Bourbon Chicken - No, you don't use real bourbon!

I can't entirely take credit for this lovely recipe. I found the recipe online and made a few changes to suit my family's tastes. It's versatile because you can use either breast meat or thigh meat. Thigh meat is what they would use in a chinese takeout place, it's fattier, and juicier. If you use breast meat, which still tastes great, you just have to cook it for less time so it doesn't dry out.

To our family, this tastes like authentic chinese takeout. It's truly delicious! I make up a pot of white rice to serve with it. When the chicken is done, you will end up with a delicious glaze that you can drizzle over your chicken and rice. I serve a vegetable on the side, not mixed in with the chicken. Broccoli usually goes well.

Bourbon Chicken

3 boneless chicken breasts, or 6 bonless chicken thighs

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/3 cup apple or pineapple juice (either works just fine)

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch + 2 tablespoons water

Cut chicken in bite size pieces

Heat oil in large skillet

Once oil is hot, cook chicken just until lightly browned. Remove chicken, set aside.

Using the same skillet, add remaining ingredients (EXCEPT for cornstarch + 2 tbl water)

Stir and heat until sugar is Dissolved

Now, at this point if you are using thigh meat, put chicken back in and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

If you are using breast meat, bring to a hard boil, reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes, THEN put chicken back in for the last 10 minutes of simmering. If you simmer breast meat for the whole 20 minutes, it will be on the dry side.

When I start the simmering process, that's when I start the white rice, since it usually takes about 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes of simmering is up, in a separate small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water and mix until dissolved. Add mixture to skillet with chicken and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Let boil for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Sauce should be considerably thicker. Turn off heat, and serve chicken and sauce over white rice.

You can't tell me this isn't super tasty!! Don't forget to serve with a hot vegetable on the side! Broccoli, peas, or green beans go great!

Italian Sausage Ba-Sketti anyone?

I always thought it was so cute, my little sister called it Ba-Sketti when she was little. In our house there were 2 kinds of spaghetti. My Mom made hers usually with a jar of spaghetti sauce, and ground beef. My dad made his from a box and ketchup. I hated Dad's spaghetti! I prefer my spaghetti full of flavor, a little spicy, and thick sauce. I can't stand runny sauce and if it's bland It's not even worth all the carbs. Here's my recipe, tried and true! The great thing about spaghetti, is it's hard to mess up. If you don't have a few of the spices, it's ok, just add more of the ones you do have. If you have some other italian-ish spices you want to add, toss em in! Add fresh or canned mushrooms if you like as well! I also use all dried herbs, it's much quicker!

Italian Sausage Spaghetti

1lb italian sausage, crumbled

1 small onion, diced (If i'm out of onion, I use a whole bell pepper, any color. works great!)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon marjoram

1 teaspoon herbs de provence

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)

14.5 oz can Diced tomatoes (I buy the kind with basil and garlic already in there, but plain works just as good)

6 oz can Tomato Paste

16 oz can Tomato Sauce (Use half this amount if you like a really thick sauce)

1/2 lb angel hair pasta

Remove outer casing from Sausage and crumble by hand into a hot pot. Make sure the pot is big enough for all the spaghetti. This is a one pot meal!

While sausage is cooking (make sure to stir/cumble often) dice up the onion, and the garlic. Add it to the pot, even if the sausage isn't fully browned yet. Stir often.

Once sausage is browned, and onions/garlic start to get soft, add all of the spices. Stir. Your house should be smelling REALLY good right about now.

After the spices are mixed in, open up your cans, and dump em all in. Bring to a boil. But be careful, this will happen fast, and will make a mess if you let boil too long. As soon as it comes to a boil, turn it down on low, and let it simmer one hour.

When sauce is almost done (taste, make sure it's a great flavor) boil your noodles. Drain noodles and mix with sauce. If you prefer to serve your noodles and sauce seperately, that works too!

Serve with crusty garlic bread and a small green salad. You will be one happy camper!

Completely Ugly, Totally Tasty

Boredom got the best of me on a lazy Sunday afternoon! It's too early to cook dinner, and since the leftovers of the Chargers cake got left at Melvin's Mom's house, I decided to make him his own personal cake here!

Want the ever complicated instructions?

Get a box of strawberry cake mix, and follow the directions.

Ok now that we have that part down, I did make my own frosting! It turned out great.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8oz. package cream cheese (at room temp!!)

1/4 cup butter (at room temp!!)

