Chicken Pizza from Trisha Yearwood

Another great recipe from her cookbook, I wish I had time to sit and chat with you guys but I'm running late for an appointment, so none of my quirky comments (roll my eyes) I'm such a dork.

Anyway, here you go, oh and btw, I didn't use premade pizza crust, I used my own homemade crust.

CHICKEN PIZZA
Credit: Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

2 13.8-ounce cans premade pizza crust dough
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
1 bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into strips
1 red onion, sliced vertically
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, grilled and diced
6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Roll the pizza dough out and fit onto two 15-inch pizza pans. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of garlic on each pizza crust, followed by ½ cup each of the mozzarella cheese and ½ of the Cheddar cheese. Scatter half of the bell pepper, sliced onion, chicken, and bacon on top of the cheeses. Sprinkle another ½ mozzarella cheese and ½ cup Cheddar cheese over each pizza and drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon more of olive oil.

Bake the pizzas for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crusts are lightly browned. Slice each pizza into 8 pieces.

Pizza doesn’t have to be round! I make this pizza dough into a rectangle and cut it into squares to serve.

{ Cowboy Lasagna - Trisha Yearwood }

I just don't even know what to do with myself anymore, might be best to just embrace the fact that I'll probably gain 20 lbs by the time I'm done making all these delicious recipes.

This is another one that is now a favorite around here.

Trisha calls for sage flavored sausage, but we prefer maple, so that's what I used. I also halved the recipe since it makes for 12 servings and that is just way too much for us.

But man alive, this is delicious. YUM!

COWBOY LASAGNA
Credit: Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

1 pound lean ground beef, chuck or round
1 pound sage-flavored sausage
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sliced pepperoni
1 (16-ounce) can tomatoes, diced or stewed
1 (12-ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
16 ounces lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
16 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large, heavy skillet, lightly brown ground beef, sausage, onion and garlic in the oil. Be sure to keep the meat chunky, not finely separated, while cooking. Drain the meat. Add pepperoni, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, salt, pepper and oregano. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Cook and drain lasagna noodles according to package directions.

In a 13 x 9-inch pan, spread 1 cup of the prepared sauce. Alternate layers of noodles, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, ending with sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbling.

Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12 servings

Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese

You know, I should just take the advice from Kelly and do a recipe a day, work through Trisha's cookbook just like Julie and Julia LOL

Well here's another winner.

Let me start by saying that I'm not a big Mac and Cheese fan, matter of fact, I can NOT handle the boxed stuff it's just....ugh, it's gross, far as I'm concerned.

But I do love a good homemade macaroni and cheese though some recipes are a little too cheesy for me or bland or whatever.

When I saw this recipe in Trisha Yearwood's new cookbook, I knew I had to try because so far I have not found one recipe I haven't liked, she does my kind of home cooking.

YUM-MY! It is so good, even my husband had seconds and he HATES macaroni and cheese. My 7 year old licked his lips and thought it was the best thing ever, he's the mac and cheese lover in the house and has now stated that he does not want the boxed kind anymore LOL

Go ahead, give it a try, but please don't do what I do, don't try to hog the thing for yourself, be nice and share with the family LOL

CROCKPOT MACARONI AND CHEESE
Credit: Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood
Serves 12

8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked (I didn't cook mine, just threw it in with everything else)
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
2 10 ounce bricks sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 5 cups)
dash of paprika

In a large 4-quart crockpot sprayed with cooking spray, mix the macaroni, milks, eggs, butter, salt, pepper, and all but 1/2 cup of the grated cheese.

Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top of the mixture and then sprinkle with paprika. Cook on low heat for 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Turn off the crockpot, stir the mixture, and serve hot.

{ Trisha Yearwood's Baked Spaghetti }

Ok I give up, there is no recipe in this cookbook that I have disliked or found to be weird or using ingredients that I don't have on hand.

See I'm not a chef, I'm a mom and a wife who loves cooking, who learned how to cook with my greatgrandmother/grandmother/stepmom, therefore, I'm all about using every day ingredients, things we have on hand, I'm not big into gourmet stuff.

This book was made for me, no really, I'm sure Trisha Yearwood was thinking of me when she decided to print this, or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Tonight's dinner, Baked Spaghetti. Nothing special right? We've all had baked spaghetti before, matter of fact I have another version here on my blog, equally delicious but I still have to say, this new one is just OH.MY.

NOTE: I halved this recipe, it's only 4 of us and this would have been way too much food.

BAKED SPAGHETTI
Credit: Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients:
6 slices bacon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
3 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes with liquid
1 2.25-ounce can sliced ripe black olives, drained
1–2 tablespoons dried oregano, according to taste
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
12 ounces thin spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (5 ounces)
1 10-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
¼ cup water
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 13 × 2-inch baking dish.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until slightly crisp, then cut it into smaller pieces. Remove the bacon and sauté the garlic, onion, and bell pepper in the bacon drippings until tender. Add the tomatoes, olives, oregano, bacon, and the cooked beef. Simmer this mixture, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Place half of the spaghetti in the prepared pan. Top the spaghetti with half of the vegetable-beef mixture. Sprinkle this layer with 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Repeat the layers. Mix the canned soup and water until smooth, and pour over the casserole. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes, or until heated through.

This entrée is also good if you substitute mozzarella cheese for the cheddar