Creamy Chicken and Artichokes with Mashed Potatoes

Unfortunately I have no idea where I got this recipe for creamy chicken with artichokes, or any recollection of whether we liked it or not. Whoops!


I assume we liked it since it has artichokes and we all know how much I love artichokes. I just wish I knew where I got it so I could link to it. If you read this blog and this is your recipe, please let me know.

UPDATE: I found the recipe! Here's the link to the blog where I got it, but here's my slight adaptation.

Creamy Chicken with Artichokes

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can chicken broth
2 cans artichoke hearts, drained
4 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken breasts evenly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add wine, broth, garlic and artichokes to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. If sauce needs to thicken, mix 2 tablespoons of broth with 1 1/2 tablespoons flour and add to sauce. Remove from heat; stir in juice. Serve sauce over chicken.

Vegetable Soup and Sandwich

I made a big pot of the vegetable soup from our Titanic meal so that we'd have some for dinner and I could freeze the rest.


I also made sandwiches to go with the soup:


... our favorite Cubans on regular bread instead of the good rolls.

Peanut Chicken with Noodles and Veggies

I'm starting to get back into blogging, slowly but surely. I have a bunch of photos saved but no clue when I made the various meals.

We love cold sesame noodles but I don't see them as a full meal. When I saw this recipe for Peanut Soy Chicken, Cold Noodle, and Veggie Bowl I thought it would be the answer to that problem. It certainly looked good:


... but the flavor was a little lacking. We love an overwhelming peanut butter flavor and it just wasn't there. It also made a ton of food, so if I made this again I'd cut the recipe in half.

Baby Girl Has Arrived

I know it doesn't look like anything has changed around here since blog posts have been published daily, but Baby Girl arrived on Oct. 10, 3 weeks early. Since then I've been living in the fog of new parenthood, trying to figure out this little person who hates to eat, loves to sleep (except at night) and has just generally turned our lives completely upside down.

Obviously this means I won't be publishing any new updates for awhile. I do have a few photos on my camera from before I went into labor, but turning those into posts will have to wait until I have a better handle on things around here. These days it's sleep when the baby sleeps, eat when you have a spare second and let everything else fall by the wayside.

Speaking of sleeping when the baby sleeps, I'm going to finish my apple cider donut and glass of cold milk and join my husband in some much needed sleep. I hope my regular readers will stick with me through this tough time. I promise to return when I can. In the meantime, please wish us luck. Parenthood is the hardest thing I've ever done. No one can prepare you for it.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

SP asked for Buffalo Chicken Pizza one recent Friday and I was happy to oblige.


This time I didn't have any Marie's dressing but I did have some leftover blue cheese. I shredded mozzarella and Swiss cheeses and layered half of both down on the rolled out dough, then topped it with poached chicken (my new favorite way of cooking chicken since it stays super juicy and tender), chopped scallions, the crumbled blue cheese, a few splashes of Frank's hot sauce and the rest of the cheese.

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

As I recently said, I love casseroles for their ease and because they can be so darn good. This recipe for Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole was not only easy, it was really tasty.



Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb diced ham
2 cups poached, shredded chicken breast (1 lb chicken breasts)
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 14 oz can chicken broth
3 cups cooked rice (1 cup uncooked rice)
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded mozzarella and/or Swiss

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic, chicken and ham and cook for another 5 minutes until heated through. Add the butter and cook until melted, then stir in the flour, salt and pepper until combined. Slowly stir in the chicken broth, then mix in the rice.

Transfer mixture to a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle the top with cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is browned and the dish is bubbling hot. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Chile Cheese Chowder and Sandwiches

Even though spicy food gives me serious heartburn these days I couldn't pass up the chance to make this chowder recipe from Elizabeth's Edible Experience.


It was easy to make and very spicy, but delicious. I opted to puree the soup with my immersion blender because I didn't want us chomping down on bits of poblano pepper. To go with the soup I wanted to make panini using some ciabatta I had in the freezer. I layered the bread with mayo, cheddar cheese, arugula, turkey and monterey Jack cheese, then pressed the sandwich down on a griddle with a baking sheet weighed down by two cans of tomatoes.


The bread got a little too crispy but the sandwiches were still good.