3 cups powdered sugar (Honestly, I didn't measure this part, I dumped the rest of what was left in the bag, into the bowl, and I'm guessing 3 cups. You can do anywhere from 2-4 cups, it just changes the consistancy a bit)

1-3 tablespoons milk (again, didn't measure, but you want to add this last, just to get to your desired consistancy!)

Dump everything into a bowl besides the milk. Use a speed mixer, and mix it until it's creamy. Add a tablespoon or so of milk at a time, until you get it how you want it. You may not even have to use any at all, it just depends on how you like your frosting!

You can also flavor your frosting. Add some vanilla extract, lemon extract, or almond extract in for extra flavor.

After frosting my cake, I had some leftover frosting in the bowl. I added about 10 drops of green food coloring and mixed it well. I scooped it into the corner of a little sandwhich ziplock bag, and made sure it was all in the corner. I cut off the very little tip of the corner of the bag, and used that as my "cake decorator" it was all very artistic, let me tell you!!

It's not the prettiest thing I've ever made but it was more for fun, and I don't think Melvin cares once he gets his first bite! Hee hee.... enjoy your Sundays!!

By the way, the cake reads "Melvin turns 36" I know, cursive is hard with a ziplock bag and frosting!!

Pasta Salad, Surprise Party!!

Here is the recipe for my Cold Italian Pasta Salad. Honestly, be careful because if you are not already attached, you might make someone fall in love with you by serving this pasta. Don't say I didn't warn you!!

Cold Italian Pasta Salad

(I use two bags of pasta for a crowd, and just one bag if I'm making it for us to eat)
1-2 bags Rainbow Rotini Pasta (they are the spiral pasta that are 3 red,green,and white)

1 large cucumber, diced

3-5 slices red onion, finely diced. If you don't like a lot of onions, cut it back, or leave them out. Mel's aunt hates onions but loves the pasta, so I always put the salad together, take out a portion for her, and then add the onions last.

1 small package pepperoni slices, cut in half

1 small package salami slices, cut in quarters

diced olives (totally optional)
small package cherry tomatoes, halved (totally optional)

1 regular sized bottle Italian Dressing. YOU MUST USE KRAFT ZESTY ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING! It will not be at all amazing without it. No substitutions!! PICTURE BELOW!

Ok so you've got all your ingredients!!

Boil water in a large pot. Add a teaspoon of salt, and boil pasta as directed. Do not overcook, pasta will not be good with mushy pasta! I start tasting one piece of pasta every minute to make sure it's at it's desired consistancy. When pasta is al dente, drain and immediately run cold water over it (in a colander) until pasta is no longer warm. Drain, and put in a large serving bowl.

Cut up the rest of the items, and add to the bowl. Add dressing, and toss to coat. You can eat this pasta right away, but it's awesome after a few hours or even the next day because the dressing soaks into the pasta and all the flavors begin to marry. Make sure to stir before you serve.




Melvin's family has get togethers ALL THE TIME! He has an extremely large extended family all living in San Diego so there is always something going on at somebody's house. One of the first times I came along with Melvin to a family shindig was a BBQ at his cousin's house. My Mom used to make this delicious cold pasta salad that my sister and I would always go crazy over. I decided to bring this to the BBQ and now I am asked to make it literally every single time we get invited to a family event.

Melvin's 36th birthday is today so we surprised him yesterday with a big party at his Mom's house! I tricked him over there by saying we had to drop by his Mom's house to pick up a bday gift on our way out for the night. We got there and all the lights were off. Melvin opened the front door and everyone screamed SURPRISE! and he was totally shocked!! We are big San Diego Chargers fans, so isn't this cake we got for the party awesome??

Yo Quiero Verde Enchiladas

These enchiladas are serious the business. My Mom started making these a few years ago and the fever caught on immediately. Melvin just goes crazy when I make these. This is yet another recipe where you can make changes. Melvin loves onions, and they onions don't get very soft in this dish, they stay crunchy, so if you don't like em, don't use em! Add black olives to the top if you like.

Here ya go...

Green Enchiladas

2 cooked, shredded chicken breasts ( I wrap in foil, season with garlic salt and chili powder, drizzle olive oil, and bake for 45 min at 350) Let cool, then shred with 2 forks

8oz package cream cheese, softened at room temp

1 4oz. can diced green chilis (these are not spicy)

1 large can green enchilada sauce

3 slices white onion, diced

2 cups shredded cheese (mexican blend, or queso, or colby jack works fine)

About 12 tortillas (depending on size you use)

3 green onions, chopped

Once you have cooked and shredded the chicken, put it in a medium bowl. Add the can of diced green chilis, soft cream cheese, diced onions, and about 1/4 cup of the green sauce. Add in a small handful of shredded cheese if you like. I use a fork and mash it all together.

