Chicken Cheddar Rice Bake

Chicken Cheddar Rice Bake

1/4 C. Butter
3 C. Cubed, Cooked Chicken
1/4 C. Flour
4 C. Cooked Rice
3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1 C. Shredded Cheese
2 C. Milk

Melt Butter. Blend in flour and bouillon cubes (crumbled). Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken. Spread rice in 8 inch square, greased baking dish. Spoon chicken mixture over rice. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until casserole is hot and bubbly. Serves 6.

American Tacos - Taco Salad

Meat Sauce: brown together
1 lb. hamburger
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can water
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
Let simmer 20-30 minutes

Layering Ingredients:
tortilla chips
meat sauce
grated cheese
chopped lettuce
tomatoes
salsa
sliced olives
sour cream
ranch

This is one of my favorite dishes. In the meat sauce I also like to double the chili powder, vinegar and brown sugar for a stronger flavor with more kick.

Carne Encebollada - Puerto Rican Beef & Onions

2 pounds steak, thinly sliced
1/2 c. olive oil
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
dash dried oregano leaves
2 large onions sliced in rings
1/2 c. distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. salt

Dump all ingredients into Ziploc bag.
Refrigerate 4 hours.
Boil/simmer on low for 40 minutes (we cook it on med/high for a shorter amount of time), until all the liquid is gone and the beef is done to your liking (I like mine well done).

We make several of these at a time and freeze all but one bag for future use. We generally serve this with a potato or noodle and a vegetable. It is my favorite way to have steak.

Super Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe I stole off my friend, Melanie's, blog a year ago. We love it and make them a lot, especially during fall.

1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1 box cake (carrot and spice work well)
1 package chocolate chips

Mix pumpkin and cake mix. Mix in chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes.

A Berry Good Salad

This is a salad creation I came up with trying to imitate Chik-fil-a's "Berry Salad". Its not really close since theirs has chicken, grapes, shredded American cheese, granola and a berry balsamic vinaigrette. It is really tasty, but here is my twist on it and I love it!

1-2 heads green leaf lettuce
1/2 red onion
1/2 cup (give or take) feta cheese
small carton strawberries
1/2 bottle Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette
(all amounts can vary depending on your like/dislike of each)

Toss all ingredients together just prior to serving.

If you try it leave a comment on what you would change or if you like it, etc.

Wonton Chicken Salad

This is one of my all time favorite salads!

1 lb. chicken, cooked and diced (when in a hurry I use canned chicken)
2 heads lettuce (I prefer romaine)
1 bunch green onions, cut
small package slivered almonds
1 package wontons, fried til golden brown (I use approx 6- 6x6 egg roll skins)

Combine all of the above ingredients.

Dressing (put on just before serving):
1 c. oil
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c. white vinegar
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt

This salad is always a hit, whenever I make it.

Spinach Salad

1 bag/bunch spinach
poppy seed dressing
craisins
bacon pieces (I use bacon bits instead)
shredded Parmesan cheese

Just prior to serving, add desired amount of dressing to cover spinach. Add cheese, craisins & bacon. Mix.

Fluffy Cheesecake - Cherry

I am not a huge fan of cheese cake because of how rich it is, which I why I REALLY like this one:

11. oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. whipped topping
graham cracker pie crust
20 oz. can cherry pie filling

Beat softened cream cheese & powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping and then spoon into crust. Top with pie filling and refrigerate.

* I've served this right after making, and it's fine. It's just a little more set if it's refrigerated longer.

Cheesy Potato Soup

I know there are a million potato soup recipes, but we had this one tonight and it was really good!

Cheesy Potato Soup
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 c. water
1/4 c. butter
3 T. flour
1/2 c. milk
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp. salt1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine potatoes, onion, and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. In skillet, melt butter; add flour. Cook and stir until mixture bubbles, about 1 min. Remove from heat and stir in milk. Return to heat; cook and stir until thickened. Stir mixture slowly into potato mixture. Add cheese and seasonings.

I didn't do this part but thought it was a cool idea:
My favorite way to serve the soup is in a warm bread bowl. Here is an easy way I made mine. I took one loaf of frozen bread dough and once it was thawed, but still cold, I divided it into three equal portions, forming each one into a circle. I placed them on a sprayed cookie sheet and covered them with plastic wrap that had been sprayed. Let rise until double in size. Remove wrap and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Slice off the top once the bowls are cool and hollow them out with a spoon. Fill with this delicious soup or any other soup of your choice! If you need more than three bread bowls you can use as many additional frozen bread loaves as needed. Frozen rolls can also be used by combining three rolls to make one large circle. If you want larger bowls you can split the loaf in half rather than in thirds.

