Baked Chicken Chimichangas

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup chili powder
One 16z jar salsa
1/4 water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound cooked boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, shredded
Six 10 inch tortillas
1 cup refried beans (I used fat free)
Olive oil

Sorry, used my  phone.. bad quality picture :(

Preheat oven 425F.  Grease a rimmed 15 by 10inch baking pan.  In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender.  Stir in chili powder, 2/3 jar salsa. water, cumin, and cinnamon.  Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor, process until smooth.  Pour back into the saucepan; stir in chicken. 
Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon a heaping tablespoon of bean down the center of the tortilla.  Top with 1/2 cup of chicken mixture.  Place the chimichangas in the greased baking pan, seam side down.  Brush all sides with oil.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, turning every 5 minutes.  Serve with remaining salsa (or sour cream and guacamole).
-To shred the chicken, I boiled the breast until cooked.  Then used to forks to shred the meat.

Recipe adapted d from: America's Most Wanted Recipes- Chi Chi's

These were really really good!  Brandon loved them!  I served them with a side salad instead of guacamole or sour cream.  I will be making these again!

Linguinie with "Hit the Pan" Salsa

Serves Two-

4oz linguine (I used half a package, and we have leftovers)
3 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 large tomatoes
2 garlic gloves, crushed
4 boiler onions chopped (recipe called for "spring onions" sliced, but Publix didn't have those)
1 green chili, seeded and sliced
juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoon fresh parsley
salt and ground pepper
Cheese, grated to garnish

Boil the linguine in plenty of water until it is al dente.  Drain and toss in a little of the oil.  Season well.  Skin the tomatoes by dipping them in a bowl of boiling water. The skins should slip off easily.  Chop the tomatoes roughly.  Heat the remaining oil until it is quite hot and stir-fry the garlic, onions, and chili for a minute.  The pan should sizzle.  Add the tomatoes, orange juice, and parsley. Season well and stir in linguine to reheat.  Serve with grated cheese.
Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Cooking and Vegetable Classics

I LOVED this dish... very light and flavorful!  I heart pasta with fresh ingredients! :)

Ham and Scalloped Potatoes

6-8 slices of ham (I used 1.5 pkgs of cubed ham)
8-10 medium potatoes thinly sliced
2 onions thinly sliced (I chopped mine)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used reduced fat sharp cheddar... Sargento of course) :)
103/4oz can cream of celery soup
1 soup can milk
paprika

Put half of the ham, potatoes, and onions in a slow cooker.  Sprinkle with cheese, salt and pepper.  Repeat layers.  Mix soup with milk.  Spoon over the top.  Sprinkle with paprika. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours, or High 4 hours.
Recipe adapted from: Fix it and Forget it Cookbook

My slow cooker heats at a really high temperature, even on low... I cooked mine for 8 hours and it was a little "too" done... so I apologize for the lack of appeal in the picture... but it SURE was YUMMY!  I paired it with a simple salad... 

Chocolate Fudge Squares with Mocha Glaze

Fudge Squares:
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 ounces unsweetened chocolate-melted (I used semi-sweet, mostly because Publix didn't carry unsweetened)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:
1 heaped cup of confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup brewed double strength coffee, preferably from dark roast beans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter an 8inch square baking pan.  ( I used round because I don't own a square pan)
In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar and egg.
In a small bowl, sift together flour and baking powder.  Add to butter mixutre, then add melted chocolate. Do not over beat. stir in milk and vanilla, just to blend.
Pour the batter into prepared pan.  Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of pan, about 30 minutes.  Transfer cake to a rack and let cool completely.
Glaze:
In a medium bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, butter, chocolate, and vanilla with a wire whisk.  Stir in coffee and whisk until smooth.  Refrigerate the glaze until cool, then pour over cake and then cut the cake into squares.
Recipe adapted from: America' Most Wanted Recipes- Starbucks

Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon Sauce

Marinade:
10oz can diced tomatoes and green chili's-drained (I used Rotel)
1/3 cup bourbon
1/3 cup soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 pounds pork tenderloin

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a resealable plastic bag.  Mix well.  Add the pork tenderloin.  Seal the bad and turn several times to coat the meat.  Place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight, turning bad occasionally.   (I used a mixing bowl with a lid instead of the plastic bag)

Preheat broiler.  Remove the meat from marinade; reserve the marinade.

