Molly's Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Sandwiches

This dish is slow cooker gold, my friends. And I can't thank fellow mom Molly enough for sharing it with me. (Molly is also the genius behind Half-Day Chili Sauce.)

Molly's a mother of two boys like me, and we're always running our kids to some activity or another after school. Her creation is the new go-to meal at our house, especially since my son Sam declared, "This chicken is so good! Thank you for making it Mommy!"

When he asked me to pack it for his lunch, I knew we were on to something.

This recipe makes enough for a few meals (dinner and lunch!) which is especially nice.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Molly's Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Sandwiches

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (I used Penzy's Italian Dressing Base)
1 cup sliced, mild banana peppers
1/2 cup juice from banana pepper jar
1 cup chicken stock
Hoagie buns
Provolone cheese slices
Extra banana pepper slices for serving

Place chicken breasts in bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Top with banana peppers. Pour banana pepper juice and chicken stock over everything.

Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Remove chicken to a plate. Shred chicken. Return meat to slow cooker and stir to combine with sauce.

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees.

Scoop chicken and banana pepper mixture into buns. Top with provolone cheese.  Put sandwiches on a cookie sheet and place in oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Serve with a side of banana peppers.

Slow Cooker Mushroom Bolognese

America's Test Kitchen slow cooker cookbooks never let me down. I have three of them and lately have been trying to cook more from ATK's Healthy Slow Cooker Revolution. This Bolognese sauce is so savory and yummy and the texture is much like the meaty Bolognese found in ATK's original Slow Cooker Revolution.

My version below is pretty true to ATK. Why mess with a good thing? I did use more carrot — two instead of one. I used a pound of button mushrooms I had on hand, rather than all cremini as called for. I also left out the dried porcini mushrooms as they are pricey as heck.

My husband and I really liked this sauce, and that's something, because I didn't like mushrooms until well into my 20s and Jeff still doesn't really like them. The kids liked their dinner until they heard about the mushrooms. I need to keep my mouth shut sometimes.

XOXO,
Amy

PS: My house smelled amazing all day with this simmering away.

Slow Cooker Mushroom Bolognese
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Healthy Slow Cooker Revolution

2 pounds cremini mushrooms (or whatever mushrooms you have on hand; I used 1 pound cremini and 1 pound button) — washed, trimmed and quartered
1 onion, chopped coarse
2 carrots, peeled and chopped coarse
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste — if desired)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (plus more to taste — if desired)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pound linguine (regular or whole wheat)
Grated Parmesan cheese

Working in batches, pulse mushroom in food processor until pieces are no larger than half an inch — about 5 to 7 pulses — and transfer to a large bowl. Pulse onion and carrot until finely chopped — about 5 to 7 pulses — and transfer to the bowl with the mushrooms. Pulse tomatoes in their juice until almost smooth — 6 to 8 pulses — and set aside separately.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add processed vegetables and cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until vegetables are dry and browned, about 12 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, garlic and oregano and cook for 1 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping up browned bits from skillet, and simmer until nearly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Transfer vegetable-wine mixture to slow cooker.

Stir processed tomatoes into slow cooker. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, sugar and bay leaf. Cover and cook for 7 to 8 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high.

Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley, cream and lemon juice. Let sauce sit on "warm."

Cook linguine according to package directions.

Plate pasta and top with Bolognese sauce. Top with grated cheese, if you like.

Kid Friendly Pesto Chicken Bow Tie Pasta

My Tower Garden is going gangbusters. So far this Spring, I have harvested two kinds of lettuce, two kinds of kale, some spinach and some cilantro and basil. And there's so much more goodness to come -- tomatoes (large and cherry), yellow squash, peppers, celery, cucumbers and more.

I'm practically living off the land right here in South Charlotte. Ha!

With the basil I harvested this weekend, I made one of my kids' favorite dishes -- Pesto Chicken Bow Tie Pasta. They love this dish and I love that it goes a long way in that it fills them up for a few dinners with leftovers packed in their school lunches.

I hope your kids love it,  too!

