Saturday, August 4, 2012

Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Whenever I go to Olive Garden, instead of getting the salad (I'm not a huge fan anyways) I'll get the soup. And the soup I get is their Chicken and Gnocchi Soup. It is AMAZING! Love it! If you haven't tried it, do it next time! When I saw this recipe online I was so excited to try it but I was trying to not get too excited since, you know, stuff doesn't always taste as good all the time. I know it's the summer time but we were having some monsoon rains that week and I thought it'd be perfect to make a soup.





Source: copykat.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Doesn't that just look a little yummy? And that's the only picture you get because for some reason, I guess I was too busy making it and dreaming of how good it was going to taste to take any! I've made this twice already and made a double batch the last time so I could freeze it for another day. Now we'll see how it freezes!


Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Author: CopyKat Recipes
Recipe Type: Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Serves: 8



































Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoons extra virgin oil

  • 4 tablespoons butter

  • 4 tablespoons flour

  • 1 quart half and half

  • 1/2 cup celery, finely diced
  • 1 cup onion, finely diced

  • 2 minced garlic cloves

  • 2 14 ounce cans of chicken broth if you enjoy thick soup, use one can

  • 1 cup carrots, finely shredded
  • 1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (you can use a rotisserie chicken)



  • 1 package gnocchi, cooked  (you can find these in gourmet/pasta section of the grocery store - you may want to cut the gnocchi in half if it is large, or purchase the mini size if available)

  • 1 cup of fresh spinach coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme

  • 1/2 teaspoon parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add the flour and make a roux. Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 quart of half and half.
Cook gnocchi according to package directions.
Into the roux, add in the carrots and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick, add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasoning; simmer until soup is heated through.  Before serving season to taste by adding additional salt.


Smoothies

There are a lot of ideas on Pinterest to make your own quick smoothies. Here was one idea I saw and then I added to it a little bit. It was easy enough. Freeze some plain/greek yogurt in ice cube trays, put 2-3 of them in a bag with about 1 cup fruit, and then add juice. I added about 1/2 cup of spinach to ours. These were for John to make in the morning. FYI, he tried them with milk first and they were not good! He said with juice it was a lot better! I was thinking you could also do any flavored yogurt and it'd be even yummier!



Healthy and delicious? Hard to come by!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Homemade Pizza Hut Pizza

Playing catch up is so hard! I made this Pizza Hut pizza quite a while ago during the winter. It was pretty good except for the fact that I cooked it a little too long! Oops!

That's their beautiful picture of their pizzas.
And there's mine. Sort sad huh?

As always, you can click on the link or I've copied it here for you. The only thing they didn't have was how long to cook it for! I think I cooked them for about 19 minutes and noticed they were getting over cooked! Sad! So let me know if you know how long you're really supposed to cook these for. I'm guessing between 12-15 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 cup warm water (105 degrees F)
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 package dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (for dough)
9 ounces vegetable oil (3 ounce per pan)
butter flavored cooking spray
***Sauce***
1 can (8 ounce size) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:

Put yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in a large (2 qt.) bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. 

Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into three balls. In three 9" cake pans, put 3 Oz. of oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans. 

Spray the outer edge of dough with cooking spray. Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

Sauce: 

Combine ingredients and let sit for 1 hour. 

For Each Nine Inch Pizza: Preheat oven to 475 degrees F Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge. Distribute 1 1/2 Oz. shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce. Place toppings of your choice in this order: Pepperoni or Ham Vegetables Meats (cooked ground sausage or beef) Top with 3 Oz. mozzarella cheese Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown.

Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad

So my sister told me about a blog she's been visiting to get her dinners and I've gotta say ... it seems like a great site! My goal this summer has been to eat healthier, "lighter", summer meals that don't bust the bank! This blog is really nice because she puts how much the meal is going to cost you. Well, about how much since prices change of course. Her blog it budgetbytes.blogspot.com.
For dinner last night, I made her Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad. It was really good! Now, I've been trying to get my whole family to eat more veggies and this salad was perfect for it. The ricotta cheese created a nice creamy sauce that wasn't overpowering. I am not a fan of tomatoes (nor anyone else in the family) so this was hard for me. I've been forcing myself to eat tomatoes for quite a few years so I've gotten better. I was the only one who ate them quartered up in the salad. We actually removed the tomatoes and blended them and put them back in for everyone else. My hubby said it made for great leftovers for lunch. Now, without further ado, the recipe.






