Grandma's Apple Crisp Recipe

Just in time for Thanksgiving! I am thankful for family recipes being passed down! My mother makes this recipe that was passed down from my Grandmother Boudreau and it is delicious! I like it served warm with vanilla ice cream of course!

Ingredients:

1 cup of bisquick
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 t of cinamon
1/4 cup of butter softened
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
5 medium apples

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Peel and slice the apples. Place in a medium sized coated casserole dish. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve! How easy is that?!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I'm going to admit - I've never been a fan of Chicken Cordon Bleu. The chicken always ends up tasting dry and chewy - yuck! I do how ever, love stuffing! This twist on Chicken Cordon Bleu will keep you craving more!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 -2 lbs of chicken
1/4 lb of thick sliced deli ham
6 slices of swiss cheese from the deli
1 head of broccoli
1 can cheddar cheese condensed soup
2 cups of stovetop stuffing (you will also need 2 tablespoons of butter according to their recipe)
Non-stick spray

Directions:

Cook the chicken according to your desire. I use the George Foreman grill because it is quick and easy and leaves the chicken juicy! Boil the broccoli until cooked through. Pre-heat your oven to 350. Cube up the ham and cooked chicken into bite sized pieces. Begin cooking the stuffing according to the instructions on the side on the package. While the stuffing is cooking, mix together the cut up chicken, ham, broccoli and can of cheddar cheese condensed soup. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray and fill with your mixture. Top your mixture with the swiss cheese. Layout your cooked stuffing evenly on top of the swiss cheese. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until it gets bubbly. Take it out of the oven once it is bubbly and let sit for five minutes. Serve!

Pork Medallions Over Winter Hash

I'm going to start off by saying that I'm not the biggest fan of pork. In the past I have had dry pork and there's nothing worse than chewy dried out pork. I think the biggest trick to cooking pork is to not over cook it and of course to not under cook it. I made this on a cold November night and it hit the spot for comfort food!

Ingredients:

2 lbs of pork tenderloin
1 box of shake and bake extra crispy (only use 1 packet)
1 sweet potato
1/2 purple onion
1 shallot
1 container of cubed butternut squash (because peeling it and cutting it is a pain in the bum!)
2-3 tablespoons of EVOO

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400. Peel the sweet potato. Chop it up into small pieces. Chop up the purple onion and shallot into small pieces as well. Combine the chopped up sweet potato, onion, shallot and cubed butternut squash on a baking tray. Drizzle the EVOO over and mix well. Once the oven is pre-heated, place the tray in the oven. Be sure to mix the mixture about every 10 minutes. Once the vegetables have been in the oven for 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 and begin prepping your pork. Slice the raw pork tenderloin into 1-inch thick slices. Once the pork is all sliced up, spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Empty the shake and bake into a bowl. Take 1 piece of cut up pork and roll it around in the shake and bake until it is fully coated. Place on the baking tray. Repeat for the rest of the pork. Place the tray in the oven with the vegetables and allow the pork to cook for 25-30 minutes. You may want to use a meat thermometer since ovens vary. The USDA claims that pork should be at least 145 degrees with a three minute rest time. Once the pork is finished cooking, serve over the roasted winter hash!

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

I love love love Alfredo sauce... who doesn't? I know it isn't the healthiest sauce for you but it sure is a nice treat every now and then! I also think that making it at home could be a little healthier than eating out since you will be measuring out your ingredients...hopeful thinking? Regardless of the calories, this sauce is worth an extra trip to the gym!

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
2 cups of half and half
2 minced garlic cloves
2 cups of fresh grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:

Cube up the 1 stick of butter. Place in a large cooking pot and place on low-medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the 2 cups of half and half, minced garlic and stir. Continue stirring for about 5 minutes. Slowly add in the Parmesan cheese and continue stirring for another 5 minutes or until all of the cheese is melted and the sauce is thick. If the sauce is not to your desired thickness, slowly whisk in 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. I served this sauce over fettuccine, sauteed mushrooms and pan fried chicken. Yumm!

Honey BBQ Pulled Chicken

Nothing beats southern cooking in my mind! I love pulled chicken with coleslaw and mac and cheese! Yum-o! This recipe took little to no effort to make which was awesome!

Ingredients:

1 lb of chicken tenderloin
1/2 container of sweet baby Ray's honey barbecue sauce
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of garlic
1 teaspoon of brown sugar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and stir. Place on high for 3 hours or until the chicken is cooked through. Shred with a fork and serve. I served mine in  a pita pocket with cheese and a side of Annie's organic mac and cheese and my coleslaw recipe found in my post "Honey BBQ Chicken, Coleslaw and Sweet Potato Fries"

Asian Rice Noodle Soup

The pictures say it all :Yum! I love Asian Noodle soup! It costs about $5 a bowl at restaurants though and that can definitely add up! I made this little creation and I love it! It made about 10 bowls of soup and the ingredients are very inexpensive!

Ingredients:

- 1 package of rice noodles (I choose the thin kind)
-1 bunch of green onions
- 1 lb of thinly sliced steak
- 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger root
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 10 cups of beef broth (I prefer the "better than bullion" beef base stock)
- 1 container of fresh mushrooms

Directions:

In a large pot, pour in the beef stock, garlic minced ginger, chopped green onions and sliced mushrooms. Place on high heat and allow to boil. Once it hits a boiling point, reduce to low-medium heat. In a separate large pot, fill half way with water. Place on high and allow the water to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the rice noodles and lower to medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Allow the noodles to cook through (about 8-10 minutes.) Drain the noodles. Coat a medium sized pan with EVOO and place on low-medium heat. Gently fry the steak, flipping half way. Do not over cook your steak, it is thin and will remain cooking once you have set it aside.No one wants tough chewy steak in their soup!Chop up the cooked steak into bite-sized pieces.

Now for the presentation I like to keep all of my ingredients separate for a couple of reasons. One is so that the rice noodles don't get soggy in the broth and the other reason is in case someone doesn't like an ingredient or wants to add extra of an ingredient, they can. I like to add the broth to the bowl first, then place the other ingredients on top.


Feel free to be creative with this recipe and mix things up! Try chicken broth instead of beef broth, shrimp or chicken instead of steak and onions instead of mushrooms!

*UPDATE* - I made this soup again last night and substituted the steak with shrimp and it was just as delicious!

Crock-pot Kielbasa

Kielbasa is so delicious and so dang easy to make! It's perfect for football parties because it doesn't require much work and in the crock pot, it stays hot all day long! Not to mention, it makes your house smell wonderful! Here is my recipe for fool proof Crock-pot Kielbasa!

Ingredients:

2 links of uncooked kielbasa

1 medium white onion

1 jar of grape jelly (32oz)

1 jar of chili sauce(12oz)

Directions:

In your crock-pot, combine the jar of grape jelly and the jar of chili sauce.

Cut up the Kielbasa into slices (about 1/4 inch in thickness) and place on top of the grape jelly and chili sauce mixture. Mix well.

Slice up the onion and place on top. Mix around and place the crock-pot on high for about 3-4 hours or until the Kielbasa is cooked through and looks seared on the edges.

You can keep the crock-pot on the "keep warm" or "low" option until you are ready to serve!