Gift Wrapped Chicken

Oh man do I have a delicious recipe for you today! This one comes compliments of my Memaw. I had it a couple of times at her house and then just had to get the recipe from her. It is a chicken dish that is delicious, I don’t usually eat a lot of meat (I focus more on the sides) but I clean my plate with this meal.

Ingredients:
– 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
– 16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
– 8 Tbs butter, divided
– 16 oz phyllo dough, defrosted in the refrigerator
– 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:
1. Cut each chicken breast in half the short way and pound each piece to lightly flatten.
2. Place one tablespoon cranberry and one tablespoon of butter on one half of chicken breast and place the other half on top, do this for all pieces
3. Cut dough in half the long way
4. Stack cut strips of dough to make a star shape, just layer two strips to make an X then add remaining two on top to form a +, brush each piece with melted butter as you stack them
5. Place filled chicken in center of your dough star and pull ends up together in the center, pinching them closed at the top like a beggar’s purse (Note: This dough is very thin and breaks easily but as long as you aren’t going for perfection it will still taste delicious even if it doesn’t look great)
6. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, temp chicken to ensure it is fully cooked
Serves 4

This recipe is delicious, the cranberry and chicken inside the buttery dough is so yummy! The dough is sometimes a bit tricky to work with but you just have to not worry about what it looks like and go for it. It is delicious. Let me know if you try this recipe out and what you think? We love it!

Roasted Red Potatoes

I thought you might enjoy a delicious and easy side dish to go with the Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin. These are a favorite in our house, easy and delicious.

Ingredients:
-Red Potatoes (For the two of us we generally use 6-8 and have leftovers)
-1/4 cup Olive Oil
-1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
-1 tsp salt
-1 tbsp parsley
-1 tbsp oregano
-Garlic to taste

Directions:
-Cut the potatoes up into small pieces
-In a bowl mix olive oil, salt, parmesan cheese and spices
-Put potatoes in the bowl and toss around with mixture
-Spread potatoes in one layer on a cookie sheet (We cover ours with foil and spray the foil with Pam)
-Cook at 425 for 45 minutes then test to see if they are done

And ta-da a delicious side dish! I thought I would post this for a little Tuesday bonus. It’s been a long day already. I had to text Tyler to find out all of the ingredients because he is the master behind making these delicious potatoes! These are just estimates of how much of each ingredient, he just kind of throws it all together. So take this and make it your own and enjoy! Let me know if you make these and if you add anything different?

Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Before we get to the recipe I am so excited to say I have a guest post going live today at 31 Million Seconds. Kristen writes a great blog over there and is on her honeymoon right now so I was excited to get to share a post while she is enjoying a much needed vacation! So go on over and check it out!

Now to a delicious recipe, this is a meal we love and it is usually reserved for special occasions or rare occasions. We had it this past Saturday night and it was as always delicious. It is a Paula Deen recipe so you know it has to be scrumptious! I will show you the recipe here and include the link below. I hope you all enjoy this!

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin (we use 1 1/2 lb)
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon drive rosemary

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl
2. Rub the ingredients into the pork loin
3. Place the pork loin on a roasting rack
4. Roast the pork for 30 minutes at 475
5. Turn down oven to 425 and roast for 30+ more minutes (This will vary by the size of the pork loin)
6. Check the internal temperature and when it reaches 155-165 remove from oven and allow to sit 20 minutes and it will continue to cook. (I have the required temp for meat on my meat thermometer, I make sure it soars past the well done number and then I pull it out because I am picky about my meat being well done)

See how easy that is? We always have two delicious side dishes with this meal, macaroni and cheese and roasted red potatoes. I hope you all enjoy this easy and delicious pork tenderloin recipe.

Adapted from: Food Network

Creamy Crock Pot Spaghetti

Pasta + a crock pot = YUM! Two of my favorite things and it was delicious. I found this recipe and just knew I had to try it out. I did it a bit different then the recipe and it was delicious. So here goes!

Ingredients:
1 26 oz jar Spaghetti Sauce (I used Ragu)
1/2 lb angel hair pasta
1/2 ground beef
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 oz. cream cheese

Directions:
Brown the ground beef and drain fat
Pour half the jar of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of the crock pot
Place uncooked pasta noodles on top of the sauce, break the noodles so that they fit
Pour ground beef over the pasta
Sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
Cut cream cheese into cubes and place on top
Cover with the last half of the jar of spaghetti sauce
Cover and cook on high for 3 hours
After 3 hours, stir it, it will be thick. Mine I thought was delicious and needed nothing more added but if you found it to be too dry then you could pour more sauce on it.

