Chicken Encilada Stuffed Shells

Elizabeth gave me the idea for this dinner and then that evening I saw a recipe online for it. I adjusted the recipe to our taste. It was a fun new twist on pasta and enchiladas!

1 box Uncooked Jumbo Pasta Shells (about 15)
1 pound baked chicken breasts (2 to 3), Shredded
5 oz enchilada sauce
1 small can refried beans, divided
1/2 envelope taco seasoning, (1/2 of the 1-oz package)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water.

In a medium bowl, add shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, 1/4 cup of the refried beans, and taco seasoning. Stir together until well blended, set aside.

Fill shells with a spoonful of refried beans and then top with chicken mixture. Place in an 11-inch x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Recipe Source: www.tastykitchen.com

Glazed Meatloaf

This is Nate's favorite meatloaf.

Glaze:
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Tobasco sauce

Meatloaf:
2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 17 crackers)
1/3 cup milk (not skim)
1 pound 90% lean ground beef
1 pound ground pork or turkey
2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper

Whisk all the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Reserve 1/4 cup glaze mixture in a small bowl and simmer the remaining glaze over medium heat until it is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat lightly with cooking spray. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Cook the onion until godlen, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl.

Process the saltines and milk in a food processor until smooth. Add the beef and pork and pulse until well combined, about ten 1-second pulses. (You can also do this process by hand, although the beef and saltine mixture won’t be as well mixed.) Transfer the meat mixture to the bowl with the cooled onion mixture. Add the eggs and yolk, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper to the bowl and mix with your hands until combined.

Adjust the oven racks to the upper (about 4-inches away from broiler elements) and middle positions and heat the broiler. Transfer the meat mixture to the prepared baking sheet and shape it into a 9- by 5-inch loaf. Broil on the upper rack until well browned, about 5 minutes. Brush 2 tablespoons of the reserved, uncooked glaze over the top and sides of the loaf and then return to the oven and broil for another 2 minutes.

Transfer the meatloaf to the middle rack and brush with the remaining uncooked glaze. Change the oven temperature to bake at 350 degrees and bake the meatloaf for 40 to 45 minutes, until cooked through. Transfer the meatloaf to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Slice and serve, passing the cooked glaze at the table.

Recipe Source: Cook's Country

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

Even Nate, who generally stays away from garlic, loves this. Since the garlic is roasted in the pan then cooks in the sauce for 30 minutes, it comes out very mellow. To save my sanity, I buy the garlic that's already peeled.

3 whole heads of garlic, about 40 cloves

3 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, skin on (cut in half if large)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 TB unsalted buter

2 TB olive oil

3 TB Cognac, divided

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

1 TB fresh thyme leaves

2 TB all purpose flour

2 TB heavy cream

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3-5 minutes per side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat starts to burn, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches.

Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5-10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 TB of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boill, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste; it should be very flavorful because the chicken can tend to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

Recipe Source: Ina Garten (http://www.foodtv.com/)

Coconut Layer Cake

I don't consider myself a coconut person. Nate saw this cake on one of my cooking shows and said that he wanted THAT cake for his birthday so of course that's what I made. I can count on one hand the number of times I've made a cake and frosting from scratch and I've never been too excited about the results. This cake was so delicious. I will use less frosting next time--it was a little too much, even for me.

*The recipe calls for cream of coconut--this is NOT coconut milk. It is used to make Pina Coladas and is therefore found in the liquor aisle near the rum and Pina Colada mixes.


Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus extra for the pans
3/4 cup cream of coconut*
5 large egg whites plus 1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup water
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 TB baking powder
3/4 tsp table salt
12 TB (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened

Frosting
2 TB heavy cream
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch table salt
16 TB (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened
1/4 cup cream of coconut
3 cups powdered sugar
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted (at 350 for about 10 minutes stirring often)

FOR THE CAKE:
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Whisk the cream of coconut, egg whites, egg, water, and extracts together in a medium bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the flour mixture, one piece at a time, about 30 seconds. Continue to beat the mixture until it resembles moist crumbs, about 1 minute.

Beat in all but 1/2 cup of the cream of coconut mixture, then increase the mixer speed to medium and beat the batter until smooth, light, and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly beat in the remaining cream of coconut mixture until the batter is combined, about 30 seconds.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, smooth the tops, and lightly tap the pans against the countertop 2-3 times to settle the batter. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time.

Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the cakes, then flip them out onto a wire rack. Peel off the parchment, flip the cakes right side up, and cool completely before frosting, about 2 hours.

FOR THE FROSTING:
In a small bowl, stir the cream, extracts, and salt together. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream of coconut together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually beat in the powdered sugar, then continue to beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the cream mixture. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

To frost, place one of the cake layers on a platter. Spread 1 cup of the frosting over the cake, right to the edges. Place the other cake layer on top and press lightly. Frost the cake with the reamining frosting. Press the toasted coconut into the sides of the cake and sprinkle it over the top. Transfer cake to cake stand and serve.

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated

Baked Ravioli

More of an idea than a recipe. This got rave reviews from Grant--he couldn't get enough. Putting dinner together doesn't get much easier than this. I used a combination of vodka sauce and marinara sauce to cut the acidity.

1 bag (25 oz) frozen ravioli
1 jar (26 oz) marinara sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400. Spray bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread 3/4 cup of the pasta sauce in the baking dish. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in a single layer over the sauce; top with half of the remaining sauce and half of the mozzarella. Repeat layers once, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in the center. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Source: http://www.tastykitchen.com/

Bran Muffins

We love muffins for breakfast, but I never plan enough time in the morning to make them happen. The idea behind this muffin recipe is that you can whip up a large batch of muffin batter, keep it in the fridge, then make just a few muffins each morning. Even I can do that! The batter, when kept in a air-tight container in the fridge, will last about 30 days. I was thinking they would taste great with blueberries in them, but I haven't tried it yet.

4 cups bran flakes cereal
2 cups Grape Nuts cereal
2 cups boiling water
1 quart (4 cups) buttermilk
8 TB (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
5 cups wheat flour
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, place the bran flakes and the Grape Nuts. Pour the boiling water over the bran and mix well. Stir every couple of minutes while the mixture cools to room temperature. The mixture will become very thick and sticky.

After the mixture cools, add the buttermilk, melted butter, applesauce, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well to combine all the ingredients together.
To bake, scoop the batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Fill 3/4 full. Bake at 375 for about 14-16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

The batter can be covered well and kept in the refrigerator for up to 30 days.

Makes 48 muffins
2 WW pts per muffin

Recipe Source: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/

Chicken Marsala Casserole

I love Chicken Marsala and this was a new twist on it that turned out to be really yummy. All three of us loved it. We thought it could have used some salt, so add it to taste.

2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp butter
8 ounces crimini muchrooms (baby portabellas), sliced
1 bulb shallot, diced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp dried parsley, divided
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1 can (10 oz) Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup
3 TB Parmesan cheese, divided
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
2 TB Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350.

Place a medium-sized saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and butter to the pan. When they've melted together, add the mushrooms, shallot, thyme, 1/4 tsp parsley, and a pinch of black pepper. Allow to cook until the mushrooms have given off their juices and the shallots are translucent. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the marsala, soup, 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, and the diced chicken to the bowl and stir to combine. Pour mixture into a 1-quart casserole dish. Combine the remainin 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese, panko, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of parsley and sprinkle over the top.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Remove foil and broil for about 5 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Makes 6 modest servings
4 WW pts per serving

Recipe Source: www.tastykitchen.com