Chicken Bacon Baked Jalepeno Alfredo

Thursdays Throw Together

 

 

    Alfredo is very near and dear to my heart and my stomach! Its always been a go to for company or just satisfying a need for creamy and delicious pasta. It was also the first meal I ever cooked for Michael. I have done Alfredo a hundred different ways. (Tho usually with spinach much to Mike's disfavor. He doesn't mind it but typically I use spinach a lot.)

    This time I was craving a baked pasta that was savory for me and spicy for him. Not so spicy that I would need half a gallon of milk just to finish off my plate but just enough to give my taste buds a little kick. We had some jalepeno cream cheese and most of a small block of pepperjack. I had picked up a bacon Alfredo sauce I spotted at the store this weekend and decided to fry up a few strips of bacon we had in the fridge to give it a little crunch and savory flavor.

What you'll need

2 large Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar bacon Alfredo sauce
5 strips of bacon
1 1/4cups of shredded pepper jack cheese
1 1/4 cups Italian blend cheese
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of jalepeno cream cheese
1/3 cup of bread crumbs
12 oz pasta
1/2 bunch cilantro chopped stems discarded


Cut chicken into cubes and dice garlic, saute over medium heat until cooked though. Prepare pasta as directed and drain well. Pour the pasta into a large casserole dish. Fry 5 slices of bacon until crispy, in the last minute and a half add in a handful of chopped cilantro. Let bacon and cilantro drain on a paper towel until cooled.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

While the bacon is cooling pour the alfredo sauce over the chicken in the pan. Stir and bring to a slight simmer. Turn heat to medium-low. Add in 1 cup of each shredded cheese, along with the jalepeno cream cheese. Mix well. Crumble in the bacon and cilantro. (I roughly chopped it first)

Pour the chicken and sauce mixture over the pasta and toss together. Top with leftover shredded cheese (I just sliced the end of the pepperjack block into thin squares) and another handful of cilantro. 

Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 mins. Uncover and top with bread crumbs. Broil until bread crumbs have slightly browned. (3-5 mins.)
Let cool!/serves 4-6

    This one is a keeper! Michael ate two FULL plates! He was happy that the "green stuff" in the alfredo wasn't spinach for once! We both agree on liking cilantro, For me its like fridge freshener. I like the taste, not too over powering but you can tell when it's there. The smell of cilantro is simply amazing. I think I get that opinion from my mom. She goes crazy for the smell. Her face practically lights up when she breathes it in. The pepper jack and jalepeno were great combinations with the creamy savory sauce. It was soo cheesy and yummy! The crispy bacon and blackened cilantro really brought every thing to a harmonious blend. Personally I love baked pasta with bread crumbs, feels more like comfort food that way. Maybe thats just me tho. Who knows?

I am proud to say the milk was safe. My mouth wasnt on fire but it had enough heat to bring out each flavor without masking anything. I tend to crave spicy things and remember I'm a big baby to too much heat until about the fourth or fifth bite when my screaming tastebuds remind me. This wasnt like that. This was a merriment of flavors. Mouth watering, tastebud dancing flavors! This baked alfredo will hold a place on our table again soon. According to Mike it is a 10fingers 10 toes up dinner! (I will admit I havent gotten that one from him before.) I was looking forward to left overs tomorrow bug it seems like there might not be much of a chance of that after all. Definately going to make this next time my cousin Heather comes to town. Shes a big fan of bacon, and I'm a big fan of being able to give her home cooked meals!

 

He ate about three times this amount!

This would be pretty easy to throw together earlier in the day and just cover in the fridge until its ready to bake. I'm always thinking of meals I can prep and toss in the oven when I get home. This didnt take much time to throw together. The baking time is even short enough that we aren't eating to late either. Gives us a little extra time after dinner to just relax for a while. Clean up wasnt even bad. No tough scrubbing either!  

Speaking of time to relax, guess who is outside watering his yard? ;-P Although, I do have to say the grass is coming along pretty well here on day ten. Its nice to see something other than a dirt lot out  our kitchen window. We're doing the outer edges this weekend. I don't even mind Sweeping twice aday anymore.

