Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne from ourbestbites.com

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne
slightly adapted from this recipe by Martha Stewart

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 6 cups whole milk
• 10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone* (6 ounces) you could also make that 1/2 mozzarella
• 1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

*Note on Cheese: 
Sometimes provolone cheese can be hard to find.  I don’t always encourage the use of pre-shredded bagged cheeses (because ‘ve found they usually contain additives and therefore don’t melt or taste as good), but in this recipe I’ve used a *good* quality one, like Sargento, and it’s turned out great.  Actually in this batch I used Sargento’s Provolone/Mozzarella mix.  You’ll find that with packaged cheese mixes, provolone is often mixed with other white cheeses and that’s totally fine.  Just try to find one that is mostly provolone, like a 50/50 mix.  The other easy option is to go to the deli department where you can buy sliced cheese.  Just ask for a 6 oz chunk and you can grate it yourself.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.
2. While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.  While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes).  Use a little extra olive oil if needed.
3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot (I just use the pot I cooked my pasta in), melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer.  Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes.  If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie.  If cooking, sprinkle on top.
5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezer instructions:
To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool.  Cover pan well with plastic wrap.  Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil.  Freeze for up to 3 months.  To bake, preheat oven to 400.  Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside.  Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese.  Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

Cranberry Meatballs

1 1/2 pound of meatballs (you can use any recipe you like for meatballs)
9 ou. can chili sauce
can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar

Brown meatballs, add remainder of ingredients (FREEZE)
to serve once frozen- put in crock pot and heat thoroughly.
Serve over rice

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice (approx. 2 large limes)
2 tsp- 1 tablespoon chili powder (use a little less for a milder version)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I used 3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed)
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 2 large chicken breasts)
12 corn tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded (I used cheddar and monterey jack)
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream

Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (or toss together in a ziploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours).


Heat a large griddle and spray surface with non-stick spray.  Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible.. keep them between paper towels until ready to use. 

Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill tortillas with chicken (about 2TBS) and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.  <Freeze>


THAW: Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Serve with sour cream, rice and black beans.


* I got this recipe on ABC4- Good Things Utah recipes... also linked to http://phemomenon.blogspot.com
its also really good with black beans and this rice http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2008/09/cafe-rio-cilantro-lime-rice-and-black.html

Chicken Cordon Bleu

8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8 slices cooked ham
4 slices Swiss cheese, cut in half
Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper to taste

• 
  
• Egg
• Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Sauce:

• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom/chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream (or milk)
• 
  

Directions

1. Place each chicken breast half between sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to about 1/8 inch thickness. Squeeze 1 TBS of Dijon mustard on each chicken breast. Place a finger of cheese on each ham slice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Roll up seasoned ham and cheese 'jellyroll-style', then roll each chicken breast with ham and cheese inside. Tuck in ends and fasten with toothpicks.
2. Place egg in a small bowl and place bread crumbs in a shallow dish or bowl. Dip each chicken roll , then roll in crumbs, turning to coat thoroughly. Place coated rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. or FREEZE by wrapping in plastic wrap to keep them from sticking together
4. unwrap each individual chicken roll and defrost
5. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for about 40 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear. Serve with cordon bleu sauce, if desired.
6. To Make Cordon Bleu Sauce: In a small saucepan mix together the soup and sour cream(I sometimes just use milk and it works good too). Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, and serve hot over chicken rolls. Makes about 2 cups; 8 servings of 1/4 cup each.

Caribbean Pork Roast

1/2 C. pineapple juice
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 3 lb. pork loin roast

Combine juice, sugar, cumin, cinnamon, thyme, red pepper and garlic. Put roast in storage bag and add juice mixture.

Thaw. Let roast marinate 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Discard marinade. Cook @ 350 degrees covered for 1 hour then uncover and bake 15 - 30 more minutes.

**This is really good if you add peeled and cubed sweet potatoes (2-3), quartered red onions (2), sliced pineapple (8 oz.) and sliced green bell peppers (2-3)and bake with the roast.