Tracey's Kitchen

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

2012-03-07T19:08:00.002-06:00

This was the recipe on my menu for tonight and it turned our great, plus it was super easy. I found it on Pinterest and the link is here. I changed a few things like omitting the onion, olive oil, diced tomatoes and I added Top the Tater sour cream since it seemed to go well with the cream cheese. My son told me it's super yummy, so this turned out to be a keeper.

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked rigatoni
1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach
3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 (8 oz) container chive and onion cream cheese
3 Tablespoons Top the Tater sour cream
1-1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella and Provolone mix

Instructions:

Prepare rigatoni and set aside.
Cook and drain the chopped spinach, pressing it into a colander to remove all liquid.
Cook the chicken breast.
Combine chicken, spinach, cream cheese, sour cream and then add the rigatoni.
Place in 9 x 13 baking dish and cover with the shredded cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Enjoy!

Thank you for visiting :o)

Menu Plan Monday - 3/5/12

2012-03-05T19:20:00.005-06:00

Picture credit: Microsoft Office Clip Art

Here we are at another week of making a food plan! I think my theme this week was simple and easy. I also found that when I made four complex dishes last week, we ended up with too many leftovers and had to freeze some. (Not a problem I mind, though.) Since I have a couple meeting nights this week, it's always nice to have a simple cooking plan when I have to run out the door as soon as my husband gets home. I am also trying to use more of what we have on hand to spend less on groceries.

Here is what we're having this week:

Monday
Cheeseburger Crescent Bake with Peas

Tuesday
Lasagna Mac with Corn

Wednesday
Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

Thursday
Leftovers

Friday

Veggie Pizza (Crescent Roll Style) with Broccoli, Zucchini, Carrots and Mushroom

Saturday
Out to Dinner

Sunday
Always my night off!

I am also linking up to:

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Thanks for visiting!

Yummy Coconut Blueberry Banana Oatmeal

2012-03-03T11:57:00.003-06:00

Ever since I saw this recipe video on You Tube "The Oatmeal Recipe that will Change Your Life" I have been experimenting with my own oatmeal concoction. I think I've finally come up with the ultimate oatmeal recipe (per my tastes), although the picture doesn't truly do it justice. I can't believe how good this is!! I made a big batch and after breakfast I found myself eating it throughout the day as a snack. Most of the ingredients aren't measured, so I'll just put my estimates below. This is one of those recipes you can add so many different things to, so feel free to play with it. I have been reading about coconut oil and all the health benefits it has, so I'm trying to find ways to add it into my cooking. Some good articles about it are here (Dr. Mercola) and here at Bruce Fife's website. Bruce Fife wrote several books with one being The Coconut Oil Miracle. If you're interested in more, another good link is here. I'm really getting into the variety of uses for coconut oil!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
One Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal Packet (or your favorite flavor)
1/2 to 1 cup of Quick Oats
2 T Honey
2 T Coconut Oil
2 T Flaxseed Meal
Handful of Shredded Coconut
1 cup Blueberries
1/2 Banana
1/4 cup Tart Cherries
2 T Half and Half (or milk)
1 cup boiled water

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients together into a mixing bowl, minus the half and half.
Pour the boiling water over the oatmeal so that it's fully saturated and stir it all together. (I actually use a sauce pan so I can cover it with a lid once I put the water in. Helps it stay warm.)
Let the oatmeal sit for 15 minutes so all the flavors blend together.
Stir in half and half.

Hope you ENJOY!

Thanks for visiting!

We're Back!! New Menu Plan Monday

2012-02-28T20:29:00.002-06:00

MENU PLAN MONDAY

Wow, it's been awhile! Since November when I last posted, my computer had been in and out of the "shop" three times! It ended up being a broken motherboard, but took forever for them to figure it out.

I am still doing regular menu planning and I'm looking forward to getting back into sharing here. I am still enjoying discovering new and delicious recipes and adding to our family's menu choices.

I am so excited about my new Menu board. I got the idea from Pinterest and then remembered I had this old calendar holder I wasn't using. I found a large dry erase sheet that I cut to fit and now I can write out my menu instead of having it on little post it notes around the kitchen!

Monday
Ring Bologna with Biscuits and Honey

Tuesday
Mom's Pork Chops over Basmati Rice with Green Beans

Wednesday
Spaghetti and Meatballs with Corn

Thursday
Fried Chicken and Baked Potatoes with Toppings

Friday

Crescent Roll Hot Dogs with Peas

Saturday
Leftovers or Dinner Out

Sunday
Always my night off!

I am also linking up to:

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Thanks for visiting!

My Menu Plan 11/14/11

2011-11-14T11:59:00.000-06:00

I have a very short cooking week this week - just Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday! We are leaving Thursday morning for a nice, long vacation! My son and I will go down to my sister's house, which for me is like going to a resort. They have extra bedrooms so I will have my own, plus lots of birds and wildlife coming to visit which are fun to watch with a warm cup of coffee from their living room. I am really in need of this rest and relaxation leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. It is a great time to slow down and reflect on all the Lord has blessed us with!

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Ring Bologna with Parmesan Potatoes (see recipe for potatoes below!)

Tuesday
Beef Squash Casserole

Wednesday
Hoppin' John

Thursday
Leave for Chicago suburbs and start to vacation!!

Here's a quick recipe for the Parmesan Potatoes mentioned above:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil a large pot of water and boil the potatoes for 4-5 minutes. Remove from water and let cool. Once cooled, slice into quarters and combine with olive oil, garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper as well as the Parmesan. Mix thoroughly and place in a baking dish that has been sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.

Place into the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and taste, re season with sea salt, cracked pepper, or garlic powder if needed. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy.

I am also linking up to these sites:

Thanks for visiting!

My Menu Plan 10/31/11

2011-10-31T11:52:00.001-05:00

I am really enjoying trying some new recipes this fall - especially comfort food! I have a special one this week I'll be making. My husband gave me a list awhile ago of his favorite foods his mom made. She passed away when he was 19, so I don't have any of her recipes but I love trying to re-create his favorites. I'm trying a scalloped potato recipe this week!

I also ended up loving a couple recipes from last week; stuffed green peppers and a chicken and sweet potato chowder. YUM! I'll be making those again for sure.

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Chicken Divan

Tuesday
Spaghetti (my own recipe) with Corn and Garlic Bread

Wednesday
Creamy Scalloped Potato with Ham

Thursday
Slow Cooker Pot Roast (using my own recipe and a little from here)

Friday

Leftovers!

Saturday
Going out for Date Night!

Sunday
Always my night off!

I am also linking up to these sites:

Thanks for visiting!

Stuffed Green Peppers

2011-10-27T14:55:00.006-05:00

I often like asking my husband for meal ideas based on things his mom used to make when he was a boy, and many of those become regular staple meals for us. One of those ideas was stuffed green peppers. I finally got this on my menu and found a great recipe to try. I was very pleased with how they turned out!! Not only were they easier than I thought, they were really yummy. The funny thing was that while hand-pouring my sugar into the (tomato) sauce I accidentally over did it! I also used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I really think it was that sauce that made it taste so good.

Ingredients:

4 green peppers with tops cut off and seeds removed
ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
1-2 T minced garlic
2-3 T parsley
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups uncooked rice
tomato sauce
sugar
olive oil

Instructions:

Set oven to 450 and begin browning the ground beef.
While that is cooking, make your rice.
Once meat is no longer pink, add eggs, garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Cut the tops off the green peppers and remove the stems and seeds.
Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture placing them in a roasting pan.
Drizzle olive oil over the peppers and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove peppers from oven and turn oven down to 350. Mix tomato sauce, a little water and sugar. Pour over top of peppers and return to oven.
Bake another 30-40 minutes until your peppers are nice and soft. Add a bit of water if the sauce dries up too much.

Serve and enjoy!

Thanks for visiting :o)

Chicken and Sweet Potato Chowder

2011-10-25T20:30:00.007-05:00

Photo Courtesy of Land-O-Lakes

I signed up on the Land-O-Lakes website and found a great recipe. I have been looking for some good fall recipes, and this was a great one. We have a Soup Swap at my church's mom's group next month, and I decided I'll be making this one! The whole family loved it, including my often finicky toddler son.

My Photos

Ingredients:

2 T butter
1 cup chopped celery
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut
1 to 2 cans of chicken broth
1 T minced garlic
1 t thyme
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/2 t paprika
1 cup Half & Half
2 T flour

Instructions:

Melt butter in pan and add garlic and celery. Cook until tender.
Add sweet potatoes, chicken broth, garlic and thyme leaves. Cook until mixture boils and potatoes are tender (10 to 15 minutes).
Stir in chicken and paprika.
In small bowl, combine half and half with flour until smooth. Gradually add mixture to pan stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened (6 to 8 minutes).

Serve and enjoy! We had ours with oyster crackers.

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday 10/24/11

2011-10-24T20:59:00.001-05:00

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Macaroni and Cheese with Tuna and Peas (my son loves that this rhymes!)

Tuesday
Chicken and Sweet Potato Chowder

Wednesday
Stuffed Green Peppers (recipe to come)

Thursday
Slow Cooker Pot Roast (using my own recipe and a little from here)

Friday

Pasta E Fagioli

Saturday
Going out for Date Night!

Sunday
Always my night off!

I am also linking up to these sites:

Thanks for visiting!

My Menu Plan 10/17/11

2011-10-18T19:52:00.004-05:00

It has been almost two years since I started my cooking blog. Recently, I was reflecting on that and thinking about the type of cooking that I've done the past nine years of my marriage. My cooking has really evolved! I started off in my marriage with some of the basics, but at that time my "homemade" usually consisted of cooking with Hamburger Helper or things like chicken cacciatore from a jar. Now, I love trying all kinds of new recipes and making from-scratch meals. Cooking has become something of a hobby.

