Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen.  I immediately knew I had to try it because it combines three of my favorite foods - chicken, rice-a-roni and French fried onions!  This was super quick and easy.  I used rotisserie chicken and this was ready in no time flat.  We both really enjoyed this; especially the crunchy onions on top.

Sour Cream Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest - my favorite source of inspiration.  This chicken is best described as a deconstructed chicken casserole.  I actually thought this was easier and better than a regular chicken casserole.  I used full fat sour cream, but I think light sour cream would be fine.  I would stay away from fat free sour cream - I think you need some fat to flavor the chicken.  I think our favorite part of the dish was the crunchy crouton topping - YUM!  Give this a try the next time you need a super quick weeknight meal.

Meow Monday

Sherbert

Fluffy

Jack

Kentucky Hot Brown Bites - Football Friday

I had my first Kentucky Hot Brown at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain in NYC last year.  It was AMAZING!  I made a mental note to recreate it at home, but I haven't gotten around to it until now.

This version was inspired by the Club Sandwich Puffs I made earlier this year. We really liked the little bite-sized sandwiches and decided to turn the Hot Brown into a bite-sized treat too. We ate these for dinner, and there were no leftovers. This is a great way to use up any leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, and they would be the perfect addition to your Iron Bowl tailgate on Saturday!!

Chicken & Dumpling Casserole

Happy Thanksgiving!!  

This recipe is the perfect way to use up any leftover turkey you might have from your feast today.  I found the original recipe over at Deep South Dish.  Mary has TONS of amazing Southern recipes.  I gain weight just reading her recipes! Seriously!

I've always been intimidated with the thought of making chicken and dumplings.  It seemed like a lot of work, so when I came across this recipe on Mary's site, I knew I had to give it a try.  It was simple and really quick to make.  It was fabulous! Chicken Legs especially loved it.  I used a rotisserie chicken and this came together in no time.  We will be making a turkey version this weekend!

Creamy Potato Casserole (aka Football Potatoes)

We call this potato casserole "Football Potatoes" because we love to serve it with a big fat grilled filet after a football game, but it would also be great for Thanksgiving this week.

This might be our all-time favorite potato casserole.  It is SO creamy and delicious.  This casserole is not diet food by any means.  It has cream of chicken and mushroom soup, sour cream and butter!  I do use 98% fat free soup and light sour cream - every little bit helps!  Since there are only two of us, I usually divide the mixture between three 8-inch foil pans and freeze two for later.  It makes for a super quick side dish later!

Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is this Thursday! It seems like Halloween was only yesterday!  I hope everyone is ready!  We have our stretchy pants washed and dried, so we are ready to feast!  For us (Chicken Legs actually), Thanksgiving is not complete without an amazing dessert.  If you are still looking for one (or two), here are some of our favorites:

Best Ever Chocolate Cream Pie

Lemon Velvet Cream Pie

Nutella Gooey Butter Cake

Crescent Pecan Pie Bars

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

Pumpkin Crunch

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Apple Butter Butter Cream

Meow Monday

Sherbert

Jack

Fluffy

Iron Bowl Zebra Cake - Football Friday

While the rest of the country is planning their Thanksgiving menus, those of us in Alabama are planning our Iron Bowl menus! This Iron Bowl Zebra Cake is the perfect ending to any Iron Bowl party. It is really easy to make and has a great presentation!

A zebra cake is traditionally vanilla and chocolate striped. I wanted to make this a fun and festive Iron Bowl cake, so I used a white cake mix and tinted the layers orange & blue and red & white. It takes a few minutes to layer the batter into the pans, but the results are worth it. This cake is sure to impress!

Mom's Turkey & Dressing

This is our favorite part of the holidays - my Mom's dressing.  I don't like turkey, but I LOVE my Mom's dressing.  It is especially good smothered with gravy!

The original recipe came from my Dad's Mom.  She was a great cook and made one of my other all-time favorite meals - Chicken Tetrazzini.  My Mom has perfected the dressing recipe over the years.   Chicken Legs can't get enough of this at the holidays.  He especially likes it reheated at about 10:00 pm on Thanksgiving or Christmas night.  Chicken Legs swears this is the best dressing you'll ever eat - I agree!

Click here for the cornbread recipe we use in the dressing.

Tagliarini Picchi Pacchiu with Chicken

This was the best thing we ate last weekend.  This is my favorite dish at Carrabba's.  I found the recipe online and knew I had to make it at home.  This was so good. The chicken smelled amazing on the grill, and the pasta sauce was fantastic!   It was light and fresh.  We both absolutely loved it.  We want to make it again this weekend.

I did make a few changes to the original recipe.  I used a can of San Marzano tomatoes and pulsed them in the food processor to crush them.  This recipe has lots of garlic, but don't worry.  The flavor is actually pretty mellow since you slow cook it in the olive oil.  I used angel hair pasta because that is what I had on hand, but any pasta will work.  Give this a try on your next pasta night.  It is quick, easy and delicious!

Pumpkin Crunch

This is the recipe that made me realize that I liked pumpkin.  My Mom made this years ago and wouldn't tell us what it was until we tried it.  We all loved it and then she told us it was made from pumpkin.  I would have never tried it if I knew it had pumpkin in it!  

I made this last week and took it to work.  It was a huge hit.  Everyone wanted the recipe.  This is so quick and easy to make.  It would make a perfect ending to a fabulous Thanksgiving feast next week.

Meow Monday

Jack

Sherbert

Fluffy

Pecan Bars - Football Friday

This is my new go-to recipe for pecan bars.  These pecan bars are are unique in that the crust is made from a can of refrigerated crescent rolls.  The crescent rolls make this recipe simple and quick to prepare.  The pecan bars tasted just as good, if not better, than our usual pecan pie and were much easier to make.  I took these to our tailgate and they were a huge hit.  I am planning on making these for our Thanksgiving feast later this month.  They are dangerously delicious!

Chicken Chalupas Casserole

This recipe came from my Mom.  She made it and immediately knew it was something we would like.  She was right!  It was great!

This requires a little planning.  The casserole needs to be refrigerated overnight.  I did save a lot of time by using a rotisserie chicken (one of my favorite shortcuts).  This was one of the best Mexican enchilada style casseroles we've had in a while.  I loved the flavor of the cream sauce - the Worcestershire sauce made it for me.  These were even good reheated for lunch the next day.

Chicken Crescent Squares

This is another easy weeknight meal courtesy my favorite cookbook, Southern Living Homestyle Cooking. This recipe been on my list to make for years.  I finally got around to making this last week.  I wish I had made them sooner - they were great!  

I used some rotisserie chicken and this came together in no time.  We both loved these little chicken bundles - especially the croutons on top.  They reminded us of my Chicken Roll Ups, but without the sauce on top.  These are going into our regular weeknight dinner rotation.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Apple Butter Buttercream

These cupcakes are a great way to enjoy pumpkin.  They are super moist and full of great flavor.  The cupcakes couldn't be easier.  I used a box of yellow cake mix, canned pumpkin and pumpkin spice.  The pumpkin added a nice color and kept the cupcakes really moist.

I had some leftover apple butter from the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies I made last week, so I added it to my favorite buttercream.  It complemented the pumpkin spice cake perfectly!  I took these cupcakes to work and everyone LOVED them.  These would be great for Thanksgiving dessert or any time.

Meow Monday

Jack

Sherbert

Fluffy