Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Couscous

One side dish I've been really digging for the past couple of months is couscous.  The boxed version is SO easy to prepare and always tastes delicious, plus I love that it's completely done in under 10 minutes!

This dish can be prepared in juuuust over that timeframe -- 15 minutes, 20 tops!  The secret is to use already prepared chicken.  Earlier in the week I'd grilled some chicken breasts for dinner, and I threw a few extra on the grill to have for later.  Dishes like this are perfect for that leftover chicken!

Mr. L may not share my affinity for couscous most of the time, but as soon as he tasted this dish, he fell in love.  He told me I'd better enjoy the bowl I had because he was absolutely taking the rest to work with him for lunch the next day!  I couldn't blame him for coveting this dish though.  The vegetables were crisp and delicious and the chicken was scrumptious.  I loved how the couscous kind of held everything together with its buttery creaminess.  Yum!!

So basically what I'm saying is put this dish on your table tonight, but only if you want to have a happy and full family.  Otherwise run far away in the opposite direction!  ;)

Ingredients

• 1 lb grilled chicken breasts
• 1/2 lb asparagus
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 box (6 oz) couscous
• Half-and-half
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

In a small saucepan, prepare couscous according to package directions.  However, instead of adding all water, add equal parts water and half-and-half.

Meanwhile, chop asparagus into 2-inch pieces and dice the red bell pepper.  Also chop the grilled chicken into 1-inch pieces.  

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add in the chicken, asparagus pieces, and bell pepper and saute for about 2-3 minutes.  Then add the minced garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes.

At this point, combine the couscous in the skillet with the chicken and vegetables and also the dried basil.  Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese over the top and then serve and enjoy!

Grandma's Homemade Southern Lasagna

When I was growing up, going to my grandma's house was always a treat.  She had a house on acres and acres of wooded, undeveloped land, so there were always plenty of places for my brothers and me to explore and plenty of trouble for us to stumble into!  Thankfully by the time we made it back to the house after exhausting ourselves roaming, my mom and my grandma would have something hot and delicious waiting for us at the dinner table, and many times it was this exact recipe!

(Did I mention how nice that sounds right about now?  I miss having dinner waiting for me when I walked through the door as a kid!  I should probably call my mom and thank her for the thousands of times she did this for me!)

And let me tell you, I loved when it was lasagna night at Grandma's house!  This recipe is comfort food at its best.  Now, this isn't a typical Italian lasagna -- it's a good old Southern lasagna concoction made with ingredients like cream cheese, sour cream, and pepperoni slices.  It's hearty, creamy (obviously!), and just downright delicious.

If you're looking for a filling, yummy, and easy recipe to cook for dinner tonight, this lasagna should rank high on your list.  Definitely give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp beef bouillon
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 8 oz lasagna noodles (half a package)
• 1 package pepperoni slices
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook beef and onions in a large skillet until meat is browned; drain.  Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, parsley, Italian seasoning, beef bouillon granules, and garlic powder in with the beef and onions.  Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, and eggs.  Stir well.  In the meantime, cook lasagna noodles according to package and then drain.

In the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish, add a small amount of meat sauce.  Then layer noodles, cheese mixture, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers starting with the meat sauce, and on the final top layer add the Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.  Then serve and enjoy! 

Three Cheese Baked Pesto Chicken

I feel like I've been stumbling across this baked pesto chicken recipe for ages over on Pinterest!  It's incredibly popular and I was always intrigued to try it out.  I finally made the time to actually have it for dinner a couple of weeks ago when I was meal planning from my Pinterest boards though!

I figured I could also kick it up a notch since I had some extra bags of different cheeses in the fridge I needed to use up.  Mozzarella was a given since it was already in the original recipe, but I had some Monterey Jack and extra Parmesan on hand, so I figured why not?  Who doesn't love extra cheese anyways?!

The entire time this chicken was baking, I swear my kitchen smelled incredible.  I kept walking out to the living room to ask Mr. L if he could smell it too!  He might have rolled his eyes a little at me then, but trust me, when dinnertime rolled around, the only rolling his eyes did was into the back of his head in bliss!

