GARLIC CHEDDAR CHEESY CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI PASTA

I love playing with sauces. This one was created because I found a very interesting, festive new cheese at Costco the other day. It is a cranberry white cheddar cheese. YUM! Definitely different, anyway. And an inspiration to get a little crazy in the kitchen.

I hope you enjoy this new rendition of a delicious cheese sauce for pasta, veggies, or whatever else you like.

Recipe

Broccoli, rinsed and chopped into 1-inch pieces

Chicken, cooked and chopped into 1-inch pieces

Spaghetti noodles (your favorite type), broken into 3-inch segments

Butter – 2 T

Whole wheat pastry flour – 2T

Milk – ½ C

Garlic clove, peeled and pressed - 1

Cranberry White Cheddar cheese, crumbled – ½ C

Boil and salt water to cook noodles. Put a steamer basket on top of the noodle pot (make sure it fits well) and steam the broccoli pieces at the same that you cook the noodles. When the  noodles are done (boil about 10 minutes) the broccoli should be tender. Remove both from the burner and drain noodles right away.

Place chicken, noodles and broccoli in a large bowl and make sauce.

For the sauce, in a saucepan, melt butter on low. Add flour and whisk together, then heat over medium until bubbly. Be careful not to burn! Add in milk and whisk to make sure it combines well. Add in garlic clove, freshly pressed. When well combined, cook until sauce starts to thicken a little, and is the thickness you prefer for your intended dish.

Mix in cheese and stir until it is melted. Pour over noodles, broccoli and chicken.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

CHICKEN AND PARMESAN SHEPARD’S CASSEROLE

Staying with our chicken and green bean theme…and Parmesan. Easy, affordable, and yum!

Recipe

Russet potatoes, half-peeled and diced – 6 large

Butter – 2 T

Milk – ½ C to 1 C

Salt – 2 teaspoons

Corn kernels, frozen – 1 C

Green beans, canned, drained – 2 cans

Chicken meat, cooked and chunked – 1 ½ C

Parmesan Cheese, shredded – 1 C

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place potato chunks in cold water and bring to a boil. When potatoes have boiled and become tender, drain the potatoes, and place in a large bowl with the butter. Once the butter has melted, add salt and ½ cup of milk. Blend until creamy, adding milk to bring them to your desired consistency.

Layer green beans, chicken and corn in the pan. Top with potatoes. Cover with foil and let bake about 25 minutes.

Top with parmesan, return to the oven, and allow cheese to melt (uncovered) – about 10 minutes.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE WITH CHICKEN AND PARMESAN

This will probably be your new favorite green bean casserole. We’ve eaten it four times in the past few weeks. Just saying…

Recipe

Butter – 2 T

Flour (white or wheat) – 2 T

Salt – 1 teaspoon

Honey – 1 teaspoon

Onion – 1/3 C diced

Sour Cream – ½ C

Non-fat Greek Yogurt – ½ C

Green beans, canned, drained – 2 cans

Chicken meat, cooked and chunked – 1 ½ C

Parmesan Cheese, shredded – 1 C

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt two tablespoons of butter over low heat. Stir in flour and salt, and cook over medium-low for about one minute, or until smooth. Remove from heat, stir in salt, sugar, onion, sour cream and non-fat greek yogurt. Stir in green beans and cooked chicken chunks.

Spread into a 13 X 9 pan, and top with Parmesan cheese. You can also top with crushed buttery crackers if you desire.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until bubbly.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

PUMPKIN CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE WITH ALMOND GLAZE

Pumpkin is never-ending in my house from October to December. We love it! Here is another recipe from our pumpkin-loving home to yours. 

