Be back shortly...

Okay, I tried to get back on the ball last week but it's just not going to happen until January! Neither of our camera's are working and life is CRAZY. I will still post the weekly menus but for now, no new recipes until January, but I will be coming back strong and already have some great ones ready for you then!

Boursin Stuffed Chicken

I love Boursin. In fact I have a great recipe for it but had to swear I would keep it a secret, which I hate, but you can buy it at the store and it worth every penny you pay. Anyways, I made a whole bunch of it from Thanksgiving and we had some left over and it's good to waste so I came up with this recipe. If you are a boursin lover like Gray and I then this is sure to please the palate.

3 chicken breast
1/2 cup of panko
1 egg
4 1/2 Tbsp of Boursin

Heat oven to 350. Butterfly the chicken breast. Spoon 1 1/2 tbsp of boursin into the center and roll it up, securing with toothpicks. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture then roll in panko until totally covered. Bake for 4o minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Corn Chowder

I have really been on a soup kick this year, I have tried a ton of new recipes but this one might be my favorite. I found it this past summer on Our Best Bites and have been wanting to try it ever since! It's easy and so warm and creamy, perfect soup for this cold weather.

2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. water
2 1/2 c. milk
2 regular-sized chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional but please don't skip it)
1 small onion, diced
2-3 red potatoes, cubed
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can corn, drained or about 2 cups frozen fresh corn
Salt and Pepper to taste
a dash or two of hot sauce

Melt butter over low heat in large pot, add flour and whisk until it forms a small ball. Add water to the pot then whisk until all lumps are gone. Add the milk and bouillon cubes then bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes, onions, garlic and simmer, stirring often. Do not bring it to a boil. Cook for around 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. Add bacon, corn, and pepper. Let cook for 2 to 4 minutes, taste before you salt. The bacon adds a lot of saltiness already. Top with cheese.

I'm sorry

I have been so slack with posting recipes, if you read my life/adoption blog then you know exactly why things haven't been getting posted. If you don't, we have been going through a very crazy time in our adoption and our lives have basically been consumed by that during the day and then when I get home at night I just want to lay down because I am so emotionally exhausted. I promise that tomorrow I will start back and keep it up! I have some good recipes coming soon!

Chicken and Cheese Biscuits

Who doesn't love a good comfort food recipe? And nothing is better than good comfort food on a cold night! I found the recipe on tidymom.net and it met all the qualifications for comfort food. the biggest ones being warm, easy and ingredients I normally have in my kitchen.

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour
4-5 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
1-14oz can chicken broth
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
milk (as needed)
1 can biscuits

Place the already cooked and shredded chicken in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bring butter, salt, pepper, and chicken broth to a simmer in a sauce pan. Whisk in flour until the sauce is smooth. Thin down with milk if needed. Pour sauce over chicken. Top with cheese and biscuits. Bake according to biscuit directions. (It took mine about 20 minutes and the biscuit directions were 8 minutes).

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

My pumpkin obsession has continued. These cookies are awesome, one of my coworkers called them the crack cookies because she was so addicted to them after 1 bite. They aren't overwhelming with pumpkin flavor but just a hint to make them festive. This recipe is from Bunny's Warm Oven but I found it on Cooking with Christine.

1 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Place the butter in a bowl and mix it for 1 minute. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar and pumpkin and mix until blended. Beat in cream of tartar, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Beat in the egg. Add the flour and beat in as much as possible with the mixer then stir in with a wooden spoon. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for an hour. In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Heat oven to 350. Drop teaspoons of the batter into the sugar mixture, roll around and place on an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Repeat until all the dough is done. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Tzatziki Sauce

I love Tzatziki Sauce, I mean love love love. I love dipping raw veggies it in, I love it loaded up on my gyros, and I LOVED it on those greek burgers from yesterday. Now there are so many different recipes circulating on the Internet of how to make the best Tzatziki sauce. I honestly read about 10 different recipes then came up with this one on my own based on the advice from those recipes.

1 cup of Greek Yogurt

1/2 tbsp dried dill

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of grated cucumber

Add all the ingredients to the food processor and blended until relatively smooth.

Greek Burgers

These burgers were awesome, they were quick to make and so tasty. They felt so much lighter with the feta mixed into them than a burger smothered in cheese. Don't read that wrong, I love a burger smothered in cheese this was just a good change. The recipe is from Food for my Family. I cut the recipe in half for the two of us and we were able to eat them the next day for lunch too!

2 lbs. ground beef
15 Kalamata olives (give or take) chopped (I used less than this because Gray hates olives)
½ cup feta cheese
3 scallions chopped
½ tsp fresh black pepper
½ tsp kosher salt
Mix together all the ingredients then pattie them out. Put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before grilling them. Heat your grill and place the patties on the grill. Cook on each side for 4 minutes flipping them twice on each side. Remove and top with Tzatiki, Cucumber, Tomato, Lettuce, ect.

This recipe was featured on Eat at Home Cooks Ingredient Spotlight for Ground Beef. 

Oven Baked Potato Wedges

I have been looking for a good potato recipe like this forever. I have tried so many that never would get soggy and not crisp up or would burn really quickly and the middle would never get done. Finally, this recipe from Pennies on the Platter came in and saved the day.

Potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Seasoning (I used Paula Deen's silly salt that my mom got me as a gift while she was in Savannah)

Heat oven to 400. Wash, scrub and dry the potatoes. Remove skin if necessary then cut into wedges. Mix the potatoes with a bit of olive oil, you want them to just be coated. Season with salt, pepper and seasoning of choice. Place on a baking sheet in one layer. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes turning every 10 minutes.

Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Quesadillas

These were amazing. I was pretty sure this recipe wouldn't be a fail but I had no idea how creamy the avocado would make these quesadillas and how all of the flavors would flow perfectly together and yet you would be able to taste each item. Homerun! The recipe is from KevinandAmanda.com they seriously have some awesome recipes but as always it is slightly adapted.

4 medium-sized flour tortilla shells
1 lb chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
1/2 cup scallions, diced
8 strips of bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 avocado, diced
cheese, shredded (I used colby jack)
2 tbsp butter

Fry bacon is skillet. Set aside 1/2 tbsp of bacon drippings and rinse pan. Add bacon drippings back to pan and saute the scallions for 2 minutes. Add the chicken, salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken and scallions, rinse pan.

Add 1/2 tbsp of butter to pan over medium heat, place the tortilla in the pan, add the chicken, bacon, avocado and cheese to half of the tortilla then fold the the torilla in half. Cook for about 1 to 2 more minutes on each side. Repeat until all the quesadillas are made