Chicken Artichoke Casserole

4 tablespoons butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (7.5-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained*

1 pkg fresh mushrooms

1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup half & half

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary*

1 pkg favorite noodles

*I recently found frozen artichoke hearts at Trader Joe's that are awesome, and just as cheap as the canned ones!!! Also, I don't put rosemary in mine because I don't like the taste of it, but the recipe calls for it.

Cook chicken breasts in simmering water over low heat for about 30 minutes or until cooked through (I have also cooked chicken in frying pan on stove, it works just as well.) Cut chicken into cubes. Place cubed chicken, artichoke hearts and mushrooms (I only use half the package of mushrooms) in a greased 8x8-inch pan. Lightly salt; set aside.

When chicken is almost done cooking start the sauce. In saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until well blended. Add half & half and chicken broth and stir constantly over medium heat until thickened. Stir in salt, pepper, Parmesan and rosemary (if you like rosemary!) Pour over chicken and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve over noodles.

Makes 4 servings.

*The recipe actually says to cook the chicken in the chicken broth and reserve 3/4 cup broth from that to use with the sauce, but the little chicken floaties gross me out, so I use separate chicken broth. It does make it a little quicker because you don't have to do separate broth, but it's totally your choice :)

Chicken Sate' with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 lbs) trimmed
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
3 Tablespoons Ketchup
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Tabasco
4 scallions, Sliced thin
1 1/2 cups Spicy Peanut dipping sauce


Freeze chicken for 30 minutes
Slice chickent diagonally into 1/4- inch thick strips. Combine the soy sauce, vegetable oil,brown sugar, cilantro, ketchup, garlic, Tabasco, and Scallions and pour over chicken. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes but not longer than 1 hour.
Adjust an oven rack 6 -inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler. Line the broiler pan bottom with foil and cover the slotted broiler -pan top, and cover the skewer endes with foil. (This prevents them from burning) Broil until fully cooked, about 8 minutes, flippin ghte skewers over halfway though. Serve

** I had to cook mine for about 15 minutes because they were not done but my oven isn't the greatest.
* this also works great with Flank steak. But you have to cut it across the grain


Spicy Peanut dipping sauce

1/2 cups peanut butter, creamy or chunky
1/4 cup hot water
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
2 Scallions, sliced thin
1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco
1 garlic clove, minced

Whisk the peanut butter and hot water together in a medium bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Transfer to serving bowl. This can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept in the refrgerated.

The sauce only makes about 1 1/2 cups so you need to double it to have enough for the chicken and the sauce.

The Best Cookbook

Matt got me this cookbook for Christmas and everything that I have made out of it is so good! Not only does it have recipes it also has really helpful tips that are super easy. Like how to remove the bones from salmon and how to make it skewering meat easier. Being as it is put out by America's Test Kitchen it has test kitchen favorites from utensils to cookie sheets to tuna and tomato paste. I love this book!

Orecchiette with Broccoli,Sausage, and Roasted Peppers

4 ounces sweet or hot Italian sausage casings removed ( I prefer it with the sweet)
1 cup Jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed and chopped medium
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch broccoli cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt
1/2 cup water
1 pound orecchiette
2 ounces Romano cheese, grated (1 cup)
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1- Cook noodle
2- meanwhile, cook the sausage breaking into small pieces until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the roasted red peppers and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
3-Stir in Broccoli, 1/2 teaspoon salt and water. Increase heat to high,cover skillet, and cook stirring frequently, until the liqui has evaporated and the broccoli is tender about 5 minutes longer.
4-Reserve 1/2 cup of pater cooking water, then drain the orecchiette and return it to the pot. Stir in the sausage, and broccoli mixture, Romano, and oil, and toss to coat. Add the reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce before cooking.
5- serve immediately.

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

• 16 oz. Farfalle pasta
• 1 c. heavy whipping cream
• 3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed OR garlic salt (I do a spoonful of crushed garlic)
• 3/4 Tbsp. pepper
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/2 lb. bacon, crumbled**
• 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese1
• (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

** Cooking Tip - If you have a convection oven cook your bacon in the oven (400 degrees, convection). Way less messy. And it's crispy every time. Time varies, so you just have to watch it. I think it's usually around 30 minutes. Allow to cool and then crumple

Directions:

Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred. Set this aside. About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumbled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top and serve.

Magelby's Rolls

These are Delicious and so easy! I prefer to cook

mine in a bunt pan (unless cooking for a large group)

• Homemade Bread Dough or Rhodes Rolls
• Equal parts - Mayonnaise, Butter and Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Mix the Mayonnaise, Butter*, and Parmesan Cheese together. Roll the dough in the mixture and place on a greased bunt pan or cookie sheet and cover with Saran Wrap. Raise the rolls in the refrigerate for about 4-5 hours. Then allow them to rise for about 45 minutes on the counter. (Do not leave rolls out longer than that because of the Mayonnaise.) Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (depending on the oven).

* I prefer to use less butter or none at all because they still taste delicious and are a little healthier.

Andes Mint Cookies

• 3/4 c. butter
• 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 T. water
• 2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• bag of crumbled peppermint pieces

Directions:

Melt butter, brown sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium heat until melted and then add the chocolate chips, stirring until completely melted. Cool for 10 minutes. Put this in a mixing bowl and beat in 2 eggs. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix together and chill for about 45 minutes. Roll into balls (1 - 1 1/2 inches big), flatten slightly, place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. When cookies come out of oven, sprinkle mint crumbles* on top of the cookie (Optional: I like to spread the mint crumbles like frosting after they have melted a little - but I do not like to spread the peppermint crumbles - the pieces will get soft at first, but then keep their shape and re-solidify when cool).

* Mint crumbles can be found in the baking aisle next to the chocolate chips.

** The picture you see above is a holiday variation that uses Andes peppermint crumbles (also found in the baking aisle). This variation is great for Christmas or Valentine's Day.