Chicken Roll-Ups

My mom made these a lot when I was growing up.  Then I had them at a church function a few years ago and liked the changes that the lady made.  They felt a little more "adult" to me.  I like the added mushrooms in the chicken and especially like coating the rolls in something crunchy.  I also doctor up the sauce quite a bit.  They are still a chicken stuffed roll, so most of my kids will eat them (I usually end up leaving mushrooms out of half of them).  They have a really "homey" taste to me (not like gangster homey, but like comfort food homey).

Chicken Roll-Ups
adapted from: Elaine from my old ward in Logan and my mom, Lynne'

3 c. cooked, shredded chicken
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can drained sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
dash curry powder
dash onion powder
4 Tbsp melted butter
1 package stuffing, crushed (or italian bread crumbs or panko)
2 cans refrigerated croissant rolls

Sauce (to pour over)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can water
1/2 can milk
salt and pepper to taste
dash garlic powder
dash onion powder
dash parsley flakes

In a large bowl stir together the softened cream cheese, garlic powder, curry powder and onion powder.  Add the mushrooms and chicken and stir it to combine.  I cook my chicken by cutting it into large chunks, covering it with a paper towel and then microwaving it, a few minutes at a time, until it is no longer pink in the center.  Then I stick it in the fridge until it is cool enough to handle and then put my kids on the task of shredding it.  This has saved me immense amounts of time on boiling my chicken for shredding.  You can also use canned chicken.
Separate the rolls and lay them flat on a baking sheet.  Spread the top of each with about 2 Tbsp of the chicken mixture.

Roll up the rolls with the mixture inside, starting at the bigger end of the roll.  Try to seal off all edges.  This will keep the insides contained a little better.  Dip the rolls in the melted butter, then roll them in the stuffing crumbs (or whatever you are using).  Bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  While they are baking, in a small saucepan combine the cream of chicken soup, water, milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and parsley flakes.  Stir while cooking it over a medium low heat until it simmers.  Then reduce the heat to low.  Serve it over the cooked chicken roll-up (let each person add their own sauce).

Easy Maple Granola

I found this recipe from Alton Brown, on the Food Network. It is an easy granola, and was really crispy, light and sweet.  It may become my new favorite granola!  Nicole just happened to make the same granola the other day and also loved it.

Easy Maple Granola
adapted from: Alton Brown (www.foodnetwork.com)

3 c. rolled oats
1 c. sliced almonds
3/4 c. shredded, sweetened coconut
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. maple syrup (I used homemade)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 dashes nutmeg


Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  In a large bowl combine the oats, almonds, coconut and brown sugar.  Stir it well.  In another bowl, mix together the maple syrup, oil, salt, vanilla and nutmeg.  Combine the oil mixture in with the oat mixture and stir them well.  Spread the granola evenly onto two cookie sheets.  Bake it for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring it every 20 minutes.  When it is done, let it cool completely before putting it in a zip lock bag.  

Mango Sauce (2 Versions, Sweet and Spicy)

One night we had 3 ripe mangoes, sitting, beckoning to us to eat them.  I love mangoes.  They are my favorite fruit.  We looked online for a main dish involving mangoes and ended up finding two great ideas!  Dinner and dessert, for the price of the same mango!  We found a chef on youtube who taught me how to properly cut, squish and dice a mango (see pictures below).  Then I looked at his food blog and adapted the spicy sauce from that website.  
Here is the way to finely dice your mango.  First, peel it, using a peeler.  Discard the peels.  Then continue to peel the actual mango onto your cutting board.  

Next, using your fingers, squish all that mango juice onto your pile of mango slices.  A lot of juice will come off of that mango.  I was a little surprised.

Now take a large knife and finely dice your mango.  If you puree it, according to the youtube guy, it will throw the universe off.  So don't do that.  Just dice it.

Now you are ready to add the other delicious ingredients.


Sweet Mango Sauce
adapted from: www.uk.answers.yahoo.com


1 large, very ripe mango, finely diced
1/2 can coconut milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 c. brown sugar (plus a teeny bit more)


Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and heat it over low heat until it is warm.  And that is it. Split the sauce in half and reserve one half to put over vanilla ice cream.  Mmmm.

Using the other half of your mango sauce, make this recipe to put over grilled chicken:

Spicy/Sweet Mango Sauce

adapted from: www.foodwishes.blogspot.com

1/2 recipe sweet mango sauce (see above)

1/4 tsp. minced garlic (actually, just a slightly less)

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. seasoned rice vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1 sprig cilantro, chopped

In a medium sauce pan, combine all the ingredients and stir gently.  Serve over grilled chicken.

Chicken Milano

I have made this recipe many times.  I was going to make it for a church dinner, but couldn't perfect it in the slow cooker.  Needless to say, we ate it almost every night for about a week.  In order to avoid an uprising from my family, I waited a few months before trying it again.  And it was just as delicious as I remember (I never could get it to work right in the slow cooker).  The original recipe calls for heavy whipping cream (that is how you know it is going to be delicious).  I didn't have any this last time that I made it, so I used evaporated milk instead and it still tasted great!  So, if you are in a pinch, substitute and try different things.  I have served mine with steamed red potatoes or fettuccine noodles and it is great either way.


Chicken Milano
adapted from: www.allrecipes.com


1 Tbsp butter
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 c. sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 c. chicken broth, divided
1 c. heavy whipping cream (or evaporated milk worked, too)
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut in thirds
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (or a sprinkle or two of dried basil)


In a large sauce pan, melt the butter and saute' the garlic for about one minute, on medium-low heat.  Add the sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms and 3/4 cup of the chicken broth, bring it to a boil over medium heat and cook it until the tomatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the heavy whipping cream and boil it gently until it begins to thicken, or until it will coat the back of a spoon.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.  Pour the oil into a skillet and cook the chicken until there is no more pink on the inside.  When the chicken is cooked through, pour the remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth over the top and let it simmer.  Pour the cream sauce over the top of the chicken and stir in the basil.  

Vanilla Pudding Sauce over Blackberry Pancakes

This was amazing!  I wish I could eat this every morning, or evening, as was the case today.  It was amazing over blackberry pancakes.  Doesn’t that just sound incredible, Vanilla Pudding Sauce over Blackberry Pancakes.  It was as good as it sounds.

Vanilla Pudding Sauce

Adapted from Creations by Kara

2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla

Mix cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg thoroughly and gradually stir in. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, till mixture comes to a boil. (Don’t be tempted to turn up the heat; if it gets hot too fast, the egg will cook.) Boil for at least 1 minute, still stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm or chilled.

Leek Macaroni and Cheese

I went to a coworker’s house a little while ago and she had this awesome macaroni and cheese dish for us to try.  I was just going to have a little, as I was eating dinner with my husband later, but somehow couldn’t help asking for a little more, and then a little more.  My husband had to eat dinner by himself that night…  Anyways, I couldn’t wait to make it myself.

A few notes about this recipe.  The original recipe called for chanterelle mushrooms, which were really good when I first tried this; however, my husband is more of a meat-lover rather than squeaky-vegetable-lover so I used sausage instead.  You could use any sausage but I used and love Hillshire Farm’s Chicken Apple Sausage with Gouda Cheese.  Mmmmmm.

Also, it called for milk white cheddar cheese and the first time I made this I used a mild yellow cheddar and it did not have enough flavor for me.  So this time I used a sharp white cheddar and it was awesome!! 

Oh, and I think my favorite flavors in this are the leek and ground pepper.  Who knew?

Leek Macaroni & Cheese

Adapted from A Chow Life

1 lb. macaroni pasta (large elbows)
4 cups whole milk
6 tblsp. flour
4 tblsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp. sweet or smoked paprika
1 chicken (or other) sausage, sliced (see note below)

2 cups thinly sliced leeks (green part only)
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
8 oz. sharp (or other) white cheddar cheese

Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook at a rolling boil until just tender. Drain. Rinse. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring the milk to just a boil in a heavy saucepan. Set aside.

Melt the butter in another pan. Add the flour and whisk over low heat for about 5 minutes. Do not brown. Remove from the heat.

Add the butter mixture to the milk and whisk well to get rid of lumps. Add 1/2 tsp of paprika. Season with salt and pepper. Return to heat. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until it’s smooth and it thickens. About 5 minutes.

Add mixture, sausage, and leeks to the pasta and stir until well coated and mixed. Spread the grated cheese over the top of the pasta. Sprinkle the top with the remaining paprika.

Cover the dish in foil and bake for 25 minutes. Then, remove the foil, place dish under the broiler (about 4 inches away from heat) and cook for another 3-4 minutes until slightly golden.

Easy Herbed Pork Chops

I wanted a quick and easy pork chop marinade that I could throw together on days when I'm too exhausted after work to make something time consuming, and with all this nice weather we've been getting I want to grill out all the time.  (Not to mention, when we grill, that usually means my husband is doing it:)

I found this recipe while randomly surfing the internet one day from grilling.com.  It was so easy and turned out really tender and tasty.  Why didn't I think of using Italian dressing before?  This has become my go-to, weeknight, pork chop grilling recipe.


Herbed Pork Chops


4 pork chops, 3/4-in. thick
1 c. reduced fat Italian dressing
4 tbsp. fresh herbs (combination of your choice, such as basil, oregano, chives, rosemary)

Marinate pork chops in bowl or plastic bag for at least 1 hour before grilling.