Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Applesauce Chicken

This was another recipe that I went out on a limb for, Gray was totally unsure when I told him about it and of course we both ended up loving it! I put in the crockpot before I left for work and when I came home the house smelled amazing. I found it over at A Year of Slow Cooking, if you have a crockpot you must head over and check out the recipes!

4 chicken breast (I only used three because that's all we needed)
1 1/2 cups of applesauce
1 T dried onion flakes or 1 yellow onion, chopped finely
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Put the chicken into your crockpot. Add the onion (if you are using the dried onion, wait and add it to the applesauce). In a bowl, mix the applesauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices together. Pour on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or on high for 3-4. I served it over rice.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

San Giorgio Baked Ziti


I saw this recipe on Stephanie Cooks a while back and new it would be a perfect dinner for one of our meatless meals. I was so confident that this was going to be great that I took it to some of our friends for dinner, they were in the middle of exams (one in law school and one in med school) so I though a good dinner with help with their studying. Thankfully I was right about this recipe being awesome, Gray and I loved it and so did our friends! It was perfect with a salad and bread and I know this will go into our regular rotation!

1 box ziti, uncooked***
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese (15 oz) ***
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1 Tbsp parsley
1 egg
1 Tsp oregano
1/2 Tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta according to package directions for 9 minutes and then drain. In large mixing bowl stir together hot pasta, 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, egg, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In 13×9 x 2-inch baking dish, spoon pasta mixture; top with remaining 1-1/2 cups sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cover. Bake 30 minutes.

***just a side note, I always use whole wheat pasta and part skim ricotta cheese.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Baked Zucchini Coins

I love fried Zucchini so when I saw this recipe over at Janet is Hungry I knew I had to try it. It was great and I made a little tzatziki dipping sauce to go with it that was perfect! Hey, maybe your kids will even try zucchini if it is cooked like this!

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
freshly ground pepper
1 zucchini
1 egg
olive oil

Mix together cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper and basil. Beat the egg. Slice the zucchini into coin shapes. Dip zucchini into egg then into the flour mixture. Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet greased with olive oil. Bake at 425 for ten minutes then flip and bake for 10 more minutes!

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

I love a good casserole and this is a good one to add to the list! Gray loved it as well! I found the recipe over at Just Cook Already, and adapted it a bit. It's a winner, try it, you will be surprised by the flavor the poppy seeds give it!

4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 16 oz container sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup
1 sleeve snack crackers, crushed
2 tsp poppy seed
1/2 cup butter, melted

Boil and shred the chicken. Mix together sour cream, chicken soup, cream of mushroom (or celery) and poppy seeds. Add chicken, mix and pour into a casserole dish. Sprinkle crush crackers on top then spread the melted butter on top! Bake at 350 for 25 minutes!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Baked Chicken Parm




I know everyone has their own recipes for this but this is mine, I played with it for a while but now I think it is great the way it is!

4 Chicken Breast
1 egg
1 cup of Panko Crumbs
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 cup pasta sauce
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350. Combine panko and Italian seasoning. Dip chicken into the egg then roll in the panko crumbs. Sprinkle remaining panko crumbs on top of the chicken breast. Bake for 40 minutes to an house (or until chicken is done). Spoon pasta sauce (however little or much) onto each chicken breast. Top with Mozzarella cheese and put back into the oven until cheese is melted.