Place the meat on a broiler pan, and broil 7-8 inches from heat source for 7-9 minutes on each side, until cooked throughly throughout.

In a small sauce pan, bring the remainder of the marinade to a boil; boil for 1 minute.  Serve with meat.

Recipe adapted from: America's Most Wanted Recipes- Chi-Chi's

~Brandon liked this better than I... I thought that the bourbon was too strong.  I made Brandon rate the dish on a scale from 1-10.  He gave it an 8.  I would have to give it a 7.... If I used less bourbon, maybe I would have scored the pork a higher rating.

Oriental Pepper Steak

Sorry for the lack of picture quality

2 Tbsp. Oil
1 lb. chuck or round steak
1 env. onion soup mix
2 c. water
2 tsp sou sauce (I used low sodium)
1 green pepper. cut in strips (I added a red pepper)
1/2 tsp ginger
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 tomato, cut into wedges
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 Tbs. cornstarch
Hot cooked rice

In a large preheated skillet or wok, heat oil and brown beef; drain. Stir in soup mix blended with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Stir in green pepper and onion wedges, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic; simmer, covered 15 minutes, or until beef is tender.

Stir in tomato, then cornstarch blended with remaining water. Bring to boil; simmer, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens. Serve over cooked rice. Serves 4.

Recipe adapted from: Joy of Greek Cooking (with an American Accent)

Chicken Penne with Homemade Cheese Sauce

One thing I need to do better is plan... or pantry shop.... I never seem to have the right ingredients on hand for the recipes that sound good. Honestly, I wasn't going to cook dinner tonight because Brandon is at band practice, but leftovers, Lean Cuisine's, or canned soup where not sounding good.

I came across Rachel Ray's Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli recipe, and since I didn't have all the ingredients needed, I decided to make my own version. Although it didn't turn out to be a mouth watering masterpiece... it was still pretty good...

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound chicken breast, chopped
salt and pepper
1 pound penne pasta
3 tablespoons Smart Balance Light
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 cups skim milk
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar (reduced fat)
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (reduced fat)

Place a pot of water to boil for penne.

Heat oil in pan. Add chicken salt and pepper to taste. Saute until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Turn off hear and reserve.

Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter spread in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour, cayenne pepper, and paprika and whisk together until roux bubbles. Cook for one minute. Whisk in milk and stock, raising heat to bring to a quick boil. Simmer sauce for five minutes until thickens.

Drain pasta. Add back into pot and add chicken.

Add cheese to the milk sauce and stir to melt. Pour sauce over chicken and pasta.

Why?

So after much debating, I decided to follow in Amy Goodrow's footsteps (once again :)thank you as always, Amy for the great ideas).

I have an intense passion for food. I love to go out to restaurants of all kinds and I also really love to cook. Since I moved to Florida, I have found that one thing lacking down here is the quality of places to eat. (Maybe I was just spoiled that past three years in West Michigan...)

So, after mine and Brandon's many attempts of finding "good" places to eat out, I decided to step up my at home cooking.... I am going to break out the new cook books, websites, etc... and document and photograph the dishes that I make.

Enjoy!

Taco Pasta Salad

2 cups uncooked whole wheat fusilli
1 pound ground sirloin
1 packet of taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
3 cups shredded lettuce
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup Catalina Salad Dressing
Tortilla Chips (or Spicy Nacho Doritos)

Cook Pasta according to package. Meanwhile cook ground sirloin over med heat until browned. Drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water, cook for five minutes. Cool.
Drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Stir into meat. Add remaining ingredients. Toss.
Serve with tortilla chips of your choice.
-recipe adapted from Nicole Lamb