Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes(or Pam)
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound penne pasta
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally*  
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
6 garlic cloves, finely minced
6 cups whole milk (I use 2% and it works great too)
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
One can stewed, diced tomatoes (I used the ones with basil and oregano)
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces)
1cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)
Optional:  Add any vegetables you like.  I put in a pkg of frozen spinach and 1 can of corn.  

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente (it cooks a bit more in the oven so you don't want to get it too soft or it will be mushy); drain pasta and set aside.
2. While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.  While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes).  Use a little extra olive oil if needed.
3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer.  Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes (and any veggies you're using); cook 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes. 
5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezer instructions:
To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool.  Cover pan well with plastic wrap.  Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil.  Freeze for up to 3 months.  To bake, preheat oven to 400.  Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside.  Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese.  Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

 *For a vegetarian option you can easily leave out the chicken and add more vegetables.  That's how I did it.

Tip: Homemade Buttermilk

I never buy buttermilk.  I just make my own using regular milk and apple cider vinegar.  Stir in one Tablespoon of vinegar per cup of milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.  You can also use lemon juice or any kind of vinegar instead of the apple cider vinegar.

Tip: Softening Butter

I never seem to remember to set my butter out so that it can reach room temperature before I want to use it.  Then I tend to microwave it and get it too "melty" which messes up the consistency of my recipe.  I found this trick somewhere on Pinterest and it works like a charm! (I'd link back to it but I'm not sure where it is)

Put your stick of butter with the wrapper still on in the microwave.
(Just make sure it’s not a foil wrapper!)
Heat for 4 seconds on high.
Flip it to the next side and heat for 4 more seconds.
Do this for each side for a total of 16 seconds. The time may vary slightly depending on your microwave power.
The result will be a slightly squishable stick of butter that is softened just right!

Chicken Spaghetti

This is a really easy meal that  I always have the ingredients for and the kids all love it.  Plus, it makes a very full 9X13 size pan with plenty of leftovers.  I tend to make it if I know the next day is going to be too hectic to find time to make a good dinner. (i.e. soccer season starts tomorrow!)

Ingredients:
8 ounces angel hair pasta

2 cups chopped, grilled chicken*
1 can cream of mushroom soup 
1 cancream of chicken soup
1 can (10 ounces) Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (I use mild and this dish still has a little 'kick' to it!)
8 ounces sour cream

Garlic salt to taste (at least 1/2 tsp.) 

1-2 cups of vegetables (either canned or frozen)

1 cup cheddar or Mexican-blend cheese

Bacon bits - optional, (but they do give it a nice flavor!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil pasta as package directs and drain. Mix all other ingredients (except cheese), add to cooked pasta and put in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with your choice of cheese and return to oven to melt.

*Most of the time I actually leave out the chicken and make this a meatless meal (uhh.....unless you count the bacon bits!) It tastes great without the chicken, though then you can't really call it "chicken" spaghetti, can you?!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Can't decide what kind of cookie to make?  Why not make a mixture of all your favorites!

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1/3 c peanut butter
1 egg + 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 c old fashioned whole oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
Optional: add 1/2 c peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, toffee bits, raisins, nuts, seeds, etc.

Directions:
Combine room-temperature softened butter with the sugars and cream together. Then stir in the peanut butter.  Add the egg + yolk and vanilla extract, and mix. Then add the oats, baking soda, and flour (slowly) and mix.  You should have cookie dough consistency dough and if you don’t, either add a touch more flour if it’s too wet or a touch more peanut butter if it’s too dry.  Finally, add the chocolate chips and any optional chips you’re using and stir in.

Scoop golf ball sized balls onto a cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.  They spread but not much (a tip to reduce spreading is to refrigerate and chill the dough prior to baking)
Bake at 325F for approximately 10-12 minutes.  The cookies will look pretty raw even at 12 minutes and that’s ok.  Take them out and let them sit and cool well before eating.

Yields: 2 dozen medium/larger cookies or 3 dozen smaller cookies.