Servings Per Recipe: 8 (about 1.25 cups each) 
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 20 min. Total: 30 min. 

3 Tbsp Garlic
1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb. Pasta Shells
15 oz. Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
3 cups Baby Spinach
Salt and Pepper to taste

STEP 1: Place the garlic in a small bowl or dish and drizzle 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil over the exposed cloves. Cover the bowl with an inverted plate. Microwave on high, in one minute increments, until the garlic is soft and fragrant (about 2 minutes) I minced garlic and it was done in 1 minute. Use caution when touching the dishes, they will be very hot. Allow the garlic to cool.

STEP 2: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the pasta, and cook for 7-10 minutes or until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water.

STEP 3: While the pasta is cooking, add the minced garlic to a medium bowl along with the ricotta cheese, a healthy dose of freshly cracked pepper, and about 1/2 tsp of salt. Add the 1/2 cup of hot, starchy pasta cooking water. Stir until it forms a smooth sauce.

STEP 4: Drain the pasta. Return the drained pasta to the warm pot (the burner should be turned off). Add the fresh baby spinach and pour the ricotta sauce over top. Slice the cherry tomatoes and add them to the pot as well. Stir until everything is well mixed. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir again. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm!


http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2012/05/roasted-garlic-pasta-salad-853-recipe.html

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Shred Chicken

I read on pinterest a tip on shredding chicken. All you have to do is cook your chicken, stick it in you kitchen aid with the paddle attachment on, and turn it on. I did a whole flat of chicken and it came out great. It was so much better than shredding it using 2 forks like I usually do. Here's proof that it works!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Split Pea Soup

Maybe not my best idea ever but I decided to start eating healthier in January and I also got pregnant at the same time. Eating healthier wasn't the problem. It was trying something new while you're in that first pregnancy stage where things don't always agree with you. That was this split pea soup. It was not good for me because the house smelled for days afterwards and I did not like the smell!! 
Here's the link to the recipe. I know it doesn't look appetizing but I bet if I wasn't pregnant it would have been better! 
I know, it looks gross but really good for ya!
First kid didn't mind it. I did what my friend did and put it on homemade whole wheat bread.
Other kid did not touch it. He was not happy with this meal at all! Can you tell?

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Gyros

I know, I know, I start this blog and then don't post anything in like forever. Really, no one really reads this blog too much so it's all good! I had all these awesome recipes I was going to try in February and then I got pregnant!! So much for trying new foods! Everything sounded awful! So I will attempt to "catch up".
I made some gyros for the first time ever and they were SOOOOO good! We're not the best vegetable eaters so for everyone to eat all of their tomatoes and cucumbers, it was basically a miracle. What I liked the most about this recipe is that you can prep a lot of the food beforehand so making is was a cinch. It was ready in about 10 minutes once we decided it was time to eat. Plus, it was really light and perfect for a nice summer day. I HIGHLY suggest this recipe and I don't do that a lot. This is going into our dinner rotation.
I forgot to take any pictures (umm, I may have eaten mine a little too fast) so I've attached the picture and will provide the direct link to the person's blog who made these. Also, I doubled the recipe (did not do so in the recipe below) and it will make 6 gyros.

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken & Creamy Greek Sauce
Makes 1 to 2 pitas

For the marinade
1 large chicken breast (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 cup plain, whole milk yogurt (for the life of me I could only find nonfat and it was still great)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Greek sauce
4 tablespoons mayonnaise (regular or light)
1 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 garlic powder
Squeeze of lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
Pita bread, for serving 

For the marinade, cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the yogurt, olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until combined. Add the chicken and marinate for at least two hours, but overnight if possible.

For the Greek sauce, mix together all of the ingredients and refrigerate. Adjust seasoning according to taste before serving. (Note: I used 1/4 teaspoon salt and a very generous amount of black pepper. You can't have too much in my opinion.)

For the chicken, wipe off the excess marinade. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and oregano, and cook until fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes without stirring. Give a quick toss and continue cooking for another 3 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

To assemble, combine the chicken with desired amount of Greek Sauce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pile onto a piece of pita bread, fold like a taco, and devour.

The Link directly to her blog: http://www.thekitchn.com/lunch-recipe-yogurt-marinated-chicken-creamy-greek-sauce-167581