Easy Cheesy Chicken, suggested by Tami

From www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (11 ounce) can condensed cream of Cheddar cheese soup
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions

1. Rinse chicken, and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place in slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup and cream of Cheddar cheese soup.
3. Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. Stir in sour cream just before serving.

Pumpkin Soup with Gorgenzola, suggested by Sarah (via Stacy)

2 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin 1 quart chicken stock 1 cup half-and-half 1 shallot, minced 1/4 cup molasses 2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 6 slices bacon 1 cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions:

1.	Stir together the pumpkin, chicken stock, half-and-half, shallot, molasses, butter, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large stockpot over low heat; simmer 10 minutes.
2.	Meanwhile, place bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook until crispy; remove to paper towels to drain, then cool and crumble.
3.	Ladle soup into bowls. Top with bacon and blue cheese.

Homemade Cheeseburgers, from Kris

(all measurements are approximate!)
1 - 1 1/4 pound ground 96/4 hamburger
1/4 cup A1 steak sauce (sometimes I do half A1, half BBQ sauce)
1/2 onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely minced
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 TBSP worchestershire sauce

Mix above ingredients together well. Refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours. Shape into hamburger patties and grill over medium heat until desired doneness. Top with Havarti cheese for a fantastic flavor! Serve with sliced onion, tomato, pickles and lettuce. Usually corn on the cob is the accompaniment. These end up peppery and meaty. Despite the low fat content of the beef, they end up pretty juicy. You won't miss the other 16% fat that is in standard ground beef! We find our 4% at Trader Joe's....

Spinach-Sausage Pasta Bake, from Charity

Ingredients: 4 garlic cloves (minced) 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 pound rigatoni (ziti or penne would work well, too) 10 ounces Baby Spinach or chopped spinach 1 package of Italian sausage, we like Hot but mild or sweet would work as well 8-10 ounces Mozzarella cheese (6 ozs will be cubed and 2-4 ozs shredded to cover pasta) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese __________________________________________________________ Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Brown the Italian sausage and then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more. (Mince your garlic first) Cook pasta according to directions until al dente. Go ahead and preheat the over to 400 degrees now too. Back to the pan, add the crushed tomatoes and oregano to the meat and garlic and cook for a about 5 minutes. Then add the cream and cook until warmed through, another 5 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper. When the pasta is a minute or under from being done, put all the spinach in the water too and push it down into the water. Let it cook with the pasta until just wilted. Drain everything in one strainer and return it to the pasta pot. 6 ozs of Mozzarella cheese (cube it first) and the tomato sauce to the pot as well and stir it all together. You'll need to break up some of the spinach to get it more evenly distributed. Pour it all into baking dishes. I can get mine into one 3 qt rectangular Pyrex casserole dish. Top with the grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until browned and edges are crisp, 20-30 minutes.

Beer Cheese Fondue, from Shelli

I prefer to use a brown ale-ish type beer. For the fondue you ate, I used Sam Adam's Summer Ale.

3/4 c beer
1 lb shredded sharp cheddar tossed with 3 tbsp flour and:
*1ish tsp double ground mustard
*1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
hot sauce to taste

Rub fondue pot w/fresh clove of garlic
Pour in beer, set pot to 375*
When boiling, slowly stir in cheese mixture. Stir, stir, stir...add hot sauce...turn to warm, keep stirring until smooth.

The end.

Cheesy BBQ Chicken Bake, suggested by Karli

CHEESY BBQ CHICKEN BAKE
Recipe by Leslie Green
Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 slices of bacon, cut in half
1 onion, caramelized
1 bottle of BBQ sauce (or similar amount of homemade)
Cheese (I used the cheddar and colby jack shredded cheese blend)

1. Place chicken breasts in large zip lock bag and pour enough BBQ sauce in bag to cover the chicken. Marinate them in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to broil HI, with rack four inches from heat
3. In a large oven proof skillet (I used my trusty cast iron skillet), over medium heat, saute chicken until mostly done, about four minutes per side.
4. Cover chicken is BBQ sauce, onions, cheese and bacon (amounts are up to you, just make sure bacon is on top).
5. Place pan in the oven and broil until the bacon has crisped up, about 5 minutes, or until the chicken reads 165 on an instant read thermometer.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole, from Karli

3 chicken breasts
4oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
4 tortillas
cumin
garlic powder
salt
pepper

Boil chicken in slightly salted water (reserve half cup of broth). Shred chicken and mix with broth, sour cream, cream cheese and seasonings. Cook until well blended. Layer tortillas in bottom of 9x13 pan (you may have to tear them to fit). Cover tortillas with chicken mixture and then top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350° until cheese is melted.

Fake Swanky Chicken, from Teresa

It's a knockoff of some classic recipe that requires wrapping and dredging.
I brown skinless, boneless, beakless chicken breasts on the smooth side, place browned side down on baking dish.

Pepper chicken and cover with a slice of prosciutto store-brand sandwich ham and bake until it's almost done.

Remove ham and toss it. Sprinkle chicken heavily with parmesan cheese.

