Tamar's white chocolate tart

Simple. Simple. Simple. It doesn't get better than this. It just might be one of the easiest desserts ever, but it tastes AMAZING! I have never had a complaint and I love to make it with my home-made crust. Mmmmmm.

1 bag melted white chocolate chips
1 8 oz. bar cream cheese softened
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
pie crust
assorted fruit

Directions:

In a large bowl combine melted chips with cream cheese. Slowly add cream and beat until light and fluffy. Place mixture in pie crust an refridgerate at least an hour or so to harden. Top with cut fruit and decorate to your heart's desire. I can't thank Tamar enough!!

Chicken Florentine

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 lb. bacon
1.5-2 lbs. chicken tenderloins chopped into 1/2" peices
1/4 cup reserved bacon grease or butter
3 cloves minced garlic
1 small can cream of mushroom soup
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1+ cup heavy cream
1-2 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
1 cup parmesean cheese
1 bunch or package fresh spinach leaves
6 button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup mozzerella cheese

Directions:

Chop bacon into small peices and cook in large skillet. Remove bacon, set aside. Cook chicken peices in grease. While cooking, in a 9x13 pan place spinach. Top spinach with sliced mushrooms. When chicken is finished, place in dish. Remove all but 1/4 cup of grease from pan, or replace with 1/4 cup butter. Saute garlic over medium heat. To the grease and garlic mixture add soup, lemon juice, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Whisk gently until all ingredients combined and bubbly. If sauce is too thick, add additional cream to desired consistency. Once combined, remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of parmesean cheese. Place sauce over chicken, completely covering the dish. Sprinkle with mozzerella cheese. Place in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve over noodles.

Chicken and Poblano cheese sauce

oringinal recipe

This idea came when I decided I wanted to make Chili Relleno. Well, my poblano peppers did not get big enough to stuff, so I opted for another version.

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
2-4 Tbs. Crisco

Batter:
Corn flour (I used half a Jiffy corn muffin mix)
2 tsp. Chili Powder
2 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt
Salt and Pepper to taste

Sauce:
2 fresh roasted poblano peppers sliced *(to do this read below)
8oz. chicken broth
8oz. cream cheese
1 c. Monterrey jack cheese
1/2 c. cheddar cheese
2 Tbs. Flour
Cumin
Chili Powder
Garlic Salt
About 1/4 c. fresh chopped cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place Crisco in a frying pan on medium. While waiting for Crisco to melt, combine all batter ingredients together on a plate. Don't be afraid to add more seasoning, I found that it could have used a bit more. Coat chicken in batter and place in frying pan. Flip only once. Should take 5-10 minutes a side, depending on your stove. While chicken is cooking, heat chicken broth in a sauce pan over medium heat. When bubbles appear on the bottom, add cream cheese. Stir with a whisk. After smooth, whisk in flour and seasonings to your taste. Once smooth again, add sliced peppers and chopped cilantro. Once mixed, add cheese and stir gently with spoon until melted. Taste to see if additional seasoning is needed. Should be a thick cheese sauce with a yellowish orange hue. Remove from heat.

Place cooked chicken on a plate and drizzle sauce on top. garnish with cilantro if desired.

* To roast peppers turn on gas stove or use other flame. Hold Peppers with tongs over flame, turning regularly. You should hear a popping sound and pepper should have black spots and be warm when done.

Stove Top Chicken Casserole

While there is definitely a recipe for this on the back of the Stove Top box, I have altered it a bit, and really like how it has turned out.

Serves 4

1 boneless skinless chicken breast - boiled then shredded or cubed small
2 c. prepared stuffing
1/2 c. dry stuffing mix
1-2 c. your favorite vegetable (I have used green beans, corn, broccoli)
1 small can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. cream cheese (can use sour cream)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cheese ( I usually use cheddar blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine chicken, soup, cream cheese, salt and pepper. In an 8x8 pyrex dish lay dry stuffing. Then, spoon creamy mixture on top of dry stuffing. Then, place vegetables over mixture. Sprinkle cheese over vegetables and top with prepared stuffing. Place in oven for approximately 15-20 mintues or until a little bubbly. Time may need to be added for larger portions.