Hes got his grass and I've got my three C's! Caffeine, cooking, and my wonderful loving Crazies sprinkled all throughout my days. 

As always thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing feedback!!

-Mandy

Restaurant Redo: Hawaiian Steak and Grilled Artichoke. (Houstons/Hillstone)

    You might be wondering what I mean by "Restaurant Redo". Well, "Mr.IWantMyGrassToGrowAlready" (Michael/Fiance) and I used to do take out on Wednesday nights but with wedding payments and such we have decided to cut back on that a bit. (Normally it consisted of mainly sushi. I get almost painfully bad cravings for it so often.) So I decided why not try making a few of our favorites from different places at home.

     A little while ago we stopped by "Hillstone", an upscale steak house down the street (and nationwide). His favorite is the Hawaiian rib-eye! We ordered two of those with sides and a grilled artichoke with a creamy, zesty remoulade (dipping sauce) for an appetizer. IT WAS GREAT, I understood why he loved it so much! When starting this blog I already had the steak marinading in the fridge because it takes 2-3 days. I had no idea I was starting a blog. I wasnt even going to blog tonights feast. That is until my friend Goose stopped by this morning and convinced me to blog it anyways. He can sometimes be wise, witty or helpful, sometimes. ;-) (Kidding buddy!)

    Well after eating it I feel it needs to be shared with everyone, it was far to delicious and flavorful not to share it! We spent around $120 or so after tip for lunch at Hillstone. LUNCH! I found a recipe online right after that for how to make it and figured it was worth a shot. Well that first time it was good but wasn't as close as I had hoped. So I did what I usually do. I tried again, my own way this time. This recipe is adapted from Here.

My "Hillstone Mock": Hawaiian Steak

 2 steaks (Ribeye traditionally, I used petite sirloin)

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

8 ounce can sliced pineapple 

1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons minced garlic cloves

2 teaspoons ginger (I use frozen cubes of ginger by dorot)

1/8 cup Worcestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons of honey

Mix everything but the can of pineapple in a pot. Pour the pineapple juice in and squeeze as much juice out of the slices as you can. Then roughly chop the pineapple and throw it in with everything else. Heat to medium-low on the stove for about five mins, Whisking as it heats. (Make sure to keep it moving and don't let the sugar and honey sit on the bottom or it will burn.) Let it cool.

Toss your steaks into a tupperwear or large ziplock bag. Pour the mixture it. Let it marinade for 2-3 days. Flipping every 12 hours. (Or just every now and then when you walk to the fridge. It feel like such a long wait. But it does pay off!)

  

After waiting between 48-72 hours, it is finally ready! Take the steaks out and let them sit while you fire up the grill. (you should let meat warm off from the fridge a little before tossing them on the grill right away, cold.) Cook to desired doneness. 5-8 mins perside usually. (depending on the cut and thickness of your meat as well as your preference of how well you like it done best.) 

*remember to let it sit for a couple mins to redistribute all the juices before you cut into it.You will lose a lot of flavor if you dig in to soon.

Like I said, we also ordered grilled Artichoke that day so I decided why not grill the artichoke in the fridge along with the steak and just recreate the whole meal. (Well our favorite parts at least!) I looked up a recipe for the Hillstone grilled artichoke and dipping sauce. (I thought it was an aioli style base.) I found this! Of course changed it up a little bit! Here is my version.

My "Hillstone Mock": Grilled Artichoke and Remoulade (Dip)

Grilled Artichokes

1 large artichoke
3/4 lemon, quartered
3/8 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Remoulade

 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use olive oil mayo)
1 1/2 tablespoons green dill relish
1 garl0ic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon capers
1/2 teaspoon spicy mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 to taste salt & freshly ground black pepper (capers have enough salt IMHO)

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinager

Cut off the tops and ends of leafs (cut off 1/4 of an inch off) from the artichokes with kitchen scissors, cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out all the the purple leafs and fuzzy stuff. Watch out for the purple leafs, they will be SHARP!  Squeeze on lemon to prevent browning. 

