South of the Border Sandwiches

I made these back in May and completely forgot about them until I found the pictures I had taken! I found the recipe on Pinterest and came from THIS website.  All of the kids liked them...you can see in the picture I left certain things off some of the sandwiches for their tastes. I am going to make them again very soon!

1 loaf french bread, cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
1/2 c. black olives, chopped
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. light mayo
1/3 c. non fat sour cream
1/3 c. green onion, chopped
1 pound sliced turkey
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 ripe avocados, thinly sliced
3/4 c. cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 c. pepper jack or Monterey Jack cheese, grated


Preheat oven to 350F. In a bowl combine olives, chili powder, cumin and salt; set aside 2 tbsp. of this mixture. Add mayo, sour cream and green onion to the remaining olive mixture. Place bread on un-greased baking sheet and spread 1 tbsp. mayo mixture on each slice. Top with slices of turkey and tomato. Spread with another 1 tbsp. layer of mayo mixture. (I didn’t do the 2nd layer and either did the original poster) and top with avocado and cheese. Sprinkle with the reserve 2 tbsp. olive mixture. (I never reserved any lol)  Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Makes 8-10 servings.

Cafe Rio’s Chicken Tortilla Soup

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it came from this site. It was SUPER yummy and I’ll be making it again very soon! It was freezing cold today so I didn’t grill the chicken; I cooked it in a frying pan on the stove...can’t wait for it to warm up a little and I’ll definitely be grilling it! The only thing I changed from the original recipe (other than cooking on stove) was that I added 1 clove garlic.

1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 /2 tsp. cumin
a dash (or two) cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
5 c. chicken broth
3 tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
black pepper to taste
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp. taco seasoning
1 tbsp. paprika
vegetable oil (to taste)
pico de gallo
2-3 avocados, diced
2 c. pepper jack cheese (I used monterrey jack)
tortilla strips
cilantro for garnish
lime wedges for garnish

Directions:
In a small skillet, saute onion and pressed garlic in 1 tbsp. oil until onions become slightly soft. Stir in cumin, cayenne and chili powder and saute an addition minute or two. Transfer seasoned onions and garlic to a small crock pot or medium-sized saucepan. (I ended up saute-ing right in my stock pot so to not dirty another pan) Add chicken broth, cilantro, lime juice, black pepper and pinto beans to onions and garlic and simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours. When close to serving combine taco seasoning and paprika. Brush chicken with oil and rub with taco season/paprika mixture. Grill chicken over medium heat until cooked through. Remove from grill and shred. In individual bowls, layer chicken, about 1/3 c. pico de gallo, 1/3 c. diced avocado and 1/3 c. pepper jack cheese. Ladle about 1 c. of chicken broth mixture directly over the layers. Top with tortilla strips and garnish with cilantro and lime wedges. SO yummy! This made about 6 bowls. Next time I will double this so as to have seconds if desired or leftovers.

Man Pleasin’ Chicken

I got this recipe from one of the teachers at the kids’ school...it was really good and easy to make! I always adjust slightly or make more of a recipe due to the size of my family so I’ll post how I made it. I used bone-less, skin-less chicken breasts split lengthwise instead of the chicken thighs and I used 1/2 c. maple syrup instead of the 1/4 c. it calls for. Those are the only changes in case you want to make it the original way.

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts split lengthwise to make 6 pieces
1/2. c dijon mustard
1/2 c. maple syrup (real maple, not pancake syrup)
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 450F. Whisk together in bowl dijon mustard, rice wine vinegar and maple syrup.
Line a 9 x 13 casserole dish with foil for easy clean up and place chicken breasts. Season breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Pour maple mixture over chicken and turn them over to make sure all sides are fully coated. Bake for 30 mins. (Remember, I split my chicken breasts so they are thin and will cook through faster...increase time for whole breasts or thighs by at least 10 minutes).  I also turned my chicken once half way through baking time.  Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon extra sauce on chicken after transferring to plate and then sprinkle with fresh chopped rosemary.  I served with wild rice and broccoli. Really good!

