Chicken and Dumplings with Bacon

Bacon makes everything better. This is more like a hearty soup than the chicken and dumplings grandma use to make. It's perfect for a cool fall day. This is the first time I have added rosemary and thyme but if you choose not to add it, the recipe will still taste great. Bacon and chicken broth tend to be salty so taste the broth before you add the dumplings and adjust the seasonings as necessary.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
4 strips of bacon
3 cups of half and half
3 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of carrots, diced
1 1/2 cups of frozen or canned corn
2 cups of Bisquick
3/4-1 cup of milk
salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme to taste

In a large pot, cook the bacon. Remove the bacon and cook the chicken and carrots in the bacon fat. Crumble the bacon. Add the chicken broth and corn and simmer for 10 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, half and half, and a pinch of salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Taste the broth and add more seasonings if necessary. Simmer for 10 more minutes. As the broth simmers, in a bowl combine the Bisquick with 3/4 cup of milk. The mixture should be thick and sticky. Add more milk if necessary. Make sure the broth mixture is at a low boil and drop tablespoon sized dough into the broth. Simmer for 10 minutes uncovered and then another 10 minutes covered. Do not stir or the dumplings will break apart.

Cheesy Baked Pasta

One of the best things about cooler weather is turning on the oven and making comfort food. How can you go wrong with a pan of gooey, delicious cheese? This is an adaptation of a recipe from Everyday Italian, one of my favorite cookbooks. You can assemble this recipe ahead of time and then just bake it before serving.

8 Tbsp of butter, 3 Tbsp need to be diced
1 tsp of olive oil
1/2 cup of flour
4 cups of warm whole milk-do not use skim!
Salt and pepper
2 cups of Asiago, Parmesan or a 5 cheese Italian blend
1 box of penne

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish with olive oil. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. To make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a large pan. Add the flour and wisk until smooth for about 2 minutes. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly to avoid clumps. Simmer over medium heat, whisking until the sauce is thick and smooth, about 10 min. Do not allow the sauce to boil. Turn the heat to low and add 1 cup of the cheese. Add a 1/2 tsp of salt and a pinch of pepper. Taste the sauce and add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside. Cook the pasta for 5-7 min, until almost tender but firm since it will continue baking in the oven. Drain the pasta and add the cheese sauce. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Place pasta mixture into the prepared 9 x 13 dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of cheese and dot the top of the dish with 3 Tbsp of diced butter. Bake for 25 min or until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden brown. I like to finish the dish in the broiler the last few minutes to get the cheese golden brown because my oven never seems to do that on its own. Enjoy!

Enchiladas

I love Mexican food. How can you go wrong with chips, salsa, guacamole, lots of cheese and delicious sauces? I have made these enchiladas with ground beef, chicken and beans. I am sure shredded pork or beef would work well too. If you are looking for an easy way to prepare the meat, use a crockpot. Take 1lb of chicken breasts, pork shoulder or beef and put it in the crockpot with a jar of salsa and a cup of water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours and shred the meat with 2 forks before filling the enchiladas. Cooking ground beef or cubed chicken in a pan before filling also works.

8-10 flour or whole grain tortillas
28oz can of mild red enchilada sauce
1lb of cooked beef, chicken or pork
1 can of fat-free refried beans
2-3 cups of shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350. In a 9x13 pan, spread a few tablespoons of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan. Take a tortilla, spread with beans, a few spoonfulls of meat, sprinkle with cheese and roll up. Place in the pan and continue assembling the remaining tortillas. When the pan is filled, pour the enchilada sauce over the tortillas and top with cheese. Bake uncovered for 25-30 min.

Comfort food-Lasagna

It's a rainy, gloomy Sunday and a perfect day for some comfort food. When I think of comfort food, I immediately think of pasta. I love pasta in a cream sauce or some type of baked dish with a red sauce and lots of cheese. Yum.

My new fav is lasagna. I've tried making it a few times but boiling the noodles and assembling everything was such a pain in the ass. Well I found a recipe using the no-bake noodles and have made a few changes. How can you go wrong with 4 cups of cheese? This is definitely easy enough for my beginner friends:)

1lb Italian Sausage- sweet or hot
1 1/2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 container of cottage cheese
4 cups of cheese ( 2 cups Italian cheese blend and 2 cups Mozzarella)
2 eggs
salt and pepper
9 no-bake lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350. Cook the Italian sausage in a large pan and drain any grease. Add the spaghetti sauce and cook for 5 min. In a large bowl, mix the cottage cheese, eggs and 2 cups of the cheese, salt and pepper. In the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish, spread some of the sauce to cover the bottom of the pan. Then layer 3 uncooked lasagna noodles, cheese, sauce and repeat layers. Top with the 2 cups of cheese. Take a piece of aluminum foil and spray one side with cooking spray. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 45 min. Take the foil off and bake for an additional 10 min. Serve with Texas toast or garlic bread.

Meatloaf

I think many people have a love/hate relationship with meatloaf. As a kid, I thought a big hunk of dry meat sometimes slathered with some ketchup was pretty nasty. But over the past few years, meatloaf and I have developed a better relationship. I have tried several recipes and discovered that turkey or any beef leaner than 85% is too dry for my taste.

Here are two of my favorites. The first is a bacon wrapped meatloaf of course! This meatloaf is perfect. It's from The Pioneer Woman blog. Her blog is amazing and I honestly don't know how she does it with 4 kids but whatever. The second is a slow cooker meatloaf. I have found that 4-5 hours is the perfect cooking time. I usually mix 1/2 cup bbq sauce with 1/2 cup ketchup instead of 1 cup ketchup. Both of these recipes are ridiculously juicy and best served with mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf www.thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/09/my-favorite-meatloaf/

Slow Cooker Meatloaf www.bobevans.com/recipe/Slow_Cooker_Meatloaf.aspx

Beef Nacho Casserole

I know, know I need a picture. I love this dish. I usually have most of the ingredients on hand and it's easy to make. The girls and I can easily devour the 9x9 pan. It's that good.

1 pound ground beef

1 1/2 cups salsa

1 (10 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained OR 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn, cooked

3/4 cup mayo

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 cups crushed tortilla chips

2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the ground beef in a large skillet and drain the grease. Cook the corn in the microwave or on stovetop. Remove the beef from the heat, and stir the salsa, corn, mayonnaise and chili powder into the beef. In a 9x9in casserole dish, layer the ground beef mixture, tortilla chips and cheese and repeat. Bake for 20 minutes uncovered in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and dish is thoroughly heated.

A few tweaks I've made- add some seasoning to the beef. I like using McCormick Grill Mates Montreal seasoning and Cumin. The Montreal seasoning adds a nice flavor to ground beef and I use it in most beef and hamburger dishes. Also, if you like hot salsa like I do, don't use an entire 1 1/2 cups in this recipe or you will be sweating profusely as you eat dinner. Mix the hot salsa with a mild salsa to make 1 1/2 cups. Any cheese will work for this recipe. Tortilla chips are the best but I've even used potato chips for this recipe and it turned out ok. Good luck and enjoy!