Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

Wow! I LOVE Chicken Cordon Bleu and I was so excited to try this recipe - and WOW it didn't disappoint! I LOVED it so much and Jake had three helpings! This will DEFINITELY be a constant in our household. We put together the entire dinner and ate in one hour's time. Try it! You will love the flavor! I got this recipe here.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU PASTA
From Blogging… It’s What’s for Dinner!

2 cups cooked, diced chicken
6 oz deli ham, diced
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream ( I used fat free)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
cooked pasta

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan until cheese is melted, smooth, and creamy. Serve over whatever pasta you like.

*NOTE: I used large shell pasta and it was PERFECT! I definitely wouldn't use regular spaghetti noodles. It seems like small noodles are best: bowties, elbows, etc.

Baked Oven Omelet

I love recipes from Real Mom Kitchen. I browsed all of her blog recipes and picked out a few that I wanted to try. This one was another one from her compilation. It was pretty tasty with a nice strong flavor, mostly contributed by the green onions. If you don't like soggy bread texture, this may not be the recipe for you. It has a very unusual texture that might be mistaken for ALMOST soggy bread. But it sure does taste good. It requires a little bit more work and time, but both my husband and I enjoyed it. I got this recipe here.

BAKED OVEN OMELET
from Real Mom Kitchen

1 loaf of bread
3 cups of grated cheddar cheese (I think the sharper the better)
1/2 pound chopped ham
1/4 cup chopped green onion
5 eggs beaten
2 1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. prepared mustard

Trim crust off bread. Save crust for another use. As you layer the bread, butter each side of the bread. I just use my tub of margarine for this. Place a layer of bread in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan, just enough buttered slices to cover the bottom of the pan. Then layer 1 cup of the cheese, half the ham, and half the green onion. Place another layer of buttered bread slices. Top with 1 cup cheese, remaining ham, and remaining green onion. Beat egg, milk, salt, paprika, and mustard together. Pour over layers in pan. Top with remaining cheese and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, until knife comes out clean. Serves 9-12.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

So, not only did I finally get a CAMERA for Christmas, I also got this great new cookbook called Made Simple Chicken. I love chicken and so I am very excited to try the MANY tasty looking recipes. This first recipe looked too good to wait any amount of time before making it - and it didn't disappoint. I loved the flavor and Jake said it is a keeper for our regular recipes! It was very easy to make and only required a trip to the grocery store for a few inexpensive items. (Getting packaged tortellini instead of the refrigerated kind is a HUGE price break, and it isn't that hard to cook it yourself!)

CHICKEN TORTELLINI SOUP
From Made Simple Chicken

6 cups chicken broth or 1 can (48 ounces) chicken broth
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese and spinach tortellini or three-cheese tortellini
1 package (about 6 ounces) refrigerated fully cooked chicken breast strips, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh baby spinach leaves
4 to 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped chives or 2 tablespoons sliced green onions

Bring chicken broth to a boil in large saucepan over high heat. Add tortellini. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and spinach.

Reduce heat to low. Cook 3 minutes or until chicken is hot. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and chives. Makes 4 servings.

*I used 6 cups water plus 6 chicken boullion cubes for my broth, 9 ounces uncooked spinach tortellini (cooked to package directions), frozen chicken cooked up in a bit of oil with onion powder, salt, and pepper until browned, and the green onions instead of the chives.

Hot Vanilla

I love hot drinks! Especially hot chocolate and hot apple cider. They are so soothing and comforting, and with all of this crazy snow, that is just what we need! This one is DEFINITELY a keeper! In Jake's words, "Yummmmm, that is the stuff!" It's fast, it's easy, it doesn't require a whole lot of ingredients you wouldn't already have on hand, and it's EXTREMELY tasty! I got this recipe here.

