Chicken Pesto Mushroom Pizza

Chicken Pesto Pizza is a staple around our house. Oh, we had chicken last night? We should probably throw the rest on some pizza crust with a little pesto. Typically that's all we use but this time I wanted to shake this up a bit. Mike actually prefers it without the mushrooms but I liked it. Here it is.

Chicken Pesto Pizza w/ Mushrooms

1 chicken breast, cooked (I use leftovers)
1/4 cup pesto (I make a bunch at a time and freeze it in little cups because I don't like premade pesto but use what you like!)
1 onion, thinly sliced
1lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2-1c mozzarella cheese
1 pre-made pizza crust (we like the Boboli whole weat thin crust)

1. Preheat oven according to crust instructions.
2. Sautee onion and mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat.
3. Layer pesto, chicken, onion, mushroom, and cheese on pizza crust.
4. Bake according to crust directions.

AEM

Smores Cookies

I love cookies, I love smores, and I love playing in the kitchen...why haven't I made smores cookies?! Here they are, they are DELICIOUS. As usual, I swapped out some of the butter but here's the original recipe:

Smores Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (7 full graham cracker sheets)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Mini Hershey’s Kisses (or chocolate chips/chunks)
1 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits (look for the bits! the mini's work too but the bits are better and look nicer for this, the mini's melt!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
2. Use a food processor or blender to crush 7 graham cracker sheets into 3/4 cup fine crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Add the chocolate andmarshmallows and stir to combine.
3. Place 1.5 tablespoon sized scoops of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Original Recipe: http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/gooey-smores-cookies.html

AEM

Chicken Saltimbocca

This is a solid chicken recipe. I like it because it covers all kinds of food groups in one quick meal and is still good! I slightly overcooked the chicken in this one. I've become quite the nervous nelly with chicken after undercooking it a time or two :) Even slightly overcooked, this was still really tasty.

Chicken Saltimbocca

4 thin chicken breasts (pounded flat)
4 thin slices of prosciutto
Parmesan cheese

Frozen, chopped spinach, thawed & drained (I used the smallest package I could find)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2T lemon juice

salt & pepper
olive oil

1. Lay chicken pieces flat on a cutting board or plate. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Put one slice of prosciutto on each piece of chicken.
2. Toss the spinach in a little bit of olive oil (maybe about a tablespoon) and put a layer of spinach onto each chicken/prosciutto stack. Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese onto each stack. Tightly roll each chicken stack (I started on the thin pointed end). Use a toothpick or two to hold each roll.
3. In a large pan, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom over high heat. Add the chicken rolls and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side, carefully turning with tongs. 

4. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. 

AEM

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Tara's Chocolate Cake

This is a recipe that was shared by my dear friends Rob and Tara who live in a land far far away...ok maybe it's just a few states away but still, it seems far! They said CHOCOLATE and CAKE in the same breath and I couldn't resist. Boy am I glad I listened to them, this was delicious. I cut out some of the butter in favor of applesauce and it was still really really good. I imagine it's just flat out deadly if made the way it was intended. I also cut the recipe by one-third because two people really don't need a full cake (let's be honest, I'd eat the whole thing and nobody needs that). Here is Tara's recipe:

Tara's Chocolate Cake & Icing

Cake:
2 cups boiling water (or coffee) - I used coffee
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool


Icing:
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
5 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Mix and use on cooled cake!

AEM

BBQ Chicken w/ Pineapple

There's nothing special about this one, it's just a different twist on an old favorite, and really tasty. I was tired of the standard grilled chicken so we added some bbq sauce and pineapple and whipped up some sweet potato fries. Mmm mm good!


BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Grilled Pineapple

2 sweet potatoes
2 T corn starch
1t salt
1t pepper
1t garlic powder
2 thin chicken breasts
fresh pineapple, sliced (I bought it cored and then sliced it)
bbq sauce
2 sandwich buns
olive oil
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (it's better if you preheat to 425 Convect). Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Wash and chop potatoes into fry-shaped slices. Mix corn starch, salt, and pepper and toss fries in mixture. Add olive oil, enough to coat the fries and toss. Put fries onto lined tray and bake, turning every 15-20 minutes, until desired doneness. These will burn faster than normal potatoes so keep an eye on them.
2. Grill chicken as you normally would. Near the end of the cooking, add pineapple to grill (you may want to spray the grill a little beforehand but we didn't). Add bbq sauce to the chicken, flip the pineapple to get some nice lines.
3. Assemble your sandwich and enjoy!

AEM

Peach Crisp for Two

I've been making peach and apple crisps for a while so it's probably time to give them a little space on the blog.

Peach Crisp

1 peach
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons instant oatmeal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 - 1 tablespoon butter, softened
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease bottom of loaf pan.
2. Thinly slice peach and put on bottom of pan.
3. Mix flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl. Mix with hands to get a nice crumble. Sprinkle over top of sliced peaches.
4. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. It's best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cool whip!

My apple crisp is very similar. Sub out the one peach for one apple and add a dash of nutmeg to make it  a little warmer and homier and to make the house smell delicious!

AEM

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I used to make a sweet & sour/Hawaiian chicken back in the day that was baked with some chunky onion, pepper, and pineapple and a different sauce. The idea was right, the dinner was really good, but the sauce was more hawaiian than sweet & sour. The sauce below really does the trick. This one was all over Pinterest and after a few "failed" attempts at Chinese food and a decent Hawaiian chicken thing, we finally found a winner. The previous attempts weren't actually failed, it's just that some weren't even blogable and some were just decent and then there's still a few we've made again and again like the Pad Thai and the Peanut Chicken.  This is another one of those recipes that's been put into the regular rotation. It's easy and delicious. The original recipes are below but here's how I did it.

Sweet and Sour Chicken & Fried Rice

Chicken:
1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup cornstarch
salt and pepper
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
cooking spray

3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cube chicken breasts. Combine cornstarch and salt and pepper to taste in a plastic bag. Toss cubed chicken into bag and coat with cornstarch.
3. In a medium/large bowl, beat egg with water. Remove chicken from bag and put into egg mixture. Do this with your hand, shaking off excess cornstarch because the cornstarch + egg will make a paste.
4. In large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add egged/cornstarched chicken to hot pan. Cook chicken until browned but not cooked fully or chicken will get too dry.
5. Lightly grease glass baking dish. Put cooked chicken into dish.
6. In a bowl, whisk sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic salt. Pour over chicken mixture.
7. Bake for about an hour (it'll take about 45 mins before the sauce starts to thicken). Stir/turn chicken every 15-20 minutes.

Rice:
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 small onion, diced
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce

1. Heat oil in large pan on medium or medium-high heat. Add peas/carrots, onion, and garlic. Cook until onions are tender.
2. Push veggies to one side of the pan and add beaten egg. Scramble eggs on other side of the pan. Mix with pea/carrot/onion mixture when done.
3. Add rice and soy sauce. Mix and heat until warm.

Original Chicken Recipe: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/07/sweet-and-sour-chicken-updated.html
Original Rice Recipe: http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried.html

AEM