Pasta with Caramelized Onions & White Wine

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 cups yellow onion, thinly sliced (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 8 ounces uncooked spiral pasta
• 1 tbsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper

What You'll Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the Panko, 1 tbsp Olive Oil, 1 clove of garlic, and a dash of salt in a small bowl until combined, then spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes, or until golden. Stir the Panko mixture after 3 minutes.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add remaining 2 tbsp Olive Oil.
4. Add your onions to the skillet and cook about 20 minutes or until brown. Be sure to stir frequently.
5. Cook your pasta with 1 tbsp Kosher salt according to the package directions.
6. Add the remaining minced garlic clove and wine, increasing heat to medium-high. Cook for 1 minute.
7. Add broth to skillet and cook about 5 minutes, or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup.
8. Combine your cooked and drained pasta, remaining salt, and pepper to onion mixture in the skillet and toss together.
9. Once pasta is served, sprinkle each serving with Panko mixture.

** If you don't have Panko, or would prefer not to purchase Panko (a box shouldn't be more than $2), feel free to use regular breadcrumbs. **

Dish Info:

This flavorful dish will serve 4 people and each serving has 364 calories. It was also adapted from a recipe found in the April 2011 issue of Cooking Light. While this is a great dish (wonderful for company), it does not reheat well so isn't a good choice for left-overs. 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

What You'll Need:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• frozen chopped broccoli, (12-oz)
• 2 cans chicken broth (14.5-oz each)
• 1 lb Velveta, chopped
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/3 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup water or chicken broth

What To Do:

1. In a medium stockpot melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion to the melted butter and cook until softened.
3. Pour broccoli into stockpot and cover with the 2 cans of chicken broth. Simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add cubed Velveta and stir until melted.
5. Pour the milk and garlic powder into the stockpot and stir.
6. Mix the water or chicken stock and the corn starch until smooth and pour into soup and cook, stirring frequently until thick.

Dish Info:

This dish has 266 calories per serving and came from here.  I also halved the recipe, so this will feed 6 very hungry appetites.

Teriyaki Chicken

What You'll Need

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground Ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced

What To Do

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small bowl combine brown sugar, Soy Sauce, Ginger, and garlic, stirring well to combine.
3. Place chicken breasts in 8x8 baking dish and pour marinade over top.
4. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, making sure to baste every 10-15 minutes.

** For extra yummy flavor, place chicken and marinade into a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for several hours. When done marinating simply pour the chicken and marinade into the baking dish. **


Dish Info

This recipe will serve 2 hungry adults and was adapted from this recipe on AllRecipes.com.

Sweet Potato & Apple Saute

What You'll Need

• 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
• 2 Golden Delicious apples, unpeeled and diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cans sweet potatoes, drained and diced (15-oz each)
• 1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt

What To Do

1. In a large skillet, melt your butter over medium-high heat.
2. To the skillet add the apples and onions, cooking until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in diced sweet potatoes, apple juice (or cider), pumpkin pie spice, vinegar, and salt, bringing the mixture to a boil then reducing the heat.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Dish Info

This recipe will serve 6 people, depending on your appetites. It is also straight from the Semi-Homemade Queen, Sandra Lee, and her wonderful book Semi-Homemade 20 Minute Meals.

Rosemary Pork Chops

What You'll Need

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, center-cut pork chops
• 1/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp Rosemary
•  2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• salt, to taste 
• pepper, to taste

What To Do

1. Season your pork chops with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. On a plate combine the bread crumbs and Rosemary and press both sides of the pork chops into the mixture to coat.
3. In a large skillet heat the olive oil, once hot add pork chops and cook 4-6 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

** I only keep unseasoned bread crumbs in the house for a wider range of uses. For this recipe I simply add Italian seasoning, usually about 1 tbsp or so, to the regular bread crumbs and mix. No buying of "specialized" ingredients! **


Dish Info

This recipe serves 4 hungry appetites. It is also straight from the Semi-Homemade Queen, Sandra Lee, and her wonderful book Semi-Homemade 20 Minute Meals.

