Chicken Parmesan Done Your Way!

Sometimes I feel like I run out of ideas of what to do with my boneless chicken breasts. Being pregnant has made me a bit lazy in the kitchen these days too because it takes a lot of energy out of you and sometimes the smells get to me! I decided to make a mean meal of chicken parmesan on pasta my style one night for my hubby and I. I think marinating chicken is the key to all juicy and flavorful chicken so that's what I did first. I used a garlic herb bottled marinade after the chicken was thawed out. Then when I was ready to go I used Crusted Ranch Shake N' Bake (or you can use any other kind) and threw them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30-35 mins (depending how thick your breasts are). Now the key to chicken parm is to pull out the chicken from the oven about 5 mins before it's done to add  a spoonful of sauce (you can use spaghetti or alfredo sauce) then some grated cheese (use whatever cheese you have) to the top and return it back to the oven to melt. Meanwhile, while the chicken has been cooking, you can make your pasta. Again, whatever you have for pasta works. I used spaghetti noodles and spaghetti sauce with some extra seasonings (chili powder, oregano) and grated parmesan cheese. But when it's all said and done, it will look like a meal straight from an expensive restaurant! Pair it up with a cesaer salad and some garlic bread and enjoy!

Penne Pasta Bake

Our church volunteers a couple times a month at Outflow which is a non-profit organization to feed the hungry, poor, and even homeless in uptown Saint John (NB). They have a store front location which is open  Mon-Thurs. from 7pm-9pm where people can come in sit down and get a hot meal, have great conversation with each other or some of the volunteers, play games, and enjoy some coffee and tea. Last time we were there it was just before Christmas and they did baked ham, beans, scalloped potatoes and I made decorated cupcakes for dessert! We usually feed around 40 people. Instead of coming up with the usual bland meal they receive during the day at the soup kitchens, our team has decided to make great meals for the crowd. This week they voted in lasagna with ceasar salad, garlic bread, and we always bring some healthy snacks like fruit. So I offered to make a lasagna... except for when I looked in my cupboard today I only had a few lasagna noodles left... oops! But not to worry I found some other pastas too and decided to make a Penne Pasta Bake which is similar to a lasagna without the cottage cheese. So first I looked for a pasta bake which I looked for on KraftCanada and found an easy one. All I really needed to know was what temp. to cook it at and for how long. I did some improvising so I don't have an exact recipe for you to copy down but it is not hard and I will have the link to the one I found online if you're the type of person who needs exact everything.

So I cooked my lean ground beef up in a pot (drained the fat) and added the pasta sauce and some cut up mushrooms and let that simmer. Then in another pot I prepared the penne pasta and used a whole box and drained it, rinsed it, and put the pasta in a glass 9"x13" baking dish sprayed with cooking oil. Added to that is the pasta sauce and mixed it all up with some grated parmesan cheese. Then on the top I added some grated cheese. If you like your pasta sauce a little spicey I added a dash of some dried red peppers.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20 mins. No picture for this recipe as I was in a bit of a hurry to get it done and get the tin foil on it since it was getting picked up and needed to stay hot. I'm sure it'll be a hit!

Visit this link to follow the recipe:
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/easy-pasta-bake-83183.aspx

Monte Cristo Sandwiches - Canadian Living

A few weeks back my mother in law made these amazing Monte Cristo sandwiches and I decided to find a similar recipe to the one she used. They were fried in french toast batter with ham and cheese inside and a hint of mustard in the batter. They were so good and something I need to try out today! You can certainly tweak this recipe to your desire... use turkey instead of ham or use any other kind of cheese. I'm looking forward to biting into one of these later. Enjoy!

Super Supper Monte Cristo Sandwiches - Recipes - Food - Canadian Living

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Easy New Year's Eve Appetizer!

If you're anything like me then you've been snacking on lots of junk food since the week before Christmas and it's still going on! Lots of get togethers and parties always having an abundance of sweets and appetizers. If you're hosting a New Year's Eve party or going to one and want to snack on something a little more "figure friendly" then pita chips are the thing to make. Your guests will love them too! Pair up these easy chips with a dip like hummus, tzatziki, salsa, and spinach dip which are also a bit better for you and some cut up veggies on the side. Serve straight from the oven and you can put the leftovers in a zip lock bag for later.

