Fancy Chicken Casserole

That isn't its proper name, but it's what I've decided to call it. I found a recipe for a stuffed chicken breast and it sounded good but I took it a little different direction. I hope you like it as much as I do. Feel free to add your own touches and when you do, let me know how it goes! I will attempt a picture tomorrow :-)

Good Eats, from My Kitchen to Yours!

12 chicken breast halves
1 c. Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1/2 c. butter (melted)
1 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 TBSP Parmesan Cheese
1/2 TSP salt
1/2 TSP black pepper
1/2 TSP ground Cumin

Preheat the oven to 400.

Pound chicken breasts into less than 1/2" thick pieces. Place a small amount of the shredded cheese in the middle of the flattened chicken breast and roll it up. Use a toothpick or an uncooked pasta noodle to hold it in place. Place the chicken rolls in a 9x13 pan.

Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and cumin. Pour the melted butter over the chicken. Spread the bread crumb mixture over the butter covered chicken. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is done.

While the chicken is baking, make the cream sauce.

3 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
1 pint heavy cream
1 c. shredded monterey jack cheese
1/8 c. Parmesan cheese

Melt butter, add the rest of the ingredients until the cheeses are melted.

Pour this over the chicken when it has finished baking. ENJOY!

Not Sure What to Call It... :-)

The other night I made Tuna Steaks with Sweet Corn Salad. I made tuna salad from the tuna steaks on Thursday. I made something wonderful and nameless from the leftover sweet corn salad today. After dinner the other night I kept thinking, "This is good... but it could be something more." Indeed!

Since we only used 2 servings of the "salad" there was quite a bit of it left. I had about 2 lbs of ground beef in the freezer so I browned it, added some taco seasoning (no water) and added in the corn salad. After it got good and hot, I took it off the stove and put it in my handy dandy mixing bowl. I threw in 2 blocks of cream cheese, about a cup of shredded sharp cheddar and mixed it well.

This is my new favorite Mexican dip. TRY IT!

Good Eats, From my Kitchen to Yours!

Leftover Sweet Corn Salad
2 Lbs Ground Beef, browned
1 packet Mild Taco Seasoning
2 8-oz. blocks of cream cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Fritos Scoops to enjoy it with!

My hubby's growing up :-)

Two days in a row he has tried something out of his ordinary repertoires of dinners. Last night was the second marvel. I love tuna salad. The first time I ever made it after we were married, Rob recounted a childhood story of eating a tuna sandwich at a friend's house and puking repeatedly afterward. I can't blame him for being a little wary... but four years later, we have had a breakthrough!

We had a few extra tuna steaks from Wednesday night's dinner. I chopped it, added a few tablespoons of mayo, some mustard, boiled eggs and sweet pickle relish. I would've added some chopped onion but I didn't want to run Robert off completely from the idea. It was probably the best tuna salad I've ever made. I think the seasoned, fresh tuna steaks made the difference.

Robert likes to frequent a place in Tuscaloosa called Jimmy Johns. I could care less about the sandwiches there, but the bread is fantastic. I honestly don't know what kind it is but it's GOOD. I think it was Tuesday the last time Robert went there for lunch. Jimmy Johns offers any bread that is leftover from the day before for $0.50. So, after his lunch, he packed up a couple of loaves of that bread... and I am so glad he did.

We put that tuna salad on that yummy bread and THAT was a good dinner :-) Good Eats From My Kitchen to Yours!

As a side note:
I made some herb roasted tomatoes the other night just to have around. I found they made an excellent addition. The recipe is below.

2 pounds ripe Roma tomatoes, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil leaves
1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepperPreheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to thoroughly coat. Place in a single layer on a wire rack placed on top of a baking sheet and bake until moist-dried, about 2 hours.

Yellowfin Tuna with Sweet Corn Salad

(Picture Courtesy of Food Network)

I'm not big on fish. I'm not good at cooking it and if it's really fishy, I don't like eating it. However, Winn Dixie had Tuna Steaks on sale so I started with that. Why not make my re-debut something new and unique. This is the recipe for 6 servings so you can either take it to lunch the next day or dinner the next evening and I have plans for it in totally different ways after that.

For the Tuna

6 (5-ounce) Tuna Steaks
salt and pepper to taste

Season each side of the tuna with salt and pepper. Heat your grill to high and cook the tuna to the desired temperature.

Sweet Corn Salad

2 Tsp EVOO
6 ears of sweet corn - grilled with husks on, kernels cut off the cob
1/2 c. sweet onion
1/2 c. diced tomatoes - peeled and finely chopped (I used the can version... DRAIN THEM WELL)
1 TBS Fresh Cilantro
1 TSP Pure Cane Syrup (Pretty sure this can be done without...)
2 TBS Lime Juice
1/4 TSP Salt
(I used a dash of crushed red pepper to give it a kick... it went nicely with the citrus-y flavor)

Heat a large skillet over Med-High heat. Add the oil, corn and onions and let them sizzle for a minute or 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss them to combine. Allow it to cool.


Place 1/2 cup of the Sweet Corn Salad on each plate and place the tuna on top.

Rob didn't rave, but he ate it to my surprise! He said he liked it... he didn't clear his plate but that he ate any at all :-) I give myself a KUDOS haha

Good Eats From My Kitchen to Yours!

Nothing New Under the Sun

So I have a friend named Jaime who has a food blog and then her sister, Erin, started one not long ago... I figured I should jump on the bandwagon. I'd hate to be left out :-)

I've always like to be in the kitchen. When we were little, my sister and I would attempt to make my parents breakfast in bed... especially on Saturdays. In order to "surprise" them, we would get up really early, like 6 AM and start "tip toeing" around the kitchen... we did this as best as a 6 year old and a 4 year old could. In the end, one or both of our parents would end up awake wondering why on earth their 6 year old was playing with the stove while standing in a chair.

We never meant any harm, nor did we realize the dangers we were encroaching on in those wee hours on Saturday mornings. All we knew is that we wanted to show our parents how much we loved them. The same thing holds true for me today. If food was one of the "Five Love Languages", it would definitely be mine. When I cook for you, it means that I love you and I want to show you.

I must confess, the past couple of months, there hasn't been a whole lot of love in my kitchen. Between starting a new business myself and my husband working a new schedule in a new city, some adjustments have had to be made. I finally bought groceries today for the first time in probably 2 months... like really bought groceries. I spent over $130. I got into a little trouble with "the man" but I think he'll be glad I did it.

My favorite thing to do in cooking is to take an idea home from a restaurant or a recipe from somewhere else and make it my own - add my own flair to it. Tonight's experiment is Yellowfin Tuna with Sweet Corn Salad and Butter Peas. Rob, my husband, is an extremely picky eater so just in case, I have grilled him some corn on the cob and made him some garlic butter to go on it. I have a feeling we'll both be glad I did. I'll let you know how it goes either tonight or tomorrow. Until then, Good Eats from My Kitchen to Yours!