Cooking With Shaz
Are you staying in for Valentine’s Day and are looking for something special to cook for your sweetheart? Here are some ideas for making a memorable Valentine’s Day dinner at home.
Have plenty of candles lit and wine chilled. Use your Valentine’s Bouquet for the table centerpiece. Have a wonderful, romantic Valentine’s Day!
Sharon
Tonight I had a craving for something out of reach – Bang Bang Shrimp. So I decided to make something like it, at home. Since I didn’t have enough shrimp to make a decent meal for 3, I used chicken breast instead. The result was fabulous! Introducing my Bang Bang Shrimp or Chicken Pasta recipe!
This sauce is so tasty, I’d love to have it on everything! Well, almost everything. It’s sweet, spicy, garlicky and citrusy (is that a word?), all rolled into one. It nicely coats the pasta and the shrimp or chicken, and brings this one dish wonder to a level of it’s own.
This is a quick meal to prepare, great for a weeknight dinner. Fast, easy clean up and delicious – a busy, working mom’s dream. This recipe is a keeper so be sure to pin it!
Here’s how you make my delicious Bang Bang Shrimp or Chicken Pasta Recipe:
First, prep your shrimp or chicken. Julienne 2 carrots and slice 2 green onions. Bring a pot of water to boil for cooking your pasta.
Mix together the Bang Bang Sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
Saute the chicken or shrimp, as instructed below. Add carrot and onion to frying pan and lower heat to low.
Boil pasta until al dente’. Drain. Add to cooked chicken or shrimp, top with Bang Bang sauce, stir and Enjoy!
Here is the recipe for Bang Bang Shrimp or Chicken Pasta:
INGREDIENTS
3/4 – 1 lb of fettuccine, linguine, thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 1/2 lbs of diced chicken breast or shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp – coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp Paprika
2 green onions, sliced
2 carrots, julienned
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bang Bang Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise or light mayonnaise to lower calories
1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp of lime juice
1/8 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta and drain well.
Place the uncooked chicken or shrimp in a medium sized bowl and add the paprika, 3 cloves of garlic and pepper.
Heat the coconut oil on medium high heat and add the coated uncooked chicken or shrimp. Stir constantly while cooking until shrimp is pink for approx. 7- 10 minutes, or chicken is no longer pink inside.
Remove from heat and set aside if pasta is not ready.
In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta, shrimp and sauce mixture and toss.
Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
[amd-yrecipe-recipe:11]
PIN IT! Here’s the link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/280278776787516684/
Sharon
Here is a great recipe for when you need shredded Mexican flavored chicken for chicken tacos, chicken enchiladas, chicken quesadillas, Mexican chicken tortilla casserole, or whatever recipe that calls for shredded chicken.
First you cook the chicken in your Crockpot / slow cooker. You simply layer your chicken in the crock, sprinkle the seasonings on top and pour in a small amount of chicken broth. That’s it! Slow cook until the chicken is done. These breasts only took a couple hours on low.
Allow the chicken to cool a little bit, then place the cooked chicken into the bowl of your stand mixer. Strain the liquid remaining in the slow cooker crock and pour into the bowl. Using the paddle attachment, on low speed, stir the chicken and broth until the chicken is shredded. This only takes a minute.
Now you have lots of delicious Mexican seasoned shredded chicken to use in your favorite recipes!
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts (approx 2 pounds / 1 kg)
1/4 cup taco seasoning
2 tablespoons dried minced onions
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
1/2 cup water
Place chicken in bottom of oiled crock pot. Sprinkle the taco seasoning, dried onions and bouillon powder over top of chicken. Pour water into crock. Cover and cook on low until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Approximately 2-3 hours on low. Chicken should flake apart if you stick a fork in it and twist.
Allow chicken to cool for at least 30 minutes. Place the chicken in the bowl of a stand mixer. Strain the liquids remaining in the crock and add the strained liquid to the bowl of the stand mixer. Attach paddle attachment to stand mixer. Turn on mixer on lowest setting. Stir until the chicken is just shredded. This takes only about a minute.