Alfredo Sauce

My mom gave this recipe to me given to her by my Aunt Maryann. I doubled it for my family and we really liked it! It was a little thick by the time it made it to the noodles so next time I will thin it down a little with more milk. I used it to make the Chicken Florentine Alfredo.

8 oz. cream cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
3/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c. milk
1 clove garlic, pressed (optional)
black pepper to taste

Heat in sauce pan over medium heat until all ingredients are mixed throughly.

Hearty Italian Sausage Soup

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it is DEFINITELY a keeper. Everyone in the family liked it. I modified it slightly (as I do with almost every recipe) and will post how I made it. This is the link to the original recipe here.  I served it with hot garlic bread.

1 lb. Italian sausage (ground)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp. olive oil
2 14 oz. cans less sodium chicken broth
1 soup can of water (approx12 oz.)
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 14.5 oz can Italian stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 c. rotini pasta, uncooked
1 1/2 c. baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
shredded Mozzarella cheese  for topping

Cook ground sausage, onions, garlic and olive oil in frying pan until cooked through. In large stock post add cooked sausage to chicken broth, water, beans and stewed tomatoes. Bring to a boil and stir in pasta. Cook for 8 minutes or until noodles are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve in bowls and top with shredded Mozzarella. Serve with hot garlic bread.

Baked Potato Soup

Another one I found on Pinterest and LOVED LOVED LOVED it. My husband doesn’t like Baked Potato Bar but really liked this soup. I added a few things to the original recipe and also doubled it for the size of my family.  I am posting the changes that I made but click here if you want the original recipe.

6 medium baking potatoes, baked (I bake for about 45 minutes at 350F...scrub potatoes and poke holes in with a fork before baking)
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
1/2 c. chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1/2 c. flour
2 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth (or 4 cups if not using cans)
2 12 oz. cans evaporated milk

Suggested toppings and garnishes:
cooked and crumbled bacon
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced black olives
diced green onions
diced tomato
sour cream
seeded sunflower seeds

Melt better in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in broth and evaporated milk.  Scoop potato pulp from 2 potatoes (reserve potato skin) and mash. Add pulp to broth mixture. Cook over medium heat and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Dice remaining potato skin and the rest of the potatoes and add to soup. Heat thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls and garnish with bacon, cheese, olives, green onions, diced tomato, sour cream and sunflower seeds if desired.  Makes about 8 servings.

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

I can’t remember where I saw this recipe but I have had it saved on my computer for a while. I decided to make it Christmas morning and it turned out SO yummy! I made one half with sausage and one half with leftover ham diced up from Christmas Eve Dinner. (the kiddos don’t love sausage). 

2 lbs. ground sausage (or cooked, crumbled bacon or diced and browned ham)
1 lb. frozen hashbrowns

14 eggs

3/4 c. milk

1 onion, chopped fine
fresh mushrooms, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1 green pepper, diced

3 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
Chopped tomato to garnish
Salsa to garnish if desired

Brown sausage in large frying pan. Remove from heat once cooked through and drain excess drippings. Saute chopped onion and hashbrowns in same frying pan (I wiped out drippings from sausage with a paper towel but left just enough to flavor). Meanwhile, beat eggs and milk until combined. Add mushrooms, green pepper and cheese to egg mixture and season with salt and pepper. Spread cooked hashbrowns and then sausage (bacon or ham) in 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with egg mixture. Top with more cheese. Bake uncovered at 375F until eggs are cooked through. Garnish with fresh diced tomato and salsa if desired.  I also served with biscuits. Merry Christmas! 

