Cream Cheese Chicken

Would you believe that I'd never heard of cream cheese chicken until I happened to stumble upon the recipe on A Year of SlowCooking? Yes, it's true. I, the chicken and cream cheese lover, had never heard of this bit of deliciousness. It sounded like the perfect winter comfort food meal, so I knew I had to try it soon.

I made this the old-fashioned way: with cream of mushroom soup and Italian dressing mix. Next time I make this, I'll still use the cream of mushroom soup, but I may try using Stephanie's suggested seasoning blend in place of the Italian dressing mix (check out the link below for her version), just to cut back on some sodium.

This was quite tasty. I stirred in about half a pound of cooked rigatoni at the very end, and we had enough leftovers for a couple of days. This meal was a big hit particularly with Andrew, who seems to share his mama's love of all things containing cream cheese and/or pasta. He's a good boy.

Cream Cheese Chicken
source: A Year of SlowCooking

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 large chicken breasts (frozen is okay)
1 packet of Italian salad dressing mix
2 cloves minced garlic
1 8-ounce block of cream cheese

1. Add all ingredients except for cream cheese to Crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and begins to shred.

2. Shred the chicken with two large forks and mix in the block of cream cheese. Switch the Crock pot to high and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is fully melted. Serve with pasta.

Weekly Meal Planning

This week I was tempted to just list some kind of delicious baked good for dinner every night, because all I want to do now that Christmas is inching ever closer is bake, bake, bake. I have a list of a dozen or so treats I want to make this year and I'm hoping to get my Christmas cookie packages distributed next week, so I'm going to be a very busy girl over the next week or so. I can't wait to share all of the recipes with you!

Anyway, on to the meal plan, because I may be 8 months pregnant, but I still just can't justifiy having sweets for dinner every night.

Monday: Maple-pecan chicken, roasted potatoes, mixed greens and pear salad

Tuesday: Chicken broccoli bake

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner -- fried egg and cheese sandwiches, hashbrowns, fresh fruit (probably pears, because I love them)

Thursday: Pork tenderloin with pomegranate cranberry sauce, rice pilaf, salad

Friday: The triumphant return of Burgers and Fries Friday! I've been wanting to make Rachael Ray's winter white burger ever since I saw it in her magazine a year ago, and the time has finally come.

Saturday: Vegetable lasagna, breadsticks. This was on the menu a couple of weeks ago but I didn't get to make it, and I want to freeze half for when the baby comes.

Sunday: Chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, buttered corn

Weekend Breakfast: Eggnog pancakes with cranberry syrup. I can't wait for this breakfast!

Baking: Too many goodies to name, but here's a teaser: pistachio chocolate chip muffins with strawberry filling. If the thought of those doesn't make your mouth water, nothing will! I can't wait to taste them.

Mandarin Orange Muffins

If you asked my son Andrew what his very favorite food in the world is, I know exactly what he'd tell you: mandarin oranges. Well, okay, he'd probably say "na nas" because that's what he calls them, but you know what I mean. He loves mandarin oranges, which really comes as no surprise to me since I loved them as a kid too. I remember being a little girl, sitting at the kitchen table and eating them with my fingers right out of the can. And then slurping all of the delicious syrup off of my fingers. It's so fun to watch my little boy do exactly the same thing (except we are more civilized than my parents were, apparently, and put his oranges in a bowl first).

When I happened across this recipe, I knew I had to make these for Andrew. Unsurprisingly, these muffins were a huge hit with him. I really liked them, too, especially the combination of cinnamon and citrus. When I make these again (and oh, I will; Andrew insists) I'll use less almond extract, because I thought the almond was just a little bit too overpowering. These muffins were incredibly moist and not too sweet, and they were absolutely delicious with a bit of butter spread across the top. Definitely Andrew -- and Mama! -- approved.

Mandarin Orange Muffins
source: slightly adapted from Allrecipes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 cup cold butter or margarine
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained and diced

1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk and extract. Stir into crumb mixture just until moistened. Fold in oranges.

2. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

3. Combine 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over muffins.

Chicken Fajita Lasagna

I make a lot of lasagna. See? We love the stuff in our house. But the recipe I'm sharing with you today is our absolute favorite, even more so than my traditional version, which Joe loves. It's chicken fajita lasagna, and it. is. delicious.

