Cheesy Chicken Tortellini Bake

Two friends from high school had their first child, a very cute little girl, a month ago. I wanted to make dinner for this new family and have waited my turn while their church family has fed them over the last month. I haven't seen them since they were in the hospital, so I was dying to get my hands on that baby! She was very alert when I got there and then went right to sleep while I was holding her! Isn't that the best? I made this because it came highly recommended from Tossie. Someone from their church made this for them after Little Sister arrived this month. The Billboard Man highly recommended it, and he is one picky eater, so I knew it had to be good. It was very easy to make.

I stopped in the recipe before baking it off since I was taking it to them after work so would have no way to keep it warm. I included the ingredients and instructions on how to top it and bake it. The picture above is without the topping. This is the exact recipe I was given...I made a few (very minor) changes of my own.


Cheesy Chicken Tortellini Bake

1/2 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (16 oz.) jar white Alfredo pasta sauce
20 oz. pkg. refrigerated cheese-filled or spinach tortellini
1½ c. cubed cooked chicken
1 c. milk
1¼  c. water
1 c. frozen peas
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Topping:
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
½ c. panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For pasta mixture, chop onion. Heat oil over medium-high heat; add onion. Cook until onion is tender.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until aromatic.  Stir in pasta sauce, tortellini, chicken, milk, water, peas and black pepper. Heat until mixture just comes to a boil; remove from heat.

Meanwhile, for crumb topping, place butter in microwave on high for 30-45 seconds or until melted. Stir in bread crumbs and cheese; mix well.

Spoon pasta mixture into 9x13 casserole dish; sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are bubbly and topping is golden brown.

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I also made a yummy Sheath Cake.

Sheath Cake

Let me first say, I have no clue why this is called Sheath Cake. Anyone?

Mom needed some redemption after I said she never made homemade biscuits. Well, it is true, she never did, but we also loved canned biscuits in our family. I'm sure if I had asked, she would have made them from scratch. Is that better? She made this cake a lot when we were kids. It is so very good. However, it was a bit of a disaster when I was making it this time. First, my cheap aluminum "to go" pan had a hole in it, so batter started leaking. Luckily, I had two small cake pans, so I decided to just make two small cakes with plans to take one to my friends and one to work. I started the icing too early and ended up letting it go a little too long on the heat, so then it was not the right consistency. I managed to save the one pictured above to give to my friends (although not exactly how I would have like it), but the other was a complete mess. I didn't bother taking it to work. (I did have a few bites of my own though!) My favorite thing about this cake is the icing! When I have a real craving for chocolate, I've been known to just make a small serving of icing and eat off it. Terrible for me? YES! So good? YES!! I have an incredible sweet tooth.

Here's the recipe:

Sheath Cake

2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1 stick butter
1/2 c. Crisco
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 c. water
1-1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Icing:

1 stick butter
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
6 Tbsp. canned milk
1 (1 lb.) box powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift the sugar and flour together in a large mixing bowl. In a saucepan, bring butter, Crisco, cocoa powder and water to a boil. Pour over flour and sugar mixture and mix well. Add buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Mix well; pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan.  Bake 20 minutes at 400.

For icing, mix together butter, cocoa powder and milk. Bring to a rapid bowl and remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and spread on hot cake directly from the oven.*

*If done right, it should be "melty" looking on the cake but will cool nicely.

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NOTE:  I made this again later using a SHEET pan to bake in instead of 9x13 pan.  MUCH BETTER!!

Pioneer Baked Beans

I'm blogging from the kitchen this morning. I've got to get two breakfast boys (The Dish Washer and his cousin) on the road for their Annual Road Trip to Duke Basketball. Let's hope they win so they come home happy...not looking too good though! I have tons of new breakfast recipes to try, but I have managed to wake up this morning without any cheese in my house! All the recipes call for cheese. So this morning, we are just having breakfast sausage and frozen biscuits. But these are delicious "taste like mama's" biscuits...well not my Mama's because she never made homemade biscuits (that I remember anyway), so tastes like MeeMaw's for me!

Anyway, I got to thinking that I forgot to post the baked bean recipe that I promised. These are from Super Social Worker and she wanted to call them "Pioneer Baked Beans" because she is loving to read the Pioneer Woman's website. Apparently it is motivating her to cook in the kitchen. Speaking of PW, check this out...she and my favorite magazine are about to collide. I can't wait until that issue comes out!! The Dish Washer and I would LOVE to live on her ranch! Back to the beans - she didn't give me any exact measurements, but here is what she did.

