Few Meals I've made lately...

Hawaiin Haystacks

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
32 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons of dry Ranch Dressing seasoning packet
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
Steamed rice, enough for your family
Toppings
Chow Mein Crispy Noodles
sliced green onions
black olives
pineapple
cranberries
almonds
tomatoes
shredded cheese
1. Place butter into a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring to melt. Slowly whisk in flour, salt and pepper until smooth and thick, for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Increase heat to high whisking until thick, about 2 minutes. Add sour cream, Ranch seasoning, garlic salt, and cooked chicken breast. Stir and season accordingly. You may prefer additional, salt, pepper and garlic salt. I transferred this to my crock pot and kept it on low all day until dinner. You can either serve it immediately or crock pot it until you are ready.
2. Place rice on serving plates and top with chicken gravy. Have toppings at the table and top with whatever you like! Have fun!
Serves 4

As you can see I left out a few toppings:)

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound fresh asparagus spears
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
1 pound penne pasta
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the oil and ¼ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ of the pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
While the asparagus roasts, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the vinegar is reduced to about 3 tablespoons, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.
Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until just done, 11-13 minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Stir in the butter and vinegar mixture. Toss to combine well. Add in the asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese for serving.
Serves 4-6

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

10 soft taco shells (I used corn)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 pan
2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan, seam side down.
3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute on medium heat. Add broth (or stock) and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. (Only takes a couple of minutes)
4. Stir in sour cream and chiles until combined. Do not bring to boil.
5. Pour sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.

Macaroni and Cheese

1 (8-ounce) package elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, add the garlic and cook until the garlic is softened, about 2 minutes. Add the onion powder, then whisk in the flour and milk, then cook until slightly thickened. Add three cups of the cheddar cheese and stir until melted in the mixture. Toss the cheese mixture with the cooked pasta, salt and pepper to taste. Stir the remaining grated cheese into the pasta. Spoon into a large baking dish.

In a small bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs and melted butter. I always like to add a bunch of freshly ground pepper and a sprinkling of sea salt to this mixture. Spread over the pasta. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Baked cheese balls

Keri introduced me to this yummy snack...

Cut your sticks into balls, dip in milk, and toss in the breading (I use Panko Japanese-Style Bread Crumbs)
Bake 8 minutes or less....in the oven at 425 degrees

I dip in marinara sauce!

Pizza Casserole

Ingredients

1 Box Spiral Pasta
1 pound lean ground turkey (I used ground beef)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup pepperoni
1/2 can of olives
16 ounces pizza sauce or pasta sauce (I use Hunts tomato sauce)
1/2 cup water
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground turkey with the onion, garlic and green bell pepper. Drain excess fat.  Stir in olives and pepperoni. Pour Pasta sauce and 1/2 cup water over  mix. Serve over cooked pasta. Top with shredded Mozzarella.
Serve with a side salad or french bread.
If you don't like the taste of ground turkey you can substitute it for a pound of lean ground beef (that's what I did). You can also add Canadian bacon instead of pepperoni.

Skinny Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt & pepper then cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups cooked broccoli
8oz rotini
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
salt & pepper
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water before draining. Set aside.
2. Heat extra virgin olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Sprinkle in flour then whisk to incorporate and cook for 1 additional minute.
3. Slowly whisk in chicken broth, then milk. Whisk in Greek yogurt, salt and pepper, then turn the heat down to low and let the mixture simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat off then stir in parmesan cheese, then chicken. Pour over cooked pasta then add broccoli and stir well. Add a little reserved pasta cooking water if sauce is too thick. Serve.

Well there you go! What we've been eating here at our house:)

More to come!