Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

I don't think I have ever made anything so delicious and so simple! I know that I have probably said that before, but I am forreals this time.
The alfredo sauce took all of like five minutes to whip up, and the chicken was so juicy and peppery! You could definitely have the chicken and the sauce done before the noodles even cooked; if you're the prepare ahead kinda gal. I'm not. I cook as I go. I hate it! I loathe it! It slows me down! I get all twirly and frantic then swear off cooking for life! Why not become the prepare ahead cook? Good question! I'm so glad that you asked that. I have a very simple but profound answer:
NO COUNTER SPACE!
See. Profound, right?
In another life, I will have a ginormous kitchen with miles of counter space. And my very own personal dish washer. Yes, definitely need someone to do the dishes.
But regardless of the size of your current kitchen, you can make this! Make it tonight. It's so good!

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
2 large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Garlic Salt
Black Pepper
Butter for pan

For the sauce:
1/2 stick of Butter
1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
2 cloves Garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 cup Parmesan Cheese, divided
12 oz Fettuccine

In a large skillet melt butter of medium high heat. Season both sides of the chicken breast and fry on the pan. Cook about 5 min and flip. Cover with lid. Cook another 5-7 min or until cooked through. Transfer to plate, slice into strips, then cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, have the water for the noodles boiling. Cook noodles according to package directions.
In a sauce pan, heat the butter and cream. Add the garlic, and season with salt and coarse ground black pepper.
In a serving bowl, add 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese,( you can go the easier route her and use the canned stuff, but for a real decadent flavor, grate your own!) Pour the sauce in and then toss with the drained hot pasta. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and chicken. Grind up extra black pepper if desired, and serve with crusty garlic bread.

DISCLAIMER:
Eater may need breath mints after consumption! I cannot be held responsible if your night does not end in a good night kiss!

A Sunday Roast

I can't carve a chicken.
I can't carve a turkey.
Or a ham.
It always ends up looking like someone hacked into with a weed wacker! Not appetizing.
Now that I think about it, I can't cut anything!
Brownies always end up uneven.
Cakes and pies? Forget it!
And paper...HA! The 3 year old demons children that I teach at church are more likely to cut a straight line than myself.

 But that's ok! I don't have to show anyone my cutting skills. I can always take a picture of the full bird/beast prior to my hack job. It's better this way. Trust me!

Roasted Chicken
Serves:4

Ingredients:
1 4-5lbs Whole Fryer Chicken
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Rinse the chicken thoroughly, inside and out.
Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out.
On a cutting board or clean counter, lay the bird down and salt and pepper generously, inside and out. About a teaspoon of each. Make sure to get all sides seasoned well.
Next, drizzle olive oil over all sides of the chicken, rub and massage the oil in, covering the whole bird.
Roast in the oven for about 70-80 min. Mmmm.

Now, someone please come teach me how to carve!

Roasted Garlic and Cheese Dip

I have good news and bad news.
Good news first! Always.
Good news is, I started school.
Bad news is, I started school. Blech!
I mean, right?

Obviously, I am need of an institution that teaches how to write in complete sentences, since this is something I apparently lack. :)
I have no clue what I am going to major in. So don't ask. I just want to finish start my degree.
Of course, the likely degree would be something in the culinary arts, but really, I do not want to trample my love for culinary arts with something like work.  So, for now, I'm undecided. I'm the plague to universities everywhere.

You most likely wonder what this has to do with this dip. HA!
Well, let me tell you...
Even though I am only taking 1 class ( I went from 3 to 2, down to 1), I am hard pressed for blog time.
Give me a break! The class is MATH!
MATH and I do not get along.
BUT...
I am determined to ace this class.
I have been telling "the man of the house" that with each lesson, I can picture the teacher's face and classroom that I had originally learned the method(s) in, way back when I had a mirror in my  celebrity poster adorned locker. The images of these middle/high school teachers haunt me. They were so mean! Why? Why are all math teachers mean?! Probably because they had to spend all their time learning those painstakingly dull concepts and never had any fun! Right?
Regardless, I am determined to pass this class. And because I will pass, I needed something super easy to snack on that didn't take much time to make or eat. This is what this dip has to do with school work.

Roasted Garlic and Cheese Dip
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:
1 8oz pkg of Cream Cheese, softened
2 cloves of Garlic, Peeled, Roasted and Minced
1 1/2 tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese, the jarred stuff
1/4 c  Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Coarse Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Dash of Lemon Pepper
2 Dashes of Cajun Seasoning
Dash of Dried Sweet Basil
1 tbsp Panko Bread Crumbs

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Peel garlic and place onto tinfoil lined baking sheet. Let roast for a minute or two each side, or until fragrant. Remove from oven and mince.
Turn heat down to 250 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, except bread crumbs. Adjust seasonings to your desired  taste. Transfer into an oven safe bowl and top with bread crumbs.
Allow to bake for about 5 min, and turn on broiler. Let broil until blackened on top. Remove from oven, and serve with crackers, chips or veggies!

Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!

