Charlotte’s Blues

Just recently my husband and I decided to have dinner at Applebee‘s. While there, I ordered the four cheese macaroni with chicken dinner. By far, it has become one of my favorite Applebee’s dishes.

Since it was such a delicious meal, and relatively easy to make, I decided to attempt to recreate the four cheese macaroni with chicken meal.

Ingredients

Noodles – any style of noodles will work. I used a box of elbow noodles.

Chicken strips – I used Tyson Chicken Strips.

Honey

Ragu Four Cheese Sauce – 2 jars for a whole box of noodles.

Prep and Cook time: About 20 minutes.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to desired temperature. Depending on whether or not you are doing ready-made chicken or cooking your own the time and temperature will vary. Cover your chicken in honey and place in the oven.

Step 2: Prepare you noodles according to the directions on the box.

Step 3: Drain noodles and add sauce. (I also added some honey directly into the noodles).

Step 4: Add noodles to plate and serve with Chicken on top.

Result:

Not as good as Applebee’s but still made for a great meal. The honey in the chicken gives it a desirable flavor, and the more you use will seep into the macaroni giving the noodles added flavor.

With 2 jars of sauce the flavor of the noodles appeared a bit weak. I would recommended adding Velveeta to the sauce to thicken it up and give it …

Are you looking for equipment for upgrading your catering services by enhancing the attributes of hygiene and maintaining your reputation? If that’s what you are planning on doing, then this is the article for you. Now most chefs and even homemakers maintaining kitchens at homes have a clear idea in their head as to how their kitchen should look like. But renovating it or building it up from scratch is quite strenuous. Life, however, is not always fair and hence we need to make do with whatever we have in hand. Take a look below to maximise your existing space and make the renovation cost-effective.

Key points to consider before buying commercial kitchen equipment:

1. Suitability of your equipment:

Characteristics of commercial equipment and household kitchen equipment vary widely.
Not only will the appliances designed for homes be won’t be of much good to keep up with the daily requirements of professional kitchens, but also, warranties for the equipment that are designed for domestic purposes when used for commercial purposes won’t be honoured by most manufacturers and understandably so since they are not the ones for the purpose. So the first and foremost and a rather important point would be to choose the correct category of utensils, keeping in mind the required size, quality, and other perspectives.

2. The energy efficiency of the purchased equipment:

Restaurant kitchens consume the most energy compared to any other commercial space. Hence, using energy-efficient appliances won’t be a bad idea as they can result …

Since my wife had to work this evening, I decided to make chicken for dinner. However, I wanted something different so I wound up digging through our spice cupboard and put together a recipe that I wouldn’t quite describe as Buffalo-style (which is what I was aiming for when I first started) but definitely had a kick from the added flavor without being too spicy.

The recipe takes about an hour from start to finish and makes roughly 6-8 servings depending on how much chicken you are using.

Ingredients:

1 whole cut up chicken (the one I used was roughly 3 pounds).

1 cup of vegetable oil.

4 tablespoons of sugar (you probably could use brown sugar too; I just didn’t have any handy and didn’t feel like getting my kids bundled up just so I could run to the store).

3 tablespoons of dark red chili pepper.

2 tablespoons of ground cayenne pepper.

1 tablespoon of garlic powder.

1 tablespoon of sea salt.

1 tablespoon of paprika.

1 tablespoon of onion salt.

Directions: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is pre-heating, mix the sugar, chili pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, sea salt, paprika and onion salt in a large mixing bowl, making sure to whisk the seasonings together thoroughly.

Put the vegetable oil in another large bowl. Dip each piece of chicken in the oil until they are completely coated and then put the pieces in the bowl with the seasonings, moving the chicken around so …

Meatloaf has to have the right consistency and flavor and here in the South, cornbread is commonly used rather than ordinary bread crumbs, which gives meatloaf the perfect consistency.

Of course, there are a number of variations when it comes to meatloaf as far as flavor and style. Some prefer gravy style, some prefer tomato sauce, while others like just plain old meatloaf.

Onion & Mushroom Meatloaf With Gravy:

– 3 pounds ground beef 
– 1 medium size onion and finely chopped 
– 11/2 cups of crumbled cornbread 
– 1 teaspoon salt 
– 1 pack of onion soup mix 
– 1 egg

Using your hands, fold everything together and blend well. Mold mixture into a loaf and put in into a loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

For those who prefer their meatloaf plain, you’re finished. Take the meatloaf out, slice and serve. If you like gravy with your meatloaf, bake for 40 minutes, take the meatloaf out, pour off the fat, and pour the gravy over it. Put the meatloaf back into the oven and bake another five minutes.

