Bacon Chicken Pasta

16 oz farfalle pasta (bow-tie)

1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

4 chicken breasts

3-4 cloves of garlic

1T pepper

3/4 cup butter

1 lb bacon (previously cooked and crumbled) **must be real, fresh cooked bacon. not "bacon bits or real bacon"

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 120z lawry's mesquite marinade with lime juice

In Crock Pot cook chicken in marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices and allow to cool, shred. Set aside.

Half an hour before serving, boil pasta.

in a small sauce pan melt better. Then add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, cheese and bacon. Wisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add some milk for desired consistency. In a large bowl pour sauce over cooked drained pasta. Add chicken, stir through. Sprinkle with a little bit more cheese for presentation on top.

This is so good and so easy!

Thai-Style Chicken Soup

2 onions, minced

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 T minced or grated fresh ginger

1 T vegetable oil

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk

2 stalks lemon grass, bottom 5 inches only

2 carrots, peeled and sliced, 1/4 inch think

3 T fish sauce

10 cilantro stems, tied together with twine

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed

Salt and pepper

8 oz white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin

3 T fresh lime juice from 2 limes

1 T sugar

2 tsp Thai red curry paste

Garnishes

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

2 fresh Thai, serrano or jalapeno chiles, stemmed seeded and sliced thin

2 scallions sliced thin

Lime wedges, for serving

**This is a crock pot recipe. However, my friend Jamie recommended stove top, which is what I did. I just adapted the following recipe.

1. Microwave onions, garlic, ginger and oil in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.

2. Stir broth, 1 can coconut milk, lemon grass, carrots, 1 T fish sauce, and cilantro stems into slow cooker. Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low.

3. Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-sized pieces. Let soup settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Discard lemon grass and cilantro stems.

4. Stir in mushrooms, cover and cook on high until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 15 minutes. Microwave remaining can coconut milk in bowl until hot, about 3 minutes, then whisk in remaining 2 T fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and curry paste to dissolve.

5. Stir hot coconut milk mixture and shredded chicken into soup and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with garnishes.

Clam Chowder

This is the one Alicia sent me. I need it somewhere where I can always find it so I'm posting it here.

Mom Morgan Boston Clam Chowda

2 cans chopped clams
1 cup onions, chopped fine
1 cup diced celery
2 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup flour
1 cube butter
1 quart 1/2 and 1/2
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
Pepper
1/2 tsp sugar

Drain juice from clams and pour over veggies in medium saucepan. Add enough water to barely cover and summer until veggies are tender- about 20 min.

In the meantime melt butter; add flour and cook for a minute or two. Add cream and cook and stir until smooth and thick using a wire whisk to blend.

Add cooked veggies and clams and heat through. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Optional: add thyme and marjoram to taste.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

(I would double it next time for my family--as is it only makes about 3-4 good sized servings)

1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 Tbsp. roasted garlic olive oil
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. flour
14 oz. chicken broth
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Place cauliflower in small roasting pan, drizzle with oil and season with garlic powder, salt & pepper, toss to coat
Roast the cauliflower, stirring frequently until golden brown and tender (20 min or so)
Melt butter in saucepan, add onion and brown (about 10 min.). Sprinkle with flour and add liquid, bringing to a boil while it thickens.
Turn down heat and add the roasted cauliflower. Blend half and add back in for thicker consistency.

So yummy!!

Pizza Wheels

I made these the other day just to mix it up a little bit and I was so happy I did. These were delicious.

1 recipe pizza dough (below)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 pkg pepperoni (I use turkey pepperoni)
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 tbs. Johnny's Garlic seasoning (You can get this at Costco and will be glad you did, so good!)
1/4 cup grated parmesan.

Make pizza dough and let it raise for 30 minutes. Roll it out into a long rectangle, like cinnamon rolls. Spread sauce (you want the sauce to be thin), layer pepperoni, and cheeses, then sprinkle with Johnny's. Roll it up lengthwise, so you have a long roll, again just like cinnamon rolls. Cut into 1 1/2-2 inch slices and lay on a greased cookie sheet. Let them raise for about 45 minutes, sprinkle with a little extra parmesan cheese, back at 375 for about 20-30 minutes or until it looks cooked and golden brown.

Serve with marinara or ranch. So good!

Flaxseed Apple Muffins

Sorry! It's me again. I made these muffins this morning. So healthy and really yummy (just don't overcook them like I did - totally forgot they were in the oven). I am big fan of flaxseed and throw it in where I can. Give them a try!

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 c ground flax seed

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 apples, peeled and cored

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour, ground flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon).

STEP 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (egg, brown sugar, yogurt, apple sauce, and vanilla). Core and chop the apples into small pieces.

STEP 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Fold in the chopped apples just until they are evenly distributed. Try not to over stir the mixture or else the muffins may become tough or rubbery.

STEP 4: Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray or line with paper cups. Evenly distribute the muffin batter between 12 muffin cups. Bake in the preheated 400 degree oven until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 20-25 minutes). Remove the muffins from the tin and let cool on a wire rack.

Originally posted here.

Meal Planning

I'm sure no one else has a problem with meal planning (wink, wink) but it's something I dread and avoid. However, I need a schedule and I need to stop making quick trips to the grocery store. So I started thinking of ways to encourage meal planning. And I decided to do theme nights. Every week, each day has a theme and I try to find meals to fit that theme. I have all of September planned out - and I am super excited about it. Here are the themes for us for September (I may change them up in October - we'll see):

Meatless Monday

Taco (or any Mexican) Tuesday

World (different ethnic foods) Wednesday

Throwaway (leftovers) Thursday

Italian (usually a carbo load) Friday

Soup/Salad Saturday

Home Cooked Sunday

Of course you could change it up to meet your family's tastes, but so far, I really love the theme idea. I use foodgawker and pinterest for a lot of my ideas. Let me know what you think and what themes you come up with. Also if you are interested in any of the meals I have planned for the various nights, let me know and I'll send you my calendar.