What's For Dinner?

Not sure what to make for dinner this week? Here is a recipe that you must try!! Almost every time I go to Olive Garden I order Chicken Scampi, it seriously is so so good! I recently found a recipe and it actually turned out really good! Dan and I loved it and Aiden couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough. :) You must try it. I found it here. I tweaked a few things as I was going of course. :) Recipes like these not only taste good, but as I am making it I feel like a real cook. haha. Try it and I would love to hear how it turns out!

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into strips
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 chopped yellow onion
• 2 tsp fresh or dried parsley
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 16 ounces angel hair pasta or spaghetti

Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp of dried basil
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp of dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp minced fresh or dried parsley
• 1 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

Start the Pasta:

1. Get some water boiling and cook the pasta until done while you are cooking chicken.

Make Scampi Sauce:

1. Using a medium sized pot over medium heat. Melt the butter, add the chopped onion and cook the onion begins to brown, about 2 to 4 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Don't let the garlic turn brown or it will taste bitter.
3. Add the chicken broth, crushed red pepper, salt, dried basil, dried oregano and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and bring the mixture to a simmer.
4. Cook until the sauce has reduced to half, about 15 minutes
5. Add cream and 2 tsp minced parsley. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Don't let the mixture boil.
6. Take off heat and set aside.

Cook the Chicken:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Place the flour on a plate. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken pieces, then coat each side in the flour.
3. Place chicken in pan and cook on one side until golden brown. About 3 - 4 minutes.
4. When the chicken is brown on one side, turn over the pieces and move them to the side of the pan to continue cooking.
5. Add sliced bell peppers and red onion to the middle of the pan.
6. Continue cooking the chicken and veggies for 4-6 minutes, or until the vegetables are beginning to brown on the edges. You may need to take the chicken out before the onions and peppers are done.
7. Put the chicken back in the pan if you have taken it out.
8. Pour half the Scampi sauce over the ingredients in skillet. 
9. Add the cooked pasta to a pot and mix in the other half of the sauce. Put on medium heat to warm it up.
10. Prepare each persons plate by placing equal amounts of pasta onto each dish.
11. Use tongs to add peppers and onion on top of each portion of pasta.
12. Arrange equal amounts of chicken on top of pasta.
13. Sprinkle each plate with about 1/2 tsp minced parsley and grated parmesan cheese.

March 2

March 2 :: A Favorite Breakfast Food

ZUCCHINI BREAD!!! Is a huge favorite in this house!!! My Grandma Peterson's recipe is the best ever and I probably make it every other week or so. We not only eat it for breakfast, but any time of the day. :) Even Aiden can't get enough of it!

Iced Mocha at Home - FINALLY!!

If you know me you know how I love-love-love going to Starbucks. The funny thing is though I actually only like about three things from there, but I really like them. In case you are wondering they are...a Mocha Frappucino (with an added flavor like hazelnut, peppermint...etc) or the White/Regular Mocha (with an added flavor and half the espresso). Everything else, I pretty much hate. haha. The other thing is those drinks are about $5. Ouch. I could buy a shirt for that price. Plus add in all the calories and sugar in one of those drinks, I feel sick thinking about it. Over all, probably not the best use of my resources. So, I have been dying for an easy version I could make at home. I have tried a couple, but today I made one that was easy and I LOVED IT! So, I wanted to share it with you. I got the recipe from Pinterest, big surprise, but made a few tweaks.

You start out with ice in a cup, and pour some cold coffee in it. I started with this amount, but later added more and I believe it ended up to be one cup.

Then add one cup of milk, a spoonful of sugar (makes the medicine go dowwwn), a little vanilla extract, and then a long squeeze of chocolate syrup. All along I was tasting it to see what to add more of. And of course it's totally customizable for what you like. Add more coffee and less milk if you like it stronger, no sugar if you don't need it sweet...etc. You know what you like!

My finishing touch, which is not surprising in my house, was flavored creamer. We currently have York Peppermint Patty in our house, so that's what went in. Top it off with a little or big dollop (name that movie) of whip cream and drizzle with chocolate syrup. It is amazing!!!!

