My family loved this!  We love all things pasta.  Our weekly menu always includes at least one pasta dish.

So when Philadelphia Cooking Creme asked me to swap out one of our regular dinners with one of their recipes, I jumped at the chance.    There are several recipes in their Fresh Family Favorite recipe collection.  I chose this Creamy Chicken Florentine. Creamy pasta meals make my family happy. And you know how I love easy recipes.  This one fits that category too.

I chose to use the Reduced Fat Savory Garlic flavor of Cooking Creme.  I was afraid it might be too garlicky tasting, but it was perfect.  The taste was subtle, with just the right amount of flavor.

I did make a few minor alterations to the recipe.  First, I doubled it.  The original recipe serves 4.  Not enough for my family of 6.  I also skipped the pine nuts.  You can substitute slivered almonds, if you don’t want to spring for pine nuts.  (I love pine nuts, but they are pricey.)

Here’s what you’ll need: 

You can win a $50 Grocery Gift Card!

PHILADELPHIA Cooking Creme is giving one of you a $50 Grocery Gift Card!

To enter:

• First entry – Leave a comment here letting me know if you’ve tried PHILADELPHIA  Cooking Creme or which flavor you’d like to try.
• To earn additional entries – “Like” PHILADELPHIA  on Facebook and/or pin this post on Pinterest. Leave a comment here for each you do.

Contest closes Monday, 2/13 at 9am.  Winner will be announced on the Eat at Home Facebook Page.

Disclosure: I am one of 9 bloggers selected by Kraft Foods to participate in the Philadelphia Cooking Creme recipe program. While I have been compensated for my time, my opinions are my own, and I have not been paid to post positive comments.

Does this ever happen to you?  You know dinner is going to be chicken because you’ve got a pack of boneless breasts/thighs/tenders or bone-in legs/breasts/thighs.  But you have no desire to think up a recipe to turn them into dinner.

You don’t need a recipe.  You just need some ideas.

Here are 10 ways (plus a few cooking methods) to get you started.  

Cooking method 1:  Slow Cooker

This is my favorite way to cook.  Throw it in the crock and bam – hours later, dinner is ready.  Obviously, this method works best if you have plenty of time.

Cooking method 2:  Oven

Thawed boneless pieces should take about an hour to cook, less if they’re thin (like breast tenders).  Bone-in pieces I give an hour and 15 minutes or more if they are thick.

Sprinkle or Pour on Flavor

1. Salsa  – Any type.  Try black bean and corn or chipotle lime or another style for a fun variation.
2. Bbq sauce – Any type.
3. Salad dressing – French, Catalina, Italian etc.
4. Stir fry sauce, orange sauce, mandarin sauce etc.
5. A sweet (like honey or jelly) with a sour/tart (like ketchup, cocktail sauce, chili sauce, bbq sauce) use up the bottles in your fridge.
6. Taco seasoning – shred and serve in tortillas
7. Spaghetti sauce – add mozzarella or provolone slices during the last few minutes of cooking
8. Crushed tomatoes/diced tomatoes/tomato sauce with Italian seasoning
9. Jar of gravy
10. Cream of…soup, add onions and/or other veggies

What’s your favorite way to fix chicken?

Stir fry is a cooking method that can’t really be replicated in a slow cooker.

But you can make a pretty good fake!

I’ve made this recipe twice now.  It’s easy and quick to fix.  The chicken gets cooked in stir fry sauce for several hours.  The veggies are added later, so they don’t get mushy.

No ingredient photo this time.  I was in a big hurry both times I’ve made it.

I’m sure you can use this method for other meats and veggies too.  We love Asian food and it’s fun to be able to make it in the slow cooker, even though it’s not authentic at all.

Off the wall question: Do you know how to eat with chopsticks?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carapelli for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you know that fine olive oil can be tasted, like a wine or bourbon tasting?  Neither did I!

Recently, Carapelli Olive Oil asked me to do a tasting of their premium extra virgin olive oil.  I have to admit, the process was different but the taste was divine.

It’s best to use a blue glass when tasting olive oil.  This disguises the color of the oil, which is not an indicator of quality.  I didn’t know that either!  I always thought that the better quality oils had a darker color.   A myth of olive oil exposed. 

There are four S’s of olive oil tasting:

• Swirl – Swirl the olive oil in the glass to release the aroma.
• Sniff – Inhale deeply and notice the scent.  I found the Carapelli Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil to be fresh and a bit earthy scented.
• Slurp – Sip in the oil with a bit of air.  This helps spread the oil through your mouth so you can taste it thoroughly.
• Swallow – The oil should leave your mouth with no aftertaste, which is exactly what happened.

Carapelli Olive Oil is produced in Italy in the Tuscany region.  I decided that it would be perfect for making roasted chicken.  The chicken turned out as pretty as a chicken can.  It was nicely browned, sprinkled with herbs.  The olive oil not only gave the meat a wonderful flavor, it sealed in the moistness of the chicken as well.

Here’s what you’ll need:

$1.00 OFF coupon at www.CarapelliUSA.com

Have you ever done an olive oil tasting?

This recipe was created simply by standing in front of the pantry and pulling out a few likely ingredients.  I needed something that would be ready to eat when we got home, with minimal fuss required.