Alfredo Sauce

I really do not like Alfredo sauce from a jar, I don't care how expensive the brand, it just doesn't taste that good. So, after many attempts at my own this is what I have ended up with that I really enjoy. It does not use a traditional roux but gets the same effect across.

original recipe

1 can chicken broth
8 oz. cream cheese
2-3 Tbs. flour
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. onion salt
1/3 c. parmesan cheese
(If you want it gooey cheesy, add an extra 1/2 c. mozzerella or parm)

In a sauce pan, heat broth. After heated, not boiling, add cream cheese and stir with whisk until blended. Then, slowly add flour, mixing continuously to avoid lumps. Add seasoning to taste. Finally, add cheese and stir until well blended. Serve over noodles, with chicken, or on pizza!

Amazing Garlic Bread

I always like to jazz up my garlic bread in different ways. This one, I thought turned out really well!

1 loaf French bread

4 oz. butter
4 oz. softened cream cheese (I am a firm believer in Philly brand)
Garlic salt
Onion salt
Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, parsley)
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 cup mozzerella
approx. 15 cherry tomatoes, sliced
Fresh Basil leaves

Preheat oven to broil. Cut loaf in half, lengthwise. Spread butter, then cream cheese on both sides. Sprinkle seasonings and garlic to liking. Sprinkle about a cup of mozzerella cheese over and then top with sliced tomatoes and basil leaves. Broil for about 5-10 minutes, depending on oven. Take out when cheese is bubbling and has a hint of brown. Serve warm!

Fettuccine with Vegetable Sauce

This meal is great by itself or with Italian sausage or chicken. It does not feel heavy and is very delicious! As always, measurements are aprroximated. Pictured with alternative noodle choice.

original recipe

1 package Fettucini Noodles
Olive oil
Grated parmesan

1/2 red onion chopped
1 zuccini chopped
12 mushrooms chopped
6 cloves garlic minced
1 can stewed or diced tomatoes
1 red pepper chopped
4 Tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. onion salt

Cook fettucini noodles as directed on box. In a seperate sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium. Add fresh garlic and all vegetables except can of tomatoes, and saute until warm. Once vegetables are soft, add tomatoes and seasoning, turn to low. Let simmer a few minutes. Stir in olive oil and parmesan cheese to the cooked fettucini noodles. Top noodles with sauce. Also great with Italian sausage or chicken.

Chicken Marsala

I recently tried this for the first time. It had good flavor, but I would always be sure to use fresh mushrooms for better quality texture. I served this with thin spaghetti noddles coated in olive oil, italian seasonings and parmesan.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. oregano
4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. olive oil
1+ c. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c. sliced white onion
1 c. Marsala wine
approx. 1/4 cup flour water slurry*

In large skillet heat butter and olive oil. Mix together on a plate flour, salt, pepper, and oregano. Coat chicken in mixture and place in pan. When cooked half way through, turn chicken over. Then, add mushrooms, onions and wine. Cover pan and let simmer until chicken is completely cooked. Using a whisk, slowly stir in a small amount of slurry to thicken my sauce.

What do I do with powdered milk?

If you have food storage, you probably have, or have thought about getting, powdered milk. But for many, it sits in storage until it goes bad and new powder is purchased just to sit there again. Well, here are a few things that I have found that are great for powdered milk.

1. Indian Fried Bread
You can check out my recipe on this site!

2. Baking Recipes such as bread or pancakes, which call for milk.

3. Any dish which requires boiling milk. If you use water instead and bring it to a boil, then add powder you will reduce your chances of scorching your milk! Examples include:
Oatmeal
pasta sides
gravy
sauces

Any other ideas?

Slurry

When I make gravies or sauces I use what is often referred to as a slurry quite often. A trick I learned from my grandmother, it is simple and allows you to thicken a sauce or gravy without lumps!! It is basic, all you do is combine water or milk with flour in a small bowl. Using a whisk or fork, stir together until it forms a smooth and sauce like consistancy. Then, slowly add to your gravy or sauce using a whisk until blended. Continue adding small amounts of slurry until it reaches the desired consistancy.