(**tip my mom showed me to get more juice out of fruit, roll it against the counter or table with your palms back and fourth for 10 seconds before you cut it.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add artichokes into boiling water, and cook for about 20 mins or steam for about 30 in a steam basket. Drain well. !t this point I drizzled on a little olive, pepper, and squeezed on some lemon and wrapped it in foil with the lemon and put it in the fridge for 4 hours (while I was at work.)

Squeeze the left over lemon into a medium bowl. Stir in the olive oil and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Time to fire up the grill! Brush the artichokes with the garlic dip, and place them on the preheated grill.

Grill the artichokes for 5 to 10 minutes, basting with dip and turning frequently, until the tips are a little charred. Serve immediately with remoulade.

 

Remoulade:.
In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients (I used my great grandmas ceramic dish to mix and serve it)
Season to taste.

   I was extremely impressed with the flavor this time. It was pretty spot on! It would have been better if I had done a ribeye in Michael's opinion but he loves the ribeye cut. Usually the ones that are higher in fat are his preference because they do normally naturally have the most flavor. He being the expert in the house hold on this particular steak said that it was "perfect! The flavor is Perfect!" I'm going to call that a win! I didnt charge him $60 for it but he did take out the trash and even pick up my plate for me! He might just be in a good mood since his grass is "finally growing"! (He started 8days ago on the grass quest! I think its cute how determined he is. He is very proud of the progress.)

    The steak had so many flavors and they all went together perfectly. The steak stayed juicy and delicious all the way to the end. The diced pineapple that clung to the steak on the grill caramelized nicely. It was a great addition to the slightly sweet, slightly salty, very yummy flavor that you got in each bite. We will definitely be doing it again! Although, probably with rib-eyes next! Even with a three day wait I can honestly tell you it was worth every second of waiting, just for that first bite!

    The grilled artichokes were fantastic! Letting them sit and soak up the garlic and lemon, for the four hours I was at work, was a great idea. They absorbed so much flavor. Truth be told I mostly did it because I didn't want to clean it out and boil it when I got home. Michael wanted it a little more tender. I probably would have steamed it in the basket if I wasn't running low on time before work. He LOVED the dip! He is even requesting we have it again soon. Might even opt to pair them together again. It was a perfect balance.

    On another note: After making Goose feel the cacti like purple leafs and him watch me cleaning it all out he said "Ya thats not something I'd ever want to have to do. Too much work!" You can get a degree in biochemistry but won't clean an artichoke? See what I mean by the comment from before. :-)

Thank you for taking the time to read and encouraging me to continue! Time to catch up on some tv and enjoy my over sized couch.

-Mandy

Chicken and dumplings in the slow cooker; Welcome back Fall!

Here's to the beginning  of what hopes to be a wonderful blogging hobby.


    What better way to start out than a hearty crockpot full of homemade chicken and dumplings?
Here in Phoenix, Arizona it doesnt get extremely cold. Although, we still enjoy home cooked hearty meals like the rest of the country. Where leaves actually change color and people practically need parkas in the winter. I mean last year we did get a frozen slush like rain, but I wouldnt count it as much. We dont get snow days here. Just heat advisories. We're in late October, the high today is 90 with a low of 64, but hey we call that fall here.

  Originally I had wanted chicken pot pie, but my finance isnt very found of them. (Probably because he is thinking about those gross microwave ones.) After talking I decided chicken and dumplings would hit the spot and its something he likes. So I decided to do more of a deconstructed chicken pot pie, if you will. I found lots of crock pot recipes for it online but most of them called for one or more "cream of" whatever soups. Those have lots of salt and my grass obsessed fiance eats to much of that as it is. So, I kind of aim to cut it out where ever i can.(especially if he doesnt know about it.) So I opted to just make a "cream of chicken soup" myself. Heres the recipe for that.

Homemade Cream O' Chicken Soup!

Prep time:  3mins or so

Cook time:  10 mins roughly

Total time:  15 mins

Serves: 3 cups

Makes about 2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup.

