by Ali at Divine Domesticity on July 15th, 2009
Being married to a picky eater can get frustrating. During the week is my time to experiment with a new recipe or two, and use ingredients that my husband doesn't eat (like cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, spicy foods, vegetables...ah, the list goes on).
This week I decided on Creamy Chicken Enchiladas from Recipegirl.com. Since it was just myself eating it for the week, I made half the recipe and baked it in a 8" x 8" pan. I used the full amounts for the sauce component as I was paranoid of it being too dry. Overall I thought it was delicious and a nice change from my standard enchiladas that I use a red sauce for. Next time I would add some sliced pickled jalapenos in with the chicken mixture for some extra heat.
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Makes 6-8 servings
One 10¾ oz. can Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup
8 oz light sour cream
1 cup Pace picante sauce
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Ten 6-inch flour tortillas
1 large tomato, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1 avocado, mashed and mixed w/ a little sour cream and picante sauce (quick guacamole)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
2. Stir soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, stir 1 cup of the sauce mixture with the chicken & 1 cup of the cheese.
4. Spread about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side-down in prepared dish. Scoop remaining sauce over the filled tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray. Place sprayed-side-down on enchiladas and cover tightly.
5. Bake for 40 minutes or until enchiladas are hot and bubbling. Top individual servings with tomato and onion. Add a dollop of guacamole, if desired.
Recipe from Recipegirl.com
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Lemon Parmesan Pasta with Chicken
by Ali at Divine Domesticity on July 13th, 2009
I am a big proponent of cooking certain ingredients for a meal ahead of time. For instance, I cook all my ground beef and chicken ahead of time and store it in the freezer so it is ready to be added to a quick meal. If you are able to spend an hour on the weekend prepping, you can save yourself a lot of time throughout the week. Simply pull out your cooked meat the day before you plan to use it and store it in the fridge to allow it to thaw.
- One tip I have is to store your protein in serving size containers, either Ziploc or Tupperware containers. It is inconvenient to have to try to pry apart frozen chicken strips when you've frozen a three pounds of it in one Ziploc bag. (Not that I have ever done that..ahem.)
Lemon Parmesan Pasta with Chicken
Makes 2-4 servings
1/2 lb. angel hair pasta (or less, depending on your family size)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped into bite sized pieces, cooked
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter Zest from one lemon
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
1/2 cup whole milk (You can use a lower fat milk as well)
1. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat butter in large skillet. Saute garlic until fragrant. Set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions. Toss the cooked pasta with the chicken, lemon zest, milk, reserved pasta water, and garlic and butter mixture.
Adapted from a recipe at My Happy Meals
Rolo Pecan Candies
by Ali at Divine Domesticity on July 10th, 2009
These are completely addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you.
If you are the treat making and giving kind, I recommend keeping these ingredients on hand. They take very little effort, they make a ton so you will have some leftovers for yourself, and if you slip them into a glassine bag or into a nice tin, you have a tasty treat for a friend.
Rolo Pecan Candies
Makes many servings
2 bags rolos
1 bag mini pretzels
bag of pecans
1. Preheat oven to 250-f degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread pretzels over baking sheet in one even layer. Add one rolo to each mini pretzel. Bake for 4 minutes.
2. Remove from oven and immediately add a pecan to the top of the rolo, squishing down. Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer baking sheet to fridge to chill for 10 minutes. Remove and store in a sealed container.
It has been several years since I first made these and I'm not sure where I got the recipe from originally. All I know is it is all over the internet, so thanks to whomever posted this recipe first. It is awesome!
Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps
by Ali at Divine Domesticity on July 9th, 2009
Talk about taking my time -- I made these Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps several years ago during the football season and I'm just now posting them. Sheesh!
My husband loved these, I thought they were tasty, but not a WOW. Perhaps a bit less chili powder and I'd be more of a fan. Either way, they'd be a tasty addition to your next party or family get together. Enjoy!
Makes 12-15 wraps
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.
Recipe from Paula Deen and The Food Network
Sangria Punch (Non Alcoholic)
by Ali at Divine Domesticity on July 8th, 2009
About two months ago when I was still extremely large and pregnant with Jack, I started craving sangria. As you may know, sangria is an alcoholic beverage, and I am way too uptight to even take a sip of alcohol with gestating. I found a great substitution over at Heritage Schoolhouse (one of new my favorite blogs, by the way).
I was pleasantly surprised at the taste of this punch. While not exactly a traditional sangria flavor (since there is no wine in it), it really did the trick of satisfying my craving. This is a perfect summer drink to enjoy at the end of a long day.
Sangria Punch
6 servings
maraschino cherries and juice
lemon slices
lime slices
orange slices
grape juice
ginger ale
1. Put cherries, juice, lemon, lime and orange slices in a pitcher. Let chill in the fridge for several hours.
To serve: Pour equal amounts of prepared punch and ginger ale over ice in a large glass.
