Bison Macaroni Skillet

Remember Beefaroni?? I sure do, and I crave it every once in a while. This is a take on that cafeteria favorite with a little twist, I used bison instead of beef. You can use ground turkey, chicken or even fake meat crumbles to lighten it up from the usual beef.




This is from Cooking 4 Two. Lets gather up the ingredients.




Shallot




dice it up.




Red pepper




Dice that up too!




Beef or your favorite low fat beef alternative.




Elbow macaroni.




V8 juice




Hot sauce, if you want it. Of course mine is garlic!




Worcestershire sauce.

Lets get cooking!




Grab your beef or beef alternative. Get it in a skillet, season with some salt and pepper and get it broken up.




Add in the shallot and red pepper and get it stirred up and start browning.




Once your meat has browned you can add in the other ingredients. If you are using beef you will probably need to drain off the extra fat here.




Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan.




Give it a good stir. Season with a little salt and pepper at this point as well.




Cover and let it cook on low for about 20 minutes. When the noodles are cooked to your liking, it is done!




This is comfort food for fall that reminds me of being in grade school. This is a perfect dish for kids too. Not for picky husbands though, as picky husbands don't eat pasta. But that is ok, because I shared this meal with you guys, my fabulous readers!

Braised Chicken Thighs with Dried Apricots

Even though it is still really warm here in AZ I am going to try to put up some nice fall dishes that will warm you up, but not take too much time or effort.




The recipe calls for dried plums but I had apricots on hand, so that is what I used.




You need some white wine, dried fruit of your choice, onion and that is really about it!




I served this chicken over some egg noodles, one of my favorite things.




This chicken is from a pre-seasoned grill pack I broke up and froze. The seasoning was a citrus rub and added some nice flavor to the dish. You can add a little lemon pepper or lemon zest to your chicken if you want to add that extra layer of flavor. Be sure to season your chicken with at least some salt and pepper.




Get the chicken into a dutch oven to brown.




Pour out the wine you need for the recipe. Feel free to pour out the wine you need to reward yourself for making it through the day and have a nice drink.




Flip the chicken and make sure it browns on both sides.




Once it is browned, get it out of the pot and set it aside.




Add the onion to your pan with a little salt and pepper. It is so important to season when you add items to your dishes.




After the onion has softened, stir in the flour. This will make your sauce thicken up.




Keep stirring a minute then add the wine and get your chicken back in there. Cover it up and let it cook for 8-10 more minutes.








Stir in the apricots or other dried fruit and let them get warmed through and then you are ready to plate.




The apricots get plump and delicious and really compliment the chicken. This was filling and tasted like it took a lot more work than it actually did.




The skin was, of course, the best part.

Raspberry Yogurt Pastries

This is a simple dessert or snack that you can customize to your tastes. The hubby ate this as well. I guess the key to his culinary happiness is smear something on some crescent dough and serve it up!




The recipe comes from Cooking for 2 Magazine. Start by preheating your oven.




You need some crecent roll dough.




Spread it out into 2 crusts and use your fingers to seal the perforations. Pop them in the oven and keep an eye on them, they cook up quickly.




When they are done put them on a rack to cool.




The recipe calls for raspberry yogurt, but you can use whatever flavor you like.




The topping for these 'pastries' are fresh berries. I chose blackberries.




and Raspberries.




Spread the yogurt over the crusts like a sauce and then top with your fruit.




The hubby does not like blackberries, but he will eat raspberries, so this is his dessert.




I love blackberries, so I added both to mine. I also had to share some berries with my dogs because they LOVE them.




This is quick and easy and actually not that bad for you! There are a bunch of variations you could try with different yogurt flavors, I think it would be great with some vanilla yogurt and a sprinkle of good cinnamon.