Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Recipe

Husband, bought this 7+ pound roasting chicken, after it was roasted a meal or two eaten, what to do with the rest??  Found this recipe on the Taste of Home site. 

Taste of Home Recipe Link

Of course, since we live 20 miles from anywhere and I didn't have the exact ingredients on hand I made a couple "adjustments".

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 25 min. Bake: 20 min.
MAKES: 6 servings

Recipe by:  Nikki Barton, Providence, Utah
Ingredients
 3 cups uncooked penne pasta

Not exactly Penne Pasta..

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened and cubed
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups sliced cooked chicken breast
3/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
3/4 cup cubed fully cooked ham
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

I'm not seeing a pile of ham here....I did have some sliced deli ham that I chopped up... just not as much as the recipe called for.  You also don't see the seasonings here, but you get the idea.

I also added a few diced green onions.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente; drain.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat cream and cream cheese over medium heat until smooth, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 cup cheese, onion powder, garlic salt and pepper until blended.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, bacon, ham and pasta. Add sauce; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; top with bread crumbs. Bake, uncovered, 18-22 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.
Originally published as Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta in Taste of Home September/October 2013, pjls

After a nice hot comfort meal, the fire was like a warm desert.

And look what I found in a drawer I was cleaning out..ahh for the "good old days".

Pork Roast and Hash

I have to apologize for this post as it's not really a recipe as much as what goes on here some days.

This roast was fixed in my crock pot, seasoned with the usual salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder and a dash of ground mustard.

I added a can of beef consume and half way threw the process, I added about a half a can of Coke Cola  After resting it was sliced. 

Instead of the mashed potatoes and gravy I did roasted veggies tossed in Olive Oil and seasonings.  These are sweet potatoes, carrots and something crazy --parsnips.

Another meal was made with mashed potatoes and gravy...  And for the last meal, my husbands favorite meal... Hash..

It all starts out with more potatoes... fried with onions and carrots until lightly browned and about halfway done.

Then you add the last of the roast pork, cut up.  

Finally add the left over gravy and a little water.  This is also when I add either frozen peas, lima beans or corn... or all of the listed.

Simmer uncovered until you have a nice thick rich sauce.  

(Looks a lot like a dry stew)

Enjoy...Great for a Cold, Windy January Day.

Salmon and Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Now that I am retired, I am learning how to take more time in planning and preparing our meals.  Trying to eat "healthy". 

Last nights meal.

Sweet Potato Fries.

Coat with Olive Oil and seasoned with Garlic Salt and Pepper.  Oven baked.

Brussel Sprouts...sorry they are the frozen kind with Ricotta Cheese instead of butter. 

Salmon-Coated with Olive Oil seasoned to taste.  Ours had hickory smoke salt and pepper.

Salmon and Sweet Potato Fries were placed on a foil lined baking sheet and put in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until done.

Serve Salmon with your favorite fish sauce.

Italian Style Stuffed Peppers

I decided to try a new version of the stuffed peppers.  Here is the basic recipe I used.  I adjusted some of the amounts to match our tastes.  I did not have mozzarella cheese, so I used Colby/Jack combination.

I should have used the red pepper for the finished photo...oh well maybe next time. Husband said it was a thumbs up.

These Italian-Style Stuffed Peppers are ricotta stuffed peppers, with the addition of rice, ground beef, onion, marinara sauce, mozzarella, and garlic. There is tons of Italian flavor packed into these peppers!

Cooking Time: 20 min

Ingredients
4 whole green (or red) peppers
1 cup rice
1 pound ground beef, turkey, or veal
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup marinara sauce
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 clove garlic, chopped
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
Instructions
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
2. Boil the rice in 2 1/2 cups of water until all the water is gone; remove from heat.
3. "Core" the peppers (take the stems and seeds out) and scald them in boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until tender.
4. Remove the water from heat, but let the peppers simmer in the water.
5. On high heat, cook the meat in an ungreased, non-stick or well-seasoned skillet (the fat will keep the food from sticking).
6. When the meat is about halfway done, add the chopped onion, and continue cooking until the meat is done and the onion pieces are translucent (add olive oil if necessary).
7. Lower to medium heat and stir in the garlic, cooking just long enough for the garlic to brown, then remove from heat.
8. In a large mixing bowl, combine marinara sauce, ricotta cheese, and salt.
9. Add the rice, followed by the meat mixture, then add pepper and extra garlic powder to taste. 

10. Fill the pepper shells with the mixture, and arrange standing up in a casserole dish. Top with grated mozzarella.
11. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until mozzarella is bubbly and golden brown. 

http://www.recipelion.com/Casserole-Recipes/Italian-Style-Stuffed-Peppers

Sloppy Joe's

My husband and I have been talking about Sloppy Joe's for months now.  After reading recipe after recipe, I have found that each recipe has basically the same ingredients just different amounts.  So here's my version.

Start out chopping the onion, garlic and green pepper.

 Brown the hamburger and remove all the excess grease.  Add chopped onion, green pepper and garlic.

  

I just had to make my home made hamburger buns.

They turned out perfect.  Instead of making twelve, I made eight "man sized" buns.

Took the last picture in a hurry.... couldn't wait to taste.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 cup water
3/4 cup ketchup
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
**I also added canned tomato sauce for additional color.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Turn heat to medium and cook and stir the mixture constantly until the beef is browned and forms small crumbles, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in garlic and green bell pepper; cook and stir until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 cup water and stir, scraping the pan to dissolve any brown flavor bits from the bottom of the skillet.
3. Mix in ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper. Add 1 more cup water and return mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thick, about 40 minutes.
4. Season with salt , black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2014 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 1/5/2014

Peppy's Pita Bread

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F
/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select Dough setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep.
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.
To make these guys "bubble" you have to have a really hot oven or iron skillet.
Very simple to make..

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2014 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 1/5/2014

Traditional Sweet Roll Dough (Betty Crocker)

Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese and Pecan Filling.

2     packages active dry yeast
1/2  cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1/2  cup lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/2  cup sugar
1     teaspoon salt
2     eggs
1/2  cup shortening or butter or margarine, softened
4-1/2 to 5 cups Gold Medal Flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2-1/2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth.  Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Place into greased bowl; turned greased side up.  (At this point, dough can be refrigerated 3 to 4 days)  Cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 1-1.2 hours.  (Dough is ready if impression remains when touched.)

Punch down dough.  Shape dough into desired rolls and coffee cakes.  Cover; let rise until double, about 30 minutes

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake as directed.