Awesome Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cut into chunks
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 5 (12 inch) flour tortillas
• 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives

Directions

1. Place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces are no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. Set the shredded chicken aside. Meanwhile, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
2. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion, and water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder; simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
3. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
5. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

Easy Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions

1. Place chicken, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, garlic, and sesame oil in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal bag, and shake to coat. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours, turning every so often.
2. Preheat grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Remove chicken from bag, discarding any remaining marinade. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes each side, or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

The Best Chicken in the World

The Best Chicken Recipe in the World

I do not type that title lightly.
This is a recipe my mother used to make for us, for special occasions. Now that I see how blessed easy it is, I don’t wait for special occasions.  In fact, it’s funny that this recipe became a “special occasions” recipe.  Nowadays, I’d rather have a fabulous prime rib (medium rare, thank you very much) for a special occasion.
I think my sister was the first to ask for this for her birthday meal, but I quickly hijacked that and I remember it fondly being for me, and me alone.
I would ask for my mother to make this for my birthday dinner, and then, it would never fail that the meal was followed by a Dixie’s Coconut Cream Pie.
Birthday complete.
This recipe is so simple. And yummy.
It’s what I would lovingly term: a “dump” recipe.  You just dump all the ingredients in, an voila!, you’re done.  Dump recipes almost always include a Cream Of soup….
Add the following to chicken, and Bob’s your uncle!

(photos taken with phone camera–not the best quality or color…sorry!)
Now, I warn you: this recipe is nowhere near being calorie-free.
It has butter in it.
Lots. and. lots. of. butter. Yum!
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Put the chicken in a large, oven-proof bowl.  I happened to have packages of wings and breasts, but normally, I use a whole cut-up chicken. (In fact, I prefer a whole cut-up chicken, because I like the dark meat and ThrillCam likes the white meat.  How else do you think our marriage has lasted all these years??)
Throw in a stick of butter. (I don’t usually cut it up, but since I was taking pictures, I decided it would look better, more chef-like.)

Place your bowl in the oven and cook the chicken and butter at 425* for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take out the bowl and reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
I then added a little fresh ground pepper. (I didn’t add salt, because the rest of the ingredients add a salty flavor, so be careful and wait to salt after you’ve cooked it.)  You, of course, can add the pepper earlier, I just forgot.

Pour one can of Cream of Chicken soup (or Cream of Mushroom, your choice), undiluted, over the chicken.

Pour 1/4 C. cooking sherry or white wine into the soup can and swirl it around to remove the left-over soup.

Of course, it’s your choice as to whether you use cooking sherry or wine; both work equally well.  (This time, I cooked with the sherry and drank the wine).
Pour swirled sherry/left-over-soup all over the (glowing, yellow!) chicken.

Throw in a can of (drained) mushrooms. (Or, if you’re a better cook than me, use fresh mushrooms.)
This recipe is all about your freedom of choice.

Stir, gently, to combine soup, melted butter, wine (or sherry) and mushrooms; coat chicken pieces, but don’t worry if you can’t cover them completely.
I’ve even been known to mix the soup/sherry/mushrooms in a separate bowl and then pour it over the chicken.  But, I was being lazy–I didn’t want to wash another bowl.
(Don’t expect your version of this recipe to glow quite so brightly…it takes a special kind of cook to get results like this….  I guess I bumped up the exposure a little too much…ya think?)

This is where I tweaked the recipe a bit. You see, I love the gravy that is produced in this recipe. So, I added an extra can of Cream of Mushroom soup and a little more wine. But, you don’t have to; you can leave the recipe as is and just drink the wine. It’s your call. (hiccup)

Send the chicken back to the oven, this time, for 2 hours at 300 degrees.  Stir it, only if you think of it, once or twice throughout the cooking process.  But, stirring is not required.
When there’s about 20 minutes left for the chicken to cook, make some rice.
Or pasta.
Or mashed taters.
Again, your choice.
It’s a free country and I shudder to think I’ve held you back or squashed your spirit by telling you what to do.
So, be free!
Be happy!
Drink some more wine!
Here’s a shot of the final product.  Not the best picture, but you get an idea.

This really is an easy recipe to throw together.  You just have to give yourself 2 1/2 hours for cooking time.
Make it, tonight! 

Johnsonville Italian Sausage Rigatoni

Ingredients

• 1 (19.76 ounce) package Johnsonville® Italian Mild Sausage Links, grilled and coin-sliced
• 1 (16 ounce) package rigatoni pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large red pepper, chunked and sauteed
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 (26 ounce) jar of your favorite pasta sauce

Directions

1. Cook sausage according to package directions, keep warm.
2. Cook the rigatoni according to directions, keep warm.
3. In a large pan, place olive oil and garlic, saute lightly for 30 seconds. Add peppers and cook until crisp tender.
4. Combine cooked sausage and pasta sauce with peppers and heat until warm. At this point you may mix with the pasta or serve separately.
5. Top with fresh parsley. Serve warm.

Best Mac n' Chese

Ingredients

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 8 ounces cubed processed cheese food

Directions

1. In a large pot with boiling salted water cook elbow macaroni until al dente. Drain.
2. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat melt butter or margarine. Whisk flour and stir vigorously. Add milk and cook until thick and bubbly, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add cheeses and stir until completely melted.
3. In a large bowl mix together the drained pasta and cheese sauce mixture. Toss to coat evenly.
4. Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Easy Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients

• 1 pound uncooked linguine
• 2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cubed
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms
• 1 (16 ounce) jar Alfredo-style pasta sauce
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
• 1/3 cup milk

Directions

1. In a large pot cook fettuccini or linguini pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium-low heat add cubed cooked chicken, mushrooms, Alfredo sauce, frozen vegetables, and milk. Cook until heated through.
3. Serve warm Alfredo sauce over cooked fettuccini or linguini noodles.