Chicken Roll ups

For the roll portion you may use prepared crescent rolls in the tube or homemade crescent rolls. This is pictured with the homemade kind, but be sure to roll it thin enough bcse mine were a little too thick.

Ingredients:
2 cans crescent rolls, or 16 traingles of homemade dough
4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
8 oz softened cream cheese
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1 small can mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper to season

Gravy: 1 can chicken soup and 1 can chicken broth
Topping: 1/2 cup melted butter and an herb mixture of herbs de Provence (or Italian) and grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:

1. Boil chicken and shred.
1 a. Saute vegetables until tender.
2. Combine all other ingredients with chicken.
3. Roll out crescent, place about 1/8-1/4 cup in the center and roll it up with the small end on the top.
4. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
5. Rub with melted butter and sprinkle herb mixture on top.
6. Cook on 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
7. While cooking, heat up gravy on stove. Pour over cooked rolls.
Enjoy!

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

It's crucial to cook the pasta until tender--just past the "al dente" stage. In fact, overcooking is better than undercooking the pasta. Whole, low-fat, and skim milk all work well in this recipe. The recipe can be halved and baked in an 8-inch-square, broilersafe baking dish.

INGREDIENTS

Bread Crumb Topping
6	slices white sandwich bread (good-quality, about 6 ounces), torn into rough pieces
3	tablespoons butter (cold), cut into 6 pieces
Pasta and Cheese
1	pound elbow macaroni, or any pasta
1	tablespoon salt
5	tablespoons butter
6	tablespoons flour
1 1/2	teaspoons powdered mustard
1/4	teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
5	cups milk (see note)
8	ounces Monterey Jack cheese , shredded (2 cups)
8	ounces sharp cheddar cheese , shredded (2 cups) 1/4 cup grated Parmesean cheese or use any combination of cheeses 4 slices bacon, fried and drained, broken up chopped tomato
1	teaspoon salt

1. For the bread crumbs: Use any oldish bread you have on hand. I used Costco's Parmesean cheese bagels. Break them up and chop them in a food processor.

For the pasta and cheese: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat broiler. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Add macaroni and 1 tablespoon salt; cook until pasta is tender. Drain pasta and set aside in colander. Now fry bacon. Once it is cooked, set aside. Then In now-empty Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Add flour, mustard, and cayenne (if using), Worcestershire sauce and whisk well to combine. Continue whisking until mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk; bring mixture to boil, whisking constantly (mixture must reach full boil to fully thicken). Reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheeses and 1 teaspoon salt until cheeses are fully melted. Add pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is steaming and heated through, about 6 minutes. Add bacon crumbles. 4. Transfer mixture to broiler-safe 9-by 13-inch baking dish and sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs. Broil until crumbs are deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes, rotating pan if necessary for even browning. Cool about 5 minutes, then serve. Garnish with fresh chopped tomato and dried or fresh basil. It adds a nice fresh flavor.

Recipe adapted from Cookillustrated Classic Macaroni and Cheese recipe

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

BBQ Chicken Sandwich



Bobby Flay's lime-cumin coleslaw recipe

We didn't have the pepper or red onion and it was still good...though I'd recommend following the recipe. It make a ton!


BBQ Chicken in a slow-cooker
**I halved the recipe for 2 large chicken breasts--enough for 4 sandwiches.
--I love this recipe bcse it's easy and you can use frozen chicken!!! I cooked it on low, reviews suggested cooking on high made it too dry. If you find that during cooking it's ready to shred, then shred, cook about 1 hour more, and turn to serve/warm so it doesn't overcook.
--I did not have Italian dressing so I just added about 1/4 cup olive oil, couple tablespoons red-wine vinegar, some Mrs. Dash, 1/8 tsp smoked paprika, salt, and some garlic powder.

Serve on Ciabatta bread. And if you buy them from Costco use the leftover rolls to make the overnight French toast!

One chicken--2 recipes

First, check out this website called tastespotting.com for pretty pictures of yummy food. My friend Rachel posted it on her blog.

The first combination of recipes makes 2 different dinners. I forgot to take pictures.

The first found from www.cooksillustrated.com (we have a subscription and have found fabulous recipes from this magazine/website).

French Chicken in a Pot

Check out the link to find the easy recipe. Eat it with potatoes and veggies and your done.

***A note on dutch ovens. You don't have spend 100's of $'s on one. Just go to Walmart or somewhere else and buy a 6 or 6.5 qt one made by Lodge (about $50) or Tramontina ($40). CI tested them both against Le Creuset's model (which we bought on eBay). They are both enameled cast iron, thick bottomed and have tight fitting lids. They are really handy to have!***

Then the next night use the leftover chicken meat, leftover broth and perhaps veggies and make this Simple Chicken Pot Pie (also from Cooks Illustrated). I did not add the Sherry, used green onion bcse it was all I had and used a Pilsbury frozen pie crust instead of homemade.

Left over Enchiladas

If you have left overs from the Cafe-Rio Salads make Enchiladas!
Here is a great recipe to some homemade enchilada sauce. Just roll up the pork, beans, and rice in homemade tortillas. Top with with the sauce and shredded cheese. Garnish w/cilantro.

Recipe of the week

Overnight Caramel French Toast



This is a great recipe for breakfast or dessert. It's super easy to make. And it's very rich (and fattening) but oh, sooo yummy!

Ingredients:

French Baguette, better if it's one day old
--you may use French Bread but it is not as effective bcse it absorbs more of the egg mixture


Egg Topping:
3 Eggs
1/2 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Caramel Sauce:
1 C brown sugar
6 Tbsp butter
1/3 C whipping or heavy cream
1 Tbsp corn syrup

Directions:
1. Slice bread into 1-1/4" pieces.
2. On medium heat, heat all caramel sauce ingredients just until the butter melts. Do not boil.
3. Pour into 9x13" glass dish.
4. Combine all egg ingredients into a shallow dish. Dip bread slices and coat both sides.
5. Place in 9x13"dish.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes

Recipe of the week

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened--almost melted
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk-chocolate chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup toffee chips

Directions:
Cream softened butter and butter w/wooden spoon. Add eggs. Mix in salt, vanilla and baking soda. Mix in flour. Mix in cocoa. Fold in chips.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on pan for 5 minutes before removing. They will be gooey but if you keep in oven too long they will over bake and be too hard. Store in airtight container. Enjoy!