Cuban Chicken Pizza

What You'll Need

• 4 tortillas
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 2 cups chicken, cooked & diced
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 3/4 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 4 tsp Cilantro, chopped

What To Do

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place tortillas on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. When you remove the tortillas, stack them and press down to flatten.
3. Heat a skillet coated with cooking spray and cook corn until it is lightly charred.
4. Add Cumin, chicken, black beans, and garlic to corn and cook until thoroughly heated.
5. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the lime juice.
6. Place the tortillas back on a baking sheet and spoon the chicken mixture onto each tortilla, topping with cheese and Cilantro.
7. Bake until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.

Dish Info

This recipe serves 4 people. The Chicken mixture also keeps well to use the following day.

All-In-One Spaghetti

What You'll Need

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 can tomato paste (6-oz)
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1/2 lb spaghetti
• 2 cans chicken broth (14-oz each)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Chili Powder

What To Do

1. Cook your ground meat, onion, and garlic in a large sauce pan until meat is cooked through and drain if needed.
2. Stir the spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, chicken broth, Oregano, salt, sugar, and Chili Powder into sauce pan with cooked meat mixture and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes stirring often.
3.  Add your spaghetti to the pan. If needed, add additional water to cover, and simmer, stirring often, for 20 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Dish Info 

This recipe will serve 8 hungry appetites.

Braised Chicken with Carrots & Potatoes

What You'll Need

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 lb new potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch chunks
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried Thyme
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 6 chicken thighs, bonless and skinned

What To Do

1. Slightly grease your slow-cooker and place sliced onions in the bottom, followed by the cut potatoes and baby carrots.
2. Combine 3/4 ts
3. Combine 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, chicken broth, white wine, garlic and Thyme and pour into the slow-cooker.
4. Mix together the remaining salt and pepper as well as the Paprika and run the spices evenly over the chicken thighs, arrange them on top of the vegetables when finished.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

** If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, feel free to replace the wine with 1/4 cup of chicken stock **

Dish Info

This recipe serves 6 people, depending on your appetite.

Meat Loaf

What You'll Need

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup green or red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (8-oz)
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/3 cup Ketchup
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard

What To Do

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix all of the ingredients except Ketchup, brown sugar, and yellow mustard, and place in a loaf pan.
3. Mix together, in a small bowl, the Ketchup, brown sugar, and yellow mustard, and spread over top the meat loaf.
4. Bake for 1 hour.

Dish Info

This recipe serves about 6, depending on your appetite. It is also from non other than Paul Dean; gotta give credit where credit is due!

Black Bean Chili

What You'll Need

• 3 cans of Black Beans, rinsed and drained (15-oz each)
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp ground Cumin
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 can of chicken broth (14-oz)
• 2 cans Rotel, undrained (15.4-oz each)

What To Do

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot, and add your chopped onion and ground meat and saute until the meat is cooked through.
2. Stir into the pot the Chili Powder, ground Cumin, salt, and pepper and continue to saute for an additional minute.
3. Add the beans, chicken stock, and Rotel to the meat mixture and bring it to a boil. Cover your pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. 

*The long you allow the chili to simmer to spicier it will taste. Rob likes it best when it simmers for 30 minutes*

Dish Info

This recipe will serve about 8 people, depending on appetites.

Blueberry Muffins

What You'll Need

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

What To Do

1. Preheat your oven to 375 and line your muffin tin.
2. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl combine your eggs, vanilla, oil, and milk, whisking together until mixed.
4. Make a well in the center of your flour mixture and pour in the liquid. Mix together until moistened.
5. Gently fold in blueberries and spoon your batter into the muffin tin. 
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

* *To keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the batter toss them around in a tablespoon or two of flour before you add them to muffin batter**

Dish Info

This recipes makes 18 scrumptious muffins. I believe, (it's been a few years since I received this recipe) non other than Paula Dean concocted this recipe- gotta give credit where credit is due!

Rosemary Chicken & White Beans

What You'll Need

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp dried Rosemary
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 can stewed tomatoes, drained (14.5-oz)
• 1 can Navy Beans, rinsed & drained (15-oz)

What To Do

1. While you heat your olive oil in a large skillet, combine the Rosemary, salt, and pepper and sprinkle over one side of the chicken.
2.  Place the chicken in the heated skillet, seasoned side down and cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Turn the chicken over and add the tomatoes and beans to the skillet, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.

Dish Info

This dish contains about 4 servings, depending on your appetite, at 316 calories each. It was also adapted from a recipe on MyRecipes.com.