Salsa chicken

A year or so ago my mom called me because she had made this really yummy chicken with Salsa. She gave me the recipe and it was easy and I liked it but I really haven't made it since. Yesterday after a day of laundry and house cleaning I just wanted something quick and easy and I saw the Jar of salsa on my "pantry" shelf. I was running out of juice in my phone and I lost the charger so I decided not to call mom to get the recipe that I misplaced. So I just threw this together and it turned out amazing!!! But I didn't get any pictures because I can't find my camera (Is it just me or are you seeing a pattern here? I need to start putting beepers on everything so I can find things when I need them.) So, sorry about the pics but I know you will love this! =)

Salsa chicken

You will need:

1 jar of your favorite salsa (I used the mild chunky store brand.)
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp of garlic
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, because they are cheaper. )
rice
water

Turn on your oven to 350 degrees f. Grease a medium cookie sheet and place chicken breasts on top. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, mix salsa, brown sugar, worchestershire, and garlic. Pour mixture over chicken breasts and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. (If you forgot to thaw the chicken just use the frozen chicken and cook 40 minutes.) While the chicken is cooking make however much rice you think you will need. I have a family of 5 and I make 2 cups of jasmine rice because it makes 5 cups. Most rice will make 1 1/2 cups for every cup of dry rice. I don't know why the jasmine rice is different. Serve the chicken over the rice with veggies and enjoy! (My family practically licked the pan!)

Laurel's Stuffed French Bread

Sorry it took me so long to post this one. The holidays just threw me for a loop! Hopefully as I get more in the swing of things I will try to post at least twice a week.

Alright, so this recipe came from my sister in law Laurel. When she was pregnant she was craving all of these things and came up with this. My mother in law made it for me when she and my father in law came to visit us a few years ago. I hope you like it!

Laurel's Stuffed French Bread

You will need:

1 can of French Bread (can be found near the cans of biscuits in the dairy section)
8 oz of cream cheese softened
1 medium onion chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 small can of mushrooms (or about 8 small mushrooms sliced)
1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I use colby jack but you can use what you like)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (or you can make a cream sauce and add mushrooms)
milk
salt and pepper (or your favorite seasonings)










Turn on your oven to the temperature on the can of french bread. Put your burner on medium high heat and place a medium skillet on. Spray your pan with cooking spray and add the onions and mushrooms. Let them cook for a few minutes(if you are being health conscious you can use a little bit of fat free vegetable or chicken stock instead of cooking spray. It will help it not stick to the pan and not add any fat to your cooking.)








Add the ground beef and season it with the salt and pepper. While the meat is browning roll out the french bread onto a greased cookie sheet. Now I messed this up when I was cooking it but I will try my best to explain.




Take the rolled out dough and put one half on the cookie sheet and half off the side (You can do it like I did in the picture but it will cook more evenly the other way). Try to flatten the bread on the cookie sheet and push it to the corners. Spread the cream cheese on the half of the dough on the cookie sheet. Finish browning the ground beef and place on top of the cream cheese. Follow with the shredded cheese.

(This is what it would have looked like had I done it the right way in the first place.) Fold the rest of the dough over the meat and cheese and pinch the sides of the dough together. Bake in the oven according to the French bread package directions or until the dough starts to be golden brown on the top. While the bread is cooking make the cream of mushroom soup with the milk according to the label.

Remove the french bread from the oven, cut and serve with cream of mushroom soup on top.

Whew! That felt really long.

I promise that the next one I do won't have cream sauce!=)

Thanks Laurel! =)

Bon Appetit!

My first post!! Ham roll ups with a cheesy cream sauce.

The other day I was inspired and this is what it amounted to.
Ham roll ups with a Cheesy cream sauce.

You will need:

10-12 large slices of Lunch meat (I obviously used ham but you could use something else.)
I pkg risotto
2 cups steamed veggies (chopped)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup cheddar or colby jack cheese
salt and pepper
oil
water

Make the risotto according to the package directions (that's why I put the oil and water at the bottom of the ingredients.) While risotto is cooking steam the chopped veggies. Place the ham in a microwave safe container and fill it with water just to cover the ham. Cook for 2-4 minutes to just heat up the ham. While the ham is cooking melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat. Add flour, garlic, and onion and mix till a paste forms. Slowly whisk in the milk, making sure there are no lumps, and turn heat to high. Stirring continually, bring to a boil and let it boil for about a minute. Turn heat to low and add half of the parmesan and all of the cheddar till melted. Mix finished risotto with chopped veggies and the rest of the parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste and spoon 1/4 -1/3 cup of mixture on to ham slices and roll up.Place ham slices on a plate and pour cream sauce on top. Viola! You are done! Now I just put an idea of how much of each spice and cheese you would use. If you want it more flavorful add more. Just make sure you always start out with just a little bit and keep tasting.