Use the shredded chicken in recipes like Creamy Chicken Enchiladas, Mexican Chicken Casserole, Green Chile Mexican Chicken Casserole
Pin this recipe! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/280278776787457542/
Sharon
Here is a great recipe for an easy weeknight dinner – Creamy Chicken Cavatelli. This is what I like to call a One Pot Wonder. This recipe is great to use up leftover cooked chicken. I used a leftover rotisserie chicken and items found in my pantry. This goes together quick so you can have dinner ready in 20 minutes.
Ingredients:
1 box cavatelli pasta, cooked & drained
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1 jar garlic alfredo sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup chicken broth
Stir together the ingredients listed above in a big pot on the stovetop. Heat on medium until sauce is hot.
This is good comfort food made from leftover roasted chicken and stuff from the pantry. If it’s easy, it’s for me! Hope you like it. 🙂
Sharon Springfield
Tonight I made this delicious Creamy Chicken Enchiladas recipe and I had to blog this to share it with everyone. This is SOOOOO good!
The chicken cooked in the crockpot while I was at work. When I got home, I just popped the cooked chicken breasts into the bowl of my stand mixer, along with the strained broth remaining in the crock. After just a minute on low speed, with the paddle attachment, the chicken was all shredded up and ready to use in this chicken enchilada recipe. I will share the recipe for shredded crockpot chicken on another post.
While the shredded chicken is cooking, get the rest of the ingredients ready to go for quick and easy assembly. Shred 2 cups of cheddar cheese. I used Tasty Cheddar (from Tasmania). It’s appropriately named, because it’s very tasty cheese! You can use your favorite cheddar, Monterrey or Colby cheese instead.
Place 2 cups of shredded chicken, one cup of shredded cheese and 2 tablespoons taco seasoning into a bowl and combine. Assemble the enchiladas by placing 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of chicken mixture onto each wrap, leaving space to fold down the top and bottom, then roll them tightly. Place in a casserole dish with the seam down.
For the sauce, you will need flour, butter, chicken broth, diced green chiles and sour cream. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in flour. Cook the roux for a couple minutes then add your chicken broth. Simmer while stirring for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in the green chiles and sour cream. Stir to combine.
Pour the sour cream chile sauce over the chicken enchiladas.
Top the chicken enchiladas with shredded cheese.
Place the creamy chicken enchiladas casserole into a preheated 350 degree F oven and bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
Lets just enjoy this from yet another angle.
Pictures don’t do it justice.
Serve with Mexican Rice, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Delicious!
This could be assembled ahead of time, refrigerated or frozen, then baked when you need a great Mexican dinner.
Ingredients:
This was a recipe I found on Pinterest, but, of course, I modified it. It’s impossible for me to stick to a recipe exactly. Give this Creamy Chicken Enchilada recipe a try and let me know how you liked it!
Sharon Springfield
My Favorite Mexican Chicken Casserole Recipe.
18 corn tortillillas
3 cooled chicken breasts
15 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
10 oz can cream of chicken soup
10 oz can green enchilada sauce
4 oz can diced green chilis
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 oz water
1 tablespoon chicken base
In a 9×13″ glass baking dish, layer 6 corn tortillas. Stir together everything else besides cheese. Spread half of chicken mixture over corn tortillas and sprinkle 1/3 of the cheddar over it all. Repeat layers. Top with the last 6 tortillas and sprinkle cheese over top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Here’s a delicious crockpot meal that’s simple to put together and is bursting with savory ranch flavor: Crockpot Ranch Chicken. Boil up your favorite pasta and stir it all together for a one pot wonder. This is a great crockpot recipe for a weeknight dinner.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 envelope chicken gravy mix
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
6 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup lightly steamed broccoli florettes
1 small can sliced mushrooms (or 1/3 cup sliced, sauteed fresh mushrooms)
Directions:
Coat inside of crockpot with butter. Add next four ingredients, cover with lid and cook on low for 3 hours or until chicken breasts are cooked all the way through.