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Avocado BLTs with Turkey Bacon and Side Salad

Tuesday
Beef Squash Casserole

Wednesday
Grilled Cheese with Baked Potato

Thursday
Pesto Ravioli with Chicken

Friday

Headed to Chicago for family weekend

Saturday
Chicago

Sunday
Always my night off!

I am also linking up to Serve It Up Sunday and Join in the Mayhem:

Thanks for visiting!

My Menu Plan 10/10/11

2011-10-10T18:21:00.007-05:00

I really enjoy cooking and trying new recipes so I like doing a menu each week. I also got a lot out of doing the "eating through the pantry and freezer" plan, it's helped me to create better planning habits.

I've made it a regular habit now to first go through my pantry and freezer before I plan my menu. Even though I'm not doing that exclusively, I find that I'm saving at least $30 a week now on groceries just by doing better with the ingredients I already have on hand. Here is what I'll be making this week.

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Hamburger Cabbage Soup (an Amish recipe)

Tuesday
Sweet Potato Tray Baked Chicken with Peas

Wednesday
Lasagna Mac ala Kraft Sharp Cheddar Mac-N-Cheese with Corn

Thursday
Leftovers

Friday

African Chicken Peanut Stew

Saturday
Possible date night - Out to Eat!

Sunday
Always my night off!

I am also linking up to Serve It Up Sunday and Join in the Mayhem:

Thanks for visiting!

Chicken Cacciatore

2011-10-05T18:18:00.005-05:00

Well, too late I realized the recipe I printed out from My Menu Plan this week was supposed to be cooked in a slow cooker. Oops! So I had to improvise and created the recipe below, using some basics from the original recipe. I liked how it turned out! Very flavorful and my son just loved it. Definitely a keeper!

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 pounds chicken breast, cubed

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 red pepper, diced

1-2 carrots, diced

1 T minced garlic

Italian seasonings to taste

1 cup rice, cooked

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook chicken in 1 tablespoon olive oil until no pink is left.
Add red pepper, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, carrots, chicken broth and Italian seasoning. Stir ingredients together.
Cook on low to medium heat until carrots and red pepper are tender (20 minutes or so).
Serve over cooked rice.

ENJOY!

Thanks for visiting!

My Menu Plan 10/3/11

2011-10-03T18:07:00.006-05:00

I really enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. One thing I look for are meals that have all the ingredients in one dish. That way, the meat, pasta/potato and vegetable are all together! I love meals like that. Here is what I plan on making this week. I'm still trying to use up the ingredients in my pantry and now working on our freezer.

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Beef Stroganoff over Noodles with Peas

Tuesday
Easy Chicken Cacciatore with Corn (Recipe is from Parents.com)

Wednesday
Spaghetti with Garlic Bread

Thursday
Chicken Divan Casserole

Friday
Hamburger Cabbage Soup an Amish recipe

Saturday
Possible date night - Out to Eat!

Sunday
Always my night off!

I am also linking up to Serve It Up Sunday:

Thanks for visiting!

My Menu Plan 9/19/11

2011-09-19T09:30:00.006-05:00

I am continuing to do my "eating through the pantry and freezer project". I can't believe I'm only about half way done and this is week FOUR! I guess I had much more food than I thought. I love how I am saving $50 to $75 a week! See my post here. I'm excited that we are having some tasty and fun meals, and making use of ingredients we already have.

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Ring Bologna with Au-Gratin Potatoes (one of my husband's simple favorites)

Tuesday
Easy Chicken Cacciatore with Corn (Recipe is from Parents.com)

Wednesday
Down-home Dinner with Biscuits (Recipe is from Taste of Home)

Thursday
Hamburgers with Baked Beans and Potato Chips

Friday
Beef and Bean Burritos with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans (Recipe is from The Pioneer Woman)

Saturday
Date Night - Out to Dinner

Sunday
Always my night off!

I am also linking up to Serve It Up Sunday:

Thanks for visiting!

A Tracey's Kitchen Original - Beef Squash Casserole

2011-09-02T18:13:00.002-05:00

I bought something called "Vodka Sauce" and it's been sitting in my pantry. Well, this week as part of my "eating through the pantry" project, I decided to make something with it. Since there were so few recipes available, I decided to just try something from scratch and see how it turned out. I'm so glad I did! I ended up with something really good, and never even used the vodka sauce! (I was getting ready to add it at the end and opened the jar. It had an odd smell that didn't seem to blend with the wonderful smell the casserole had already, so I decided not to put it in!)

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds Beef Round Steak
2-3 T Olive Oil
3-4 T Ketchup
2 T Minced Garlic
Beef broth to cover
Sliced Summer Squash
Sliced Zucchini
Diced Tomatoes
Rice

Instructions:

Cut up the beef round steak into small pieces.
Place in large pot with olive oil, ketchup and garlic. Cook over medium to high heat until meat is browned.
Pour beef broth over meat until covered. Simmer on medium-high for 45 minutes to an hour.
Add sliced squash, zucchini and tomatoes and cook another 30 to 45 minutes. Add more beef broth should it need more consistency.
Cook rice according to package directions.
Serve meat mixture over rice.

ENJOY!

Thanks for visiting!

Your Favorite Comfort Foods

2011-08-31T14:46:00.007-05:00

I love when Gooseberry Patch has one of their Recipe Round-Ups (click picture above). Today, they are doing a "Your Best Comfort Foods" recipe round up. They are so much fun and I get some really great food ideas. I shared my recipe for Lasagna Mac, a current favorite comfort food. They let you add the linky to your blog, so feel free to add your favorite below!

Chicken Tetrazzini

2011-08-30T19:07:00.006-05:00

This was a recipe I linked to in my Menu Plan Monday. It was so good that I wanted to share it in full here! The only change I made was to add broccoli, which seemed to go really well with it. It was also a big help in my "eating through the pantry" project with the 3 different kinds of soup, the chicken broth and then the pasta. Plus, it was easy to make too.

Ingredients:
1 box regular or thin spaghetti
3/4 cup chicken broth
4-6 cups chopped, cooked chicken (4-6 chicken breasts)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1-1/2 cups sour cream
1 box sliced mushrooms
1 bag frozen cut broccoli
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t salt
Shredded cheddar to top

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to directions. Once done, pour back into pot and add chicken broth. Let sit.
Stir together the cooked chicken with soups, salt, pepper, sour cream, Parmesan cheese , mushrooms and broccoli.
Add pasta and mix well together.
Place in 9x13 pan and sprinkle with the shredded cheddar.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and sides are bubbly.
This makes enough for two 9x13 dishes, so split in half. I cooked one, and put the other half in a gallon Ziploc bag which will go in my freezer.

Enjoy!!

Menu Plan Monday 8/29/11

2011-08-29T21:48:00.003-05:00

This is week TWO of my eating through the pantry and freezer project. So far, we have saved close to $125! See my post here. I'm excited that we are having some tasty and fun meals, and while mainly using ingredients we already have!

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Corn Chili with Biscuits (I used ground beef instead of ground turkey)

Tuesday
Chicken Tetrazzini with Broccoli

Wednesday
Spaghetti with Corn and Garlic Bread

Thursday
Vodka Parmigiano Sauce with Round Steak and Vegetables (my own concoction added to the sauce)

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Camp Cook Out

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday 8/22/11

2011-08-23T18:28:00.006-05:00

I went completely without a menu plan last week, since we were having a rough week on the home front. It feels so good to get back into it even thought I only missed one week. This week starts a fun project of eating through the pantry and freezer. Click here! I'm excited that we have some tasty meals coming, and without spending extra money!

Tuesday's Meal

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Breakfast for Dinner: Eggs and Sausage Patties with Toast

Tuesday
BBQ Ribs with Dill Potatoes and Broccoli
(The dill potatoes were great; I cut up some red potatoes and put them in a pan, sprinkled them with olive oil and fresh chopped dill then baked on 350 for 45 minutes. YUM!)

Wednesday
Mullagatawny (Curry Potato Soup) with Chicken and Peas

Thursday
Date Night so eating out!

Friday
Spanish Rice adding Beef and Peas

Saturday
Fried Chicken and Au Gratin Potatoes

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Eating Through the Pantry and Freezer

2011-08-23T13:53:00.005-05:00

My Pantry Right Now

We have had some challenging times in our family over the past month, with my husband struggling with depression again. Other than when we've been on vacation, last week was the first week I didn't put together a menu plan. It felt very strange! I also noticed our grocery bill has been rather high the last couple months and decided it was time to try to save some money. I found a blog post with some great ideas for making some good meals while using up the things in your pantry and freezer. I'm hoping to do this for the next few weeks, that's how much stuff we've got! See this post: Eating Through the Pantry

My plan is to buy only our essentials (milk, juice, eggs, cheese, bread, cereal and produce) with a goal of saving $100 each week. It'll be great if I can get a full three weeks out of it and save $300. My husband is in a union job and for those following the news in Wisconsin, the governor has ended collective bargaining (except for wages) which means a large hit to our family paycheck every month. This will be a great way to cut on our expenses and add to our savings account.

Has anyone else done this before and have insight to share?

Thanks for visiting!

Rib Marinade in the Slow Cooker

2011-08-23T08:30:00.003-05:00

I have been playing around with a few different BBQ recipes to get the right flavor and texture for when I make ribs. Here is my "home made" recipe based on what has worked. I use either boneless pork or beef ribs and make them in the slow cooker. You can always add more water or beef broth as needed to cover up your meat.

