October 22, 2008

Southwest Taco Stroganoff

This was great! Ben requested it be added to our "once every two weeks rotation". I didn't know he realized I did that! :)

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 small onion, chopped (I left this out and didn't even notice the need for it)
- 1 envelope taco seasoning mix
- 1 small can corn with diced peppers (Mexi-corn)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 8-oz tub of cream cheese with chive and onion
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 12 oz. egg noodles, cooked and drained

Directions:
Cook onions and ground beef in large saute pan until beef is no longer pink. Drain beef. Add taco seasoning, water & corn to beef in pan and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add cream cheese & shredded cheddar and cook until heated through and cheese melts. Toss with cooked noodles.

This makes a ton!

October 05, 2008

Bourbon Chicken

This is another good one! On a message board I go to, it is commonly known as "crack chicken"!

Ingredients:
- Chicken cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed chili pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons apple juice
- 8 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1/4 cup water
- 8 teaspoon soy sauce

Directions:
- Mix everything but the chicken.
- Heat oil in large skillet and add chicken. Cook until lightly browned
- Remove chicken
- Heat the sauce in the pan over medium heat
- Add chicken and bring to a hard boil
- Reduce heat and simmer fro 15-20 minutes.

This is good over rice, but we usually just serve with sides like mashed potatoes (to soak up the rest of the sauce). This has a good kick to it!

West of the Pecos Pasta

I got this recipe from a family friend and dumbed it down for an easier dinner...a lot. If you ever want the more complex recipe, let me know! It reminds Ben of his mom's goulash. I've never had goulash, so I don't know, but either way we both love this!

Ingredients:
- Butter for skillet
- 1lb ground beef
- 1/2 onion
- 1/2 bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 can tomato soup
- 1 can cream style corn
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 pkg of noodles
- Cheddar cheese

Directions:
- Melt butter, add meat, onion, pepper, chili powder, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook until brown
- Add soup, corn, tomatoes and simmer (it says to simmer 30 minutes. I simmer as long as I can before I get bored!)
- Cook pasta
- Combine pasta and mixture in a casserole dish an top with cheese
- Bake at 350 for 2o minutes

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

This is one of Ben's favorites. He requests this often when he's craving a buffalo chicken sandwich from hooters!

Ingredients:
- Chicken breasts (up to a pound or however many sandwiches you want to make!)
- 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- 1/2 cup "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together everything but the chicken. Let this mixture simmer, stirring occasionally. Pour over chicken (cut into stripes) and bake at 375 for 20 mintues or until cooked through.

Serve on buns with ranch dressing, bacon and cheese! YUM!!!

Baked Chimichangas

This is a Weight Watchers recipe so enjoy this mexican meal with no guilt! The chicken ones are our favorite but this is a nice change!

Ingredients:
- Ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili seasoning
- 1 cup of salsa
- Flour tortillas
- Sour cream

Directions:
- Brown meat and onion.
- Stir in garlic, salsa and chili seasoning
- Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes
- Spoon mixture into center of each tortilla
- Spray tops with butter flavored cooking spray
- Bake for 12-14 mintues or until golden brown
- Serve with salsa and sour cream - I also cheated and put cheese on mine!

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

When you're craving mexican you can't go wrong with these. They are delicious!

Ingredients:
- 1 rotisserie chicken shredded or 2-3 chicken breasts, cooked
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 can of chopped green chiles
- 1 package of taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Flour tortillas
- Monteray Jack cheese
- 1 can red enchilada sauce

Directions:
To make meat mixture: Heat oil in skillet on medium high heat. Add chicken, onion and green chiles and saute until browned, then add taco seasoning and prepare meat according to package instructions

To assemble: In each flour tortilla, spread sour cream, cheese and meat mixture. Roll tortillas and place in a lightly greased 9x13 casserole dish. Top with remaining meat, enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

No Recipe Shephard's Pie

This is an easy meal in a pinch - nothing to brag about to company, but you will be full and satisfied when dinner is over!

Ingredients:
- 1lb ground beef
- 1 small bag of frozen corn, or frozen mixed veggies
- Mashed Potatoes (Don't tell, I use the Four Cheese just add water kind!)
- Cheese
- Butter, salt, pepper, garlic salt

Directions:
- Place browned ground beef in bottom of casserole dish
- Season with garlic salt, salt and pepper
- Top with veggies
- Top with prepared mashed potatoes
- Put pats of butter on and cover with cheese
- Bake at 400 for 25 minutes

September 30, 2008

Lemon & Herb Crockpot Whole Chicken

This is a great starting point to play with seasoning a whole chicken. This is such an easy way to cook a whole chicken. Once I made this, I tried variations with cajun seasoning, mexican etc.

