Open Faced Ranch Chicken Sandwich

This was a really simple recipe that was really good.  Of course, we halved it because there is just two of us.  I think there is a lot of room to "personalize" this recipe.  For example, the recipe calls for Ranch dressing, but we used garlic ranch dressing instead.  They have lots of different flavors of ranch these days and you could use whatever one you want to spice up this recipe.  Personally, I like Caesar dressing a lot better than Ranch, so maybe we'll try that next time.  Also, you could use different types of cheese.  You could add different toppings as well--like Bacon Bits.  Then it would be like a Chicken Bacon Ranch sub from Subway.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded
• 2 whole green onions, sliced
• 2/3 cups Ranch Dressing (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 whole loaf of French Bread (cut a whole loaf in half lengthwise and just use one half)
• 2 whole Roma tomatoes--sliced
• 1 cup grated mozzarella or monterey jack cheese

Directions: Preheat broiler, or bring oven to 400F.  In a medium bowl, combine chicken, green onions, and enough ranch dressing to make a chicken salad (some people like very little, others prefer more dressing).  Scoop and spread onto bread.  Top with tomato slices and cheese.  Broil just until cheese is bubbly and golden.  Cut into slices and serve.  

recipe found at Tasty Kitchen

Heavenly Marinade

Kyle and I are always trying out new marinades on steaks, and this has been my favorite by far.  It can go on chicken, steak, pork or ribs.


Ingredients:

• 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic
• 1 tsp mustard (hot, sweet, dijon, regular)
• 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/8 cup vinegar
• 1/8 cup oil
• 1/8 cup water
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt to taste

Mix all ingredients well and place meat in marinade.  Marinate for at least 2 hours.  I found that this recipe was for 2 steaks.

recipe found at cooks.com

Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

I have been searching for a good sausage recipe for a long time now, and this one finally hits the spot.  We loved it!  I did make quite a few changes from the original recipe--mainly because a small bag of risotto was $8.00 at the grocery store, and I thought it would work with rice.  Also, there was a lot of wine involved, which I substituted for chicken broth.  So, I'm posting my version of the recipe, but if you want the original, here it is.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sausage
• 1 package of sliced mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (I used dried)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (I used dried)
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups rice
• Parmesan cheese (Kyle and I liked it better without cheese)

Directions:  

• In a large sauce pan, melt butter on medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 mins.  Add the rice and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until rice is soft (for me it was about 20 mins).  
• Brown the sausage on medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Add the mushrooms, thyme and oregano and cook until mushrooms are tender.  Stir into the rice sauce pan, once rice is done  Season with salt and pepper.  Transfer to serving bowl.  Sprinkle with cheese.  

(We halved this recipe, and it still made a lot).

recipe found at simplyrecipes.com

BowTie Pasta Delish!

This has been one of my favorite pasta dishes since my freshman year of college, when one of my roommates made it for me. Its pretty simple too.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cooked chicken breasts-cut into bite size pieces
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons of Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1 tomato-diced into pieces
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 bag of bowtie pasta

Directions:  In a large pan, melt butter.  Add garlic and cook until brown.  Add cream of chicken soup and milk. Stir until smooth.  Stir in salt, pepper, parsley, add chicken and tomatoes.  Toss with pasta.  Serve.