Chicken Gnocchi Soup

I love Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup, so I looked up some recipes online yesterday and then picked what I liked out of all of them (sometimes depending on what I had in my cupboards) and this is what I came up with. It turned out yummy!

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1 jar alfredo sauce
1 can chicken broth (I used 14-15 oz. of the water I boiled the chicken in with a teaspoon and a half of chicken base flavoring)
1/3 c. milk (you can add more if you want it thinner or add a tablespoon of flour to thicken)
1/4 c. butter
1-2 t. parsley flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste (none, if you like it as is)

simmer for a few minutes

add

3 chicken breasts, cubed or shredded
1 package gnocchi

lightly boil for roughly 4 minutes or until gnocchi is tender

add
1 packed cup of spinach, chopped

simmer 1-2 minutes

Serve
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Sophie loved the gnocchi. She ate a whole bowl full. Just one more thing. Do not get the enriched, sweet potato/wheat gnocchi to try and be healthy. It's quite heavy and sticks to your teeth. Get the plain, made from regular potatoes gnocchi. It's the best.

Alfredo Chicken Pizza

I tried Janelle's pizza last night and it was good. So I thought I would add one of my favorite pizza recipes. We love this pizza. I am sure any pizza dough recipe will work.

Pizza Dough Recipe:
1 c. and 2 Tbs. Hot tap water
2 Tbs. Olive oil or Vegetable oil
3 c. flour
1 tsp. sugar
3 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. yeast

Make sure you add the hot tap water, yeast, and sugar together. Allow to grow 5 minutes. Then slowly add the flour one cup at a time until each cup has been incorporated, and add the salt after the first cup of flour. You may not need all the flour. Touch dough to make sure it is soft and bouncy. When it is let it rise until it doubles in size. For more italian flavor add basil and garlic powder to the dough.

Alfredo Chicken Pizza:
1 pizza dough recipe
1 c. ranch dressing
1 Tbs garlic cloved, minced
2 tsp. basil
1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese

Toppings:
Chicken or sausage
Green onions
Vegetables (mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, etc)
Tomatoes diced small
Artichokes (optional)
Mozzerella Cheese

Preheat pizza stone at 400 degrees. Roll out crust. Mix ranch, parmesan, basil, and garlic in a bowl. Spread mixture over crust. Saute' meat and vegetables together until soft. Put sauce on dough, put meat on top and then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400 until golden brown.

I don't have a pizza stone so I just use a regular pizza pan.

Pizza Dough and Sauce

I make homemade pizza quite often. Actually we just got done eating some and thought I should post this recipe. I tried for a long time to get the sauce how I like it but was having a hard time. When I read this recipe, I was intrigued with the use of tomato paste- I had been using tomato sauce to make mine. Anyways- I love this sauce. I put garlic powder and just use Italian Seasoning but everything else I keep the same. Also- I usually just made it with all purpose flour but tonight I made it half wheat and half white and it was better than with just all purpose.

Anyways- hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

PIZZA DOUGH

• 3/4 tablespoon yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 4 cups flour (we prefer half white, half wheat)

PIZZA SAUCE

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

• 1/2 cup red wine or water (I use water if you couldn't guess)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoon parmesan cheese

Directions

1. 1

   In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water (I add a pinch of sugar) and allow to set until it begins to foam, about 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Stir in salt, oil and half of flour. Gradually add remaining flour, mixing well.

3. 3

   Knead 8-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and let rise until double (1/2-1 hour) Punch down and let rise again until double. Punch down and divide. Pat out on two pizza pans.

4. 4

   Top with pizza sauce & toppings. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

5. 5

   Pizza Sauce: Mix all ingredients together, blending well. (You can also add a few sprinkles of garlic powder if you want).

6. 6

   Makes enough for two 12 inch pizzas or one 16 inch pizza.

7. 7

   Top with meats, cheese and other toppings.

8. 8

   To freeze, prepared pizza method: double wrap and freeze the prepared pizza (without baking it) on the pizza pan. Unwrap and bake the frozen pizza at 400°F for about 22 minutes.