Pork Chops

This can be done in the crock pot or in a pan... here is the crock pot version. This is what you need...


Pork Chops (I like the bone in kind, they seem to turn out very tender)
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
garlic salt
dried chopped onions


Dump everything in the crock pot. I usually add about half a can of water as well. I cook mine for about 6 hours on med-high. Serve with rice, salad and biscuits. This is super easy and really tasty!

Here they are creamy and tender packed up for my hubby's lunch.

Baked Chicken

This is simple and makes for some really juicy chicken. Here is what you will need.

Italian bread crumbs

Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

chicken breast 3 or 4

crack your 2 eggs into a bowl and whip them up with a fork. Put 2/3c of the breadcrumbs on a small plate with 1/4c Parmesan cheese, mix it together.

Dip your chicken into the egg wash and then coat it with the crumb mixture.

Here is the chicken all ready to bake. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes (check chicken by cutting into it to make sure it is done).

I served it with salad and mashed garlic potatoes.

Chicken Pockets

This is an oldie but a goodie. I know a lot of people do different things with this... like make gravy for a topping. I just don't think it is needed. I like the crisp buttery taste. Here is my twist on these. Here is what you'll need...sorry for the lighting quality!

1 pkg of puff pastry (works so much better than crescent roll dough)

1 package of chicken tenders

1 small container of onion and chive cream cheese

onion

melted butter and Parmesan cheese (not pictured)

makes 8 pockets

Chop up your chicken and grill it up in a pan. I put a few dashes of garlic salt with it and added some chopped onion. While is it cooking chop it up into smaller pieces with your spatula.

Mix all the cooked chicken together with all the cream cheese.

Lay out your pastry dough (make sure it is thawed) on a greased cookie sheet. I divided each dough piece into fours.
Place a glob of the chicken mixture in the center of each pastry square.

close them up into a shape of your choice... I liked the way the circular wantonish ones turned out better than the rectangular ones. I brushed some melted butter on top of each of these then sprinkled them with some Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the dough is flaky and golden.

I serve these with a yummy fresh green salad and some potatoes. Enjoy!

Guacamole

Here's the thing... I never understand why people put things like sour cream or mayonnaise in their guacamole. Why? Why do you do that? Avocados are already so creamy and have great flavor. Why make it all fatty and yuck? So here is my easy guacamole recipe. This is all you'll need...

2 large avocados

salsa of your choice

garlic salt

ground cumin

Slice your avocados in half like so...

Then slice them up like so (I make cubes inside the skin then scoop it all out with a spoon)...Add a few dashes of cumin (if you've never used this it has great flavor and can be used in many dishes) and garlic salt. Add 2 or 3 large spoonfuls of salsa.
Mash it all up real good. I use a small whisk and mash away. Taste test with a tortilla chip to make sure you have enough of the spices and salsa and adjust to your liking.

Classic Banana Bread

Since I need to make some banana bread, I thought I would post the recipe I use.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 medium, ripe bananas, mashed (~1c)
1/4 c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, beat in banana, sour cream, and vanilla until blended. Add in flour mixture; beat until just blended. Stir in nuts.

Pour into 9"x5" loaf pan, sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350F, 55-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Eat hot with LOTS of butter.

Rolo Cookies

1 box devil's food cake mix
1 box chocolate cake mix
1/4 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 bag rolos

Combine cake mixes, vegetable oil and eggs.
Put 1 rolo inside a golf ball size amount of badder

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

This is so easy and fail-proof (TRUST ME!).
If you want a bit more... add toffee chips to top of cookie prior to cooking.

Green Chile Burritos

The coveted green chile burrito... My mom makes these all the time. Of course hers turn out way better than mine. She is genius. Here is what you'll need...

3 or 4 chicken breasts

2 cans of green chile enchilada sauce (I prefer Hatch brand)

1 small can of diced green chiles (not pictured)

diced green onion (not pictured)

tortillas

Cheese

beans for a side dish

Dump your sauce and chicken in the crock pot and cook for at least 4 hours (on high) or 6-8 hours (on low) you want to be able to shred the chicken.

When the chicken is done pull it out and shred it.

Dip a tortilla in the sauce and place it on a cookie sheet.

Fill it up with some shredded chicken shredded cheese and drizzle with sauce. Roll up your burrito.

Keep repeating this till you have your desired amount of burritos (remember you can use any leftover chicken for quesadillas, salads, or more burritos later). Top them off with some shredded cheese, diced green onion, and more sauce. Put them in the oven at 300 degrees to melt all the cheese... like 5-10 minutes..... just keep checking on them.

