Easy Chicken Carbonara Pizza

This is a super easy recipe that I came up with recently and has quickly become a favorite. I don't have a picture of it at the moment, but I will take one next time I make it.


Ingredients:

Pillsbury Canned Pizza Crust (I use this one specifically, because it cooks so well and is only 2grams of fat per serving, whereas the off-brand has 7grams)
Alfredo Sauce (homemade or jarred)
2 Chicken Breasts
5 Slices of Bacon
Italian Seasonings
Mozzerella Cheese


Follow instructions on can for preparation of crust. Cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces. In a skillet, I melt 3Tb of margarine, which I cook chicken in. Cook bacon separately. (I just pop them into the microwave with paper towels under and on top of the slices. It only takes 1 minute per slice.) Spread Alfredo sauce on crust. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese on top. Top with chicken and crumbled bacon, followed by the seasonings. Bake for amount of time as instructed in the instructions for the pizza crust. I bake mine for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. The key is to make sure the crust is golden. Another tip for making it extra tasty is to bake it on a stoneware pan (FYI: crust comes out of can rectangular), which helps it to cook evenly throughout.

Chicken Noodle Soup

After I had Ella, one of my favorite sisters brought us dinner, and my picky-eaters LOVED it! ...Charlotte got this recipe from her mother-in-law... So it's been tried and tested and it's FAST :)

We make this fairly often and it's definitely "Comfort Food".

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Celery Soup
1 large package of Wide Egg Noodles
8 cups of Water
8 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
3 cups Chicken, cooked
1 cup Sour Cream

In large pot, heat water to boiling. Add bouillon cubes; dissolve. Add noodles; cook 10 minutes or until done. Do NOT drain. Ad soups and chicken. Heat through. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream. Serve and enjoy!

Doesn't it look delicious?

It was!

Turkey and Avocado Wrap- Turbo Jam Style :)

This is SO good! AND it's healthy! :)

3 1-oz. slices turkey
1 whole wheat tortilla
4 leaves of romaine lettuce or baby spinach or green leafy
1 tsp. mustard
2 slices tomato
1 oz. raw avocado

Okay, so you can change it up as much as you want. I personally don't like mustard, but I do on this. Also, I rarely think to buy tomatoes, so I leave those out. I estimate the turkey- I use 2 deli-thin slices of turkey lunchmeat and whatever lettuce/salad I have. I've also tried about 1/2 tsp. capers on it- delicious! Really adds to the flavor! (Capers are in a jar by the pickles at your local market. lol) And for the avocado- it's a MUST! SOOO good! I use half of an avocado cause I'm too lazy to look up how to measure 1 oz.

Enjoy!

Help?

So as you all know I am a poor college student who eats ramen noodles, baked potatoes, and all you have to add is water pancakes....So if any of you have any EASY...CHEAP recipes i'd looove to have them..but remember it has to be super easy and with not alot of ingredients...p.s. we have a crocpot.


Dula!!

Lamingtons

I know it sounds weird but its really good. Daddy calls it Kangaroo cause its an Australian recipe.


1 cup of softened butter
3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
6 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence or extract
1 cup of self rising flour
(For the icing)
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of warm water
2 tablespoons of coconut flakes
a cake pan 7x11 in. oven temperature: 325 bake for 25-30 min.
Love ya lots,
Rachel

P.S. Sorry no pic :(

TGI Friday's Au Gratin Potatoes

Here is another restaurant recipe that I haven't tried out yet. If you try it, post a comment and let me know how it turned out.


T.G.I. Friday's Au Gratin Potatoes


4 Large baking potatoes
3 Cups Bechamel sauce (see following recipe)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Colby cheese
Bake potatoes in oven at 400 degrees until completely
cooked. Cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, then slice
into 1/2" thick rounds. Mix together the Bechamel sauce, salt
and white pepper. Add remaining ingredients.
Fold in potatoes. Place mixture in covered baking dish in a
300F oven for 1 hour, or until potatoes are hot all the way
through. Remove the cover and allow potatoes to brown.

Bechamel Sauce
1 quart half & half
2 ounces flour
2 ounces clarified butter
salt and pepper to taste
In a saucepan, combine the flour and butter. Cook over a
low flame, for about 15 minutes until the mixture begins
to bubble. Stir frequently so the roux does not color.
Gradually add the half & half, stirring out the lumps as
it thickens. After the entire amount of half & half has
been added, cook for 45 minutes over a low flame, stirring
occasionally to keep the mixture from sticking to the saucepan.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Peanut Cream Chocolate Bars

I just tried this recipe for the first time last night and it was delicious! Anything with peanut butter and chocolate has to be good, plus it was really easy. It's definitely a winner!

Base:

1 pkg. devil's food cake mix

1/3 c. oil

1 egg

Filling:

1/3 c. sugar

1 egg

3/4 c. peanut butter

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Mix, in large bowl, the cake mix, oil, and egg at low speed until crumbly. Reserve one cup for topping. Press remaining mixture in bottom of ungreased 9x13x2 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350.

Beat sugar, peanut butter, cream cheese, and egg until smooth. Spread over baked base. In small bowl, combine reserved base and nuts. Sprinkle over filling and lightly press down. Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Refrigerate for one hour and cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.

Boboli's Pizza Crust

My friend, Jessi, sent me a PDF file full of restaurant/professional recipes that I'll be sharing from time to time on here. Note that I haven't tried any of these yet, but they sound great! I LOVE making homemade pizza, so I wanted to post this recipe for pizza crust first. If you try it out, leave a comment to let me know how you liked it!



1 pk Dry Yeast
1/4 cup Water
2 1/4 cups Warm water
6 tb Olive oil,+ extra for pans
6 cups Flour
1 ts Salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water (105F is perfect). Let it sit for two minutes. Add the rest of the ingedients and mix well. Turn out onto board and knead for ten minutes. Place back in bowl covered with a damp towel and let rise 30 to 40 minutes.

