Cooked, Cubed Chicken

I usually saute boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a pan to make cubed, cooked chicken to add to recipes, salads, soups, etc. But, I found that sometimes it's easier to cook it in the oven while I'm making something else. I think this will work especially well to make chicken that easily shreds for enchiladas.

boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
salt and pepper to taste
a little water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a casserole dish. Add enough water to the dish to barely cover the bottom. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper (and any herbs you like). Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through. Cut into cubes.

Rachael Ray's Vodka Cream Sauce with Pasta

I've been planning on making this recipe for a few weeks now and I finally got around to it. I really liked the pasta sauce, but my husband did not. I wished it had gotten a little thicker than it was, but I still liked the flavor. It had too much of a tomato flavor for my husband (he hates tomatoes). The recipe makes a ton, so I would cut it in half. I froze about 3 cups of leftover sauce. If you like the recipe, then the freezing directions are in the "Notes" section after the recipe.

Rachael Ray's You-Won't-Be-Single-For-Long Vodka Cream Pasta

salt and pepper to taste

12 oz. pasta, such as penne

1 tbsp. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1 tbsp. Butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 shallots, minced

1 cup vodka

1 cup chicken broth

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup heavy cream

20 leaves of fresh basil, shredded or torn

Put a large pot of water over high heat for the pasta. When water boils, add salt and penne. Cook according to package directions; drain.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add evoo, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute garlic and shallots, 3-5 minutes, to develop their sweetness. Add vodka and cook to reduce by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble, then reduce heat to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir cream into the vodka sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove from heat. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves. Serve immediately.

Notes: Shallots are usually found near the onions in the produce section of grocery stores. Walmart doesn't always have them. If you would like to freeze the sauce, leave out the basil and add when it's reheated later. I added cooked, cubed chicken to my husband's pasta because he won't usually eat meals without some type of meat. The recipe to make cooked, cubed chicken in a hurry is above.

Swedish Meatballs

Ok, so I finally created a food blog and then I don't cook for a week. My husband fried fish one night, we had fried fish sandwiches another, corn on the cob once, and a homemade pizza. As you can see, nothing much to write about that I actually cooked. Yet, finally tonight, I did cook dinner. I do want to take some time in this blog to mention the greatness of making homemade pizzas. Using pillsbury refrigerated pizza crusts in the tube make it super simple, and the best part is that you get to put whatever toppings you want on the pizza. I used the leftover 1/2 lb of pork sausage from the Meaty Cornbread Casserole over the whole pizza. My side of the pizza had black olives and slices of tomato. I made my husband's side of the pizza plain/boring with just the sausage and turkey pepperoni. I don't feel that I should actually write the recipe because I just follow the directions on the pizza crust tube. I also use pizza sauce from a jar, nothing homemade.

Tonight I made swedish meatballs. The recipe was given to us by my mother-in-law. It is really great and everyone loves them. I served them with some rice.

Swedish Meatballs

14 oz. ketchup

10 oz. grape jelly

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 lbs ground beef

2 eggs

2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup fine bread crumbs

Place the ketchup, jelly, and onion in a medium saucepan. Heat over low/medium heat until ketchup and grape jelly mix together. Do not boil. While the sauce is heating, place all other ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix well and form 1 inch meatballs. Place each meatball in a crockpot. Pour heated sauce over the top. Cook over low heat for 1/2 day (or about 4 hours) until cooked through.

Note: 1 hour on high in a crockpot is equal to about 2 hours on low if you are in a hurry. If in a real hurry, just place the meatballs in a stockpot, pour sauce over them and cook over medium heat until meatballs are cooked through. While cooking, try not to stir the meatballs until mostly cooked through so that they don't fall apart. Meatballs can be made any size. We've even made them the size of baseballs for dinner. Great for parties too. Nobody will believe that grape jelly is the key ingredient!!

Meaty Cornbread Casserole

Fridays are usually Girls night, so I wasn't expecting to cook tonight. I had planned this recipe for tomorrow, but it had to be used tonight. My sister Lindsey came up to stay with us for the weekend, and we have a big day of fishing planned for tomorrow. This was a good meal for the three of us and we had leftovers. The recipe is from Taste of Home. Everything tastes good with country gravy!!

Meaty Cornbread Casserole

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb bulk pork sausage

2 cans whole kernel corn, drained

1 cup water

1 envelope brown gravy mix

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 envelope country gravy mix

In a large skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in corn, water, and brown gravy mix. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute until thickened. Spoon into a greased 8inch baking dish. Prepare corn bread batter according to package directions; stir in the pepper and garlic powder. Spread over meat mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into corn bread layer comes out clean. Meanwhile, prepare country gravy mix according to package directions; serve over casserole.

Notes: Don't be scared of using both brown and white gravy. The finished product is delicious. You can easily double this recipe. Double all ingredients, except only use 3 cans of corn. Place in a 9x13inch dish and the baking times are the same.

Ranch Chicken with Chive 'n' Garlic Corn

This is a super easy recipe for moist chicken. I can't take credit for the recipe. One of my best friends gave me this recipe on a drunken night at her apartment a few years ago. It's been a staple in our home since. The corn dish is ok. It's something to throw together on a busy night. The recipe is from Taste of Home, as are most of my recipes. I apologize for the unappetizing picture. I promise to work on my photography skills. You'll just have to trust me that the chicken tastes much better than it looks here.

Ranch Chicken

1/2 cup Ranch Dressing
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp. flour
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Mix the ranch dressing and flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge both sides of each chicken breast in ranch dressing mixture and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle mozzarella over each breast. Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is done and cheese is bubbly.

Chive 'n' Garlic Corn

1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can cream style corn
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup minced chives
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

In a large skillet, saute corn and onions in butter for 5-7 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in chives, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Notes: Any cheese you have on hand will work with the Ranch Chicken, except swiss. We have tried a few, but my husband and I like mozzarella the best. The corn dish is easy, but I think I'll spice it up next time with some cayenne pepper to give it a little more flavor.