olive garden alfredo sauce

This stuff is just...yum...especially if you buy some OG salad dressing and a gallon of peach tea to go with it! 
  
Ingredients:

1 pint heavy cream (I used 1/2 heavy cream and 1/2 half & half to lighten it up a little)
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese (optional as a thickening agent, OG does not use cream cheese)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used 1/2 of a teaspoon)

Preparation:

In a saucepan combine butter, heavy cream, and cream cheese. Simmer this until all is melted, and mixed well. Add the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Simmer this for 15-20 minutes on low or until sauce is thick. You may wish to season with a little salt and pepper.

roasted chicken noodle soup

This stuff is straight up delicious. Especially around here when it's like -10 outside and you just want some warm soup in your belly! This recipe makes quite a bit, but you can freeze it in individual portions, hand it out to friends, or cut the recipe in half. The measurements are approximated, like always I just add "some of this, some of that".
 
Just a tip if you live here in Alaska: if you go to the commissary right when they open, they sell yesterday's rotisserie chickens over by the tortillas for half off. I buy them for $3.99, what a steal!

I usually chop up all the veggies and shred the chicken while I'm simmering the chicken broth, that way it's all ready to go.


Ingredients:
12 cups homemade chicken broth
1/4 to 1/2 an onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, diced
a little diced cabbage (optional, I like cabbage lol)
small palm-full of fresh chopped parsley
1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded
1/2 a package of cooked noodles, your choice (the more noodles you add in, the less broth you will have, they suck up all the good juice!)
salt and pepper to your liking

Directions:
Add a little oil to the bottom of a large pot over medium heat. Add in onions, celery, carrots and cook until softened. Add in garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add chicken broth, green onions, cabbage, parsley, shredded chicken, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20-25 minutes (this is usually when I cook the noodles), add in cooked noodles, and serve!

quick chicken broth

Here's a quick, easy recipe for homemade chicken broth. That canned stuff just doesn't compare. Like with most recipes that I post, I don't use actual measurements for a lot of it. It's just "some of this, some of that", but that's the beauty of cooking right?! 

If you're not big on using bouillon packets or just want to keep it clean eating, just omit them and use chicken breasts (or I prefer to use the bones from a rotisserie chicken) and several fresh herbs (thyme, bay leaves, cilantro, peppercorns, etc). I like this recipe.

By the way, this recipe makes a ton, but it freezes well...or you could mix a little in with your dog's food for a treat. Shh, don't tell Tony. ;o)


Ingredients:
12 cups water

1/2 onion, roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
2-4 cloves garlic
few sprigs fresh parsley
2 green onions
leftover chicken bones (I use the bones from my rotisserie chickens, you could sub chicken bouillon)
salt and pepper to your liking

Directions:
In a big pot, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat, and cook for about 20 minutes. When it's done, strain the liquid, like this:

 Portion leftovers to containers and freeze! Keeps for up to 6 months in the freezer.

chocolate covered pretzels

So I received my Christmas present *from myself* in the mail the other day, and have been dying to try it out! If you haven't guessed already, it's a new camera! Weee! :) These little treats were the perfect test tool! If you like chocolate covered pretzels, you must try making them at home! They're so much better than the pre-packaged kind...not to mention super easy (though a little time consuming). Perfect for filling into clear gift baggies, tie with some festive ribbon, and send them out as holiday gifts! I was feeling generous today so I packaged some up and gave them to Bear's groomer, she loved them :).

How cute would these be if you could find the pretzels in holiday shapes?!

Ingredients:
2 bags chocolate chips
Bag of mini pretzels
Sprinkles of your choice
wax paper


Directions:
Melt chocolate chips (1 bag at a time) in a bowl according to package directions. Dip pretzels one at a time quickly to coat while chocolate is still melted. Place pretzels on wax paper to set and cool. Finish with sprinkles before the chocolate dries! :)

crockpot pot roast

So I'm pretty convinced I make some of the best pot roast out there. I know there are a billion recipes out there, but most of them call for a ton of packaged spice envelopes and canned ingredients which are LOADED with sodium, fat and calories. This one is super simple but tastes great. My hubby and I love to add in some Louisiana hot sauce to give it an extra kick.

Ingredients:
3.5-4 lb pot roast
1/4 cup flour 
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 carrots, sliced
2 onions, sliced
3 potatoes, quartered (I use a bunch of tiny halved red potatoes)
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle of beer (Guiness is the best for this recipe, or another dark beer)
Louisiana hot sauce, optional


Directions:
1. Combine flour, salt, and pepper; coat meat.
2. Place all veggies except mushrooms and garlic into crock pot.
3. Top with roast.
4. Spread mushrooms and garlic over roast.
5. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 6-8 hours.

quick chicken-corn chowder

This was rated in the top 20 chicken recipes from one of my favorite cooking magazines, Cooking Light. It's healthy AND takes under 30 minutes to prepare! After reading some of the reviews I decided to use a rotisserie chicken and I'm glad I did. It gives it such a great flavor, I'll have to start keeping an eye out for the reduced price rotisseries. :)I still feel like it was missing a tiny bit of something though...maybe a little hot sauce? I'll have to play around with it, still a great recipe overall.

Yields: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
Only 257 calories per serving! 8.1g fat, 19.1g protein, 28.6g carbs, 668mg sodium

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I used the 2 breasts from the rotisserie chicken)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (I omitted)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

Preparation

• Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and jalapeño; cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 5 minutes). Season with extra salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!

pumpkin spice muffins

These are the moistest muffins I've ever tasted. And to think they only took 2 ingredients! No eggs, oil, or sugar! If you're an amateur at baking like me and want something that tastes and smells just like fall, these are for you. You could even sprinkle with powdered sugar, add chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips or top with cream cheese frosting if you're feelin' adventurous! ;)

This recipe makes about 14-16 regular sized muffins.

Ingredients:
1 box spice cake mix
15 oz 100% pure canned pumpkin
paper muffin/cupcake liners


Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350.
-In a large bowl, mix together cake mix and canned pumpkin until well combined.

-Spoon into paper lined small muffin/cupcake tins, 2/3 full. (Batter will be thick)

-Bake at 350 for 23 minutes (roughly 15 min. for mini muffins) or until toothpick comes out clean.