Taste of Nashville, Issue 9

This week a Taste of Nashville is special - instead of writing about a restaurant, I'm going to write about a few of Brandon and I's favorite recipes. I'm doing this for a few reasons - first, because Brandon and I didn't have time to eat out this week, and second, because I believe that changing up the focus of a Taste of Nashville is a good thing every once in a while. Plus, if you ever come visit us in Nashville I'll cook for you, so its important for you to know what's cookin' in the Matias household. 


There are a few menus that repeat themselves in our home. One of Brandon's favorites is what we call 'Steph's famous chicken bowl'. The name for this recipe was inspired by KFC's famous chicken bowl, which Brandon ordered enough for me to want to cook it at home. Similar to KFC's famous chicken bowl, there are layers to this dish. The first is homemade mashed potatoes, the second is chicken (KFC uses fried chicken, but I make shredded chicken), and the third is corn. I also typically make biscuits to accompany this dish. The recipe for making the shredded chicken portion of this dish is SUPER easy and is a bit healthier than using fried chicken: 


Shredded Chicken Ingredients:
2-4 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup (I use low-sodium, but either will work)


Directions:
In a crockpot, pour one can of cream of chicken & spread out. Place chicken breasts in a single layer over cream of chicken. Set on low heat. Once chicken is soft enough to shred, add the second can of cream of chicken and use a fork to shred chicken. 


I don't have a picture of my own recipe, but here's one of the KFC famous chicken bowl. It will give you an idea of what the final product of this recipe looks like AND it will be sure to make your mouth water! 

The second recipe we'd like to share is another that we cook often: homemade pizza. Brandon and I love pizza, but a good pizza is not cheap in Nashville, so we make our own at home as a cost saving measure.  We buy "Jiffy" mix pizza crust mix (this is the brand you probably use when you buy cornbread). I prepare the crust as instructed on the box and sometimes I also add in seasonings to give the crust more  flavor. I usually use an italian seasoning blend and garlic salt. For the sauce, we like to mix it up. Rather than using a red sauce, we like to use alfredo sauce to make a white pizza. Obviously, you can use whatever toppings you want, but to give you ideas, we use sliced roma tomatoes, green olives, onion, mushrooms, red pepper, and cubed cooked chicken (usually leftover from a meal the night before). Simply follow the instructions for the crust and enjoy a more affordable pizza made just the way you like it! 


Finally, we'll share an easy recipe for stuffed green peppers. We love this meal because it's delicious and yummy! 

Ingredients:

4 large green peppers, cleaned and halved
1 lb. ground beef (for healthier cooking, we use ground turkey)
½ medium onion
1 clove garlic, minced (sometimes I use 2 cloves, it's up to you)
2 cups rice
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a baking dish (big enough for all peppers) place a thin layer of tomato sauce. Place green pepper halves in dish and spread a little mozzarella cheese in each.

2. Brown the ground meat, onion and garlic over medium heat. Salt and pepper mixture. Drain grease.

3. Cook rice as instructed on package.

4. Add cooked rice and tomato sauce to meat mixture.

5. Spoon meat mixture into green pepper halves. Cover dish with foil.

6. Place in oven & cook for 45 minutes. Remove foil and spread shredded cheese on top of green peppers then broil for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven, allow a few minutes to cool & enjoy! 

Brandon and I love to eat at home and we're always trying new recipes. We hope you enjoyed reading a few of our go-to dishes on this week's edition of a Taste of Nashville. Please share your own recipes for us to try!