boneless chicken recipes: February 2011

Menu Plan Monday

This week begins another truly busy time for our family. Concerts, dances, tests, track season and ect. I am sure you all can understand. I am also embarking on a weighloss journey......OK I said it out loud so I must follow through. I have tried to lighten up this week's menu a bit. Small steps...right!!

This Week's Menu
Monday: Stir Fry
Tuesday: Shrimp Fried Rice
Wednesday: Veggie Soup
Thursday: Picnic Night
Friday: Hamburgers (Hubby cooking & I am working late.)
Saturday: Submarine Sandwiches & veggie tray
Sunday: BBQ Balsamic Chicken

If anyone has some great low cal recipes, please pass them along!! Thank You!!

Have a delicious week!!

Linked to Menu Plan Monday.

How to Eat More Vegetables: Tip #3

baby carrots from Flickr vibrant_art

We all know we should eat more vegetables. But how, how do we do that, really? What real-life tips and ideas work? How can we build our lives around the healthiest of all foods, vegetables? Every Saturday, the 'veggie evangelist' shares practical tips and ideas from her own experience, her readers and other bloggers.

This week's tip:

Keep Reading ->>>

A Much Needed Hint of Spring!

After the snow storm and cold weather we received this week.

(Snow is not normal here)

I could really use a hint of Spring!

and PINK!!

Happy Pink Saturday!!

Check out all the pink over at How Sweet the Sound!

A huge thanks to my wonderful friends for the flowers!!

Friday Favorites #3

Friday Favorites from your blogs to my table!!

Easy Spinach Calzones

Il Dolce Bacio

Culinary Flavors

Taco Fettucine and Chicken

Dinner Time Ideas

Chief Wilson's Cheesecake

The Country Cook

Making Memories..One Fun Thing After Another

Oven Barbequed Chicken

Apples and Twinkies

Milk Chocolate De Creme Pots

The Fajdich Times

I am linking up with Finding Joy in My Kitchen for Friday Favorites!!

Chicken in a Potato Basket

This is a little bit different twist to a potpie. It is a good twist and you can changed it up to fit your tastes. It is a dish with options.

Chicken in a Potato Basket

4-1/2 cups frozen shredded hashbrowns, thawed

6 Tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cups milk

2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed

1/2 cup peas

3/4 cup diced carrots

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the potatoes and butter together. Press into a lightly greased pie pan, casserole dish or custard cups.

In a saucepan, saute the onion in butter. Add the flour, bouillon, Worcstershire sauce and basil. Stir in the milk. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for two minutes or until thickened. Add chicken, peas and carrots. If desired add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into the prepared crust.

Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

**Now here is where the option comes in. You can either bake it for another 10-15 minutes until crust is golden brown or:

Mix:

1 cup baking mix (like Bisquick)

1/3 cup milk

Mix together until a dough forms. Knead until you have a soft dough. Remove the pie from the oven and

take off small pieces of dough and place on top of the filling.

Continue until the top is covered and all the dough is used.

Return to oven ans bake for 10-15 minutes or until the biscuits have turned light golden brown.

Either way it is delicious!!

Cream Cheese Cookie Bars

We love sugar cookies at my house!! I hate rolling and cutting them out. So when I saw this recipe over at Its SEW for YOU, I had to try it out. They were amazing! I took half the pan to a Valentine's Party at work and left the other half at home. Needless to say I did not bring any home and at home they ate what was left.
Everyone thought they were AWESOME! The perfect dessert, quick, easy and oh so delicious! Just talking about them makes me want some right now!! YUM!!

Cream Cheese Cookie Bars

from Its SEW For YOU

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 t almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and egg until nice and frothy, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and almond extract and beat for 1 minute more.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat for 2 minutes. Press the dough into a lghtly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let the pan cool completely

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 - 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
food coloring or icing paste
Combine the butter and cream cheese. Beat for 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and food coloring. Mix for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Frost your pan of cookies. If desired add sprinkles or other decorations.

Cut into pieces and enjoy!!

Hot Wheels and The Ultimate Big G Cereal Giveaway

Start your engines with Big G in the morning! Big G cereals have teamed up with Hot Wheels^® to make family time at the breakfast table fun, offering collectible Hot Wheels^® pullback racers inside specially marked boxes along with a unique access code to the Hot Wheels^® Racing Circuit

Starting January 24th, inside each participating cereal box (Cheerios® 14 oz, Cinnamon Toast Crunch® 17 oz, Lucky Charms® 16 oz, Reese’s Puffs® 18 oz, and Cookie Crisp® 15.6 oz), you’ll be able to “gas and go” with one of four custom-designed collectable Hot Wheels® pullback racers. Each car contains a code to unlock an exciting online racing game.

When it comes to meals, breakfast is important in helping kids fuel up for the day and Big G cereals provides a healthy breakfast choice for parents to offer their families. You can feel good about giving your kids a bowl of Big G cereal and they’ll be thanking you for a breakfast that is as tasty as it is fun!

This is the ULTIMATE giveaway according to my kids!! Not to mention how fun my son and husband hasd decorating the cars. They are pretty cool! This prize pack includes all their FAVORITES!!

