Chicken Bacon Artichoke Pasta Bake ( w/freezer meal option)

Well, since I've kept you waiting for a new post for such a long time...I'm going to do 2 posts today! Bonus!

Not only that but my first post is really two recipes! My sister-in-law sent me a new cookbook for Christmas. This cookbook features recipes from the website: Our Best Bites. While I haven't checked out their website yet, I plan to do that soon based on the yummy recipes we've sampled from their cookbook! Click on Our Best Bites to check it out!

My husband loves Alfredo! I do too but feel pretty guilty about the giant calorie intake associated with it's deliciousness. So when I found this Guiltless Alfredo Sauce recipe in their book I had to give it a try. And while it's not totally guiltless (It still has a bunch of delicious parmesan) it is significantly better than regular Alfredo recipes. Subbing low-fat milk for cream and reducing the butter significantly make this recipe great!

I've made the sauce twice now, once we just had it over noodles and once I used it in their Bacon Artichoke with Penne Bake. Both were delicious! In the penne bake I considered putting spinach in. I still think it would be yummy but decided that having artichokes and spinach in the same dish might send my family over the edge. It was a good thing I decided against it too...because even though I chopped the artichokes into tiny little pieces my husband still spent the night picking them out of his pasta. Even though I love artichokes, I tried this recipe again subbing 1 1/2 cups peas for the artichokes and my husband and kids were thrilled with the change so I will probably do that from now on. Anyway, without further ado, I give you Guiltless Alfredo Sauce and Bacon Artichoke with Penne Bake courtesy of Our Best Bites!

Bacon Artichoke Penne Bake 
(Adapted from Our Best Bites)
Ingredients:
1 lb. penne or farfalle pasta
2 jars Alfredo sauce or 1 recipe Guiltless Alfredo Sauce (below)
3 Chicken breasts, grilled and chopped
5-8 pieces cooked bacon, chopped
1 (14 oz.) jar artichoke hearts (they suggest using marinated but I just used plain. Also, you can substitute peas for picky eaters...aka...husbands!)
3-4 green onions, sliced
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, prepare guiltless Alfredo. Drain pasta and toss with sauce and remaining ingredients (setting aside 1/2 cup Mozzarella for later). Season to taste. Place pasta mixture in an 8x8 dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly!

or...
Freezer Meal Prep Instructions:

Cook pasta and chicken. Slice or chop chicken. In a medium bowl toss pasta and chicken with sauce, bacon, artichoke hearts, green onion and 1 cup of the mozzarella.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place pasta in a disposable 9x13 pan.  Top with remaining mozzarella. Cover with a double layer of foil. Label and Freeze.

Freezer Meal Cooking Instructions:

Place pan on a large baking sheet and remove foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 90 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce 
(from Our Best Bites)
Ingredients:
4 cups low-fat milk (I used skim and it worked fine)
2/3 cup (6 ounces) low-fat cream cheese
4 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 T. butter
3 tsp. minced garlic
2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I had leftover shredded Parmesan and it melted down fine)

Instructions:
Blend milk, cream cheese, flour and salt in a blender until smooth. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and add garlic. Saute garlic 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add milk mixture to the pan and stir constantly until it comes to a simmer (about 5 minutes). Keep stirring until sauce thickens (about 7 more minutes). Remove sauce from heat and whisk in Parmesan. Cover immediately and let sit 10 minutes. Serve immediately in your favorite pasta dish.

How To Make an Ice Ring or Wreath in a Bundt Pan

This was something else that we put together for the church activity the other night. I know it is kind of funny to have a water or ice recipe but it tasted very yummy and looked cool! So maybe this is more of a "how to" than a "recipe" post.

Refreshing Lemon Cucumber Water
My friend Jenny found this drink online. She finds great recipes and you can check out her blog at whatisonyourmenu.com. To make the water, thinly slice a lemon and a cucumber and place it in cold drinking water. Refrigerate. Giving it a little extra time in the refrigerator will allow the water to absorb some of the lemon cucumber flavor. Add ice and enjoy! I had never had cucumber in my water before but it was really yummy and went great with the slight lemon flavor. Instead of cubed ice we added an ice ring for a garnish.

Fruited Ice Ring
I have seen these before at weddings and whatnot but had never made one myself. Not only was it easy and cute...but it's a great way to save your ice maker from having to recover from a party (something our ice maker never does very well!). Here are some easy steps to make an ice wreath for you punch bowl.

1) Decide what kind of drink you will be making
2) Choose fruit that you think will look pretty in your ring and also won't change the flavor of your drink once it melts. (For example we were making lemon/cucumber water so I used lemons and cucumber in mine and garnished it with pomegranate to give it a brighter color)
Other ideas of pretty fruit: Oranges, limes, grapes, cranberries, melon, etc.)
3) Fill your bundt pan to desired thickness with fresh fruit.
4) Cover fruit with a portion of whatever drink you are using. Be careful not to fill your pan above the fruit level or your fruit will all float. Using the same drink to make your ice means that it won't dilute your punch as it melts. If you are using your ring in water then you can just use water to make the ice.
5) Place pan in a level spot in your freezer until it is frozen solid.
6) When ready to use remove from freezer and remove ice from pan. (Mine slid right out of the pan but you may need to run it under warm water to get it to release)

Veggie "Pizza" Snack

I guess it's "things to do with crescent roll dough" week here at neighborjulia! My friend and I did refreshments for a church activity this week and I promised to put the recipes up on my blog! So here is the first one! This is a quick appetizer that I make all the time. I actually use it as a side dish and my kiddos gobble it up! It's kind of a tricky way to get your kids to eat salad. I don't know about others...but my kids are not huge lettuce eaters so they usually end up just eating the toppings out of it. This recipe is great because it is ONLY toppings. Tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber...yum!

There's lots of different sauces you can use too. I used low fat sour cream mixed with a little ranch dressing for mine. An even healthier option is to use plain yogurt to make a low fat veggie dip and spread that on. I went to an activity once where a sister made it with spinach dip and it was delicious. Caeser dressing is also great. If you don't want to make something, there is a large varieties of veggie dips at the store that would work great. You can probably find them in the produce section or in the refrigerated section by the sour cream. Just play around with it and see what your family likes!

Veggie "Pizza" Snack
2 cans crescent rolls (or make your own. Click here for Butterhorns recipe)
1 cup your choice of veggie dip (see above for ideas)
3 carrots- shredded (apx. 1 cup)
1 cucumber- chopped
2 roma tomatoes- chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper- chopped

Roll out crescent roll dough on a large jelly roll pan. Pinch dough together to form a large rectangular crust. Bake according to package directions (apx. 350 degrees for 12-16 minutes) or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile shred carrots and chop up your other veggies. Spread cooled crust with desired amount of dip. Top with 2/3 of the shredded carrots. Top with you other veggies and garnish with the remaining shredded carrots. Refrigerate until ready to eat!

Quick Jalapeno Poppers

My husband loves jalapeno poppers. And while I know how to make them...I usually just end up buying frozen ones from the store to save time. So when I saw these cheater poppers on Pinterest I had to give them a try! I have to admit that I never actually read the recipe. I just saw the picture and put it together myself. So they might have some better ideas on there. This is just what I tried. We had them for New Year's eve and I will definitely be making them again. They were very quick to make and were a big hit! Give them a try!


Quick Jalapeno Poppers
8 oz. cream cheese
2 packs crescent rolls (Or make your own dough Here's my recipe: Butterhorns)
2 to 3 fresh jalapenos (I only used to 2 but next time I would probably do 3 so that they were a littler hotter)
6 pieces cooked bacon (I used the precooked kind that you can microwave)

Cook bacon and crumble. Remove seeds from jalapenos and chop into bite sized pieces. Seperate dough into triangles. In the middle of each triangle place a dollop of cream cheese, 2 pieces of jalapeno, and part of the crumbled bacon. Fold all three triangle into the center and pinch edges closed. (I kind of rolled it like I was making a crescent roll and then pinched the other corners in. Basically you can form it however you want...just make sure it's totally closed so the filling doesn't bake out) Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Brushetta with Balsamic Drizzle

This is one of those recipes I've tinkered with for a few years now. I think I finally have it the way I want it. It's a great appetizer or snack. You can make the bruschetta the day before so it's great for a party where you have a lot to make. Just toast the bread at the end and top with tomato mixture and you're set to go. Plus it's red and green...perfect for Christmas! Give it a try!

