Chicken Pillows

Chicken Pillows
from https://ohsweetbasil.com/chicken-pillows/print/

• 2 Cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• 1 Rotisserie Chicken’s breast meat picked off or 2-3 Large Split Breasts, cooked with poultry seasoning
• 1 (8 oz) pkg Neufchatel Cheese
• 1 Cup Thinly Sliced Mushrooms* optional
• 1 Tablespoon Softened Butter
• 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Pinch of fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs (In a dish)
• 3 Tablespoons Melted butter (In another dish)

FOR THE GRAVY

• 1 Packet Chicken Gravy
  or
• 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 Packet Chicken Gravy

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350
2. Mix the chicken, cream cheese, butter, cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
3. Flatten out the crescent roll triangles and fill each with a large spoonful of the chicken mixture.
4. Roll the pillows in the melted butter and then the seasoned bread crumbs.
5. Bake for 20-30 min or until lightly golden brown.

Smoked Chicken Thighs

Smoked Chicken Thighs, Traeger style

chicken thighs (with bones and skin)

Traeger poulty rub

Start Traeger on Smoke setting.  Season chicken pieces with spice rub, under and over skin.  Once Traeger is pre-heated, place chicken pieces in the Traeger and place thermometer in thickest piece.  Close lid and let smoke 3 hours.  After 3 hours on smoke, turn Traeger up to 225 and cook about 45-60 minutes until thermometer reads 190. 

Eat all the chicken, or eat some and save some to put in other recipes, like green spaghetti or various soups.

Copycat Olive Garden Salad

Copycat Olive Garden Salad
It is what it is.

Iceberg lettuce, chopped
black olives
pepperocinis
red onions, thinly sliced
Roma tomatoes, quartered
cheese (we use the mix of salad topper cheese flakes from Sam's Club)
croutons (Sam's Club)
Olive Garden dressing (Sam's Club)

Sometimes I think I'll get sick of this but I never do.  Great served with any Italian or pasta dish.

Green Spaghetti

Green Spaghetti
from Kellie Dye's Instagram a few weeks ago
It's a weird name but that's what we call it.

1 box spaghetti, cooked to package directions (I like thin or angel hair)
Artichoke hearts, halves and quarters, in marinating oil, from Costco
Chicken chunks (usually leftovers from smoked thighs or rotiss chick)
Genovese basil pesto, from Costco
cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat chicken with one jar of artichokes over low heat in dutch oven.  Add spaghetti noodles.  Add pesto and stir to coat - I usually use about half the jar of pesto.  Add tomatoes and stir again.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Sometimes we top with parmesan cheese.

Goes well with copycat Olive Garden salad and Costco baguettes.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Pinch of Yum  https://pinchofyum.com/the-best-soft-chocolate-chip-cookies/print/39213

• 8 tablespoons of salted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar (I like to use raw cane sugar with a coarser texture)
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (more as needed – see video)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (but I always add a little extra)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I use a combination of chocolate chips and chocolate chunks)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Microwave the butter for about 40 seconds to just barely melt it. It shouldn’t be hot – but it should be almost entirely in liquid form.
2. Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat the butter with the sugars until creamy. Add the vanilla and the egg; beat on low speed until just incorporated – 10-15 seconds or so (if you beat the egg for too long, the cookies will be stiff).
3. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until crumbles form. Use your hands to press the crumbles together into a dough. It should form one large ball that is easy to handle (right at the stage between “wet” dough and “dry” dough). Add the chocolate chips and incorporate with your hands.
4. Roll the dough into 12 large balls (or 9 for HUGELY awesome cookies) and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look puffy and dry and just barely golden.Warning, friends: DO NOT OVERBAKE. This advice is probably written on every cookie recipe everywhere, but this is essential for keeping the cookies soft. Take them out even if they look like they’re not done yet (see picture in the post). They’ll be pale and puffy.
5. Let them cool on the pan for a good 30 minutes or so (I mean, okay, eat four or five but then let the rest of them cool). They will sink down and turn into these dense, buttery, soft cookies that are the best in all the land. These should stay soft for many days if kept in an airtight container. I also like to freeze them.

I'm still looking for my favorite recipe, but this one is really good.  Makes one dozen big cookies or two dozen small cookies, so double the recipe if you have six hundred kids like I do. 

Emma's Favorite Debbie's Macaroni and Cheese

Debbie's Macaroni and Cheese

1 lb elbow noodles (Barilla is my favorite)
18 slices Kraft American cheese
2-3 cups of milk
6 T butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.  Over medium-low heat, add milk and butter to cooked noodles.  Gradually add 18 cheese slices, stirring often, until melted.  Mixture will be runny.  Add salt and pepper to taste - don't forget to season!
Bake in oven-safe dish at 325 for 20 minutes and serve to your favorite toddlers.

Sweet Potato Souffle

Sweet Potato Souffle

from Ginger Manning 

6 sweet potatoes - bake at 375 for 45min. or until soft to mash
Mash and add in: 

2 cups of brown sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp. of cinnamon 

1/2 evaporated milk

Stir ingredients together & put in 9x13 baking dish.

Topping 

1 stick of butter 

1 cup b. sugar

2 tbls. of flour

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans)

Spread topping over potatoes in baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 min.

If the topping is to thick, add some water so it will spread better.