XOXO,
Amy

Kid Friendly Pesto Chicken Bow Tie Pasta
For the pesto:
1 bunch of basil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 garlic clove
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For the rest of the dish:
1 pound bow tie pasta, cooked and drained according to package directions
1 pound chicken breast or tenders, seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Put all of the pesto ingredients into food processor and blend until pine nuts are mostly smooth.

A note or two about the pesto: I really just eyeball all of the ingredients based on what I am making and the amount of basil on hand. Here is how much basil I harvested from my Tower Garden for this dish. Ideally, it would have been a bit more, but I was OK with that because this dish is going in my kids' Thermoses for their lunches for the week and they prefer the dish to be a little less "green."

You could easily double the amount of pesto you use here. You could also add more or less garlic. You could add a pinch of red pepper. You could add more olive oil if you want a runnier pesto. But be careful on the olive oil and add it bit my bit because you can quickly go from perfect pesto to an oily mess.

In large bowl, combine the cooked pasta and chicken with the pesto and the grated Parmesan cheese. Place in a baking dish that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Top with the shaved Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees until hot throughout.

Amy's Yummy Year

This time last year, my friend Erin invited my friend Andrea and I join her on this delicious blog she created. Andrea and I bellied right up. Thank you, Erin for the creative culinary outlet. It's been a sweet year blogging with two awesome foodie friends who share the goal of putting food on the table and keeping the tradition of family dinner alive.

Here are some of my happiest Hot Dinner Happy Home moments from the past year as well as some of my favorite dishes by Andrea and Erin.

Enjoy!

XOXO,
Amy

Happiest Moments

• Cooking with my kids, including "baking"  sugar cookies with them on live TV. Check out these posts:
• Good Day Charlotte Features George Girls and Sugar Cookies
• Chocolate Madeleines
• Ginger Cookies
• Smokehouse Spaghetti

• Creating Spring on Toast with Erin while my Lucy and Penny "babysat" her Danny-boy. (Love that Erin shared this memory in her Friday post.)

• Conquering the pressure cooker. See these posts:
• Midwestern Vegetable-Beef Soup
• Pressure Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
• Pressure Cooker Potato Soup
• Shrimp Curry Under Pressure

Favorite dishes by Andrea

• Having an Italian BFF means access to recipes for classic, authentic dishes. It also means I get to know how each member of her family tweaks their own interpretations of the classics. Check  out:
• Traditional Italian Meatballs
• Sunday Gravy (Tortora family tomato sauce)
• Family Lasagna
• My favorite of Andrea's non-Italian dishes and a fantastic lighter dinner paired with a green salad: Buttermilk Spoonbread.

Favorite dishes by Erin

• Erin's Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Pork is the first HDHH dish I ever made and I chatted it up A LOT on my Facebook page. I couldn't even tell you how many friends have made that dish. Suffice to say it's a hit from coast to coast and all points in between.
• Parmesan and Yogurt Crusted Chicken is a George family go-to dinner. My younger daughter Penny requested it for her birthday dinner last month.
• I see Spiced Pecans becoming my go-to holiday party nosh. I didn't make them last year like I intended. But in 2014 my friends walked off with the few remaining nuts after the Thanksgiving feast Chez George. I don't blame them, because, after all, we call these crack nuts.

Happy Hot Dinner Anniversary, Amy and Andrea!

It has been one year since Amy and Andrea joined our virtual dinner party here at Hot Dinner Happy Home. I know I speak on behalf of all the HDHH readers when I say we've been thrilled to have these ladies at the table!

In celebration of their blog-iversary, I'm sharing my favorite recipes from both of these gals. Without further ado...

My favorite recipe from Amy has to be Spring on Toast. Crisp bread topped with tender asparagus, runny eggs, and creamy, tangy goat cheese. I might be a bit biased about this dish because I was lucky enough to share it with Amy when I lived in Charlotte last year. Spring in Charlotte is lovely, and I'm missing the southern sunshine as I sit here in the Seattle drizzle. I think it's time to add Spring on Toast to my menu!

My favorite recipe from Andrea is Homemade Tomato Sauce, a.k.a. Sunday Gravy. Here's a true confession: I'm a little bit jealous of Andrea's Italian heritage. Most of my ancestors hail from Sweden and Ireland. You don't often hear people hankering after lutefisk or boiled potatoes. I love that Andrea's grandmother made Sunday Gravy every week for family dinner and that her various family members each add a twist to the traditional recipe. It makes me want to create food memories with my kids. And this rich, hearty Sunday Gravy is the perfect place to start.

