Smothered Chicken (aka Alice Springs Chicken)

I got this from Shandra here. It's H.E.A.V.E.N.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Garlic powder and seasoned salt to taste
1 T. vegetable oil
8 oz. button mushrooms, cut in half or quarters
1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese blend
½ c. chopped green onions
½ c. real bacon bits (real bacon works best and tastes the best)
½ c. tomatoes
1 bottle BBQ sauce
Flatten chicken breasts to ¼ in. thick (or just cut chicken breasts in half horizontally). Sprinkle with seasonings. In a skillet, brown chicken in oil for 4 min., or until mostly cooked through (you could also grill them if that is easier) In a separate pan saute cut up bacon until crispy. Drain the excess grease. Add mushrooms to the bacon and cook until mushrooms are soft. Place chicken breasts on a cookie sheet or in a 9x13 pan. Squeeze a generous amount of bbq sauce on top of each chicken breast. Top the chicken with the mushroom and bacon mixture. Sprinkle the cheese all over the tops of the chicken breasts. Cover and cook until chicken is done and cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. When chicken is finished, top the chicken breasts with the fresh tomatoes and green onions. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and honey mustard sauce.

Honey Mustard Sauce
1 c. mayo (can use fat free or low fat)
3/4 c. Dijon mustard
¼-1/2 c. honey
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper
2 T. Lime juice
1 tsp. Ginger powder
Mix. Add extra honey or lime for desired flavor.
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
5 lb. russet potatoes (or red potatoes)
½-1 whole 16oz. tub sour cream (depending on how much moisture you need in your potatoes)
1 cube butter
8 oz. half & half or milk
Fresh or dried Parsley
1 clove garlic
Salt & Pepper
½ c. Parmesan cheese (optional)
Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. Boil water and add potato chunks. Boil until potatoes are fork tender. Drain majority of water from potatoes. Mash potatoes with either an electric mixer or potato masher. Add whipping cream, butter, sour cream, garlic, salt, pepper & Parmesan cheese.

Homemade Marinara - Simplified

I have adapted my marinara recipe to be a TON easier - and guess what? It tastes just as good! Thought I'd share it with you!

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1. Start with 10-15 tomatoes that have been rinsed, cored, and cut into fourths

2. Put in a large pot with 3 cups shredded zucchini, 4 roughly cut carrots, 1 roughly cut onion, and 2 T. minced garlic.

3. Cook and stir over medium heat until carrots are soft (About 20 min)

4. Remove from heat and add 2T. salt, 2T. sugar, and 1T. dried basil. Puree with an immersion blender (Or process in blender) until consistency you desire. (I like mine well pureed - it cuts back on the skin-bits being noticeable)

5. Return to heat over low, and cook for 2-4 hours, stirring occasionally.

6. Use, bottle, or freeze! Yields about 8 cups

* The length cooked decides how watery it is - if you like your sauce thick, cook it longer.

* I like to do several batches all at once and then portion into quart sized freezer bags.

Buttermilk Pancake Syrup

Claire's mother-in-law gave me this recipe. It is so good with german pancakes (posted above) and french toast.

1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cube butter
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Bring sugar, buttermilk and butter to a rolling boil. Then add baking soda and vanilla. It will get frothy. Serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Homemade Marinara

I found this recipe on this website (which I LOVE by the way)and just had to try it. This is my adapted version. I realize that this looks like a lot more work than most are willing to go to, but trust me. The end result is well worth the cooking time in this recipe! Not to mention, if you happen to plant waaayyy too much zuchinni and squash in your garden (ahem, who me?), it is a great way to sneak them to your kids without them even knowing they're getting veggies!

1 medium zucchini
1 medium crookneck squash, peeled
1 large white onion
1 C. celery
1 T. minced fresh garlic (or more to taste)
1 T. olive oil
2 T. sugar
2 T. salt
3/4 t. pepper
8-10 tomatoes OR 3 cans stewed tomatoes
2 T. basil


Chop finely (or food process) all veggies, except tomatoes. I grate my veggies in my KitchenAid slicer attachment. Saute in large braising pot with the oil. When vegies are limp and shimmering, add tomatoes with juice, and the sugar, salt, and pepper. Puree all together with immersion blender (or in blender - you may need to do small batches). Allow to simmer for 3-5 hours without lid. It should reduce about 1/3. I like to let it cook the full 5 hours so that the flavor is really strong, and the watery liquid has mostly evaporated. At this point, chop basil finely(or use dried), and stir in. Remove from heat, and serve immediately, or let cool completely. From this point, I portion out what my family will eat in one meal, and put it into a freezer ziploc. Then freeze. To reheat, I just turn the frozen block out into a large pot, and slowly reheat. *This is where I add 1 pound of browned, drained Italian sausage or add these to the sauce. Serve with pasta!