The Ultimate Comfort Food Casserole

Can't decide what to make for dinner? Chicken casserole? Green bean casserole? Mashed potatoes? Or maybe something cheesy? This casserole has it all--chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, and cheddar cheese. In other words, it combines some of the best comfort foods into one dish. It's also great for using up left over chicken or mashed potatoes. I even overheard Eric bragging to his mom on the phone about how amazing this casserole turned out.

This is a variation on a Betty Crocker recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken or turkey (leftover chicken/turkey works great; so does shredded rotisserie chicken)
2 (14.5 ounce) can green beans, drained
1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of mushroom (Don't like mushrooms? Use cream of celery instead)
1/3 cup milk
4 cups mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups french fried onions

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


In a saucepan, combine chicken, beans, cream of mushroom soup, and 1/3 cup milk. Cook over medium heat until hot--approximately 10 minutes--stirring occasionally.

Once the chicken mixture is hot, remove from heat and stir in cheese until it is melted. Pour the mixture in a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Spoon potatoes on top of the chicken mixture.

Bake for 10 minutes then sprinkle the top of the potatoes with the french fried onions. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until the onion topping is warm. Serve.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Check Out More Comfort Food Recipes:
How to Make Boxed Mac and Cheese Taste Homemade 
Baked Potato Soup 
Potless Chicken Pot Pies 

Pumpkin Penne Casserole

If it's not apparent by now, I've been on a major pumpkin kick lately. I've made cheese tortellini in a pumpkin sauce (my personal favorite), pumpkin lasagna rolls, pumpkin bread, pumpkin swirl brownies, pumpkin dip (Eric's favorite), and even a mini pumpkin pie (Eric's second favorite). To say the least, I've pumpkin'ed poor Eric out--except for the pumpkin dip, he's already asked me to make more. So when I made this casserole, I didn't tell him there was pumpkin in it (Bad, girlfriend, bad). He came home from work and I told him dinner was on the stove if he was hungry. He mentioned that it smelled good and asked what was in it. I started off with the magical word: sausage, then listed off some other ingredients. Eric took a few bites and loved it. After he cleared half his plate, he asked again what was in it, there was something he couldn't identify. That's when I let the bomb drop: pumpkin. The pumpkin in this dish is mild and takes a backseat to the spiciness of the dish. Even though it was pumpkin, Eric continued to finish what was on his plate.

Ingredients:
2 spicy sausages (I used Hillshire Farms jalapeno and cheddar smoked sausage), chopped
2 cups penne pasta
3 tablespoons onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 tablespoon cream cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook sausage until golden brown. Remove from pan. Saute onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes for about 3 minutes or until soft. Add pumpkin, chicken stock, salt, and sage and stir. Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in milk, cream cheese, and sausage. Simmer until the sauce slightly thickens. Add pasta and parsley and toss. Spray a 8x8 inch glass casserole dish with cooking spray and pour in sausage and pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Potless Chicken Pot Pies

I came up with this recipe for a dinner party a couple of years ago. I was on a tight budget and the cool weather called out for comfort food. I had used crescent rolls to make other "packet" dinners before and they seemed perfect for making chicken pot pies. I used the spices and frozen vegetables I had in the house at the time and came up with this incredibly flavorful, satisfying dinner. Everyone loved it.

This recipe makes four pot pies.

Ingredients:
2 packages crescent rolls
2 cups frozen vegetable mix (peas, carrots, celery, potatoes, etc.), cooked
1 tablespoon onion, minced
1 can cream of chicken
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon ground black peppercorn
10 ounces canned chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken
McCormick Crusting Blends: Garlic, Lemon, and Rosemary, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cream of chicken, chicken, rosemary, pepper, and vegetables in a bowl.

Roll out the crescent rolls, combining four rolls to make one sheet of dough. Two cans of crescent rolls will give you four sheets. Divide the chicken mixture between the four sheets. To make round or "bundled" pies, put the mixture in the center and bring the corners in the center, pinching the seams together to seal. Or make rectangular pies by placing the mixture on half the sheet then folding the other half over it, pinching the seams together. Sprinkle the tops with McCormick Crusting Blends. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 to 25 minutes or until the dough is golden. 

Healthier version: This recipe is yummy but like most comfort foods, it is high in calories. I usually use reduced fat crescent rolls and reduced fat cream of chicken to cut out some of those pesky calories.

