Instant pot general tsaos chicken

http://www.adventuresofanurse.com/2016/12/21/better-take-instant-pot-general-tsos-chicken/

It was so good, we added some teriyaki style stir fry veggies with Costco's teriyaki sauce over rice and it was better than restaurant !!

Crockpot parmesan chicken penne

http://damndelicious.net/2016/08/05/slow-cooker-chicken-parmesan

I'd love to try this with a little tomato sauce added next time!

Thanksgiving Turkey Leftover Tetrazzini

Apparently, if you make a spaghetti casserole with red sauce, it's a pie. If you make it with alfredo, it's a tetrazzini.. Or maybe I'm just naive.
Anyway, it's yummy!

I used this recipe from AllRecipes and altered it...

Basically - make a rue and add milk, cheese and chicken broth - in that order.
To which I added cream cheese and salt
I put that aside and then in the same pan sauteed celery, garlic and onion
I added the chopped white meat turkey to the cheese sauce and added the sauteed veg to the mix.

Then I mixed it in with the spaghetti, spread it in a pyrex, topped it with more Parmesan, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese and baked it at 450 for about 15 minutes.

It was quite tasty. If I did it again I'd make sure I made enough cheese sauce to really soak into the spaghetti noodles and add green olives. I'd serve it with garlic bread and fruit.

cheese potato soup

You can make this recipe with campbels cheese soup but this is the way I like it..

Take the recipe for walkabout soup.. and add some stuff, and take away some stuff

Peel, chop, cook potatos
Make the white sauce, set aside

saute onions in butter
add chicken broth
add white sauce
add cheddar cheese
Mix until smooth and bubbly
add potatos
let bubble, but not boil or it will break the rue

add spices - salt and garlic powder or salt

opt: bacon bits, fresh chives, more cheese

Serve with garlic brown bread, or butter and brown bread, or just a dark bread... or biscuits.. you get the idea!

walkabout soup

from Copykat.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups thinly sliced yellow sweet onions
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 1 can (14.5-15 ounce) chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1/4 cup diced Velveeta cubes (compressed in measuring cup)
• 1 and 1/2-1 and 3/4 cups white sauce (recipe below)
• shredded cheddar cheese for garnish
• THICK WHITE SAUCE:
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups whole milk

Directions

In 2-quart saucepan, place butter and sliced onions. Cook at low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until soft and clear but not brown. Add chicken broth from can, chicken bouillon cubes, salt, and pepper and stir until completely heated through. Add white sauce and Velveeta cheese. White sauce will be thick because it has been removed from the heat. Simmer on medium-low heat until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are blended, stirring constantly. Turn temperature to warm and let cook for additional 30-45 minutes.

Serve with a garnish of shredded cheddar cheese and a couple of slices of warm, dark Russian bread.

Thick White Sauce:

In a 1-quart saucepan, melt butter and add flour. Cook on medium heat until the flour turns thick and comes away from the side of the saucepan. Pour milk into flour a little at a time and stir constantly; add salt. Mixture should thicken and become like thick pudding. Remember to stir constantly, taking care not to let mixture lump. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use for the soup.

Caramel Apples

I've never loved a caramel apple - or truly, caramel. Too sticky, to sweet...etc. This recipe has made "Own an Apple Tree" number high on my life to-do list. I should have left a review.. but seriously, they know its awesome. The recipe was perfect as-is. Just use a water-dampened finger when smooshing the caramel back onto the apple or madness will ensue.
http://ourbestbites.com/2011/10/gourmet-style-dipped-apples-with-homemade-caramel/

There it is! Yum! It only takes a few minutes, can be done with a 3 yr old actively helping..
I used mini apples I got free from a friends'apartment complex tree. Perfect.

we dipped ours in the caramel, then sprinkles, then drizzled chocolate over the top. The caramel was really soft (these had been in the fridge to harden the chocolate) - so I cut a bigger apple and ate the left over caramel off the tin foil back there.

Korrali loves these tiny apples, and was excited enough about eating an apple to agree to pose for me multiple times.
Talk about keeping her goal in sight!

Caprese chicken

Fresh chicken breasts (boneless) cut in strips, or tenders.
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil
Balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper

Heat pan on med high, add oil. Cut chicken. Salt and pepper first side, then place in pan. Salt and pepper 2nd side. Cook chicken 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar. Add garlic, basil. Add chicken back in, cover with mozarella so it melts to each piece. Cook for 1-2 min more  or until cheese is melted to taste. Serve with plain pasta.

Note: leftover chicken from this recipe is amazing in burrito bowls with cilantro lime Brown rice.