Bake or if necessary broil to make cheese crusty. Remove from oven.

Using a spoon, scrape bits of pesto from the carton of deli pesto I keep in the freezer; scatter scrapings over chicken breasts.

I serve it with lemon pasta. Sometimes I make Kris's lemon pasta, or I use Trader Joe's lemon pepper pappardelle and toss with olive oil and sliced black olives. Oh, and I will also cook some broccoli or some such too.

Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese, suggested by Rachael

Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese
from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients
1/2 pound ziti
2 cups milk
2 cups coarsely grated gruyere cheese (about 6 ounces)
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)
2 large eggs
3 slices white sandwich bread, roughly diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt
8 ounces thinly sliced deli-boiled ham (I am using diced ham instead)


Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl; toss with 1/4 cup milk.

Meanwhile, combine both cheeses in a bowl. Beat 1/4 cup milk and the eggs in another bowl; fold in the bread and add half of the cheese.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until just brown, 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, cayenne, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Slowly add 3/4 cup water and the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk; bring to a boil, stirring until thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk to cool slightly. Whisk in the remaining cheese, then add the pasta and toss.

Butter a shallow casserole dish. Add half of the pasta, top with some of the ham and cover with the remaining pasta. Top with the remaining ham, then cover with the bread mixture. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before serving.

Amish Yumazuti, from Karli

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3/4 cup chopped celery
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes
* 1 (12 ounce) package uncooked egg noodles
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place noodles in a pot of lightly salted boiling water. Cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook ground beef, onion, celery and garlic in a skillet over medium heat until meat is evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
3. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place half of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the dish. Cover them with half of the meat mixture, then half of the tomatoes. Spoon half of the cream of chicken soup over the tomatoes, then sprinkle half of the shredded cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheese on the top.
4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes to set before serving.

I left out the celery (I'm out) and used cream of mushroom instead of chicken. I also didn't layer it and just mixed it together, then topped with cheese. It turned out very good and the kids inhaled it.

Cheesy-Garlic Crust Casserole, an idea from Rachael

I used a package of Bisquick cheese-garlic biscuit mix as a crust in a loaf pan, I topped it with some lean ground beef that I cooked with chopped onion, garlic, herbs, and mixed in some jarred tomato sauce with mushrooms. On top of that I put cheddar cheese. I was trying to use what I had. I baked it at 375 until the crust looked done. It came out alright. It could have used some more flavor.

Anniversary Chicken, suggested by Karli

Anniversary Chicken from the allrecipes.com site. I didn't have the teriyaki sauce, but it turned out good anyway.

Anniversary Chicken I

INGREDIENTS

* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1/2 cup teriyaki basting sauce
* 1/2 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 3 green onions, chopped
* 1/2 (3 ounce) can bacon bits

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, and saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, until lightly browned.
3. Place browned chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush with teriyaki sauce, then spoon on salad dressing. Sprinkle with cheese, green onions and bacon bits.
4. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Chicken Fajita Quesadillas, an idea from Kris

I made chicken fajita quesadillas tonight. We had BBQ'd some bone in chicken breasts night before last with just some creole seasoning sprinkled on them. We had 2 breasts left over (we bought a 5 pack and cook 'em all, knowing we'd have an epiphany of something to do with the leftovers).

I took the chicken off the bone and chopped it up. In a pan, I sauteed a diced onion. When it was soft, I added a diced yellow pepper and diced red pepper as well as the chicken. I then added a can of fire roasted green chilis 1 tsp of the creole seasoning I used on the chicken, and the juice of 1 lime. I let it cook together until hot and the liquid had evaporated. I have a waffle iron that has a griddle on the opposite sides from the waffle-y part, so I flipped them both over to make a sandwich press. I put a tortilla on the bottom, spread some pepper jack cheese, topped with veggie/chicken mix, more cheese and another tortilla. I closed the griddle and let it cook until the tortillas were toasty. Cut them into 4ths and served the wedges with sour cream and salsa. They were damn good. I'm having leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow!

Suggested by Rachael - Marlboro Man's SECOND Favorite Sandwich

Lemon-pepper chicken with peppered bacon and cheese.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/marlboro_mans_s/

Suggested by Carrie - Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I found this recipe on line, so that's what I'm going by ....

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Stuffed-Chicken-Breast/Detail.aspx

It went well. The chicken came out nice. I just made the chicken breasts stuffed with thinly sliced green apple, cheddar cheese, a few garlic bread crumbs, salt, pepper and a dash of allspice. Fried them up in a little butter, then added a little chicken stock and white wine and simmered them for 15 minutes.

They came out juicy and flavorful. It think it would make an awesome fall dish with the allspice in there, but it was still a good dinner for our guests. I served it with rice pilaf and steamed sugar snap peas.

Chicken Cordon Bleu, from Karen

It's a decent amount of work with the pounding of the chicken and the rolling/toothpicking. But it's so fancy and delicious!!! It tastes incredibly rich, but Ive made the recipe healthier.


Chicken Cordon Bleu

1 boneless chicken breast for each person. 1 slice of proscuitto and swiss cheese per breast.

