No Control Pasta Salad

This recipe came together years ago when I was at a neighbors picnic and I was eating a pasta salad that I really enjoyed. I know I like to share my recipes so I didn't think whoever made this pasta salad would mind sharing their recipe with me. Well apparently I was wrong, because no one would admit to making that pasta salad!! So forget bringing home the recipe. I had enjoyed this pasta salad so much, I set out to make my own. Believe me, I have made this recipe many, many times. And to this day, I don't even remember what the one at the picnic tasted like. But I do believe I have perfected mine. This has to be the most requested recipe I have. It makes a lot, but it goes so fast I had to make it in big batches. Feel free to play with it and cut it down to your needs. This is how I make it though so my family and friends will finally be able to make it for themselves when they are craving it.

No Control Pasta Salad

 

Simple Chicken Salad

This is one meal I can not seem to make enough of in our house. It is so good and highly addictive! Now this is more of a 'technique' then a recipe. I am going to show you the amounts 'I' used for this recipe. And then you can use as much or as little you would like. Depending on what is good for you and your family. I always make more because my family has a BIG appetite.

*Make sure you use the Hellman's Mayonnaise or it will not come out right*

 

Spray a 15 x 10 roasting pan with PAM or any non stick spray you like. Peel and cut carrots in half, lengthwise, and use these to line the bottom of your roasting pan. (Just place them here and there, doesn't have to be perfect)

 

Drizzle Olive Oil over chicken and rub over each piece to make sure they are all covered in a light coating of oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, over chicken.

With aluminum foil, cover chicken tightly (you do 'not' want the chicken to brown). Bake in a 375° F degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Or until the chicken internal temperature reads 180° F to 185° F on a thermometer. It is okay if your chicken gets a little over cooked for this recipe

 

While the chicken is baking, you can dice up the celery. Mince your parsley and aside until you are ready to use them.

 

Then once the chicken is done, let it cool so you can work with it.

 

Remove chicken from the pan once it is cooled enough that you can handle it. Discard carrots, juices, skin and bones. Cut up chicken meat into bite size pieces. Place in a large bowl.

 

Add in your diced celery, celery seed, parsley, salt and pepper.

 

Slowly add in your mayonnaise. I normally do about 2 tablespoons at a time. Keep mixing and adding until you get the creamy consistency you want.

Leftovers refrigerate well for about 2 days. Enjoy!

 

 

Recipe:

(print recipe)

 

Simple Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

8 Chicken Breasts; bone in, skin on

Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to drizzle over chicken

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to sprinkle on chicken
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to sprinkle on chicken
2/3 cup of celery (about 3 stalks), small dice
7 or 8 carrots

1/4 teaspoon Celery Seed

1/4 cup of fresh chopped parsley

1 cup Hellmanns Mayonnaise (no substitutes) could use more if needed

PAM, or any non stick spray

Aluminum Foil

 

Directions:

*Preheat Oven to 375° F

Spray a 15 X 10 roasting pan with PAM (or any non stick spray you like). Peel and cut carrots in half, lengthwise, and use to line the bottom of your roasting pan. Just place them here and there, doesn't have to be perfect.

Drizzle Olive Oil over chicken and rub into chicken to make sure there is  a light coating of oil on each piece. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, over each chicken piece.

Cover chicken tightly with Aluminum Foil (you do 'not' want the chicken to brown). Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until a thermometer, placed in the thickest part of the chicken, reads 180° F to 185° F.

*NOTE: It is okay if your chicken gets a little over cooked for this recipe*

 

Remove chicken from pan, once cool enough to handle and cut up into bite sized pieces. Discarding carrots, skin, bones and juices.
Place chicken into large bowl with diced celery, celery seed, parsley, salt and pepper.

Add mayonnaise into mixture a little at a time. Keep mixing and adding your mayonnaise until you get to the creamy consistency you want.

Leftovers refrigerate well for 2 days.



Cheesy Garlic Bread

My family loves bread. Especially Italian Bread. But one can only eat so much Italian Bread before getting sick of the same old thing, day in and day out. So I decided to 'jazz' up our Italian Bread one night and it was a huge hit with my family. How easy it is to make is also a big plus in my book!

First you need your ingredients. Aluminum Foil, Mozzarella Cheese, Garlic Powder, 1 stick of Unsalted Butter, Dried Parsley Flakes, Salt, Pepper and a loaf of Italian Bread. See I told you this was going to be easy!



Place a piece of aluminum foil under the bread a little bigger then the loaf so you can wrap it up to bake when your done. Lay your bread on the aluminum foil and slice it in half lengthwise

In a small pan, heat your butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley until butter is completely melted. Spoon or brush onto both sides of bread

Place your shredded Mozzarella on one side of your sliced bread. I shred my own Mozzarella Cheese. But feel free to use preshreded Cheese if you prefer. I used 16 oz of shredded Mozzarella here. But you can use as much or as little as you want

Place top half of bread on bottom half with the cheese

Cover tightly with aluminum foil

Bake at 325 (F) degrees for 20 minutes to 25 minutes. It is done when cheese is all nice and melted

Slice and serve warm.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

(print recipe)

Ingredients:

1 - 16 oz (1 lb) Loaf of Italian Bread

16 oz Mozzarella Cheese, shredded (Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese works great)

1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 325 (F) degrees

Place a piece of aluminum foil under the bread a little bigger then the loaf so you can wrap it up to bake when your done. Lay your bread on the aluminum foil and slice it in half lengthwise.

In a small pan, heat your butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley until butter is completely melted. Spoon or brush onto both sides of bread

Place your shredded Mozzarella on one side of your sliced bread.