Place meat in slow cooker and pour the following on top:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1 cup beef stock
1 T minced garlic
2T honey
2 T sugar
2 T Worcestershire
2 T olive oil
2 T favorite BBQ sauce

Once the ribs are done (about 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high), remove them. Spoon some of the sauce into a pan. Add a tablespoon or two of corn starch and heat on medium for 5 to 7 minutes. Use this for a wonderful gravy!

ENJOY!!

Menu Plan Monday 8/1/11

2011-08-01T18:11:00.004-05:00

I have been enjoying a full summer with not much time to post new recipes here :o(
I cannot believe it is already August 1st!!! I do hope to do more individual recipe posts in the fall!

I love participating in Menu Plan Monday and putting together a menu every week. It has been a great way to try a variety of new recipes and to see what others are making. I receive so much payback from being organized in my grocery shopping and knowing what I'll be cooking during the week. It also makes it easy to shift the meals to a different night if something comes up.

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Lasagna Mac (with frozen corn added to original recipe)

Tuesday
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Five-Bean Salad (this is pretty much a do-over from last week)

Wednesday
Shepherd's Pie (from Nicko's Kitchen)

Thursday
Picnic (burgers and hot dogs)

Friday
Tuna Alfredo with Broccoli

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday 7/25/11

2011-07-24T17:57:00.006-05:00

I have been enjoying a full summer with not much time to post here on my recipe blog :o(
I hope to do more individual recipe posts in the fall!

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Zippy Beef and Ziti Skillet and Corn Spoon Bread (bread recipe to come)

Tuesday
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs over Rice with Five-Bean Salad

Wednesday
Out to Dinner for our 9-Yr Anniversary!

Thursday
Tasty Beef and Bean Burritos

Friday
Korean-Style Chicken Noodle Bowls and Steamed Broccoli

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday 7/18/11

2011-07-19T17:28:00.004-05:00

I enjoy putting together a menu every week and using the ingredient list to do my grocery shopping. In fact, I've been doing this so long that I think I'd be lost at the grocery store without it! I love how I don't have to think about what I'm making and I can shift the meals around too if another night of the week works better. I also like to link up and get some new ideas too.

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Leftovers

Tuesday
Toasted Chicken Sandwiches with Tomato and Spinach

Wednesday
Chop Suey

Thursday
Savory Sausage Rice with Green Beans

Friday
Reuben Wraps

Saturday
Pizza

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday 6/20/11

2011-06-20T11:49:00.004-05:00

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Barbecue Ribs with Baked Potato and Peas (carried over since I didn't make it last week!)

Tuesday
Deluxe Mac and Cheese with Broccoli (new recipe to post)

Wednesday
Crock Pot Ratatouille with French Bread (carried over since I didn't make it last week!)

Thursday
Chicken Reuben Casserole with Au-Gratin Potatoes and Corn (new recipe to post)

Friday
Beef and Macaroni Layered Casserole with Cottage Cheese and House Salad (new recipe to post)

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday 6/13/11

2011-06-13T10:22:00.005-05:00

I must be getting a bit tired of my recipes since this week 4 out of 5 of my cooking nights I'm trying new ones! A couple are just a variation on what are my usuals (like changing up my spaghetti dish and trying a new rib recipe). Hope you enjoy a great week of eating!

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Fried Egg Sandwiches with Fruit Salad

Tuesday
Cheesy Penne with Broccoli (with the addition of chicken)

Wednesday
Crock Pot Ratatouille with French Bread

Thursday
Spasagna (Spaghetti Lasagna) with Corn

Friday
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Barbecue Ribs with Baked Potato and Green Beans

Saturday
Out to Dinner for Date Night

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-06-07T09:06:00.003-05:00

Lately, I haven't had a chance to post many new recipes, but I do like keeping up with my weekly menu plan. I've been doing this so long that I feel lost with the idea of just going without one. Each week I do my grocery list based on my menu and I've realized without it, I wouldn't know how to shop! Maybe that's a good thing since it's keeping me organized.

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Leftover Carnitas for Carnitas Sandwiches, Chips and Pickle

Tuesday
Asian Lettuce Wraps (like PF Chang's)

Wednesday
Sweet Potato Tray-Baked Chicken with Broccoli

Thursday
My Spaghetti with Garlic Bread and Corn

Friday
Chop Suey

Saturday
Creative Leftovers

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Gooseberry Patch Recipe Round-Up

2011-06-02T14:04:00.006-05:00

I love this cooking blog, Gooseberry Patch. Today she is hosting a recipe round up. Here is the request:

Quick! You have less than an hour to get dinner on the table...
company's coming and your magic wand is nowhere to be found!

What will YOU whip up?

I selected my Mom's Pork Chops recipe to link up.

Click here to see some good Meals in Minutes or add your own!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-05-29T19:54:00.005-05:00

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Spending holiday at Devil's Lake, WI and enjoying a cook out.

Tuesday
Lasagna Mac using Kraft's Sharp Cheddar Mac & Cheese
*This has slowly become one of my favorites. It's perfect comfort food and so easy to make with a couple add-in ingredients.

Wednesday
Chicken Marsala with Red Potatoes with Dill and Green Beans
*I'm using Chicken Marsala sauce I purchased from a Wildtree Tasting.

Thursday
Tuna Salad Sandwiches with Sun Chips and Pickle Wedges

Friday
Slow Cooker Thai Red Curry Chicken

Saturday
Heating up Leftovers

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-05-23T16:05:00.004-05:00

I love making a weekly menu and got in the habit of creating one over a year ago. It helps to keep me organized and I only have to go grocery shopping once a week. I found a wonderful link up where others are posting their weekly menus too. I want to use this to have a record of what I make week-to-week so I can rotate my meals better, but also love the idea of menu sharing with others.

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
BBQ over at friend's house

Tuesday
Beef and Bean Burritos with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans with Cheese

Wednesday
Papa's Goulash with mini French Bread loaves

Thursday
Spaghetti with Corn and Garlic Toast

Friday
Pulled Pork Sandwiches (Slow Cooker Carnitas) with Baked Doritos and Pickle Wedges

Saturday
Beef Fried Rice with Side Salad

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-05-15T18:04:00.005-05:00

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Easy Mulligatawny with Peas

Tuesday
Philly Cheese Sloppy Joes with Side Salad

Wednesday
Slow Cooker Chicken with Red Potatoes and Mixed Veggies
(still haven't made this one yet!)

Thursday
Roast Beef and Swiss Panini (with Thousand Island dressing) and Fruit Salad

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Fried Chicken with Au-Gratin Potatoes and Green Beans

Sunday
Always my night off!

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-05-08T20:53:00.006-05:00

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday
Ham and Roast Beef on Kaiser Rolls with Fruit Salad

Tuesday
Spaghetti with Corn and Crescent Rolls

Wednesday
Tangy Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs with Baked Potato and Green Beans

Thursday
Skillet Tuna Casserole from Lynn's Kitchen with Peas and Fruit Salad

Friday
Crock Pot Chicken with Broccoli (never made this recipe last week!)

Saturday
Leftovers

Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-05-02T09:05:00.004-05:00

Click here to see what others are making this week!

Monday: Beef and Bean Burritos with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans (with Melted Cheddar)

Tuesday: Spaghetti Casserole with Corn and Garlic Bread
(I got this recipe while on my Easter vacation and will have fun trying this one out.)

Wednesday: Crock Pot Chicken with Green Beans and Dinner Rolls
(Another new one to try out.)

Thursday: Hoagies with Fruit Salad

Friday: Hamburger Mac-N-Cheese with Broccoli

Saturday: Leftovers or out to Culvers

Thanks for visiting!

I Was Tagged! (Easter Recipe Round-Up)

2011-04-21T20:59:00.003-05:00

So .... I was tagged by Brandie over at The Country Cook for this Easter Recipe Round Up. It's a fun game of Easter tag where I have to create a virtual Easter meal using only the recipes I have posted on my blog. Hmmm....this ended up being harder than I thought! I have many main dish recipes, but none for vegetables or bread/rolls. So I'm improvising and this is what I came up with. Something simple. Not a very "Easter-ish" meal and I have to be honest that I don't think I would eat this combination myself! But it was fun to play along ;)

Shepherd's Pie

Cherry Dump Cake

Chocolate Elvis Smoothie

Slow Cooker Recipe Round Up

2011-04-20T16:55:00.004-05:00

I'm joining a recipe link up today over at the Goose Berry Patch. Lots of wonderful slow cooker recipes of all kinds from pot roast to carnitas to chocolate pudding cake .... Hop on over to see what's cooking!

Shepherd's Pie (ala Nicko's Kitchen)

2011-04-15T12:58:00.000-05:00

I found a new recipe site that I really like called Nicko's Kitchen. It's actually a video recipe site on You Tube. I find I like seeing the videos, but he isn't good about telling you how much time to spend on each part. You have to play that by ear.

I think I've finally found my "keeper" shepherd's pie recipe. I have checked out cook books from the library, tried friends recipes and the internet, but just never found one that had the taste I wanted. Until this one. I used all my own measurements and he doesn't give time instructions so I just played it by ear.

Ingredients:
Yellow potatoes
1/2 cup cream
1/2 stick butter
Salt/pepper
Olive Oil
2 T minced garlic
Carrots
1 lb ground beef
1 bag frozen peas
1 package gravy mix
1 cup water

Instructions:

Cover bottom of frying pan with some olive oil.
Add garlic and carrots and cook until softened.
Add ground beef and mix together. Continue cooking until ground beef is browned.
Sprinkle gravy mix over beef mixture and add 1 cup water.
Cook on high for 10 minutes or so until most of liquid is absorbed.
Cut up and boil the potatoes.
Add cream, butter and salt/pepper to taste.
Mash until creamy.
Place meat mixture into glass baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes on top using a fork.
Cook in 500 degree oven for minutes.

