Well - I am back - at least for a few days and I am Craving Comfort Food

I have been traveling for about five weeks now. This is my first week home! I am pretty psyched about it, but am not getting to comfy because the traveling begins again next week. It will be over soon enough though! One day I will have to write a post about all the weird crap I have seen and all the weird stuff people do on planes - like take off your shoes (just seems so weird to me).

Well, now that I am home (temporarily) I have been craving some comfort food in a major way. I mean, it just plain sucks to have to eat out ALL the time (no, I am not being funny - I really do not like eating out five days a week)!

I have been wanting to attempt a chicken and rice casserole for a while now, so I thought this week was as good a time as any. I added some wild rice to make it slightly different than your traditional chicken and rice casserole and it turned out awesome. I have a feeling this will be one of my favorites this winter.

Chicken with White and Wild Rice Casserole

• 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken cut into cubes
• 3 stalks celery diced
• 3 carrots peeled and diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 cup of wild rice
• 1.5 cups white rice (long or medium grain)
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream or half and half
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Cook your white rice following the directions on the package - use chicken stock instead of water though. I use 1.5 cups of rice to 2 cups of liquid, so the rice doesn't get over done. Salt and pepper to taste. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and layer your rice on the bottom. 


Cook your wild rice following the directions on the package. Drain and set aside.


In the meantime, In a large saute pan over medium high heat, brown your chicken in 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Once almost cooked through, add your celery, onion, carrots, and garlic. Cook until your chicken is cooked all the way through. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in two cups of chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn to medium heat and let reduce until there is about 3/4 cup of the stock left. Turn to low and add in the wild rice, Greek yogurt, and cream. Stir to combine. Check your seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Pour over your rice.

Bake for an additional 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

This was really creamy and delicious. The vegetables definitely added an extra element too. I like to think this was a slightly healthier version since some of the recipes I saw strictly used canned cream soups or up to 4 cups of heavy cream. Maybe not super healthy - but still just a little bit healthier :)

Well, there you have it. My first post in weeks. I hope it was worth the wait!

It's a hot one in Phoenix

...but my training is going great! Lots of new information and a completely different atmosphere than I'm used to, but it's fun!

Happy 4th of July...a few days late

Usually on the 4th of July, we head up to John's family cabin. It is just nice to get out of the heat and they have a few festivities up there too. It is also just about 20 minutes from Park City, so we can head over there for a few of the activities they have there too.

We had a fun BBQ with our friends and woke up and had a yummy 4th of July breakfast too.  I even made a few new treats and some old ones too.

Caprese skewers - an oldie but a goodie

Fruit and cheese skewers - new idea and it turned out great

Watermelon, feta, and basil skewers - I got this idea from the Park Silly market and they are D-Lish

Garlic, jalapeno, and lemon shrimp - spin on an old recipe - spicy and good

John's favorite breakfast casserole ever - I must say it is really good

Fruit and Cheese Skewers

• Equal parts cut up fresh pineapple, strawberries, and your favorite cheese (I used havarti)

Place on of each on a skewer - pretty simple :)

Watermelon, Feta, and Basil

• Cubed watermelon
• Feta and Basil to taste - use as much or as little as you like - start out small and add to taste

Combine all ingredients - serve on a skewer or just as a fruit salad.

Garlic, Jalapeno, and Lemon Shrimp
1.5 pounds shrimp - peeled and deveined
1 jalapeno minced
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 lemon sliced
2 teaspoons Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large Ziploc bag, combine all ingredients. Let marinate for at least 4 hours. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place shrimp on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot - and yes, these suckers are spicy!

Breakfast Casserole - I think I have given this recipe before, if not here it is!

• 1 package frozen hashbrown squares
• 1 green pepper diced
• 4 green onions diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 jalapeno diced (optional)
• 3 cups shredded cheese divided (2 cups for inside casserole, 1 cup for on top)
• 1 large container of egg beaters
• 2 cups of ham, cooked bacon, or cooked sausage
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place your  hashbrown squares in the bottom of a large casserole dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray (so they just cover the bottom). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, combine all other ingredients (except the one cup of cheese for the top). When the hashbrowns have cooked, dump this mixture on the top. Cook for an additional 35-45 minutes until the center is no longer jiggly. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 5 more minutes until the cheese is melty.

I am not sure what it is, but of all the breakfast casseroles I make this is John's absolute fave. You can have fun with it - add more veggies, leave them out, add more meat, whatever you prefer.

OK - so now that we are done with the food portion, here are some pics from our trip.

Mr. Moose!

Well, other than the 4th of July, I have been enjoying my time off and Spring cleaning (yeah, a little late) before I start my new job. I fly to Phoenix first thing Monday morning and I will have an insanely busy next 6-8 weeks. I'll try and keep you all updated though.

Have a great weekend!

Sort of Like Fried Zucchini

John and I both really like fried zucchini, but it is kind of a pain to make! Well, let's face it - fried anything is kind of a pain to make. I use panko mixed with a little bit of olive oil to top my augratin potatoes and it gets super crispy in the oven, so I had an idea. Why not just top my zucchini rounds with a little panko, bake them in the oven, and see what happens? Wouldn't you know, it actually worked out really well and was much simpler than egg wash, flour, egg wash, breadcrumbs, fry.

served with quinoa, grilled chicken, and spicy sausage

• 2 medium zucchini cut into rounds (about 1/3" thick)
• 1 cup panko
• 3 teaspoons olive oil (divided)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• salt and pepper to taste
• parmesan cheese for garnish

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In the meantime, toss your zucchini rounds in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper (not too much salt since you will add some to the panko). Lay out flat on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook for 5 minutes. While that is cooking, mix your panko, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and garlic salt until the panko is nice and coated.

Remove the zucchini from the oven. Top with a generous spoonful of the panko. Return to the oven for 10 minutes. Top with a small amount of parmesan cheese and broil at 500 degrees for 1 to 2 minutes til everything is nice and golden brown.

Well, I think it was a little healthier and it did have a nice crunch. I'll be sticking to this recipe from now on.

Weekend fun

What a fun weekend....we packed a lot in.

Friday night, we went over to Monica and Eric's for a wing night. It was a lot of fun. I made these little wine pops for the event. Yes, you read that right - wine pops.

I read about these fun little things here. They were a big hit at the party and I had several people request more. I think I will try out some different flavors and also cut down on the sugar because they sure were sweet. Overall, they were a lot of fun though.

Saturday, we woke up and ate John's famous chicken and waffles. Mmm yummy!

Then we decided to go on a mission to find some buffalo ribeye steaks. We rode on the motorcycle and it was so hot! On the way back from our little mission, we stopped at my sister's house. Liv was kind enough to hose John down. Dang - I should have gotten a picture because he was soaked and it was funny! She sprays straight ahead - which is right in John's crotch region, so he looked like he had a little accident. Funny!

Saturday night we went to the cabin for a party that John's uncle was having. It was really nice to catch you with some old friends and even more nice to get out of the heat!

Sunday, we woke up and rode the motorcycle up to Ruth's Diner. On the way down, we stopped at the zoo! I took lots of pictures.

I haven't been to the zoo for several years, so it was a lot of fun. After the zoo, we went to a movie to cool down then had a nice dinner with some friends at the Bayou.

Whew - I need a weekend from my weekend. It was busy! Good thing I have the next few days off to relax before I start my new job! Have a great week everyone!