Crockpot Mushroom Chicken With Black Truffle Cheese and Rigatoni

Okay so I intended for this to be just a simple creamy mushroom chicken over rice….but I decided at the last minute to get fancy. I totally forgot that I had bought black truffle italian cheese from Trader Joe’s the other day. So I decided to roll with it and try to create something yummy. Yes this is a crockpot recipe. And yes this is very easy! Now for those who have never tried Black Truffles, they are quite pungent and have a strong earthy smell and taste to it. Some like it, some don’t. They are a little expensive and you can find the truffle cheeses at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods…so if you are not quite familiar with truffles, I suggest you try it first on a piece of toast before you make this. You can substitute truffle cheese with fontina cheese or even mozzarella if you wish.

8 pieces of chicken tenderloin breasts or 4 large chicken breasts (halved)

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1 small white onion (chopped)

1 bulb of garlic (peeled and left whole)

1 can of golden mushroom soup (if you can’t find this, then use regular cream of mushroom)

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1/2 c. of chardonnay

1/2 c. sliced cremini mushrooms

1/4 c. chopped parsley

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp of black pepper

1 tsp of kosher salt

1/3 c. frozen peas

4 c. of rigatoni pasta

1 c. black truffle italian cheese (shredded)

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Place Chicken (it can be frozen) in the bottom of the crockpot. Melt butter in a pot. Once melted, add onions and garlic and cook for about a minute. Then the 2 cans of mushroom soup. Mix well. Then add the chardonnay and mushrooms along with the parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Mix Well and turn the heat off. Then pour over chicken. Cook in the crockpot for 5 hours. Then add peas. Cook for 1 more hour. Then set aside.

In a large pot boil water to cook rigatoni and cook until al dente. In a large casserole dish add cooked pasta. Then add 1/2 c. of the shredded black truffle cheese and 1/8 c. of parmesan cheese. Pour the creamy chicken and mixture into the casserole dish and toss lightly until it’s mixed well. Add a the rest of the cheeses on top. Sprinkle olive oil across the top and set in the broiler for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.  Then ready to serve!

 

French-Toast Casserole

I love everything about this dish. It is super easy and super yummy. I needed to make something last weekend for a a small group of friends because we were throwing a garage sale at my house. Our friends brought stuff to sell and I had told them that I would provide breakfast and coffee. I wanted to make something I can quickly put together and leave in the oven while I help set up and attend to my 1 year old. This was perfect and a hit! My friend Rheanna gave me this recipe, except that I tweaked it a little bit because I didn’t have vanilla extract and that I didn’t really want to use as much granulated sugar that it asked for. But I still give her props! Thanks Rheezy! Everyone loved it! Even my little one!

1 loaf of french bread (cut cubed)

3 cups of milk

8 eggs

4 tbsp of agave nectar

2 tbsp of vanilla bean maple syrup (fresh&easy brand) or vanilla extract

2 tbsp of granulated sugar

4 tbsp of cinnamon

1/2 c. melted unsalted butter

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Using a large buttered casserole dish, spread out cubes of bread at the bottom.. Mix milk, eggs, agave nectar, vanilla and 2 tbsp of cinnamon in a bowl. Then pour evenly over the bread. Then pour melted butter over the top of the bread. Let it sit for 10 minutes to soak.

Then sprinkle granulated sugar and the rest of the cinnamon over the top.

Bake for 1 hour.

Serve with the vanilla bean syrup or fruit with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Loretta’s Zucchini Pie

This is pretty much a classic vegetarian dish for me. If you can’t get your baby/toddler/kid to eat their veggies, this is the dish to make! It’s Absolutely yummy and my 1 year old daughter is crazy about it. This is the age where her pickiness starts. It can be frustrating but it motivates me to think of different ways to feed my baby healthy foods with enough veggies. I’ve been making this Dish for a long time now. You’re probably thinking who “Loretta” is.  She is a dear friend of mine that I used to work with. She and I shared and office and we would always exchange recipes. When I decided to go Vegetarian for a couple of months, she had told wrote down a Zucchini Pie Recipe. When I tried it, I was hooked and made it every week! It’s one of my husband’s favorite and now my 1 year old’s fave…well one of her faves…she is quite an eater. I’m giving her this credit for giving me an idea of this yummy dish. I’ve actually tweaked it to add more variety in veggies. Anyone can put anything in this and it will still be yummy! Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I do.

2 medium zucchinis (shredded) (2 c.)

1 yellow squash (shredded) (1 c.)

1 carrot (shredded)

3/4 c. cremini mushrooms (chopped)

1 leek or 1 small yellow onion (chopped white & light green part)

2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

1/2 c. parmesean cheese

1 c. Trader Joe’s Multigrain Baking Mix or any type of baking mix

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/2 c. vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 large steakhouse tomato (thinly sliced)

1/4 c bread crumbs (I like to make my own. Find out how under “Tips/DIY”)

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix zuchinni, yellow squash, mushrooms, carrot, leek and garlic.  Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients (parmesean cheese, baking mix, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano). Add dry ingredients to the veggie mixture. Mix well until all dry ingredients appear doughy. Add 4 eggs and vegetable oil. Mix well.

Then add the mixture into a 2 qt buttered casserole dish. Spread evenly with a spatula. Then add slices of tomato on the top of the casserole. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top along with sprinkles of parmesan cheese.

Bake for 50 minutes or until firm.