Chicken Bruschetta Bake

I recently came across this recipe and we love it! I love all the fresh ingredients and how quickly it goes together!

Here's what you need for a 8x8 pan:

1/2 bag of baby spinach

olive oil

4-5 oz Feta cheese

3 roma tomatoes

3 chicken breast

1/2 stick of butter (Or 2T butter and 1.5T Grapeseed oil)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t. each of dried basil, salt and pepper

1/2 loaf of crusty french bread

Place  spinach in greased 8 x 8 pan. Drizzle with olive oil.  Top with feta and tomato.

Melt the butter and add garlic and grapeseed oil.

(Just discovered grapeseed oil and I am hooked! Better for you than even olive oil. Read more about health benefits here.)

Add the salt, pepper and basil.

Dip the chicken in the butter/oil mixture to coat.

Place chicken in pan on other ingredients. Pour any extra butter mixture on top of the chicken.

Chop the french bread into 1 1/1" pieces.  Place on top of chicken until covered.

Bake 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees or until bread is golden.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken with Greek flavors

This recipe is a summer favorite! When my garden is producing I can get a couple of the ingredients from there! Nothing beats home grown tomatoes and basil!

What you need:

4 chicken breasts

Red wine vinagrette

Fresh or dried basil or oregano

1lb cherry tomatoes

Sea salt

2-4 oz. feta

Marinate 4 chicken breasts in  red wine vinaigrette (about 1 cup) and 1 T. fresh basil or oregano for 1-2 hours. Grill till cooked through.

Make a foil "pan" for cooking tomatoes by folding up edges of foil rectangle and pinching corners.

Toss together:

1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved

 2 T. red wine vinagrette

1/4 t. sea salt

Cook in foil pan, tomatoes cut side down, on grill till tomatoes are just soft.

 Mix tomato mixture from grill with 1/2 T. fresh basil or oregano (I used 3/4 t. dried here) and 2 oz feta. (I do a little more)

Serve on Chicken.

Cheddar and Green Onion Scones

You may wonder if this has turned into a cooking blog. It hasn't. I am just really into cooking right now. :) Especially with my crock pot. Last night I made a slow cooker cheesy potato soup and then decided to make these scones to go with. It is a Better Homes and Garden's recipe I doctored.

Here's what you'll need:
3 cups flour1 Tablespoon baking powder1 Tablespoon sugar1 teaspoon salt3/4 teaspoon cr. of tartar1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 sticks of cold butter 1 1/4-1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk and it was great, and healthier!)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar1/2 cup chopped green onions  Preheat over to 450 degrees.

In a medium bowl stir together all the dry  ingredients. Cut the butter into chunks. Cut into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

  Add the cheese and green onion...

 Add the milk. Start with 1 1/4 c.  Increase to 1 1/2 cups if it seems too dry. 

Drop onto greased cookie sheet. (Makes 12-16 depending on the size you make them)

Bake at 450 for 13-15 minutes or until golden and springy to touch.

Linking up at:

Drab to Fab @ Sugar and Spice

Southwest Turkey Meatballs.

I love Pinterest for fashion and decorating inspiration, but recently I've discovered a new way to use it; to find new recipes! I found this recipe for Southwest Turkey Meatballs.

 

                                                                                Source: skinnytaste.com via Elyssa on Pinterest

  I tried it last week and it was so good! Here is what you need:

1-1/4 lbs 99% lean ground turkey

1 jalapeño, seeds removed (I used a serrano pepper)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions (I used green onions)

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp cumin
pinch oregano
salt and fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put the pepper, garlic, cilantro, and green onions in a food processor and pulse until chopped, but not pureed. 

 Mix the green mixture into the turkey.

           Add the egg, bread crumbs, and other spices.

It should look like this:

Roll into 1" balls and place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.(For those of you that read my turkey roasting post, I would now like to draw your attention to my clean oven. :)

I made pasta and a white sauce and mixed the meatballs in with green beans and peas. It was pretty yummy!If you go over to www.skinnytaste.com you can find a recipe for a Creamy Cilantro Tomatillo Dipping Sauce if you want to have them as more of an appetizer. 

  These were very easy and delicious! I will definitely make them again!

Stuffed Spinach Pasta Shells

This is another one of our favorite recipes. I like it because it is vegetarian, so it's pretty inexpensive to make and cuts down on how much meat we eat.
It's pretty simple.
Here's what you need for a 9 x 13 pan: 26-28 jumbo pasta shells 2 boxes of frozen, chopped spinach (Thawed. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible) 4 eggs16 oz italian blend shredded cheese2 c. ricotta cheese1 1/2 jars pasta sauce

Cook the shells, run them under cool water, and place on towel to dry.

Mix together the ricotta, eggs, spinach and ital cheese. (Reserve 1/2 c. of italian cheese.)

Stuff the shells. Place in greased pan.

Pour sauce in top and sprinkle 1/2 c. reserved cheese.

 Bake, covered at 350 for 40 minutes or until heated through.

 

 

Roasting a Turkey 101

Roasting a turkey in the oven used to scare me.

The first year we were married and hosted Thanksgiving I was terrified I would mess it up! It would be too dry, not cooked through, burned, etc...

I made my 4th turkey a couple days ago and realized- turkeys don't scare me anymore!

The bonus is that if I get a 12 pounder I can make three or four meals from it. Here's how I roasted my turkey:

Thaw the turkey completely. (There are directions on the package. Usually you will want to thaw it in your fridge for 3-4 days. After it is thawed, remove the neck and giblets. Rise cavity with water and salt the interior.

(For Thanksgiving I used a bag and cooked the turkey all night. These are directions for roasting a turkey in a few hours, sans bag. I always heard that a bag made a more moist turkey, but I thought this one was very tender.) 

You'll want to put something in the cavity. I just used an onion cut into quarters. Of course you could stuff it with dressing or be creative. I've heard of people using oranges and lemons cut in half, or lime and fresh thyme.

Next I melted 2 T of butter to drizzle on top. 

Now for some spices.... I chose sage, oregano, italian seasoning, and black pepper.

 Here's what it looked like when I was done sprinkling:

Put on the lid for your roasting pan (or make a foil 'tent' to keep the turkey from getting to brown or spattering. Put in in an oven heated to 350 degrees.

I would like to say two things about this picture:

1) My name is not Louise J. The pan was a Goodwill score. ($4)

2) That is not my oven. My oven sparkles and is shiney and clean. ALWAYS.

I clean it with vinegar and baking soda everyday. Right after I run 5 miles and scrub the bathroom floor with a toothbrush.

Anywhoo.....

Here is the finished product!

 It was quite yummy! 

Here's what I did for meals with it:

1. Sliced turkey breast, green beans and hashbrown casserole

2. BBQ turkey sandwiches

3. Spinach salad with cut up turkey, black olives, croutons, cheddar, and onion.

4. Turkey carcass soup with dumplings.