recipes-old & new

For the past few weeks I've been trying to mix it up in terms of what's for dinner.  I like trying new things, but sometimes it's nice to cook something that you know is going to turn out delicious. 

Here's some fresh recipes and a couple of old standbys.

Shrimp Etouffee:

Here's a link to the recipe from eat, live, run.



Before I started cooking this, I got my ingredients all lined up and ready for the pool.  Being prepared made this recipe a lot easier to make.

This recipe was pretty simple and easy to follow.  It's definitely not the healthiest thing in the world, but it is delicious!  I think it would be really great with some crawfish and sausage in there too. 

Herb-Parmesan Chicken Nuggets:

Here's a link to my recipe for these chicken nuggies.

I did a step-by-step post on how to make these a little while ago, so if you're looking for a fancy twist on regular chicken nuggets, here ya go!  These were great with this 5 minute mac n cheese from Picky Palate(here's a link) and some good ol' rolls from a can.

Lasagna:

Here's the lasagna recipe.

Lasagna is definitely one of my favorite go-to dishes when I don't really know what else to cook.  I just use the recipe on the back of the noddle box, and if I'm feeling frisky I'll add in some fresh basil or a fancy type of cheese. 

For one of our first dates Austin and I made a lasagna together, so I always like making it again for him.  *cue the cheeseball music*  It's funny to remember that little date.  We cooked at his house, so I had to bring over pretty much all of the ingredients (I think he had some salt and pepper and that was it), and I even had to lug over my big pyrex dish.  When I walked in the door, all of my materials clanking around in the pyrex pan, his best friend/roommate was sitting in the living room with him and immediately started to give us a hard time about our little lasagna date.

Chicken Enchiladas with Rice and Beans:    

Ok, this dish does not really have a "recipe" at all...I kind of just threw a bunch of stuff into a bowl, threw that into some tortillas, and then poured enchilada sauce and cheese on top and stuck it in the oven. 

I prepared some chicken like I do when I'm making arroz con pollo, shredded it up, and put it in a bowl.  To the bowl, I added about a cup of monterray cheese, about 3/4th of a cup of enchilada sauce, some onions that I had diced and sauted, and two diced roma tomatoes.  The chicken mixture filled 8 tortillas, and once those were rolled up and in a pyrex dish, I just poured some more enchilada sauce on top and sprinkled on some more monterray cheese.  I baked this at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (until the cheese was doing that whole "melty" and "bubbly" thing). 

For the rice, I just added a packet of Goya seasoning to my rice cooker. 

For the beans, I used my crockpot.  You can read the recipe here.  I'm sure these beans are a LOT healthier than the kind you find at a restaurant, and they are so easy to make!  I thought they were scrumptous.

Lemon Basil Chicken:

Here's my recipe for this lemon basil chicken.

This recipe is an oldie, but definitely a goodie.  I just can't get over how easy it is to make, and how delicious the end result is!  If you haven't tried it yet, you really should!

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Pasta:

I came up with this recipe idea after doing some "research" on Pinterest about a week ago.  I will do a step-by-step post in the next few days so that y'all can make it too.  It was delicious and boyfriend & boyfriend's best friend approved!

Buffalo Chicken Tacos:

Here's the recipe for these tacos.

I made these a while back, and the other night when I made them again they were just as good as I remembered.  They are very easy to make, and there was enough left over for Austin to have for lunch the next day.  Leftover buffalo chicken=happy boyfriend.

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce:

Here's the link to this chicken from the Pioneer Woman.

This recipe comes to you courtesy of the Pioneer Woman.  I love that lady and her recipes oh so much.  This chicken was really great.  The sauce is creamy and rich, but tangy too because of the mustard.  I bet it would be awesome on some fish!

I served this chicken up with some roasted veggies and a big chopped salad:

Oreo Mint Chocolate Cookies:

Here's the recipe for these yummy cookies.

Now it's time for the dessert round!  I made these cookies around St. Patty's day for the kickball crew.  The original recipe calls for mint chips, but I could not find any of those suckers at Kroger.  I DID find some Andes mints though, and I think those tasted juuuust fine :)