40 Clove Garlic Chicken

I'm always looking to try new recipes in the crock pot. This recipe is exactly what the recipe says. It requires 40 cloves of garlic. I thought this would be overpowering, but the flavor was perfect. It also had a little bit of heat in the rub because of the red pepper flakes. You can always alter the amount of red pepper depending on your preferences and the chicken will turn out fine. By the way, this is what 40 cloves of garlic looks like:

Source: Cuisinart

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken thighs (about 8 to 10), skinless, bone-in

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

40 garlic cloves, peeled

½ celery rib, sliced

½ cup sliced onion

¼ cup white vermouth or dry white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

3 tablespoons chicken broth

Directions:

Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the chicken thighs, herbes de Provence, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Make sure to coat the rub all over the chicken. Lay the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Layer the garlic, celery and onions on top of the chicken. Pour in wine and chicken stock. Set the crock pot on low 8 hours then serve.

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi

This recipe is one of the first recipes I've made where I made good use of orzo. I think it's a lot easier to make than rice and able to hold in more flavor than rice. If you ever want to cook with orzo, I recommend cooking it in beef or chicken broth, depending on the dish you want to combine it with. The shrimp was flavorful, but the orzo really completed this dish.

Source: Stephanie Cooks, adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked orzo

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

7 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp

Garlic Powder (several heavy dashes)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 can of chicken broth

Parmesan cheese (I used shredded instead of grated)

Directions:

Spray a small sauce pan with cooking spray. Add the orzo, stirring frequently until slightly toasted. Pour in the chicken broth. Cook until almost all of the broth is absorbed. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and keep warm.

While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic powder to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done. Stir the orzo back into the skillet. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

If you like to go to Red Lobster, you probably love their cheesy biscuits that come with the meal. They are so warm, fluffy, and have the perfect amount of melted cheese in each biscuit. I found this recipe that said it tasted exactly like the biscuits at the restaurant and they were absolutely right. The biscuits turned out perfectly and we enjoyed them with some pasta and sauce.

Source: Joyful Abode

Ingredients:

2 c. buttermilk biscuit mix (I used Bisquick)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 to 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 c. milk
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. garlic salt (I used 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cooking sheet with nonstick spray. In a bowl, combine the biscuit mix, the garlic powder, and the shredded cheese. Stir to combine. Pour in the milk. Stir until combined. The dough should be lumpy, but not sticky.

Using the two-spoon method, drop the lumps of dough onto the cooking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

In a bowl, melt the butter. Add the oregano and garlic salt and mix together. Brush the butter mixture over each biscuit then put back into the oven and bake for another 5-6 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

I was going to a birthday party the other night and I wanted to bring a fun dessert to share. I found this recipe a few weeks ago and I was excited to try it. I had a blast making this recipe. It was simple to make and delicious and it was a hit at the party. People asked me how I hallowed out the strawberries and it was very easy. I saw a recommendation online to use a potato peeler, but I didn't have one so I used a small knife and a very small measuring spoon to scoop out the insides.

Source: The Novice Chef

Ingredients:

2 crates of fresh strawberries
1 box Jello No Bake Cheesecake
Crushed graham crackers
Milk Chocolate chips

Directions:

Wash the strawberries and cut off the tops. Hollow out the strawberries.

Mix the cheesecake according to the directions on the box. Use a decorating bag and a large tip to fill each strawberry until it is slightly overfilled. Place the crushed graham crackers in a bowl and dip the tops of the strawberries into the graham crackers.

Heat up the milk chocolate chips in 10 second intervals until melted thoroughly. Spoon the melted chocolate into a ziplock bag and cut off a very small tip. Squeeze the bag as if it were a decorating bag and drizzle the chocolate on top of the strawberries as desired.

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

I was eating dinner by myself for this meal so I wanted something that was a little simpler. This was a good recipe to try because you can easily alter the amount of chicken and pasta. I actually added a little bit more pasta and chicken, but only because I wanted extra for lunches at work. This dish was very filling and tasty and it was fun to cook with pastina. If you don't have any pastina handy, you can use any other smaller type of pasta and the dish will turn out just fine. I also read a few suggestions to add a lemon pepper rub to the chicken before cooking it and adding it to the pastina.

Source: Giada de Laurentiis

Ingredients:

1 c. pastina pasta (or any small pasta)

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 c. cubed chicken breast (1 inch cubes)

1/2 c. diced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice

1 c. shredded mozzarella

1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used dry leaf parsley)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 c. bread crumbs

1/4 c. grated Parmesan

1 tbsp. butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Place the mixture in a buttered 8 x 8 baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture, Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

This was the first time I ever tried making manicotti. I hadn't eaten it in several years and my husband had never had it before. After eating this dish, we couldn't believe what we were missing. I had a lot of fun assembling this dish and the results were fantastic. This is sure to become a family favorite with us. Hope you'll enjoy it as well!

Source: Apple a Day, adapted from Giada de Laurentis

Ingredients:

4 tsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 lb. ground beef

salt and freshly ground black pepper

14 (8 oz. package) manicotti

1 (15 oz.) container whole-milk ricotta (I used part-skim)

2 c. shredded mozzarella

1/2 c. grated Parmesan

2 tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (I used dry parsley flakes)

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 c. marinara sauce

2 tbsp. butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

Heat a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tsp. of the olive oil, onion, and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the meat browns and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain the drippings, and cool.

Brush 1 tsp. of oil over a large baking sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite, about 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, 1 c. mozzarella cheese, 1/4 c. Parmesan, and parsley. Add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and mix. Stir the cooled meat mixture into the cheese mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the remaining 2 tsp. of oil over a 13 X 9 inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish.

Fill the manicotti with the cheese-meat mixture. Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the remaining sauce over.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 c. of mozzarella cheese, then the remaining 1/4 c. Parmesan over the stuffed pasta. Dot entire dish with the butter pieces. Bake the manicotti uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the sides of the dish, about 35 minutes. Let the manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.

Chicken and Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

This is a new recipe I learned about a month ago that I have made two times already. It's easy to make, uses simple ingredients, and a really filling and tasty meal. I made six tomatoes and they were more than enough for my husband and I for dinner as well as some leftovers. I highly recommend this recipe.

Source: Things That Make You Go Mmmmmm

Ingredients:

6 large, ripe tomatoes
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
3/4 lb. ground chicken or cut up chicken breast
1 c. cooked rice
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking dish, large enough to accomodate the tomatoes, with non-stick spray.

Wash tomatoes. Cut off tops and scoop out insides into a bowl. Reserve.

In a non-stick skillet, brown chicken. Add onion. Make sure you break up the chicken into little pieces, it makes stuffing the tomatoes easier. Remove from heat.

Add rice and seasoning to the meat and onions. Take the reserved tomato guts and put into blender. Blend for a moment and pour back about 3/4 cup into the meat mixture. Mix well.

Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture; place tomatoes in baking dish. Top tomatoes with cheese then bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. (After 10 minutes of baking, I added extra mozzarella cheese to the tomatoes)