Two things I really like about this. No using a blender and you can drink it slow without worrying that all the little ice chunks are going to melt. Next time I will probably make like a ten cup pot of coffee, freeze one cup portions and take them out and thaw them when I want. The only hard part about this is trying not to make one every single day. lol. We may run out of milk fast. :)

Mommy Monday :: Soup-Soup-Soup

I am always struggling with knowing what to give Aiden to eat, I want him to eat healthy and not the same things alllll the time. Anyway, I end up buying cans of soup every week and he has that a lot. So the other day I thought- why not make a big pot of soup and freeze individual servings for Aiden?! DUH, why didn't I think of it before. Definitely cheaper and without all the preservatives and stuff. So, I went looking for a vegetable soup recipe and I found this one.

Chunky Veggie Soup
1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

2 stalks of celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

2 x cans of chopped tomatoes (14oz)

1 1/2 litres of water or stock

1 cup of pasta (your choice)

In a large sauce pan over medium heat add the oil, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper and cook until just soft. Add the tomatoes and water and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the pasta and cook for another 8-10 min. Serves 4-6.

So I started with my vegetables and I added some zucchini and fresh greens beans to the mix. Can't go wrong with more veggies.

I only used about 3 1/2 cups of chicken stock since I didn't add the pasta to the cooking and since Aiden doesn't really need a lot of broth.

I just thought this was cool. :)

Now, I didn't add the pasta only because pasta takes up so much space and I wasn't sure how it would freeze, so I'll probably just add some each time I give it to him.

After I took this picture I poured one of these in Aiden's bowl and it was way too much for a serving, so I got two more containers out of it. Yay! I gave him some the next day and he loved it and so did I! I will be doing this again. :)

52|02 :: Memories

52|02

I see small graces in:

memories

A recipe, a photo, a smell. 
So many things that trigger special 
feelings from my childhood.

I am so blessed to have had the childhood I did. I grew up close to a lot of people from both sides of the family and I am so glad for that! I have so many memories of days at Grandma & Grandpa Andersen's riding the snowmobiles, picking up sticks, Grandpa grilling hot dogs, homemade ice cream, laughter, eating! And at Grandma & Grandpa Peterson's going to the Bakery and Golden Corral, spending the night, playing on the water beds, Grandma's rolls, playing Mario and getting all the cards on the special because my Grandpa wrote them all down! And I could go on and on! I have multiple of both my Grandma's recipes and if there is anything they have made that I want to try I just email them and they send me the recipe. And I love doing it because it just brings me back to their kitchen and I feel the love. I will only ever make my Grandma Peterson's zucchini bread and yesterday I made my Grandma Andersen's Oatmeal Bars. I used to look forward to her making these, big time! There is just something about them that makes me really happy. Mine are a little lacking compared to hers and it took me three tries to make the frosting, but they still are yummy. I love you family and I miss you like crazy!!

Foto Friday :: Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup

There are some things about cooking that make me really happy. One is color, I love it when it looks so pretty. One color combination I love is onion, carrots and celery. It just looks so good together. 

Another thing I love about cooking is using the crock pot or oven. I like being able to prepare it hours before and then it's just ready when we are ready to eat. It's AWESOME!

This recipe is one I found on...dum-de-dum....PINTEREST! Of course, where else. :) And it had both these things that I love so I wanted to share. It was good, sort of like a grown up tomato soup. Serve with bread or a grilled cheese (with garlic) and it's delicious. 

Here is the recipe...

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice

1 cup finely diced celery

1 cup finely diced carrots

1 cup finely diced onions

1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano

1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil

4 cups chicken broth

½ bay leaf

½ cup flour

1 cup Parmesan cheese

½ cup butter

2 cups half and half, warmed

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil (if using fresh oregano and basil, if using dried oregano and basil add it in the last hour of cook time), and bay leaf to a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. About an hour before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for another hour until ready to serve.

 I missed the "Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth" part, so mine wasn't very creamy, but I think if I would have followed the directions it would have been. lol.

ENJOY!