Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

I made this for Jonathan's belated 30th birthday dinner.  Originally this recipe was for a cake- the cake part didn't turn out, but I was left with a most delicious mousse.  Next time I will ditch the original crust recipe, which  I think still would have tasted gross even if it had turned out, and either just make the mousse as such or put it on top of a premade chocolate graham crust.  I will also add some hazelnut flavoring or syrup to make that flavor a little stronger.  But, even without said alterations this was really yummy and slightly rich.  P.S. I found a very similar recipe for a chocolate hazelnut cheesecake which  I will probably give a shot next time. Mmmm.

Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

1 tsp unflavored gelatin

3 Tbs cold water

1/2 cup mascarpone

1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream

1/2 cup Nutella (5oz)

2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Tbs sugar

Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small saucepan and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.  Heat gelatin mixture over low heat, stirring, just until gelatin is melted, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in Nutella until combined and remove from heat.

Whisk together mascarpone and nutella mixture in a large bowl.  Beat together cream, cocoa, and sugar in another large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed until just combined, then increase to high and beat until cream forms soft peaks.  Whisk one third of whipped cream into nutella mix to lighten, then fold in remaining whipped cream until well combined.  Spoon filling onto crust, into individual bowls or whatever dish you would like to serve it in and chill, covered, at least 3 hours.  When ready to serve drizzle chocolate syrup over top.

Mmm. . .

Chicken Italian

This was first introduced to me when Lauren made it for dinner at her home one night.  I loved it then and love that I can make it in my home now from the Family Heritage Cookbook she made and gave us as a wedding gift.

Chicken Italian

Joan Matthews aka Mimi

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into pieces

salt and pepper

flour

2 Tbs oil

1/2 med onion,chopped

2 cups sliced mushrooms or 1 box

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Tbs sherry, white wine or white grape juice

Rinse and drain chicken, salt and pepper.  Lightly coat with flour.  Brown chicken in oil, remove and drain.  In same oil, saute mushrooms and onion until tender.  Stir in tomato sauce and broth.  Add chicken.  Simmer, covered about 40 minutes.  Stire in sherry, wine or juice; simmer 1-2 minutes more.  Serve over pasta.

Chicken Pot Pie

Someday I may go the distance and try to make a chicken pot pie from scratch and when I do I'm sure it will be great but until that day this super easy one always hits the spot and, with as yummy as it is, it's hard to be motivated to put in all the time and effort a from scratch one would take.

Chicken Pot Pie

Marquita Collette

2 frozen, deep dish pie crusts (Pilsbury are my favorite)

1 can Veg-all

2 cans cream of potato soup

1/2 cup milk

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/2 tsp thyme

Remove pie crusts from freezer and let thaw while preparing filling.  Preheat oven to 375.  Mix all ingredients together and pour into one of the pie shells.  Place the other pie shell on top, upside down and pinch edges together to seal.  Cut a slit on top to vent.  Bake for 30-40 minutes. 

Green Chili Chicken Lasagna and Carino's Italian Nachos

I really don't like this picture; it just looks so blah, but the lasagna in your mouth is not blah.  This is actually a copycat recipe I made up based off of the El Paso Carino's restaurant's version that we really like.  I also found a copycat online for their amazing nachos.

Green Chili Chicken Lasagna

Leah Matthews

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded into chunks

1 1/2 jars alfredo sauce ( we like Classico Four Cheese)

2 small cans diced green chilis

1 can green enchilada sauce

~ 3 cups ricotta cheese

shredded mozzarella cheese

fresh, shredded parmesean cheese

9 cooked lasagna noodles 

2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix alfredo sauce, enchilada sauce, green chilis and garlic.  Pour a little sauce onto bottom of 9x13 dish and spread out evenly.  Place three noodles down and begin to layer: ricotta, chicken, sauce, mozz cheese, parm cheese, noodles.  Repeat one more time and then spread remaining suace over top noodles and sprinkle with remaining mozz and parm.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until heated through and cheese on top is bubbly and golden brown.

Sour Cream Baked Chicken

Here is another Relief Society meal recipe from my Relief Society Pres.  I love this chicken!  It comes out so tender and moist and the gravy is just as yummy.  Usually when I go back for seconds it is for the sides but I could just have a plate full of this chicken and be perfectly satisfied.  And then it's so easy!  I couldn't believe it only had two ingredients and that they were  something I already had on hand as part of my pantry basics.

Sour Cream Baked Chicken

Sister Taylor

1 cup sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

6-8 pieces chicken thighs

garlic salt

Mix sour cream and soup together.  Pour two thirds on bottom of 9x13 baking dish.  Put chicken on top, sprinkle with garlic salt and spread remaining mixture on top.  Top with foil and bake at 275 for 2 1/2 hours.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Remove chicken and serve remaining gravy over mashed potatoes.

* I actually doubled the soup/sour cream mixture, because we love lots of gravy on our mashed potatoes, putting one half on the bottom and spreading other half on the top.  

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of this one, but that's only because we devoured this before I had a chance.  It's exactly what the name describes and being a Paula Deen recipe the butter definitely plays a big role in the flavor.  When it comes down to it I still prefer chocolate desserts, but it was still ooey gooey yumminess as I've said before if it has cream cheese in it I'm in.  I may just make a chocolate version of it next time!

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Paula Deen

Cake

1 box butter recipe cake mix

1 stick or 1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg

Filling

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 16oz box or 2 cups powdered sugar

1 stick or 1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease 9x 13 baking dish.  

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1 egg, cake mix and butter.  Pat into the bottom of the dish evenly and set aside.

In the mixer beat cream cheese until smooth then add eggs and vanilla.  Add powdered sugar and beat well then slowly pour in butter.  Pour mixture over cake and spread evenly.  Bake for about 30-40 min, until the top is lightly golden brown. 9 Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the bake time though since it is supposed to be a little gooey in the middle.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. 

Three Meat Stromboli

After we had Jude the Relief Society brought over some wonderful meals and I had to get the recipes. This is one of three I plan on making and sharing with you.  I loved this one because it came together so easily and inexpensively and made great lunch leftovers.  It's also one of those recipes where you don't even really need the measurments.  I only made one (this recipe makes two) and we dipped it in ranch and marinara sauce.

Three Meat Stromboli

Laura Shannon

2 frozen loaves bread dough (Rhodes works really well)

1/4 lb thinly sliced deli ham

1/4 lb thinly sliced deli turkey

1/4 lb pepperoni

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp parsely

1/2 tsp pepper

1 egg yolk, beaten

Preheat oven to 350.  Let dough rise until doubled in size, according to package directions. Punch down and roll out into a 15"x12" rectangle.  Arrange half of the meat and half of the cheese on each loaf.  Sprinkle with seasonings.  Roll up each rectangle jelly roll style starting with the long side.  Seal seams and ends.  Place seam side down on a baking sheet each.  Brush with egg yolk.  Bake 20-30 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool 5 minutes before slicing.