Ingredients:
-one thawed and skinned whole chicken
- head of garlic
- 2 lemons
- fresh rosemary (I'm lazy and cheap so I used dried!)
- salt and pepper

Directions:
- Rub chicken with salt and pepper
- Plop in crockpot
- Peel garlic and shove a bunch of whole cloves into the bird cavity and throw some more on top and around the chicken
- Slice lemon and put slices on top, around and inside the chicken
- Do the same with rosemary - if you are using dried, use a good amount - probably 2 -3 tablespoons
- Cook on low 8 - 10 hours

Italian Shredded Chicken

I know I've said this about almost all of my recipes, but this is so good!! It is another of Finley's favorites!

Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 package of onion soup mix
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 cup italian salad dressing
- 1/4 cup water
- sandwich buns

Directions:
- place chicken in slow cooker, sprinkle with soup mix and garlic salt
- Pour dressing and water over chicken
- Cover and cook on low 8 to 9 hours
- Remove chicken and shred; return to slow cooker and mix
- Serve with a slotted spoon on buns
- Garnish as desired - we use cheese, lettuce and ranch dressing.

I haven't tried it but I think this would be great over a cold pasta salad or garden salad. If anyone tries it, let me know!

Stuffed Shells

Super easy and looks fancy! Ben LOVED this one!

Ingredients:
- 1lb ground beef
- small onion diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 bag of mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup italian breadcrumbs
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
- grated parmesan cheese
- Jumbo pasta shells

Directions:
- Cook shells
- Brown ground beef, garlic, onion; drain and let cool some
- Combine meat, mozzarella cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, and season with salt, pepper and italian seasong (if desired)
- Pour a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of casserole dish
- Stuff the cooked shellys with mixture and place in the casserole dish
- Pour sauce over shells and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. (I used a little more mozzarella cheese too)
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes

SO GOOD!!!

Easy Taco Pie

I made this during a week when I tried a bunch of new recipes and this is the only one that made Ben's "re-do list" which meant it was worth adding to our list. It was really good!!

Ingredients:
- 1lb lean ground beef
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 package of taco seasoning
- 1 can chopped green chiles
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup bisquick mix
- Shredded monteray jack cheese
- Sour cream, if desired

Directions:
- Grease pie plate
- Cook beef and onion in skillet, drain.
- Stir in seasoning mix (no water)
- Spoon into pie plate, top with chiles
- Stir milk, eggs and bisquick mix until blended and pour on top of mixture
- Bake about 25 minutes at 425, sprinkle with cheese and back another 8 minutes.
- Serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.

I also add in corn on top of the chiles.

Don't let the longer than my normal ingredient list surprise you, it is very easy!

Smoky Joe's Slow Cooker Beef Stew

A nice change from normal beef stews. This has kind of a sweetness to it.

Ingredients:
- 1lb beef stew meat
- 3/4 cup each salsa and barbeque sauce
- 1 pkg taco seasoning
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
-1 can chickpeas or garbanzo beans rinsed and drained

Directions:
- Combine everything but the beans in a slow cooker and cook on high 3 to 4 hours or low 6 to 8 hours, or until meat is tender
- Add beans (you may not need as much as it says) and mix well.
- Cover and let stand 5 mintues for beans to heat through.

Ben really liked this - not shocking since it is beef!

Light King Ranch Chicken

I've tried a ton of King Ranch chicken recipes and this is by far our favorite. I don't use as much onion and bell pepper as it calls for, but here is the entire, untouched recipe:

Ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use 2 cream of chicken and omit the mushroom - gag!)
- 1 can Rotel
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 garlic powder
- 12 corn tortillas (I use the white ones - I like the texture better)
- Cheddar cheese

Directions:
- Saute onion and bell pepper until tender
- stir in chicken and next 6 ingredients, remove from heat
- tear tortillas into 1 inch pieces, layer half tortilla pieces in bottom of casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Top with half of chicken mixture and half of cheese. Repeat layers.
- Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
- 1 pkg of pie crust
- 1 can of white meat chicken (or the equivalent of cooked chicken)
- 1 can Cream of Potatoe Soup
- 1 can of Veg-all
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup of milk
- Lemon Pepper
- Garlic Salt

Directions
- Put the bottom pie crust in pie plate
- Mix chicken, veg-all, potatoe soup, lemon pepper and garlic salt to taste. Add milk to reach the desired consistency. I like it closer to 1/4 cup so it is thicker.
- Pour into pie plate and top with 2nd crust. Pinch the edges around the plate and cut 4 slits in the top
- Bake at 425 for 25 - 30 mintues or until golden brown.

Crockpot Chicken Marinara

I think this is the easiest recipe ever and it is one of Finley's absolute favorites.

Ingredients:
- 2-3 frozen chicken breasts
- Jar of Spaghetti Sauce
- 1lb of any shape of pasta

Directions:
- Dump the sauce and chicken in the crockpot
- Cook on low 6-8 hours (or more, it won't hurt)
- Shred the chicken and cook for a little while longer
- Serve over noodles.

Didn't I say this was easy?? You could also serve the meat and sauce on buns for sandwiches with cheese etc.