1/6/14 UPDATE! 
Number 1: These things work great with leftover turkey--say from Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Number 2: You can make these things smaller. Combining four rolls makes one big potless chicken pot pie, which happens to be the perfect size for Eric. It's way too much food for me though. So I now make a smaller version using just two rolls. Much better for me. 

 Enjoy!

~Krissy

Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls

Add a hint of autumn to lasagna by adding a little pumpkin puree into the filling. These pumpkin lasagna rolls have a mild pumpkin flavor, unlike my cheese tortellini with pumpkin sauce recipe, which make them perfect for those who like pumpkin but are a little afraid of its unconventional uses.

Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls garnish with Parmesan

Ingredients: 
1 cup ricotta cheese
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
salt, to taste
8 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 cup of a robust tomato sauce (recommendation: Prego--Roasted Red Pepper)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Thinly coat the bottom of a shallow casserole dish with tomato sauce. Set aside.

Mix ricotta, pumpkin, Parmesan, mozzarella, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Divide the ricotta-pumpkin mixture between the 8 lasagna noodles and roll the noodles. Place the rolls in the casserole dish seam-side down. Spoon sauce of the top of the rolls. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Note: Since the pumpkin flavor is rather mild, the key to making this dish really pop with flavor is using a good tomato sauce full of seasonings and herbs. I prefer anything by Prego, particularly the Roasted Red Pepper tomato sauce.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Slow Cooker Recipe: Tomato and Artichoke Chicken

Tonight's scrumptious, hearty dinner:

Tomato and Artichoke Chicken

Ingredients: 
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons Italian dressing
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
2 shallots, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (14 oz) artichokes hearts, drained and coarsely chopped

Directions: 
Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Coat the chicken breasts with the Italian dressing and place them in the slow cooker. Sprinkle the chicken with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Add the shallots and garlic. Pour in artichoke hearts then the diced tomatoes.

Cover the crock pot and set on Low. Cook for between 5 and 6 hours.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Baked Potato Soup

This is one of my all time, absolutely favorite soups, especially come autumn and winter. It has everything tasty in it--potatoes, cheese, bacon, garlic . . . The original recipe came from the Food Network, but I've made a few changes to make the soup my own.

Ingredients:

6 strips of turkey bacon
2 large shallots, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium russet potatoes, diced into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
6 cups chicken stock
5 slices of white bread, cut into 6-8 pieces
margarine
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
Sour cream, garnish
Green onions, garnish

Directions:

Cook turkey bacon in a large pot until crisp. Remove and coarsely chop the bacon. Set aside.

Add the onions and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté in the fat from the turkey bacon (if you use real bacon, remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat from pan before sautéing) until golden brown. Add potatoes and stir to coat. Next, pour in the red wine vinegar and scrape any bits from the pan. Pour the stock into the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

While your soup simmers, turn your oven to broil. Butter both sides of your bread pieces with margarine and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Flip bread over and bake for another five minutes or until the bread is gold brown. Set aside.

When the soup is ready, divide it between four bowls. Add ½ to 1 tablespoon sour cream to each bowl, if desired. Pile the bread, cheese and bacon into each bowl. Top with thinly sliced green onions and serve.

Makes four good-sized servings.

Variations

If you want melted cheese for your soup, butter one side of your white bread pieces with the margarine and place them butter side down on a baking sheet. Top with cheese and bacon pieces. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bread is crisp. Divide evenly among the bowls. These also make yummy appetizers on white bread or baguettes.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Knock-off

Whenever Eric and I go to Olive Garden, we get the soup, salad, and bread stick lunch. It's yummy, filling, and inexpensive (which usually allows us to splurge on dessert!) All their soups are delicious, but the chicken and gnocchi soup is by far my favorite. I think I've come up with a pretty good knockoff version that we can make at home.

Ingredients:

¼ cup canned chicken
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
2 garlic gloves, minced
¼ cup frozen carrots and peas
½ cup spinach, thawed, drained and chopped
10 potato gnocchi
¼ cup Parmesan-romano blend cheese, grated
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

Dissolve cornstarch into the cup of milk. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, heat olive oil and sauté the garlic, frozen peas and frozen carrots. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add chicken, gnocchi, thyme, salt, and pepper. Wait until the gnocchi is cooked—about five minutes—before adding the milk/cornstarch solution and cheese. Bring back to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add spinach. Cook for another minute or two. Serve with additional Parmesan as a garnish.

