Olive Garden Chicken Pasta

I saw this recipe on Facebook and had to try it.  It was super easy to make, made a tone and everyone loved it.  I had tons of leftovers to take to work the next day and everyone wanted the recipe who tried it.  I was worried about the dressing overpowering the entire dish so I tweaked it for my taste.

• Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 

Not the greatest photo but it was so good!

 Olive Garden Chicken Pasta        

1.5lbs chicken breasts or tenders

16oz bottle of Olive Garden Italian dressing

2 1.5 cup packages of shredded parmesan cheese

8oz cream cheese

1 lb box of elbow macaroni

1tsp each salt, pepper and garlic powder

Place chicken in crock pot pour 2/3 of the bottle of dressing over top add seasonings and sprinkle with one 1.5 cup package of parmesan cheese and place brick of cream cheese on top. Cover and cook for 3 hours on high (or 4.5 hours on low).  Cook pasta according to direction and add it and remaining 1.5 package of parmesan cheese to the crock pot.  Stir and let cheese melt.  Serve immediately.  

Homemade Mac & Cheese

This is my all time favorite Mac & Cheese recipe.  I've looked everywhere to find one that is easy to do, yummy and freezes well.  My kids LOVE this and ask me to make it ALL the time.  I've taken it for meals for other families and always get compliments on it.  It is just so creamy.  The "rue" is sometimes hard to perfect.  But you get it after a couple times make it.  Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does.

Homemade Mac & Cheese 
1 lb elbow macaroni
½ cup butter
½ cup flour
4 cups milk
6 cups shredded cheddar cheese 
Salt & Pepper to taste

Boil pasta according to directions. 

In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slowly pour in 4 cups milk, whisking until smooth. Heat to a low boil until thickened. Remove from heat.

Add cooked pasta to a greased 9x13" baking dish. Sprinkle 6 cups shredded cheese over pasta. Pour the thickened cream sauce over the pasta and cheese. Let sit until the cheese has melted and stir together.

Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. 

To Freeze: I covered with foil twice and wrote directions on the top.  I thawed it overnight in the fridge and cooked it for 35 minutes to make sure it was good and hot!  

To Split: It makes a ton.  I've also put it in 2 different freezer containers and cooked one and froze one for later.

Biscuits & Gravy

My teenage son asked if he could make biscuits and gravy from scratch earlier this year.  He found the recipe and made the gravy from scratch.  This is a staple for my late husband's family for breakfast but I had never made it.  It was super easy to make and so yummy.  We had all the ingredients and now we make it for supper on nights when he is home before me to start supper.  I am so glad he asked and he is helping with a lot of the cooking duties (grilling for sure) at my house.
Hope you enjoy this warm, home cooked goodness as much as we do.


Biscuits & Gravy

• 1 can refrigerated biscuits
• 12 oz bulk port sausage
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 cups milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook Biscuits according to directions while you fix the gravy.  Cook sausage in a large skillet until no longer pink.  Drain any grease.  Add flour, salt and pepper and mix well.  Gradually stir in milk. Cook until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Split warm biscuits; place on serving plates. Serve sausage mixture over warm split biscuits.

Chicken and Noodles

My sister in law and brother in law fix this all the time and I started searching for one that I liked. This recipe is so easy and all of my kids ate it - which never happens.  So when it does I tend to remember and make it often.  I made it for a carry-in for the teachers at school last year and it was a hit.  I am making it for a friend who's recovering from surgery this week because she needs soft foods.  It also warms up well for left overs.  Enjoy!



Crockpot Chicken & Noodles 2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 30oz box of chicken broth
1 stick butter
1 lb chicken breasts (I use about 4)
1 24oz package frozen egg noodles

Place chicken in the bottom of the crockpot.  Pour soup and chicken broth over top.  Place stick of butter on top and cook on low for 6-7 hours.  Remove chicken and shred.  Return to crock pot and add frozen noodles and cook for 1-2 more hours.  

Ranch Chicken

I have pinned a ton of different chicken recipes and I finally decided to give this a try.  My kids loved it and it was super easy and I had every ingredient in my pantry.  If those two things happen it's a win in my book.  Photo isn't great but it sure was yummy.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


Ranch Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup ranch dressing
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Dip chicken in ranch dressing to coat both sides then roll in bread crumbs.  Place in a greased 13x9 inch pan.  Drizzle butter over the top.  Bake 30-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Adam's Cauliflower

My brother-in-law made this on family vacation and I had to have the recipe.  He is one of those cooks that the recipe is always "its a little of this and a little of that".  I don't do well with that.  I need some set instructions.  I will tweek it for me after I have made it a few times but I need to know it's 2 cups of milk not "enough to fill the bottom of the pan". Any way, hope you enjoy it as much as my kids did when we made it again when we got home.

Adam's Cauliflower

Head of cauliflower    

Olive oil

Garlic salt 

stick of butter

Chop up cauliflower and place on a cookie sheet.  Pour olive oil all over it and stir to coat.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.  Melt stick of butter and pour over top of cauliflower.  Bake at 350 degrees until tender.   

Blog Update 2017

Well I haven't posted a thing in 3 years.  I haven't had a minute to breathe since my hubby died 4 years ago and cooking has been a chore for me.  But I promised myself that I would get back to it this year.  I really love to cook and trying new recipes.  My son has taken over the grilling for me and loves to bake and cook.  So, its' been becoming more fun and less a chore.  So I am going to try and post more again.