Monday, September 29, 2008

White Chicken Lasagna

I made this last night. I found the recipe on allrecipes. It was delicious and a great spin on the traditional lasagna. Here's the link too in case you want to read the reviews or anything.

White Cheese Chicken Lasagna

* 9 lasagna noodles
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
* 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 cups ricotta cheese
* 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
* 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

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DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Food Fit

What a fun site!
Food Fit
http://www.foodfit.com/

Healthy recipes, how to store fruits and veggies, fitness tips and more!

Lemony Chicken Salad

This chicken salad recipe is much healthier than those loaded with regular mayo, and I love the hint of citrus.


4 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cups red seedless grapes
1 cup pea pods, cut once across
1 cup diced red onion
1 cup lite salad dressing
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp fresh grated lemon peel
2 tsp dried basil leaves

Directions:
Toss chicken, grapes, pea pods and onion together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together salad dressing, lemon juice, lemon peel and basil leaves. Gently fold dressing mixture into chicken mixture. Chill until ready to serve. Transfer salad to serving bowl or plate separately on leaf lettuce.

Pumpkin Pancakes

These are so yummy.
2 c. flour (half whole wheat if desired)
2 TBSP packed brown sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 3/4 cup milk (maybe a little more or less)
1/2 c pumpkin
1 egg
2 TBSP. vegetable oil

Mix and drop into frying pan. (Not all at once, of course.)

Friday, September 12, 2008

Sweetie Swirl Cheesecake bars

i haven't made these, but I want to. I don't want to loose the recipe, so I'm posting it here. You can find it HERE

INGREDIENTS

o Crust
o 11⁄2 sticks (¾ cup) butter, softened
o 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
o ½ tsp salt
o 1½ cups all-purpose flour
o Filling
o 4 oz white baking chocolate
o 1 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
o 2 bricks (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
o ½ cup granulated sugar
o 2 large eggs
o ½ cup sour cream
o 1 tsp vanilla extract
o 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
o ¼ tsp liquid red food color
o ¼ tsp raspberry extract

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 325°F. You’ll need a 13 x 9-in. baking pan lined with foil (let foil extend about 2 in. above pan at both ends).

2. Crust: Beat butter in a medium bowl with mixer on medium-high speed until creamy. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat 1 minute until light and fluffy. On low speed, gradually beat in flour just until blended. With fingers, press evenly over bottom of pan.

3. Bake 18 minutes or until golden. Place pan on a wire rack; let cool.

4. Filling: Melt chocolate in a small bowl in microwave as package directs. Cool to room temperature.

5. Meanwhile, with a rubber spatula, press raspberries through a fine strainer set over a medium bowl (you should have 1⁄4 cup purée); discard seeds.

6. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with mixer on medium-high speed 2 minutes or until creamy. On low speed, beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract, then flour just until blended.

7. Stir 1 cup batter, the food color and raspberry extract into raspberry purée; remove and reserve 1⁄2 cup. Stir melted white chocolate into remaining batter. Pour 11⁄2 cups white batter over crust; top with spoonfuls of remaining raspberry mixture, then remaining white batter to cover. Top with small dollops reserved raspberry mixture. Drag a toothpick through dollops and white batter to marbleize.

8. Bake 32 to 35 minutes until slightly puffed and set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack, then refrigerate at least 1 hour until firm.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Pumpkin Cheesecake

crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 T. melted butter
1 T. sugar

mix together and press into 8" spring form pan.
Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees

filling:
3 - 8oz cream cheese softened
1 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice

Combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs, and spices. Beat until smooth and creamy. Pour into crust. Bake 60 to 70 minutes until set.

Cook in a water bath.

Classic Cheesecake

crust:
1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c. melted butter
1/2 c. sugar

350 degree oven
mix together and press into 8 or 9" spring form pan.

cook for 8 minutes

filling:
3- 8oz packs of cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsps vanilla
3 eggs
1 c. sour cream

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix until blended. Add sour cream, mix.

Bake 1 hour or until just set. Turn oven off and leave the door to the oven open for 1 hour.

remove, cool completely.

The real trick to having a perfect cheesecake is to cook it in a water bath.
there are some picture here.

This is the best cheesecake recipe ever and very easy to make.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Texas Caviar

This recipe is from my friend Amy. This stuff is so good. Eat as a dip with corn chips.

Texas Caviar

1 can corn
1 can black eyed peas
1/2 red onion - didn't use this much
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper - didn't put this in this time
1/2 cup italian dressing
2T balsamic vinegar

cilantro to taste
salt/pepper/sugar to taste

Makes about 5-6 cups of dip.

This blog needs to be resurrected! I have gotten lots of good recipes from here in the past!