Pecan-Crusted Chicken

This is another recipe I found on Pinterest. It came from Betty Crocker's website and we really liked it! It was fairly easy to make. The only thing I did different from the original recipe was that I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper before dipping into the yogurt and pecan/panko crumbs. The family really liked this one! I had to double the recipe for my family so that is what I'm going to post. Click the link for the original recipe.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts split lengthwise to make 8
1 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
1 c. pecans, chopped fine
4 tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large container (12 or 16oz) greek fat free plain yogurt
extra virgin olive oil for frying

I split my chicken breasts lengthwise or you can use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound chicken to 1/2 inch thick placing chicken in between waxed paper. Place yogurt in shallow dish and mixture of panko crumbs, pecans and parsley in another shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot.  Dip chicken in yogurt and then dip in panko crumb mixture until chicken is coated. Cook chicken in oil 8-10 minutes, turning once, until chicken is no longer pink in center and coating is golden brown.

*I'm a weirdo about cooking chicken on the stove...I always move the chicken from the skillet after frying to a baking sheet and place in oven at 350F for about 10 minutes just to make sure it's cooked through. I let it cook while I finish up my side dishes. I served with wild rice and broccoli.  My kids don't like wild rice so they had mashed potatoes with brown gravy as a side. They liked the chicken with just a drizzle of gravy on it but the chicken had enough flavor without. You could do either way.

Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought I'd share it. I didn't take a pic and don't want to steal their picture so here's the link and it will take you to the original post and recipe. It was really good and all of my family really liked it!

http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2012/04/doube-crunch-honey-garic-chicken.html

Chicken Florentine Alfredo

There is a restaurant here in Maine that we really, really like. And every time we go there I get the same thing...their Chicken Florentine Alfredo. It. is. so. good.  The other day we were trying to figure out what we were going to make for dinner with the thawed chicken we had...so we thought we'd try to mimic the recipe. It turned out almost exactly the same! I was really easy and super good!

-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts split lengthwise to make 6 pieces (or amount you need, I need 6)

-cajun spice mix (recipe below or you can use store bought)

-1 small package linguini (I used a 1lb box) cooked according to directions on package al dente

-Alfredo sauce (store bought or homemade if you have a recipe, I don't have a recipe I like)

-handful of baby spinach, chopped fine

-1 tomato, chopped for garnish

-grated parmesan to top if desired 

I found this recipe for blackened seasoning on Allrecipes.com. I really liked it although it was a bit spicy for my kids. I think next time I will reduce the amount of cayenne pepper I use for them. (*We did find that as we ate and the chicken was kind of mixed in with the noodles and sauce that the sauce tamed the spicy-ness of the chicken) This spice mix tasted very much like the chicken I had at the restaurant.  You can also just buy a cajun spice mix at the store if you would like.

Tom's Blackened Seasoning

1 tbsp. paprika
4 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. white sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. ground cumin

Mix all spices in a container that has a lid and shake vigorously until well combined. This makes enough to coat six chicken breasts (or fish if you prefer).

This is where I cheated...I don't have a recipe for Alfredo sauce that I like. I like the Classico jar of Alfredo sometimes but didn't think it would be good for this recipe. So we just picked up a pint of Alfredo sauce from Olive Garden. I think it was less than $5...about the same as a jar at the store. But better... :) Anyone have a really good recipe for Alfredo? Send it to me!

Start with preparing chicken; clean it, split lengthwise, sprinkle with spice mixture on both sides to coat then set aside. You can blacken your chicken but we just grilled it on the grill until it was cooked through.  Start your grill heating (unless you are blackening chicken on stove and using oven). Boil water to start cooking noodles according to directions on package. While noodles are cooking,  warm Alfredo sauce in sauce pan and add chopped baby spinach to sauce to warm and soften. It doesn't take long and you don't want the spinach too soggy. When noodles are almost al dente put your chicken on the grill. Because they are split they will cook very fast.  I think ours was done in less than 10 minutes. While chicken is grilling, drain noodles and place in large mixing bowl. Add Alfredo sauce and toss to coat all noodles. I didn't use all of the pint...use what you like for your taste . Remove chicken from grill. Serve linguini and Alfredo on large plate, place scored blackened chicken on top and garnish with chopped fresh tomatoes. YUM!

This recipe made 6 servings.