Fondue Night!!

I don't know if any of you have ever been to The Melting Pot before, but it is one of my favorite restaurants ever. What makes it my favorite? Well, there's a couple things actually. First, the food. It's amazing. Including the dessert. Melted chocolate that you dip cheese cake, pound cake, marshmallows, and fruits into. It's divine!! I also love the whole experience of it. You go and sit for 2 to 3 hours and talk, cook your food, etc. And your hubby is stuck there with you in a kind of low lit romantic atmosphere with no Tv over your shoulder (like in many other restaurants). I just love it. But, it's a little pricy, so we only go for special occasions, and it's not really a "kid friendly" atmosphere. So I wanted to create the same fun experience for my little ones at home.

We had such a blast!! We only did the broth, but I have plans to make the cheese and chocolate fondues soon!! Especially the chocolate. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. So fun!! Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Mojo Fondue Broth
     5 1/4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
     1 cup water
     1/4 cup orange juice, fresh-squeezed
     1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
     2 tablespoons ground cumin
     2 tablespoons jerk seasoning
     2 tablespoons black pepper, cracked
     2 tablespoons lime juice, fresh-squeezed
     1 tablespoon minced garlic

Foods for cooking: Lobster, Shrimp, Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Mushroom Caps, Broccoli, Red Potatoes.

Other things needed (optional): Melted Butter and a Lemon Half (for lobster).

Combine ingredients in saucepan on stovetop. Bring to a boil. Transfer to fondue pot with alternative heat source.

Keep broth at a simmer, either on medium-high heat or set between 300-350 degrees F. Place meats onto fondue forks and into broth. Beef, Chicken, and Lamb meats take 2 minutes to cook, and lobster or shrimp take about a minute. Use Green Goddess Dip for vegetables or to put inside of cooked mushroom caps for stuffed mushrooms. Use Gorgonzola Port Sauce for meats, especially your steaks!!

Gorgonzola Port Sauce
     1/2 cup mayonnaise
     1/2 cup sour cream
     2 ounces gorgonzola cheese
     1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
     1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
     1 teaspoon chopped garlic
     1 1/2 teaspoons port wine
     3 teaspoons milk

Combine all ingredients except gorgonzola in mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly using a whisk. Add gorgonzola cheese and blend well. Cover and refrigerate. (sauce will stay good for 5 days)

Green Goddess Dip
     8 ounces cream cheese, cut into slices
     1/2 cup milk
     1/4 cup sour cream
     2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
     2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
     2 tablespoons finely sliced chives

In a microwave-safe container, microwave cream cheese and milk for 2 to 4 minutes, whisking after each minute, until cream cheese melts and mixture is smooth.

Stir in sour cream, onion, parsley and chives. Refrigerate until cold.

Printable Recipe

Fondue broth altered from, and Green Goddess recipes, from food.com. Port sauce from wafb.com.

Roasted Chicken with Fennel and Lemon

So, I'm really bummed that my chicken didn't come out golden brown like in the picture, but oh well. I even made this recipe twice to see if maybe I could get it there. But still now luck. The second time I made this recipe, though, I made some changed. I had never tried fennel before, and I love trying new things, but, I hate black licorice. Hate it!! And strangely enough, fennel taste like black licorice. Don't think I'm crazy. It really does!

So the second time I made this recipe, I substituted the fennel with 1 large white onion and 1 large red onion. Is it called a red onion? or purple onion? Anyways, you get the hint. Point being, I liked the recipe 20 thousand times more with the onions rather then the fennel. The onion caramelizes as the chicken roasts, and develops this sweet and savory flavor that goes amazing with the chicken and the gravy. So that would be my suggestion unless you love fennel. Other then that, this recipe is amazing and super easy!! Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Roasted Chicken with Fennel and Lemon
     1 (4-pound) whole roasting chicken
     1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano plus 1 sprig fresh oregano
     2 sprigs fresh marjoram
     2 garlic cloves, minced, plus 2 garlic cloves, smashed
     1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
     1 cup dry white wine
     1 lemon, cut in half
     1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 8 wedges, plus some of the fronds
     1/2 teaspoon sea salt
     1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
     Herb Pan Gravy (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Rinse chicken inside and out, removing all inside parts; cut off any excess fat, and pat dry.