 

Vanilla Chai Pancakes by The Salem Food Trials

 

Banana Cakes by How Sweet It Is

                                       Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes by The Salem Food Trials

                                            Lemon Blueberry Pancakes by Pioneer Woman Cooks

Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese

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In case you were not aware I <3 Cilantro.
Cilantro + Hollis = Tru LV 4EVR!
Like, Yeah!
Do you think cilantro feels the same way?

Remember when peace signs and ying-yang signs were da bomb? Or when scribbling the name of your current "lover" on your notebook was the thing to do. Umm, how many notebooks did I go through in 7th grade?! That's not the point here. Moving on.
That has absolutely nothing to do with this recipe, except that I just displayed my mathematical love equation up there, and for the fact that this dish is loaded with cilantro. Cilantro just makes things better. Really. It's true! I cannot lie. Next time you are watching a sappy movie and just can't compose yourself and stop crying, run to the refrigerator and pull out some cilantro. Chop and eat. Or rub it into your 5 year old's knee and elbow scrape next time he falls off his bike. It's sure to do the trick.
Uhh... yeah. Not so much?
Well, this surely will!

Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
12 oz Pasta Shells (or whatever you have on hand)
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cooked and cubed, (or leftover shredded chicken, 2 cups)
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Flour
1 1/2 c Milk
1 c Shredded Mexican Style Cheese
3/4 c Shredded Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
1/3 c Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce ( gotta use Frank's!)
1/3 c Crushed BBQ Potato Chips ( or bread crumbs)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 Crumbled Gorgonzola or Blue Cheese
1/2 c Cilantro
Buffalo Sauce for drizzle

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook pasta according to directions.
While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, allow to melt then add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture becomes golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in grated cheeses and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in buffalo wing sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Grease a baking dish. Add pasta and chicken, then pour cheese sauce over and mix thoroughly until everything is coated. Sprinkle with chip crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven and top with gorgonzola and cilantro. Drizzle with buffalo wing sauce.

Beef with Snow Peas

I have been craving some take-out. Like whoa!
I don't think I need to mention The Man of the House's dislike for food of "Asian descent" again.
But for those of you who have missed it, someone thinks that any amount, 1/16 of a teaspoon even, makes food "Chinese." Uhhh.... NO!
See what I have to live with?
Well let me put your minds to ease, this can be adjusted to suit your tastes. Add more soy sauce if you like that flavor. Yes, do it! It will make him red with anger, white with horror and green with nausea!
(But if you are more like "you know who" just sub out the soy sauce with a sauce of your choice.)

Beef with Snow Peas
adapted from PW
Serves: 4

1 lb Flank Steak,  sliced thin against grain
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/4 c Worschtesire Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp Cooking Wine
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1 tbsp Fresh Minced Ginger
8 oz Snow Peas, edges trimmed
1/4 c Green Onions, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Jasmine Rice or Noodles, for serving

In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, worschtesire sauce, wine, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Add sliced meat to bowl and toss with hands. Set aside.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet or wok over high heat. Add snow peas and stir for 45 seconds. Remove to a separate plate. Set aside.
Allow pan to get very hot again. With tongs, add half the meat mixture, leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl. Add half thegreen onion. Spread out meat, but do not stir for a good minute.We are are charring here, baby! Turn meat to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to a clean plate.
Repeat with other half of meat, allowing pan to get very hot again first. After turning it, add the first plateful of meat, the rest of the marinade, and the snow peas. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Check seasonings. Mixture will thicken as it sits.
Serve immediately over rice or noodles. Sprinkle crushed red pepper over the top to give it some heat.
If you really want to be cool, serve this in those hip take-out style boxes!  

Italian Stuffed Steak Rolls

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my Crock Pot?
Well, I do. It saves me so much time and energy. Between the Facebooking and the Tweeting and the Blogging, and the 30 handfuls of this, let's face it I need more time on my hands.
Anywhoo...
Slow cookers are a fickle kitchen appliance. I feel like many meals get dried out and tire rubber like. Bleck!
So, I just always add more sauce. I keep a little on the side, too, just in case.
These rolls are really yummy. I really like them because it has all the flavors of an Italian pasta dish, while not compromising the big, juicy masculine meaty steak. Without such, someone in this house would bulk and kick and scream. (Excuse me, Mr. Marine.)  I also love the recipe because if you don't have quite all the ingredients, you can surely improvise.  And in case you needed a third reason, it's made in the Crock Pot, saving me time and energy.

Italian Stuffed Steak Rolls
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1/2 c Shredded Carrot
1/3 c Chopped Zucchini
1/3 c Chopped Red or Green Sweet Pepper
1/4 c Sliced Green Onion
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
6 Beef Round Steaks, tenderized
2 c Spaghetti Sauce or Marinara

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine carrots, zucchini, sweet pepper, green onion, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic and black pepper. Spoon 1/4 c of the veggie filling onto each piece of steak. Roll up steak around the filling and secure with toothpicks.
Place steak rolls in a slow cooker. Pour spaghetti sauce over the steak rolls.
Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or in high heat for 4-5 hours.
Discard toothpicks and serve sauce with steak rolls.