"Pioneer" Baked Beans

2 cans Bush's baked beans
1 lb. breakfast sausage
green bell pepper
onion
ketchup
mustard
brown sugar
barbecue sauce

In a skillet, she browned sausage with an onion and bell pepper. Then she drained it and added it to the cans of beans. Then she added the other ingredients until she got the taste like she liked it. That's all I know. I don't even know if she baked hers...I did mine. Hey SuperSW, how about telling us what you did after putting it all together?

I did the sausage, bell pepper and onions. I used my recipe as a guide for baking, using pork n beans instead of baked beans. I also used the barbecue sauce. It was very good and The Dish Washer absolutely loved it!

Granny's Cut Out Cookies

We have had quite the eventful weekend, so we are just now celebrating Valentine's Day tonight. I asked The Dish Washer what he wanted to eat and he said Cajun Meatloaf. He is all about beef and pork, so along with the meatloaf I made a different type of baked beans that included sausage (I'll post that tomorrow) and then I made him his favorite cookies...better known as "steak cookies" for tonight.



Isn't that the cutest thing? The Dish Washer brought me this precious cookie cutter last month from a Cattleman's Convention in the state to our north.

I've mentioned these cookies before. They are his absolute favorite and were made every year by his Granny Miller. She had a talent for rolling cookie dough and could get her's paper thin so that they were very crunchy little things. I, on the other hand, am terrible at rolling cookie dough, but The Dish Washer said that was ok since I was "learning." Isn't he the best Valentine? I had made the dough a while back and put it in the freezer. It freezes very well! Then I just let it sit out on the counter a little while and it was ready to roll.

Granny's Cut Out Cookies

3-1/2 c. plain flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Sift flour with baking powder and salt.

1 c. oleo (Crisco)
1-1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream oleo; add sugar gradually and continue to beat. Add well beaten eggs and blend thoroughly. Add vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and creamed mixture; mix well and chill. Work with about 1/2 mixture at a time. Roll thin and cut. Bake at 400 for 6-10 minutes.

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For any of you readers who stayed at the hotel for our wedding, this is the recipe used for the cookies in your goody baskets. My mother in law made them for you...she's also good at getting the dough thin!

Stuffed Pasta Shells

What is the best thing about having a food blog, you ask? Well, the fact that my co-worker, Ms. Noodles, has shown up TWICE now with lunch for me to try "in case you want to put that recipe on your blog"!! Can't beat that! And you better believe that both times the food was delicious!! (And also that I didn't have to type out the recipes...cut and pasted from an email.) She also gave me the recipe for Cornbread Taco Bake.

"STUFFED PASTA SHELLS"

15 large pasta shells (cooked and drained)
1 lb ground beef
1 jar (12oz) mild picante sauce
1/2 cup water
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
1 can chopped green chilies, drained (4oz)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (4oz)
1 (3 oz.) bag or can french fried onions

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook shells according to package directions.  Brown beef, drain.

In a small bowl, combine picante, water and tomato sauce. Stir ½ cup of the sauce into browned beef along with green chilies, 1/2 cup cheese, 1/2 can onions.  Mix well.

Pour 1/2 remaining sauce on bottom of a 8X12 baking dish. Stuff cooked shells with beef mixture. Arrange in dish, pour remaining sauce over top. Bake covered 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Top with remaining cheese and onions, bake uncovered 5 more minutes.

Cornbread Taco Bake

"CORN BREAD TACO BAKE"

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 pkg Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 can whole corn (12oz)
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
1 pks corn muffin mix (8 1/2oz)
1 (3 oz.) bag or can of french fried onions
1/3 cup cheddar cheese shredded

Brown meat, drain. Stir in next 5 ingrediants. Pour into 8/12" baking dish. Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions and add 1/2 can French Fried Onions. Spoon over meat around outer edge of casserole. Bake uncovered @ 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Top corn bread with cheese and remaining onions, bake 2-3 minutes.