Years ago (literally years -- I think it was in 2004), I saw Emeril Lagasse make enchilada suiza lasagna on his show, and that's where the inspiration for this lasagna came from. Emeril's looked so good that I knew I had to make my own version of it. But I was at the very beginning of my cooking life, and thus I had to simplify it a little bit...or a lot. I didn't even know what a poblano pepper was, let alone have access to queso anejo cheese! I doubt I even knew how to pronounce the name of that cheese then.

Needless to say, I've come a long way, baby. Over the years, my adaptation of the recipe has become known as "chicken fajita lasagna" in our house, and it's a family favorite. Joe would be happy if I made this every single week. Sometimes I use a combination of red and green bell peppers, sometimes I use poblanos; sometimes I top it with freshly chopped tomatoes, sometimes I leave them off. Sometimes I use a shredded Mexican blend cheese, and sometimes I use Monterey jack. But one thing remains constant: This lasagna is always delicious. It makes enough to feed an army, but trust me: You'll be glad you have leftovers of this. It is amazing.

Chicken Fajita Lasagna
source: Cassie, inspired long ago by Emeril Lagasse

6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil
4 poblano peppers, seeded and thinly sliced (or 2 large bell peppers, any color, thinly sliced)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
6 burrito size flour tortillas
3 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese (or Mexican blend cheese)
Chopped fresh tomatoes, if desired
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnishing, if desired
Sour cream and salsa or pico de gallo for serving, if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.

2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, little by little, until thoroughly combined. Add the chicken stock and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until thickened and flavorful, about 10 minutes. Add the pepper jack and stir until melted. Season with the salt and remove from the heat. Set aside, covered, while you assemble the remaining ingredients.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add vegetable oil, peppers and onions to skillet. Give the vegetables a minute to cook without stirring them -- you want them to sear a little bit, like in a fajita. When vegetables are crisp-tender, add garlic; cook and stir one minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste and reduce heat to low. Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Remove from heat and keep warm.

4. Spoon 1 cup of the sauce onto the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with 2 of the tortillas, or as many as needed to form a complete layer. Top with half of the chicken and pepper mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the sauce, and 1/3 of the shredded Monterey jack. Make another layer in exactly the same way: tortillas, the remaining chicken and peppers, 1 1/2 cups of the sauce, and 1/3 of the shredded Monterey jack. Top with the remaining tortillas, remaining sauce, remaining Monterey jack, and tomatoes and/or cilantro if desired.

5. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for about 15 minutes longer, or until the lasagna is bubbly and light golden brown on top.

6. Serve immediately, garnished with a dollop of sour cream, chopped cilantro, and a spoonful of salsa or pico de gallo, if desired.

Give-Away Winner!

Thanks to all of you who commented in my very first give-away. I had a lot of fun hosting it, and hopefully I'll be able to do more in the future. I loved hearing about all of your favorite Christmas cookies, and you gave me lots of ideas for my holiday baking this year. Now, without further ado, here's the winner:

...Okay, well for some reason the website won't let me import the little box thingy, so I'm copying and pasting and you just have to trust me:

True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 14
Result: 8
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Anth said:

Are you aware that you are the cutest blogger ever? A giveaway! A lovely idea and I am really hoping 8 is my lucky number! Ha ha

My favorite Christmas cookie is a tie between cranberry pistachio cookies and good
old sugar cookies in Christmas shapes with icing. If you like cranberry &
pistachio, I bet you'd like these cookies.

Congratulations, Anth -- it looks like 8 was your lucky number after all! I will definitely be trying those pistachio cranberry cookies very soon -- they sound delicious! E-mail me your info at cassiecraves [at] yahoo [dot] com so I can get your prize mailed out to you!

Thanks again to all of you who played along!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I never really ate chicken noodle soup a whole lot when I was growing up -- except for when I was sick, of course. On those occasions, my mom would pop open a can of the high-sodium Campbell's stuff and heat it up for me. It always did the trick, but it definitely wasn't what I'd call healthy. For all the cooking she did when I was younger, chicken noodle soup was something my mom never made from scratch.

A few years ago, my best friend came down with a horrible cold, and I decided I'd try my hand at making some homemade chicken noodle soup for her. We lived in the same apartment complex at the time, so it was easy for me to whip up a batch and take some over to her. I kept some for our dinner, too, and when Joe tried it, he was really impressed. My friend was, too. Since then, I've tweaked and added to the recipe, and it's become a winter family favorite. My secret ingredients are lemon pepper, white wine, and a touch of cream stirred in at the very end. The lemon pepper adds a wonderfully fresh element to the soup, and to bump up the lemon flavor even more, I've even sprinkled a quick gremolata of parsley and lemon zest on the top. We like our soup pretty thick, so the leftovers are more like chicken and noodles than they are like soup. This was Andrew's first year trying it, and he absolutely loved it too.