Combine chopped oregano, marjoram, minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small bowl.

Place chicken in a large roasting pan on a roasting rack, breast side up. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers and gently pushing between the skin and meat. Place oregano mixture beneath skin on breast and drumsticks.

Pour wine over chicken and into the pan.

Rub the inside cavity of chicken with lemon, squeezing juice over and around outside of chicken.

Place lemon halves, 2 fennel pieces, smashed garlic cloves, and sprig of oregano in cavity of chicken. Add 1 cup water to pan. Add remaining fennel and fronds to bottom of pan. Pour remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil over breast, and add salt and pepper.

Insert meat thermometer into meaty part of thigh, making sure not to touch bone. Roast at 400 degrees F for 1 hour or until thermometer registers 175 degrees F, basting every 20 minutes with pan liquid.

Remove chicken from oven and let rest 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving platter. Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour dripping from pan into bag; let stand 10 minutes. (Fat will rise to top.) Seal bag, and carefully snip off a bottom corner or bag. Drain dripping into a small bowl, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. Reserve drippings for Herb Pan Gravy. Serve chicken, fennel, and lemons with Herb Pan Gravy.

Makes: 4 servings

Herb Pan Gravy
     2 tablespoons butter
     2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
     1 tablespoon fresh marjoram or oregano leaves, chopped
     1/4 cup dry white wine
     1 cup chicken broth
     1/8 teaspoon sea salt
     1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until it melts; add flour, and cook stirring about 2 minutes or until flour turns light brown. Add marjoram, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.

Add wine and chicken broth, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add reserved drippings from above chicken recipe to the flour mixture, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Stir in salt and pepper. Spoon over the chicken, and serve immediately. If the sauce gets too thick, add a little more or the pan juices of chicken broth.

Makes: about 1 cup

Printable Recipe

Recipe from Cottage Living "Our Best Recipes" Magazine.

Roasted chicken with fennel and lemon

1 (4-pound) whole roasted chicken

1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano plus 1 sprig fresh oregano

2 sprigs fresh marjoram

2 garlic cloves, minced, plus 2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 cup dry white wine

1 lemon, cut in half

1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 8 wedges, plus some of the fronds

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Herb Pan Gravy (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Rinse chicken inside and out, removing all inside parts; cut off any excess fat, and pat dry.

Combine chopped oregano, marjoram, minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small bowl. Place chicken in a large roasting pan on a roasting rack, breast side up. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers and gently pushing between the skin and meat. Place oregano mixture beneath skin on breast and drumsticks.

Pour wine over chicken and into the pan. Rub the inside cavity of chicken with lemon, squeezing juice over and around outside of chicken. Place lemon halves, 2 fennel pieces, smashed garlic cloves, and sprig of oregano in cavity of chicken. Add 1 cup water to pan. Add remaining fennel and fronds to bottom of pan. Pour remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil over breast, and add salt and pepper.

Insert meat thermometer into meaty part of thigh, making sure not to touch bone. Roast at 400 degrees F for 1 hour or until thermometer registers 175 degrees F, basting every 20 minutes with pan liquid.

Remove chicken from oven and let rest 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving platter. Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour dripping from pan into bag; let stand 10 minutes. (Fat will rise to top.) Seal bag, and carefully snip off a bottom corner or bag. Drain dripping into a small bowl, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. Reserve drippings for Herb Pan Gravy. Serve chicken, fennel, and lemons with Herb Pan Gravy.

Makes: 4 servings

Herb Pan Gravy

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon fresh marjoram or oregano leaves, chopped

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until it melts; add flour, and cook stirring about 2 minutes or until flour turns light brown. Add marjoram, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.

Add wine and chicken broth, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add reserved drippings from above chicken recipe to the flour mixture, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Stir in salt and pepper. Spoon over the chicken, and serve immediately. If the sauce gets too thick, add a little more or the pan juices of chicken broth.

