Baked CHeesy Chicken Penne

6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves , halved horizontally 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
6 garlic cloves, finely minced
6 cups whole milk
10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I used 8 oz of button mushrooms)
1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces)
1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan. If you don't want to freeze any, just put it in a large 13x9 pan--it makes tons.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.

While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise. While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes). Use a little extra olive oil if needed.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot , melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer. Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes. If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie. If cooking, sprinkle on top.
Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezer instructions:
To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool. Cover pan well with plastic wrap. Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, preheat oven to 400. Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside. Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese. Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes (I only did 10 minutes) or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon

Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon

Marinade. (per pound of Salmon)
1 Green Onion, minced
2 T. Soy Sauce
1 T. Rice Vinegar
1 T. Honey
1 t. Ginger, minced

Other ingredients.
1 lb. Salmon Filet
1 t. Toasted Sesame Seeds

Directions.
Pour marinade over salmon reserving 1 t. for garnish. Let marinade for 15 min. to 8 hours. Broil salmon 4-6 inches from heat source until done (6-10 min).
Pour reserved marinade over the Salmon and sprinkle with 1 t. toasted sesame seeds.

THE BEST Peanut Butter Bars

1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Margarine
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 eggs
1 Cup Peanut Butter
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Oatmeal

Grease pan and bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes. Let sit for couple of minutes spread more peanut butter over the top.

Frosting

1 cube margarine
6 Tbsp Milk
3 Tbsp Cocoa
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla

Combine 1st three ingredients and cook on low till it starts to bubble around the edges. Then add powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir well with a hand mixer so that the powdered sugar isn’t lumpy. Spread frosting over peanut butter bars.

Chicken Salad

3 cup diced Chicken
1 1/2 cup diced celery
3/4 - 1 cup mayo
4 stalks of green onions
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 T. parsley
1/3 cup whipping cream, whipped (I use a whole small one)
1 tsp. salt
1 t. Lemon juice
1 cup sliced purple grapes

*optional: pecans or almonds, 1 cup each

Mix all together and chill before serving.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

24 small corn tortillas
1 (24oz) sour cream
2 bags of shredded cheese (I used one cheddar one mozzarella and mixed them together)
1 can of black olives
1 can of black beans
1 can chopped green chilies
1 can of corn
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 28 oz can of green enchilada sauce

Simply layer the tortillas, spread (1/3) of each--sour cream, chicken, black beans, corn, cheese, then add the can of olives, repeat the layers but one one of the layers use the chilies, and end with tortillas. Pour sauce over top and finish with rest of cheese.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Roasted Garlic

I have been having some weird cravings during pregnancy and most of them are not worthy of being posted here (e.g. salad with beets and blue cheese) but this one is. I think!

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:
1 medium garlic bulb (the whole bulb not just a clove).
2 T. olive oil
Salt to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 320 degrees F (160 degrees C). Slice about 1/4 in. off top of garlic bulb. Place it in a small baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for 30-45 min. depending on size of bulb (until it is slightly browned and the cloves are soft). Remove from oven. When it is cool enough to touch extract each bulb by squeezing slightly. It should pop right out. If you can't wait for it to cool (I rarely can) then just use a fork to take each clove out.
Depending on what you are going to use it on you can add some salt or other spices and you can use the garlic infused olive oil as well. It should spread like softened butter!

It is amazing spread on bread or crackers or mixed into dips (like hummus), pasta sauce or on pizza crust or really it is good on anything. I hope you like it as much as I do. We are having it with a baguette and lasagna for dinner tonight!

I have also read that you can roast garlic cloves already peeled but it seems like so much work when they just slide out after roasting. But suit yourself.

Sorry there isn't a photo for this one but I forgot to take it before eating it all up.

Emily Bell's Salsa

This is great, and very easy to make. Just one word of warning it makes like a gallon of salsa!

6 regular cans of petite diced tomatoes
1 can of El Pato (yellow can)
2-3 jalapenos deseeded and chopped fine
1 banana pepper (fresh or in the bottle over by the pickles)
5-6 green onions
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 T sugar
salt and pepper to taste

If you have a good blender I have just been using that to mix it, then you don't have to chop anything, just deseed. You can't fit it all in at once though, so I just do as much as I can and then stir it in a bowl.