Place top half of bread on bottom half with the cheese

Cover tightly with aluminum foil

Bake for 20 minutes to 25 minutes. It is done when cheese is all nice and melted

Slice and serve warm.

Mom's Grilled Italian Chicken Breasts.... Done 'My' Way

I used to love when Mom would marinate some chicken breasts and throw them on the grill. They were so good and I sure missed them once Mom moved and wasn't allowed a grill in her new home. I wanted to try making them myself, but I wanted to get away from the bottled dressing she used. After many 'trial and errors', I think I finally got it where my whole family enjoys the results. And I am happy with not just the amazing taste, but that it is homemade with no preservatives.

Prepare Vinaigrette, set aside. Clean Chicken and you can either use a meat tenderizer to add tenderness to your chicken, like I did here. The meat tenderizer I used was from QVC called, 'Deni 56-Blade Meat Tenderizer' and it is one of the most amazing gadgets I own!

If you don't own a Blade Tenderizer, then an old fashion meat mallet will do the trick just fine. I place my chicken breasts in a plastic bag (unsealed) and let out all the stress and frustrations of the day on my poor meat. But be careful not to pound too much or your chicken meat will fall apart.

Once you have your meat tenderized or pounded to the thickness of your liking, place chicken in a plastic bag. Pour your marinade over the chicken. Make sure bag is sealed well and then move the marinade all over the chicken, distributing evenly. Place chicken in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The longer you leave it in the refrigerator, the more time the flavors have to get into your meat.

Take chicken out of refrigerator and remove from bag. Disgard any leftover marinade and place chicken on a hot grill. Cook about 4 to 5 minutes on each side (times will flucuate depending on how thin you pounded your chicken) Chicken is done when juices run clear. Plate, eat and enjoy!



Mom's Grilled Italian Chicken Breasts... Done 'My' Way
(print recipe)


Ingredients:
8 to 12 boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste


For the Marinade:
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of white wine vinegar
1 small shallot; peeled and minced
1 teaspoon, dry mustard
1 teaspoon, red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons *penzeys spices* red and green pepper (optional)
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:


Prepare Vinaigrette, set aside.


Clean Chicken and you can either use a meat tenderizer to add tenderness to your chicken or you can use a meat mallet. Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag (unsealed) and pound until chicken breasts are nice and thin. Be careful not to pound too much or your chicken meat will  rip and fall apart.


Once meat is tenderized or pounded to the thickness of your liking, place chicken in a plastic bag. Pour your marinade over the chicken. Make sure bag is sealed well and then move the marinade all over the chicken, distributing evenly. Place chicken in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The longer you leave it in the refrigerator, the more time the flavors have to get into your meat.


Take chicken out of refrigerator and remove from bag. Disgard any leftover marinade and place chicken on a hot grill. Cook about 4 to 5 minutes on each side (times will flucuate depending on how thin you pounded your chicken and how hot your grill is) Chicken is done when juices run clear. Plate, eat and enjoy!

Crockpot Chili

My girlfriend, Alicia had given me a Chili Recipe years ago when my husband and I had first gotten married. I was so excited since I had never tried to make Chili on my own before. I got all the ingredients her recipe called for and followed it very carefully, making sure I didn't make any mistakes or leave any ingredients out. I wanted this Chili to be perfect! Needless to say, it was so spicy hot, you couldn't even eat it. I felt so bad for my husband after placing a large spoonful of the chili into his mouth before trying it myself. He was such a trouper and after wiping the sweat from his brow, we threw the pot of Chili in the trash. I think my girlfriend must have had an iron stomach to be able to comsume something 'that' spicy! I was determined to get this recipe to my liking. So after many years of 'trials and errors', I can happily say that all the work I put into this Chili has paid off. Now not only does my family enjoy my Chili but I have gotten many compliments from friends over the years too.

Crockpot Chili

(print recipe)

Ingredients:

3 pounds of ground hamburger (can substitute with ground turkey)

1 cup of onions; diced

3 cloves of garlic; minced

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of dried oregano

1 teaspoon cumin powder

3 tablespoons of paprika

2.5 oz. jar of McCormick Mexian (Hot) Chili Powder *use the whole jar

1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes *plus half a can of water*

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon of crushed dried cilantro leaves *optional*

2 medium red peppers, diced

2 medium green peppers, diced

1/2  teaspoon crushed red peppers

1 - 19 oz. (1 lb 3 oz.) can of red kidney beans (rinsed well) *optional*

shredded cheddar cheese or swiss cheese

Directions:

Place large pot on stove over medium heat. Pour olive oil into pan and add onions. Saute onions until translucent (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add garlic and continue to saute another minute. Add ground hamburger (or ground turkey) and continuecooking until meat is no longer pink. Drain as much of the oil from the meat mixture as possible and then return the pot to the stove on low heat.

Add the chicken stock to the meat mixture and simmer for 1 minute.

Add *mixing well after each spice is added* oregan, cumin powder, paprika and chili powder.

Add the crushed tomatoes, water, tomato paste and mix well. Add cilantro leaves, red & green peppers, crushed red peppers and beans. Mix well again. At this point you can continue to simmer the chili on the stove top for an hour and a half on low. Stirring occassionally.

Or you can pray your crockpot with a non stick spray and then transfer your chili mixture to your crockpot. Set your crockpot to low and cook for 7 to 8 hours. If using your crockpot, you can put the chili together the night before and cook it the next day.

Prepare rice (according to package directions) just before chili is done. Place rice on plate, pour chili over rice and sprinkle with desired amount of cheese.

Chips are optional.

Serves 6 to 8 people