Pesto Chicken

Garlic, Basil, pine nuts oh, my!  Pesto is a quick way to spruce up any meal!  In the summer I usually make my own pesto, but now that its back to the grind and we no longer have fresh basil in the garden, fresh pesto from Wegmans works every time!  If you are in a hurry and need a tasty chicken dish, this is the recipe for you!  I will need to give out some props for my husband, Jason, for this creation.   When we first started dating, I remember him making this meal and thinking, wow, this is really tasty and tender!  Impressive, right?  

All you need is:

Boneless chicken breasts

pesto

thinly sliced tomato

mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Layer pesto on top of chicken (if you do think of this ahead, you can always marinate chicken in Italian dressing).  Bake in oven for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, top pesto with 2 thin slices of tomato and a thick layer of mozzarella cheese.  Bake for another 5-7 minutes.  Enjoy :)

Greens and Beans over Tortellini

Greens and Beans are a classic Italian dish, that is delicious on its own, with chicken, sausage, or sausage tortellini as I made it.  To me, growing up in an Italian household, this is a comfort food that I crave!  From the minute I start sauteing the garlic, I just know this was a good decision for dinner.   Here is an easy, delicious meal anyone can make at home!


1 bag of escarole
2 large cloves of garlic
1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken broth
1 can cannellini beans
olive oil
salt and pepper
hot pepper flakes
Parmesan Cheese


Boil pasta water.
Heat up large skillet with olive oil, hot pepper flakes and minced garlic.  Add a large handful of greens to skillet, mix with garlic.  Add a little chicken broth to pan.  Mix until cooked.  Repeat steps until all the greens are in the pan.  Once all the greens are cooked through, add one can of rinsed beans (if you like it thicker, don't rinse the beans).  Salt and pepper greens and beans. Cook on low. When you add the beans to the pan, add pasta to water.  Serve greens and beans over pasta, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. ENJOY :)
Have I mentioned how much I love to shop at Wegmans?  My favorite thing to do each weekend is grocery shopping!  I just love walking around smelling the wonderful flavors, fresh bread, cheeses and plain old goodness!  What is there not to love?  I know, I know the crowds, but it doesn't bother me that much...
Any who, I just love the fresh pastas Wegmans prepares.  Every tortellini is just amazing.  With my greens and beans I paired it with the tortellini with sausage and white wine sauce.  YUMMO!  If you have not tried these tasty treats, I highly recommend scoping them out next time in Wegmans!

Apple Crisp

The smell of autumn leaves, fresh pumpkins and sweet scrumptious soul soothing apple crisp!  

Last week, I was craving this wonderfully delicious fall dessert.  I find this recipe to be the perfect one of all!  I am not a huge fan of nuts and oats mixed into desserts, but this still has that crunchy bite from the  butter, flour and sugar mixture that goes on top of the sliced apples that makes each spoonful perfect.  Each sweet bite of warm apple crisp is like a party in your mouth!  Here is my mom's recipe for apple crisp.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


4 cups of sliced apples
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)


Mound apples in buttered 9" round pan.  Sprinkle apples with 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon and 1-2 tsp. of flour.  Mix all together.  
Combine sugar, flour and spices and a dash of salt till mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle over apples.  
Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or till apples are tender and top is browned.
Let sit for at least 15 minutes before you enjoy this hot apple crisp recipe.  I always enjoy a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

YUM!

Chicken French

The first time I made chicken french was in 6th or 7th grade for the home and careers unit.  We had to make a dinner for our family and my mom taught me how to make chicken french.  Ever since then, it has been one of my favorite meals.  It is such a tasty meal with the tanginess from lemon, salty from capers, and savory from the sherry wine and butter.  It is a sure dish for tender and flavorful chicken!  

Bread chicken in flour mixture with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Fry in oil until golden brown and mostly cooked through.  Remove chicken from pan.


For the sauce:
1-2 teaspoons of capers
1 lemon
1/2 cup sherry wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 TB butter
optional: quartered artichokes 


To frying pan add: butter, capers, 2 or three thin slices of lemon, the juice of the rest the lemon, capers chicken broth and sherry wine.  Let simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken to sauce and cook for another 4-5 minutes on each side.  ENJOY :)


I didn't have artichokes in the cabinet, but I usually add them and serve over rice.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

This recipe is another blast from the past!  Scalloped potatoes and ham is a dish that sticks to your bones!  It is an American classic, that is an easy dish for any family to enjoy during the week.   Jason, was not a big fan of this dish growing up and I really didn't change his mind, but I learned that he just is not a fan of ham.  I am also not a huge fan, but think it is yummy every once in a long while.  The main problem with ham is that it is very salty, but with the cheesy potatoes it is just delicious!  


3 Large Red Potatoes, washed and thinly sliced
2 small ham steak
1 onion, thinly sliced
2-3 cups of cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
2 TB butter
2 TB flour
salt and pepper


In a pan, fry the thin onion rings until browned and soft.  Cut the ham steaks up into quarters or eighths.  In a small sauce pan, melt butter.  Add milk and season with salt and pepper.  Add four, lower heat and simmer until sauce has thickened. 
Layer Potaotes, ham, onions and cheese.  

Pour sauce over potatoes and ham.  Top with cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until browned and bubbly!

Enjoy :)

Sweet and Sour Pork

This week I was craving some comfort food from my childhood.  My mom is a fabulous cook and I have to say my love for food started at home, savory and sweet!  Not only did my brother and I have hot, tasty meals every night, but dessert was also a must.  To this day my brother and I are food snots and are always looking forward to our next meal and going home to mom's for a homemade treat!  My brother, Ross, and I are always trying to replicate meals we had growing up.  This week I made two meals that I always enjoyed.  This blog is about one of my favorite pork dishes growing up.  Here it is!

2 bone -in pork chops

Flour Mixture: Flour, ground ginger, salt and pepper

1 cooking onion chopped

1/2 cup beef broth

1/2 cup chili sauce

2 TB Cider Vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

Flour both sides of pork in mixture and brown both sides of pork in pan with olive oil.

In a baking dish combine, chopped onions, chili sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar and beef broth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sumerge pork in sweet and sour sauce.  Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.  The sauce is so delicious you will want to soak up all the flavors!

I took a few spoonfuls of the sweet and sour sauce to marinate and cook broccoli, it was delish!

ENJOY :)