This really was a super scrumptious recipe!  The pesto combined with the ooey-gooey cheese and juicy chicken really hit it out of the park.  This recipe is totally a keeper and I can't wait to have it again soon!

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 oz basil pesto, homemade or otherwise
• 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Directions

Season each chicken piece with salt and pepper on both sides.  

In a greased 9x13 baking dish, spread a couple of tablespoons of pesto sauce along the bottom until barely covered.  Lay the chicken breasts on top of the pesto and then pour the rest of the pesto over the top of the chicken.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and then bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes until the chicken is barely cooked through.

Pull the chicken out of the oven and remove the foil.  Then sprinkle the Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses on top and put back in the oven for another five minutes.  Then serve and enjoy!

Barbecued Asian Flank Steak

Mr. L and I don't normally eat flank steak that often.  It's a cut of meat we didn't really grow up on so we weren't really that used to it!  But lately we've been attempting to break out of our box every now and then, so I picked up a couple of pounds at the grocery store a while back and decided to grill it up.

Thanks to Allrecipes, I came across the perfect recipe!  It sounded delicious, so I couldn't wait to give it a shot.  The ingredients list seemed to be bursting with flavor, from the grated ginger root to the chili and fish sauces.  Thankfully it turned out to be a winner!

I did make a few tweaks in the ingredients as well as the cooking time since Mr. L and I both prefer a more "done" steak.  If you prefer more rare, shoot for around 5 minutes per side cooking time.  Personally, I found the 7 minute mark to be great for us.

If you're looking for a flank steak recipe though, this one would be perfect!  So be sure to give it a try soon :)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chili sauce
• 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp grated ginger root
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 pounds flank steak

Directions

In a medium-sized bowl, combine first five ingredients.  Reserve about 1/4 of the mixture to brush on the meat while grilling.

Score the flank steak in a diamond pattern and place either in a shallow baking dish or one or two gallon-sized Ziploc bags.  Pour the rest of the marinade over the steak, making sure it is fully covered.  Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least three hours.

Preheat grill to high heat, then brush on a light layer of oil.  Grill the steaks for about 6-7 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness.  Be sure to brush the reserved marinade on the steaks frequently.

Let the meat rest for about 5-10 minutes, then slice, serve, and enjoy!

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Pretzel-Coated Honey Mustard Pork Chops

I'm always on the lookout for new recipes for other kinds of meat besides beef and chicken.  Beef and chicken are great, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you just get sick of eating the same thing over and over again!  Recently I've been on a bit of a pork kick (check out my Grilled Pork Chops with Dale's Seasoning if you are too!) so I've usually got that in the back of my mind when I'm searching for inspiration.

Recently I stumbled across a recipe for Honey Mustard Pork Chops which sounded delicious.  However, I wanted to step it up a notch.  I've always seen recipes for chicken with honey mustard and pretzels (a divine combination!), so I decided to change things up a bit and use boneless pork chops instead.

I also wanted to be a little different and leave out the mayo entirely.  Mr. L and I aren't fans and we never have it in the house.  Thankfully I concocted up a honey mustard recipe that uses sour cream instead, and it is absolutely yummy!

I'm happy to say that these chops turned out moist and delicious!  Mr. L and I were both big fans.  I might try this same recipe but with chicken in the future, but for now, my belly is filled and I'm a happy lady.  You sure can't beat that!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless pork chops
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 cup pretzels, crushed
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, Dijon mustard, honey, lemon juice, yellow mustard, olive oil, and paprika until thoroughly combined.  Reserve about 1/4 of the mixture for garnish and extra dipping sauce.

In another bowl, add pretzels and panko crumbs and combine.

Lightly pat the pork chops with a paper towel until all excess moisture is removed.  Dip one pork chop in the honey mustard mixture and shake to remove any excess.  Then dip in the pretzel and panko mixture and once again shake to remove any excess.  Place on the lined baking sheet and repeat until all the pork chops are thoroughly coated.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes.  Then serve and enjoy!

