Cheesy broccoli casserole

This is an amazing meal if you want to have something to eat all week! I really wish I would've remembered to take pictures! hehe but Ill work on it... But this is an original recipe that I just made up as I went.....so tweak it to your liking and ENJOY!!!





1/2 pound bacon (chopped)
3 boneless chicken breasts (cut into small pieces)
1/2 onion (chopped)
2 heads broccoli (cut into small pieces)
2 cups medium shell pasta
I can Campbell's cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
1 package chicken stove top
4 T Butter 1 1/2 cup water (for stove top)
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice ( I used gruyere)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven 375 degrees

1. Brown onion, then add chicken and bacon and cook thoroughly and drain away fats, salt and pepper to season
2. Boil pasta until almost cooked then add broccoli and steam for a couple minutes to soften, drain
3. Mix cheese sauce and milk and add to chicken/bacon mixture and stir in
4. Then add broccoli and shells. And make sure everything is coated
5. Evenly spread shredded cheese over the top
6. Prepare stove top and spread evenly over the top
7. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes then let set for 20 and ENJOY!!!

Vanessa's own.. White Chicken Chili

I found an amazing recipe on Yahoo Shine but didn't have all the ingredients so I improvised and made my own! Which is one of my favorite things to do! And it turned out YUMMYYY.. This is the first time I've made chili! And am pretty excited about it.

4 chicken thighs
1 small onion
1 can diced green chiles
1 16 oz can cannellini beans
1 16 oz can black beans
2 T diced garlic
2 T cumin
1 t cardamom
1 t salt/pepper (or to taste)
2 cubes tomato bouillon
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 t cayenne pepper
8-10 cups water


Bring water to boil and add bouillon cubes. Add chicken and boil until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken and cool (set aside for later). Now sate onion and garlic until fragrant and add to soup. Now season broth with spices.

Add half the can of cannellini beans and whole can of black beans. Now take the other half of cannellini beans and mash together with chiles. Mash well and add to broth.

Taste broth to see if it's to your liking.

Now take the chicken and shred it off the bone and add to your broth.

Simmer on low for 1 hour

Key Lime Pie part DEUX

    

So here we go... ANOTHER attempt at Key Lime Pie. Andd ohhh IT WAS AMAZING. It was a lot different from the first one I made. The first one was closer to a cheesecake. This was was like airy light and fluffy! Ah I want to make it again and again and again ha! But then I'd weigh a MILLION pounds.  

FILLING:

4 Eggs (separated)

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Zest and juice of 3 limes

2 tablespoons of caster sugar (superfine baker's sugar)

CRUST:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cold butter cut into cubes

2 tablespoons caster sugar

2 egg yolks 

2 tablespoons cold water

a pinch of salt

TOPPING:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup caster sugar

3 tablespoons vanilla 

CRUST:

1. First, start with the pie crust. Combine flour and butter cubes in a large bowl and start mashing and mixing with your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs. Now add yolks, sugar, salt and water and mix into a soft dough.

2. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line a pie pan with the pastry crust. Prick the base with a fork and chill for 30 minutes

3. Preheat oven 400 degrees and bake about 15 minutes or until just barely brown

FILLING:

1. Beat egg yolks in a large bowl until light and creamy. Now add the condensed milk, juice and lime rind and beat until thick and creamy

2. In a second bowl beat the eggs until stiff white peaks form. Now add the caster sugar until the meringue is stiff

3 Easily fold the meringue into the lime mixture and pour into crust 

4. Lower temp to 325 and bake for 25 minutes cool then chill

TOPPING

Whip the cream sugar and vanilla until whipped cream is formed!! 

After pie is cooled, spread and enjoy!!

  

Egg Flour Soup

Oh gosh!! Here we go..MY ABSOLUTE ALL TIME FAVORITE SOUP...ever since I was little!! It's so freaking good! ok a little history .. So when I was growing up in Spokane there was this chinese restaurant CHINA DRAGON... to this day best Chinese American food EVER... I would beg my mom to take me there for this soup! Its super easy.. super quick and low calorie!! NOM NOM NOM!! Granted, I doubt this is the conventional recipe but it's MY recipe so F OFF! hehe ;D and now Lukass says it is his favorite soup that I've made! Ow OWW!! ok here we go..

