Chicken Gnocchi Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups mirepoix (just a simple mixture of chopped onions, celery, and carrots)
• 1-2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1-2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
• 2 12 ounce cans evaporated milk
• 2 1lb. packages DeLallo mini potato gnocchi (about 4 cups)
• 6 slices bacon
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 ounces fresh baby spinach

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the chicken, mirepoix, basil, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, salt, and broth in a crockpot or slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken directly in the crockpot.
2. Add the cornstarch mixture, evaporated milk, and gnocchi. Stir and replace cover. Cook another 45 minutes - 1 hour until the soup has thickened and the gnocchi has softened.
3. While the soup is thickening, cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy. Drain on paper towels and wipe most of the bacon grease out of the pan, leaving just a little bit for the spinach/garlic. Add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Remove from heat. Add the bacon and spinach to the crockpot. Stir to combine.
4. Add any additional liquid as needed (I added about a cup of water once it started to thicken) and season again with salt and pepper as needed.

NOTES

Be sure to taste and adjust with salt/pepper before serving. It may need more depending on the saltiness of your broth. 

You can use something other than evaporated milk, but I found that evaporated milk has the creaminess of half and half or heavy whipping cream without actually needing to use up all my good half and half in the soup. 

The leftovers do soak up a lot of the moisture, so you might need to add more evaporated milk depending on how soupy you want it and/or how long you'll be keeping it around.

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

Ingredients

• 10 ounces dry pasta (I used a combination of rotini, farfalle and penne. Any similar size would work.)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 ounces chive and onion cream cheese 
• 1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
• 1 cup whole milk, heavy cream or half-and-half (I used half-and-half)
• 1/2 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 2 cups cooked chicken (cubed or shredded)
• 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, cut into large chunks (I used grape tomatoes sliced in half)
• Fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Coat a medium casserole dish with non-stick spray.  (Mine was a 10" round, but a 9 x 13 would work fine.)
3. Cook pasta in salted, boiling water to al dente.  Drain and set aside.
4. While pasta is cooking, heat butter in a medium saute pan set to medium heat.  Add in the onion and garlic.  Cook for 3 - 4 minutes to slightly soften veggies.  Do not brown.
5. Add in cream cheese and stir to melt.  Reduce heat to low.  Stir in sour cream, milk, Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes (if using).  Stir until everything is well-combined and melted.  Turn off heat.
6. Combine the pasta, chicken, spinach and tomatoes in a large bowl.
7. Add in the sauce and gently stir to coat.
8. Pour into the prepared baking dish.  (I drizzled in a little more half-and-half over the mixture once it was in the baking dish because it looked a little dry to me.)
9. Top with the remaining mozzarella.
10. Bake uncovered for about 20 -25 minutes ... or until casserole is bubbly and beginning to brown.  Top with basil or parsley for garnish.

Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Hot, cooked rice or quinoa and edamame, for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Lightly season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Whisk together the broth, garlic, honey, soy sauce, cornstarch, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
3. In a large, nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot and rippling.
4. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook, without stirring, for a minute or two until the chicken starts to turn golden on the side in contact with the hot skillet. Flip the chicken pieces.
5. Whisk the sauce to recombine and stir it into the skillet; bring the mixture to a simmer.
6. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and the chicken is cooked through.
7. Serve over hot, cooked rice or quinoa and edamame (optional, but delicious).

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Salsa Verde Chicken

Ingredients:
1 16 oz jar salsa verde
chicken breasts
1 T. olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 t garlic salt
1 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1/4 c chopped cilantro
lime
cooked white rice, for serving

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour salsa verde into a large baking dish.
2. Brush the chicken all over with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Nestle chicken into salsa verde and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Remove chicken from the oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Place it under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Squeeze lime over chicken and garnish with cilantro. Serve over cooked white rice.

Oreo Truffles

Instructions

1. Mix cream cheese and 3 cups oreo cookie crumbs until well blended.
2. Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.
3. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator

Lemon Parmesan Broccoli

Lemon Parmesan Broccoli
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

3 heads broccoli (approx 3 lbs)
3 T. Olive Oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan
1 lemon, juiced

 *I only use one head of broccoli and cut down the recipe – including decreasing the 2nd oven time by 5 minutes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Trim about one inch off the ends of the broccoli stalks and cut the broccoli lengthwise into spears (I didn’t do this – I just cut into florets).  Arrange the broccoli on a nonstick cookie sheet (I used my silpat), drizzle with some olive oil and season with a little bit of salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.  Toss to coat evenly.  Transfer to the oven and roast for 10 minutes.  Remove the broccoli from the oven and sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top and bake until the cheese melts and forms a crisp shell over the broccoli (about 10 minutes).  Lift the broccoli out onto a platter with a spatula and drizzle with fresh lemon.

Crockpot Pineapple Brown Sugar Ham

1 ham, precooked and spiral cut
3 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 20 oz can pineapple tidbits

Directions
1. Cover the bottom of the crockpot with 2 cups of the brown sugar.
2. Place ham in crockpot.
3. Pour honey evenly over the ham.
4. Add pineapple (and the juice) around the sides and some on top of the ham.
5. Top with the remaining brown sugar.
6. Cover and cook on low for 4.5-6 hours.