Bruschetta with Balsamic Drizzle:

Bruschetta:
6-8 roma tomatoes- chopped (firmer tomatoes are better for this recipe)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
2 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 T. Balsamic Vinegar
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 long skinny baguette sliced thinly (I used sourdough...but any kind of baguette would work. They often have them pre-cut in the bakery)

Mix all ingredients (except for bread) in a medium sized bowl. Allow to chill in fridge for at least 2 hours for best flavor. (I like to make mine a day ahead if I have time). When ready to serve slice bread and toast bread slightly in oven. Top each piece of toast with bruschetta and drizzle recipe below.

Balsamic Drizzle:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 T. corn starch

Stir all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Boil until slightly thickened (add extra corn starch if needed). Let cool 5 min. or until thickened to consistency you would like (don't let it get too thick). Drizzle over bruschetta and toast. Enjoy!

Butterhorns

Here's a great roll recipe I found in one of my Taste of Home cookbooks. So thanks to Kelley Kirby of Westville, Nova Scotia for these yummy rolls! I even decided to make them for Thanksgiving this year! I usually just do Rhodes rolls because up until this recipe I hadn't found a recipe that I thought tasted better than Rhodes. That may have changed now though because these were super light and fluffy, PLUS now I get to brag about making homemade rolls and maybe someone will bring me a gold star or something! :)

The actual making of the rolls didn't take much time at all but since it's yeast it takes all day. Do a step and let it rise. Do another step and let it double...you know the drill! I just always forget to plan it into my day and then I start to make dinner and realize I should have started the rolls 3 hours ago! Luckily I did remember to plan it into Thanksgiving so we had fresh from the oven crescents! Give it a try and earn your gold star too!

Butterhorns
1 T. active dry yeast
1 tsp. plus 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup butter, softened (I'm pretty sure I completely melted mine and it turned out fine)
1/2 cup warm 2 % milk (110 to 115 degrees)
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in warm water. Add the butter, milk, egg, salt, remaining sugar and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12 in. circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place point side down 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

Pumpkin Pancakes with Apple Cider Syrup

Thanks to the snow day we had this week, I got a chance to make a fun breakfast! I got this pancake recipe from a church cookbook my Mom gave me from her ward. It says that it's IHOP's recipe. I don't know if that's true or not but they were super yummy! A lot better than anything I've had at the IHOP in Santa Fe :)

I also got the apple cider syrup recipe from the same cookbook. It was very easy to make and my kids loved it. They pretty much wanted to drink it! I didn't have any apple cider so I ended up making some with a spiced cider packet I had in my pantry. That seemed to work fine but I'm sure it would taste way better with fresh apple cider!

The syrup tasted really good with the pumpkin pancakes. I have another recipe for an apple cinnamon topping that I think would taste better with the pumpkin pancakes that I will probably try next time.

Pumpkin Pancakes
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
4 tbl. melted butter (half a stick)
3 T. canned pumpkin
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. allspice (I didn't have this so I used a little nutmeg and ginger instead)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (I used more)

Preheat skillet to medium heat. Blend first 6 ingredients together in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl and add them to the other ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Drop onto griddle in 1/4 cup portions. Cook until edges are a little hardened (1-2 minutes) Flip and cook on the other side. Serve with apple cider syrup or your favorite syrup!

Apple Cider Syrup
2 T. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (again I used more than that)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 cups apple cider
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup butter (melted)
(note from the cookbook: If you like sweeter syrup you can add sugar to the cornstarch mixture. The apple cider sweetens it already though.)

In a small saucepan, mix sugar, conrstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in apple cider and lemon juice and turn heat to medium high. Stir constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter. (Makes about 2 1/2 cups syrup)