Chicken Parmigiana

I love italian food and this is no exception. This Chicken Parmigiana was amazing and the leftovers were even better. This recipe is from thepioneerwoman.com.

4 whole(up to 6) boneless chicken breasts pounded flat
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbs butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cups wine (white or red)
3 cans (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 tbs sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsely
1 cup parmesean cheese (freshly grated is best)
1 lb thin linguine

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate. Dredge flattened chicken breasts flour mixture. Set aside.

At this time, you can start a pot of water for your past. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Without cleaining skillet, add onions and garlice and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Pour crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of the cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

Carefully lay chicken breast on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated parmesean. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add mor cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a palte and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley and serve immediatley.

Denver Cheesecake

AKA my birthday cake today!  I don't usually have a birthday cake, but decided to do a cheesecake this year.  This recipe is from my sister, Trina.  It's a lot of cream cheese and you need to plan ahead, but it is SO GOOD!

Crust:
1 12-ounce box of vanilla wafers, crushed
6 Tblsps of butter, melted

Filling:
40 oz cream cheese, softened (5- 8 oz packages)  Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat) works great
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 Tblsps flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
6 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream

In a small bowl, mix together wafer crumbs and butter.  Press into the bottom and half-way up the sides of a 10 inch spring form pan.  Chill while preparing filling.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add sugar, flour, salt, lemon zest, and vanilla.  Beat well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.  Blend in cream.  Pour into crust.  Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes and then at 225 degrees for an additional 70-80 minutes.  Filling will be almost set.  Cool at room temperature.  Regfrigerate for 8 hours or overnight before serving.

I used frozen mixed berries in Danish Dessert for the topping.  I used some left over lemon zest, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar to make the whipped cream for the top.  Yummy!

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

I found this soup on Pinterest and it is from www.utahdealdiva.com. I made a few changes which I put in the directions below but I thought that it was yummy and you can get your kids to eat cauliflower! Enjoy.

2 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk**

1 1/2 cups water**

1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth

1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

**Can substitute 1 can {12 oz} evaporated milk and 2 cups water for the 2 cups milk and 1 1/2 cups water.In a large saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and water.
Add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.
In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. {Don't let this step deter you from making the soup! Blending it is really easy and so worth the extra 3 minutes. The most annoying part are the added dishes!} For this step I used my hand blender and it was quick and easy.
Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Serve soup with remaining cheese as a garnish. I just put all the cheese in the soup and didn't garnish it. I also added some chopped ham and it turned out really yummy!

Lasagna Soup

I love lasagna and this soup is no different. It was delicious and I will definitively be making it again. The recipe is adapted from Paula Deen's.

1 lb ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 (32 ounce) box chicken broth

2 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cup broken lasagna noodles

2/3 cup sour cream

1 (5 ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, combine ground turkey, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes until turkey is browned and crumbles. Drain.

Stir in brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to boil over medium high heat; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese and sour cream, then enjoy.