Author: Nicole

Hi thank you for stopping by. I am very excited to have you here. Pull up a chair and have a seat, this is the view from my side of the table.
Recipes

Roasted Carrots

Nicole

I had never made roasted carrots before, but I needed a veggie to go with dinner, and we had a few bags of carrots that needed to be used. I decided to try roasted them. Something about the fall makes me want to roast everything. Who knows why? There were several things I was not prepared for, 1 they shrink down, 2 they cook pretty quickly I figured the cooking time was wrong, and 3 they are so sweet and delicious. I was very impressed with the natural sweetness my husband even asked if I added sugar to them. They don’t need anything extra they came out perfect!
Ingredients:
  • 1lb of carrots cleaned and peeled
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil 
  • 1 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. If the carrots are thick, quarter them, if they are thin just leave them whole.
  3. Then cut them in 1 inch pieces. 
  4.  Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. 
  5.  Transfer to a baking pan place the carrots in one layer
  6. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, until browned and tender

Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Recipes

Quick and Easy Chicken Marsala

Nicole

Normally when I make chicken marsala I spent a couple of hours making it. Last Sunday the night got away from me, and I didn’t realize dinner time was quickly passing us by. I went into full panic mode because I had planned chicken marsala for dinner. I went back through some recipes that had been emailed to me from readers, and gave this one a shot. It looked, easy, and quick everything I needed. 

I was correct, it was very quick, super good, and I could not have been happier with the results. In all honesty this recipe will probably get used for often than my other recipe. Thanks for the recipe Michelle.
Ingredients:
  • 3-4 boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg, beaten with
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 4 tablespoons garlic minced
  • 1 large can of sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cups marsala wine
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
  1. Wash chicken breasts and place inside of a plastic bag and with a meat mallet pound to 1/4″ thickness.
  2. In a large skillet heat 2 tsps. olive oil add onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook till mushrooms have a golden brown appearance. Take out of skillet and set aside.
  3. Pour bread crumbs on a plate. In a large bowl add egg and whisking
  4. Take chicken one piece at a time and dredge through the egg wash and then into the bread crumbs,
  5. Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil to skillet add your coated chicken breasts and brown both sides over medium high heat.
  6. Return Mushroom mixture back to skillet and add the marsala.
  7. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.
  8. Your chicken should be done and you should have a nice thickened gravy – serve over angel hair pasta and add some grated cheese if you like.

Print Friendly and PDF
Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Recipes

Stuffed Pork Chops

Nicole
I don’t have a lot of experience cooking with pork so I was a little intimidated making this recipe. It was a great I actually surprised myself. Everyone really enjoyed these chops, and loved the fact that they are stuffed. One thing I did not like about this recipe was  it was time consuming. I must admit as much as I liked it, I won’t be making it again until I have the time to devote to it. It’s definitely a weekend meal. Thank you Bill Gary for such a great recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 4 pork chops (for stuffing, 1 to 2 inches thick)

Sauce

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped mushroom
  • 1/4 cup diced green bell peppers or 1/4 cup red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Stuffing

  • 4 cups toasted bread, cut into cubes
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup diced mushroom
  • 1/4 cup finely diced green bell peppers or 1/4 cup red bell pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon ground thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup beef stock (or a combination) or 1/4 cup red wine (or a combination)

Directions:

  1. 1 Prepare the stuffing: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onions, garlic, celery, bell pepper, and mushrooms over medium heat until the vegetables have softened (about 10 minutes).
  2. Stir in parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper, mixing until well combined.
  3. Toss with bread cubes gently.
  4. Add liquid until bread cubes are just barely mushy on the outside (you may not need the whole 1/4 cup liquid, or you may need a little more).
  5. Stuff the pork chops: Slice pockets into the pork chops toward, but not quite reaching, the bone.
  6. Stuff each pork chop and seal with toothpicks (I jam pack the stuffing in there, feel free to do the same).
  7. Sauté the pork chops in 2 tablespoons butter for about 5 minutes per side, until browned.
  8. Remove toothpicks and set pork chops in a casserole or other baking dish that will hold them.
  9. If there is any stuffing left over, you may mound it on top of the pork chops.
  10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  11. Prepare the sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add all the vegetables.
  12. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until all the vegetables are tender and the onions are translucent.
  13. Lower heat to medium and sprinkle with flour.
  14. Cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute.
  15. Whisk in the milk, scraping the pan as you go to get up all the flour.
  16. Cook, whisking often, until mixture begins to boil and thickens to a slightly thicker consistency than heavy cream.
  17. Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in cheddar cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted.
  18. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  19. Pour sauce over the pork chops.
  20. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly.
  21. Let stand for about 10 minutes

Recipes

Roasted Green Beans

Nicole
I was not sure if I would like this recipe or not, but I really did. It definitely put a different spin on green beans, and it really brought out their natural flavor. I like food that has an earthy taste, and this truly fit the bill. Be sure to watch them when they are cooking because they can go from cooked to burnt very quickly. I got mine out of the oven just in time. Thank you Seamouse for this great recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs green beans 
  • 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil 
  • 1 teaspoon 
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Wash, dry well, and trim green beans.
  3. Put green beans on a jelly roll pan.
  4. Drizzle with olive oil.
  5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste
  6. Use your hands to be sure all the beans are evenly coated and spread them out into 1 layer.
  7. Roast for 20-25 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, until beans are fairly brown in spots and somewhat shriveled.
  8. Serve hot

Recipes

Dads Skillet Potatoes

Nicole
I love this recipe. My Dad would make it all the time when I was a kid, especially when we would go to our river house for the weekend. He would get up early and dig up some new potatoes out of the garden, and make this dish on the camp fire. He never wanted to heat up the house during the summer so he did most of the cooking outside.

Ingredients

  • 2lbs new potatoes (red potatoes)
  • 2 tbsp. margarine
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • Salt/pepper

Directions

  1. Wash and quarter new potatoes, and dice onion
  2. In a cast iron skillet or any skillet melt margarine, and then add olive oil and heat.
  3. On a medium high heat add onions and new potatoes and stir together
  4. Pan Fry (stirring every few minutes) until potatoes are tender between 30-45 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes
  5. Add salt and pepper as needed serve hot