Monday, August 20, 2007

Potato Flake Chicken

Potato Flake Chicken
-Simple and Delicious

This sounds like a chicken dish I had at Olive Garden once, without the sauce that went with it. I know I printed out the recipe- I'll have to find it.

2/3 Cup mashed potato flakes
1/3 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (8 oz each)
1/3 Cup butter, melted

In a shallow bowl, combine the potato flakes, Parmesan cheese, and garlic salt. Dip chicken in butter, then coat with potato flake mixture.
Place in a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil 4 inches from the heat for 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned.

4 servings

Kids' Favourite Chili

Kids' Favourite Chili
-Simple and Delicious

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 Cup chopped onion
1 can (15 3/4 oz) pork and beans
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp chili powder

In a large saucepan, cook turkey and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

4 servings

Cottage Cheese Salad

Cottage Cheese Salad
-Simple and Delicious

1 Cup (8 oz) cottage cheese
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 Cup chopped cucumber
1/3 Cup chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp mayo
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp ranch salad dressing mix

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Serve immediately.

3 servings

Country Ham Sandwiches

Country Ham Sandwiches
-Simple and Delicious

2 Tbsp mayo
2 Tbsp sour cream
1/8 tsp garlic powder
4 slices whole wheat bread
2 oz smoked cheddar cheese, sliced
4 slices tomato
4 oz thinly sliced deli ham
2 lettuce leaves

In a small bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, and garlic powder. Spread over two slices of bread. Layer each with cheese, tomato, ham, and lettuce. Top with remaining bread.

2 servings

Roasted Potatoes

Roasted Potatoes
-Simple and Delicious

This is listed as Zippy Potato Chunks in the magazine. I'll never put in the hot pepper sauce it calls for (I'll put it on the table for Perry, though), and the thought of "chunks" isn't very appetizing, so I'm changing it.

4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/3 Cup butter, melted
1 envelope herb and garlic soup mix
1 Tbsp hot pepper sauce
blue cheese or ranch salad dressing

Place the potatoes in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Combine the butter, soup mix, and pepper sauce; drizzle over potatoes.
Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Serve with salad dressing.

6 servings

Pork Kiev

Pork Kiev
-Simple and Delicious

4 tsp butter, softened
2 tsp minced chives
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp pepper
4 boneless pork chop loins (4 oz each)
1 egg
1 tsp water
1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

In a small bowl, combine the butter, chives, parsley, garlic, and pepper. Cut a pocket in each pork chop. Fill with butter mixture; secure with toothpicks.
In a shallow bowl, beat egg and water. Place flour and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chops in flour, then in egg mixture; coat with bread crumbs.
In a large skiller over medium heat, cook chops in oil for 6-8 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

4 servings

Italian Sausage with Bowties

Italian Sausage with Bowties
-Simple and Delicious

1 package (16 oz) bow tie pasta
1 lb bulk Italian sausage
1/2 Cups chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) Italian stewed tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 1/2 Cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried basil
shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook the sausage, onion, garlic, and pepper flakes over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the tomatoes, cream, salt, and basil. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 6-8 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta; toss with sausage mixture. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

5 servings

My Notes
Didn't add onion (as usual) or pepper flakes (didn't have). Subjected my family to the tortures of grated cheese, yet again. I made 2 lbs of pasta, so I used 2 cups of cream, 2 cans of Italian diced tomatoes, undrained, and added 4 oz of sliced mushrooms, drained. The sauce never really thickened up for me.

Reviews
Josh didn't even want to try the sauce, and he's a sauce boy. Caleb said he liked it. Perry and I weren't wild about it. The only seasoning came from the sausage- the sauce itself was very bland. It really needed the pepper flakes. I don't know if it was the headache I had at the time, but I felt really nauseous for a long time after eating this.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Creamy Marinara Tortellini

Creamy Marinara Tortellini
-Simple and Delicious

2 Packages (9 oz each) refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 Cups marinara sauce
1 Cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup cold water
1 Can (14 oz) water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped
2 Tbsp minced fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/4 tsp pepper

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine marinara sauce and cream. Combine flour and water until smooth; gradually add to sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Add the artichokes, thyme and oil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 2-4 minutes or until heated through. Drain tortellini; toss with sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper.

Serves 6

My Notes
I could not find the tortellini anywhere in the store (it disappears only when I'm looking for it), so I used 2 bags of frozen cheese ravioli. I also used a can of spaghetti sauce and guessed on the cream (I had made a pie with the other part of the cream and chose this recipe just to finish off the carton). I also had no thyme at all in the pantry, so I used some fresh oregano we had from one of my husband's recipes. I think I used a few sprigs. Didn't use parsley, and added the pepper to the sauce. And we won't go into how I made my family suffer with grated Parmesan... I also served the sauce and pasta separate.

Reviews
The ravioli were a big hit with everyone but Josh, who is a little leery of all things cheese. The baby had about 5, and Caleb and Mischa declared that we should have them again as soon as possible. The few little left over ravioli were also a very good snack a little later for me : ). The sauce was good, no one rejected it.