• 2½ cups chicken broth (I mixed homemade stock i had on hand with about a cup of store bought)
• 1½ cups milk
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 tablespoon seasonings (i skipped this since the broth i made was seasoned with about a table spoon of dill, onion powder, garlic powder, and a dash of white pepper. but feel free to make it your own.the bay leaf in the photo wasnt use but easily could be. just remember to take it out before you serve it.)

Instructions

1. Mix the chicken broth and ½ cup of the milk in a  saucepan. Bring to a slight boil.
2. While thats going, in a small bowl, whisk the flour and seasonings into the leftover cup of milk until a lumps are gone (atleast mostly) and a thick mixture forms.

 3.Pour the flour and milk stuff into the saucepan with the broth and milk over low heat, stir nonstop. (Seriously do not stop or it will get too thick especially on the bottom. So mix for your life!) Simmer and stir until it is smooth and thick, 5-10 minutes. (It will thicken up as it cools down.)

That can be substituted for just about any cream of chicken. It saves you from lots of the junk that goes into canned soup and for just a few cents for two cans rather than the $1.19-&1.79 Per-Can at grocery stores. Plus its stuff you most likely already have on hand anyways.

Onto this Chicken and dumplings Ive been craving for a week now.

Slow-Cooker Chicken and Dumplings!

adapted from polishthestars

Ingredients:

1.5lb of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (I used 4 big ones)

2 cans (10.5oz) Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup(Homemade recipe above)

2-3cans or one pour box of Chicken Broth (again i went homemade,

you could try reduced sodium as well)

1dollop of butter

1 medium White Onion, diced

2 Celery stalked trimmed and sliced to desired thinness

2Large Carrots(washed)

2cloves garlic(or garlic powder)

preferred seasonings

4 Large Flaky Refrigerator Biscuits (half a can)

1.Place chicken in crock pot with the carrots, mine was frozen solid. 

2.Pour the cream of chicken over the chicken in the slow-cooker.

 3.Saute the onions, celery, and garlic in the dollop of butter until onions become translucent.

 4.Add the chicken broth to the veggies, add your seasonings, (I used a dash of cayenne, a small sprinkle of white pepper, and a dash of dill) bring just to a simmer for 2-3mins. (see that tasty dill? mmmm)

5.Once its done pour it in the crock pot on top of everything else. (I put the carrots in here, because i forgot to earlier)  Cook on High for 4-6 hours or Low for 8 hours.  Do not stir for the first few hours while cooking. (You add cooking time every time you open your crockpot. I know its tough, try to refrain! Might I add that the house smells amazing!)

6. Next step is 45 mins before its done,

Cut each uncooked biscuit into nickel sized piece and toss them with a little flour to prevent them from sticking together.



















7.Pour your second can of chicken broth into your slow-cooker. Shred your chicken with a spatula or take it out and shred it with two forks if it isnt tender enough for the spatula (mine was). Drop the flour coated biscuit pieces into your crockpot and stir. cover and turn up to high if you were cooking on low. It should only take about 30-45 mins to cook from here.  (Sorry the picture is dark. First try, I'll get better)


Serve hot, sprinkle on a little salt (it really isn't needed IMHO) or if you're like me, a couple dashes and then some of fresh cracked black pepper.

Makes about 6-8 servings.







Dinners eaten, dishes are clean and put away!

I can Happily say that the craving spot got hit. Perfectly hearty, thick, and rich! The Biscuit dumpling cheat wasn't the best road to take on this one. It wasnt bad but I prefer the thick pillowy dumplings like mom makes. They were good but reminded me more of cracker barrel dumplings or a gnocchi almost. Either way it was quite tastey. Even my fiance was please. Though he isnt usually too picky but a chicken dish with his approval is a good thing! I am the picky one and I ate two bowls and normally I hardly finish a first. Will keep great for a later breakfast with my coffee tomorrow morning! Time to call it a blog, I've got a sugar coated honey drizzled piece of indian fry bread with my name all over it! Can't type with honey-hands! Thanks for reading!
-Mandy