Thanks for cooking with me, ladies!
Erin

Salmon Penne in Vodka Sauce

Dinner doesn't have to be hard. There are days when I like to go all out and whip up a new dish or two and then there are days when I want to have wine for dinner, but to quote my 9- and 7-year-old daughters, "that's not appropriate." What I am saying is that sometimes I just want to get dinner on the table fast. In the end, it really is about eating together as a family.

God bless short cuts and leftovers. Several of my favorite short cuts -- or cheats, as I call them -- come from Trader Joe's. You already know some of my TJ's creations -- from my posts about Cheater Crockpot Chicken Curry and Easy Yellow Curry Shrimp Pasta. I serve those dishes over another TJ's cheat -- the microwaveable organic jasmine rice.

Salmon Penne in Vodka Sauce is another Trader Joe's dish of mine. I often make this dish for meatless Lenten Fridays, as I did last week.

I use the Trader Giotto's Organic Vodka Sauce. I've tried other brands, but this is my favorite, because it has chunks of tomatoes in it and it's not as fatty as its peers. I also get the salmon for this dish from TJ's -- the silver brite salmon found in  the freezer case.

You know what's funny? Whenever I make my Trader Joe's short-cut meals, I always envision myself scooping little tastes into white paper cups and handing them out at the sample counter.

XOXO,
Amy

Salmon Penne in Vodka Sauce

1 1/2 pounds salmon, cooked and then chipped away from skin in medium-sized hunks
2 jars (25 ounces each) of vodka sauce
1/2 to 2 pounds penne, cooked just slightly al dente and drained
Sea salt

Put salmon flesh side down in a glass dish sprayed with Pam. Cook salmon in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. It will look opaque and there will be liquid at the bottom of the pan. Cook for too long and the fish will look dried out and there will be no juice in the pan.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

When the salmon is done, use two forks to chip it away from the skin. Don't shred it. You want some nice-sized hunks of fish.

Mix together the salmon and sauce and allow to warm through for several minutes. Add penne pasta to the sauce and stir all together.

Serve salmon penne in vodka sauce, topped with sea salt to taste, alongside a green vegetable or salad.

This recipe yields a lot of salmon penne. I'm talking two dinners and several lunches for four. I like leftovers, which can be kept in the fridge for a week or frozen. My kids like to eat these leftovers in their school lunch.

If you are not into leftovers, what's wrong with you? Kidding. If you are not into leftovers, simply cut the above recipe in half.

Smokehouse Spaghetti

I'll keep this entry short. You will make this dish. You will make this dish for one reason: bacon.

Smokehouse Spaghetti is one of my favorite dishes my mom made when I was growing up. I've tweaked Mom's version ever so slightly -- mainly leaving out the can of mushrooms with juice called for in her version. Mom also uses garlic salt if she doesn't have fresh garlic around, but I always have fresh garlic on hand. Now, this baked pasta is a favorite with my kids and hubby, too.

Penny and I recently made a double batch of Smokehouse Spaghetti. I asked Penny why she likes it and her response: "Because it's like spaghetti and lasagna together."

You will make this dish. I hope you will tell me about it, too.

XOXO,
Amy

Smokehouse Spaghetti
12 ounces spaghetti
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound bacon, cut up
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Pepper
15 ounce can of tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup shredded provolone, mozzarella or Italian blend cheese, divided
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Grated Parmesan cheese for serving, if desired

Start water for pasta to boil. Add spaghetti when water is boiling and cook until done.

In your biggest skillet, fry beef, bacon, onion and garlic together, seasoning with pepper as desired. Drain.

Stir in tomato sauce, oregano and basil into the beef  and bacon. Add a little water -- just enough to basically clean out the inside of the can of tomato sauce. (If you are making my mom's version, here is where you would add the mushrooms and juice.) Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add spaghetti, which you have drained by now, to the meat and sauce mixture. Stir to incorporate fully.