Hashbrown Casserole

This recipe was adapted from the more traditional hashbrown casserole with cream of chicken soup and ground beef. I made this up one night when the pantry was bare and now it is a favorite!

Ingredients:
- Frozen hashbrown potatoes
- Ground sausage (think Jimmy Dean etc)
- Can of Baked Beans
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
- Layer hashbrowns in the bottom of a casserole dish - I usually do about an inch deep in a smaller casserole dish. You don't want to use a big 9x13 for this recipe or it will be too thin.
- Brown sausage and mix with baked beans
- Pour over hashbrowns and top with cheddar cheese
- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
-

Go To Meals

This post is probably more for me than anyone else that reads this. We all have our easy "go to" meals so I thought I would list ours for a reminder whenever I can't think of anything!

Tacos
Sloppy Joes
Hamburgers
Baked Ziti
Spaghetti
Store bought pasta - ravioli etc
Rotisserie Chicken
Anything grilled...
Grilled Cheese and soup
Breakfast for Dinner
Beef Stew
Chili
Stir Fry
Mac N Cheese - with add ins (chicken, ham, peas, broccoli etc)
Meatball Sandwich
Spanish Rice mixes - add in Chicken and MexiCorn
Baked Chicken - pour on any marinade and bake!
Pork Loin - they have awesome pre-marinated ones
Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Broccoli Cheese Chicken

This is one of our favorites. In fact, it is one of the few meals that Ben makes sure there are leftovers for his lunch the next day!

Ingredients:
- 2-3 chicken breast
- 14oz frozen broccoli florets
- Can of broccoli cheese soup
- 1/2 Can of cream of chicken soup
- Milk (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
- egg noodles
- Lemon Pepper
- Salt
- Pepper

Directions:
- Cook noodles
- Season chicken with lemon pepper and salt and cook in bite sized pieces in a skillet
- Once browned and almost cooked through, add broccoli, broccoli cheese soup, cream of chicken, milk and season with pepper
- Stir together and cover, stirring occassionally - add more milk if it is too thick for you, but wait until it all comes together - the liquid from the broccoli helps thin it out.
- Simmer until the broccoli is cooked through but still crunchy and serve over noodles.

We could eat this once a week!

My Meatloaf

Pretty basic - rotel is the secret!

Ingredients:
- 1lb ground beef
- Can of Rotel
- Breadcrumbs (a big handful)
- 1 egg
- Cajun seasoning
- ketchup
- brown sugar

Directions:
- Combine first 5 ingredients and mix
- Form into a loaf or mini meatloaves
- Bake at 350 for 40 mintues
- While baking mix ketchup and brown sugar together for sauce
- Pour on top and bake another 10 minutes

Sloppy Joe Chicken Pasta

If you like sloppy joes and pasta, you will like this version! Sounds weird but it is very tasty!

Ingredients:
- 1lb of pasta - any shape
- 1-2 cans of sloppy joe sauce
- 2-3 cooked chicken breast
- bag of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
- Cook pasta according to directions
- Cook chicken breast in bite sized pieces
- Combine pasta, chicken breast, sloppy joe sauce and half of cheese and pour in casserole dish
- Top with remaining cheese
- Bake at 350 until the cheese in melted and bubbly - about 20 minutes

My Favorite Roast

This is so easy and delicious! Ben loves it!

Ingredients:
- Roast
- Onion
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Onion Soup Mix

Directions:
- Peel potatoes, cut ends off of carrots and slice the onion.
- Pile it all in the crockpot - mix onion soup mix with a cup of water and pour over the top
- Cook on low at least 6-8 hours. Don't worry if it cooks longer.

The meat is so tender you have to serve it from the crockpot. The gravy is awesome over the potatoes!

The Best Chicken Spaghetti

Like most of my recipes, this comes from a more complex recipe but I have "dumbed it down" to make it an easy week night dinner. My mom made this growing up and it is a family favorite! This is also an example of how most of my recipes have become non-recipes - meaning there isn't an exact amount of some ingredients - just "eyeball" it until it is seasoned to your liking, or the consistency that you like.

Ingredients:
- Cooked Chicken (on busy nights I use 2 cans of white meat, or 2-3 chicken breasts
- Can of Cream of Chicken
- Can of Chicken broth
- Velveeta
- 1lb. of Spaghetti
- Garlic Salt
- Pepper
Optional:
- Pimento
- Sauteed Onion

Directions:
- Cook Pasta according to directions
- If not using canned chicken, boil chicken breasts and then shred
- Combine full can of cream of chicken, pasta, chicken, about half the can of broth (this depends on the consistency you are going for), sliced velveeta (again, amount depends on how cheesy you like it - we use a lot!!).
- Mix it all together in a casserole dish and season to taste with garlic salt and pepper.
- Top with sliced velveeta
- Bake at 350 until bubbly or about 30 minutes.

The leftovers are almost better than the original - if you have any! Also, you can easily stretch this by playing with the amount of pasta and liquids and not necessarily adding any chicken if you need to feed a crowd.