HOT VANILLA

from Real Mom Kitchen

1/2 cup of whipping cream

1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup

Dash of cinnamon

1 cup of milk (per hot vanilla)
2 teaspoons of sugar (per hot vanilla)

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (per hot vanilla)

1. Start with the topping. In a medium bowl, whip 1/2 cup of whipping cream until it's frothy. Add 1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup and a dash of cinnamon, then continue to whip the mixture until everything is well blended and peaks form. Makes enough to top about 6 drinks.

2. For each hot vanilla, microwave 1 cup of milk and 2 teaspoons of sugar in a mug for 90 seconds. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Top with a dollop of chocolate cream, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and a dash of cinnamon.

Topsy Turvy Taco Bake

Okay, so I admit I had my doubts about this one and so did Jake. As I was baking it it looked REALLY peculiar and Jake kept saying, "Are you sure about this recipe?" BUT... in the end it turned out really good and it looks quite pretty when you dress it all up with the toppings. It tastes pretty good too and I wouldn't mind making it again because it was so simple and tasty. I got this recipe here.

TOPSY TURVY TACO BAKE

from Real Mom Kitchen

1 ½ lbs. ground beef (raw) (I only used 1 pound and it was plenty)

1 egg
1 T. instant onion (just the dried minced stuff)

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1 pkg (1.25 oz.) taco seasoning

1 pkg (8.5 oz.) cornmeal muffin mix (I used a jiffy mix)

Dressings: chopped tomatoes, avocado, shredded lettuce, green onions, cheese, black olives, salsa, and sour cream (whatever you like on your taco)

Combine beef, egg, onion, tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Spread in even layer in bottom of 10-in baking dish (I used an 11x8 dish). Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Prepare cornmeal muffin mix according to package directions. Spread over top of beef. Continue baking at 400 degrees for 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let sit on counter for 10 minutes. Turn upside down on serving plate and top with tomatoes, avocado, black olives and cheese; dollop sour cream on individual servings.

Caramel Cream Brownie Trifle

I took this to a celebration dinner last night for my little brother and it was a hit! My dad took a bite and said, "This is awesome!" It is very rich, so be careful about that, but the combination of the flavors and textures are wonderful. The reviews all said that it gets better and better the longer you let it sit. The pudding kind of soaks into the brownies so they are moist and delicious! I got this recipe from here.

CARAMEL CREAM BROWNIE TRIFLE
From Betty Crocker

1 Box (1 lb 2.3 oz) Betty Crocker® fudge brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box
1 box (4-serving size) chocolate fudge instant pudding and pie filling mix
2 cups milk
1/4 cup caramel topping
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) - I used Heath toffee pieces instead

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Bake brownie mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs, in 13x9-inch pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
2. Make pudding mix as directed on box for pudding, using milk; refrigerate. Cut brownies into 1-inch pieces. Thoroughly stir caramel topping into whipped topping.
3. In 3-quart glass bowl, layer half each of the brownies, pudding, walnuts and whipped topping mixture; repeat.
4. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving but no longer than 24 hours. Store covered in refrigerator.

*NOTE: I used a 2-quart glass bowl and it was the PERFECT size.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes

I just love pancakes and so I was very excited to try this new recipe. It did not disappoint! I think these were probably my all-time favorite way to have pancakes. They had the most wonderful flavor! I think next time I will try raspberries or strawberries because these pancakes would be good with any variety of fruit folded into them. Jake had six and just kept saying, "Yum!"

BLUEBERRY SOUR CREAM PANCAKES

from Erin at sisterscafe.blogspot.com

2 c. all-purpose flour

¼ c. sugar

4 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 eggs

1 ½ c. milk

1 c. (8-oz) sour cream (I used fat free sour cream)

1/3 c. butter, melted

1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen that were partially thawed)

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Add milk, sour cream, and butter; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until blended. Fold in the blueberries. Pour batter by ¼ cupfuls onto a greased hot griddle; flip when golden on bottom. Cook until the second side is golden brown.

*Note: This recipe made 16 pancakes for us. (Using 1/3 cupfuls)