Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Penne Pasta

I was feeling a little adventurous with my cooking this week. I decided to whip up a gourmet italian pasta dish along with some leftover chicken from my Simple Crockpot Chicken. It turned out super delish and of course very healthy.

 

 

Ingredients

 

3 small cloves of garlic

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup roasted red bell pepper (I used jarred)

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1 lb penne pasta

2 cups shredded chicken (optional)

 

1. Pulse garlic in food processer a few times. Add in red pepper, cheese, basil, salt and pepper. Pulse  few more times. Add in olive oil and pulse until well incorporated.

 

 



2. Boil water and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add in pasta, cook and drain. Let cool a few minutes then add in basil pesto mix. Stir well. Add in chicken if desired. Serve warm!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

This is an easy meal that can be whipped up any busy weeknight. For the chicken I made my Crockpot Chicken and saved half of it for this recipe. If you have never tried cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot you should! It saves so much money rather than buying a pack of chicken breasts.

Ingredients

3 cups shredded chicken
3 cups shredded cheese
2 cups enchilada sauce
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small can chopped green chilis (optional)
12 corn or flour tortillas

1. Mix chicken, cheese, enchilada sauce, cilantro and chilis together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Take a baking dish and spoon a little enchilada sauce on the bottom.

 

3. Next warm tortillas in the microwave so they are soft and semi pliable. Spoon filling in the middle of the tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down in the sauce.

4. Next drizzle enchilada sauce all over tops and cover with cheese. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. To prevent foil from sticking to the cheese spray foil with cooking spray. Take foil off and continue baking until cheese is melted and bubbly.

 

 

You can now top with lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, sour cream or whatever you like!!

Cheap and Delish Vege Soup

Here is the recipe for soup we had with our Twice Baked Potatoes. Its a very easy and cheap recipe, throw it in the crockpot and forget it 'til supper!

 

 

Ingredients

 

2 zucchinnis

1 2lb bag of frozen mixed veges

1/2 onion

1 29oz can of tomato puree OR

2 small cans diced tomatos

2 lb box of chicken stock

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp. oregano

(Note: this makes quite a lot, I froze about half of it. If making recipe for only a few I would suggest cutting it in half.)

 

1. Chop zucchini and onion and throw in crockpot. You can also add other veges you like such as asparagus, squash, okra ect. Add mixed veges, chicken stock, tomatoes and spices. Stir well. Cook on low 6 hours or so.



Twice Baked Potatoes

I'm not always a big fan of baked potatoes. They tend to be boring and bland. Twice baked potatoes on the other hand are full of flavor! Here is one of my favorite potatoe recipes...

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes
8 slices bacon
1 cup greek yogurt
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Rub potatoes with a few drops of vegetable oil and poke with a fork. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. While potatoes are baking, cook and drain bacon. Spin in the food processor a few times.

2. When potatoes are done, let cool 10 minutes or so. Then slice lengthwise. Take each half and scoop out the inside, leaving enough so the potatoe maintains its shape like so...

3. Next take the potato guts in a bowl and add the yogurt, spices, 3/4 of the bacon, 1/2 the cheese. Stir well. Add the milk slowly until desired consistency is reached.

4. Fill potatoe shells with mixture and top with remaining bacon, onions and cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

 

Don't the potatoes and Vegetable Soup look delish?

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

Wow I haven't posted in while! I went to post a beauty tutorial the other day and my memory card broke. So I haven't been able to use my camera for a bit. I ordered one on ebay but its taking too long to get here! I went through my old files and found a post I was planning on publishing this summer, but hey you can eat potato salad in the winter too ha!

Ingredients

10-11 small red skin potatoes scrubbed clean
1/2 lb bacon cooked
3 green onions chopped
1-1 1/2 cups of ranch dressing
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Boil potatoes with a few dashes of salt. I like to throw in a boullion cube as well. Cook until soft but not mushy. Cut into bite size chunks. Let cool slightly.

2. Take cooked and drained bacon and chop or run in the food processor a few times. Add to potatoes.

3. Add green onions, ranch and cheese. Toss. Serve warm or chilled.

 

 Hubby grilled some awesome pork chops with this salad. (He wanted me to post a pic of them, he was so proud)

Another Update

We have been having a wonderful time visiting with family these past few weeks. We had a "second" Christmas with the boys, did some outdoor work, played video games and played with the animals on the property.

Christmas Eve we made a version of gingerbread houses. We took sugar cones, flipped them upside down and covered them in green frosting. Then we added candies as decorations. It was much cheaper than doing regular gingerbread houses and less sugar. The kids loved it so definitely a win win!

I made Ham, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and rolls for our Christmas Dinner. It was yummy!

I got to meet my new nephew, Hayden. He is adorable and such a happy little guy.

I also did a mini photoshoot with our kiddos. Here are a few...I think they turned out amazing!

 

I really love this picture of me and the hubby :)

 

Family pic!