Recipe

Cake Ingredients

Pumpkin puree – 1 ½ C

Sugar – 1 C

Oil – 2/3 C

Almond extract – 2 teaspoons

Large Eggs – 4

Whole wheat flour (finely-ground) – 4 C

Baking soda – 2 teaspoons

Salt – 1 teaspoon

Ground cinnamon – 1 teaspoon

Cloves – ½ teaspoon

Baking powder – ½ teaspoon

Chocolate chips – 1 C

Chopped walnuts – ½ C

Chopped cranberries – 1 C

Frosting Ingredients

Butter – 1/3 C

Powdered sugar – 2 C

Almond extract – 2 teaspoons

Hot water – 3-4 T

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Move oven rack to middle position in the oven.  Grease two round cake pans.

Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, almond extract and eggs. Stir in flour through baking power just until mixed. Then add chocolate chips, walnuts and cranberries and stir just until evenly incorporated.

Pour into greased cake pans and bake for 20-35 minutes, checking to see when just browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

As the cake cools, prepare the frosting. Melt the butter then remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and almond extract, then whip in just enough water until you reach the desired consistency.

When cake has cooled, remove from pans, plate them, and simply pour over frosting.

Realizing this does have sugar in it, still ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

ROASTED APPLE PUMPKIN SEEDS

Pumpkin seeds are a tradition in our home. My kids love to gnaw on them, and I love to make them. 

We always use and re-use and re-use our pumpkins each October. First we paint them. Super cute. The kids always get one to decorate however they like.

Then, after Halloween is over, I wash them, bake them, and puree them. Voila! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, etc.

And just when you thought we were through, we use the seeds, we roast them and then devour them.

Like I said, we use and re-use and re-use the heck out of them. Now you can too!

Recipe

Pumpkin seeds – 3 C

Oil – 2 T

Apple cider packet - 1

Heat oven to 300 degrees F.

Clean seeds of most pulp and strings. Rinse. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with cider mix. Mix until well covered.

Bake on a foil-lined sheet for 40-50 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times. Make sure to take out of the oven when they have started to brown.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

ROATSED CORN WITH HONEY BASIL BUTTER

Growing up, we always had boiled corn. So I didn’t realize corn could be so delicious roasted in the husk in the oven. YUM!

Good anytime, and definitely improved with basil butter. Make this tonight and enjoy.

Recipe

Corn ears – 6

Butter – 3 T

Basil, fresh, finely chopped – 1 teaspoon

Honey – 1 T

Keep corn in the husk, rinse and roast in oven at 350 F for 30 minutes or until soft.

While corn is roasting, soften butter for 5-8 seconds in the microwave, just until soft. Do not melt it. After softened, stir in honey and basil.

Just before eating, slather corn in herbed butter and devour.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

GOAT CHEESE MASHED POTATOES

Goat cheese is delicious. It is like cheese meets awesome. Pungent, sharp, surprising, bright. It adds so much to whatever you make. With the exception of maybe, fudge? Well, we’ll have to play around with that too. Maybe we could make something work.

Something you KNOW is going to be enhanced by goat cheese is mashed potatoes. They are a staple comfort food, but can often lack depth of flavor or interesting components.

This recipe changes that. Try this. Don’t tell your family about your experiment. Simply make your mashed potatoes (with the extra special ingredient) and serve them up. I did this and the kids (who don’t love goat cheese or mashed potatoes) actually ate them!

Why do I make mashed potatoes with goat cheese if my kids don’t love them? Simple. I do. Gotta do something for the mom once in a while, right?  J

Recipe

Russet potatoes – 2 pounds

Water

Butter – ¼ C

Milk – ½ to ¾ C

Goat cheese – 4 oz of chunks

Salt – 1-3 teaspoons (to taste)

Wash and scrub potatoes. Peel off only about half of the peels. Cut into 1 inch chunks. Put in a large pot and cover with cold water. Put on to boil. Boil until tender.

Drain potatoes. Put in a large bowl, add butter and allow to melt. Add ½ C milk and whip with electric beater. Add goat cheese and more milk (to desired consistency) and whip until well combined. Salt to taste.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!