Chicken (or Turkey) Tetrazzini

I decided I should use the leftover turkey I froze after Christmas for something soon. I had been wanting to try to create my own chicken or turkey tetrazzini, and decided this was the time. It turned out to be a perfect use for the turkey, but would also work just as well with chicken.

Chicken or Turkey Tetrazzini

12 ounces spaghetti, cooked
2-3 cups of cut up, cooked chicken or turkey
1 (10 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
½ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder
Pepper to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
About ¼ cup parmesan cheese

In a large bowl, combine cooked spaghetti, soups, sour cream, butter, milk, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder , mozzarella cheese, and chicken or turkey. Stir together well and pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish, spreading out evenly. Top with parmesan cheese until covered. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

My husband and I love the Buffalo Chicken Wraps from Cheddar's, so I wanted to  make something like them at home. I made my first attempt tonight, and it turned out well. This is a pretty simple recipe, and it makes wraps that taste very similar to the ones we love from the restaurant.
This made four wraps, but the picture above shows one cut in half, so even a half of one is a decent amount. It was just the two of us, but we had some leftover.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Ingredients

4 (8 inch) flour tortillas

4  frozen breaded chicken strips or about 16 pieces of popcorn chicken

½ cup buffalo wing sauce

1 ½ cups of coleslaw mix from bag (or shred your own cabbage and carrots)

2 Tablespoons Miracle Whip

½ tsp. sugar

1 tsp. vinegar

Dill pickle chips

Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Cook chicken according to package directions. If using chicken strips, chop into bite sized pieces.

Pour buffalo wing sauce into a bowl, stir chicken into it, set aside.

In a small bowl, mix coleslaw mix, Miracle whip, sugar, and vinegar to make a coleslaw mixture.

Divide sauce-coated chicken pieces evenly into each tortilla. Top with coleslaw mixture in each tortilla. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese on top of that. Top with a few pickles. Roll each wrap, and slice diagonally down the middle for easier handling.

They are good served with ranch as a dipping sauce.

Spicy Thai Noodles

My husband, Scott, found the original for this recipe several years ago in a book called Vegetarian Meals for People on the Go. He made it for me when we were engaged, and over the years, we have adapted it some and made it our own. He made it for me yesterday for Valentine's Day. So, I decided to share our recipe on here.

Spicy Thai Noodles

Ingredients

1 lb. sesame noodles or thin spaghetti noodles*

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large green bell pepper, diced

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 large carrot, finely chopped

½ cup green onions, chopped

1 (4 oz.) jar chopped pimientos

1 cups roasted peanuts

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup sesame oil

½ cup peanut butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

1 tsp. ground mustard

Directions

Cook noodles according to package directions. While noodles are cooking, chop vegetables and put in a large bowl with pimientos and peanuts. Stir in the noodles. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sesame oil, peanut butter, brown sugar, crushed red pepper, and mustard.  Pour over noodles/ vegetables and toss well. Serve.

*I can never find sesame noodles anywhere, so I always just use spaghetti noodles, and it turns out pretty well. 

Soft & Chewy Iced Sugar Cookies

These are my husband's favorite. I usually make them for Christmas, but I decided to do heart shapes and make them for him for Valentine's Day this year. If you are a fan of soft, chewy cookies, you will love these. Depending on what shape of cookie cutter and how you decorate them, they can be adapted for any holiday or occasion. I have even used the top of a glass to cut them to make them just plain round and iced them different colors.

Soft & Chewy Iced Sugar Cookies

Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter or margarine

4 oz. sour cream

1 tsp. baking powder

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. baking soda

1 egg

4 cups flour

½ tsp. salt

Directions

Blend margarine with sugar, and then add egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Blend well, then gradually add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Mix well. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours minimum. (Can be left refrigerated up to 3 days to bake later.) Roll dough out on floured surface, cut into shapes with cookie cutters.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from baking sheet and place on cooling racks. Let cool before icing.

Icing

Ingredients

½ cup butter

½ cup Crisco

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

5 cups powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. milk

Directions

Cream butter and Crisco. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, beating on medium speed. Add milk and beat until fluffy. Add food coloring for desired icing color. Ice cookies.

Top with various sprinkles and candies for decorating.

Buffalo Chicken Enchildas

I found a recipe recently for Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas. I had intended to just make it, but then I decided I wanted to change over half of it, so I ended up throwing it away and just making up my own. I just took the title "Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas" and made it into what I thought that should mean. So, this is what I came up with...

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

½ cup green onions, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce

1 cup buffalo wing sauce

1 cup sour cream

½ of a ranch dressing mix packet

8-10 flour tortillas (fajita size)

Mexican shredded cheese blend

While cooking chicken, sauté green onions and peppers in vegetable oil.

In the meantime, pour entire can of enchilada sauce into a bowl. Stir in ¼ cup of the buffalo wing sauce into the enchilada sauce, and then set aside. In another bowl, mix together the sour cream, the remaining ¾ cup of buffalo wing sauce, ½ packet of ranch dressing mix, and then stir in the sautéed onions, peppers and cooked chicken. Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture, roll, and place in greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle with desired amount of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, and it's ready to serve. 

I thought about it, and it might make more sense to use crumbled blue cheese as he topping instead of Mexican cheese, but I used what I had in the house. So, you can make it with blue cheese and it might be better. 

Vegetable Beef Soup

I am back to posting after a rough period of no cooking while my husband was very sick with a stomach virus. I am very glad things are back to normal now.

I know I am posting a lot of soups and slow cooker recipes, but this is the time of year when I make a lot of those, so you'll see less of those when winter is over.

Vegetable Beef Soup

(Slow Cooker)

Ingredients

1 lb. of lean beef cut into small cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups beef broth

1  16 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 tablespoon basil

½ cup Worcestershire sauce

1 beef bouillon cube

1 bay leaf

3 decent sized potatoes, peeled, cut into small cubes

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1  (16 oz.) bag frozen mixed vegetables (including carrots, corn, & green beans)

Onion powder, salt, and pepper (to taste)

Directions

In a stockpot, brown beef in olive oil, adding garlic during last few minutes of browning.

While beef is browning, put chopped and peeled potatoes, chopped onion, chopped celery, and mixed vegetables to slow cooker.

When beef is browned, add into the stockpot the beef broth, bullion, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, and bring to a boil.

Add basil, if desired, and then bay leaf. Other seasonings may also be added at this time (a pinch of oregano, a dash of garlic or onion powder, salt and pepper, etc -season to taste).

Pour the beef and broth mixture over the vegetables in the slow cooker and stir well. Set to high, and leave to simmer for about 4-5 hours or set to low and cook 8-10 hours.

Remove bay leaf before serving.