This chicken noodle soup is sure to cure your cold, or just comfort you and warm you up on a cold winter day. Serve it with salad and crusty bread for dipping. I think you'll really like it!

And this is your last reminder about the Christmas from the Heart give-away! Be sure to comment on that post before tomorrow at 12:00 PM Eastern time for a chance to win!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
source: Cassie

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, leafy tops included, chopped
2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and lemon pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I always use a store-bought rotisserie chicken for this)
1 cup frozen peas
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 pound egg noodles
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs (no need to remove the thyme from its stems; it'll come off on its own during cooking). Season with salt and lemon pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir one minute.

2. Add white wine; cook until alcohol is cooked out, stirring constantly to release any bits of vegetables from the bottom. Add the chicken, peas and chicken stock and bring to a boil.

3. Add egg noodles to soup and cook, stirring occasionally, until noodles are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

4. Just before serving, stir in heavy cream.

Snickers Pie

Well, I did it. I posted every single day for an entire month, and I'm pretty proud of myself for it. I can't think of a better way to end the month -- or to end dinner every single night of the week -- than with this Snickers pie.

This is one of those recipes that I knew I had to make immediately the moment it popped up in my reader. Let me paint a picture for you: This pie is composed of a cinnamon-spiced peanut crust, a layer of fudge, a layer of chopped Snickers bars, and a layer of sweetened cream cheese -- and then the whole thing is topped with decadent chocolate ganache. What is there not to love?

This pie was every bit as good as I thought it was going to be. Next time I'll be sure to chop the Snickers bars more finely; I sliced them and layered them that way, and they firmed up again when the pie was refrigerated, which made them a little difficult to bite into. This pie is the perfect balance of nutty, rich, creamy and smooth. It was a huge hit with everyone who tried it, and I'll definitely be making it again.

Once again, don't forget about the give-away! The contest ends Wednesday at noon, so be sure to add your comment to that post before then.

Snickers Pie
source: Dinner & Dessert

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups dry-roasted, salted peanuts
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Pulse peanuts, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small food processor until it is the texture of coarse sand. Pulse in the melted butter. Press nut mixture evenly in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool while making the filling.

For the filling:

Fudge layer:
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces of Snickers candy bars, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Cream cheese layer:
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Keep the oven temperature at 350 degrees.

1. For the fudge layer, combine butter and semisweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler; set over simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove top insert and cool slightly.

2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside dry ingredients.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat together sugar, egg and egg yolk in a large bowl for 1 minute, until slightly thickened. Add vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture and mix until well blended. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into crust.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out with moist batter still attached.

5. Transfer pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Evenly arrange chopped Snickers bars over the top.

6. For the cream cheese layer, beat together cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add egg, egg white and vanilla and beat until smooth. Carefully spread mixture over the Snickers bars. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cream cheese is set. Transfer to a rack to cool.

For the chocolate ganache topping:

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces, at room temperature

1. Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

2. Bring the cream to a boil, then pour half the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Working with a whisk or rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out in increasingly larger concentric circles.

3. Pour in the remainder of the cream and blend it into the chocolate, using the same circular motions. When the ganache is smooth and shiny, stir in the butter piece by piece.

4. Pour ganache over cooled pie and refrigerate until set.

Weekly Meal Planning

For the past month and a half I have been very busy in the kitchen, cooking extra most nights and freezing meals for when the little one makes his arrival in a little over a month (!!). I've done an awesome job and have quite a few things frozen, but this week's menu is all about finishing my stockpile. Every meal I'm making this week is being doubled to freeze for later. Although it's been sort of exhausting getting all of this done, I know I'll be glad I did it when I'm adjusting to life with a toddler and a newborn. (I'm already glad I didn't save this task for closer to Christmas. It'll be hectic enough as it is.) As you can see, there is lots of pasta happening this week; it freezes so well it's hard to resist, although it's certainly not going to help me lose the baby weight.

Once again: Don't forget about the give-away!

Monday: Lasagna soup, parmesan knots

Tuesday: Spinach artichoke pasta

Wednesday: Taco bake

Thursday: Shrimp lasagna rolls with creamy marinara, salad

Friday: Mexican chicken stuffed shells

Saturday: We're going to a wedding, so I get the night off.

