Monday Meals: Chicken Alfredo Roll-ups

I got this recipe from the Recipe Critic by way of Pinterest. Although the lasagna noodles were hard to roll up while keeping the chicken inside, the effort was worth it in the end because they were divine. This is everything you've come to know about American Italian food rolled up (haha) into one recipe.


Ingredients:

9 lasagna noods
2 1/2 cups alfredo sauce
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
oregano
garlic salt
shredded Mozzarella


1. Spray an 8×8 pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with 1/2 cup alfredo sauce.

2. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water and lay them on a paper towel to remove excess water.

3. Spread 2 Tbs of the alfredo sauce over each noodle. Sprinkle oregano and garlic sauce on top. Take 1/9th of the shredded chicken and spread evenly over each noodle and top with about 3 Tbs shredded cheese. Carefully roll up each lasagna noodle and place seam side down in your 9×9 prepared pan.

4. Once they are all in the pan, pour the remaining alfredo sauce over the top and top with cheese.

5. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

Monday Meals: Honey Mustard Maple Chicken

We all know how fond I am of maple, so I was so excited to find out that making something that combined two of my favorite things, maple syrup and honey mustard, I was more than ecstatic. There are lots of pinterest recipes on this, like here and here, and all of them are simple to make and delicious to eat. My variation has mushrooms and a bit of rosemary. And I know I should do measurements, but I kind of fly by the seat of my pants in the kitchen, clearly. That's part of the fun! And anyway, if you're cooking with fresh, delicious ingredients, I don't think you can really go wrong.

Honey Mustard Maple Chicken

2 chicken breasts

honey mustard

maple syrup

sliced mushrooms

minced garlic

olive oil

fresh rosemary



Heat oil (or butter) in a pan with minced garlic and brown the mushrooms. Cook the chicken over the stove about half way through. In a separate bowl, mix honey mustard and maple syrup together. (I like the sauce a little more liquid-y, so my honey mustard to maple syrup ratio is about 30:70. More honey mustard will yield a thicker sauce, more syrup a runnier sauce. It doesn't really matter as long as you're happy with it. It's your chicken, right?)

Put the half-cooked chicken on a baking sheet with sides about an inch or two high. Add the garlic mushrooms. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken. Place rosemary sprigs on and around the chicken. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

I like to have broccoli or green beans on the side and maybe some brown rice or mashed potatoes. Any extra honey mustard maple sauce goes right on that starch. Oh, and make sure you have a glass of red wine to wash everything down.

Monday Meals

My first year in DC, I lived primarily on lean cuisines, pizza and take out Thai food. I had never really cooked before, and didn't really feel like I had the time to learn. A new job, a new city, and trying to make new friends made my time in the kitchen minimal. Then I moved in with little Lanie, and I was inspired by her ease at the stove and the wonderful smells that filled our apartment. I decided to try my hand at simple dishes (pasta), and gradually worked my way up (pasta and chicken).

Being back in Abilene, where I have the ability to drive to and fro the grocery store and can actually buy more than I can carry, I try to cook a few meals every week. They're usually a random mixture of everything I have in the fridge that is about to go bad, but sometimes I throw together something that's actually decent. So I'm going to try to post a new recipe here every Monday, even if it's a recipe I ripped off borrowed from another blog or Pinterest. The inaugural post: Turkey and Black Bean BBQ Stuffed Sweet Potato (the name needs work...)

Ingredients:

-favorite BBQ sauce
-crushed red pepper
-chopped parsley
-1 can black beans
-sweet potato
-onion
-spinach
-minced garlic (duh)
-1/2 pack of ground turkey (or beef or chicken)
-colby jack shredded cheese (or your favorite)

Poke the sweet potato all over with a fork and bake at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes. While it's baking, heat oil in a pan and add garlic, crushed red peppers and onion. Brown the turkey and then add the spinach. Once the spinach is wilted, add black beans. Sprinkle parsley to taste, then add BBQ sauce. I added a lot because I love it, but any amount will do.

Once the potato is done, cut it open and smash the insides with a fork. Add a spoonful (or two) of the turkey BBQ mix and mix with the sweet potato innards.

Sprinkle your favorite cheese over the top and voila!!

Have a favorite sweet potato recipe? Or BBQ recipe? I'd love to hear it. Please share in the comments!