ENJOY!

Easy Salmon Cakes

2011-04-13T16:35:00.005-05:00

I think I got distracted by all this beautiful weather we've been having .... it's mid-April and my first post of the month! I did make the salmon cakes I mentioned in my Menu Plan Monday. They were actually pretty good! They're not the ones my mom used to make when I was little (she called them salmon patties), but I'd make these again. The sauce really made them, I think. I got the recipe from a new site I found called Eating Well. As always, I did my own editing.

Ingredients:
Salmon Patty
Olive Oil
A stalk or two of celery
2 T chopped parsley
15 ounces canned salmon
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1-3/4 cups bread crumbs
1/2 t pepper

Creamy dill sauce
1/4 cup mayonaisse
1 T lemon juice
1 T dill

Instructions:

Cover bottom of frying pan with oil. Add celery. Cook until softened.
Stir in parsley and remove from heat.
In small bowl, place salmon and break apart with a fork. (Remove bones and skin if necessary.) Add egg, mix well. Add the celery mixture and mix until all combined.
Make into 8 thin patties.
Cook salmon cakes in pan about 3 minutes a side.
Transfer cakes onto a baking pan. Cook in oven for about 15 or 20 minutes, until golden.
For dill sauce: Combine in a bowl and mix well. Serve on top of or next to salmon cake.

ENJOY!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-03-28T07:39:00.002-05:00

I have been putting together menus for months now but just never posted them. I'd like to record what I am making so I can rotate my meals better and also share ideas with others. Visit the link below for more menu ideas:

Monday: Spaghetti, Corn and Garlic Bread

Tuesday: Curry Chicken over Basmati Rice with Peas

Wednesday: Beef Stroganoff with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans (recipe to come)

Thursday: Dinner Party with Wildtree Food

Friday: Salmon Cakes (recipe to come) with Jasmati Rice and Broccoli

Sat/Sun: Leftovers

Hot Bacon Dressing

2011-03-27T18:43:00.003-05:00

I haven't had bacon in ages, and lately got a taste for it. I had bought a bunch of fresh spinach and needed to find a way to prepare it so I decided to make a nice salad and add bacon with hot bacon dressing. YUM! This recipe is real easy.

I'm just going to write you the info below in a loose format.

First you cook your bacon and save the grease.
With the bacon grease still hot, add some sugar, salt and white vinegar to taste.
Crumble the bacon over the spinach.
Pour on the dressing and ENJOY!

Hoppin' John

2011-03-26T22:57:00.000-05:00

There was a time after J was born that I was not doing well at all. We were living at our pastor's house and they were helping me recuperate. Tina and Andy love down home Southern cooking and are from there so we enjoyed a lot of great meals she made. One of the meals we liked was called Hoppin' John. I had never heard of it before, but even though it had an odd name it was really good. It's just a basic dish with black-eyed peas and rice with a few other ingredients thrown in. One morning this past week, I woke up having dreams about Hoppin John so I got my friend's recipe. This is something you can keep the ingredients in your pantry and have when you want something quick but nutritious, and tasty.

Ingredients:
2 cups rice
2 cans Black Eyed Peas (look for "seasoned with bacon" on the can)
1 green pepper
1 T minced garlic
Few splashes olive oil or grease from bacon
1/4 cup vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Several stalks of celery
Shredded cheddar or your preferred cheese
Few slices of Bacon (optional)

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat (you can use your bacon grease instead of the olive oil if you are using bacon in your recipe).
Add green pepper, celery and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes.
Drain and stir in black-eyed peas, broth, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and cook for 10 more minutes.
Season with anything you prefer like garlic salt and a splash of hot sauce
Cook rice. Spoon pea mixture over rice and sprinkle with cheese.

ENJOY!

My friend enjoys serving this with some corn bread on the side.

Picture credit to Vegan Planet.

Just My Mac-n-Cheese

2011-03-03T17:01:00.005-06:00

So Brandie responded to my "fancy mac-n-cheese" recipe wanting to know the recipe for my "basic" mac-n-cheese that I usually make all the time for my family. It's funny because I don't really have any measurements (until today). So I mentioned earlier that my husband just loves mac-n-cheese. I used to just make it using Velveeta and shredded cheddar but then my sister told me she always used flour and water in addition to her cheese. So I've played around with this dish many times and here's the best I can do at estimating how I make it. This is still my favorite way to make it, by the way.

Ingredients:
1 box macaroni
1/4 to 1/2 jar cheese whiz (it's up to you)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
A few tablespoons of flour or more
1/2 cup water (to start)

Instructions:

Prepare macaroni according to package directions.
In medium skillet, add cheese whiz and shredded cheddar. Over medium heat, stir until cheese is melted. Be very careful not to let it burn! (I learned from experience when I had it too high and got distracted doing something else, and it burned.)
Add a few tablespoons of flour and 1/4 cup water. Stir until well-blended. (Note: Sometimes I have to stir it a while slowly until this all really blends together and the water "becomes" part of the cheese and isn't separated.) Add another tablespoon of flour and 1/4 cup water. You can repeat this procedure a third time until you get the consistency you want. If it seems too thick, you can also just add 1 or 2 T of water.
Add the melted cheese mixture to the macaroni and stir until mixed well.
You can eat as is or pop into the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees for a crispier dish. Sometimes I add a pound of hamburger too if I am using this as my main dish.

ENJOY!

(Picture credit goes to free Microsoft Clip Art)

Fancy Mac-N-Cheese

2011-03-02T17:33:00.007-06:00

My husband absolutely loves mac-n-cheese, and my son and I like it too. This time, I wanted to do something a little different and I found this one at The Pioneer Woman. I made a bunch of modifications including a lot less bacon and I used Sargento's 6-cheese mix instead of the specialty cheeses she used (Gruyere, Fontina, Chevre). I'm not sure this turned out "better" than our traditional mac-n-cheese where I use flour, shredded cheddar and cheese whiz, but it was a nice change of pace.

Ingredients:
4 cups macaroni
4 T butter
4 slices bacon
leftover bacon grease
1/4 cups flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup half and half
2 egg yolks, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups Sargento 6 cheese Italian blend

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook macaroni for half of the time specified on the box directions. Drain and set aside.
Fry bacon until slightly crispy. Place on paper towel. Once cooled, cut up into small pieces with kitchen scissors. Save grease.
Melt 4 T butter in a pot. Add bacon grease and flour. Whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Pour in milk, half-and-half and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until starts to thicken. Reduce heat to low.
Separate egg yolks and beat with fork. Drizzle 1/4 cup of hot milk mixture into yolks stirring constantly. Pour egg mixture into sauce and cook for another minute.
Add cheese and stir until melted. Add bacon and stir.
Taste for seasoning - add salt and pepper to taste.
Add cooked macaroni and stir until coated.
Pour into baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until sizzling and hot.

ENJOY!

Spinach & Mushroom Egg Strata

2011-02-20T10:41:00.005-06:00

I found a recipe for an egg-type casserole in our newspaper called a strata. I had the opportunity to make this for our mom's group one morning last week. If you plan to make this, make sure to start it the night before since the egg mixture needs to soak into the bread. I was a bit worried since I was bringing this to a function having never made it and tried it myself. I was glad when one of the moms made a point to find out who made it saying she really liked it.

Ingredients:
6 cups day old bread (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
6 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
4 cups half and half
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 T minced garlic
1 box sliced mushrooms
1 or 2 boxes frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Place bread in a 9 x 13 baking pan. Whisk together yolks, eggs and flour in a bowl. Whisk in half and half, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour mixture over the bread and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Heat oven to 350. Heat 2 T oil in large skillet on high. Add garlic and spinach. Cook for 5 or more minutes and set aside.
Add remaining 2 T of oil; heat on high. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned (4-5 minutes).
Mix spinach, mushrooms and 3/4 cup Parmesan into the strata. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until browned and set. Let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature and cut into squares. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Tray-Baked Chicken

2011-02-16T13:48:00.009-06:00

I saw a picture of this in the Parade Magazine and it really caught my eye. I love meals that include lots of cooked vegetables and the star of this one is the sweet potato. I know how good sweet potatoes are for you, but so far this is the first recipe I have that uses them. This turned out to be a huge hit. J really liked it and it made plenty for leftovers too. This starts out with a brine that the chicken breasts will soak in (2-8 hours), so you have to do a little pre-planning for the time factor involved there. The only ingredient I omitted was the bacon. Partly I forgot, but then realized we didn't need it. Oh, I guess I nixed the onion too since it doesn't agree with my husband.

Brine Ingredients:
1 quart water
2 T salt (calls for kosher but I used sea salt)
1/3 cup honey
3 T minced garlic
1 T sage
1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon

"Bake" Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
3 sweet potatoes (scrubbed and thinly sliced)
4 medium potatoes (scrubbed and thinly sliced)
4 T minced garlic
2 T sage (shredded leaves if possible; I had to use ground sage)
Olive Oil (I used our oil sprayer and liberally sprayed it over the vegetables before baking)
Sea salt and pepper
1-2/3 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup half and half
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
A few pats of butter

Instructions:

Mix the brine in a large bowl. Add the chicken and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours. (I did mine for about 6 hours.)
Remove chicken and allow it to come to room temperature. Drain chicken and discard brine. Pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
Toss potatoes, garlic and sage with olive oil and a pinch of salt/pepper. Place in large roasting pan and pour in broth. Cook for 30 minutes. **Note to self: Don't forget to add the broth at this point next time. I forgot and ended up adding it in the next part. It didn't seem to be that big of a deal though.**
Remove pan from oven. Pour in cream and sprinkle with pepper and Parmesan. Add the chicken breasts placing pats of butter on each piece. Cook for 35 minutes or until chicken is golden brown.

