Chicken Manicotti

First time making manicotti ever and I must say it was a success. My husband does not like the texture of ricotta cheese, so I collaborated my own recipe and it was still creamy.

1/2

jar  (14 oz.) spaghetti sauce (1-1/2 cups)

1

can  (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2

cup  water

2

cups  chopped cooked chicken
8 oz. sliced mushrooms

1/4

tsp.  dried basil leaves

1 cup  KRAFT Shredded Italian* Five Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA, divided

1 box of  manicotti shells, cooked

MIX spaghetti sauce, tomatoes and water until blended.

COMBINE 3/4 cup of the sauce with chicken, mushrooms, basil and 1/2 cup cheese; spoon into manicotti boiled shells. Place covered with foil in preheated oven 400F for 15 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and put back into oven for 5 more minutes uncovered until cheese has melted and is bubbly.

the line up

right before putting them in the oven & drowning them with cheese

Slow-Cooker Chicken Teriyaki

This is an easy way to have great tasting Chinese food at home without feeling bad/sick after ;)

The chicken turns out super tender and make the sauce from the reserved liquid it was cooking in.

the ingredients

raw & ready to get cookin'

the recipe...thank you 'crafty mom' for posting the recipe--->

                                     http://www.scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom.com/2012/05/crock-pot-chicken-teriyaki.html

Spiced-Rub Braised Beef

Sauteing onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper

The most important ingredient, ready to go

the tomato sauce simmering for 20min in the dutch oven

a lovely side of sauteed zucchini & bell pepper

This recipe was so good that I forgot to take a picture of the finished product! I made some white rice and sauteed zucchini & bell peppers for the sides. So use your imagination ;)

 We had it for dinner, and then I packed away the leftovers for lunches. I used the original picture from the recipe, thank you Cooking Light for the beautifully professional picture ;) I am more of a spicy than sweet girl when it comes to meat. So I did not rub brown sugar onto the roast when marinating it, and used half of the brown sugar the recipe called for in the tomato sauce. I also added some cayenne pepper to the tomato sauce for an added kick. YUM YUM YUM.

link to recipe:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spice-rubbed-braised-beef-10000001918504/

Endive Fig Appetizer

Got this little inspiration from a quick stop at Whole Foods. They were giving out samples of this appetizer and I immediately fell in love with the light, sweet & crunchy taste. Super easy too!

The base is endive leaves

then goat cheese (I bought honey goat cheese)

fig paste

sliced/slivered almonds

viola!

done!

that's it!!

enjoy!

I really wish I took a picture of the fig paste I bought at Whole Foods (bc of course they were not handing out free samples for nothing, they were promoting too!). It was in a small brick-like package in the cheese aisle. I liked the fact that I just sliced it and put it on the cheese, less of a mess than trying to spread jam. Next time I am there I will need to search for it and take a pic! But in case you cannot find that particular one, you can use fig jam, apricot jam, etc. Whatever your little heart desires.

ran out of endive leaves, so used thin crackers, improvisation at its best.