Tender and Crisp Chicken Legs with Sweet Tomatoes

4 chicken legs, jointed
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
a big bunch of fresh basil
2 big handfuls of red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved, and ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
1 Whole bulb of garlic, broken up into cloves
Olive Oil

Optional 1: 1 can of canellini beans, drained
Optional 2: 2 handfuls of new potatoes

Preheat oven to 350.

Season your chicken with salt and pepper all over and put them into a pan in one layer. Throw in all the basil leaves, then chuck in your tomatoes. Scatter the garlic cloves into the pan and drizzle olive oil over everything. Mix it around a bit, pushing the tomatoes underneath. Place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until the chicken skin is crisp and the meat falls off the bone. You can add the canellini beans or some sliced new potatoes to the pan and cook them with the chicken. Squeeze the garlic our of the skins before serving.

This is so easy - you don't have to skin the garlic when you add it and it comes out so sweet. I just buy the cherry tomatoes and throw them in - I don't cut them up. I usually make some yellow rice to go with this

Hey Christy

Hey Christy!

I know you're out there and you have some great recipes - don't make me plagiarize some of the recipes you've sent me. :)

Symphony Brownies

1 pkg. brownie mix (family size)
3 ½ lb. symphony bars (toffee and almond)

Mix brownies according to package directions. Spread half the batter in greased 9x13 pan. Place three Symphony bars in pan. Spread remaining batter over candy bars. Bake according to package directions. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Whenever I need a quick dessert, this is what I make. It's super easy and sooooo good!

Peanut Butter Bars

¾ c. margarine ¾ c. brown sugar
¾ c. sugar 2 eggs
¾ c. peanut butter 2 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ c. flour ¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt 1 1/2 c. oatmeal
Mix margarine, sugars, and eggs. Beat well. Add peanut butter and vanilla and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients.
Spread batter in greased 9x13 pan.
Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes. Edges will just start to lightly brown. Let cool completely.

Filling:
¾ c. peanut butter
½ c. margarine
2 ½ c. powdered sugar
Mix all well. Add milk until filling is spreadable (about ¼ c.)
Spread on cooled bars.

Topping:
Melt 1 package milk chocolate chips. Spread over filling.
Let sit several hours or overnight for easier cutting. This also allows the chocolate to set up. Don’t refrigerate—chocolate will be too hard to cut.

Everytime someone asks me to bring a dessert--this is the one they want me to bring. I only make these to take somewhere, because I will eat the whole pan if they are sitting at my house.

Oh Henry Bars

Bethany- you need to post your mom's cheese soup. It was so good.

I have the biggest sweet tooth so here is mine

Oh Henry Bars

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of karo syrup
1 cup of peanut butter
4 to 6 cup of rice Krispies
1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips

Boil the syrup and peanut butter together until sugar is dissolved or for about 1 min. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Gradually stir in the Rice Krispies. Press into a buttered 9X13 inch pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top . When melted, spread the chips over the top of mixture

Oreo Heaven

Dunk oreos in milk one at a time and then do a layer of cool whip and then a layer of oreos. Repeat with another layer of cool whip

This is sooooo good - a friend brought it to me and I was a little skeptic at first but now I can't stop eating it.

Taco Spaghetti

5 oz spaghetti
1 lb ground beef
1 lrg onion, chopped
3/4 cup water
2 Tbls taco seasoning mix
1 (11 oz) can whole kernel corn with sweet peppers, drained
1 cup sliced, pitted olives
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup salsa
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles, drained
6 cups shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato cut into thin wedges
tortilla chips
sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta, drain and set aside.

In large skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is brown. Drain off fat. Stir in water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta, corn, olives, half of cheese, salsa, and chiles.

Transfer mixture to lightly greased 2 quart casserole dish. Cover and back for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Serve with shredded lettuce, tomato wedges, tortilla chips and sour cream.