Oh, and I only had about 3 minutes to get it fixed and get out the door.  Ever have a morning like that?

Here’s what I used to make these Sloppy Chicken Tacos, but please feel free to alter as needed.  I really don’t think you can mess this up.  Put in whatever you have that sounds good to you.  Experiment!  

I ran across a recipe for Chicken Shwarma on the blog, Jersey Girl Cooks.  Lisa roasted her chicken in the oven and it looks fabulous.  But being the lazy cook that I am, I decided this would work in the slow cooker.

Hot dog!  I was right!  My family loved this meal and I know I’ll be making it again.

I only made minor alterations to Lisa’s recipe.  I changed the cooking method and more than doubled the recipe so it would feed my family.  I never could find tahini, so I served it with cucumber-yogurt sauce instead.  If I ever find tahini paste (Walmart, are you listening?) I’m going to try Lisa’s sauce.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

I’m showing this off at Gooseberry Patch One Pot Meals link up.

I put this together before church one Sunday morning.  It smelled (and tasted!) fantastic when we got home.  If you have garden fresh tomatoes, they make a wonderful side dish.  A simple tossed salad would be good too.

I don’t have an ingredient picture this time.  I think I was too busy getting ready for church, cooking as fast as I could.  I forgot to snap the photo.

I did use frozen chicken tenders and skipped thawing them.  They cooked just fine.  You can also save time by estimating the herb measurements instead of measuring.

Here’s the how-to: 

Sometimes I get dinner in the slow cooker before church.  Sometimes we have planned leftovers or a 15 minute meal.  What’s your routine for dinner after church?

Let me say, that when I decided to make this I had no idea what really goes in Kung Pao Chicken.  I just saw a bottle of the sauce in Walmart and bought it.  The rest was decided by what I had on hand.

The result turned out delicious.  The Kung Pao sauce had just enough spice to lend and interesting kick.  I used chicken that I had already grilled, sliced and frozen, so it was quick to make.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• 1 – 1 1/2 lbs. cooked chicken breast (I used sliced, grilled chicken)
• 1 bunch broccoli, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• vegetable oil
• 1 bottle Kung Pao sauce (I used Panda Express)
• hot cooked rice

Thaw chicken in the microwave, if you’ve got some frozen.  Otherwise, cook some chicken.

In a large skillet, cook the broccoli and red pepper over medium-high heat for several minutes.  Stir often.  Add chicken and Kung Pao sauce.  Turn heat down and let it finish heating while the rice finishes cooking.

Serves 6-8

Small disclaimer: The Panda Express people don’t know me, I just happen to like their sauce.  I’ve never even been to one of their restaurants (I think it’s a restaurant, right?).  I buy it because it’s good and they carry it at Walmart, another group of people who don’t know me, I just happen to shop in their store.

Now, for those of you who know what’s really supposed to be in Kung Pao Chicken, please leave a comment and enlighten me!  I may try to make it the proper way next time.

It could be that I’m the last one in on this secret.  But just in case there’s someone else out there who doesn’t know, I’m going to share it with you.

I’m a very impatient cook.  You might have caught on about that fact since most of the recipes on this site can be made (hands-on prep) in just a few minutes.

For this reason, I’ve never had luck grilling chicken that has bones.  I do great with boneless chicken breasts.  Pork chops aren’t too hard (not including one fire incident the neighbor kids still talk about).  Smoked sausage or ham slices are no problem.

But chicken with bones is a whole ‘nuther deal.  Memorial Day weekend we had lots of company and I bought a bunch of chicken legs.  I planned to do them in the oven, just because I feared burning them beyond recognition if I put them on the grill.  But my mom talked me into doing it and I’m glad she did.  Those legs were scrumptious – smokey and sticky with bbq sauce.  Mmmmm!

The secret?  Turn the heat down to the lowest temp.  Put the legs on the grill and then turn them every 5-10 minutes.  This helps them cook evenly and slooooowly.   Don’t rush it.  Savor the full experience of tending them, turning them.  Let your mouth water as you get hungrier and hungrier and the delicious smell wafts among the people gathered on the patio.

Is your mouth watering yet?  Are you nearly beyond your limits of waiting?  Is everyone asking “how much longer?”  If so, it’s time to baste with bbq sauce.  Don’t do it earlier or you risk the sugars in sauce burning.  Wait till they’re almost done to smear on the sauce.

All told, this should take about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the legs (or other chicken pieces).   Serve with Potato Salad or Hashbrown Casserole or Quick Cole Slaw or Homemade Baked Beans, or watermelon.  Come back tomorrow and I’ll share a different way to eat your watermelon that will give your mouth a flavor kick and is perfect with food cooked on a grill.

What about you?  Are you good with grilling or are you impatient?

These couldn’t be simpler, especially if you’ve already got the chicken grilled, sliced and frozen.  But even if you need to do some grilling first, they are easy.  (If you do need to grill, cook more than you need and stock your freezer with the extra.)

The ingredients can be changed and swapped too.  Use cooked chicken instead of grilled, or use ground beef or leftover roast beef.  Swap out the Black Bean and Corn Salsa for another variety.  Skip the cream cheese and use Monterey Jack instead.  Anything goes, and it’s all good.

Here’s what you’ll need: