Cooking With Christen

Chocolate Chip Pie

Posted on April 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m a Pinterest junkie. If I ever won the lottery, man would my dream house be awesome! And maybe then I could afford a personal trainer from eating all these yummy desserts I see on there!

I try to make things when we are invited somewhere, or when we have friends over. That way I’m not just making myself sick on all the goodness! We recently had a crawfish boil and invited friends over, so I made this chocolate chip pie I had been eyeing. I was unsure of how it would come out because it just didn’t seem to call for much. But I didn’t need to worry, it was delicious! Even my ultra-picky daughter ate it. She popped a pecan into her mouth and as she was doing it she said “what’s this? caramel?” and she ate it before I could tell her. When she found out she ate a pecan she was amazed, her response was “but it was so good!” well yeah, kid! The pie was great eaten as is, but even better heated up with some ice cream and chocolate syrup on top!

Chocolate Chip Pie

Chocolate Chip Pie

Recipe by Bakerella, originally from Nestle

Ingredients:

1 9-inch deep dish pie shell, unbaked
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1.5 sticks butter, softened
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Method:

Preheat oven to 325.

In the bowl of the mixer, beat the eggs until foamy. Beat in the flour and sugars, then the butter.

Stir in the chocolate chip morsels and pecans and spoon into pie shell. Bake 55-60 minutes, then cool on wire rack. Serve warm, with optional ice cream.

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Posted in Desserts, Pie

Easy Slow-Cooker Mexi-Chicken

Posted on April 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

A while back I wasn’t feeling well and my sweet friend Jen brought over some food so I wouldn’t have to cook. One of the things she brought was this crockpot chicken. She said you could either eat it like a taco, as her husband does, or do like she does and have it on nachos. I opted for the nachos and it was SO good!

I think I’ve made and posted something similar before, but this recipe blows that one (just chicken breasts and salsa) out of the water. It is incredibly easy to prepare, in fact I made it one morning when I was running really late and it didn’t set me back too badly time wise! You can even use frozen chicken breasts, without defrosting. Do yourself a favor and make it soon, you’ll love it too!

Easy Slow-Cooker Mexi-Chicken

Easy Slow-Cooker Mexi-Chicken
Recipe by Jennifer D.

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (frozen ok)
1 jar favorite salsa (I used one with corn & black beans in it)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 block cream cheese

Method:

Spray crockpot bowl with nonstick spray. Place chicken breasts in the bottom (it is fine if they are frozen). In a bowl, mix together the salsa and taco seasoning. Pour the rinsed and drained black beans over the chicken, then pour the salsa mixture over that. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. When only 30 minutes remain, add the cream cheese. When done, shred the chicken with forks and stir to mix everything together well. Serve as tacos or nachos (or whatever other way you want!).

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Posted in Chicken, Cinco de Mayo, Crockpot, Mexican

Orange Chicken with Asparagus

Posted on March 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

Pinterest. Who is addicted, raise your hands! Me, Me, Me! I think I’d have to live to be 300 to make all the things I’ve pinned. But I’m slowly working my way through! One thing I couldn’t wait to try was Orange Chicken with Asparagus. Fitness magazine called it one of their Flat Belly Foods. Sounds good to me.

My mother-in-law is always talking about how much she loves orange chicken so Mrs. Aubrita I hope you try this and like it! Sure, it’s not the same as what you would get in a restaurant, those places usually deep fry and use things like corn syrup to make the sauces. This was a very light version, but it was so flavorful! I think it’ll definitely satisfy the craving when you don’t want to use those calories for the real deal.

Orange Chicken with Asparagus

Orange Chicken with Asparagus
Recipe from Fitness

Ingredients:
1 tbsp sesame oil
4 oz. chicken, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups chopped asparagus (I used frozen and thawed)
1 can Straw mushrooms
1 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce (I ignored that and used Tabasco brand)
1 tsp honey
1 tsp sesame seeds
juice and zest of one orange
brown rice or fried rice for serving with

Method:

In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Saute’ the chicken, garlic and red pepper flakes for 7 minutes or until cooked through. Add the asparagus and mushrooms, cook three additional minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, sesame seeds and juice and zest of the orange. Add to the skillet and cook another minute. Serve with the rice.

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Posted in Chicken, Light and Healthy

Boudin Dip

Posted on March 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

A while back I was texting with my friend Amy about different appetizers and she mentioned that she had made a boudin dip. Well I love boudin and you know I love dip so I was intrigued and HAD to know more! She told me what all went into it and I couldn’t wait to try it.

Unfortunately I did have to wait a while, I just didn’t have anything to make a dip for. Then came Mardi Gras. I was so excited to make it and let me tell you, it didn’t disappoint! This dip is delicious and SO easy! But be forewarned, it makes a LOT. I ended up letting the guys eat the leftovers at their poker night. Problem solved. But before I did that, I was brainstorming and was thinking this would be great stuffed in chicken breasts. Just a thought. Alternately, if you want to make a smaller amount, maybe just buy one of those small tubs of dip (if you’re a dip junkie you know what I mean) and just use three links of boudin.

I served the dip with the Town House crackers that are pretzel on one side.

