Crescent Chicken Rolls

I found this recipe over at See Jane in the Kitchen, I knew I wanted to try it. It lived up to everything I dreamed it would be and we both loved it. (sorry the next picture is not the greatest)

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup mushrooms
2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 box seasoned stuffing mix, crushed
2 cups chicken gravy (or not if you are like us and don't really love gravy)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cream cheese and butter. Add pecans, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Add chicken and mix well. Spread out the crescent rolls. Add a large tablespoon of the mixture to the center of the crescent roll. Roll up and pinch edges together to make sure they are sealed. Brush roll in melted butter and roll in stuffing crumbs. Bake on parchment lined cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes. Check them after 15 minutes to make sure they are not getting to done. Top it off with chicken gravy if desired!

Chips and Salsa Chicken

This recipe is adapted from Fav Family Recipes. I have been wanting to this recipe forever and then I changed it up and basically made it how I make my Chicken Parm, this is going to be recipe we use a lot!

4 boneless skinless chicken breast
Half a bag of tortilla chips
1 egg beaten
1 cup salsa
4 slices of cheese of choice (we used pepper jack on 1 and cheddar on the other)

Heat oven to 350. Crush tortilla chips. Dip chicken in egg then in the crushed chips and place in a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes (or until done) then top with 1/4 cup of salsa and 1 slice of cheese per piece of chicken. Put back in the oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted!

Shortcakes

My friend Leslie brought these for dessert one night and I had to have the recipe! Thankfully she is one of those recipe sharers, I hate it when people don't share! These are amazing, I made them for my family a few weeks ago and they loved them too!

1 1/2 Cups AP Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/3 Cup Cold Butter
1 Egg Lightly Beaten
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons Milk

Heat oven to 400. Grease baking sheet. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until it is coarse and crumbly. In a separate bowl combine egg, sour cream, and milk. Add to the flour mixture. Drop into 8 mounds on baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with strawberries, peaches, whatever your heart desires!

Baby Back Ribs in the Crockpot

I have always been scared to make Ribs because my mom is the Rib Queen (I'm sure she would love that title). All my brother's friends know about her ribs, all of his coaches and the guys my dad has coached with know about her ribs, she is kinda famous for them. Anyways I saw this recipe and ribs where on sale so I went for it, and I have to say they were pretty tasty, Gray loved them and they will be made many more time in our house.
Recipe from Inside Our Kitchen.

4 pounds pork baby back ribs
1/4 cup of barbecue sauce
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Trim excess fat from ribs. Combine dry ingredients and rub over the surface of the ribs. Place ribs in slow cooker or Crock-Pot standing on their edge with the meaty side out. Add a tiny amount of water (I put about 1 1/2 cups). Cook for about 6 hours, they were in the crockpot for 10 hours when I cooked them and it worked perfectly. Remove ribs from slow cooker and brush with barbecue sauce. Broil under the broiler for a few minutes to caramelize the barbecue sauce. Serve with corn on the cob because it's just not right not to.

Brown Sugar Salmon

I made this for Mother's Day, all 5 of us agreed that it was great, and that's a lot of people to agree that something is that good. I was a bit nervous, well mainly because I always get nervous when cooking for my family, so I'm glad this was a success. My parents are who instilled the love of food and fine dining into me, they started taking us to nice restaurants when we were pretty young. Anyways, enough about that, I'm glad this passed the test.
Recipe from Lettuce Pray.

4 Salmon Fillets
1 Tbsp Melted Butter
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp Lemon Pepper
1/4 Tsp Ground Pepper

Line a pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Combine Brown Sugar, Onion Powder, Lemon Pepper and Ground Pepper. Brush Salmon with Butter. Gently press the brown sugar mixture onto the Salmon. Bake 425 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Applesauce Chicken

This was another recipe that I went out on a limb for, Gray was totally unsure when I told him about it and of course we both ended up loving it! I put in the crockpot before I left for work and when I came home the house smelled amazing. I found it over at A Year of Slow Cooking, if you have a crockpot you must head over and check out the recipes!

4 chicken breast (I only used three because that's all we needed)
1 1/2 cups of applesauce
1 T dried onion flakes or 1 yellow onion, chopped finely
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Put the chicken into your crockpot. Add the onion (if you are using the dried onion, wait and add it to the applesauce). In a bowl, mix the applesauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices together. Pour on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or on high for 3-4. I served it over rice.

San Giorgio Baked Ziti

I saw this recipe on Stephanie Cooks a while back and new it would be a perfect dinner for one of our meatless meals. I was so confident that this was going to be great that I took it to some of our friends for dinner, they were in the middle of exams (one in law school and one in med school) so I though a good dinner with help with their studying. Thankfully I was right about this recipe being awesome, Gray and I loved it and so did our friends! It was perfect with a salad and bread and I know this will go into our regular rotation!

1 box ziti, uncooked***
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese (15 oz) ***
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1 Tbsp parsley
1 egg
1 Tsp oregano
1/2 Tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta according to package directions for 9 minutes and then drain. In large mixing bowl stir together hot pasta, 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, egg, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In 13×9 x 2-inch baking dish, spoon pasta mixture; top with remaining 1-1/2 cups sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cover. Bake 30 minutes.

***just a side note, I always use whole wheat pasta and part skim ricotta cheese.

Baked Zucchini Coins

I love fried Zucchini so when I saw this recipe over at Janet is Hungry I knew I had to try it. It was great and I made a little tzatziki dipping sauce to go with it that was perfect! Hey, maybe your kids will even try zucchini if it is cooked like this!

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
freshly ground pepper
1 zucchini
1 egg
olive oil

Mix together cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper and basil. Beat the egg. Slice the zucchini into coin shapes. Dip zucchini into egg then into the flour mixture. Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet greased with olive oil. Bake at 425 for ten minutes then flip and bake for 10 more minutes!

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

I love a good casserole and this is a good one to add to the list! Gray loved it as well! I found the recipe over at Just Cook Already, and adapted it a bit. It's a winner, try it, you will be surprised by the flavor the poppy seeds give it!

4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 16 oz container sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup
1 sleeve snack crackers, crushed
2 tsp poppy seed
1/2 cup butter, melted

Boil and shred the chicken. Mix together sour cream, chicken soup, cream of mushroom (or celery) and poppy seeds. Add chicken, mix and pour into a casserole dish. Sprinkle crush crackers on top then spread the melted butter on top! Bake at 350 for 25 minutes!

Baked Chicken Parm

I know everyone has their own recipes for this but this is mine, I played with it for a while but now I think it is great the way it is!

4 Chicken Breast

1 egg
1 cup of Panko Crumbs
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 cup pasta sauce
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350. Combine panko and Italian seasoning. Dip chicken into the egg then roll in the panko crumbs. Sprinkle remaining panko crumbs on top of the chicken breast. Bake for 40 minutes to an house (or until chicken is done). Spoon pasta sauce (however little or much) onto each chicken breast. Top with Mozzarella cheese and put back into the oven until cheese is melted.