Easy Chicken Sausage Gumbo Recipe

November 5, 2013 by

This easy chicken sausage gumbo recipe is sponsored by Farmer John.

chicken sausage gumbo

I have a confession to make. I’m totally a teenaged girl when it comes to tv shows. And lately I’ve been obsessed with Vampire Diaries. Yes, I know. I’m horrible.

But I love the fake drama of it all. And sometimes it inspires me.

Take this chicken sausage gumbo. I’ve been dying to make it ever since the storyline of the show headed to New Orleans for a while (I’m at the end of Season 4). Because who doesn’t think of gumbo when they hear New Orleans or Louisiana? Or am I the only one?

So when Farmer John sent me their new hot Louisiana style chicken sausage I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. Make gumbo! And oh my word. The sausage gave this dish an out of this world flavor with just a hint of spice. Yum. [Read more…]

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Caprese Salad Pasta with Chicken Sauté {Quick Dinner Recipes}

October 28, 2013 by

Caprese Salad Pasta with Chicken Saute quick dinner recipes #shop #sauteexpress
I’ve always been a huge fan of quick dinner recipes. Ones that don’t take a lot of time to prepare and just fall together easily. No worrying about if I remembered the vegetables or started the rice. My favorite quick fix meals are easy chicken recipes that my kids will eat.

Since the weekends are usually my time to kick back, relax, and enjoy some family time, I make sure I have some quick dinner recipes up my sleeve to make mealtimes easier. And luckily now I have Land O’Lakes Sauté Express® Sauté Starter to help me out.

The caprese salad pasta I made took less than 15 minutes to prepare and all I chopped up were the tomatoes and cheese. Nothing hard or time consuming about that. I didn’t even add salt and pepper before putting the chicken in the pan.

quick dinner recipes caprese salad pasta ingredients #shop #sauteexpress

Quick Dinner Recipes

As a busy mom with two little ones I have a few 30 minute meals up my sleeve that take little to no thinking on my part. Except for the fact that I need to have all of the ingredients on hand.

But now my life has been made easier… finding these Sauté Express® Sauté Starter packages from Land O’Lakes has allowed me to keep making delicious and tasty meals for the family but has cut the cooking time in half.

Another lifesaver? Chicken tenders! They take like a third of the time chicken breasts take to cook and are just as good. Plus the kids love the size.

quick dinner recipes chicken pasta close up #shop #sauteexpress

Caprese Salad Pasta with Chicken Sauté

  • 2 servings spinach linguini pasta
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella, diced
  • 1/2 cup basil pesto
  • 1 Land O’Lakes Sauté Express® Sauté Starter in garlic & herb
  • 1/2 pound chicken tenders

Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add spinach linguini and cook until al dente as per the instructions on the packaging.

While water is coming to a boil, cut the cherry tomatoes and toss with the diced mozzarella and pesto in a small bowl.  Set aside.

When pasta is cooking, grab a saute pan and add Sauté Express® Sauté Starter. Cook on medium low heat until bubbling. Add chicken to the pan and cook until browned on each side, about 7-10 minutes. Place cooked chicken on a plate and remove from heat.

Once the pasta is done cooking, add the noodles to the caprese salad mixture (tomatoes, mozzarella, and pesto) and toss well. Serve pasta on a plate and top with sauteed garlic & herb chicken.

quick dinner recipes caprese salad pasta with chicken saute dish #shop #sauteexpress

What’s your favorite quick fix meal?

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Mini Pulled Pork Sliders

October 20, 2013 by

mini pulled pork sliders

I don’t know what it is about slow cooker pulled pork but it’s one of my absolute favorites to make! From root beer pulled pork, to coke pulled pork, to regular old spiced up pulled pork like this one, a pulled pork sandwich is definitely comfort food in my home.

And if you don’t have time to make homemade buns, simply grab some slider buns from the grocery store and enjoy some mini pulled pork sliders like these. Don’t forget the dill pickles on top though. They definitely add something to this delicious meal.

This meal is perfect for the family or for parties when you have lots of people over. And the leftovers (if there are any) can easily be incorporated into other dishes throughout the week. [Read more…]

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10 Fantastic Eggplant Recipes

October 4, 2013 by

eggplant recipes

We’ve had a surplus of eggplant in the garden so I’ve been going crazy trying to figure out how to use it all up. But I’m lucky. My friends are superstars and have the best eggplant recipes to try.

From eggplant philly sandwiches, to ratatouille, to eggplant parmesan these dishes are not only delicious, they have helped me go through my eggplant. The problem is I have three more almost ready to harvest.