9. 9

   Alternative freezing method: after first punch down of dough, divide dough and place in a zip-loc bag and place in the freezer. To prepare, remove from freezer and place in a greased bowl. The dough will take about 8-10 hours to thaw and raise slightly. Pat out on grease pizza pan and proceed as directed above. I also freeze half the sauce in a small container for future use.

To go to the original post link here.

Zucchini Bread

I found this recipe when I googled Zucchini Bread and I came up with this link http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zucchini-Bread-IV/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.

I quadrupled the batch when I made this and instead of 4 cups of oil I used 2 and 2 of applesauce.

I didn't add the walnuts.

I think I used about a cup or 2 less of sugar (I guess this works out because of the sweetness of the applesauce?)

Green Beans

Last night I made these green beans- I could have eaten the whole batch. Kaley was asking for more (WHAT?!?!) and Jed- who doesn't like green beans- said they were good. I found this recipe on Recipezaar- go check it out to read reviews or suggested additions. So easy!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs green beans
• 1-2 tablespoon olive oil (or just enough to lightly coat beans)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (I just used regular salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. 2

   Wash, dry well, and trim green beans.

3. 3

   Put green beans on a jelly roll pan.

4. 4

   Drizzle with olive oil.

5. 5

   Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste (I like them salty so I use about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and about 8-10 grinds of the pepper mill). *Mrs. Dash may be substituted for salt and pepper as desired.

6. 6

   Use your hands to be sure all the beans are evenly coated and spread them out into 1 layer.

7. 7

   Roast for 20-25 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, until beans are fairly brown in spots and somewhat shriveled.

8. 8

   Serve hot or at room temperature.

Brownies

Brownies

1 Chocolate cake mix

2 eggs (you can use three if you like it a little smoother)

1/3 C. oil

Filling

1 C. chocolate chips

1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/4 C. butter

Mix first three ingredients together and press 2/3 of mixture on bottom of glass pan. Melt filling ingredients and pour on top. Dot the top with remaining cake mix. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

You can use different types of cake mix and different types of chips for a variety of flavors. I tried it with yellow cake mix and it turned out o.k. Everyone ate them.

Enjoy!! Melynda

Thai Lettuce and Chicken Wraps from www.thaikitchen.com

Makes 8 lettuce wraps

These little rolls are great for lunch or appetizers and are perfect for easy entertaining. Guests love “rolling their own,” prep is a snap and you can have everything ready and waiting in the fridge long before the party starts.

2 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. minced galangal (or ginger)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 lb. ground chicken (or turkey)
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
1 tbs. chopped cilantro
1 tbs. chopped green onions
1 tbs. minced lemongrass (the bottom 2/3 inch of stalk only)
1 tbs. Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce
1 tsp. chili flakes
salt & pepper to taste
8 large washed butter lettuce leaves

1. Heat peanut oil in sauté pan. Add galangal (or ginger) and garlic and sauté for I minute

2. Add ground chicken and stir to make sure chicken breaks up. Sauté for 4 minutes

3. Add water chestnuts and sauté 2 more minutes

4. Add cilantro, green onions. lemongrass, fish sauce, chili flakes, salt and pepper

5. Place in bowl. Cool slightly or refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

6. Present with cold crisp lettuce leaves, allowing guests to form their own little rolls.

7. Serve w/ Thai dipping sauce

Thai Dipping Sauce

1/4 simple syrup (1 cup sugar boiled w/ 1 cup water. Allow to cool)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp. tamarind paste (optional) or rice vinegar
2 tsp. Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce
1 red serrano chili - seeded, sliced in half rings
1 tsp cilantro leaves
Combine and blend all ingredients together.

I usually use turkey but I am sure chicken would be great too.

Lately I have been adding a little cornstarch to the dipping sauce because otherwise it is almost as runny as water.

Some of the ingredients are a little hard to find so I usually use the alternative or just leave it out. Examples - I use the rice vinegar in the dipping sauce, usually leave out the lemongrass and since butter lettuce is a little expensive I've just used iceberg lettuce (just something with a nice size leaf).