Pita Chips

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees

- Cut pita bread (white or wholewheat) into triangles. You can also rip apart the pita bread and make them thin pita chips

- In a bowl add some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and your favorite seasonings

- Spread the triangles on a baking sheet and brush on the olive oil mixture to each one

- Put in the oven between 5-6 mins. but keep an eye on them because they do burn quickly!

An easy snack to have instead of a bag of greasy chips and you're left feeling satisfied! Enjoy...

Leftover Idea

So now what do you do with all the turkey lurkey hanging around your house? There are all kinds of different ideas for that... soups, sandwiches... but my favorite is turkey pot pie and that is what I plan on making for supper tonight. There are all kinds of variations of pot pie... you could use gravy as the mixture or a cream of 'something' soup. Then you can add any veggies you want to that are kicking around or just add some mixed frozen veggies. So if you like to follow recipes here's what I am doing today:

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Take out a baking dish (either round or square) that is the size of a pie shell.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Cut up turkey to bite sizes (about a cup and a half or whatever you have will do)

- Need 3 cups of frozen veggies, thawed and drain off the water

- 1 can of cream of chicken (or any other cream soup will do) you could also add a cup of packaged turkey gravy too (prepare as directed on the package)
- Mix the veggies and soup, add a little milk or sour cream to get it a creamy texture
- Add any of your favourite seasonings (basil, salt, pepper, etc.)
- Add to baking dish then top with a pie shell (if it's a square baking dish you will need to work with the dough a little... don't worry if it breaks a little)
- Bake for approx. 50 mins. but keep an eye that the crust isn't burnt
- Serve with some rolls with butter and a nice salad and you are all set! Simple and easy!

Hint: For figure friendly add fat free soup or low sodium gravy in place of the soup

Enjoy and Happy Boxing Day!

Christmas Eve

My favorite day of the year has to be Christmas Eve day... even better than Christmas Day! The excitement of seeing family and heading out to a candle light service and then relaxing with lots of finger foods and egg nog really makes the night special! Every Christmas Eve we go to my parent's place for a get together with family and friends and tell funny stories and of course eat. This is Leeland's first Christmas so it is going to be extra special.

For Christmas dinner we are heading to my parent's place. I have offered to make a squash dish to bring to help mom out in all the cooking. My friend Somer made this recipe once and I loved it and I made it at Thanksgiving this year and took it to my inlaw's place and everyone there loved it too.

Squash Delish Dish

-1 medium size buttercup squash

(peel it and cube it up)
-2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup (or any soup you prefer would work)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Put cubed up squash into a 9"x13" baking dish
- Mix in soup
- Sprinkle a box of Stove Top dressing on top of squash (you can use crushed up croutons if you do not have any Stove Top)
- Bake for 1 hour

Hint: For figure friendly use fat free soup and less sodium Stove Top.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Introduction

Today my sister and I were talking on the phone and she mentioned she'd like to start a blog about fashion. I thought that was a good idea for her because she loves clothing and likes to be on top of what's up and coming. It made me think... I love to cook and create new things and maybe I could do the same about one of my hobbies! Lots of times my hubby wanted to do some Youtube vidoes of me cooking up some of his favorite dishes and call it "Cooking With Michelle." I love how supportive he is and he always raves over what I make him for meals.

I am a new mother so I've really had to make time to prepare meals that are healthy and yet something I can pull together fast. The biggest thing is being prepared and having your veggies cut up ahead of time so that you are not scrammbling to wash romaine to try and make a salad. It certainly takes more energy but worth it in the end.

I'd like to blog about some of the recipes that I've tried and love and recipes that are easy to make and also easy to make healthy too. I live with a non-veggie husband so sometimes stuff I have to omit the good stuff but sneak it in somehow.

So as I blog about what you should try to make for supper for your family you can also visit my sister's blog and see what not to wear! Thanks for checking me out and I will do my best to keep an updated blog of new things for you to try out and with some pictures to see what the recipe looks like.

It's all about having fun!