Baked Cheesy Pesto Chicken

In a few days, I'm going to hit the halfway point of my pregnancy, and I have been having some serious cravings!  Mostly good things like apples and grapes... some not-so-good things like chocolate milkshakes and fries.  Another weakness of mine recently has been pesto.  I could seriously slather that stuff on anything!  I decided to make a baked pesto chicken for dinner tonight and add some cheese and tomato freshly picked from my garden.  Oh, my goodness, was this fantastic!  If you're a pesto lover, this is a must make!  

Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu

Since we're still in the process of getting established in our new home, I've been sticking to quick-and-easy meals for dinner.  Hasselback chicken is a concept that I came up with after getting very frustrated with all the butterflying, pounding, rolling, stuffing, and fastening of chicken breasts for stuffed chicken.  It's seriously easy to make.  My favorite thing about it is that you can easily control the chicken-to-other-ingredients ratio.  The first time I tried it, I made a Cajun chicken with pepper jack cheese and spinach, and it was amazing.  Check it out here.  This time, I had some leftover deli ham that I had to use up, so I decided to make a Cordon bleu.  The results?  My family raved over it. 

Speaking of our new home, we're making progress!  Unpacking has had its ups and downs, but we've been getting through it at a pretty steady pace.  Just 37 a few more boxes to go through in the basement, and we'll be all settled in!  Along with a new house comes the excitement of exploring new local destinations.  I have 4 grocery stores (that I'm aware of so far) within 1 mile of my house, which will make it much easier for me to shop sales.  I also still haven't had the time to set up a food blogging station, so, once again, these photos were taken at my bay window.

Baked Sweet & Spicy Cajun Chicken Drumsticks

Let's not talk about how long it's been since I've shared a recipe.  The wheels in the kitchen have certainly been turning, but my motivation wheels for blogging... not so much.  Don't get me wrong, food blogging is one of my biggest passions.  It's just that I've been spread so thin with lots of "things" over the past few months.  I'm not complaining, though.  I wouldn't change a thing about the life that God has blessed me with. 

Now on to the food - my favorite part!  I don't know about you, but I've had enough of this cold weather!  Uncle!  I've recently been craving picnic foods like potato salad, corn on the cob, drumsticks, etc.  Since it's not quite grilling season yet, I decided to bake some drumsticks in a delicious honey and Cajun seasoning sauce.  You have to try these!  They're juicy, sweet, spicy, Cajun-y (yes, I made that word up), sticky, and they fall right off the bone! 

Simple & Succulent Slow-Roasted Pulled Pork Barbecue

This recipe is so easy that I almost didn't share it, but it came at the perfect time, so here it is!  It was a very long day of work immediately followed by cleaning, running errands (piano lessons, groceries, etc.), helping my little sous chef with her homework (Everyday Math can be so frustrating)... all while being reminded that I hadn't fulfilled my promise to "play with me" yet.  At the end of the day, I thought to myself, "I sure am glad I put that pork in the oven at 6:00 this morning!"  It was dinnertime.  I yanked the pork out of the oven, pulled it apart, mixed in some barbecue sauce, and served it on buns.  Viola!  After a day like that, I'm thankful for an easy meal!  It's so tender and juicy... and with little-to-no effort on my part!  Time for wine.  Cheers!

5 Minute, 5 Ingredient Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake

Baby, it's cold outside!  I don't know about where you live, but it was 0 degrees this morning in Pennsylvania!  Even schools were calling off because of the cold.  I decided to treat myself for braving the bitter cold weather today, so I made this warm chocolate cake... in  a mug, in the microwave, in 5 minutes.  Talk about instant gratification!  It's rich, delicious, incredibly easy to make, and takes just 5 ingredients.  Give it a try - you won't be disappointed!  

Affogato with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream & Kahlua

Sometimes, it's the simple things that are the best!  Just three ingredients go into this Italian dessert.  Well, it's technically a drink, but I say it's both!  The word affogato means "drowned" in Italian.  Simply drown a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream in hot espresso and a splash of Kahlua.  Voila!  You have a delicious dessert that will send coffee lovers to heaven!

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apricot-Honey Whiskey Sauce

This tender roasted pork tenderloin with a delicious apricot-honey whiskey sauce would make a lovely addition to your New Year's Day meal!  The sauce has great depth of flavor and is super easy to make, consisting of just three ingredients:  Apricot preserves, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Whiskey, and pan drippings.          

Hasselback Chicken ~ Cajun with Pepper Jack & Spinach

For dinner, my husband asked for what happens to be the most popular recipe on this blog, Cajun chicken stuffed with pepper jack cheese & spinach.  It's one of our top 5 favorite meals but I was having a rough day and honestly was not looking forward to butterflying, pounding, rolling, toothpicking, and de-toothpicking my chicken breasts.  So, I decided to improvise by making deep slits into the chicken and stuffing it that way.  Think of it as a hasselback potato... but with chicken!  The results?  Just as delicious but much easier to make and even the cooking time is less!  Oh, and I'm pretty sure I'll be saving plenty of trees by eliminating toothpicks from the recipe altogether.  Score!  This is definitely my favorite way to stuff chicken!