Makes: about 1 cup

Printable Recipe

Smoky Chicken Cacciatore

I don't know if I told you all this yet, but me and my hubby just celebrated our 9 year anniversary Feb. 19th. When we got married everyone told us not to go a honeymoon and to just save our money, so we did and since have always regretted not taking that chance to go somewhere really neat together. Over the years we have taken a few small trips here and there, but nothing big. So this year we are going to take a big trip.

I have never been on a cruise, and my husband has. One of the only things he's done that I haven't. So he demanded that he take me one. We're leaving April 6th and I will be gone for a whole week with no kids or responsibilities. Yeah, I could get used to that ;) Not to mention, I guess the food is amazing, so... to be honest, that's really what I'm looking forward to.

So the moral of this story of mine is, I have to get my beach body ready. We're going to the Caribbean, so I'm going to be in a bikini most of the week and want to be able to eat whatever I want. Meaning, most of my dinners for the next couple of weeks need to be on the leaner side. Don't stress, I can't go more then a few days without making some kind of a desserts, but, this is why I'm putting this, not so pretty, but super flavorful low calorie meal on here.

There is really only so many times that I can have baked chicken, and this gives an amazing twist to chicken. It's even more low calorie if you either don't serve it over the rice, or if you serve it over brown rice instead, since white rice turns right into sugar in your system. Or so I'm told. But, this meal is packed with flavor and is super fast and easy!! Enjoy!

Smoky Chicken Cacciatore
     1 large white onion, diced
     1 large red pepper, diced
     2 garlic cloves, minced
     3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
     4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
     1 teaspoon black pepper
     1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
     1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
     1/4 cup Fontinella cheese, grated
     1/4 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
     1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon liquid smoke, per taste
     cooked rice

First, start cooking your rice.

Add diced onion, red pepper, and minced garlic to a large saucepan and saute over medium heat until onions start to turn translucent. About 2 - 3 minutes.

Add balsamic vinegar and saute for another minute.

Turn up the burner to medium-high heat and add the chicken, pepper, and garlic salt. Cook until chicken is done throughout, about 5 minutes.

Push the chicken/onion mix to the side, and add flour onto liquid at the bottom of the pan. Stir for a minute or two to allow the liquid to thicken. Add grated cheeses and stir in till you can no longer see it. Turn off the heat and add the liquid smoke. Make sure to stir it in so that the taste is even throughout. Let chicken sit for a minute to cool and let flavors combined. Serve over cooked rice.

Printable Recipe

A FoodSnots Original

Cheese and Chicken Shells

Happy Monday!! I know what your thinking, "Monday"... Blah!! I agree. I have a thousand and one things that I have put off all weekend to get to, but I'm trying to be optimistic. Especially cause the girls in my family, and a couple old friends, are going on a girls trip this weekend!! Which means I have to have my house completely in order so I can leave, but in being optimistic, I'm so excited for the trip!! We are off to Hollywood for a weekend of giggling, fun, and my sister got us into The Price Is Right!! Ah!! Should be so fun! I will let you guys know if by some stroke of fate, I actually get chosen.

Should be a fun weekend, but I wanted to really quickly post this super easy scrumptious meal before diving into my mountains of "Monday" work. This recipe is so yummy, and low calorie!! Gotta try! Enjoy ;)

Cheese and Chicken Shells
     12 jumbo pasta shells
     1 1/2 cups pasta sauce
     2 large egg whites, gently beaten
     1 1/2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
     4 ounces chicken, cooked and diced
     1 cup frozen spinach (chopped) thawed (drain all excess water)
     2 teaspoons garlic powder
     1 tablespoon oregano
     1 tablespoon chopped basil
     3/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
     1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook shells in boiling water according to the directions on box. Rinse with cold water and set aside for later use.

Lightly spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray and spread 1/2 cup of pasta sauce evenly over the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

For Filling: Stir together egg whites, ricotta, chicken, spinach, garlic powder, basil, and seasoning. Stir in 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.

Fill each shell with mixture and place filled shells in the baking dish on top of sauce.

Spread remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, salt, and pepper to taste. Bake for 30 minutes.