Recipe from Heritage Schoolhouse
Broccoli-Cauliflower Bake
by Divine Domesticity on July 6th, 2009
Vintage Victuals is a great food blog with ultra comforting recipes. Whilst trolling through the archives, I came across her recipe for a Broccoli-Cauliflower Bake. Ultra yum.
I added half a package of sliced mushrooms and subbed a can of cream of celery for the mushroom soup, only because I wanted to use what I had on hand rather than buying more ingredients. The result was extremely delicious and became and instant favorite for our house.
Broccoli-Cauliflower Bake
Makes 4-6 servings
1 head broccoli, washed and separated into florettes
1 head cauliflower, washed and separated into florettes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (light version works too)
1 cup sour cream (low-fat sour cream or no-fat plain yogurt also work)
1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange broccoli and cauliflower in a greased 9 x 9 casserole dish or a 9" pie dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a bowl, whisk together condensed soup and sour cream. Pour this mixture over your veggies. Sprinkle with parmigiano reggiano cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until veggies are tender and sauce begins to turn golden brown.
Recipe from Vintage Victuals
New Blog Design and Fun Food Photography News
by Divine Domesticity on July 5th, 2009
- Just a quick note to feed readers that I have a lovely new blog design courtesy of ShabbyBlogs.com. Come check it out!
- After over two years, I have finally unpacked all of my food photography dishes, lights, etc., so I will be able to start taking food photos again! Woo! I hope to go back and take pictures of some of the better food I've made over the past two years. I'm so excited to get back into taking food photos.
Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings
by Divine Domesticity on July 5th, 2009
Words cannot accurately describe how delicious this dessert is. Not only does it make your house smell heavenly while it is baking, it tastes amazing -- and I don't use that word lightly when it comes to food. I urge you to serve this with vanilla ice cream and don't think about the calories, just enjoy it.
Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings
4 servings
2 granny smith apples
2 tubes refrigerator crescent rolls
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 can of mountain dew soft drink
cinnamon
1. Peel, core and slice each apple into 8 slices. Unroll crescent rolls. Roll an apple slice in each crescent roll and place in a buttered 8x13 inch pan.
2. Melt butter, add sugar and barely stir - you want the butter and sugar to be grainy and lumpy. Add vanilla; barely stir. Pour butter mixture over crescents. Pour mountain dew around the sides of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350-f degrees for 40 minutes.
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman and Heritage Schoolhouse
Scheduling a c-section: Was it worth it?
by Ali at Divine Domesticity on June 29th, 2009
Sidenote: Both kids are napping at the same time! This is the first break I've had all day. Wee!
I had a lot of anxiety about planning my c-section. It felt like the ultimate cop-out. My first labor experience was so horrible that a big part of me wanted to bypass that entire process. The doctors did tell me that my second was going to be at least 9 pounds, so I worried that my bad experiences would reoccur this time around with another large baby. When it came down to it, I went with my gut instinct, which was to schedule the c-section.
I had two very different c-section experiences.
C-section #1: After 25 hours of hard, excruciating labor (with bad sciatic back pain and an epidural that didn't work), I was out of my mind with pain, had been starving for over 36 hours, and could barely think straight from exhaustion and pain. Emergency C-section followed, with complications with my daughter's breathing and blood circulation, from having been stuck for 2 hours and having gone into distress. I wasn't able to see her for a few hours after she was born, and it frankly just sucked.
The recovery: Laboring for that long, having no food, and all that pain took an incredible toll on me. Walking was hell. Using the restroom was hell. The first few days following the c-section were incredibly painful. With lots of medication I was functional after returning home, but still in a good deal of pain. I waited as long as I could to check out of the hospital.
C-section #2: I checked into the hospital rested, nervous, but comfortable. I ended up waiting a few hours before getting into the operating room as my doctor was pulled away for an emergency surgery. The surgery was quick, painless, and out Jack came, at 10 pounds 8 ounces. The nurses, anesthesiologist and doctor all said, "He's a tank!" Other than having some extra fluid in his lungs that needed to be suctioned out (common for c-section babies), he was great!
The recovery: Dare I say it, it was a breeze! Don't get me wrong, I still took the pain medication, but I seemed to manage my pain much better. I had to stay alone at the hospital at night, since my husband had to stay at home with my daughter, but I managed just fine. By the next morning at 4 am, I was requesting to have the catheter out and to try to sit up and walk around the room. Walking was pretty easy actually, and the pain was entirely more manageable. I checked out early from the hospital, after about 2 days. For the entire stay, the nurses and doctor were telling me that I was doing exceptionally well and recovering very fast.
So, was it worth it? I speak only for myself when I say that for my special circumstances, scheduling a c-section was the best choice.
Knowing that we have very large babies, that seconds babies are typically larger, and that male babies are typically larger, I took a bet that Jack would be larger than Violet, and he sure was, by nearly a pound.
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