Creamy Chicken Alfredo Casserole

 

It's that time again- casseroles, crock pot meals and comfort food! This was my attempt at an Alfredo based pasta casserole- and it turned out pretty yummy!

Start by cooking your pasta according to packaged directions. This recipe was intended to serve 6-8- so I cooked about 4 cups of pasta. While the pasta is cooking make your Alfredo sauce.
Heavy whipping cream- about 3 cups
Butter (1/4 stick)
1 cup grated Parmesan/Asiago/Romano- you can combine all three or use only one kind- but total should be 1 cup of grated cheese.
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
2 tsp dried parsley/basil or combo of Italian herbs

Melt butter, herbs, garlic powder and onion powder in a sauce pan.  Once butter is completely melted, stir in whipping cream. Heat on medium/high until cream is at a low boil- turn down to low add grated cheese and simmer/stir until completely incorporated and the sauce is thick. (add more cheese if you like)- salt/pepper to taste.

Casserole ingredients-
Cooked pasta (I used rotini)
Two large chicken breast- seasoned, baked and cubed.
Two medium tomatoes- sliced
1 can medium black olives
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Spray large casserole dish with non-stick spray. Pour half of the pasta in, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover with half of the Alfredo sauce and top with fresh tomato and olives and half of the baked chicken. Pour remaining pasta on top and repeat toppings- add more mozzarella to the very top layer. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly and casserole is heated through.

As always- tweak it to your liking- add different veggies- I LOVE artichokes and thought they might be a good addition. :) If you do make it- let me know how it turns out.

Blackberry Cobbler Baby!

One of my most favorite childhood memories is blackberry picking with my family. We lived in Oklahoma, so it was hot and there were so many mosquito's! It didn't even matter, I was thrilled to grab a big plastic jug and head out into the pasture with my siblings! We would get all scratched up and our legs would be stinging, but we LOVED it!... what in the world was wrong with us???? Anyway, when it was all said and done, my mom would make blackberry cobbler, and it was the best!  Thankfully blackberries are abundant where we live now too. So, we take the kids out to pick blackberries all summer! Last year I got the bright idea to train a blackberry vine over the fence and down a trellis into our backyard, that way the berries would be low to the ground so the kids could pick them without much help. It was great! Of course the biggest, juiciest ones are just out of reach, so there I was strategically balanced on one foot leaning half way off a ladder on tippy toe saying to my 4 year old "baby, hold the ladder so mommy doesn't fall"...... what in the world is STILL wrong with me!!!! Oh the things I do for blackberry cobbler!

So, I'm going to share my not exact- no where near precise "recipe" with you! This recipe will be for roughly 4 cups of berries.

Step 1- acquire blackberries- sure you can buy them store bought- but the thrill of nearly loosing a limb to secure the "perfect" berry would have escaped you!

This my friends is the PERFECT blackberry! See how huge and plump and dark it is! Leave the red ones, leave the puny ones- go for the gold...er... black!

Wash the berries- store bought ones too- just rinse in cool water and get any leaves, twigs, etc. out. Bugs, well, a little extra protein never hurt anyone... except the bug of course!

Step 2- spray your baking dish with non-stick spray, or use good old fashioned butter to grease the bottom of the dish.

In a medium mixing bowl combine 1 1/2 cups sugar 2/3 cup corn starch- mix well and add blackberries. Stir to coat and pour mixture into baking dish.

 Now for the cobbler breading. Mix 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 to 2/3 cups milk- you need to add enough milk for the batter to be pretty runny- about the consistency of pancake batter.  Pour batter over the berries in the baking dish.

 Slice one stick of butter into thin slices and distribute evenly over the top of the cobbler batter. Sprinkle top of batter with sugar to cover entire top.

Bake at 375 degrees until the crust is golden brown and the berries are bubbling.

                                                        It should look something like this.

Now, top with some creamy vanilla ice cream or whipped topping- heck, just eat it straight out of the dish- no matter how you serve it, it makes the blackberry picking process SO worth it!!!

Asian pear pop-overs

I made these the other day on a whim, but they turned out so good I thought I would share the "recipe".  I use that term very loosely considering that I am a throw it and and cross your fingers kind of cook! But I will give you the gist of what I did and you can tweak it to your liking.

 

Pop-overs
1 can crescent rolls
4-6 small Asian pears- pealed and cubed (substitute any fresh fruit you like)- or use pie filling for the store for a faster/easier filling.
1/2 stick butter
1cup sugar (divide out 1/4 cup for the cinnamon/sugar sprinkle on top)
3 tsp cinnamon
2-3 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup water

Whipped topping
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar (adjust sugar to your preference)
2 tsp vanilla

To make pop-overs begin with 1/2 cup water in a small pan, add fruit and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Add in 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp sugar. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and liquid- continue to simmer until fruit is tender. Add in cornstarch 1 Tbsp. at a time until the fruit mixture reaches desired thickness for filling- *you made need to turn the heat up to bring back to a boil and then reduce again to simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Open crescent rolls and lay on baking sheet. *you might want to roll them into a more square or wider triangle than how they are shaped straight from the can. Spoon fruit filling into center of each roll and pull corners together to the center overlapping them.

Melt butter in microwave to an almost liquid state (about 20 seconds). Combine 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon in separate bowl. Brush the tops of each pop-over with butter and sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of pop-over.

Bake according to crescent package directions.

While pop-overs bake prepare fresh whipped cream.

Combine 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp. vanilla in large mixing bowl. Mix on high until the cream becomes fluffy and whipped. Set aside in refrigerator until pop-overs are ready to be served. Serve pop-overs warm with whipped cream on top.

These were a hit with my family! I actually made two batches and we only had one left!

Dry Erase Dinner Plate

So, neccessity is the mother of invention, or so it is said. Well, I had a sick little girl who didn't want to get off the couch, but wanted to draw- a LOT! So, I handed her a dinner plate and a dry erase marker and she was happy for hours!

 

(sorry the picture is sideways )

Super simple and last so much longer than those cheapy dry erase boards from the store! Kids love to draw, write and play games like tic-tac-toe and then they just wipe clean! At the end of the day, just throw them in the dishwasher and they will be germ free!

 

Of course you could always expand on this idea and get a rectangular serving tray, or really pretty serving plate and put it in a plate holder on the counter and use it as a memo board. Write what you need from the store or just little notes to your family- you could even decorate the edges with a permanent marker (then bake at 350 for 20 minutes) to permanently personalize each one- it would be so cute!

Buggs!

Just a sweet pic of all the sweet baby buggs we got to take care of this summer! Gotta love a bucket of puppies!!!