Pasta Carbonara

This is simply delicious! The directions sound more complicated than they really are so don't let that scare you off.


Ingredients

7 Slices bacon, cooked & crumbled up (reserve a bit of the bacon grease)
1/2 Large onion, chopped
8 oz White mushrooms, sliced
1/2 Box frozen spinach, thawed & drained
1T Minced garlic
1/2 Box of spaghetti (enough for 4 servings)
2 Eggs
3/4 C Heavy cream
1/2 C Shredded or grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp Dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp Garlic salt
1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp Ground black pepper

1. Add reserved bacon grease to large skillet. Saute onion, mushroom, spinach & garlic until onion is tender. Add bacon. Remove from heat.
2. Meanwhile, put a pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti.
3. In a bowl, add eggs, cream, Parmesan, parsley, garlic salt, red pepper & black pepper. Whisk very well, making sure the eggs are incorporated very well. Set aside.
4. Cook the spaghetti. When its done, drain but reserve 2T of the water. Put the spaghetti in the skillet with the vegetable & bacon. Toss to combine.
5. Very slowly, add the reserved water to the egg mixture - whisking as you do. (If you add the water too quickly, it will end up being scrambled eggs.)
6. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti & stir. Heat for 5-10 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring the entire time.

Serves 4

Shredded Chicken Soft Tacos

We tried this recipe last night. It was wonderful & will be added to our menu rotation.

3-4 Cups Cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1 10 oz container Santa Fe Blend Philadelphia Cooking Creme
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chiles, drained
1/3 Cup Water
Shredded lettuce
Colby Jack cheese, shredded
Tomatoes, diced
Sour cream
Salsa
Flour tortillas, fajita size, warmed

Combine chicken, cooking creme, diced tomatoes with chiles & water in a saucepan. Heat on medium heat just until it starts to bubble & the ingredients are heated through. Layer tortillas with chicken mixture, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream & salsa.

Makes 8 tacos.

Shrimp Broccoli Alfredo

I just made this tonight & the family loved it! A nice change to regular Shrimp Alfredo.

1 pound of raw shrimp, thawed & peeled
1 bag of steam-able broccoli florets
2 jars garlic Alfredo sauce
1/3 c cooked bacon crumbles
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 T butter
1 box of fettuccine or linguine
1 T Olive oil
1 tsp salt
Parmesan cheese

1. Cook broccoli in microwave, per package directions. Leave in microwave to stay warm.
2. Fill a 4 qt pan with water about 2 inches from top. Add 1 T Olive oil & 1 tsp salt to water. Heat to boil.
3. While waiting on water, add following to large skillet: butter, bacon crumbles & garlic. Heat until butter is melted & bacon is sizzling. Add broccoli to skillet & toss.
4. When water is boiling, add entire box of fettuccine to water. Stir occasionally. Drain in colander when done.
5. Add shrimp to skillet & toss until they are pink. Add both jars of Alfredo sauce to skillet & toss to coat shrimp & broccoli evenly. Heat to a slow boil, stirring constantly. When sauce is heated throughout, remove from heat.
6. Place fettuccine in individual bowls & top with Alfredo sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4.

Thanksgiving!!

I wanted to share a few of my favorite dishes we had for Thanksgiving this year. A couple of them are repeats from previous years & there is a new one I found & changed around this year. Enjoy!!

Gramma's Dressing
This is the dressing that my gramma made when I was growing up. I changed it up just a little bit and added some herbs to it.

1 onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup white wine
2 T butter
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
Freshly ground black pepper & salt, to taste

3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 loaves of white bread, torn
4 cups chicken broth, approximately
Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
In a large glass measuring cup, combine the onions, celery, wine & butter. Cook in microwave on high for 8 - 10 minutes or until the vegetables start to become tender.
In a large bowl, combine rosemary, thyme, sage, pepper, salt & eggs. Add vegetables & stir. Add the torn bread & combine with the rest of the ingredients. Add broth a little at a time while stirring bread until mixture is very wet. Transfer to a 3 quart baking dish, coated with cooking spray. Bake for approximately 1 hour or until middle of dressing is set & the top is golden brown.


