Kale Chips

I love chips. It's a problem. These are chips I don't have to feel guilty about. A few summers ago we started growing kale in our garden and since then I've scoured the internet for recipes and this has been my favorite way to use kale. My hubs will just throw kale in his smoothies.. that's fine for him but I was my smoothies to taste like fruit and I'll get my veggies in with recipes like this. I adapted this from Smitten Kitchen's recipe.

Kale Chips

Ingredients:
1-2 bunches of kale (it shrinks down a lot)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt to taste
Optional additions: parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2.Rinse and dry kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces
3. Toss with olive oil in a bowl and sprinkle with olive oil (and parmesan cheese and pepper flakes)
4. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper, spray with cooking spray
5. Arrange kale in a single layer on cookie sheet
6. Bake for 10-20 minutes, or until crisp
7. Let cool and store in an airtight container

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Olive Garden's Stuffed Chicken Marsala

Ok guys, let me let you in on a little secret. I LOVE this recipe but I don't like it when I get it at OG. It's not very often I love the homemade version better than the real thing (like Zupas Wisconsin cheese soup-no copy cat is that good). In this case, it's a good thing anyway because it's like $18 at Olive Garden. You can also find this recipe at Olive Gardens Website, I'm just worried they will choose to take it down so I have re-posted it here.

Stuffed Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

Cheese stuffing:

1/2 cup smoke shredded cheese (provolone or gouda)

8-oz package of mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp fresh garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed (don't over do it on this one)

1/3 cup green onions, thinly sliced

3/4 cup sour cream (6 oz)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Sauce:

1 small onion, cut in half and thinly sliced lengthwise

24 oz marsala wine (you can buy in the cooking section of the grocery store, I like Kroger brand)

8 fl oz heavy cream

1 small container of mushrooms, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 fl oz olive oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine all cheese stuffing ingredients in a mixing bowl

3. Butterfly thickest section of chicken breasts to create 2 lobes (basically cut in half, to create a pocket in the center). Pound each breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or in a large baggie until 1/4 - 1/2 an inch thick.

4. Place flattened chicken breasts on a plate and place desired amount of stuffing on one lobe of each chicken breast. Gently press stuffing down so it resembles a hockey puck.

5. Fold over other lobe of chicken breast; does not have to seal

6. Heat large saute pan over medium heat

7. Add olive oil and heat until simmering

8. Place flour in a shallow pan and season to taste with salt and pepper

9. Dredge stuffed chicken breasts in flour, shaking of excess

10. Saute chicken breasts with preheated oil, cooking until each side is golden brown

11. Remove chicken from pan and place in baking dish

12. Bake for 10-20 minutes, or until juices run clear and center of chicken reaches 165 degrees

13. Add onion to saute pan and stir to loosen chicken drippings. After 2 minutes, add mushrooms and saute until onions are translucent

14. Deglaze pan with marsala wine - make sure to incorporate drippings from bottom of pan

15. Heat wine to a simmer and add heavy cream. Simmer on low heat until reduced by half

16. Place cooked chicken breasts on a plate and top each with onions, mushrooms, and sauce

17. Serve with your favorite garlic mashed potato recipe.

Feta Dip

I tried this for the first time at a friends house and loved it! She actually shared the recipe with me on Pinterest after and that's how I learned of and became obsessed with Pinterest (thanks Jerica! haha). But I've modified the original Smells Like Home recipe a lot. So here is my new adaption:

Feta Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

1 package of plain low fat feta (for single serving, spoon out desired amount and eyeball ingredients)
6 cloves of garlic, chopped or thinly sliced
1 tbsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Crackers or french bread for dipping

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Spread feta on a glass baking pan. Drizzle oil over cheese and mix garlic and herbs and spread over cheese. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
3. Bake for 6 minutes until the cheese softens. Remove pan from oven and serve immediately.

Costco Greek Pasta Salad

I have been craving this like crazy since getting pregnant and we have been going to Costco every weekend to see if they have it yet (I think it might be a summer item) with no luck. So I attempted to make it myself using a recipe from Wendy's Knitch and it was amazing! We took it to a party and it was a hit. We got lots of compliments. It tastes just like Costco and cost around $20 to make for a giant bowl sized portion. So now I'm re-posting it here so I can have it forever and for always.

Costco Greek Pasta Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

1 package of penne pasta, cooked according to package for al dente pasta
2 breasts from a rotisserie chicken, finely shredded
1 can artichoke hearts, cut up (I buy the large jars from Costco in oil and used about 10 hearts. I didn't rinse the oil, I just shook them off first)
1 container kalamata olives
1 small package grape tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 small container of plain/low fat feta cheese, well crumbled (I used about 4 oz)
1/2 a bottle of Kraft Greek Vinaigrette dressing, but add more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. I like to add the pasta and dressing last. If taking it to a party, everything except the dressing can be mixed together the night before. Then dress it about an hour before serving. Keeps well. You may just want to add a dash more dressing to perk it up in days following. It does make a large serving, I would say enough for 10-20 people, or lots of leftovers for my family :)

Blog Introduction

Well hello there!

I see you have stumbled upon my blog. Awesome! Hopefully you will find lots of recipes that will help you when planning meals for your family and friends. The reason I started this blog was because I am a Pinterest addict when it comes to recipes. But I don't love how you have to link somewhere from Pinterest, and sometimes my favorite recipes will get taken down from their websites or URL's changed and I lose my favorite recipes forever. Other times I cannot post a favorite recipe because Pinterest can't see the image I want to use or the site doesn't have one at all. This should solve my problems. If you want to see a better directory of my recipes, you can follow me on Pinterest.

Visit Tiffany's profile on Pinterest.

Thanks for reading!