Chicken Pot Pie

You know when you think something is great and then you find out it is not so great and you can never go back to the blissful ignorance? That is me and frozen pot pies right now. One of our amazing sisters just had a baby and I made this pot pie to freeze and take to her. This recipe makes two delicious pot pies you can be kind and freeze for new mommies, sick friends, and whatnot. Or just make them for yourself. I won't tell or judge. One bite of these and you'll never be able to go back to the frozen pies from the grocery store.

The recipe is from October Morning.

Open Face Chicken Caprese Sandwiches

Pinterest is great. Almost every recipe I've blogged about has been found on Pinterest. But there is one problem. A lot of recipes I find on there are complicated, time consuming, or have a lot of ingredients that I have to go out and find. Sometimes, you just want a lunch or dinner that won't take a lot of time or financial investment. Joe and I had these sandwiches for lunch and they came together very quickly. As usual, Joe and I instantly came up with half a dozen ways to put our own spin on it but really, this is one of those rare recipes I would eat again without any alterations. Iowa Girl Eats is such a great food blog. Here is her post about these yummies. I can't wait to make these again!

South Western Egg Rolls

Do you know what my favorite single ingredient is? Black beans. I am obsessed. I feel like I say that a lot. But it's true. I love me some black beans. I've been contemplating asking the lovely folks at Q'Doba to skip the meat and double the beans. But I feel like they might be confused why some crazy person wants a tortilla with beans and rice. So I haven't tried it... yet. Anyways, I was looking for some tasty black bean recipes and I found this. I just love that these egg rolls are baked. They are full of yummy healthy food. I found the same recipe copied somewhere else cited as "Weight Watcher" egg rolls. Apparently that means they are good for you. I don't believe in Weight Watchers but they are full of veggies and good-for-you stuff. So I'm seriously considering making a double batch and trying to freeze some. The best part about these little yummys are they reheat marvelously in a 300 degree toaster oven for 5-8 minutes. My new favorite snack/quick dinner? I think so. You can find the recipe here.

Grilled Chicken and Lemon Basil Pasta

Oh my lord, you are going to hate me. And I am so not sorry. This pasta will ruin your life. You will seriously consider giving up all other foods to just eat pasta forever. This lemon basil pasta is seriously amazing! It's light and creamy and just so dang good. The lemon is the best part of this dish. It makes the sauce just so dang good. I did not want to stop eating. You just have to try it. And then curse the nutritional gods that pasta isn't the only food we need to survive! And of course, it's from my favorite woman ever, the Pioneer Woman.

Shrimp Pasta

When Joe and I first met, he made this for me and I became hooked. I could eat it every day for the rest of my life and it is always my answer to the question, "If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?" Joe and I always say it's our first favorite food cooked in our second favorite food over our third favorite food. I am absolutely obsessed with this dish and I can't believe it has taken this long to post it on this blog. I introduced my sister to this dish and she is also addicted so it's safe to say it's amazing.

Shrimp Pasta

• 15 Large Pre-Cooked Shrimp, tails removed
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 2 T Butter
• 2 T Oregano
• 1 T Italian Dressing
• 1/3 lb Spaghetti
• Parmesan Cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain thoroughly and return to pot and add 1 T of oregano.
2. Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add garlic and let cook for 3 minutes. Add 1 T oregano and shrimp and cook until shrimp are heated through. Add the Italian dressing over the shrimp and cook until warm. Toss with cooked pasta and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Wonton Soup

My 20th birthday was my first birthday with Joe. He took me to the restaurant that would ruin my life. Hunan Gardens in Kalamazoo has the most amazing fried pork dumpling appetizer in the world. It is so good that I get this craving and nothing will satisfy it until I have some dumplings in front of me. Ever since then, I have loved pork filled dumpling anythings. Like the Chinese buffet down the street from my house? They have pretty great pork dumplings too. Almost as good as Hunan Gardens. And you can get super expensive frozen dumplings from the store that are pretty close too. And this wonton soup. Yummy pork filled dumplings in a chicken broth with bok choy. It was so freaking good! Not the same but it was comparing apples and oranges. These dumplings have a delicate wrapper and a nice ginger-y lightly seasoned pork filling. I realized I love this soup so much because the dumplings are so much better than all the little bits floating in the broth. You can find the recipe from Spoonful.com here. This will definitely be happening again as Joe and I both really enjoyed this recipe!

Joe making the magic!

Oh and happy Valentine's Day!