Chicken Parm Baked Sliders

 

Ingredients:

• 24 ounces frozen breaded chicken tenders (I used a 20 oz. bag of Tyson air-fried chicken fillets or tenders.  You can also use 3-4 Just Bare fillets.  The flatter filets/tenders, the better.  Simply cut chicken as needed to fit properly onto bed of rolls.) 

• 1 package (12 count) Hawaiian sweet rolls

• 12 slices provolone cheese, divided (Don't use smoked provolone; ew.)

• 1 jar (24 ounces) marinara sauce (I only used 14 ounces of the 24.)

• Topping:

• 1/2 cup butter, cubed (I used 1/4 cup.)

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I substituted red pepper flakes for 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.)

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (fresh is best!)

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•    Directions:
• 
  
• Prepare chicken tenders according to package directions, then preheat oven to 375°. Meanwhile, without separating rolls, cut horizontally in half; (See image below for an easy trick to cutting rolls horizontally.) Keeping the rolls in tact, I divide the rolls in half (6 and 6), then slice the set of 6 horizontally.  When ready to assemble, just push the two sets of 6 together and continue recipe as stated.

• Arrange roll bottoms in a LIGHTLY greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Place 6 cheese slices over roll bottoms, overlapping as needed. Bake until cheese is melted, 3-5 minutes.

 

• Remove from oven and layer rolls with half of sauce (I used 6 ounces), chicken tenders, remaining sauce (8 ounces), and remaining 6 cheese slices. Place top halves of rolls on top. 

• For topping, microwave butter (I used 1/4 cup), garlic powder, and red pepper flakes (I subbed red pepper flakes with Italian seasoning), until butter is melted. Pour over rolls and spread evenly with basting brush; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown and heated through, 20-25 minutes. (I took mine out at 18.)

• *www.tasteofhome.com

Griffin's Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (from scratch)!

The thought of baking a cake from scratch sounds super time consuming, but it's not at all;

it beats any boxed mix + tub of frosting any day!  I doubled the frosting recipe to have enough for a good amount of frosting per cupcake.  Feel free to halve the recipe if frosting is not your thing.

Ingredients:

Cupcake ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (125g; spooned into measuring cup...not packed)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 6 tablespoons cocoa powder 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (at room temperature)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup hot water

Frosting ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 3-6 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners or spray with cooking spray. (I like to use these tulip cupcake liners.)
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla together for about one minute.  Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients while mixing.  Once combined, pour in hot water and mix together another minute. The batter will be liquidy!
• Pour batter evenly into muffin cups.  (I used 1/4 cup per cupcake liner.) Bake for about 18-22 minutes. When toothpick placed in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, you know it is done.
• Let the cupcakes completely cool before taking out of the pans and frosting.
  To make the vanilla buttercream: In a medium mixing bowl, beat together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and cream (start with 3 tablespoons and work up to desired consistency). Once its all smooth and creamy, frost cupcakes. If desired, top with sprinkles.
  *www.thesaltedsweets.com

Easy! White (but not white for me) Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced (I used 1 cup frozen, chopped onions.)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 2 frozen Dorot garlic cloves.)
• 3 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used 1 teaspoon.)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (I omitted.)
• 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 pounds chicken breasts, raw (about 3 large breasts)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2, 4 oz. cans green chiles
• 1, 15 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 can corn, drained and rinsed (I used 1 cup frozen.)
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used 1, 5.3 oz. 2% container.)
• Your favorite chili fixins' (tortilla chips, cilantro, jalapeño slices, Greek yogurt/sour cream, cheese, avocado, etc. etc. etc....

Directions:

1. 1. In a stock pot, sauté onions in olive oil until soft. Add in garlic for one minute and then add in all spices. 
2. 2. In a separate bowl/plate, mash 1 cup of drained/rinsed beans with a potato masher until soft; we will use this to thicken the soup. (***I did not to this.  I actually put one whole can of drained/rinsed beans PLUS the can of fire roasted tomatoes in a food processor/blender and pulsed until semi-smooth. I don't particularly like chunks of tomatoes in soup/chili, so this was perfect!  Note that if you go this route, your chili will be more of a pink color (as opposed to "white") because of the blended tomatoes.)
3. 3. Add chicken broth, mashed and regular beans, green chiles, fire roasted tomatoes, and corn into pot. Then add in the raw chicken breasts and cook at medium-high heat.
4. 4. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through; this will vary depending on the size of the chicken breasts.
5. 5. Once chicken is cooked, remove breasts from pot. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken with two forks or roughly chop.
6. 6. Add the chicken back in, along with the juice of one lime and the Greek yogurt. (I well-combined the lime juice with the yogurt before adding to soup.)
7. 7. Stir all together, add salt to taste (if needed), and serve with desired extra toppings.