One reader will win:

The “Big G Hot Wheels” gift pack which includes 5 boxes of participating Big G cereals, all with collectible Hot Wheels^® pullback racers.
To enter be a follower and tell me your favorite Hot Wheels car, Hot Wheels car story,or your favorite Big G cereal.
Here's my favorite Hot Wheels Memory:
For my 17th Birthday I asked for a car! My brother took that request and I recieved this small gift. It turned out he bought me a Hot Wheels car. I guess I should of been more specific, but it was a "cool" looking car and I kept it on my shelf, because it was a really sweet gesture!!

Winner will be drawn by random number generator on March 2nd!!

The prize packs and information were all provided from General Mills and Hot Wheels through MyBlogSpark. All Opinions are my own.

Honey Nut Granola

I have been searching for a better snack option for my family. Atleast with this one I know exactly what is in it and it is much healthier than what we all have been grabbing lately. The big plus: It is DELICIOUS!!

Honey Nut Granola
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a small saucepan heat the honey, brown sugar and vanilla over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts.
In a medium bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds and coconut.

Add the sugar mixture and toss until everything is well coated.

Spread on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes. Stir mixture twice during this time.

Remove granola from the oven and let it cool to room temperature on the pan.

Break in to chunks and store in a sealed bag or airtight container.

*You can also add some dried fruit to the mixture. I like to add dried cranberries.

**You can substitute 1 cup of the nuts for chopped walnuts, pecans or other nuts. Use 1 cup each of sunflower, almonds and another nut of your choice.

Enjoy mixed in yogart, milk, sprinkled over ice cream or just plain!!

YUM!!!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week for Valentine's Day I attempted to make a romantic dinner for 7. It didn't end up romantic, but it did taste delicious! I guess that is what counts..right?? We had a good family fun dinner. Here is a look at my heart shaped addition:

Atleast I tried!

Now on to this week!!

This Week's Menu
Monday: Soup and Grilled Cheese
Tuesday: Beef Noodle Bake
Wednesday: California Chowder
Thursday: Picnic Night
Friday: Italian Shrimp
Saturday: Mongolian Noodle Bowls
Sunday: BBQ Chicken

Happy Eating!!

Linked to: Menu Plan Monday

Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce ♥

Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Today's vegetable recipe: The classic Italian spinach gnocchi [pronounced NYOAK-ee, or, read on, there's a musical mnemonic too], what you might call a dumpling but light and airy and slightly cheesy. Gnocchi are not difficult to make but do take some time. The results, however, are worthy of a special occasion or a relaxed weekend meal.

So I like to joke that there's an Unofficial Alanna Kellogg Fan Club and that it has exactly one member. That's our new friend Charlie and given his long-standing encouragement, I've appointed Charlie president. (Update: And someone's appointed himself vice president! Hello, David Sacis!)

Laugh if you will but it's true. Some years back, Charlie read and liked Kitchen Parade when it was published in the local newspaper. He's a volunteer poll worker too so one election, Charlie watched for me and put out his hand to introduce himself. Fast forward to 2011 and Charlie and and his wife Jan's introductions to the Missouri Mycological Society and a smaller culinary group, the Incurable Epicureans. Both warmly welcome new faces. They're good good people and they don't just like mushrooms, they love good food! Four times a year, they prepare a 'theme meal' for forty or fifty people. On Sunday, we attended our first, a feast of Marcella Hazan recipes. What a meal! There are at least two, maybe three recipes I'll make to post here on A Veggie Venture, simple, fresh and seasonal, you know, the recipes we like best!
Keep Reading ->>>

How to Eat More Vegetables: Tip #2

We all know we should eat more vegetables. But how, how do we do that, really? What real-life tips and ideas work? How can we build our lives around the healthiest of all foods, vegetables? Every Saturday, the 'veggie evangelist' shares practical tips and ideas from her own experience, her readers and other bloggers.

Wow! Thanks so much to the passionate vegetable lovers who took time to fill up my mailbox last week when I launched this series of posts about How to Eat More Vegetables, your ideas are truly inspiring. Readers, I'm going to incorporate your best tips into the weekly tips, look for your names in pixels, soon! (And please, keep them coming!) Bloggers, this week two bloggers wrote posts on this topic, their links are below.

And now for this week's tip:

Keep Reading ->>>

Hubby's Homemade White Mac & Cheese

This is pure comfort food, saved for times when you don't think about the calories,

but just enjoy the pure taste!! This is hubby's creation. We only have it once and a great while

and it is so delicious!!

Hubby's Homemade White Mac & Cheese
1 (16 oz.) package penne pasta
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 pound processed cheese (like Velveeta) cubed.
1/4 pound provolone slices or cubes
Prepare pasta according to directions on package. Drain and set aside.
In a large pan on medium heat, melt butter. Add flour, stirring constantly until mixture thickens.
Add milk, salt, paprika and cheese. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens but is smooth.
(The cheese sauce should resemble and extra-thick cream) If mixture is too thick, a little more milk can be added. Pour the drained pasta into the sauce and gently stir. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

Serve and Enjoy!!