Divide dough into 3 parts and place in 3 olive−oiled pie pans.

Dimple dough with fingers. Place on top the following mixture:
Coarse sea (or Kosher) salt, fresh ground pepper, chopped rosemary and thyme. If herbs are dried, soak them in water for 10 minutes and then pat dry on paper towels.

Let rise 50 to 60 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

May dip in olive oil.

Brandon's Famous Salsa

Brandon makes the best home made salsa. I'm not even a fan of salsa, but I love his! Did you know that salsa is actually good for you, too? The spiciness raises your metabolism, so you burn more calories. All from eating a delicious snack. Who knew?!?


Brandon's Famous Salsa

15 Roma Tomatoes, diced small
2 Jalapeno Peppers (quantity depends on desired intensity)
1/2 to 3/4 White Onion, diced small (can also use green onions)
3 cloves of Garlic, diced as small as possible
Salt & Pepper to taste
Fresh Green Parsley & Cilantro (key ingredient), handful diced small
1/2 Lime, cut into wedges and squeeze all juice out (can substitute with store bought lime juice)
2 cans of Tomato Sauce

Combine all ingredients, except for tomato sauce. Mix well, then stir in tomato sauce and add more pepper, if desired.

Crock Pot Pork Chops

I made this one up, so try it at your own risk!

I used 6 center cut pork chops for this recipe.

Crock Pot Pork Chops

In crock pot, mix two packets of brown gravy mix with water. Add pork chops and cook on low for 5 hours (time frame is variable depending on crock pot and setting). Pork chops should be very tender.

Optional: If you want them to be crisp on the outside, after removing them from crock pot, bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes.

German Pancakes

This is one of my favorite recipes ever! That's probably because it is so fast and easy. Plus, I just love having breakfast for dinner! Here's a tip to make baking this more fun: When there is about five minutes left on the timer, turn on the oven light and watch it bake. You'll see it grow right before your eyes!

German Pancakes

6 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 cup Milk
1/2 stick Margarine
1 cup Flour
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp. Sugar
Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 435 degrees. Melt butter in cake pan, while oven is preheating. Whisk eggs in large bowl until thick and lemon colored. Add remaining ingredients, except Cinnamon. Mix well. Pour into cake pan, then sprinkle Cinnamon on top. Bake for 15 minutes or until middle is solid and sponge-like. Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Tips: I also sprinkle some sugar on top, which gives it a thin crispy layer on top. I've also tried this with skim milk, low fat margarine and Splenda, instead of sugar, for a healthier version. It turned out great. We ate it with sugar free syrup and it was delicious. We really couldn't tell a difference.

Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls are so light and fluffy, they're definitely a favorite! I usually half the recipe because it makes so many. Either way, you'll want to eat them all!

Mix:

3 1/3 c. warm water

1 c. oil

6 Tbsp. yeast

3/4 c. sugar

Let rest 15 minutes.

Add:
1 Tbsp. salt

10 1/2 c. flour
3 eggs

1/4 c. sugar

Stir, shape and roll out flat. Spread soft butter over the rolled out dough. Then, spread the cinnamon and sugar filling over the buttered dough. Roll like a jelly roll. Cut into 1 1/2 inch rolls. Place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle tops with filling. Let rise 15 minutes. Bake 425 for 8-10 minutes. Drizzle baked rolls with icing and enjoy!

Filling:
2 c. brown sugar

2 c. white sugar
4 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Icing:
1 bag (4 cups) powdered sugar
1/2 stick margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pinch salt
add milk for desired consistency

(When halved, the recipe makes about 30 rolls. I use 2 eggs instead of the 3 it originally calls for. I also half the filling mixture, but I make the full recipe of icing and end up using it all.)

Sunday Dinner Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is proof that the Church is true. Really. Since the prophet received revelation that the Sisters of the Church should have Home, Family and Personal Enrichment nights, and since I went to Enrichment on one particular night that I received this recipe from none other than Tammy Barney, (yeah, you know it's gonna be good.) and since Cari started this Recipe blog and since I made this recipe last night for dinner at the Packard's house to celebrate Elder Harris's birthday, and since there wasn't ANY leftover, the Church is true. So there.

Here's what ya need:

5 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
4 T. butter, divided
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Here's how to make it:

Place potatoes in boiling water for 20-25 minutes Or until very tender; drain well. In a large mixing bowl, mash potatoes. Add sour cream, cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, salt, onion salt and pepper; beat until fluffy. Transfer to a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Dot with the remaining butter. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. ENJOY!

Now you see it...

now you don't!

Man, I'M A GOOD COOK!!!

French Silk Pie

I thought I would start us out with my personal favorite and one of the only recipes that I make entirely from scratch. I'm pretty proud of this one, as it always gets compliments. It's a little time consuming, but it's definitely worth it, especially for the holidays.

Makes 1 9-inch pie

Crust:

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) chilled salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan

1/3 cup pecan halves

1- 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup firmly packed light-brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

Filling:

12 Tablespoons (1- ½ sticks) salted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1- ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

Whipped cream, for serving

Chocolate curls, for serving

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 325°. Butter a 9-inch pie plate; set aside. Grind pecans in a food processor, or chop very finely with a knife. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pecans, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly into prepared pie plate. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

2. Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the vanilla. Add eggs, on at a time, beating at medium speed for five minutes after each addition. Blend in chocolate. Pour filling into cooled pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

3. Just before serving, top pie with whipped cream, and decorate with chocolate curls.

Note: Raw eggs should not be used in food preparation for pregnant women, babies, young children, or anyone whose health is compromised.