ENJOY!

For more recipe ideas click below:

Papa's Hungarian Goulash

2011-02-15T12:15:00.000-06:00

Just last month, I had a wonderful week's vacation with J down at my sister's place in the Chicago suburbs. My sister's father-in-law, who we call "Papa" came over to visit and taught me how to make a couple of his favorite meals. Papa has an incredible story of living in Germany during the war and then coming to the US in its aftermath. He and his now late wife, Vera, were authentic cooks using everything fresh and not processed for their meals. This is a wonderful meal and I'm so blessed to now have this recipe.

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs Round Steak
2 pork chops
2 to 3 T olive oil
2 T Paprika
3 T ketchup
Salt/pepper to season
2 T Onion soup mix
1 can diced tomatoes
1 container fresh sliced mushrooms (or canned)
Beef stock
Few stalks of celery
2 parsnips
6 to 8 baby carrots
Red pepper
1 box Bow Tie Pasta
Corn starch (1 T plus little water)

Instructions:

Trim round steak and pork chops removing fat and cutting meat into small pieces.
Heat olive oil in large pan and add the meat.
Add ketchup, onion soup mix, paprika and cook until meat is browned and not much oil is left.
Put meat into dutch oven (basically any pan with a lid that you can put in the oven).
Add beef stock, diced tomatoes and mushrooms. Cook for an hour or two (until meat is very tender).
Chop veggies into small pieces and add to dutch oven.
Cook for 1/2 hour or until veggies (especially carrots) are tender.
Mix corn starch and water in small bowl. Add to dutch oven and let sit for several minutes.
Add more corn starch and water until the sauce thickens to your liking.
Prepare box of bow tie pasta.
Serve goulash over pasta and ENJOY!

Simple Mexican Rice

2011-02-15T11:39:00.000-06:00

I was in a pinch the other day. I was making a meal for a mom in our church Titus group who just had her second child. I decided to make my burrito recipe and thought I had some Mexican rice to go with it. Turns out I didn't have the rice so I surfed the internet a little bit until I came up with a few recipes I liked. I merged a few recipes and came up with this.

Ingredients:
1 cup white rice
1 can tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 can tomato sauce
2 T vegetable oil
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Instructions:

Heat oil in large saucepan and add rice. Cook for 5 minutes or so until rice is a bit golden.
Stir in tomato sauce,onion, garlic salt and cumin. (I really improvised here because I didn't have tomato sauce. I only had tomato paste. So I took 3/4 of a can of tomato paste mixing it into the chicken stock before I added it to the rice.)
Once it boils, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Slow Cooker Meal

2011-01-31T14:38:00.004-06:00

We had a local Aldi store open up recently. For those of you who don't have one, they call Aldi the "stock up store". They have really good prices, especially for meats and fish. The corned beef briskets were on sale so I bought one. (Mind you, this was after I went to check out and didn't have enough money so I had to put the $8.50 brisket back. The store only takes cash and so I scraped together all our change to go back and buy it since I really had a taste for corned beef and cabbage...and I already had the rest of the ingredients too.) I don't know if it was the "Aldi" brand corned beef or that it needed to cook longer, but the meat wasn't half as tender as the corned beef I've had in the past. I really enjoyed this meal with all the vegetables though; the cabbage, carrots and potatoes turned out great. We did give it a thumbs up but next time will cook the meat an hour or two longer. I may ditch the seasoning packet too. I wasn't completely sold on the flavors. For sure, I think we'll do this again for St. Patty's Day.

Ingredients:
1 corned beef brisket of 3-5 pounds
5 medium-sized yellow potatoes
15-20 baby carrots
1 head of cabbage
3 cloves minced or crushed garlic
1 bottle of Guinness beer
Seasoning packet (if included)

Instructions:

Place beef brisket in slow cooker.
Add seasoning packet (if one included)
Add cut up yellow potatoes.
Add baby carrots.
Slice the cabbage into large quarters and add to slow cooker.
Add bottle of beer and garlic.
Simmer on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
When serving, make sure to use some of the juice from the slow cooker as a light "gravy".

Enjoy!

Dad's Chili

2011-01-23T12:41:00.006-06:00

I haven't made this recipe in a LONG time, and it's really a good one. My dad put this recipe together over a few years of tweeking it. I have a funny story. So I was making this chili for the Packers playoff game. It calls for chili powder and I ran out of my homemade concoction. See quick chili powder. While at an Indian grocery store earlier in the week, I picked up what I thought was regular chili powder. (The red coloring should have tipped me off, but it didn't.) As I put the powder in, my eyes watered a little and I thought to myself, "Hmmmm, maybe the Indian chili powder has a little kick." Is that an understatement! It turns out instead of regular chili powder, I bought red chili powder. And not only that, but EXTRA HOT red chili powder. Come to find out, that's ground up hot chilis! YIKES! Needless to say, this just about burned your mouth off. Since people were on their way over, I used every googled tip I could find...(using slices of raw potatoes to soak up the heat; cutting the heat with a couple tablespoons of honey, using a little baking soda) but nothing really worked. I did add a 28 ounce jar of tomatoes, 2 more cans of beans and a 15 oz jar of tomato sauce. This helped tone it down a bit, but we still needed huge dollops of sour cream to actually eat it. Interestingly, one of our friends asked for some HOT SAUCE to add to his!! He loved it! (They got most of the leftovers.)

So....be careful when going to an ethnic grocery store and read the fine print on ALL labels! This chili recipe is really good when you make it right!

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can light kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can dark kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can spicy chili beans
1 quart crushed tomatoes
2 large red peppers, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 T minced garlic
6 T white vinegar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
4 T light chili powder
6 squirts Worcester
2 T brown sugar
4 squirts Tabasco or other hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Brown the meat
Using the juice of the meat, let the onions and peppers simmer until tender and soft
Place meat in crock pot and add peppers and onions (after draining meat juice)
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together in slow cooker
Cook for 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high

Enjoy!

Quick Chicken with Saffron Rice Meal

2011-01-21T17:43:00.005-06:00

I do a weekly menu every week which makes meal time so much easier. Sometimes though I veer off my menu (like today) and try to find something quick and simple to cook. Very low-maintenance. I was supposed to make Pork Goulash in the slow cooker, but totally forgot to get it going 4 hours ago .... hence the need for something quick and easy since it's 5pm. I found (saffron) Yellow Rice at our grocery store as I'd had a hankering to try saffron rice after having it with a dish at a restaurant downtown. This particular brand has dehydrated vegetables too, which I like. It is called Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice.

Ingredients:
1 pkg yellow saffron rice
1 lb boneless chicken breasts
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1 pkg peas
1 T turmeric (optional)

Easy Instructions:
For tonight's dish, I just prepared the yellow rice according to the package directions. While that was cooking, I took about a pound of frozen chicken breasts and threw them in a pot of water to boil for about 1/2 hour. To the water, I added the olive oil and minced garlic to flavor the chicken. Once the rice and chicken were done, I cut the chicken up and added it to the rice. Then I cooked the peas and added them too. Since I just bought turmeric from the Indian grocery store, I added about 1 T of that too. Because it was a little dry, I poured in a few splashes of milk and dinner was served!

Tasty Beef and Bean Burritos

2011-01-19T19:10:00.004-06:00

There are a couple nights of the week where we need a quick and easy meal for nights we're going to the Y. This one I found on The Pioneer Woman. I am really finding a lot of neat recipes there. She had a lot of great ideas for add-ons to the recipes which I took advantage of. The filling for the burritos was just delicious. I have never really liked the taco seasoning that comes with taco packets. The El Pato sauce really makes this dish.

Ingredients:
1 to 2 lbs ground beef
1 can (7 oz) El Pato Mexican Tomato Sauce
Cumin, oregano, garlic to taste (chili powder can be added too)
1 can (28 oz) Refried Beans (we used Old El Paso)
3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 or more flour tortillas

Extras inside:
Lettuce
Small slices of tomato

Extras On Top:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Guacamole
Sour Cream

Instructions:

Brown ground beef and season to taste.
Pour in sauce (saving a little for drizzling) and let simmer over low heat.
In saucepan, heat refried beans and add shredded cheddar. Stir until melted and mixed in with the beans. Keep warm over low heat.
Spread a few spoonfuls of refried beans onto tortilla. Add meat mixture.
Add lettuce and tomato and wrap into a burrito.
Sprinkle cheese on top and microwave until melted.
If desired, spread guacamole and sour cream on top.
Drizzle extra sauce on top. (I forgot to set some aside for this.)

Enjoy! This was delicious with a side of Mexican rice.

Burrito Filling

Side - Mexican Rice

Finished Burritos and Rice

Curry Potato Soup (Mulligatawny)

2011-01-18T17:29:00.004-06:00

My husband and I love anything curry or Indian-related. We eat this dish whenever we eat out at one of the restaurants we like, Sai Bai Tong. This recipe was adapted from The Pioneer Woman. She used apples in her soup where I chose to use yellow potatoes. I changed a couple other things too. I did use her suggestion of cayenne pepper and it adds a nice little bit of spice.

