Shells with Chicken and Mozzarella

Yes, I have brushed the dust off of my apron and decided that after a week of girls camp I can actually cook again. This was our lunch for today.

1 and 1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins - use below ingredients on chicken

Oil for grates or 1 Tbs olive oil for pan ( I used my favorite new garlic infused olive oil, yum!)

Garlic Salt

Onion Powder

Pepper

Paprika

Juice of one lemon

8 oz medium pasta shells

1 large tomato or 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved

4 oz fresh mozzarella cut into small cubes

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese, plus more for garnish

2 Tbs Butter

Fresh Parsley (or dried if needed)

Cook pasta, at the same time you can grill or saute chicken, I salted and peppered mine, added some paprika, onion powder, and Garlic Salt. Grill or Saute for about 3 minutes on each side depending on thickness. At the end I squeezed the juice of one lemon on the chicken. This also helps De-glaze the pan and bring up the little crunchy bits from the pan. Let your chicken cool and cut into thin strips.

When your pasta is done, save about 1 cup of the cooking water for later use. To cool my pasta a little I rinsed it with cold water and then let it drain.

Combine pasta, chicken, butter and Parmesan cheese. Mix together in pan, add reserved pasta water a little at a time to create a sauce that coats the shells. (I didn't use all the water).

Add mozzarella at the end in order to keep the heat of the pasta and the chicken from making a giant cheese ball in your pasta. I didn't have a chunk of mozzarella so I added a handful of an Italian 6 cheese blend of shredded cheese. This melted just slightly and was wonderful!

I seeded a tomato and then added it in to my bowl after I had dished up Chad's. Yes, he is spoiled!

Chocolate Chip Blondie

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray; line pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Spray paper. In a large bowl, whisk butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add flour , baking soda and salt; mix just until moistened (do not over mix). Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack, and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 16 squares. Store blondie's in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.

Dinner by Chad aka Bobby Flay

Soy Balsamic Marinade

About 1 lb. skirt steak

1/3 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2Tbsp. vegetable oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. sugar

Mix together in a zip top bag and put in the skirt steak. Put in the fridge and let sit for at least 6 hours or longer. 15 minutes before grilling, take the meat out of the fridge to get the chill off. Light up the BBQ and set heat to medium to low. Grill meat for about 5 minutes on each side (for medium rare). Remove from grill, cover with foil and let the meat sit for 10-15 minutes, so that the juices redistribute.

Grilled Bread

Sliced Baguette (we used regular french bread and it wasn't firm enough)

Softened Butter

Fresh minced Garlic

Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper
Parsley

Cream Butter and add in Garlic, Cheese and Parsley and Salt (if you use unsalted butter, and pepper to taste).
Cut the Baguette on an angle, spread butter mixture on both sides. Grill on grill for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until well toasted. Then fight over the last piece...

Erin's Fish Tacos

After watching a very enticing show on the Food Network featuring fish tacos, I decided to give them a try. I combined a few different recipes, added my own touches and came up with something really tasty.

Cole Slaw
4 cups Cabbage, shredded
1/2 Red Onion, sliced
3-4 Scallions, sliced
1/3 cup Vinegar
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Caraway Seeds, toasted

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble your tacos. Feel free to mess around with this. I added some quartered cucumber last night and also thought that shredded carrot would be good. Add what you like, take out what you don't.

Fish
1-1 1/2 pounds Cod
1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/2 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp White Pepper
1 Egg, beaten
Oil, for frying

Heat oil in skillet and slice fish into strips. Combine remaining ingredients expect egg in shallow dish. Beat egg in separate dish (I used two Pyrex pie plates). Roll fish pieces in flour mixture and then dip in egg. Fry in oil until golden brown.

Toppings
Cilantro
Tomatoes
Avocado
Sour Cream
Lime Wedges or Lime Juice

Heat desired amount of small corn tortillas. Layer tortillas with fish pieces, cole slaw, desired toppings and drizzle with a little lime juice. Enjoy!

I know what you are thinking...this can't be very healthy. But, if you shallow fry your fish in a lower fat oil, such as olive oil, it's not bad. I put this recipe in Weight Watchers and it was only 8 points for two tacos.

Snappy Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

I received this recipe in a pack of recipes we got for our wedding. Sadly, I hadn't had a reason to try it. On Thursday we had a picnic for Enrichment and I decided it was a perfect chance to finally give this a whirl. They were great! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture but they were also very cute.

20 Cherry Tomatoes
1 8-Ounce Package Cream Cheese, softened
2 Green Onions, sliced
2/3 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup Whole Kernel Corn
1 tsp Ground Red Chiles (I didn't have ground red chiles so I used 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper...it was a nice kick)

*Cut thin slice from stem end of tomatoes. Remove pulp and seeds with melon baler or spoon. (I don't have a melon baler and the spoon didn't work so good. I held the tomatoes on their sides, and turned them as I sliced out the insides with a knife.)
*Combine cream cheese, onions, cheddar cheese and corn and ground red chiles.
*Fill tomatoes with cheese mixture.
*Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
*Garnish with cilantro or green onions, if desired.

These were such a great "popable" treat. I think they will be my new favorite picnic or BBQ sidedish!