Printable Recipe

Recipe from weightwatchers.com

Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken

Since I'm gonna be MIA tomorrow and Saturday for my race, I wanted to quickly add this post. This recipe is super yummy and I love the fact that it's low calorie. I feel like it's always so hard to find good alternatives to just plane baked chicken.

And to top it off, it's also a total comfort food with the crunchy breading and delicious sauce! Enjoy!!

Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken
     Cooking spray
     2/3 cup lite honey mustard dressing
     1/8 teaspoon table salt
     1/8 teaspoon black pepper
     2 teaspoons dill, freshly chopped
     1 medium uncooked scallion, finely sliced
     1 cup cornflake crumbs
     1 pound uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz pieces

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Coat a shallow pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine honey mustard dressing, salt, pepper, dill and scallions; remove 1/3 cup and set aside.

Place cornflake crumbs in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken into dressing mixture and then cornflake crumbs; place in prepared pan.

Bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink in center, about 15 minutes.

Drizzle remaining dressing mixture (the 1/3 cup that was set aside) over chicken breasts and serve. Yields: 1 piece of chicken and about 1 1/3 tablespoons of dressing per serving.

Printable Recipe

Recipe from weightwatchers.com.

Barbecue Chicken Calzones

I should seriously already be asleep right now because I'm anticipating getting up at 4:30 am, and not only that, but will be running about 12 miles. So why I'm not sleeping right not is surely some kind of masochism on my part, but I really wanted to post this a little early because Saturdays seem to be crazy days for me to post. I never get to post as early as I want to for whatever reason. Mostly cause my kids are usually anticipating waffles or some kind of yummy breakfast and so yeah, I'll just post this early.

I love how quick and easy this is and it only requires a few ingredients. One of which being your favorite barbecue sauce. If you don't have a favorite, then use mine. It's this. Famous Dave's Rich & Sassy BBQ Sauce. Yum!! This will take any recipe up to the next level. It is amazing!! Enjoy!

P.S. I bought this cute little calzone maker this week, so I'll have pictures demonstrating steps with and without it, but don't feel like you have to have one to make these. I just had to have an excuse to try mine out, but it's just as easy to make these without one.

Barbecue Chicken Calzones
     1 can (10 ounces) refrigerated pizza crust
     3/4 cup barbecue sauce
     1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
     1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
     1/2 purple onion, chopped
     1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons shredded Romano cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Unroll pizza dough on clean work surface. Pat out to 15-in x 11-in. rectangle; cut lengthwise in half, then cut each piece crosswise into thirds. Top dough rectangles with 1 tablespoons barbecue sauce.

Layer 1 tablespoon mozzarella, about 1/4 cup shredded chicken (really loosely packed), 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped onion, and 1 tablespoon Romano cheese.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon barbecue over filling and fold in half.

Seal edges with fork. If needed, dampen edges with water to make them stick together. Place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Printable Recipe

A Food Snots original recipe.

Famous Dave's Barbecue Sauce photo from www.soap.com.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup

Happy New Years!! I really feel like I should be posting something with like a "New Year" theme, but to be honest, I just got done putting my Christmas decorations away and haven't made anything particularly for the occasion. But, if you are looking for a fun recipe for a party tonight, you could always make these...

Firework Cupcakes!! I made these for The Forth of July, but you could apply the same principle, just change the colors. They are actually a lot easier then they look, and I think they turn out so stinking adorable. For a step by step tutorial on how to make these, click here.

Other then that, no themed recipe today, but an awesome recipe to start off my cooking resolution. Growing up, my mom would always make us homemade chicken noodle soup. So in the winter I have to have it. It's like the ultimate comfort food when the weather is cold, but is so easy to make and so delicious. This recipe does make a lot, but this is one of those soups that is better the day after you make it, so you'll want left overs. Enjoy!!


Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup
     1 rotissory chicken or 2-3 cooked chicken breasts
     3 32 ounce cartons low sodium chicken broth
     2 14.5 ounce cans peeled diced tomatoes (in juice)
     1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
     1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
     1/2 teaspoon black pepper
     1 bay leaf
     2 large potatoes, cubed

     2 large carrots,  peeled and sliced

     1 12 ounce package Reames Homestryle Egg Noodles

     1 tablespoon butter
     1 cup celery, chopped
     1/2 cup green onion, chopped
     1 garlic clove, minced
     1 teaspoon black pepper
     1-2 teaspoons garlic salt, per taste

Shred chicken and set aside.