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast
4 T butter
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, minced fine
1/4 cup flour
1 T curry powder
32 ounces chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
6 medium yellow potatoes
1 T sugar
1 T garlic salt
2 tsp salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper (optional, for spice)

Instructions:

Heat 2T butter over medium-high heat in skillet. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden. Set chicken aside.
In soup pot, add rest of butter and reduce heat to medium. Add diced onion and garlic and cook while stirring. Onions should start turning brown.
Sprinkle in flour stirring to combine. Stir in curry powder. Cook mixture (will get thick) for one minute, stirring constantly.
Pour in chicken broth. Stir to mix and cook for 5 minutes.
Add whipping cream and milk, salt, garlic salt, pepper, sugar and cayenne pepper. Cook another 5 minutes.
Add chicken and diced potatoes and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Before serving, allow to stand 5 or 10 minutes.

This goes very well with some type of bread for dipping. Enjoy!

A New Look

2011-01-15T17:15:00.002-06:00

I've taken a little blogging break, but it is soon coming to a close. I decided to find a new template and change the look a bit.

I have a couple new recipes I can't wait to make and post. One will be for Hungarian Goulash and the other for Swedish Meatballs. While on my break, I was treated to some homemade cooking by Papa Herbie my "papa-in-law" (my sister's father-in-law). These dishes were absolutely wonderful and I hope to reproduce them. I transcribed the recipes as he narrated what he was doing while cooking.

Be back soon....

Frito Pie Casserole

2011-01-06T16:00:00.005-06:00

I got the idea for this dish from a visit at Taste of the Blogosphere. When I saw her picture, this looked like something we'd like to eat. I decided to do a search on the internet and came up with a simpler version.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups Fritos corn chips
2 cups Mexican shredded cheese
1 lb hamburger meat
1 can of Texas style chili beans
2 T chili powder
1 T minced garlic

Instructions:

Brown ground beef adding minced garlic.
Once meat is no longer pink, add Texas style chili beans and chili powder.
Let simmer for several minutes to blend flavors.
Put layer of Fritos on bottom of glass pan.
Put half of cheese on top of the Fritos.
Place meat/bean mixture on top of the Fritos and spread evenly.
Add another layer of Fritos and the rest of the cheese.
Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

We dished ours up putting sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and sour cream on top.
Hope you enjoy!

Tangy Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs

2011-01-04T16:11:00.004-06:00

My husband has been asking for ribs lately and I bought some beef spare ribs at the store a couple weeks ago. I finally sat down today and went through two "Fix it and Forget It" slow cooker cookbooks I got from the library. I put this recipe together borrowing from a few of theirs what sounded yummy to me.

Ingredients:
2 lbs beef ribs (I used boneless beef short ribs, but pork ribs would work too)
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T sugar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 cup cola
1 T minced garlic
1 tsp dry mustard
dash or two of salt and pepper

Instructions:

Take ribs if frozen and defrost in the microwave.
Mix all the ingredients together (minus ribs) in a mixing bowl.
Place ribs on the bottom of slow cooker and pour sauce mixture on top. If needed, arrange a second layer of ribs after you pour half of mixture onto the bottom ribs.
Pour the rest of the sauce onto the top layer of ribs.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Tracey's Tasty Meat Loaf

2010-12-29T17:31:00.008-06:00

This meat loaf recipe originated with my sister who adopted a recipe from her mother-in-law. Then I searched around the internet a bit for tidbits that I might add that sounded good (like cheddar cheese, shredded carrot and horseradish)... and so here it is.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 or 4 shredded baby carrots
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp horseradish
2 T parsley
1/2 tsp dried sage

Topping:
1/4 cup ketchup
2 T brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard

Instructions:
Mix together list of ingredients into a large bowl. Form into a loaf and place in a loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until meat thermometer reads 160-170 degrees. At 45 minutes, mix topping ingredients together and spread on to the meat loaf. Bake another 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cherry "Dump" Cake

2010-11-30T14:47:00.005-06:00

In the past month, this recipe has come up twice during recipe conversations so I thought it was time to try it out! What's great is that it is so nice and simple! A mom at my mom's group mentioned it and then my sister suggested I try it too. Some make it with pineapple, but I decided to do mine without.

Ingredients:
1 can cherry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Open can of cherry pie filling and "dump" it into a 9 x 13-in pan. Spread it evenly on the bottom.
Open yellow cake mix and pour it onto the cherry pie filling.
Slice the stick of butter and randomly place the butter pats across the top. To be technical, I was able to fit 5 rows of butter with 4 pats across.
Bake for 50 minutes and enjoy!

OK, so I just finished making this and have some ideas. Don't try to put it in a smaller pan (like I did). There is too much cake mix for a smaller pan. I'm not sure if that affected my cake (because I had to transfer it into a bigger pan), but it wasn't as incredible as I expected. I may like this better with the pineapple. I also think it would be delicious if I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream! It was good, it just wasn't as incredible as I'd heard......I'd be interested to know how it turns out for you if you try it!

Sharp Cheddar "Lasagna"

2010-11-30T14:33:00.006-06:00

Well, this one's right off the back of the box of the Kraft Mac & Cheese! But WOW is it YUMMY! Probably because it's so cheesy. Being a Wisconsin cheese head myself, that's right up my alley. Last night, I was just going to make a basic meal of mac-n-cheese with cut up hot dogs, but then I saw this recipe on the back of the box but below I tailored it a bit. I had all the ingredients and it sounded good, so that was our dinner. We only had a little left over, so I made more today for lunch! J just loved it and ate his entire helping.

Ingredients:
1 box (14 oz) deluxe mac and cheese dinner (we used Kraft's sharp cheddar with cheese sauce)
1 lb ground beef
1 jar (14 oz) spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
*minced garlic
*chopped green pepper

* = my additions

Instructions:

Prepare the mac & cheese as directed on package including mixing in the cheese sauce.
At the same time, brown the ground beef. Add garlic and green pepper. Once the meat is no longer pink, drain and add spaghetti sauce. Let simmer for 5 or 10 minutes.
Alternate a layer of the meat sauce and a layer of the mac & cheese. Repeat layers and then top with the shredded cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Enjoy!

Grandma's Rice

2010-11-29T22:14:00.002-06:00

The picture doesn't do this justice. I love casseroles, especially ones with rice and ground beef. This one I found a few months ago and made it tonight to bring to a friend who is a new mom. The recipe can be found at allrecipes.com but after making a few of my own modifications (like omitting olives and bacon), I'm writing out the details here.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup chopped onion (I used dried minced onion)
1/2 cup shopped green pepper
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bag frozen corn
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt (optional) - I omitted
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tsp melted butter

Instructions:

Cook the beef, onion and green pepper in a large skillet over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the cooked rice, tomatoes, corn, chili powder, garlic powder and (optional) salt. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
Add 1 cup of cheese, stir until melted.
Transfer to a greased baking dish (I used 9 x 13-in). Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Toss bread crumbs with the melted butter and sprinkle over the top.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

We like eating this with french bread. Enjoy!

Quick Chili Powder

2010-11-29T15:49:00.005-06:00

I was making a recipe today and found out I didn't have any chili powder. I did a little searching on the internet and found a quick way to make it with my own ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:
Mix everything together and store in an air-tight container.

Upside Down "Pizza"

2010-11-22T23:20:00.005-06:00

So this definitely isn't a gourmet meal, but it worked great when I didn't have much in the house. I didn't make it to the grocery store before dinner, so I needed to find a recipe that would use ground beef, spaghetti sauce and cheese. I had cheese in little star shapes that I got for J, but he didn't really like them so I used them up. It was fortunate that I also had crescent rolls, because that really made the recipe.

My husband really liked it. I was thinking there wasn't much too it; just spaghetti sauce with meat with a thin dough crust, but he said the main thing is it tasted good. It was good and we both had seconds. My son was not at all into eating tonight, so I couldn't find out if he liked it or not.

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com so you can click on the link or follow the instructions below.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 T chopped or minced garlic
1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella or cheddar)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (8 ounce) can crescent rolls

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown beef, onion and garlic in sauce pan over medium high heat. Once browned, drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce.
In a 9 x 13 baking dish, spread a layer of sauce. Top with 1/2 the cheese and 1/2 the Parmesan, add another layer of sauce and then the rest of the cheese.
Top with crescent rolls, pinching the seams together.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sweet, Sticky, Spicy Chicken

2010-11-20T18:25:00.009-06:00

I saw this recipe on a blog I visit called Live, Laugh and Love. I am including a link to the recipe on her website, and also writing it out below. Visit Julia at Live, Laugh and Love.

So I have found really tasty chicken like this at Chinese restaurants, but I never looked for a recipe to make myself. I love this combination of ingredients for the sauce with the brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic especially. This is a keeper! So when I made this, the sauce never actually thickened so I took 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a little water and then mixed that into the sauce. After a few minutes, it thickened up quite nicely. This was really yummy and reminded my husband and I of some of the great chicken dishes we've had at our favorite Chinese restaurants.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon garlic (chopped or crushed)
3 tablespoons hot sauce
1-2 pounds chicken breasts or strips (I used chicken breasts)

*optional: Add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon corn starch with water to the sauce if it doesn't thicken

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
Brown the chicken on both sides.
Pour the sauce over the chicken.
Simmer, uncovered until the sauce thickens (about 10 minutes).

We made ours with rice and broccoli but my husband thought it would be great with pea pods added too. Enjoy!

Tasty Roast Chicken Vegetable Soup

2010-11-14T15:41:00.004-06:00

I recently picked up a whole chicken that we had a few meals from. It was time to figure out what to do with the carcass. I did a google search, and after investigating several I finally found what I was looking for at The Boston Globe.

When you click the link, you'll see the entire recipe. There is a recipe for the broth and there is a recipe for the vegetables that later get mixed in with the broth.