Pound chicken breasts flat. Place 1 slice of proscuitto and swiss on each breast and roll tight, securing with toothpicks.

Roll each breast in flour seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika.

Brown breasts well on all sides in olive oil in a large deep skillet or pan with lid(original recipe calls for a sick amount of butter!).

Add 1 cup white wine, and 1 chicken boullion cube or 1 teaspoon "better than boullion" chicken flavor.

Stir to dissolve, and cover pan. Simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes, turning once or twice.

When done, remove breasts. Add 1 cup skim milk (original recipe calls for heavy cream! WTF!!) and whisk with flour (3-4 tbs?) to thicken.

Serve with rice and steamed veggie, and enjoy how insanely good it is!!

Notes

Kris: I did most of Karen's steps except that I took the chicken out of the pan after I browned it, added chopped onions to the hot pan and sauteed them for a couple of minutes. I then added the white wine (I used Reisling - I would recommend NOT doing that. It was too sweet. Next time, a chardonnay), bouillion, about 3/4 cup water and 2 big TBSP dijon mustard and 2 TBSP butter/ I mixed that well, then added the chicken back into the pan to finish cooking. When the chicken was done, then I added about a half cup milk and the flour like Karen suggested. It thickened up nicely and was pretty good. Again, next time I'll plan ahead and buy Chardonnay. The Riesling made it too sweet. But, overall it was really good... my daughter helped me make it and she was really proud of herself.

Joanne: I made Karen's cordon bleu last night! It was yummy!

I'm lazy though. I never pound my chicken flat enough to do the pretty roll. If I were to do that recipe again, I think I'd just slice the chicken to make a pocket, stuff it, then close it with a toothpick. I think the cheese would be less likely to spill out that way, too.

Pepper-jack turkey burgers, from Kris

I'm making pepper-jack turkey burgers tonight. I have no idea how they will turn out. I found a recipe in my Weight Watchers book, tweaked it a bit - so we'll see what happens. I've never made burgers before with cheese in the burgers. Apparently it is supposed to help keep the turkey burgers more moist....

- 1 lb turkey breast, ground
- 1 large garlic clove finely minced
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions
- 1 TBSP Worchestershire sauce
- 1 TBSP A-1 steak sauce
- 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/3 cup shredded pepper-jack cheese

Mix and grill. Serve topped with a little more pepper jack on toasted buns. I plan on serving it with some lettuce fresh from my garden.

Chopped Salad, from Stephanie

Chopped Salad

1 head romaine lettuce
a small bunch green onions
avocado
diced cooked chicken
gorgonzola cheese
about 6 slices bacon
2 seeded plum tomatoes

(I leave off the tomatoes because I don't like them, but today my husband is getting 3 halved cherry tomatoes in his because I grew them.)

Chop all ingredients until they are just the right size. Everything should be about the same size except the cheese, which is its own size, and the lettuce will likely be a little bigger. The onions can go a little smaller because they are strong.

Now for the dressing. Mix these ingredients in a jar and shake to mix.

1/2c. balsalmic vinegar
3/4c to 1 c. extra virgin olive oil (Start with 3/4 and go up to taste.)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 pressed garlic cloves

Dress the salad, toss and serve.

Carrie's take on Beef and Pepper Sandwiches

This recipe and Amy's Beef and Pepper Sandwiches are very similar, but Carrie does a few things differently.

Beef Roast sandwiches....

~ 1 Beef Roast 2-5 lbs ( I always wait until a roast ... any cut... is on sale. This time it was a shoulder round roast, 3.5lbs for 1.99 a lb .... normally $6.50 a lb)

~ 1 16 oz jar of whole pepperochinis

~ A bit of garlic (jarred minced, fresh minced or whole clove)

~ Salt and Pepper

~ Cheese

~ Rolls

Throw the roast in a crock pot (after you trim the fat a bit) and sprinkle some salt and pepper in there, open jar of pepperochinnis and dump the whole thing in, stems, juice and all). Add garlic. Cook on low 7-9 hours.

Now, there are several ways of finishing the meat. I remove the roast into a shallow pan, shred it, add the pepperochinis and shred them up a bit too, mix it all together and add a fair amount of the juice from the crockpot to moisten it up......

Some people just like to shred the roast right there in the crockpot in the juice. I'm sure that's fine but it might make the meat more soggy on your sandwich than I prefer.

......Take buns or hoagie rolls, top with beef mixture and your selection of cheese (I use Pepper Jack) and melt the cheese under the broiler.

Eat the best friggin' sandwich you've ever had.

Cook's Note: I always make sure to buy a bigger roast than we need because the leftover meat is so good! Sometimes we chop it up and make nachos out of it, or make tacos out of it, or beef encheladas.... the yumminess is endless.

Cheese grits, from Allison

Cheese grits
serves 4

1 cup stone-ground grits
4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
a touch of Tabasco sauce

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour in the grits and salt. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn the heat down as far as it will go and cover. Stir pretty often (every couple minutes or so), and cook for about 40 minutes, maybe longer. At the end, stir in the cheese and Tabasco sauce. Serve hot.