I like to serve my burritos with some beans, tortilla chips, and a nice green salad. These are a favorite at our house. For those of you with kids... just make them some cheese quesadillas because these are pretty spicey.

Lasagna

This is dang good lasagna! I know that Darla doesn't like lasagna. I think it is because she has never had any good lasagna (Darla there are only 3 layers of noodles in this). What is my secret? Use sausage not hamburger! Here is what you'll need...

• Lasagna noodles
• 4 cans of tomato sauce
• 1 can of tomato paste (small can)
• garlic salt (you could also use real garlic)
• onion (I used dried kind this time)
• cottage cheese
• Italian sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)
• dried Parmesan cheese
• mozzarella cheese (I used two small shredded bags)
• 1 egg
  

Get your noodles boiling (don't over cook them) and your sausage browned.

Drain the grease from the sausage and add the tomato sauce, paste, onion and garlic salt (to your liking, I like a lot). Stir this up and put a lid on it to simmer for a while.

OK so I hate ricotta cheese... So I do this instead. 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and one egg. Mix this up together really good.

Put a little of your sauce in the bottom of the pan so that the noodles wont stick to it.

Add a layer of noodles (3 across). Top noodles with sauce and cheese mixture. This is how I do mine then I spread it together (see the top noodle).

Top with some cheese. Then repeat all this one more time (you should use almost all sauce, all cheese mixture, and almost all cheese).

This is your top layer. I sprinkle on what left of the mozzarella (which wont be much) and some Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes till bubbly and cooked warm through. You can make this the day before and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.

I love to serve my lasagna with corn and salad.

"Funeral" Potato Ham Casserole

I needed something easy for tonight, and I needed to make sure it was for sure good and kids would eat it! Who doesn't like potato's covered in cheese? Here's what you need...

1 package of frozen hash browns

2 packages of cubed ham

1 tub of sour cream (I only used half of mine)

1 can of cream of potato soup

Cheddar cheese

french onions

garlic salt

Combine hash browns, sour cream, soup, cheese (I used one whole small package of shredded cheddar), ham and a few dashes of garlic salt in a mixing bowl. Make sure you mix this up really good... it is hard!

Put the mixture into a 9x13" pan. Top with a little bit more shredded cheese and some crispy french onions. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or till bubbly.

I served this with a salad and some rolls.

OK, so I know things haven't been too healthy around here lately... I'll post some healthier options soon. We just need our comfort food right now!

Creamy Italian Chicken

Here is another crock pot specialty. I know this is pretty common, but I tweaked it bit to my liking. I usually serve it over rice. We had it over noodles tonight and I decided I like it better that way. This is what you'll need...

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cheese soup

1 packet of Italian salad dressing seasoning

1 package of cream cheese

noodles or rice of your choice.

(This will feed 4 adults comfortably)

Combine all these ingredients together in the crock pot. I add the soups first, plus a third of a can of water. Mix the soups and water together a bit. Add your chicken. Top chicken with 3/4 of the package of dressing. Top with cream cheese. I cut mine into cubes first.

Put the lid on and simmer on low for about 8 hours or so depending on your crock pot (or for a quick fix high for 4 hours). I usually stir mine up after it has cooked for an hour or so and stir a few times throughout the day.

Here is your finished product! Serve with a green salad and rolls.

(PS. why is my camera so funky? My pictures are always too dark. Any camera experts out there? I have a Nikon coolpix.)

Swiss Steak

This is great to have for dinner on a cold day. I use my crock pot to simmer everything to perfection. I know it sounds not too appetizing from the ingredients, but trust me this is good stuff. Something about the meat simmering all day in the tomato sauce with the bell pepper, prefect combination. Here's what you'll need...

round steak (or some other cheap cut of beef), I got a 6 pack stuff shrinks when it cooks up!

1 green bell pepper
4 cans of tomato sauce
garlic salt
6 medium potatoes
(this will feed 4 adults)

Get your meat out and tenderize it. I just gently slice it diagonal both ways on each side.

Pour all cans of tomato sauce into crock pot. Add the meat, sprinkle with garlic salt to your liking (I use about 4 or 5 shakes). Top off with sliced bell pepper. Put the lid on and cook for at least 6-8 hours (or on low all day). I let it cook up for a few hours then I stir it up a bit.

About an hour before you are ready to serve start your mashed potato's. I like to add milk and butter to mine till it is nice and fluffy.



I serve the meat and sauce over the potatoes.

Yum!