We’ll definitely continue to be creative when it comes to making dishes. I’m thinking an eggplant chili next! What do you think? What should I make? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Dinner, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,

Green Chili Cream Cheese Chicken with Pompeian Olive Oil

October 1, 2013 by

Green Chili Cream Cheese Chicken

Last week I received a box of goodies from Pompeian including a nice bottle of their Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Inspired by the robust, delicious flavors of this olive oil and the fact that our garden has been overflowing with green chilis lately, I got a little creative in the kitchen last night. Since I was craving jalapeno poppers I figured I’d marry the flavors in with the chicken I already had in the fridge. And that’s where this green chili cream cheese chicken came to life.

I hate to pat myself on the back or toot my own horn but this is seriously one of the best dishes I’ve made in a long time. And I owe it all to my friend cream cheese. Well, it could also be attributed to the delicious Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil I used to saute the veggies and chicken in.

The one thing  I think everyone will agree on is the fact that this 30 minute wonder (what?? It’s quick to make too?) is hands down a winner! [Read more…]

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Slow Cooker Ratatouille Recipe

September 27, 2013 by

slow cooker ratatouille recipe

We’ve been growing eggplant in our garden this year for the first time and I cannot believe how well it’s doing! So much so that I’m starting to exhaust my resources with what to do with eggplant. I mean you can only make so much eggplant parm. So this week I went to my favorite slow cooker ratatouille recipe. Easy, simple, and tastes amazing!

I gotta say though, the one reason why I hadn’t shared this recipe on the blog yet was because I can never get a good photo of this ratatouille. Seriously. I can’t. So if the photos don’t look as appetizing as some of my other dishes, don’t be scared away! This truly is a delicious vegetarian dish that I love.

And if you have any other eggplant recipes to suggest please send them my way! I’ll be needing them. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Dinner, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,

Makeover Your Leftovers with Tamale Pie

September 21, 2013 by

Tamale Pie verticalSo I was listening to satellite radio the other day and a cooking show came on – I am usually tuned into the Stars station on Sirius – and they mentioned tamale pie. Of course it was the day after I served a taco bar for dinner so I was thinking of all of the leftovers I had in the fridge.

Since I didn’t have anything planned for dinner for the next night I figured I’d try my hand at my own take on a tamale pie. And OMG… it was so delicious! The smells coming from my kitchen had my mouth watering.

And if you can wait long enough (from the picture above you can tell I DIDN’T wait long enough) the dish looks beautiful when you take it out of the pan. And it’s even better the next day! So grab your leftovers and get recreating! I love making over leftovers.

The best part is that this can be made with any mexican style leftovers you may have including chicken ropa vieja and salsa chicken.  [Read more…]

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Homemade Shake and Bake for Perfectly Cheesy Chicken Tenders

August 27, 2013 by

Homemade Shake and Bake with Cheese

Does your family have a favorite meal they love eating over and over? My family’s favorite meal is cheesy chicken tenders. They can’t get enough of them! And my favorite way to prepare them is by using my own homemade shake and bake mix. Less mess, less fuss, and a happy family!

Plus I can have dinner done in 30 minutes when I use chicken tenders instead of chicken breasts. Definitely a plus when I’m rushing to get everything done in the evening.

You can easily turn these into chicken nuggets by cutting the tenders up into 1″ pieces and throwing them in the bag. The best part? Nuggets bake up even faster than tenders! You can even pan fry them. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Dinner, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized

Simply Delicious Pizza Balls

August 22, 2013 by

I really love pizza. And no matter what I do I can’t stop thinking about it when I’m watching what I eat. So instead of being tempted to order a pizza from my favorite pizza place I try and make it at home more often than not.

So I needed to change things around. Step it up a bit. And I was taken back to a meal that my mom made for us growing up. I had some pizza dough from Trader Joe’s in the fridge so I figured I’d try to wing it and hope for the best.

Well my attempt not only turned out good… it turned out better than I remembered! I was so excited to share this meal with the kids and my husband and was super happy to find out that their reaction was very pleased.

My son even asked me to make them again the next day. And he was going to help 🙂 This is now on our monthly rotation as either dinner or lunch and the kids always helps add the toppings and roll up the pizza dough into balls.

Simply Delicious Pizza Balls [Read more…]

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Herb Roasted Turkey Breast Tenderloin

July 12, 2013 by

Do you ever just get a craving for a meal you normally only have once or twice a year? This past week I was craving the classic flavors of Thanksgiving and couldn’t get it off my mind. So on our weekly run to Trader Joe’s I picked up some turkey breast tenderloins.

They looked almost exactly like the boneless skinless chicken breast I purchase only they were a bit larger. I figured I could simply use the flavors I love from turkey day and modify them a bit to create a tasty weeknight meal.

I’m so glad we went with recreating a classic holiday meal. Not only did it hit the spot but it gave me the opportunity to think outside the box when making dinner. I don’t think I’ll be sticking with just chicken breast when it comes to poultry now!
Herb Roasted Turkey Breast Tenderloin [Read more…]

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