Gnocchi

You can buy potato gnocchi from the frozen section of your grocery store or make it yourself. I made my own. While they turned out delicious, they required so much work that I’ll probably never prepare them again. Given the effort that goes into them, I’d rather pay the price at the checkout lane.

Thoughts

A lot of the time when I cook, I work with the things in my pantry which means I don’t always have the exact ingredient for a recipe. Eric loves making fried rice so we always have frozen peas and carrots in the freezer, which is why they go into this soup. I also usually substitute whole milk with cornstarch for half and half just because cream always goes bad before I can use the carton and Eric only drinks whole milk so it’s always in the fridge. Using half and half makes the soup a little bit richer and creamier but if you don’t have any in the house, whole milk and cornstarch works wonders.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Pasta and Sun-dried Tomatoes in a Pesto Sauce

Nothing goes better with pesto sauce than sun-dried tomatoes. Toss with whatever pasta you have on hand and add a little bit of cream cheese for extra richness and creaminess and you have a delicious, simple meal for lunch or dinner. As of right now, I use Knorr powdered pesto mix. One day when my basil plant produces enough leaves, I will prepare my own homemade pesto sauce.

Shell pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and cream cheese in a pesto sauce.

Ingredients:

1 package Knorr pesto mix
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup water
2 servings of the pasta of your choice
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon low fat cream cheese, cut in small pieces

Directions:

Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Set aside.

Whisk the pesto mix, olive oil and water in a sauce pan. Bring to boil while constantly stirring.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss pasta with the sauce. Add sun-dried tomatoes and cream cheese.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

The Best Friggin Meatballs Ever!

So the other day I decided to make spaghetti and turkey meatballs. The meatballs turned out okay, but there was nothing spectacular about them. I knew I'd have to fiddle with the recipe to give them that wow factor. We had a bunch of leftovers, and Eric--being the sweetheart that he is--made dinner last night because I was in a cranky mood (apartment was too hot, the water heater wasn't working, work had been frustrating, etc.) He turned the so-so meatballs into the best friggin meatballs I've ever tasted! They needed a zing to them and he knew just what to do.

Here is the meatball recipes I used. The flavor by itself is nothing special, but the Italian spices combined with the barbecue sauce were amazing.

Plain Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 egg
2 ts dried basil
1 ts dried oregano
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 cup instant oatmeal flakes
Your favorite barbecue sauce. We like Sweet Baby Ray's.

Directions*:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray, set aside.

Mix everything together except the barbecue sauce. Roll the meat into 1 1/2-inch balls and place in a casserole pan. Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the meatballs are no longer pink. Transfer the meatball to a sauce pan and cover generously with barbecue sauce. (Eric doesn't generally measure things out, so sadly I have no measurements for you) Make sure to completely coat each meatball. Heat on high until sauce is warm and serve!

Barbecue meatballs (I forgot to take a picture before we ate dinner; there were more)

Barbecue meatballs (I forgot to take a picture before we ate dinner; there were more)

*These directions are just based on how we ended up making this dish. You could probably save yourself a step and add the barbecue sauce to the baking pan or cook the meatball on the stove top in the sauce.

Eric also made my homemade mac and cheese from a box. The flavors of the two dishes complimented each other perfectly. I ate well last night.

 Enjoy!

~Krissy

Southwestern Chicken Panini Recipe

Don't know what to make for lunch? I'm here with your answer: Southwest Chicken Panini. I don't own a panini press so I usually just grill them on the skillet like I would a grilled cheese sandwich. Sometimes I use my George Foreman grill. But no matter how you make it, the sandwich comes out tasty. Pair it with a salad, fries, potato chips or kale chips. It also makes a great simple dinner when you just don't feel like cooking.

Ingredients:

10 ounce can of chicken (or shredded leftover chicken)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons mayo
2 tablespoons ranch dressing
8 pieces of bread
Butter
Roma tomato, sliced (you can also use sun-dried tomatoes)
Cheddar cheese--I highly recommend Kraft's Triple Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
In a medium-size bowl, mix together chicken, mayo, ranch dressing, and chili powder. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Divide the chicken among four pieces of bread, spreading it on the unbutter side of the bread. Add the cheese, tomato slices, and top slice of bread, butter side up. Grill in a skillet, grill or panini press until each piece of bread is golden brown. Makes four sandwiches.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Sausage

I'm not a big drinker, but I've learned to love to cook and bake with alcohol. I've added chocolate raspberry rum (from the Caribbean) to all kinds of bake goods. I made rum balls for the first time last Christmas. And I'm in love with vodka sauce. It's got such a kick and unique taste. If you like spicy, you'll like this recipe.