Sunday: Meatloaf, individual potatoes au gratin, green beans. This meal is on the menu constantly, and yet I never get the chance to make it.

Weekend Breakfast: Eggs-in-a-hole, bacon

Baking: Sticks and stones candy bark, which I discovered by accident and now can't wait to try, and tiramisu cheesecake bars, which I wanted to make last year around this time and never did. I also didn't get to make and freeze the chocolate chip cream cheese muffins I'd planned to bake last weekend, because I got home from the store and realized I was out of vanilla. Figures. I'll probably try to make them, too.

Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower

Last night I was on a message board in the online mom's group I'm a member of, and one mother asked how she could sneak vegetables into her picky toddler's dinner. And my friends, this macaroni and cheese is the answer to that question. It's loaded with cauliflower, but the cauliflower totally blends into the pasta and cheese, rendering it invisible to vegetable-haters. Andrew loved this and ate the leftovers for two days. And I felt really good about that, because cauliflower is one vegetable we've had trouble getting him to eat.

Joe and I liked it too. Joe loved the tangy, creamy sauce, and I loved the multigrain breadcrumb topping. Next time I'll definitely add more cheese, because this just wasn't cheesy enough for me. I've reflected that change below. Other than that, though, this was a comforting, quick weeknight dinner, and it temporarily satisfied my near-constant cauliflower craving.

And hey! Don't forget about my give-away! Head on over to that post and leave a comment for a chance to win!

Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower
source: adapted from Real Simple

1 pound elbow macaroni
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
4 slices multigrain bread, torn
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup milk

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding the cauliflower during the last 3 minutes of cooking time; drain.

2. Meanwhile, pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add the parsley, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and pulse to combine; set aside.

3. Return the pasta pot to medium heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, just until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Mix in the pasta, cauliflower, cheese, sour cream, and milk.

4. Transfer to a shallow 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Kicking Off the Christmas Season with a Give-Away!

Good morning everyone! I hope you're having a great day, whether you're out shopping like a crazy person or just relaxing at home. As for me, I'm enjoying the first snowfall of the season. It seems appropriate that the first snowfall would occur today, because for me, the day after Thanksgiving is the official kick-off of the Christmas season. So to kick the season off right, and also to celebrate my 300th post yesterday, I thought it would be fun to host my first ever give-away here at Cassie Craves.

First, a little bit of back story. As you all probably know by now, I'm pretty obsessed with cookbooks. I am also obsessed with Better Homes and Gardens, which is where I find so many recipes that become instant family favorites. A while ago, I signed up for one of their annual recipe cookbooks to be sent to me through the mail, but as I so often do, I neglected to read the fine print -- which also signed me up for automatic shipments of all of their cookbooks. A little while later, I started receiving volumes of their Christmas from the Heart and Christmas Cooking from the Heart series, and somewhere down the line something got screwed up and I received two separate shipments of the same set of cookbooks. Because I am lazy about returning automatic shipments, I put the duplicate volumes aside and promptly forgot about them. Until now.

Just in time for Christmas, here's what I'm offering to one lucky winner today:

Christmas Cooking from the Heart, Volume 6: This cookbook is full of delicious-sounding holiday recipes. You'll find everything from appetizers to main courses to breads to breakfast and brunch, as well as the Christmas cookies Better Homes and Gardens is so well-known for. Among others, you'll get the recipes for pumpkin-pear bisque, gouda and red onion pizza, sweet potato fritatta with cranberry salsa, mocha-hazelnut biscotti, and caramel apple crepes. My mouth is watering already!

Christmas from the Heart, Volume 17: This book contains one of the most awesome and creative holiday craft/homemade gift ideas I've ever seen: using last year's holiday cards to make coasters. I am so doing that next year. It also includes step-by-step instructions for how to make ornaments, creative centerpieces for your holiday table, and beautiful wreaths. It even contains some recipes, like icy cranberry margaritas (yum), white chocolate-apricot mini scones, and chocolate-malted sheet cake.

The books have been sitting in a box in my closet for a while now, and are both like new. So here's all you have to do to win them: Leave a comment on this post letting me know what your favorite Christmas cookie is. That's all. The contest begins now and will end Wednesday, December 2, at 12:00 PM Eastern time. Unfortunately, due to shipping costs, I can only open the give-away to residents of the continental United States. The winner will be chosen at random using random.org's number generator.

So let me know what your favorite Christmas cookie is! And if you can, link to it too -- I'm always on the look-out for delicious new cookie recipes!