Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

I made this up myself, and it turned out so delicious! :) Yummy. Kevin and Maci both enjoyed it too!

Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes
Sour Cream-8-16 ounces
Shredded Cheese-1-2 cups
Butter-a few tablespoons
Broccoli-1 bag frozen florets or similar amount
Crispy Bacon pieces (I had cooked the night before)-5-10 pieces
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Bake Potatoes. I cheated and used a bag that you put them in, in the microwave. While potatoes are baking, saute broccoli in butter on the stove until soft. Cut the potatoes in half, making sure to they stay in-tact. Scoop the potato out with a spoon but make sure to leave a nice shell that will hold up to stuff! I transferred the potatoes to a baking sheet covered in foil.

Put together this mixture: Potato that you scooped, sour cream, bacon, broccoli, bacon, cheese, and salt and pepper. Mix it well. Stuff that mixture onto potato shells, and top with a bit more cheese-bake for 15 minutes or so at 400 degrees until warmed through and a bit crispy on top.

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

I loved these potatoes, they were just delicious. I was in a hurry, so I cut them a bit smaller, and roasted them at a bit higher temperature, and they still came out delicious! We had them with a pork loin and green beans.

Original Recipe: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/sidevegetabledishes/r/rosemarypotato.htm
Ingredients:

• 4-6 large potatoes, chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together until potatoes are lightly coated with olive oil.

Place potatoes on a baking pan, and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove potatoes from oven and gently toss, turning the potatoes over as needed. Bake for another 25 minutes or until potatoes are done roasting. Enjoy your rosemary potatoes!

Taco Chicken Bowls

Facebook is old news. Pinterest is the new internet addiction, it has everything! I found this http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011/07/taco-chicken-bowls-1066-recipe-133.html gem of an it easy recipe recently, and it turned out great! I would add more spice though-it wasn't spicy enough for my liking:)

INGREDIENTS

1.5 lbs. chicken breasts

1 (16 oz.) jar salsa

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) frozen corn

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 Tbsp cumin

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp salt to taste cracked pepper

2 cups dry rice

8 oz. shredded cheddar

1/2 bunch cilantro

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1: Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro to the slow cooker along with 1/4 cup of water (for good measure). Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.

STEP 2: Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hrs.

STEP 3: Near the end of the cooking time, cook the two cups of rice according to the package directions (Bring the rice and 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot with a lid in place, as soon as it reaches a boil, reduced the heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving).

STEP 4: After 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be super tender and will shred easily). Build the taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro. (I forgot cilantro)

Crockpot Italian Chicken

Kevin really enjoyed this one! It was so-so for me:) I love crock pot recipes.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing (Regular is fine but I like zesty better. Sometimes I use a packet and a half.)

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)

I added salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and some other random spices.

Directions:

Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice. We served over bow ties.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

My friend Jaime gave me this one:)

Ingredients

Brown Sugar, 4 tsp unpacked

Chicken Breast, no skin, 12 ounces

Garlic, 1 clove

Butter, salted, 2 tbsp

Salt, 1 tsp

Pepper, black, 1 dash

Directions

This makes four servings, 3 oz per person

1. Melt the butter in a frying pan

2. Brown the garlic in the butter

3. Add chicken breasts to garlic and butter and cook thoroughly, adding salt and pepper as you like it.

4. When chicken is fully cooked add brown sugar on top of each breast

5. Allow the brown sugar to melt into the chicken (about 5 minutes)

6. Serve with your favorite carb, and veggie or salad. We usually have rice or noodles and carrots or green beans.

No clue why this picture is mini-sized:)

Pizza Fondue

I stole this from a friend-but I didn't do it the same way because we don't have a fondue pot...it was so delicious though! I am not sure this is a real dinner item, but I have been craving pizza lately and Kevin is sick of it, so I decided to throw this in the mix for dinner, but truly its a great appetizer!

Ingredients:
1 can/jar pizza sauce
1 bag (2 cups) Mozzarella cheese
1 bag (2 cups) Cheddar or other cheese
Pepperoni-cut up and whole
French Bread

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Heat sauce and cheese in saucepan until melted, then add cut up pepperoni, as little or much as you like-I like a lot.

When all melted together, transfer to casserole dish, top with whole pepperoni slices and bake 10-15 minutes or so until pepperoni is crisp (I broiled a bit at the very end) Serve with warm crispy french bread pieces!

Mmmmmmm! (ignore the grease, I might use turkey pepperoni next time)

Herbed Oven-Fried Chicken

I enjoyed this one, I just never usually have buttermilk sitting around-but I had made bran muffins, so I needed to use it up. I made them into chicken tenders instead of breasts and served with cheesy potatoes and green beans. I found this recipe in Midwest Living Magazine.

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 pounds total)
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon regular salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1-1/4 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or fine dry bread crumbs
• 3/4 tsp. ground sage
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
• 1/4 tsp. dried savory, crushed
• 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag set in a bowl.

2. For marinade: In a small bowl, stir together buttermilk and half of the salt. Pour over chicken. Seal bag; turn to coat chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.

3. Grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. In a small bowl, combine egg and the water. In a shallow dish, mix panko, sage, thyme, savory, pepper and the remaining salt. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Dip chicken pieces, one at a time, into egg mixture; coat with crumb mixture.

4. In prepared baking pan, arrange chicken so pieces are not touching. Sprinkle with any remaining crumb mixture.

5. Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree F oven about 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F). Do not turn pieces while baking. Makes 4 servings.