Oven Baked Apple Crisp

This dessert is so simple to make and the best part is it is the perfect size for two!!!! Most of the ingredients are things I have on hand anyway. Not only does it taste delicious, it makes your house smell wonderful too!

Ingredients:
For the base:

4 small apples, diced (about 2 cups) (I use two big apples usually)

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For the topping-

1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp old fashioned oats (I use a little more than this because we love the crunch they add)

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 8x8 inch baking pan. 

2. In a bowl, make the base by combining sugars, flour and cinnamon. Add diced apples and toss all ingredients until apples are evenly coated with dry ingredients. Pour apple mixture into baking pan in an even layer.

3. In a separate bowl, combine first four ingredients for the topping mixture. Mix melted butter and vanilla then pour into dry ingredients. Mix together with a fork until all ingredients are moistened. Crumble topping mixture over the apples in the pan. 

4. Bake for 25-30 mins. Once it's done, dish it out and serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

Since there is only two of us, I continually try to make recipes that cater to two. This, however, is not one of those recipes. My husband likes it so much he looks forward to the leftovers. It is simple to make, so simple that he usually helps. I would say it serves about six.

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast
1 8oz block sharp cheddar cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 package of noodles (I use the wide egg noodles)
1/2 cup milk
Pepper to taste
Breadcrumbs

Directions:

First cook about the chicken, I either grill it or cook it on the stove. Cube it then set aside.

Set your oven to 350 degrees.
1. Boil a pot of water and cook noodles according to directions. Drain and set aside.
2.Shred 8oz of sharp cheddar cheese.
3. Combine noodles and cheese in a large casserole dish.
4. Add the cans of cream of chicken and chicken and mix it all together. Add in the milk and mix as well.
*I almost always add a little more cheese, whatever is on hand, usually Parmesan to add a little extra flavor.
5. Add pepper to taste and make sure everything is combined well.
6. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and then bake for 30 mins

Enjoy!!

Easiest baked chicken ever!

Growing up in a large family, shake and bake chicken and pork was an easy go-to for my mom. However, I did not have any and was in need of a quick dinner. I had some chicken breast in the freezer I thawed and decided to bake. I looked around at what I had and made my own recipe. It was so easy to make and tasted great. I will definitely try it more often and maybe use BBQ sauce instead of an egg and switch up the breadcrumbs for a different flavor.

Ingredients:
1 lb of chicken breast
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup (or more) of your favorite breadcrumb. I used an Italian
Pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)


Preheat the oven to 350.
I cut the chicken breast into thin strips.
In one bowl I cracked an egg and beat it.
In a second bowl I combined flour, pepper, and breadcrumbs. I mixed with a fork until well blended.
I then dredged the chicken through the egg, then the flour and breadcrumbs mixture.
After I placed in a baking pan. I cooked it for about 30 minutes, until it was nice and crispy and cooked all the way through.

I served mine with a small side of angel hair pasta with herbs and peas but you could serve it with whatever you please.

Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder

This past weekend we were supposed to get a huge snowstorm. I thought what better way to be stuck inside in a blizzard than with some chowder to keep us warm. Although we didn't get any snow the chowder was still great and perfect for this chilly time of year. I made some biscuits to go with the chowder which was the perfect side.

Ingredients:

Olive oil in bottom of big pot to cover bottom of the pan.
1 pound boneless chicken breast
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 48 ounce box chicken broth ( maybe 2 )
1 15.25 ounce can creamed corn
3-4 15.25 ounce can niblets sweet corn
4-5 peeled uncooked potatoes (or more if you like)
As many baby carrots as you like ( the ones in the bag)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley ( optional)
Pepper to taste

In heavy pot on stove heat olive oil, add cubed uncooked chicken, onion and celery. You can also just bake chicken in oven and cube after it is cooked. Then add after sauteing onion and celery. Add creamed corn, corn, potatoes, carrots and salt and pepper. You may need to add more broth if it doesn't cover all the veggies and chicken. Bring to boil then turn on low, cover and cook about 20-30 minutes till potatoes and carrots are done. Take off lid to cool a bit, then add cream and parsley and enjoy!!

*You can also cook with bacon in the beginning instead of olive oil, remove the bacon, set aside and crumble back in when you add the cream and parsley. Since I don't like bacon we use olive oil. We also make it without celery since the husband doesn't like it.

Before the cream 

After the cream

Crispy Shrimp Tempura

We absolutely love going out for sushi and almost always give in to some sort of tempura temptation. After seeing shrimp was on sale I decided to give making my own tempura a try. It turned out absolutely delicious and so crispy. We also used the tempura batter on some asparagus which was equally as delicious. The only thing I would do differently next time is to buy bigger shrimp.
I purchased a tempura batter at the grocery store. They had two options, I chose the less expensive. The directions just called to add cold water and an ice cube, easy enough.

First I heated the oil to 350.
I rinsed the shrimp and set them on a paper towel, absorbing any excess moisture.
Once the oil was hot enough I held the shrimp by the tail, covered it in batter and set it in the fryer.
I let them cook for a couple minutes, turning a couple times to avoid sticking to the side. After I laid them on a paper towel and let the extra oil be absorbed.
Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce!

Again, not the healthiest but boy was it delicious!!