This is the recipe, there were additional steps and ingredients to add that I did not do because I thought it tasted fine after doing this. The link to the recipe I adapted this from is below. The only problem I encountered were that some of the noodles stuck together. I am not sure what would have prevented this? Maybe cooking it longer on low rather than on high or maybe being home to stir it? But since this is a crock pot meal I don’t want to have to do anything to it during the day. But it made a lot and for the two of us there were plenty of delicious noodles that hadn’t stuck together. Does anyone have any thoughts on how to prevent the noodles from sticking together?

This was a yummy, easy meal and the cream cheese really added something creamy and yummy to regular old spaghetti. And in the crock pot, win win! I hope you all enjoy this meal!

Adapted from: Picky Palate

Swiss Cheese Chicken

or Patty’s Chicken as it is known in our house, but I thought I would give it a name that reflected the deliciousness that is in it! If you have never made this then you need to make it. We had it last night and it is delicious, another family favorite.

Ingredients
-4-6 boneless chicken breasts (for the 6 of us my mom would cut three in half)
-Swiss Cheese slices (6 or more, it’s your choice)
-1/4 cup white cooking wine
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-1 cup Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix (I use the one that is the blue and white bag)
-1 stick margarine, melted

Directions
-Grease or spray baking dish
-Place chicken in dish and lay swiss cheese slices over to cover
-Combine white wine and soup on small bowl; spread over cheese
-Sprinkle stuffing mix over top
-Drizzle melted margarine over top
-Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, uncovered

When my mom makes it we have it over mashed potatoes and it is delicious. I don’t ever have the time to make homemade mashed potatoes and I don’t care for the taste of instant mashed potatoes, so last night we had it over rice and that was delicious. It makes a delicious creamy sauce to go over the rice or mashed potatoes. It is also good with broccoli for the vegetable.

Hope you all enjoy this dish, it is scrumptious (a word I’ve picked up from the many Fancy Nancy books I read at my job).

Quick and Delicious Chicken Spaghetti

This is a recipe I had posted a link to before but wanted to share with you all how I make it. It is so easy and delicious. I can come home from work and easily prepare it and have a fast and delicious dinner.

Ingredients:
-8 oz. angel hair pasta
-Canned chicken-I just used one small can, it’s really how much chicken you prefer in your casserole
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-1 can cream of mushroom soup
-1 can (10 oz) Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (I use mild but this can be whatever you prefer)
-16 oz. sour cream- the recipe I got this from calls for 8, I like mine extra creamy so I use 16.
-Sprinkling of Parmesan or Mexican Blend Cheese (I use the Great Value, Fiesta Blend Cheese)

Directions:
Boil Pasta and drain
Mix into pasta all other ingredients, except the cheese
Place in a 9×13 casserole dish
Cover with foil and bake on 350 for 30 minutes or until warm and bubbly
Remove from oven, uncover, sprinkle with cheese and return to oven to melt cheese

Serves 4
Is also great leftover!

And then it is ready. It is so delicious and so easy!

Adapted from: The Boomer Brief

Three Cheese Pasta Bake and a Guest Post!

Today I am so excited to share with you guys that I have been given the honor of doing my first guest posting on another blog. Like Mother, Like Daughter is a great blog that shares all kinds of yummy recipes. I have found my new favorite meal from this blog Creamy Chicken and Broccoli over Rice which we are still having almost every week.

I wanted to share a recipe with you guys that we had on Sunday night. It is all about pasta and cheese, lots of cheeses. We found the combination of cheeses to be a little much but some people could love this combo. I added a few things to it and even feel like a few variations on this recipe would be good as well.

Ingredients:
-1 (16 oz) package ziti
-2 (10 oz) containers refrigerated Alfredo sauce
-1 (8 oz) container sour cream
-1 (15 oz. container ricotta cheese
-2 large eggs, lightly beaten
-1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
-1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
{Optional} – This is what I added to it
-chopped pineapple
-chopped bell peppers (I sautéed mine but that is optional)
-canned chicken

Directions:
Prepare ziti according to package directions; drain and return to pot
Add chopped pineapple, chicken and bell peppers

Stir together Alfredo sauce and sour cream and toss with ziti until evenly coated
Spoon half the mixture into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish

Stir together ricotta cheese and next 3 ingredients; spread over pasta mixture in baking dish
Spoon remaining pasta mixture over ricotta cheese layer; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly

We had this dish and Tyler gave it a 6.5 but I wanted to share because I feel like there are people who would love it. I also thought it could have been really good before you added the ricotta cheese mixture. When reading the reviews on the recipe I also saw people who had substituted cottage cheese for the ricotta. I think there are many versions of this recipe that could be delicious. I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you make your own version of it!