Shell pasta with vodka sauce, garnished with Parmesan cheese

Ingredients:
4 servings of pasta, usually about 2 cups depending on the type of pasta. (I prefer penne)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 spicy sausages (Eric loves the Hillshire Farms Jalapeno and Cheese Sausages) chopped into bite-size pieces
1 medium shallot, minced
2 pinches of red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (14.9 ounce) of diced tomatoes
3/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
5 basil leaves, torn
Parmesan cheese, garnish

Directions:
Cook pasta according to the package directions, drain, rinse and set aside.

In a deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until shallots and garlic turn a golden brown. Add tomatoes and cook for approximately 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Pour in vodka and cook until the sauces reduces by half. In a glass, mix the milk and cornstarch together* then stir it into the sauce. Cook until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Add basil and pasta. Toss. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

*You can replace the milk and cornstarch mixture with heavy cream. I rarely have heavy cream on hand and found that whole milk and cornstarch work just as well as heavy cream.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

A Simple Parmesan and Garlic Sauce

It's almost time to go grocery shopping and we're down to a box of pasta and a few staples in the pantry. That means it's time to make Parmesan and garlic sauce with pasta. No matter how low on food we're running, we almost always have the ingredients to make this dish. It's a simple, filling, and full of flavor.

Can you guess where we shop?

Ingredients:

2 serving of the pasta of your choice
1 tablespoon margarine
1 tablespoon flour
1 small garlic clove, minced
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup milk
¼ cup Parmesan
Pepper, to taste
Parsley, optional

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions; set aside.

Melt margarine in a sauce pan and add garlic. Sauté for about one minute or until garlic turns a golden brown color. Add flour and cook for about minute while continually stirring. Pour in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, continually stirring so the sauce thickens. Reduce heat. Add Parmesan and stir until cheese is melted. Add parsley and pepper. Pour over pasta and serve. 

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Provincial Chicken

This is all I have to say about this recipe: one pan, eight ingredients, tasty, filling, and easy.

All in one deep skillet

Ingredients:
4 slices of bacon (or turkey bacon)
1 tablespoon of minced onion
1 garlic glove, minced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 can (15.8 ounce) of Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes with garlic and basil seasoning, undrained
1/4 cup water
a dash of pepper

Directions:
Cook bacon in a deep skillet for about 5 minutes or until it is brown and crisp. Remove from the pan, cut into 1-inch pieces, and set aside.

Saute the garlic and onions in the bacon grease until they turn a golden brown, roughly 3 to 5 minutes.* Add the pieces of chicken. Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is lightly brown on both sides.
Stir in the beans, tomatoes, water, and pepper and then bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Take the lid off the pan, add the bacon pieces and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the sauce thickens.

*If you use turkey bacon en lieu of regular bacon, you will need to add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the pan in order to cook the chicken. Turkey bacon just doesn't give off enough grease. I prefer the recipe with turkey bacon. Eric likes it best with regular bacon.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

We love Mexican food. When we go out to eat, we almost always go to  Cancun's. But eating out gets expensive, so I've learned to make some Mexican dishes on my own. One of our favorites is chicken enchiladas. As I do with a lot of my recipes, I stole an idea or two from this recipes and an idea or two from that recipe until I came up with my own.

If you haven't had fire-roasted tomatoes before, you're missing out! They are the key to my chicken enchilada recipe. You should be able to find them with the other canned tomatoes in the grocery store.

Ingredients:

1 14.5-ounce can of fire-roasted tomatoes
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon hot sauce
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
4 8-inch flour tortillas
2 5-ounce cans of canned chicken
(or about 1½ cups shredded cooked chicken)
Handful of green onions, chopped
½ teaspoon cumin
1½ tablespoons sour cream
½ cup shredded Mexican seasoned cheese, plus extra
            (cheddar and mozzarella work too)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour the can of tomatoes, chili powder, and hot sauce into a sauce pan, simmer, and stir. Add the sugar into sauce to help cut the acidity. Remove from heat.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix chicken, sour cream, green onion, cumin, cheese and ¼ cup of tomato sauce. Set aside.

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Dip your tortilla in tomato sauce then fry it in the skillet. When the tortilla begins to bubble up, flip the tortilla over. It’s much easier to use a pair of tongs than a spatula. Repeat with the other 3 tortillas. 

