Faux Chicken Carbonora (Cheesecake Factory Copycat)

This is inspired by my favorite dish at Cheesecake Factory their Pasta Carbonara with chicken.  I'm pretty sure they don't use a traditional carbonara sauce with eggs and that they just use a garlic alfredo sauce.  So here is my copycat version! I have to say its VERY close and delicious :) I used the sauce from the cajun chicken alfredo recipe and improvised the rest. Sorry the picture isn't that great but I forgot to take one when it was fresh and beautiful haha. This makes ALOT so you could halve it.

Faux Chicken Carbonora
1 box spaghetti
3-4 chicken breasts (cubed, salt and peppered)
1-2 T. butter to sauté the chicken breasts
6-8 slices of bacon (reserve 2 T. grease to saute garlic for alfredo sauce)
3 T. minced fresh garlic
1/4 c. white cooking wine
3 c. heavy whipping cream
3/4 c. freshly grated parmesan
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. sliced green onions
1/2 bag of frozen peas

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Reserve 2 T. grease. Chop the bacon after it is done cooking.
2. While the bacon is cooking you can start the spaghetti. You can also sauté the cubed chicken in butter while the bacon cooks. Let the frozen peas boil in water for a few minutes until warmed.
3. Sauté the 3 T. minced garlic in the bacon grease until lightly caramelized.
4. Deglaze the pan with the white cooking wine.
5. Add in the heavy cream.
6. Let the cream simmer and wait for the sauce amount to reduce by about half and is thickened.
7. Stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper.
8. When spaghetti is finished cooking place in large bowl and pour the sauce over top.
9. Add sautéed chicken breasts, chopped bacon, and peas.
10. Garnish with green onions and more Parmesan.

Smore's Bars

Ingredients
(1) 16 oz. bag mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
5 T. butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
(1) 13 oz. bag of golden grahams cereal (or 8 cups)

Directions

• Grease 13x9-inch pan with butter. In 3-quart saucepan, melt chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup and 4 1/2 cups marshmallows over low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. OR combine all ingredients in a microwave safe dish except the vanilla and microwave on high and stir after every minute until melted (About 2-3 1/2 minutes).  Stir in vanilla after everything is melted. 
• Pour cereal into large bowl. Pour marshmallow mixture over cereal; stir until evenly coated. Stir in remaining marshmallows from bag.
• With buttered back of spoon, press mixture in pan. Cool at least 1 hour or until firm. Store loosely covered at room temperature. 

Cajun Chicken Alfredo

My friend Kira made this recipe for us like 3 years ago and I've thought about it ever since and I finally decided to make it myself! I just copied and pasted her recipe because I'm lazy like that but you should check out her recipe blog because she's an amazing cook!

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Blackening spice (Recommended: Paul Prudhomme's chicken)*, generously season chicken
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 3 T minced garlic
• 1/2 C roughly minced marinated sun-dried tomatoes 
• 1/4 C white wine
• 3 C heavy cream
• 3/4 C grated Parmesan
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb. cooked fettuccine
• 1/2 C sliced green onions

Directions:

• Have the Fettuccine ready to start cooking whenever you feel is best to get it started so it doesn't end up sitting around waiting for everything else to be done.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Heat a cast iron skillet over very high heat
• While the pan is getting hot, make sure the raw chicken is dry, coat the chicken breasts with the blackening spice and place on the hot skillet pan**
• Blacken both sides of the chicken (When you place the chicken on the pan, remember that it's really really hot, so don't be alarmed when it starts smoking. That's the blackening happening!)
• Keeping the chicken in the cast iron pan, place the pan into the oven and cook chicken for about 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
• Slice chicken in strips and set aside (Personal preference is letting it rest until you're ready to use it to slice it up, but that's up to you!)
• In a saute' pan over medium heat, lightly caramelize the garlic in the olive oil
• Deglaze the pan with the white wine
• Add in the heavy cream
• Let the cream simmer and wait for the sauce amount to reduce by about half
• Add in the sun-dried tomatoes (Guy points out not to add in the tomatoes too early so they don't "bleed out," yet in the recipe online it says to put them in before the heavy cream so...up to you!)
• Stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper
• When fettuccine is cooked, place that in the sauce with the chicken slices
• Garnish with green onions and more Parmesan

 *Blackening spice from scratch

• 1 tsp. Paprika
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 T. salt
• 1 T black pepper
• 1 tsp. Cayenne pepper

**If you made your own blackening spice, sprinkle the amount of you want to use for the chicken onto a different dish instead of using the bowl with all of the spice in it so you aren't contaminating all of your spice. Also, don't lean over the pan when you place the chicken on there or you will inhale a nice amount of cayenne pepper. 

Oven Baked Cheese Fries

Sorry the picture isn't great but we may or may not have eaten almost all of them before I remembered I wanted to take a picture.  They are that good!

Oven Baked Cheese Fries

2 tsp. vegetable oil

2 large baking potatoes

1 large egg white

2 tsp. Emeril's original Essence

8 oz. white cheddar cheese, grated

2 T. thinly sliced green onions

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Grease a baking sheet with the vegetable oil
3. Cut potatoes into 1/2" segments
4. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg white until very light and foamy.
5. Add the potatoes to the egg white and coat evenly.
6. Spread the potatoes on the baking sheet, so the fries aren't touching each other. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, sprinkle fries with half of Emeril's original Essence on one side.  Flip fries and sprinkle with remaining seasoning.
8. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes until crispy and brown. 
9. Remove potatoes from the oven and sprinkle with cheese and green onions.
10. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake until cheese is melted, about 3 minutes.

Peaches & Cream Yogurt Dessert

Someone made this at my cousin's baby blessing and I couldn't stop thinking about it for months afterwards trying to figure out how they did it.  I finally asked and it could not be any easier!

Peaches & Cream Yogurt Dessert

6 fresh peaches, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

Peach Yogurt

2 T. sugar

Fresh whipped cream

1. Peel and cut fresh peaches into bite size pieces
2. Scoop some peach yogurt and top and add enough till the peaches are coated.
3. Add about 2 T. sugar and mix.
4. Top with fresh whipped cream (recipe in link)

Southwest Chicken Filing for Tacos

Easy and delicious filling for tacos to shake things up a bit!

Southwest Chicken Filing for Tacos
3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (about 3 cups)
(1) 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c. cooked rice
1/2-1 c. corn (drained if canned or frozen works too)
2 c. monterey jack cheese, shredded
2 c. mild salsa
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch of pepper

1. Warm it all up in a crockpot and serve with tortillas and taco toppings.

Poppy Seed Dressing and Candied Nuts Salad

To make this salad I like to do a combo of romaine lettuce and baby spinach.  Then I like to top it with fresh cut strawberries, raspberries, candied nuts and of course the dressing!

Poppy Seed Dressing

Recipe from: Susan Peterson

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. salt

1 small onion, quartered

1 1/2 c. canola oil

1 T. poppy seeds

Handful of raspberries (optional)

1. Put vinegar in blender.
2. Add ingredients one at a time.
3. Blend for 10 minutes.
4. Refrigerate after using.

Candied nuts

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup pecans or slivered almonds

1. Put sugar in frying pan over 1 cup of desired nuts.
2. Cook on medium high heat.
3. Stir until sugar is melted. (Make sure to not let the sugar burn!)
4. Remove from stove and pan.
5. Cool on wax paper.
6. Break apart before serving.