In a large pot add chicken broth, tomatoes (including the juice of one can), thyme, parsley, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a rolling boil. Then add potatoes, carrots, noodles. Lower heat to bring broth to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

While cooking, add butter, celery, and onion to a medium saucepan.

Cook over medium-high heat until green color starts to brighten and vegetables start to look translucent. About 3 minutes. Take off of heat and set aside.

Once soup mixture has finished cooking add chicken, celery/onion mixture, and garlic.

Simmer for a couple minutes longer. Turn off heat and add remaining black pepper and garlic salt.

Serve with warm rolls if desired.

Printable Recipe

A Food Snots Original.

Grilled Marinated Chicken with Seasoned Baked Potatoes

This week has been "Get Christmas Decorations Up" week. That, and, I'm sick... again. So not a whole lot of baking or cooking going on, but we have gotten a lot accomplished.

The inside of my house looks like Santa's workshop, and here is the outside of my house. This took us pretty much a whole day to get these all up, but I'm super happy with it!! I love decorating for Christmas!! And really it only comes once a year, so it's my thing to go all out.

But, back to food. I figured it's about time for a really healthy meal. This is my go to chicken when I have pigged out and need something that tastes awesome, but has the least amount of calories possible. This chicken is packed with flavor!! And this potatoes recipe was killer too. Both had lots of flavor, so it doesn't make you feel like you are eating a low calorie meal. Which is important for me cause if it tastes low calorie, I only eat about half, and then I start eating the unhealthy stuff. Kind of defeating the purpose. But this is really satisfying, and you could even dunk the chicken in some of your favorite barbecue sauce if you are searching for something that feels just a little more like a comfort food. But it's so yummy by itself too! Enjoy!!


Grilled Marinated Chicken
     3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed
     1 tablespoon white vinegar
     3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
     1 garlic clove, minced
     1/4 cup water
     1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
     1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Seasoned Baked Potatoes
     4 medium baking potatoes
     1 tablespoon olive oil
     1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil
     1/2 teaspoon onion salt
     1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Rinse chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Place chicken, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, garlic and water in a gallon size zip lock bag. Press all the air out of the bag and zip shut (make sure that chicken is covered by marinade). Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. (about 30 minutes before chicken is done marinating, start on the baked potatoes.)

Take chicken out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. Preheat the grill to a medium-high heat, about 350-375 degrees F (preferably over charcoal).

Remove chicken from bag and season with garlic salt and pepper. Place chicken on grill. Cover grill and cook for about 20-25 minutes, turning chicken as needed so it doesn't burn.


Seasoned Baked Potatoes

Scrub the potatoes and cut in half lengthwise; place cut side up on an ungreased baking sheet.

Brush with oil. Sprinkle with basil, onion salt and garlic powder. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until tender.

Printable Recipe

Seasoned Baked Potato recipe from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking.

Oriental Chicken Salad

Out of all the places there is to go out to eat Applebees is probably not my restaurant of choice. Out of everything on that menu, I've had 2 or 3 things that I actually like. But this is one of them. They have the most amazing Oriental Chicken Salad ever!! Which this is a copy cat recipe of, and is actually amazingly similar. The dressing is both sweet and sour, but in a good way. Then you get the smooth crisp texture of the lettuce combined with the rough juiciness of the fried chicken. Seriously, if you are trying to eat healthy, you gotta have this salad (or even if your not eating healthy). You could also go a step further to make this salad even healthier and grill your chicken instead of frying it, but if you ask me, you are already eating a salad for dinner so go ahead and don't feel guilty about frying up the chicken :) Seriously amazing!! Enjoy!