Linked to:
Full Plate Thursday

Friday Favorites
Foodie Friday
I'm Lovin It

Friday Favorites

Wow! This week went really fast! Time for some of your recipes that I can't wait to try out on my table!!

Cream Cheese Cookie Bars

It's Sew for You

Rosemary Foccacia

Alli n Son

Easy Italian Shrimp

This is What I Do..

Chocolate and Strawberry Dessert Pizza

An 'A' for Effort

Roasted Veggies

Healthy Eating for Ordinary People

Italian Sausage Stromboli

Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Rustic Cabbage Soup

Happier Than a Pig in the Mud

White Chocolate Blueberry Blondies

Monster Mama

Caramel Bars
Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker

Linked to Friday Favorites over at Finding Joy in My Kitchen, where you can check out other faves!
Have a GREAT Weekend!!

Tried It Out Thursday: Evil Fudge Balls

A little while ago I came across this recipe over at Gracious Rain and I wanted to make them immediately!! My husband's favorite chocolate of all time is a Symphony bar. So when I saw this was the main ingredient, I knew it had to be a good one and it did not disappoint. It was easy and oh so EVIL, because once you have one, you have to have another and another..... They are AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!

Evil Fudge Balls

recipe from Gracious Rain

3 large Symphony chocolate bars (about 16 oz.) I used the one with toffee and almond bits.
4 oz. frozen whipped topping
Vanilla Wafers–crushed
Melt chocolate in the microwave until melted and smooth. Cool slightly.

Spoon the frozen cool whip into the chocolate and mix until well blended.

It will most likely be way too soft to roll, but if you have a small scoop you could still do it. If not, refrigerate for about 1 hour or until the chocolate is firm enough to spoon and roll into balls.

Drop in crushed Vanilla Wafers and coat thoroughly.

I am really missing my food processor!! Crushing the cookies with out it was not as effective, but it worked!!

Refrigerate in an air tight container

Warning: THESE ARE ADDICTIVE!!
Thanks Launi for an amazing recipe!! Her pictures are much better than mine!!

Yoplait Smoothie Healthy Living Giveaway

I LOVE smoothies, but must admit I do not take the the time to make them very often. Now thanks to Yoplait they have made it so simple, nutricious and delcious! Perfect for anytime. I come home from work every day famished..lately I have been grabbing what ever I can find to eat (it usually is not healthy food). I am now going to try one of these smoothies to tie me over. Much more healthy!!

Including Yoplait Frozen Smoothies in your diet is a quick and easy way to help you get important nutrients, like vitamin C or calcium your body needs. And with seven out of every ten Americans not eating the recommended two to four servings of fruit per day, Yoplait Frozen Smoothies could help you reach that goal.

Each package of Yoplait Frozen Smoothies contains one full serving of fruit (1/2 cup) and 110 to 120 calories per serving. Not only does Yoplait yogurt contain live and active cultures, but when prepared with skim milk and made according to package directions, Yoplait Frozen Smoothies are a good source of calcium. So raise your smoothie glass and toast to a new you!
Found in the frozen fruit aisle of your local grocery store, Yoplait Frozen Smoothies come in four delicious flavors. Be sure to check out the newest flavor, Blueberry Pomegranate, along with other favorites like Triple Berry, Strawberry Banana, and Strawberry Mango Pineapple.

Now for the best part and this is a GOOD one: One reader will win:

A VIP coupon to try Yoplait Frozen Smoothies, a drawstring backpack, a water bottle and a fitness journal.

It is a great pack to help you live a healthier life!!

To enter be a follower and leave me a comment on what you plan on doing to be healthier this year

For an additional entry tell me how you could incorporate Yoplait smoothies in your diet.

Winner will be drawn by random number generator on

February 24.

Here's to Healthier Living!!

The product, information, prize pack and giveaway were given to me by Yoplait® through MyBlogSpark. All opinions are my own.

Tried & True: Old Fashioned Chicken Potpie

This is one of those recipes that I posted when I first started this blog. It is such a GREAT and EASY recipe. I have taken it to many people for dinner and always receive a call wanting the recipe. This is probably one of my very favorite comfort food dishes!!

Old Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie

Original post here
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup milk
2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules or 2 cubes.
1 cup chicken, cooked and diced
2 cups cooked diced vegetables (I use potatoes, carrots and peas. You can also use frozen mixed veggies)
2 pie crusts

Cook vegetables until tender. Set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in water, milk and bouillon. Bring to a boil stirring constantly and boil for 2 minutes. (It should be like gravy). Remove from heat. Stir in chicken and vegetables. Put bottom crust into pie pan. Pour filling into crust. Place 2nd crust over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in the top of the crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. You may want to shield the edges after the first 15 minutes to avoid over browning.

YUM!! Enjoy.

Menu Plan Monday & Happy Valentine's Day!!

Wishing you all a day filled with love and happiness!!

This Week's Menu

Monday: Beef Stroganoff

Tueday: Chicken Baskets

Wednesday: Chili

Thursday: Cheese Enchiladas

Friday: Girls Night Out

Saturday: Pizza

Sunday: Baked Stew

Wishing you all a great week!!

Linked to: Menu Plan Monday