Stir in softened cream cheese. After it has had a chance to melt a bit, whisk to incorporate into sauce. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli and mushrooms. Cook for 20 minutes on low.
Meanwhile, boil a box of pasta according to package directions. (I used Bow-tie pasta.) Drain pasta and stir into the Crockpot Ranch Chicken, stirring to coat the pasta with the delicious sauce.
Serve with garlic bread and a salad.
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Here’s the Pinterest link for this recipe: Crockpot Ranch Chicken
Tomato Pie is a perfect light dinner for summertime. If you’ve got a few nice fresh tomatoes that you don’t know what to do with, give this delicious tomato pie recipe a try. As you can see, before I could even get around to taking a picture, a couple slices had mysteriously disappeared. This is a lighter version than the Paula Deen tomato pie, which I found to be delicious, but also very heavy and greasy. Give this lighter tomato pie recipe a try and enjoy the fresh tomatoes of summer.
Ingredients:
4 medium tomatoes
8 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
4 oz sliced prosciutto (or 4 slices of crisp bacon, crumbled)
1 frozen prepared pie crust
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
dash(es) garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil
salt & pepper
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/3 cup garlic/herb cheese spread
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F
Slice tops off of tomatoes and scoop out and discard tomato seeds. Slice tomatoes 1/4″ thick. Lay tomato slices on a clean kitchen towel and lightly sprinkle with salt on each side. Let sit for 15 minutes or so then press with another towel to soak up excess moisture from tomatoes. This step prevents the pie from being mushy.
While waiting for tomatoes to dry out, slice prosciutto (or cook and crumble bacon).
Prick bottom and sides of pie crust. Place on baking sheet (for easier handling) and bake for 8 – 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, dried oregano and dried basil.
In another small bowl, mix together the light mayonnaise, garlic/herb cheese spread and fresh basil.
To assemble the tomato pie, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the bread crumb mixture into the pie crust. Layer 1/2 of the tomato slices into the pie crust, sprinkle with salt and pepper then 1/2 of the prosciutto (or bacon). Top with the mayonnaise – herb cheese mixture – spread evenly. Repeat layers of tomato, salt, pepper, prosciutto (or bacon). Sprinkle the remaining bread crumb mixture evenly over the top layer.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and topping is lightly browned.
May be served warm or cold.
Only 230 calories per 1/8th of pie.
This recipe is my modified version of a Publix Aprons recipe.
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Here’s the Pinterest link for this recipe: Lighter Tomato Pie
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*Photo by Oliveland
INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons butter, or as needed
1 3/4 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
5 English muffins, split and toasted
1 cup shredded Colby-Monterrey Jack
cheese
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and
cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 onion, finely chopped
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup shredded Colby-Monterrey Jack
cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the mushrooms until their liquid has mostly evaporated and the mushrooms are beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Set the mushrooms aside.
Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish, and arrange 8 muffin halves, cut sides up, in the bottom of the dish. Stuff pieces of remaining muffins into the spaces between the halves. Spread 1 cup of Colby-Monterrey Jack cheese over the muffins in a layer, and distribute the asparagus pieces, mushrooms, red pepper, and onion over the cheese.
Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, dry mustard, and black pepper in a bowl, and pour the egg mixture over the muffins and vegetables. Cover the dish, and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let stand for 30 minutes. Spread 1 cup of Colby-Monterrey Jack cheese in a layer over the casserole.
Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted near the edge comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into squares.
Original recipe at:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Overnight-Asparagus-Mushroom-Strata/Detail.aspx
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Here’s the Pinterest link for this recipe: Asparagus Mushroom Strata
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*
Ingredients
2 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips
garlic powder to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cube beef bouillon
1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large green bell peppers, roughly chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and brown the seasoned beef strips. Transfer to a slow cooker.
Mix bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with meat. Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
Cover, and cook on High for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low for 6 to 8 hours.
If you like my recipes, be a sweetie pie and share on Facebook,
Like my page “I Love To Cook” and Pin these yummy recipes on Pinterest. 🙂
Here’s the Pinterest link for this recipe: Slow Cooker Pepper Steak Recipe
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