Mexican Lasagna

Cooking Spray
12 ounces cooked chicken, (cut into cubes about 3 cups or I use a can of shredded chicken from costco)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese, divided
1/2 cup salsa
1 (4oz) can chopped green chiles
2 Tbls chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 tsp ground chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
8 (6inch) corn tortillas, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Coat 11x7 baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine chicken, sour cream, 3/4 cup of cheese, salsa, chiles, cilantro, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Arrange 1/2 of the tortilla pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan, overlapping pieces slightly to cover the surface. Top with 1/2 of the chicken mixture and smooth over with back of a spoon to even the top. Layer remaining tortillas over top, spoon over remaining chicken mixture. Top with remaining cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 mins. Uncover and bake 30 minutes more until top is golden & bubbly.

I usually make some mexican/spanish rice and serve it with chopped lettuce and sour cream on top. Even my girls will eat this.

Crockpot Golden Mushroom Porkchops

4-6 Large boneless porkchops
1 can Campbells Golden Mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1 package Lipton Onion/Mushroom Dry soup

Place porkchops in crockpot, pour can of Golden Mushroom soup over porkchops, sprinkle Lipton's Mushroom/Onion soup over porkchops, Let porkchops cook on High for 3-4 hours or on low for 6 hours. Yum!

Cook baked potatoes and put the onion/mushroom gravy from the porkchops over them and it makes a great meal.

So not crazy!

I sent all these recipes to Adrienne--who then came up with the awesome idea to start this blog! I told her I would post all of them to get this site going. So don't think I'm just this crazy kitchen lady--but these recipes are some of our favorites.

Crockpot Lasagna

12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 jar spaghetti sauce
¼ c. water
2 c. mozzarella cheese
1 (16 oz) cottage cheese
Chopped fresh spinach

Break noodles in half. Place half noodles in crockpot. Mix seasoning and meat. Spread half over noodles. Mix sauce and water. Spread half over meat. Spread half cottage cheese, half chopped spinach, and half mozzarella.
Repeat layers.Cook on low 4-5 hours.

Russian Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts
1 c. apricot or peach preserves or 1 can cranberry sauce
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 bottle Russian or Catalina dressing (8 oz.)

Place chicken in 9x13 pan. (I like to cut it in bite size pieces).
Mix preserves, soup mix, and dressing. Pour over chicken.

Bake @ 350 for 1 hour.
Serve over rice.

Lipton Vegetables

6-8 potatoes
bell peppers
carrots
celery
onion
Cut up whatever combination of vegetables you like.
Mix 1 packet Lipton herb and garlic soup mix with 1/3 c. olive oil.
Pour over vegetables and stir well to coat.

Bake @ 425 for 35 minutes orBake @ 350 for 1 ½ hours.

Dill Sour Cream Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. oil 1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. sour cream 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 Tbsp. lemon juice 2-3 tsp. dill

Heat oil in pan. Add chicken and season with salt, pepper, and dill. Cook for 10 minutes.
In bowl, stir together soup, sour cream, soup mix, lemon juice, and 1 tsp. dill.Pour over chicken and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until chicken is done

Chicken Turnovers

2-3 c. cooked, diced chicken
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
½ can cream of chicken soup
mix together

Flatten 2 pkgs. Biscuit dough into circles. Put chicken into center. Fold dough over and seal edges with fork.
Dip top in melted butter and then breadcrumbs.

Place in pan or on cookie sheet.
Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes.
Sauce:
Stir together 1 can cream of chicken soup & 1 can milk
Heat until warm.

Italian BBQ

2 lbs. frozen chuck roast
1 pkg. dry Italian dressing mix
1 Tbsp. minced garlic or 1 tsp. granulated garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place frozen meat in crockpot.
Sprinkle with seasonings.
Cook on high 6-8 hours/low 14-18 hours

Shred
Add 1 c. auju sauce

Eat on rolls with Monterey Jack cheese.
Place open faced under broiler to melt cheese.
Super Yummy!