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Chocolate Pie Cake

When I was growing up, my Mamaw would make my family a really killer dessert called Chocolate Pie Cake.  Now, I'm going to be upfront with you guys -- I have no idea why we started calling that!  It's definitely more of a pie than a cake, so I'm not sure where the cake part came in at all!  But for whatever reason, the name has stuck and now in my family Chocolate Pie Cake is synonymous with amazing!

I was craving some last week so I decided to go ahead and whip one up, and I'm so glad I did!  Mr. L has also become a fan of this dessert over the past few years, and who can blame him?  It's rich, creamy, cool, and absolutely delicious.  If it weren't for me "donating" the rest of it to Mr. L's work, I'm pretty sure I could've eaten the whole thing by myself!  

And as a side note, I wasn't able to find a chocolate pie crust at the grocery store, so I ended up using an Oreo pie crust.  If you can find a chocolate one, use it instead!  My mom has told me she normally finds them at Wal-Mart and I've had luck since making this first pie at Harris Teeter.

Be sure to give it a try so you can fall in love with it too!

Ingredients [8 servings]

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 8 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 oz whipped topping
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 chocolate pie crust
• 2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

Directions

With either a stand mixer or a hand mixer, combine softened cream cheese and powdered sugar.

Add sour cream, vanilla, and whipped topping to the cream cheese mixture and combine thoroughly.  Then grate one square of chocolate into the mixture and stir until evenly distributed.

Pour mixture into the chocolate pie crust and spread evenly.  Grate the second chocolate square over the top of the pie for a nice garnish.

Chill for two to three hours or longer.  Then serve and enjoy!

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Homemade Banana Pancakes

In order to switch things up every now and then, Mr. L and I like to have breakfast for dinner, or "brinner" as we affectionately call it a la Scrubs:

For this week, I decided to try my hand at some delicious homemade banana pancakes since I had some over-ripe bananas still on my counter.  I never really know what to do with over-ripe bananas besides banana bread, so this was a great recipe to use them up before they needed to be tossed out!

Thanks to this recipe from Allrecipes.com, Mr. L and I had some delicious pancakes for brinner.  And since that recipe made about 13-14 pancakes (I used 2 tbsp of batter per pancake), I was able to freeze the rest for a quick breakfast treat throughout the week.  I definitely recommend giving this recipe a shot if you're feeling like some banana pancakes for breakfast or brinner soon!  :)

adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients [6-8 servings]

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2-3 ripe bananas, mashed
• Additional vegetable oil for frying

Directions

Combine first four ingredients into one small mixing bowl.  In another medium-sized bowl, combine egg, milk, oil, and mashed bananas.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring carefully.  The batter should be a bit lumpy.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, add a small amount of oil.  When oil is very runny, add two tablespoons of batter for one pancake.

When the pancake batter starts to bubble around the edges and in the middle of the pancake, flip.  Cook for another minute or two until the second side is also golden brown and delicious.

Add more oil to the pan as needed, and as each pancake is finished, place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.  Feel free to spread some butter on top, then serve and enjoy!

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Grilled Pork Chops with Dale's Seasoning

When I was perusing my local grocery store's meat section looking for deals, I came across some nice-looking bone-in pork chops that were at a decent price.  I haven't made pork chops in a long time, so I decided to grab them and head back home to see what I could make out of them.  Thankfully I remembered this family favorite recipe that my mom has been making for years.  I've loved this recipe for such a long time that I figured it was only appropriate to make them for Mr. L and me this week!

My mom usually just marinates the pork chops in Dale's Original Steak Seasoning and calls it a day, but I like to add just a little something-something to kick it up a notch.  Garlic is always a household favorite, and Mr. L looooves freshly cracked black pepper.  So of course I had to add both to the pork chop party!

The chops turned out so juicy and delicious!  Next time I'll probably go the Low Sodium Dale's route just to ease up on the sodium content, but everything else was perfect.  Just be wary -- that freshly cracked black pepper can catch you off guard if you aren't careful!  Haha.  Otherwise this recipe is a perfect for summertime grilling and I can't wait to make it more during the season.  You should give it a shot too!