Oriental Dressing
     3 tablespoons honey
     1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
     4 teaspoons mayonnaise
     1 tablespoon Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
     1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Salad
     2 to 4 cups vegetable oil for frying
     1 egg
     1/2 cup milk
     1/2 cup all-purpose flour
     1/2 cup cornflake crumbs
     1 teaspoon salt
     1/4 teaspoon pepper
     1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half
     3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
     1 cup chopped red cabbage
     1 cup chopped napa cabbage
     1/2 carrot, julienned or shredded
     1 green onion, sliced
     1 tablespoon sliced almonds
     1/3 cup chow mein noodles

Using an electric mixer, blend together all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Put the dressing in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the salad.

Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or frying pan over medium heat. You want the temperature of the oil to be around 350 degrees F. If using a frying pan, the oil should be around 1/2 inch deep. More oil can be used in a deep fryer so that the chicken is immersed.

In a small, shallow bowl beat the egg, add the milk, and mix well. In another bowl, combine the flour with the cornflake crumbs, salt, and pepper.

Cut the chicken breast into 4 or 5 long strips. Dip each strip of chicken first into the egg mixture then into the flour mixture, coating each piece completely. Fry each chicken finger for 5 minutes or until the coating has darkened to brown.

Prepare the salad by tossing the romaine with the red cabbage, napa cabbage, and carrot. Sprinkle the green onion on top of the lettuce mixture. Sprinkle the almonds over the salad, then the chow mein noodles.

Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks. Place the chicken on the salad, forming a pile in the middle. Serve with the salad dressing on the side.

Printable Recipe

Recipe from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes

Chicken Parmesan Skillet Pot Pie

I have been eye-balling this recipe for about 2 weeks now, and every time I look at it my mouth starts to water something fierce. I even made my way to Walmart to fetch a cast iron pan just for this recipe. Although, if you don't have one, you can also just use a 9 inch cake pan. But I wanted the whole experience, so I had to have the skillet. So after getting my skillet, doing all the prep, baking, and photographing {As my hubby so impatiently stood by. He gets kind of grumpy and impatient the more I make him wait when he's hungry :)}, this recipe did not disappoint! My husband went back for thirds, if that helps illustrate how good this was. The only thing I was missing was a little bit of garlic. If I were to make this over again, I would have added one mince clove of garlic into the crushed tomatoes. But other then that this recipe was so yummy. And it's kind of a one dish meal, so no extra cooking involved.  Ultimate Comfort Food. So yummy! Enjoy!!

Chicken Parmesan Skillet Pot Pie

• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie)
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 refrigerated pie crust, room temperature
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour tomatoes into 9 inch cast iron skillet. Season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, stirring to combine. Add chicken and gently stir to incorporate into sauce.

Top with Parmesan...

and mozzarella cheeses.

Unroll pie crust and lay over chicken and cheese. I pressed the edges around the skillet, but feel free to tuck it inside the skillet if you desire. Cut some slits in the crust. Whisk egg white with 1 teaspoon water and brush a light coat over crust. Top evenly with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Printable Recipe

Recipe from Picky-Palate.com

Meaty Bones

Here is a fun and quick meal for Halloween. The only thing I didn't like was I thought that there was way too much orange zest in the sauce. It's completely overpowering. So, if I were to make this again I would only add a little orange zest, not a whole teaspoon. Other then that this recipe was super good and my kids had so much fun with the theme. Enjoy!!


Meaty Bones

• 1/2 cup hickory-smoked barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup grape jelly
• 2 tablespoons steak sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 12 chicken drumsticks, patted dry
• Salt and black pepper
• 12 piece or gauze (12 inches each)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine barbecue sauce, jelly, steak sauce and orange peel in small microwavable bowl. Microwave on High 1 minute or until jelly is melted. Stir until well blended. Spray broiler rack and pan with cooking spray; arrange chicken pieces on rack. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil 25 to 30 minutes, or until no longer pink in center cooked through (165 degrees), turning frequently. During the last 5 minutes of broiling, baste chicken with half of the sauce. Pour remaining sauce over chicken. Let stand 5 minutes to cool slightly. Wrap bottom portion of each drumstick with strip of gauze.

Makes 12 drumsticks.

Printable Recipe

Recipe from Pil Cook Books Halloween Food, Fun & Crafts