8-10 cups of water

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 chicken bullion cubes

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 onion sliced

1 T chopped garlic (like 3 cloves)

5 Napa cabbage leaves chopped up 

mixed veggies (optional) greenbeans, corn, carrots, peas

2 T cornstarch mixed with a little warm water to dissolve

salt/pepper

soy sauce

Bring water to a boil and add bullion cubes and chicken. Now add the corn starch to thicken. Add onion, garlic, cabbage and veggies. Remove chicken when cooked ( you don't want it to over cook) Now SLOWLY pour the beaten egg into the boiling water and watch the flowers appear like magic! give it a nice little stir. Now take the chicken breast and rip into little pieces and add back to the soup. Season to your liking... 

I like to add a little soy sauce to my bowl after serving... give it a nice little flavor. And if you like spice..add some SARACHAAAAAAAAA!! 

Rack of lamb!!!

Such a fancy dinner I made! And it was DELICIOUS!!!! I was really nervous cooking the lamb because 1. it was my first time 2. it was EXPENSIVE lol 3. Lamb is really easy to mess up! So I went all out I even bought a meat thermometer to make sure I cooked the meat to the right rare-medium rare temp (135 degrees) I kept getting anxious and wanted to pull out the lamb early..So I had to put it back in couple times and then I let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving and ohhwwwwweeeee I was quite proud of this meal! :D

I paired it with black truffle cream gnocchi and a cherry merlot chutney! 

I seasoned the lamb with salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. I let it 'marinate' for about two hours and then seared it in a pan with olive oil for about 2 minutes. and baked about 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven!! 

Cherry Merlot Chutney:

1 pound Rainier cherries (pitted) 

1 shallot

2 garlic cloves

About 1/2 bottle merlot

2 cups chicken broth

Saute the garlic and shallot in a little bit of olive oil until fragrant. Add cherries and merlot and reduce until almost dry. Add chicken broth and reduce until thick and saucy! Season with salt and pepper. I added a little sugar to sweeten as well!!

MY FIRST CHEESECAKE!!!

Easter was nearing and I wanted to bring a dessert to Lukas's mom's for Easter dinner...I haven't really gotten to deep into making desserts but always wanted to try...and this was my chance. I was going through recipes for days it felt like and FINALLY came across this Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake and it looked ABSOLUTELY amazing and decided that this was the one! Instead of cream cheese I substituted it with neufchatel cheese which pretty much the same just 30% less fat. It turned out soo good! The only thing was that it took 2 DAYS TO MAKE! but well worth it

Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• FILLING:
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup thawed apple juice concentrate
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• TOPPING:
• 2 medium tart apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup thawed apple juice concentrate

Directions

• In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour, oats, walnuts and cinnamon until well blended. Press onto the bottom and 1-1/2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in milk and apple juice concentrate until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined (batter will be thin). Pour into crust. Return pan to baking sheet.
• Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.
• In a large skillet, cook and stir apples in butter over medium heat until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Arrange over cheesecake.
• In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, cinnamon and juice concentrate until smooth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Immediately brush over apples. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled. Refrigerate leftovers. 
• (recipe courtesy of tasteofhome.com)

KeyLime Pie

Nico's favorite dessert! So I thought I'd be nice and make it for him!! and HE ATE THE WHOLE THING...hahah mad skills~~

1 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup slivered almonds, toasted, divided

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon honey

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened, divided

1/2 cup key lime juice

1 tablespoon grated key lime peel

Dash salt

1 egg yolk

1-3/4 cups miniature marshmallows

4-1/2 teaspoons butter

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

Place the flour, brown sugar and 1/2 cup almonds in a food processor. Cover and process until blended. Add melted butter and honey; cover and process until crumbly. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. pie plate. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat the milk, 5 ounces cream cheese, lime juice, peel and salt until blended. Add egg yolk; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large saucepan, combine marshmallows and butter. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Add cream and remaining cream cheese; beat until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

(recipe courtesy of tasteofhome.com)