Here were my personal additions:
BROTH:

I added about 2 tablespoons of olive oil for flavor.
I added about 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic, also for flavor.
I added various spices (some parsley, some Spike seasoning and some McCormick Garlic Herb chicken seasoning - maybe 1 teaspoon each.)

VEGETABLES:

Instead of button mushrooms I just used pre-sliced white mushrooms.
I also added about 7 or 8 small (cut up) red potatoes I pre-cooked in the microwave for 6 minutes.
I added about 1 cup of egg noodles.

Hope you enjoy it! Another cold-day comfy meal.

(Slow Cooker) Pork Rib Ragu with Pasta

2010-11-10T17:43:00.006-06:00

**I forgot to take a picture, so this picture wasn't mine! Mine wasn't as fancy and didn't have the Parmesan on top.**

I have been looking for some good slow-cooker recipes now that it's fall and I have a new one I tried. I got this from the Fix it and Forget it slow cooker series. This was awesome! I haven't made something in a while that's just wowed me. It wasn't even that amazing, it's just that the flavors really blended well together and I just love pork ribs. The meat was so tender. My son is a pretty picky eater and he ate more of his dinner this time than he has in a while.

Ingredients:
3 t vegetable oil
2 carrots, diced
2 pieces celery, diced
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 to 2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
1 cup beef broth
2 T tomato paste
1 can (28-ounce) crushed tomatoes
1-1/2 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t pepper and salt
1 box bow tie pasta

Instructions:

In large skillet, heat half of the oil over high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Cook stirring frequently about 5 minutes or until browned. Remove from skillet.
Add the rest of the oil to the skillet and the pork ribs. Cook about 5 minutes until browned turning once.
Transfer pork ribs to 5-quart slow cooker. Top with the vegetables.
In a small bowl, combine beef broth and tomato paste. Stir and pour over the ribs.
Stir in crushed tomatoes and half of the Italian seasoning and pepper.
Cook for 7 hours on low or for 5 to 5-1/2 hours on high. (I cooked mine for 5-1/2 hours on high.)
Skim off any fat and remove pork ribs with a slotted spoon. Set aside. Stir remaining Italian seasoning, remaining pepper and the salt into the cooking liquid. Shred the pork into bite-sized chunks or smaller and add to the cooking liquid.

Serve ribs with sauce over bow tie pasta and enjoy!

Picture credit: msianinlongisland.com

Shortcut Pumpkin Bread

2010-11-10T17:29:00.006-06:00

I got this recipe out of my November "Parents" magazine. I've never made pumpkin bread before, and this sounded like a quick and yummy way to make it. I decided to do store bought frosting, although you could do homemade. Mmmmm....this was so good! It tasted like cake. It was moist with a light pumpkin flavor.

Ingredients:
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup mashed bananas
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom (this was my addition)

Instructions:
*Prepare the yellow cake mix according to package directions but omit the water.
*Stir in the pumpkin and banana.
*Add the cinnamon and cardamom
*Mix and blend until no lumps
*Pour into a 9" greased loaf pan
*Bake at 375 for 50 minutes.
*Allow to cool and add frosting if desired

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-11-05T16:00:00.005-05:00

Over the Halloween weekend, I made some devil's food cupcakes for the kids. I forgot to pick up vanilla frosting which I usually just buy, so I decided to make my own. I used a basic cream cheese frosting recipe that I modified for quantity. This was more than enough for 24 cupcakes and I had some left over too.

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) package of softened cream cheese
1 stick softened butter (1 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until creamy.
Stir in vanilla extract.
Slowly add powdered sugar.
Beat until creamy smooth.

Use as frosting for cakes, cupcakes or your favorite sweet bread (like banana, pumpkin, or zucchini).

Yummy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

2010-11-02T09:24:00.010-05:00

'Tis the season for slow cooking! I have been meaning to get more use out of my slow cooker and finally did it. I hope to be doing a lot more of this during the cold weather months. I decided to start with pot roast, which was one of my favorite comfort meals that my mom would make when I was little. Hers was just delicious! So I visited several different sites on the internet and came up with this recipe. It really turned out well. I cooked it on high, but ended up cooking it for 5 hours so the meat would be extra tender.

(I forgot to take a picture so I used one that looked like it with a link below.)

Ingredients:
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
1 can cola (I used Coke)
2-3 pound roast (I used a bottom round roast)
1 bag mini red potatoes
1 bag mini carrots

Directions:
Place the roast in the slow cooker.
Pour the rest of the ingredients on top.
Cook on high setting for about 4 hours or low setting for 8 to 10 hours. (The longer you cook, the more tender the meat will be.)

Photo credit: Trisha

Mom's Pork Chops

2010-09-21T16:54:00.008-05:00

I love this recipe! It is simple yet very tasty and something my mom used to make when I was a girl. It's basically making a very tasty gravy for your pork chops which works really well over rice. (Here I decided to have mashed potatoes with it.) Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

6 loin pork chops
1 beef bouillon cube
1/4 cup water with 2 T flour
1/2 cup water
2T finely chopped onion
1/2 cup sour cream
2 T ketchup
1 garlic clove
Optional: small dash of cream or milk

Preparation:

*In large skillet, brown pork chops.
*Once browned, add 1/2 cup water, the onion, ketchup, garlic and bouillon.
*Cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes until chops are tender. Remove chops.
*In small bowl, combine flour and 1/4 cup water.
*Slowly add to cooking liquid stirring constantly.
*Cook until thickened.
*Stir in sour cream (and dash of cream or milk) but do not let it come to a boil.
*Serve sauce over chops on bed of rice.

Enjoy!!!

Chicken Spaghetti

2010-08-31T20:44:00.007-05:00

This is a recipe I got out of the Wisconsin State Journal and decided to try it. The picture isn't mine but this is almost exactly what it looked like when done (except for the red pimentos). My family likes spaghetti and I thought this would be a nice new twist. It turns out it was a real hit! My son is in a season of being a very picky eater and I watched him gobble this down. He finished it all and asked for seconds! I can't remember the last time he's done that. He usually has 3 bites and says "all done mommy". So this will be a keeper.

Ingredients:
*Spaghetti noodles (amount would depend on # of people eating)
*2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
*2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
*1 small onion, finely diced
*1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
*Seasoned salt to taste
*Black pepper to taste
*1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (this gives it a nice kick)
*About 3 cups cut up and cooked chicken breast

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook spaghetti according to directions, drain but KEEP 1/2 cup pasta water and set aside. In a large bowl, combine cooked spaghetti, soup and 1-1/2 cups of the shredded cheese. Stir in onion, bell pepper and cayenne pepper (I actually threw my onion and green pepper in with my chicken to cook it a bit before mixing). Mix well. Add chicken and some of the reserved pasta water (as needed) and mix. Spoon into a 9 x 13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes and serve. Hope you enjoy it!

Picture credit: Kids Eat the Darndest Things

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-06-07T15:55:00.005-05:00

Do you ever get in the mood for some good chocolate chip cookies but you really just want a few, not a whole batch? That was me today. I searched around and found a small batch recipe but doubled it for mine. This is fun to make with your little ones. My son loved helping me stir. Here is the doubled recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Adapted from Small Batch Baking.

5 T butter (room temp or microwave soft)
4 T brown sugar
4 T granulated sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 cup plus 4 T flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars, mix in the eggs and vanilla, stir in the dry ingredients, then the chips. Bake at 375 for 8-11 minutes. This made about 15 small to medium-sized cookies.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

2010-05-07T21:17:00.005-05:00

My husband got this recipe from a lady at work who was really thoughtful after I had our baby and wasn't able to cook much. After sitting around for a couple years, I finally made it! It was pretty good too and so easy to make. Here are the details....

Ingredients:
Cut up cooked chicken (1 to 2 pounds)
1 large jar cheese whiz
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 packages frozen broccoli
1 small diced onion
1-2 cups of rice

Cook broccoli as on package directions. Cook rice. Mix all the ingredients together. Put in a casserole dish and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Parmesan fondue

2010-04-30T22:41:00.005-05:00

Last night, I went to a fondue party for my Titus mom's group. They asked me to make a cheese fondue and I found this recipe which looked really good. It ended up tasting even better than it looked. I was told afterwards that my fondue was the favorite among the moms. The consistency was great with bread, not too hard or stringy yet not too mushy or runny. Just the right sponginess is the word I'd use.

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cubed
* 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, cubed

Directions
In a large saucepan, cook and stir the milk and cream cheese over low heat until cheese is melted. Be careful so the cheese does not burn. Stir in Parmesan cheese and garlic salt; cook and stir until heated through. Transfer to a fondue pot or mini slow cooker; keep warm. Serve with bread cubes.

Baked Ziti; 3 cheese with chicken

2010-04-28T21:22:00.003-05:00

This dish is kind of like macaroni and cheese with chicken but with ziti instead of macaroni. I like the white cheeses in it too.

Ingredients:
1 (16oz) package ziti pasta
1 lb boneless chicken breasts
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1 (8 oz) sour cream
1 (15 oz) ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley
1 1/2 cup mozzarella

Cut up chicken breasts and cook in pan. Cook ziti. Drain and mix chicken, ziti, alfredo and sour cream. Spoon HALF of the pasta/chicken mixture into a 9 x 13 dish. Stir ricotta and next three ingredients; spread over ziti. Spoon remaining ziti over ricotta mixture and then sprinkle the top with mozzarella. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown crust. Enjoy!