Dip in tomato sauce

Air bubble beneath the tortilla

Spoon a little tomato sauce into a 9x9-inch glass dish so the bottom is coated. Divide the chicken mixture between the 4 tortillas (they will be very full). Place tortillas seam side down in the dish. Pour remaining sauce of them then generously sprinkle with cheese.

Seams down

Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Update!
While making these for my parents over the Fourth of July weekend, I discovered that this recipe also works for steak enchiladas!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Baked Garlic Chicken

Growing up I never had any interest in cooking. It wasn't until my senior year of college, after making lasagna with a couple of friends, that I found my love for cooking. It didn't have to be a chore; it could be an expression of creativity. Baked Garlic Chicken was the first recipe I made all on my own. It involves a bunch of ingredients, but it's really very simple. After the dish turned out delicious and I discovered that I could cook, I was hooked.

Right out of the oven, baked garlic chicken

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup low fat sour cream
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons celery salt
2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers or bread crumbs
¼ cup butter, melted

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9x9 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, minced garlic, celery salt, Worchestershire sauce, lemon juice, paprika, and pepper. Coat chicken breasts in the mixture and marinate for at least three hours in the refrigerator. Place cracker crumbs in a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken in the crumbs. Transfer chicken to pan. Pour the melted butter over the chicken. Baked uncovered for approximately 50 minutes or until the juices from the chicken run clear.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Ricotta, Basil, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza

Eric needs to have pizza for dinner at least once a week--frozen pizza, Hungry Howie's pizza (with garlic butter and Cajun crust), Little Caesar's Hot and Ready pizza, homemade pizza, it doesn't matter. If he had his way, we'd eat it almost every night, only punctuated with orange chicken from Panda Express. I, on the other hand, would be happy with pizza just once a month. Don't get me wrong, I love pizza, but it's not so kind to the waistline. Eric possesses a metabolism that would make a supermodel jealous. I, however, certainly do not, especially not now that I'm in my 30s. This is why I like homemade pizza best. Half the pizza can be mozzarella, tomato sauce and pepperoni and the other half can be ricotta, basil and sun-dried tomatoes!

The old versus the old:

Eric is a pizza traditionalist--mozzarella , pepperonis and that's it. I like mixing things up.

Ingredients:

1 package Jiffy pizza dough mix (you could also use a pre-made crust)
3-4 gloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
(I use my own homemade sun-dried tomatoes)
1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
½ cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
5-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
½ cup red onions, sliced

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan.

Prepare Jiffy mix. In a medium bowl, add pizza dough mix and ½ cup hot tap water. Stir until well combined. Cover with a towel and let set for five minutes in a warm place. Knead the dough several times on a floured board. Grease your fingers and press dough on the bottom and sides of your pan. Bake dough for 2 to 3 minutes before adding toppings. 

Mix ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan together in a bowl; set aside. 

Scatter your garlic and sun-dried tomatoes evenly across the crust. Spread the cheese mixture over top (if you put your sun-dried tomatoes on top of the cheese, they’ll burn). Sprinkle basil leaves and red onions over the top of the pizza. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes or until the crust turn a golden brown.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Parmesan-Seared Chicken Recipe

This recipe belongs to Eric. We both love to cook and to cook together. One summer we were up north for the weekend at my parents' cabin, and he showed me how to make Parmesan-seared chicken with twice baked potatoes. They both became two of our favorite dishes, and we’ve made them many times over the last couple years. The Parmesan-seared chicken is one of the two recipes Eric feels he has completely mastered (the other is fried rice). If you're looking for a new and easy chicken recipe with a lot of flavor, you've got to try out this one. 

Parmesan-seared Chicken

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon honey mustard

½ cup Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

In a bowl, coat the chicken pieces with the honey mustard and marinate for at least two hours. In a separate bowl pour in the Parmesan. Add olive oil to a skillet and heat over medium heat. Dredge the chicken pieces in the Parmesan. Cook the meat in the pan over medium heat for about four minutes on each side or until the outside is a golden brown and the inside is white. 

Tips

You can use both grated and shredded Parmesan cheese for this recipe. If you don’t have time to marinate the chicken, you can just coat the chicken with the mustard, dredge in the cheese then cook. It still tastes delicious. The marinate just gives it some extra flavor. And if you don’t want to dredge the chicken, you can always do the shake and bake method—put the chicken and Parmesan in a plastic bag to coat it. Eric did this for a long time until he discovered that dipping the chicken in Parmesan coated it better.

Enjoy!

~Krissy