Cheesy Pesto Chicken

I found this recipe on a blog that a girl in my ward has called Food Nerd. She is gorgeous and smart and knows a lot about food. And please...anyone who cooks with pesto is a friend of mine. I would dangle a pesto-scented pine tree from my rear view mirror if they made one.

3-4 chicken breasts

pesto (I like Costco's)

Mozzarella cheese

Marinara sauce (I like Fresh and Easy's tomato and basil)

salt/pepper/garlic powder

*Pound out chicken breasts between plastic wrap until 1/4 of an inch thick. Spread pesto (generously) on half of chicken. Slice or shred some Mozzarella on pesto. Fold over chicken and secure with a toothpick. Put some marinara sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Place chicken on top. Season with salt/pepper/garlic powder. Top with more marinara and more cheese. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350.

*Calli recommended browning the chicken in a skillet before placing in the baking dish. I'm too lazy to add one more step but I'm sure it's a good idea.

Peach Crisp

Holly and I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while and having Utah peaches in town means that now is the perfect time for peach recipes. This would also be good with apples.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
*Mix well with fork then add:
1 cold cube of butter, cut into pieces
*Mash until well blended.
*Peel and slice 6-8 big peaches. Put into baking dish and cover with topping. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, covered with foil, and then 25 minutes without foil. You can broil for a minute or two at the end to crisp it.

Green Beans

This is my new favorite food! My neighbor made this for a BBQ and I had like 3 helpings. I asked him for the recipe and he said he just throws stuff in them until they taste good. So this is my attempt to recreate. We have them almost every night (especially since they are only $1 a pound at my grocery store). So good!

1 T EVOO
1 lb fresh green beans (snap of the ends)
1/2 Lawry's Season Salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. corse ground pepper

Heat the olive oil in a big non-stick or stir fry pan. Add the green beans, salt and pepper. Stir fry for about 10-15 min (depending on how crunchy you like them. So easy!

Mexican Black Bean Pasta

 I try to create my own recipes but they often don't turn out.....until now!  My kids didn't complain and my husband loved it along with my friend and her husband that I made come over to try it.

cook 1 package of angel hair pasta

(or what ever pasta your family like)

1 onion 

4 garlic cloves

Chop onion and saute in olive oil. When the onion is soft add 4 garlic cloves.

add:

1 cup salsa

1 can black beans (I used bushes seasoned black beans)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup colby jack cheese

bring to boil

 

add cooked pasta

3 tomatoes diced

1 bunch cilantro chopped

mix and serve

It would also be really good with some shredded or grilled chicken.

Tres Leches Cake

I keep telling myself that I'm going to stop posting recipes from the Pioneer Woman. I'm pretty sure that anyone that would look at this blog already looks at her website. And her photos and directions are so amazing that they really don't need to be re-posted by me. But then I made this cake. So in the event that one of you missed this amazing Pioneer Woman recipe...please click here.

Cornucopia Salad

Yes folks... now that I'm jobless and actually have time to make dinner, you might see a post or two from me from now on. A miracle I know. I'm loving it though.
This salad is from the "Favorites" cookbook that a few of you might own, I know Holl and Rach do. Its pretty easy, something different, and really just divine!

1/4 C slivered almonds
1 Tbls sugar
*Caramelize the almonds

1 head green leaf lettuce
1 head Romaine
1 C chopped celery ( i leave this out)
1 (11-oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
2 avocados cut into chunks
2 apples diced
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C crumbled blue cheese (i use feta b/c i'm not a blue cheese fan)

Dressing:
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp grated onion
1/2 tsp salt
1 C vegetable oil (i use olive)
1/3 C apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp poppy seeds

*Toss salad, almonds, and dressing just prior to serving.

Pioneer Woman's Springy Shells

Talk about going green. This dish has 6 different veggies in it. (Is garlic a veggie?) Anyway, it was really good and also meatless for those who don't want meat every night. (Holly).
16 oz. medium pasta shells
1 pound asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces (avoid tough part)
1/2 pound broccoli, cut up
1 medium zucchini, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 green onions, sliced (white and light green parts)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
20 oz. whole milk ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

*Cook pasta and set aside. Melt butter with olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic. Add asparagus and cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle a little salt. Add broccoli and cook for one minute. Add zucchini and cook for one or two minutes. Add peas and onions. Stir together until all heated and turn off heat. In a bowl, combine ricotta, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix well. To assemble, butter a 9X13 pan. Add half the pasta, then spread 1/2 the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 of the Parmesan over the ricotta. Then spread 1/2 the veggies. Repeat with pasta, ricotta, Parmesan, veggies, then the rest of the Parmesan. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 25 minutes at 350.
*Next time I will use smaller pasta, less pasta and more veggies.