Spray with Pam the bottom and sides of a 9X13 dish. Place half of spaghetti and meat sauce mixture into dish. Top with half of each kind of cheese. Repeat layer. Bake in 375-degree oven for 25 minutes.

Smokehouse spaghetti can be frozen, so I always make two at one time. Keep in mind that once thawed you will have to up the cooking time on the previously frozen smokehouse spaghetti,  because it is not going straight from stove to oven.

White Puttanesca Linguine

When I think of the things I never thought I'd buy at the grocery, you know what's near the top of the list? A tube of anchovy paste. Yet, I assure you that it is absolutely essential and absolutely yummy in this easy, weeknight dinner dish.

My former colleague Liz turned me onto this dish and she advised using anchovy paste over actual anchovies. This is one of her go-to dishes when she has to throw together a quick dinner after a busy day at the office. It's one of mine, too. Thanks, Liz!

XOXO,
Amy

White Puttanesca Linguine
Adapted from italianchef.com

1 pound linguine
1/4 cup (or even a little less) olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Anchovy paste
Pinch of salt
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 heaping teaspoon capers, drained of liquid
12-18 oil-cured black olives*, pitted
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping, if desired

*Oil-cured black olives can be found on some grocery stores' anti pasta bars. Whole Foods has them. But I often cannot find them at my regular grocery and so I often use the unpitted variety and just tell hubby to mind the pits. The kids don't eat the olives anyhow.

Bring pot of water to boil. Add linguine and cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.

A few minutes after you add the pasta to the pot, heat olive oil in large pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, anchovy paste (three big squirts will do), salt and red pepper. Cook until garlic starts to soften. Add capers and olives and continue cooking until garlic is lightly browned.

Drain pasta and add to pan with the sauce and combine until all the of linguine is coated with the oil. Serve immediately. Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Traditional Italian Meatballs

Meatballs – easy to make and easy to use. And oh so easy to eat. Pop a few on top of spaghetti or pizza, bake some into a lasagna or cover them in cheese inside a warm submarine roll.

Meatball subs are exactly what my family eats on frenetic nights when we are rushing from after school meetings, to sports practices to church activities and somehow need to sandwich (pun intended) in a quick and tasty meal.

One thing I love about making meatballs is that my boys can help. They get a kick out of rolling the meat mixture into golf ball-sized yumminess. My youngest, Sam, helped me with our latest batch. Meatballs freeze well, too. After one recent Christmas, my freezer was stocked-full for months with the dozens of meatballs left from the 90(!!) prepared by my Mom and Grampy.

So make a double batch and store some for later. When you need a fast meal, warm in the microwave, in the oven or in a pot of your favorite tomato sauce.

This is my family's traditional Italian meatball recipe, with one slight change. My Mom uses 1 cup of breadcrumbs for every 1 pound of meat. Too bready for me, so I use fewer breadcrumbs. Feel free to add your own touches here by using ground turkey or chicken, adding chopped onion, experimenting with different seasonings or swapping out some of the dry herbs for fresh herbs you have on hand.

Meatballs are very forgiving and fun – and that's the point!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Traditional Italian Meatballs & Meatball Subs

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal (you can replace with beef or pork)
4 eggs
1 1/2 to 3 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 tablespoons garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Place meat in large bowl and make a well in the center. Add all other ingredients into the well and mix thoroughly. I recommend using your hands. The consistency should not be too wet or too dry.

Form large or small meatballs and place in foil pans or pans lined with aluminum foil. This is where the kids can help. If you make the meatballs the size of a golf ball you should get about 36.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or longer if your meatballs are larger.

If you plan to serve these meatballs with tomato sauce, let them simmer in the sauce for a bit before eating. This nicely flavors both the sauce and the meatballs.

Meatball Subs

4 submarine or hoagie buns or a large baguette (a softer bread works a little better here)
3 to 4 golf ball-sized meatballs per sandwich
Tomato sauce
Sliced or shredded provolone and/or mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice buns lengthwise. Scoop out some of the inner breading to make a pocket for the meatballs.

Place buns on cookie sheet. Put 3 to 4 meatballs and some sauce inside each bun. Top with cheese.

Toast sandwiches in oven until cheese melts. Enjoy with a green salad.