 more Tbsp. of sauce. Fold over dough and seal edges with prongs of a fork. Repeat with each pizza dough.

3. Lightly brush the tops of the calzones with olive oil and cut a small slit in each one.

4. Lightly dust a pan with corn meal and place the calzones on it.

5. Place in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (This is a lighter dough so it won't get too brown)

I also highly recommend Calzone Supreme too, it's my favorite but the kids don't usually go for it. I'll list the "inner ingredients" for any interested.

Calzone Supreme:

marinara

mozzarella cheese

thinly sliced red onion

thinly sliced green bell pepper

sliced black olives

pepperoni

meatballs

mushrooms