Soft Ginger Cookies

I absolutely love a delicious, soft ginger cookie. And these cookies are exactly that - delicious and soft!! Even my little cookie monster loved them!

Caught red handed!

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tbs. water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups flour
2 Tbs. sugar to roll cookies in

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, water and molasses. Add spices, baking soda and salt. Mix in flour. Shape dough into balls and roll in sugar. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 min. Cool on cooling rack.

Honey Glazed Chicken

My friend, Cara, has a family cookbook that she uses all the time. I was looking through it at her house and saw this recipe. It looked so good and easy that I had to write it down. It was a hit...thanks Cara!
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 or 4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon or orange juice
1 Tbs. soy sauce

*In a plastic bag, combine flour, salt and flakes. Add chicken to bag and shake to coat. Pour 4 Tbs. melted butter into a baking dish. Add chicken, turning to coat with butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. In a bowl, combine brown sugar, honey, juice, soy sauce and remaining butter. Pour over chicken and bake for 25 more minutes. Serve over rice.

Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins

I found this recipe in a cookbook that my sister-in-law was getting rid of. It's a cookbook with 1001 recipes, all having to do with bread. I found this muffin recipe while looking for some way to use my blueberries that were getting soft. We really liked the way they turned out. 2 1/2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

*Blend flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar, buttermilk and melted butter. Mix until smooth. Fold in the blueberries. Add to the dry ingredients. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

RASPBERRY PEACH FREEZER JAM

Peaches and raspberries are both in season. This freezer jam is delicious and it's a good way to change it up a little from the usual plain raspberry. Even if you're not a peach lover, you will LOVE this jam. It's also great as a topping for ice cream.

Approx. 1 1/2 pints fresh raspberries
Approx. 1 1/4 lb. fresh, ripe peaches

Mash raspberries with a masher. Peel and finely chop peaches. I pulsed them in the food processor so as not to have large chunks of peaches. (No one likes "chunks" at our house).

You should have:
2 cups crushed raspberries
1 1/2 cups peaches
Add 4 cups sugar, stir well and let stand for at least 10 minutes.

In a small sauce pan put 3/4 cup water and once package Sure Jell. Bring to a full boil, on high heat, stirring constantly and boil for 1 minute. Immediately pour into fruit and sugar mixture and stir well. Stir for several minutes until almost all the sugar is dissolved. You may still have a few sugar crystals. Place in glass jars, or plastic containers that are freezer safe. Place lids on top and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. After 24 hour period is up, place in freezer. Will store up to one year. For immediate use, place in refrigerator and it will keep for up to 3 weeks.

Peach Cobbler

Nothing excites me more at the end of August than the arrival of Utah peaches! They are the best and I look forward to them every year. I decided to bust out a cobbler the other night and man was it good! I got this recipe from good 'ole Paula Deen. I even liked it better the second day! And third. And...

Step 1:
5 cups peaches, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
Put all ingredients in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour*
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
6 Tbs. butter
Mix flour and sugar together. Add milk slowly to avoid lumps. Melt butter in 3 quart baking dish in oven. Pour flour mixture over melted butter. DO NOT stir. Spoon peaches on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle cinnamon on top, if desired. Bake at 350 for 40 - 45 min. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

*If you do not have self-rising flour (like me), mix 1 cup flour with 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. baking powder. I did this then halved it for the half cup.

Tamale Pie

This recipe is slightly different from the tamale pie recipe that Holly put one here a while back. Both are good, both are easy, so it's a win-win. You can't really go wrong with tamale pie.1 lb. ground beef

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can (15oz.) tomato sauce

1 can corn, drained

1 Tb. sugar

1 Tb. chili powder

dash of salt

dash of pepper

1 c. shredded cheese

Topping

3/4 c. cornmeal

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. water

1 Tb. butter

*Brown meat, onion, pepper and garlic in skillet. Add tomato sauce. Add rest of ingredients, except cheese. Simmer 15 minutes. Add cheese and stir until melted. Pour into a casserole dish. On stove, combine cornmeal, salt and water. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens up a little. Add butter until it melts. Pour mixture over meat mixture and bake at 375 for 40 minutes.