Source: Southern Living

Yummy Pineapple Casserole

Pineapple, Cheese, and Ritz Crackers. Can you say YUM! That’s what I say whenever I think about this side dish. It is a family favorite and we had it the other night with our Poppyseed Chicken Casserole. I got this recipe from my mom.

Ingredients

2 (2o oz) cans pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup sugar
6 T. flour
6 T. pineapple juice
2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of melted butter
1 cup Ritz Cracker crumbs

Directions

1. Butter Casserole Dish
2. Mix together sugar, flour and pineapple juice
3. Pour into casserole dish
4. Spoon pineapple over mixture
5. Cover with grated cheese
6. Mix crumbs and melted butter together and sprinkle over cheese
7. Bake at 350 got 45 minutes

-This recipe can also be halved and baked for 25-30 minutes. I usually halve it when I am making for just Tyler and myself. It would be enough for 4 people when halved.

Easter Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a great Easter weekend! We had beautiful weather and were very productive. Friday I was off work and created my new spring wreath! We had Spinach and Ricotta Shells for dinner which I have shared with you all before. They were delicious as always. You can’t go wrong with stuffed shells. We caught up on some of our DVR shows Friday night and just relaxed.

Saturday, we had breakfast at Bob Evans and then headed to Lowe’s We bought everything we needed to finish fencing in our yard! You can read all about that on Tyler’s blogging post, his first contribution to the blog. And he is a good writer and funny so I will be having him do more posting. While Tyler worked on the fence I weeded my flowers and put up my new potted flowers and garden flag. I was quite excited about those and now our yard looks so cute and ready for spring!

After our yard work we got ready and headed over to the Twaddell’s for Easter egg dying, dinner, an inspirational egg hunt, cheesecake and Nertz. If you have never heard of Nertz or experienced the Twaddell’s playing it then you won’t understand my excitement about coming in 3rd place!! It is a game of speed and that is something the Twaddell family excels at, the Ballards and Glovers not as much. So I was proud to come in 3rd out of 7 people playing!

On Sunday we dressed up and headed to church for Easter Sunday. Growing up in a Southern Baptist church I just felt the need to dress up for Easter. When I was a little girl it was always so exciting to get our Easter dresses! It was a dreary and rainy day on Sunday so we came home and spent the day lounging on the couch and I also prepared us a delicious meal, Chicken Casserole and Pineapple Casserole, recipes coming later this week!

We had a great weekend and this morning it was back to the grind. I am not the biggest fan of Monday’s but I mean who really is? But this work day is close to over and then we are one day closer to the weekend 🙂 This coming weekend if the weather is nice we are hoping to go into DC and check out the Cherry Blossoms! Quick find the Zyrtec, hello allergies!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Dolly says “Happy Easter” 

New garden flag!

Front porch!

The Easter Bunny came!

Dying Easter Eggs at the Twaddell’s!

Family Road Trip!

This weekend we took a quick road trip to Ohio for my mom’s birthday. And by quick I mean we were there only about 40 hours and we drove a total of 16 hours. But it was well worth it to see all the family and get to meet my new niece dog Rubi!

We left bright and early Friday morning and took Dolly for her first big road trip! She was very excited and kept putting her feet on the middle console and trying to get up front with us. But eventually she calmed down. We got to Ohio in time for dinner with my family.

On Saturday we had a delicious breakfast, went shopping and then had a scrumptious dinner at Bucca di Beppo’s. If you have not ever been there then you should go! It is a delicious family style Italian restaurant.

On Sunday we had some delicious pancakes and then hit the road to return back to Virginia. Dolly was excited to head back home as she was a bit nervous with all of the new faces and places. Next thing for us and Dolly will be some dog training so we all know how to better help her in new situations. She got to meet her cousin Rubi and they had a good, short first meeting.

We had a great road trip! We drove for 16 hours and didn’t turn on the radio once so we had some quality time together. It was a quick trip but a lot of fun and worth the time spent in the car! With our previous flying history of super delayed flights we decided driving is our best option unless we just can’t take the day off for the drive. Fortunately this time it worked out and we had a great time with family!