Chocolate Elvis Smoothie

2010-04-09T23:42:00.005-05:00

Ingredients:
*Milk
*Ice
*Cut up bananas
*Peanut butter
*Chocolate syrup

As far as how much of each ingredient, it's purely up to your taste. You may like yours really "banana-y" or chocolaty, etc. so it's fun to experiment with how much of each. I read that you're always supposed to put the liquid ingredients in first, then the solids. I used the "chop", "blend" and "puree" features on my blender.

YUM! I love this one when I'm craving some chocolate. It's better than a candy bar!

"Mug" Cake great to make with kids

2010-02-11T16:27:00.006-06:00

I got this recipe from a friend. It is a mini cake that's made in a large coffee mug. It turns out to be similar to a sponge cake since the cake itself is really moist and springy. It says chocolate chips are optional. I used them in mine and I had a bite of a piece without the chips and it was a little bland, so the chips are good to add.

Ingredients:

4 T flour
4 T sugar
2 T cocoa
1 egg
3 T milk
3 T oil
3 T chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug microwave safe

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract and mix again. Put mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes. The cake will rise over the top of the mug but don't be alarmed. Allow to cool a little and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT!

Beef Broccoli Mushroom Pie

2010-02-11T16:21:00.004-06:00

This is another Bisquick recipe and it turned out well. It could use a little extra kick of "something" (maybe garlic) but I couldn't figure out exactly what. Anyways, my husband had seconds so that's always a good sign.

Ingredients:

1 pound beef cooked, drained
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 (9 oz) box broccoli cuts, thawed
Sliced mushrooms (we like fresh)
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup Bisquick or baking mix
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Heat oven to 400. Grease 9' pie plate. In bowl, mix beef, onions, broccoli, mushrooms and spoon into pie plate. In bowl, stir bisquick, milk, sour cream, eggs, salt and pepper until well blended. Pour into pie plate and top with Swiss cheese. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until knife in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Ravioli Lasagna

2010-02-11T15:12:00.004-06:00

This recipe was fun since it's a lot like lasagna but much quicker and easier. Yet still tastes like lasagna.

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
3 cups favorite spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup water
1 container ricotta
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 (30 ounce) package frozen cheese or beef ravioli
6 ounces shredded mozzarella
Grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375 and spray sides of 13 x 9 dish. Stir sauce and water in a large bowl. Spread 1 cup sauce mixture in dish. Top with half the ravioli. Next mix 3/4 cup mozzarella with the ricotta and spinach. Then spread on top of the ravioli and top that with 1 more cup of the sauce mixture. Top with the remaining ravioli and cheese mixture and finally the rest of the sauce. Cover dish with foil. Bake for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Uncover dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Dijon Pork Chops

2010-02-07T22:15:00.003-06:00

This was a nice and simple recipe that was very tasty.

Ingredients:

Dijon mustard (I used honey dijon)
5-6 pork chops
bread crumbs
canola oil

Spread dijon mustard on both sides of the chops. Coat in bread crumbs and pan fry in a little canola oil 3 to 5 minutes per side or until 155. This goes well with green beans and red potatoes with dill butter.

Beef Stroganoff Casserole

2010-02-07T22:09:00.004-06:00

This is a Betty Crocker recipe using Bisquick, but you can also use a generic "baking mix" version. It turned out really well when I used fresh mushrooms instead of canned. We liked this one.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 (3/4 oz) package mushroom gravy mix
3/4 cup water
fresh sliced mushrooms, broken into small pieces (as many as you desire)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup bisquick
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 small bell pepper cut into rings

Heat oven to 400. Grease an 11 x 7 x 1-1/2 dish. Cook beef and onion over medium heat. Stir in gravy mix (dry), water and mushrooms. Cook 1 to 2 minutes while stirring until thick. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream. Spoon mixture into baking dish. In small bowl, stir bisquick, milk and egg. Spread gently over beef and top with bell pepper rings. Bake 18-22 minutes until topping is golden brown. Wait 5 minutes before cutting.

African Peanut Soup

2010-01-28T16:21:00.002-06:00

This is a recipe I found on the internet for a "soup swap" being hosted by my Mom's group at our church. It had 13 wonderful reviews and it sounded really good. I tasted the soup and liked it. I'll have to make this another time to have it as a meal (since I gave it away).

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 large red bell peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes with liquid
1 (12 or 14 oz) container of chunky salsa
8 cups chicken broth or stock (can use vegetable also)
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t chili powder (optional)
2/3 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Cook onions and bell peppers until lightly browned and tender, stirring in garlic when almost done to prevent burning. Stir in tomatoes, salsa, chicken stock, pepper and chili powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Stir in rice, cover and simmer for another fifteen minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in peanut better until well blended and serve. (You can serve this with a dollop of sour cream in it.)

Spinach Parmesan Pie

2010-01-27T16:05:00.004-06:00

I've found some Bisquick recipes that have been fun to try and this one sounded good and it was. It could also work with feta, but I just used the cottage cheese and Parmesan.

Ingredients:
1 T butter
4 medium green onions
chopped garlic
10 oz. package of frozen spinach
1/2 cup small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup Bisquick mix
1 cup milk
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t pepper
3 eggs
3 T Parmesan cheese
1/4 t nutmeg

Heat oven to 350. Grease 9" pie plate. Melt butter in skillet on high. Cook onions and garlic in butter 2-3 minutes or until onions are tender. Thaw/drain spinach and stir in. Spread mixture in pie plate then spread the cottage cheese on top. Stir bisquick, milk, lemon juice, pepper and eggs until blended. Pour into pie plate; sprinkle with Parmesan and nutmeg. Bake 35 minutes until knife placed in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

Quinoa/Millet Muffins

2010-01-26T17:35:00.006-06:00

I am part of a MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group in the Madison area. We rotate bringing treats and I made this recipe for the group. I first had these muffins at my baby shower where one of the ladies made this with millet. I discovered millet is very hard to find in a regular grocery store (many of the co-ops and whole foods-type stores carry it) so I went with quinoa instead. These muffins are excellent. They have just enough sweetness to them and a good flavor. You know you're eating muffins that are good for you.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup ground quinoa or millet. (I had to grind mine using a coffee grinder.)
1/3 cup ground flaxseed (I used flaxseed meal)
1 egg
1 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T honey
1/4 cup melted butter
1-1/2 cup white or wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375. If not using baking cups, spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Mix sugar, egg, add quinoa/millet, flax, yogurt, honey and melted butter. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add gradually to the wet ingredients. Stir until moist. Spoon into muffin cups (batter will be very thick & sticky). For large muffins, bake 16-17 minutes. For mini muffins bake for 14 minutes.

Chicken Primavera Pie

2010-01-24T21:04:00.003-06:00

Lately I've been making a lot of Bisquick recipes. They are fairly easy and something different for a change. This is one of my favorites.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups cooked chicken
1 (10 oz) package of frozen asparagus cuts, thawed & well-drained
1 cup frozen mix, bell peppers & onions, thawed & well-drained
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Bisquick
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Heat oven to 400. Grease 9-inch pie plate. Layer chicken, asparagus, bell peppers/onions and cheese in pie plate. Stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into pie plate. Bake 30-35 minutes or until knife in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Tracey's Kitchen

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

Menu Plan Monday - 3/5/12

Yummy Coconut Blueberry Banana Oatmeal

We're Back!! New Menu Plan Monday

My Menu Plan 11/14/11

My Menu Plan 10/31/11

Stuffed Green Peppers

Chicken and Sweet Potato Chowder

Menu Plan Monday 10/24/11

My Menu Plan 10/17/11

My Menu Plan 10/10/11

Chicken Cacciatore

My Menu Plan 10/3/11

My Menu Plan 9/19/11

A Tracey's Kitchen Original - Beef Squash Casserole

Your Favorite Comfort Foods

Chicken Tetrazzini

Menu Plan Monday 8/29/11

Menu Plan Monday 8/22/11

Eating Through the Pantry and Freezer

Rib Marinade in the Slow Cooker

Menu Plan Monday 8/1/11

Menu Plan Monday 7/25/11

Menu Plan Monday 7/18/11

Menu Plan Monday 6/20/11

Menu Plan Monday 6/13/11

Menu Plan Monday

Gooseberry Patch Recipe Round-Up

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday

I Was Tagged! (Easter Recipe Round-Up)

Slow Cooker Recipe Round Up

Shepherd's Pie (ala Nicko's Kitchen)

Easy Salmon Cakes

Menu Plan Monday

Hot Bacon Dressing

Hoppin' John

Just My Mac-n-Cheese

Fancy Mac-N-Cheese

Spinach & Mushroom Egg Strata

Sweet Potato Tray-Baked Chicken

Papa's Hungarian Goulash

Simple Mexican Rice

Corned Beef and Cabbage Slow Cooker Meal

Dad's Chili

Quick Chicken with Saffron Rice Meal

Tasty Beef and Bean Burritos

Curry Potato Soup (Mulligatawny)

A New Look

Frito Pie Casserole

Tangy Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs

Tracey's Tasty Meat Loaf

Cherry "Dump" Cake

Sharp Cheddar "Lasagna"

Grandma's Rice

Quick Chili Powder

Upside Down "Pizza"

Sweet, Sticky, Spicy Chicken

Tasty Roast Chicken Vegetable Soup

(Slow Cooker) Pork Rib Ragu with Pasta

Shortcut Pumpkin Bread

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Yummy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Mom's Pork Chops

Chicken Spaghetti

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Parmesan fondue

Baked Ziti; 3 cheese with chicken

Chocolate Elvis Smoothie

"Mug" Cake *great to make with kids*

Beef Broccoli Mushroom Pie

Ravioli Lasagna

Dijon Pork Chops

Beef Stroganoff Casserole

African Peanut Soup

"Mug" Cake great to make with kids