Ingredients [4 servings]

• 4 bone-in pork chops
• 1/4 cup Dale's Original Steak Seasoning or Dale's Low Sodium Steak Seasoning (if you find the original Dale's too salty)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Directions

Place the bone-in pork chops in a large gallon-size resealable bag.

In a small bowl, combine together the Dale's Seasoning, garlic, and black pepper.  Pour the mixture into the gallon-size bag and make sure the pork chops are thoroughly coated.  Refrigerate for at least two hours.

Preheat your grill to around medium heat.  Place the pork chops on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes, or until juices start to pool on top of the chops.  Then flip and cook for another 3 minutes.

Allow to rest for about three to five minutes.  Then serve with your favorite vegetable and starch and enjoy!

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BBQ Country Style Ribs

Here's another updated recipe from June of 2011, i.e. my blog's "olden" days!  Hope you all enjoy it!

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After a BOGO sale at my local grocery store for Country Style Ribs, I went searching for an appropriate barbeque recipe to add to my arsenal.  I came across this recipe at Allrecipes.com and decided to give it a whirl.

Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients [6-8 servings]

• 2-3 pounds country style pork ribs
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 18 ounce bottle BBQ sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  In a baking dish, place the ribs in a single layer.

Salt and pepper each rib as much as you'd like.  Then spread the garlic and onions on and around the ribs.

Bake in a preheated oven for 2 hours until the ribs are tender.  Then drain any grease in the pan.

Pour BBQ sauce over the ribs (I usually do half of the bottle here and add more if desired after cooking).  Return to oven and bake for one more hour.

Serve with your favorite side dishes and enjoy!

Are you a fan of country style ribs?

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Chocolate Banana Pudding

It's no secret that my family and I are huge fans of banana pudding.  I remember my grandmother making it during my childhood years (from scratch -- no box mixes here!), and then when I reached adulthood, I took over making it for family occasions and holidays.  I've already shared with you my grandma's original banana pudding recipe (man, I need to update those pictures!), but for today, I decided to twist it up a little bit!

Mr. L's favorite dessert is chocolate.  He loves chocolate anything.  His birthday cakes are always double chocolate -- chocolate cake with chocolate icing.  Needless to say, he is slightly obsessed!  So when I suggested to him the idea of a chocolate banana pudding, the "yes"es would not stop falling out of his mouth!

I kept the homemade part of my grandma's recipe and made the chocolate pudding from scratch.  I replaced the Nilla wafers with chocolate graham crackers and, of course, kept the bananas just like the original recipe.  And instead of meringue on top (since I didn't use egg yolks in the pudding mixture), I went with Cool Whip, an old standby.

It was cool, creamy, sweet, and delicious!  The chocolate punched up the banana flavor and was a great complement.  This recipe would be great for a party, a weekend, or just a yummy dessert after dinner.  Just make sure you have a crowd to feed it to.  Thankfully I can send ours to Mr. L's work and get it out of the house before I eat it all ;)  Give this recipe a try immediately -- you won't regret it!

Ingredients [6-8 servings]

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 8oz tub Cool Whip
• 4 to 6 medium bananas, sliced into 1-inch pieces
• Half a box of chocolate graham crackers (or chocolate wafers if you can find them!)

Directions

In a medium-sized pot, combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt.  Gradually drizzle in the milk while stirring constantly until full incorporated.

Cook mixture over medium heat until it reaches, making sure to stir constantly as to not scald the milk.  Boil for one minute while still stirring.  Then remove from the heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Press plastic wrap on top of pudding to prevent a skin from forming; set aside.

In a glass bowl, break apart graham cracker pieces and layer on the bottom of the bowl.  Add a layer of banana pieces on top and then pour half of the pudding mixture over the bananas.  Then add another layer of graham cracker pieces, then banana pieces, and finally the rest of the pudding.  Spread the Cool Whip on top of everything.

Chill for about two hours.  Then serve and enjoy!

Are you a chocolate lover like Mr. L?

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