Hamburger Buddy

3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
10 ounces white mushrooms, large ones cut in half
1 large onion, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound 90%-lean ground beef
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups water
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth, divided
8 ounces whole-wheat elbow noodles, (2 cups)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, or chives for garnish
PREPARATION
Fit a food processor with the steel blade attachment. With the motor running, drop garlic through the feed tube and process until minced, then add carrots and mushrooms and process until finely chopped. Turn it off, add onion, and pulse until roughly chopped.
Cook beef in a large straight-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften and the mushrooms release their juices, 5 to 7 minutes.
Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Whisk flour with the remaining 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl until smooth; stir into the hamburger mixture. Stir in the sour cream. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley (or chives), if desired.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 chicken breast
1/2 a bottle of Italian dressing
1 block of cream cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Crock pot on low for 4-6 hours. Serve over spaghetti.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Penne

This chicken was DIVINE!!!! It was so so good I really could have made myself sick if we would have had more left because I would have kept on chowing down!!
1/2 bottle of lawrys Herb and Garlic Marinade
2 large spoonfuls of Pesto
2 boneless chicken breasts.
Cut chicken into one inch strips. Using same knife make slits into chicken. Pour lawrys marinade and pesto over chicken. Marinate over night (I did mine Sunday morning and cooked mine Monday evening so it marinated a while!!)
Sauce:
8 ounces of your choice of pasta
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
2 spoonfuls of pesto
1/2 cup of chicken broth
8 ounces of tomato sauce
1 cup of half and half
Boil water and start on noodles.
Pour entire batch of chicken, marinade and all, into skillet and cook chicken fully (the marinade will evaporate/cook down)
Heat olive oil, cook garlic. Add pesto. Simmer in chicken broth until half has cooked down. Add tomato sauce. Then add milk. Simmer for 5 minutes. Toss pasta in. Add flour if it needs to be thickened. Place chicken on top.
Source:http://www.plainchicken.com/2009/08/grilled-chicken-tomato-cream-sauce.html?m=1
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Harvest Chicken Salad

Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 pound cooked chicken breast (chopped, diced, or shredded)
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup diced apple
2/3 cup grapes, halved
1/3 cup NatureBox Dried Cranberries or Zingy Currants
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1-1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Ciabatta bread, toasted, for serving
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine chicken, red onion, apple, grapes, dried cranberries or currants, sliced almonds, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste. Serve sandwiches on ciabatta bread with chicken salad mixture.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Slow cooker Honey Chipotle Pulled Pork

The Rub:
½ tsp powdered ginger
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dry thyme
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika (I prefer smoked)
1-2 tsp chipotle powder (to taste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tbsp sea salt (optional or to taste)
1-2 Tbsp honey (to taste) *Use only if you are NOT making sauce below
Combine the above dry ingredients. Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork. *If you are not making the sauce, drizzle the honey over the pork after applying spices. If you are going to make the sauce, skip the honey at this point. Let sit while you prepare the base.
The Base:
1 medium sized onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or thinly sliced
4 medium sized firm apples peeled and chunked
1/2 to 1 tsp ground chipotle powder according to taste
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or coconut aminos
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dry thyme)
1 1/2 cups chicken bone broth (stock) or water
1/4 cup honey
Sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Place the onions, garlic and apples in an even layer in the slow cooker. Combine chipotle powder, vinegar (or aminos) thyme, honey and sea salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk together. Pour over the onion mixture, followed by the stock or water.
Place the rubbed roast in the slow cooker, cover and cook until the pork is fork tender, about 6 to 8 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.
While the pork is cooking you can make the optional Honey Chipotle Sauce**I think this sauce is amazing, but if you are not into the extra work, you can use the juices from the cooking process to make an equally tasty serving sauce. Please see directions below)
Honey Chipotle Barbeque Sauce** (optional – see note below)
In a small saucepan, cook slowly over medium low heat until well softened and beginning to caramelize:
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 medium red onion, chopped
Add:
2 cups plain tomato sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or coconut aminos
1 tsp ground chipotle powder (to taste)
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground dry thyme
1 tsp sea salt
Simmer slowly for about 20-30 minutes or until reduced by about 1/4 , stirring often. When cool, puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
Turn off the slow cooker and remove the pork to a cutting board. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the onion mixture from the slow cooker through the strainer, retain the solids and set the strained liquid aside.
Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker and here you have a choice:
If using the above sauce, add the sauce, and mix to combine and serve.
If you’re not using the sauce, use a spoon to skim and discard the fat from the surface of the strained cooking liquid, reduce the liquid until it slightly thickens. Add in some of the cooked onions and apples and puree the sauce with an immersion blender or in a food processor to smooth it out. Mix into the pulled pork and serve.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad