I made this dinner the other night and fell in love! It was so easy, and tasted so incredible. I was able to make it in under 30 minutes, and the kids and hubby loved it too! This is great when you have leftover grilled chicken. Or if you need to grill some chicken up, just marinate it in some Italian dressing. If you like garlic you will love this! If you are not so fond of garlic, leave it out...it will still taste good. Remember to salt and pepper to taste!
ChickenBruschetta Pasta
3 large (or 6 small) tomatoes, chopped 2 1/2 tbs prepared basil pesto (I buy the Costco brand) 1 tbs fresh lemon juice 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 3 c hot cooked angel hair pasta 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked on the grill
Saute tomatoes in a non-stick skillet until soft and slightly thickened. Add prepared pesto, lemon juice and salt. Add garlic, and let cook for 1 minute more or until sauce has thickened to a nice consistency(taste to make sure it is seasoned). Slice chicken breast finely. Divide angel hair pasta among the plates, as well as sliced chicken. Top with the tomato basil sauce.
I'm reading a book, and at the end of each chapter there is a recipe that goes along with the chapter, and somehow it fits into the story. I came across this recipe, and I have heard of it, but was attracted to the method of turning the oatmeal into a powder form. I love the combination of oatmeal, chocolate, and walnuts. I used to be a "no nut" kind of girl, but in certain recipes, nuts make all the difference. This is a unique chocolate chip cookie recipe, has great flavor, and I will definitely make again. Having a food processor or a really good blender makes all the difference. I ground up the oatmeal until powdery, then I chopped the nuts in the food processor until they were fine. Then I took some chocolate chips and instead of putting grated chocolate in the batter, I pulverized the chocolate until it resembled small crumbs of chocolate. This created a batter that was speckled with nuts, oatmeal, and chocolate. The ingredients were evenly distributed, resulting in the perfect bite every time. I baked my cookies for 8 minutes and no longer. They will set up once they have cooled to room temperature. YUM!
Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/2 c oatmeal
1 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c nuts (your choice)
4 oz grated chocolate (any kind)
1 c semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, measure out the oatmeal and then blend until powdery. Combine sugars and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, mix until thoroughly combined. In a food processor, chop nuts finely (a couple of pulses). Grate or chop chocolate until chocolate resembles crumbs. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, oatmeal powder, nuts and grated chocolate to the wet ingredients. Stir until combined. Add chocolate chips, and stir. Scoop by rounded tablespoons (I used my tablespoon scooper) onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.
There are many, many shoyu chicken recipes out there. I have been experimenting with some lately, and I think I have got the right combination of soy sauce, sugar, garlic and ginger (according to my palate) Not saying that there are not better ones out there, I just like this one the best for me. I recently went to a church function the other night, and Shoyu Chicken was the main dish. I get a little apprehensive about Hawaiian food, but this was really good and I went back for seconds. Shoyu is just a fancy, Japanese way of saying soy sauce. This is a very popular dish here in Hawaii, and I'm glad I finally have a staple Hawaiian thing to cook for the guests that come visit me. (Note to guests: you will be eating this when you come to visit). The key is definitely chicken thighs, and I love that you can buy them in a big bag at Costco boneless, skinless. The extra fat content helps make the meat tender, flavorful and moist. I love serving this with sticky rice and a side salad with homemade ranch on it. Super yummy flavor combination. The leftovers are just as good.
Rachelle's Shoyu Chicken
2 1/4 C soy sauce (Aloha Brand is the best) 3/4 C Water 3/4 Brown sugar 3 Garlic clove, minced 1/2 tbs ginger, minced (you could use ground ginger, use 3/4 tsp) 4-5 lbs skinless boneless Chicken thighs (about 8-9 thighs)
In a large pot, combine first 5 ingredients. Add chicken and cook for 30-40 minutes, or until tender. Serve w/ sticky rice.
I have yet another TDF recipe for you! I tried these a couple of years ago from one of my friends in Carlsbad. I fell in love with them, and could not stop eating them. I don't know why I haven't made them myself until now. They are the perfect treat when you don't want to turn on your oven, and have a craving for sweet, salty, crunchy, chocolate, peanut butter. My son Brent helped me make these and he enjoyed matching up the pretzel squares to sandwich the peanut butter filling. You can use either milk chocolate or semi-sweet to dip the bites into. White chocolate may be a cool alternative as well. We made a half batch yesterday on Saturday, and they are gone!
Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
1 c. creamy peanut butter 2 tbs butter, softened 1/2 c powdered sugar (may need a little more) 3/4 c brown sugar 1 bag of chocolate chips (semi sweet or milk) 1 bag of Snyders square shaped pretzels (called snaps)
Combine the first 4 ingredients to form a dough. You should be able to roll the dough between your hands without it sticking. If it sticks add a little more powdered sugar. Roll dough into teaspoon measured balls and set aside. Take 2 pretzels, sandwich a peanut butter ball in between, and press down slightly to form a sandwich. Place on a sheet tray and freeze for 30 minutes until slightly firm. Melt chocolate in microwave (start with 1/2 bag of chocolate chips to minimize waste). Dip each sandwichhalfway into chocolate, place on a cookie tray lined with wax paper or foil. Refrigerate until set.
This is another winner from my friend Jenny Johnson. She made this for her husband's birthday party and gave me some to try. She warned me that she thought that they would fall into the TDFcategory and was she ever so right! I had them, and was blown away at how perfectly the texture and taste was. She used mint ice cream, but you could use any type of ice cream you prefer. You could also use whatever toppings you like, such as toffee chips or crushed candy bars and roll the ice cream edge in the toppings and then freeze as normal. (Very cute, very yummy) They were super decadent on their own, but Jenny insisted that dipping them into hot fudge sent them over the top...YUM. I think by using a cake mix for the base of the cookie, you get the right texture, and the cookie is still slightly soft when frozen with the ice cream. LOVE THEM! My next goal is to make these using a yellow cake mix, adding some brown sugar, vanilla, and chocolate chips to make a "Big Ed" version of my own.
Best Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches
1 pkg chocolate cake mix (devils food, milk chocolate, German chocolate..any kind) 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs 1 c semi-sweet chips 1/2 gallon of favorite ice cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and chocolate chips. Roll dough into 2-inch balls and place them onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Do not overbake; the cookies should be set, but still soft. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to finish cooling on wire racks.
Using an ice cream scoop, mold the softened ice cream into a ball about the size of the cookies. Place scoop of ice cream between two cookies and gently press together. If you like a smooth edge, run the back of a spoon around the edge of the ice cream sandwich. Working quickly, fill all of the cookies, lay out on a baking sheet, and place in the freezer to harden. Serve when the ice cream has frozen solid. Sandwich cookies can be stored in a freezer bag for up to two weeks.