*www.erinliveswhole.com

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Bacon + Cheese (Loaded Sweet Potato)

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-sized or 4 small sweet potatoes (Try to get potatoes that are equal in size.)
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped, DIVIDED (I used precooked. If doing the same, I popped into my air fryer at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.)
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 3-4 stalks green onion, chopped well
• sea salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 ½ teaspoon sweet paprika (I did not use.)
• ¾ cup gruyere, cheddar, or both, freshly grated (If using bagged, I only use Tillamook triple cheddar.)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Wash the potatoes with cold water and scrub (necessary step as we leave the skins on) and dry the potatoes with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
• Place the potatoes on a baking dish, baking tray, or sheet pan, lined with foil or parchment paper. Pierce small holes with a large fork or a knife all around the potatoes. (4-5 places is enough).
• Massage the potatoes with a little oil, and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Bake 50-70 minutes.  Check potatoes to make sure they are "fork tender."
• Let cool to touch. Cut potato in half lengthwise and scoop out the sweet potato flesh into a large bowl. Don’t get too close to the skin.
• Potato filling: Transfer the sweet potato flesh into a large bowl and mash potatoes to desired consistency. Mash it with a fork, potato masher, or for a creamier texture, in a food processor or with a hand mixer. (I personally hand mixed with a spoon.)
• Add 6/8 slices of chopped bacon to the potatoes, along with 1/2 cup of cheese, green onions, salt, pepper, paprika (if using), and sour cream.  Combine all and spoon back into the potato skins. Top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and remaining 2 chopped slices of bacon and pop back in to the oven until cheese melts (5-10 minutes).
  
  
  *www.theyummybowl.com

Pork Tenderloin Marinade

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil (I used 1/8 cup (2 tablespoons).)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used frozen Dorot.)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (I used 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning.)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper

• 1 sprig fresh rosemary (I didn't use/find necessary because the Italian Seasoning has rosemary in it.)
• 2-2.5 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and silver skin

Directions:

• Make marinade: Combine ingredients for marinade (olive oil to pepper) in a bowl. Whisk well.
• Add pork: Place trimmed pork tenderloin + rosemary spring in freezer bag and pour marinade on top. Close bag well, releasing air, then lightly massage marinade into pork.
• Marinate: Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days.
• Cook: Remove pork tenderloin from bag, discarding marinade, rosemary, and bag. 
  Oven instructions:

  Sear tenderloin on stove in an oven-safe skillet over high heat for 1-2 minutes per side. Then, transfer to a 400°F oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until it reaches your preferred internal temperature.

  Grilling instructions:

  Grill pork tenderloin over high direct heat, covered, for 5-7 minutes per side. Then, move to indirect heat and finish grilling until it reaches your desired internal temperature.
  For either method, cook tenderloin until cooked to a minimum temperature of 145°F, followed by a 3-10 minute rest.  Slice to serve.  If desired, sprinkle with fresh, Italian flat-leaf parsley.
  *www.savorynothings.com

THE BEST Candy Bar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (I used salted.)
• 1 ½ cups packed brown sugar 
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour (350g; don't pack flour...spoon it into measuring cup.)
• 15-20 fun-size chocolate candy bars (I used Reese's PB cups, plain M&Ms, KitKats, and Crunch bars.  Pre-chop these prior to starting the directions.  I popped them into my freezer for easy mixing later!)
• flaked sea salt (for sprinkling)

Directions:

• In a bowl, whisk together the baking soda, salt, and flour. Set aside.
• Place the butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or regular bowl with hand mixer). Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add egg and yolk, one at a time, and mix until smooth on low speed. Beat in vanilla.
• Slowly mix in dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. It's best to stop when there's some flour remnants around the bowl.  Stir the chocolate bars into the dough until well combined.  (I used my hand mixer on the lowest setting to do this.  The candy bars being frozen helped!)
• Using a cookie/ice cream scoop (I love this one), start scooping!  At this point you can either have the patience to chill the dough (knowing the results will be better), or just bake your cookies immediately (because you just can't seem to resist). I like to scoop out all the balls and lay them out on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  (Original recipe makes 16; mine made exactly 15. They're comparable in size to Crumbl!)
• When ready to bake, turn the oven on to 350 degrees, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place 8 chilled cookie dough balls on the cookie sheet, sprinkling with flaked sea salt (optional). "Some people salt their cookies after they bake them, but I like to do both. This gives the salt that falls off the tops an opportunity to bake underneath the cookie and give even that much more flavor." 
• Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes. You're looking for a nice golden brown outside, with a slightly glossy texture to the inside. If your cookies don't come out in a perfect circle, take a spatula and circle tap the rim of the cookie to bring in any spots that have spread a little too far.
• "I prefer to only bake the amount of cookies we are going to eat at the time, which is usually one cookie sheet worth." Freeze the rest of the dough balls in a ziplock, and pull out whenever you're craving a warm cookie or two.
  

  

  
  *www.thesaltedsweets.com

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chicken

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 garlic clove, minced (I used one frozen Dorot cube.)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

8 ounces fresh mozzarella ciliegine (mozzarella balls)

1 jar of your favorite marinara

Directions:

1. Mix your ground chicken, parmesan, breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper(s) together.

2. Separate your mixture into even "ball" piles...[I love this scoop] (8-10 meatballs depending on size), and stuff one mozzarella ball into the center of each meatball.  Roll meatball into a nice round shape, making sure that the mozzarella is secure inside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and brown meatballs on all sides.  Transfer into a baking dish (I used an 8 x 8 dish) and pour marinara on top.  (I used 3/4 of the jar.)

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

5. Top with fresh basil, additional marinara, + more parmesan if desired.  I served them as meatball subs in those cute, little French rolls from Trader Joes.  They're the perfect size and hold a single meatball and sauce perfectly!

*Adapted from www.kaleforniakravings.com