Dean's Cake House Caramel Cake

Today is my birthday, so I get the day off from cooking. (Although with the lack of blogging lately, you'd think I took the whole week off.) The Dish Washer is clanging around in the kitchen making Broccoli Casserole and grilling steak. I have been enjoying my most favorite caramel cake from Dean's Cake House in Andalusia. Soooo good! I can't find their website anymore (it says it has expired), but, if you live in Birmingham, you can pick one up at The Pig in Homewood! You can also call (334) 222-0459 to see where they may sell them close to you.

Salmon and Eggs

If this doesn't gross you out, then welcome to The Dish Washer's family. Every Thanksgiving, the men's breakfast includes salmon and eggs. He loves it! Because he loves it, I had 2 cans of salmon sitting in the pantry for him. This weekend, he busted them out. The funny thing is, when we were in D.C., our hotel had continental breakfast for us...not the blueberry muffin, dry cereal, bagel regular, but a little more variety with fresh ingredients. One of the things they offered was smoked salmon, so I decided to get The Dish Washer some scrambled eggs and smoked salmon thinking it would be the best Salmon and Eggs he has ever had. NO!! It wasn't the same as canned salmon.

To quote Shelby from my most favorite movie, Steel Magnolias: "Remember what Daddy always says - an ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure!" I love that The Dish Washer will take me nice places, but still loves that canned salmon! That is who we are...I even ate canned chicken that same day!

Salmon and Eggs

Canned salmon, be sure to pick bones and skin
eggs
pepper

Mix together and scramble!

Liz's Black Bean Chowder

Happy Groundhog's Day! I don't have anything "Groundhoggy" to post today. But since we can expect to be cold for six more weeks, here's something to keep us warm...

I had printed this recipe off of The Pioneer Woman's blog a while back. She had a cooking challenge and asked folks to post recipes that she would make and then pick a winner. This chowder was one of the winners and sounded so good. It made a huge pot so I thought it would be great for the Super Bowl, but then with our unexpected addition to the family we packed up the chowder and headed south. Now I can't find it on her site to be able to link, so I will type the whole thing out. The full recipe (which I will give you) includes a yogurt-cilantro relish that I had to make to at least try, but didn't like at all.

Liz's Black Bean Chowder with Yogurt-Cilantro Relish

1 (32 oz.) pkg. dried black beans

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, pressed

olive oil

1 small ham hock

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies

6 c. chicken stock

6 c. milk

2 Tbsp. butter

3 c. shredded mild cheddar cheese

4 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. liquid smoke

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. mild curry powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Relish:

1 c. plain yogurt

2 c. chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 c. chopped cilantro (which is why I didn't care for this!)

1/2 tsp. salt

Place beans in a colander and rinse beans well. Place in an 8-quart Dutch oven (Buttercream was close to overflowing by the end of the recipe...she's not 8 quarts) and cover with water (about an inch over the top of the beans) and soak overnight. The next morning, prepare the relish by mixing all the ingredients together, then place in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Then drain the beans and rinse well.

Gently saute the onion and garlic in the stock pot with 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil, then add diced green chiles. Place beans back in the Dutch oven and add chicken stock, ham hock, liquid smoke, chili powder, cumin, curry powder, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. After one hour is up, add the milk and 2 Tbsp. butter and simmer another 30 minutes. While the chowder is simmering, place the shredded cheese in a large bowl and add the flour, toss to coat the cheese with the flour. Bring the chowder to a boil and stir in the cheese. Boil while stirring constantly until the chowder thickens to your desired consistency. Ladle the chowder into bowls and top with one or two Tbsp. of yogurt-cilantro relish*. Serve with warm tortillas.

*After realizing I didn't care for the relish, I decided to serve with sour cream and fritos!

The Dish Washer has demanded that next time I make this to figure out how to add some meat to it...suggestions? He says pulled pork!

Peanut Butter Milkshake

Forget the Super Bowl!!! We've had a much more exciting day with a new baby in our family! Tossie had Baby Sister very early this morning. She is precious!! And her little baby neck (my weakness) is so cute! Today I was thinking a lot about how quickly they grow up. Big Sister was just born the other day (so it seems) and now she is three. And, oh man, is she excited about being a big sister. Lots of baby excitement in our families lately...my heart is full!

Peanut Butter Milkshake (I don't really have measurements)

large scoop of vanilla ice cream
large scoop frozen cool whip
1 spoonful of peanut butter (normally I am a Jif pb fan, but today, let's make it Reese's)
milk (depends on how thick or thin you like your shakes)

Blend all ingredients in blender until preferred consistency is reached.