Italian Crockpot Chicken

4 chicken breasts
½ stick margarine
1 pkg. Italian dressing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

Melt butter in crockpot. Stir in dressing mix.
Add chicken, turning to coat.
Cook on high for 3 hours. (add 1 hour if chicken is frozen)
Remove chicken and shred.
Put chicken back in crockpot.
Add soup and cream cheese.
Stir and cover until heated through.
Serve over rice.
This is my kids favorite meal--even Tim is a fan!

Creamy Chicken Soft Tacos

4 boneless chicken breasts
1 jar (16 oz.) salsa
1 c. sour cream
tortillas

Place chicken and salsa in crockpot.
Cook on high 6-8 hours/shred chicken
Add sour cream just before serving and heat through.
Place in tortillas with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, etc.

Burrito Bake

1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
¾ c. water
1 can refried beans
1-2 c. shredded cheese
9 flour tortillas

Brown meat and drain, add seasoning and water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes.

In pie plate place:
3 tortillas
cover with half refried beans
top with half meat
top with half cheese
Repeat layers
Top with remaining 3 tortillas.
Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.
Cut into wedges
Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa

This isn't fancy, but it's a great sub for tacos.

Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo

1 lb. chicken
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
¾ c. parmesan cheese
½ c. real butter
½ c. milk
fettuccini noodles
salt & pepper to taste
Vegetables: broccoli, carrots, peas, etc.

Cut up chicken into bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper, thyme, and garlic. Cook over med heat on stove. Set on paper towel to drain oil. Start water boiling for noodles, cook and drain. Melt butter in medium pan on low heat. Add cream cheese and milk. Stir together. Add parmesan cheese. Keep stirring until smooth. If it is too thick, add more milk. Add pasta, chicken, and any other cooked vegetables. Season with garlic powder to taste.

I make this with the chicken/vegetables and without--it's good either way!

Easy Swiss Chicken

4 chicken breast halves
1 pkg. stuffing mix
2 cans cream of chicken soup
¼ lb. swiss cheese, sliced
1 c. chicken broth
½ c. grated parmesan cheese

Place chicken in crockpot. Cover with swiss cheese. Combine the soup and 1/2 c. broth. Spoon over chicken. Combine stuffing and remaining broth. Spoon over soup mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Cook on low for 8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Sloppy Joes

2 lbs hamburger ½ cup sugar
1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 tsp. dry mustard
1 bottle chili sauce 1 tsp. paprika
½ cup ketchup
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. brown vinegar (cider vinegar)

Brown meat and onion. Drain fat. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add to browned meat/onion. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

This can also be done in a crock pot. Cook meat and onions first and then add sauce to the meat in a crock pot. Cook on low, uncovered. Stir occasionally. (I don't usually like sloppy joes, but these are really good!)

Parmesan Chicken

1 cube melted butter
1 c. parmesan cheese
¾ c. bread crumbs
2 tsp. parsley
2 tsp. oregano
½ tsp each salt/pepper/paprika
Combine all except butter.
4-6 chicken breasts (cut in half/If the chicken is really thick I will cut it in half to make it thinner)

Dip chicken in melted butter, roll in crumb mixture.
Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.

Slow Cooker Herb Chicken

2 ½ lbs. chicken, cut in serving pieces
2 envelopes Lipton Savory Herb and Garlic Soup Mix
2 bell peppers cut in 1 inch cubes (optional)
1 c. coarsely chopped onion
½ c. dry white wine or water

In crockpot, combine all ingredients. I add the bell peppers and onions during the last 1-2 hours so they don't get mushy. Cook covered on low for 8-10 hours or high 4-6 hours.

Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger root
1 tbsp. sliced green onion
1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (can be optional)

Mix it all up and pour over chicken thighs in a large pot. Cover and boil on low for about 45 - 60 min.

Thicken gravy with a cornstarch and water mix. Serve with rice.