Lattice Chicken Hot Dish

Whenever I go to Sam's Club, I buy a rotissierie chicken, skin it, bone it and chop it. I keep these in ziploc bags in the freezer. So handy to have for an easy chicken casserole!
This is one of our favorites, it's easy and my kids LOVE it. It's like a chicken pot pie.

Lattice Chicken Hot Dish

1 can cream of potato soup
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
3 cup cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken!)
1 bag frozen vegetables
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup French fried onions
1 pkg. crescent dough, either the sheet or the rolls, cut into strips

1. Combine soup, milk, salt, cut up chicken, vegetables, 1/2 cheese and 1/2 onions. 
2. Put in a 9x13 pan, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. 
3. Bake covered with foil at 350 for 20 minutes. 
4. Uncover and top with strips of crescent roll dough arranged in a lattice formation. 
5. Bake for 15 minutes longer.  
6. After rolls have baked, add remaining 1/2 cheese and 1/2 onions. Bake another 5 minutes, until cheese melts.

Swiss Cheese Chicken

Great recipe for skinless boneless chicken breasts....

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
6 slices of swiss cheese
2 cans of cream of something soup (I use celery and mushroom)
1/2 can white wine or dry sherry wine
1/2 package of bread crumb stuffing (I use the sage and onion flavor) *some use the whole package, I don't care for that much, but just eyeball it, use however much you want.
1 stick of melted butter

**if I have them in the fridge, I will also add a package of sliced mushrooms.

Tuck the Swiss cheese around chicken breasts and place in a 9x13 casserole pan. Mix the soup and wine. (add mushrooms if you have them, here) Pour the soup mixture over cheese and chicken. Cover with the bread crumb stuffing. Top with melted butter.
Bake at 325 for 1 1/2-2 hours, uncovered.

Pasta with Smoked Bacon, Butternut Squash and Spinach

Dan found this recipe and made it for me, it's got all of my favorite ingredients. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed. Trust me!

My Favorite Things Pasta

1/2 lb smoked bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 large (Vidalia) onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 cups butternut squash, peeled & cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 to 1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (use fresh, don't doubt me on this one!)
1 lb penne pasta (I prefer whole wheat, just a nuttier flavor)
1 big bag of baby spinach leaves
kosher salt
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
fresh ground pepper.

In a large heavy skillet or dutch oven with lid, over medium heat, saute bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels, leave drippings in pan and add butter. Heat until butter is melted, add ionions and cook, stirring often until brown and caramelized, about 10-15 minutes, I like them a nice deep brown. (I usually add a couple tsp of sugar to the onions to help the carmelizing process). Add squash and stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in chicken stock and sprinkle with chopped rosemary. Cover and cook until liquid is reduced, about 2-4 minutes. Be careful to NOT overcook the squash.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add penne and 1 tbsp salt. Cook until al dente, or just tender. While the pasta is cooking, add the spinach by large handfuls to the onion and squash mixture. Stir and when wilted, add another handful. Continue until it's all added. Don't overcook! Toss in 2/3 of the bacon. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl. Add the vegetables along with 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Toss to mix. Tast and season with salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with remaining bacon and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

NOTE: This makes a HUGE amount. We typically will freeze half in a casserole dish. When you want to serve the second pan, remove from freezer, thaw in fridge. Drizzle with chicken broth, cover and bake in oven to reheat.

Key West Ribs

I found this recipe a few years ago. We've updated it and made it our own. These ribs are so moist and delicious. It's a great meal when you've got the winter blahs, the citrus is so refreshing!

2 1/2 lb. country-style pork spareribs (either bone-in or boneless will work)
1/4 cup onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup barbecue sauce (a thick flavorful sauce is great in here)
1 tsp grated orange peel (I use the zest from one orange)
1 tsp grated lime peel (I use the zest from one lime)
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
juice from the zested orange
juice from the zested lime

Place ribs in the crockpot. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour over the ribs.
Cover; cook on low for 7-9 hours. Remove ribs from crockpot, cover with foil, set aside. 
Pour sauce in a sauce pan and over med/high heat, reduce the sauce by 1/3.  Spoon sauce over ribs when serving.
We love this with some rice and a side of black beans; serve these with the sauce too.

Cheesy Ravioli Casserole

We always keep a couple bags of cheese or beef ravioli in the freezer, so this can be thrown in the crock pot for a quick meal....by quick, I mean not a lot of prep work and easy to put together.

Cheesy Ravioli Casserole

1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans of Hunts Spaghetti Sauce, we use the Herb and Garlic flavor
1-14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 bags of frozen ravioli, beef or cheese filled
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated (1 large bag grated)
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Heat oil in dutch oven, add onion, cook about 4 minutes. Add garlic, cook another 30 seconds, until fragrant. Stir in pasta sauce, diced tomaotes and Italian seasoning.
Put 1 cup of sauce in crock pot. Add 1 package frozen ravioli; top with 1 cup of cheese. Top with second package of ravioli and 1 cup of cheese. Pour the remaining sauce over the top.
Cover; cook on low setting for 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.
This recipe will serve a crowd or you can have lots of leftovers for lunches the rest of the week!

Audrey's Pork Tenderloin

This is one of the best recipes for pork tenderloin that I have come across. I love it, everyone that we've made it for loves it! It's simple and absolutely delicious! The recipe is from our neighbor, Audrey.

Audrey's Pork Tenderloin

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry wine
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tsp ground ginger (we always have that fresh ginger in the jar, use that if you've got it, much better flavor)
1 tsp thyme (I have fresh thyme in the garden, use about 6-7 sprigs of fresh if you have it, again, much better flavor)

Mix all the marinade ingredients and 2 pork tenderloins in a ziploc bag. Marinate overnight. When you're ready to grill, tie up the tenderloins with butcher string; fold the skinny tail end over so that it will grill more evenly.
Set up your charcoal grill for direct grilling. Once the coals are ready, clean and oil your grill grates. Grill the tenderloins for about 4 minutes per side, grilling all four side. It should be on the grill for a total of 16 minutes, depending on the size of them. Internal temperature on an instant read thermometer should be 140. Be careful to not over cook these, it can happen very quickly.
When the temp is 140, remove from the grill to a platter and tent with foil for 5 minutes.
While the meat is resting, prepare the sauce:

1 jar red currant jelly
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry wine

Simmer in a saucepan for about 3 minutes, until the jelly is melted and it is combined.
Slice the tenderloin and serve with the warm sauce.

Preparation tip: We buy our pork tenderloin from Sam's Club as it is considerably cheaper than the grocery store. The Sam's packages are a double pack and each pack has 2 tenderloins in it.
When I buy them, I'll split the marinade and put 2 tenderloins in a Food Saver bag with the marinade and freeze it. The meat will marinate while thawing...saving a step!
Also, I'll buy a couple of them now, and get them in the freezer with the fresh thyme, before it's gone for the winter.... we grill year round!