Buffalo Chicken Penne

Buffalo Chicken Penne
From Carries Sweet Life

1 lb chicken breast, bite size pieces
1 (11 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup hot sauce
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3 cups penne, uncooked

Season chicken salt and pepper and put it in the crock.
Add the chicken soup and hot sauce and stir.
Cook on low 4-6 hours or high 2-3.
Stir in cheeses and sour cream and turn off the crock pot.
Boil pasta according to package instructions, drain well and add to the chicken/sauce mixture.
Stir well and serve!


Changes I Made: First, I did not measure anything. I added enough Frank's Red Hot that I thought Mr D would like it but it wouldn't be too hot for myself. I cooked the chicken on low for 3 hours and it was perfect. I do think our crockpot always cooks faster than the recommended time. I omitted blue cheese. Next time, I would add less sour cream.

The Verdict: This was a hit! We both really enjoyed it. It had enough kick to it that you knew it was buffalo chicken, but it wasn't too spicy that you couldn't enjoy it. I would add less sour cream next time, knowing I was eating that much sour cream kinda made me gag a little.

"Taco Bake!"

The gnocchi plans in the post from last night (well this morning) got postponed due to my friend having family plans come up at the last minute. When I let Hubbs know she wasn't coming and that I would figure out something else for dinner, he promptly responded with "Taco Bake!!!" He has been craving it and actually just mentioned it the other day. Perfect.

Now, while I did not take pictures of the taco bake (it's not very pretty anyway) it goes something like this: Brown ground beef (or turkey) like you would if you were making tacos (i.e. add taco seasoning). In a glass pie dish, place one tortilla. Layer 1/3 the ground beef, and your choice of taco ingredients (I made it with queso dip, corn, salsa, mexican cheese blend and olives on my half). Repeat twice more until you have 3 tortillas and 3 layers of meat. Bake in oven uncovered 15 minutes at 350.

Not quite gourmet, but quick and yummy and it will give us leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

But my biggest news, with a post to come tomorrow....I made my first loaf of bread today (that wasn't in a bread machine)! Yes folks, I tackled yeast and won. Tomorrow, I will have some jam on my toast and update the blog (I did take pictures of that process!)

Catching up on Recipes Part 1-Pulled Pork

This had to be the best pulled pork I have ever made. Normally I throw it all in the crockpot together (roast, spices, BBQ sauce) and cook it for 8 hours. But this time I decided that I didn't want to waste the last bottle of BBQ sauce we had in the pantry. So I made my own. Oh..my..gosh...I will never buy bbq sauce again.

BBQ Sauce
From The Neely's- Food Network

2 cups ketchup

1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.
 
 
While that was simmering, the roast was in the crockpot on low. I put some salt, pepper, and chili powder on it and poured in about an inch of water. After about 4 hours I was able to pull it apart and I mixed in the bbq sauce. After cooking for 1 hour all together, I put it on rolls for pulled pork sandwiches.
 
Forgot to take a picture of the sandwich, but I got a picture of the pork!

Bacon, Cheese & Potato Chowder

This is my first food post and I forgot to take a picture of the dinner before we ate it. It wasn't very pretty looking, the picture I am going to use from the Kraft Foods website is much prettier!!

Fiance and I love hearty meals in the winter time. I found this soup last year while we were still living in the apartment. It became a fast favorite; I made it several times last winter. This winter it sort of slipped through the cracks until fiance brought it up last week and asked me to make it one night. So I did.
Recipe as follows. Normal text is the recipe, italic text is my changes.

Bacon, Cheese & Potato Chowder

Recipe adapted from kraftrecipes.com

3 cups fat-free milk
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of potato soup

2 cups frozen Southern-style hash browns

1 cup  2% Milk Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

2 slices  Bacon, cooked, crumbled (I used 4 slices of turkey bacon)

2 green onions, thinly sliced (I used half of a small white onion) 

Mix milk and soup in large saucepan. (I add the onions here as well) Stir in hash browns (The bacon was added here as well, to get the smoked flavor into the soup a bit). Bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally; simmer on medium-low 10 min., stirring frequently. Serve topped with cheese, bacon and onions.