A 9x11 glass baking dish works well. Pour a couple tablepsoons green sauce on the bottom of the pan. Take chicken/cheese mixture and roll it up evenly in as many tortillas you can fit into the baking dish. Pack them in as tight as possible. Pour remaining sauce over rolled/filled tortillas. Sprinkle remaining cheese over it all. Sprinkle green onions over the top.

COVER WITH FOIL!! If you are making this early in the day (or the night before) for later, you can just store it in the fridge, and then pop it in the oven when you are ready to eat. This dish needs to be cooked (with foil) for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Cheese should be bubbly. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

I serve mine with tortilla chips, or spanish rice. Usually everyone is mad because there are no leftovers and the pan is licked clean. Boo whoo. I believe these enchiladas make Melvin fall in love with me just a little more each time I make them! :)

A request - Chicken Pot Pie!!

I don't care whether it's summer spring winter or fall...there is always a time for chicken pot pie! This recipe is seriously so easy and it tastes amazing. I'm a big fan of pepper, so this calls for a lot and it REALLY adds a lot but if you don't like pepper as much, feel free to cut back. I think that is the most important faucet of cooking actually. If you are cooking from a recipe, make it your own! Add more of something you love, and vice versa. Substitue where you see fit.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 (15 oz) package ready made pie dough (comes with 2 crusts) and you can find this in a box next to all the refridgerated rolls and premade cookie dough

1 (10 oz ) package frozen mixed veggies (choose your favorite veggies, but I like corn, peas, carrots, and lima beans)

1 celery stalk, cut in half and diced

1-2 cooked chicken breasts (I use 2 b/c we like a meaty pot pie! I season my chicken with garlic salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap in foil. Put in oven at 375 for about 45 min. Let cool, and dice in bite size chunks)

1 10 oz can cream of potato soup
1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon lawry seasoning salt (or whatever you have!)
1-2 teaspoons black pepper

Line 9 or 10 inch glass pie plate with first crust. Set aside.

In medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients (dump and stir!)

Pour filling into pie plate

Top with the second crust. Make a few slits in the top crust to vent and bake at 375 for about an hour or until golden brown. Watch closely. If pie edges start to brown too fast, cover with foil. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

***I always put my pie plate on a foil covered cookie sheet in case some of the filling starts dripping out. Don't want that stuff burning in your oven for weeks to come!!


Seriously this pie is great. My man is a big eater and even one piece fills him up for the rest of the night. Enjoy!

BBQ Coca-Cola Shredded Chicken

This is one of the boys' favorites. It's so easy and it's perfect for those days where you don't have a bunch of time.

If you own a crockpot, you've got to try this!!

This feeds about 4 people.

3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
3/4th can of coke
2 lemon slices
1 bottle BBQ sauce (your favorite flavor)
1-2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (if you like things a little spicy)

Dump everything besides the chicken into the crockpot. Stir until mixed together. Leave chicken breasts whole, and submerge into the coke/bbq juice. Cover with tight fitting crockpot lid, and cook on low for 4 hours. I usually stir once or twice and/or turn chicken over during these 4 hours. After 4 hours, take chicken out and shred with 2 forks. Put chicken back and put crockpot on "warm" setting. Let chicken sit for 30-60 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns.

I usually serve mine with tater tots, and corn!

This chicken is also really good leftover the next day. If I know I have a busy week, I will double the recipe and have the boys have it for dinner the next night. They never complain!!

When I grow up

I love to cook! There is something inside of me that get's great pleasure from seeing something amazing and delicious coming out of the oven.... and I made it!!

I am a devoted wife and step mother and I love taking care of my family. I believe that is a great way to show my love and devotion, making mouth watering dishes for everyone to enjoy. I haven't always been a good cook! I started baking way before I started cooking and I was always decent at that. But practice does make perfect and since I'm not a huge fan of fast food, or spending a million dollars eating out, I try to get creative in the kitchen and turn a few on hand ingredients into something my boys will be asking me to make again and again!!

I wanted to share my cooking adventures with anyone who also shares my passion, or maybe someone who would like to turn her kitchen into a place where everyone knows there is something tasty cooking up!

My husbands friends don't come over to see him anymore it seems. Rather he is an afterthought after they look in the fridge or ask "What did Marcie make today?" I absolutely love sharing my desserts with friends and family. I love cooking for crowds and the best compliment I can recieve is; "Can I have seconds?"