Boudin Dip

Boudin Dip
Recipe from Amy D./Kim M.

Ingredients:
Six links boudin
One large tub French Onion Dip (get a good one, no cheap junk)
green onions
crackers for serving

Method:
In a large skillet/pot, boil the boudin as per package instructions. Remove from water and allow to cool a few minutes until okay to handle. Cut a slit in each link and scrape the filling into a large bowl. Mix with one tub of onion dip and green onions. Taste for seasonings (it will depend on your boudin if you will need to add additional seasonings or not). Serve warm.

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Posted in Appetizers, Regional Louisiana

Chicken Spaghetti

Posted on March 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

I recently went on a road trip/girls weekend with some friends and like all good Southern girls, we talked about food at lot! One of the dishes discussed was chicken spaghetti. We didn’t even talk long about it, but it stuck in my head and I started craving it!

After about a week I decided I wanted some so I went online to find a recipe. I found one on Cooking Light and it sounded interesting, a little different. I didn’t buy all of the different types of mushrooms it called for and just used a packet of regular button mushrooms, and it worked just fine. It was so delicious, it was one of those things that I couldn’t wait until lunch the next day to eat some leftovers!

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti (I used whole grain)
kosher salt
extra-virgin olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp butter
1 pkg. mushrooms
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups reduced fat milk
4 oz. cubed Velveeta cheese
3 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
2 oz. shredded Gruyère cheese (about a half cup)
1.5 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/3 cup finely chopped chives
Bread crumbs for topping

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente (or to your liking). Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and set aside, drain the rest of the water off of the pasta and rinse with cold water.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp oil and chicken, season with salt and pepper and saute’ until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken, add the butter and the mushrooms and garlic. Lightly salt the mushrooms and saute’ three minutes, or until softening. Add the flour and stirring constantly, saute’ for one minute.

Gradually add the reserved pasta water, broth and milk to the pan, stirring constantly and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for one minute, until it thickens slightly. Stir in the Velveeta and cream cheese, remove from heat and continue stirring until smooth. Add the Gruyère, stir in well. Add the pasta, chicken, peas and chives and toss to coat and mix well. Scrape mixture into a greased oven-safe 9×13 baking dish then sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.

Bake until the bread crumbs start to brown and is heated through.

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Posted in Casserole, Chicken, Light and Healthy, Pasta

Seared Scallops with White Beans and Spinach

Posted on February 5, 2013 | 2 Comments

I’m really lucky in love. I have the man of my dreams and luckily for me, he is an adventurous eater. A lot of people won’t try new things but both of us like to. I’m always seeing pictures of scallops and they look so good but I was always scared. I finally decided to get over it and just try a recipe.

Before cooking, I did a little research that told me that scallops need to be dry before cooking. They emit a lot of water, particularly previously frozen kind, which is what I used. I thawed them, rinsed and patted dry, then I set a little stack of paper towels on a plate, placed scallops on it, put more towels on top with another plate sitting on top to push some of that water out. Worked perfectly and the scallops got a nice sear. We really loved this dish, I’m going to be making it again soon, and maybe trying some other recipes as well.

Seared Scallops with White Beans and Spinach

Seared Scallops with White Beans and Spinach
Recipe from Women’s Health

Ingredients:
2 strips bacon, chopped into pieces
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cans white beans (cannellini or Great Northern), rinsed and drained
4 cups baby spinach
1 lb. large sea scallops
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter
juice of 1 lemon

Method:

In a medium saucepan, cook the bacon over low heat. Once crisp, add the onion and garlic, cook until softened. Add the beans and spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Keep warm.

Over medium-high heat, heat a large cast-iron skillet. Blot your scallops dry with a paper towel and season on each side. Add the butter to the pan and sear the scallops on each side, about three minutes each until they have a nice caramelized crust.

Add the lemon juice to the beans and serve topped with scallops.

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Posted in Beans, Light and Healthy, Seafood

Cracklin’ Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

Posted on January 9, 2013 | 1 Comment

This recipe is actually my husbands’ brainchild. He went hunting this weekend and planned on cooking duck wraps, but due to too many hands in the kitchen, his duck was boiled instead of defrosted. The duck ended up going in the gumbo and he was left with a bunch of jalapenos and cream cheese and nothing to do with it.

Down the road from the camp is a store that sells fresh boudin and cracklins. He had some “cracklin crumbs” which are basically what is left after all the big chunks of cracklins are gone. He likes to put it in cornbread. He took those and created something so delicious that when he came home from hunting, he had to go buy the stuff to make more! These were phenomenal and would be a huge hit for a Super Bowl Party. Just sayin’.

Cracklin’ Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

Cracklin’ Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers
A Cooking With Christen original recipe

Ingredients:

1 dozen jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded
1 block cream cheese, softened
3/4 crushed FRESH cracklin’ crumbs
1 tbsp hot sauce of your choice
sharp cheddar cheese to top

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the cream cheese, cracklin’ crumbs and hot sauce until evenly distributed. Spread onto each jalapeno half, top with shredded cheese and place on a baking sheet. Bake until the cheese is melted and starting to turn golden. Serve warm.

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Posted in Appetizers, Pork