Tara's Sweet Potato Casserole
No marshmallows here!! Just yummy sweet potatoes with a pecan topping!

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 cans (40 ounces each) sweet potatoes, drained & coarsely chopped

In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, butter & vanilla. Gently stir in sweet potatoes. Transfer to a 3 quart baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Topping:
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine the topping ingredients; spoon over sweet potato mixture. Bake uncovered at 350F degrees for 40-50 minutes or until bubbly & golden brown.

* You may need to slightly stir the casserole half way through the cooking time.


Pumpkin Pie Trifle
This is the newbie for this year. I got the idea from an ad I received from Kroger's. As you can guess, I used their recipe as a guide!

1 box Spice cake mix
1 small box of instant vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
1 can pumpkin pie mix
1 12 oz container Cool Whip, thawed
Pumpkin pie spice

Prepare cake per package directions & let cool. (You will have some cake leftover.)
Combine pudding mix & milk. Place in refrigerator for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin pie mix to pudding & stir.
In a trifle dish or other clear bowl, crumble approximately 1/2 of the cake in the bottom of the dish. Spread 1/2 of the pumpkin mixture over the cake. Spread 1/2 of the Cool Whip over the pumpkin. Repeat the layers one time. Sprinkle pumpkin pie spice over the last layer of Cool Whip. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

*I would not make this more than 1 day ahead of time because the cake could become soggy.

Pizza Chicken

Just a little something I came up with tonight because I was tired of the same old chicken dishes.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
1 tsp black pepper
2 T butter
Approx 15 slices of pepperoni
26 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
4 slices Provolone cheese
1/2 box rotini - cooked & drained


In a bowl, combine flour & spices. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat eggs.

Preheat oven to 425.

In a cast iron skillet, melt butter. Dredge chicken in eggs & then flour mixture. When skillet is hot, add the chicken. Brown on both sides. Divide pepperoni between chicken breasts. Spread 2 spoonfuls of spaghetti sauce on each piece of chicken. Place in oven for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Remove from oven & cover the chicken with cheese. Place skillet back in oven until cheese melts.

Mix remaining spaghetti sauce with pasta & heat through.

Serve chicken on top of the pasta.

Briana's Chicken Alfredo Soup

This soup is easy, low-carb & delicious! Great for nights when you need something fast.


2 jars Alfredo sauce, any variety
2 small cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1 bag frozen broccoli - cooked
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 can chicken - shredded*
Granulated garlic - to taste
Salt & pepper - to taste

Combine all ingredients in pan & cook until heated through.

* You can use as much chicken as you like. You may also use fresh chicken breasts that have been cooked & cubed.
**I have also made this substituting 4 cans of crab meat for the chicken. I would think you could also do this with the canned small shrimp.
5 grams carbs per cup.

Crunchy Italian Cod Fillets

Let me be the first to say I am not a fish person. If it doesn't come from McDonald's or Wendy's I don't like it. However, this fish is really good. It's crunchy & flavorful & not too fishy tasting. And it's low carb! Only 6.5 grams per serving. Just keep an eye on it when it's in the oven. It may not take the entire cooking time depending on the thickness of the fillets. I adapted this recipe from one I found online to suit my family's taste.


1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Basil
1/4 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Parsley
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 (4 ounce) cod fillets
1 egg, lightly beaten



1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2.In a small shallow bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, cheese, cornmeal, oil, basil, oregano, parsley, garlic powder and pepper; set aside.
3.Coat the rack of a broiling pan with cooking spray. Salt & pepper both sides of the fillets. Place the cod on the rack, folding under any thin edges of the filets. Brush with the egg, then spoon the crumb mixture evenly on top. Press crumb mixture onto fish.
4.Bake in a preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork and is opaque all the way through.