How to make the gravy:

Canned gravy is actually pretty good as the meatloaf has so much flavor that it blends with it. It’s also mush faster. But if you want to make your own, heat about 1/4 cup ofcanola , or whatever kind of oil you prefer, in a skillet. Add 1/4 cup finely chopped onions and and saute about a minute or so then add …

BBQ Hot Dogs on a Stick

What you will need. 

• Hot dogs probably 1-2 packages
• KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce about a 4ounce glass full
• Parents to cut the hot dog sticks

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Parents or an adult supervisor needs to go outside and turn on the grill, while you are doing that the kids could be gathering the sticks for the hot dogs, so you can sharpen them up to stick the hot dog on. (which by the way I have rarely ever seen any kid turn down hot dogs, so we might have a winner here.) Anyways you will put the hot dogs on the grill for about 5-10 minutes depending on how high your setting are on for BBQ grill. After the hot dogs are done the adult supervisor over the kids will put the hot dogs on a stick for the kids. You will the get your KC masterpiece BBQ sauce in about an 4 ounce cup and fill it full and depending on how many kids there are you might need more than one cup too. Best thing to is to do it out side , the kids will then dunk their hot dog in the cup of KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce. Also great for adults too! It really is a great summer BBQ recipe for kids. Hope you enjoy!…

Ingredients:

2 cups of salted pretzels 
1/2 peanuts 
1 cup M&Ms; 
2 cups of chex mix 
1/2 cup of raisins 
1 bag of white chocolate chips

First Step:

Measure out all ingredients and place everything but the white chocolate chips onto a flat cookie sheet.

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Second Step:

Take your white chocolate chips and melt them slowly and on low heat in a double boiler until melted. After pour warm melted white chocolate over trail mix ingredients thats laying on your cookie sheet!

Third Step:

Let cool for about an hour in refrigerate or at room temperature until the white chocolate has harden onto your trail mix!

Fourth Step: Break up trail mix and Eat Up! Yummy in the Tummy! Now how easy is that!…

Ingredients:

1/2 lb pinto beans (uncooked)

2 roma tomatoes (diced)

1/2 small yellow sweet onion (diced)

5 strips of bacon (diced)

2 serrano peppers (minced)

1/4 cup of cilantro (minced)

1 tbs salt

1 tbs black pepper

sour cream

Place pot on the stove and fill it up halfway with water and dump the pinto beans in. Be sure to wash the pinto beans before putting them in the pot. Turn the burner up to a medium heat. Be sure to start this first about 1 hour before starting the rest of the meal to make sure the beans are soft enough. Beans must be boiling for at least an hour. Then turn another burner on medium heat and place a skillet on the burner. Put the diced up strips of bacon in the skillet and brown the bacon to personal preference. Once browned then add the onions and serrano peppers. Let the onions simmer until they become translucent, then add the tomatoes. Once the vegetables and bacon are ready, then add to the pinto beans. Be sure to strain the grease out before adding it to the beans. Then add the cilantro, salt, and black pepper. Let the beans and everything cook for about 10 minutes and then add the sour cream. Add as much or little as you want, but be sure to add the sour cream. It makes a big difference in the flavor.

Serve warm. Serves 3 – 4 people.…

Ingredients

Spinach

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Raisins

Apple Slices

Fat Free Dressing Your Choice

Ok, I know you are saying, “Apples in My Salad? No Way!” I promise you if you have never tried this simple salad, you are missing a dear treat. This recipe is simple, but delicious. Take a regular salad and spice it up by adding your favorite fruit. In this recipe you see that I use apples and raisins to make this salad delicious. This is one sure way to get your Vitamin C! Make sure to chop the spinach in lettuce in small pieces. Take you one apple and slice it in fours or eights. Put all the other ingredients into the salad bowl, add your dressing and presto! You are ready to munch like a bunny rabbit.

To be honest I would add some chicken breast to this salad, which has all of the fat trimmed off of it. This would be a very healthy salad for someone who wants to eat healthy and light. Adding the chicken would of course add some fat to the recipe, but it is healthier than frying your chicken and putting it in your salad, which I have done as well. If you do add the chicken, remember to cook it separately and season to taste. You can add a little water, instead of oil or butter to cook the chicken and make a grave that you can use as Salad Dressing too. Remember to share this with your friends. …