Pioneer Woman's Enchiladas

I make Chicken Enchiladas pretty regularly, but not beef. I like beef enchiladas, but really hadn't found a recipe for them that I just loved. Knowing how many people love Pioneer Woman and that she hasn't ever steered me wrong, I decided to try hers. They are way more steps that I usually take, but they are so worth it. All those steps lead to so many different flavors inside each bite.

You can find her Simple Perfect Enchiladas here. 

And because I am always looking for shortcuts... I didn't even bother frying up my corn tortillas. Just dip them in sauce and roll them full of meat. They will do just fine! 

Family Recipe Chicken & Spaghetti

My Dad is the youngest of eight and his family has some pretty amazing cooks. Luckily, their church did a cookbook each year and I have "family" favorites all in one book. This recipe has been eaten in my family for years. It comes from my cousin Mary and it one of the first things I made for my husband when we were newly married. Enjoy it!

Mary's Chicken & Spaghetti
from Country Community Church cookbook

3 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
chicken broth
1 can cream of whatever soup (I prefer chicken, but you can do mushroom)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 package spaghetti
1 can diced tomatoes
1 medium bell pepper, chopped

Boil spaghetti in a mix of chicken broth and water. The ratio isn't super important. I typically do a carton of broth and fill the rest with water.

Saute pepper, onion and celery until soft. Add in soup and tomatoes.

Once spaghetti is fully cooked, add in chicken and soup/peppers mix and simmer until it thickens.

Easy and delicious, especially on a COLD day!

Parmesan Honey Pork Roast

 A few nights back I took a glorious Sunday nap. My daughter and husband were on a bike riding adventure and dinner was in the crockpot. It was my kind of Sunday. I woke up about 5:30 and checked my phone and found a text from my friend Morgan asking about our dinner plans. I told her sorry we couldn't meet up we had a roast in the crock pot. And then, I did something crazy.... I told them to come on over. You see, I am not spontaneous. I have people over for dinner, but I invite them, put it on the calendar, follow up, plan the full meal, etc. I most certainly don't try out a new recipe and have a dirty house to boot! This was super last minute for me, as in come over in 30 minutes. And you know what, it was real life and it was fun!

I am so glad this turned out to be good! This roast was a first for me, but it won't be the last! I should have known I could trust Six Sisters- I have always loved their recipes. 

Here are a couple of minor changes that I made to the recipe found here:

I used my yummy frozen basil cubes rather than buying dried basil.

Mine cooked in 3 hours on high.

I didn't remove the juices and thicken them with cornstarch. We just poured them over the meat straight from the crockpot.

I also whipped up a last minute Rustic Cobbler because I always have ingredients for it on hand... I bet you do too!

Tomato Basil Chicken

One bite of this and my husband said, "this is restaurant worthy" and he proceeded to POUR the left over sauce in the skillet onto his plate. The woman's side of that praise, "I can make this for company". ha! It really is that good. 

The recipe from Menu Musings is here. 

A couple of notes....

I chopped my chicken into chunks before I started cooking it. Make is cook quicker and I could see when it was done better.

I used my fun frozen cubes of basil and garlic and they worked great and made things much easier. 

I chopped my two Roma tomatoes really small so you'd get flavor but not a lot. I don't love tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Lasagna

I have never been a big lasagna girl. It is so much work. I'd rather make spaghetti in less time! But I found this recipe and gave it a try. And, then I made it again and shared it with a friend.

Here is her response. A ringing endorsement!

I love making it as two 8x8 pans. It just works well for my family. My picky no-casserole child even ate this up! We all eat one pan and then have another one in the freezer for busy nights or to share with a friend. I paired this with a pan of lasagna with a bag of fresh green beans and salted chocolate chip cookies for Carrie. 

See Lizzie Jane Baby for the recipe here. I love her shortcut idea- use a jar of marinara sauce and then add a few extra spices to it to make it taste homemade. I used my Trader Joe's Marinara and it truly was delicious! 

Happy Cooking!

Quick and Easy Stromboli

I love pizza rolls and calzones and Stromboli so much more than I love pizza. I am not a sauce girl and pizza is often overwhelmed by sauce. I love more bread, cheese and toppings!

So, finding an easy Stromboli to make at home was appealing to me. This recipe from Meals in Minutes cookbook by Gooseberry Patch was quick, easy, and yummy! Plus, it re-heated well for lunchtime leftovers the next day!

Quick and Easy Stromboli
from Meals in Minutes, by Gooseberry Patch

1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
2 eggs separated
2 T oil
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried parsley
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. pepper
4 oz. package sliced pepperoni
8 oz. grated mozzarella cheese
1 T grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Roll out dough onto cookie sheet in long thin rectangle. I just pressed it out using my hands. Mine took up most of the cookie sheet.

In small bowl mix together egg yolks, oil and spices. Spread onto dough evenly covering completely.

Arrange pepperoni, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top of spices.

Carefully roll up the dough length wise so that you have a long tube of dough stuffed with the spices, cheese and pepperoni.

Brush the top with egg whites. This will help it turn to a nice golden brown in the oven.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. Slice and enjoy with pizza sauce or all alone.

Cheesy Green Chile Enchiladas

These are one of my favorite meals to make for others- who doesn't love chicken enchiladas with a cheesy, sour cream and green chile sauce? They are easy, fun to make and make a TON!

When I make these enchiladas, I make enough for 3 meals! It is so nice to have frozen homemade dinners ready to pop out and eat on busy nights. This dish makes 12 enchiladas, so you can decide how to divide them up.

Cheesy Green Chile Enchiladas

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I boil mine in water for 15 minutes and shred with the paddle attachment on my Kitchenaid mixer)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can chopped green chiles

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup medium picante sauce

1 cup sour cream

flour tortillas

1/4 to 1 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350. Place a little chicken broth in the bottom of casserole dish. You can fill a 13x9 dish or three 8x8 dishes.

In large bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, green chiles, 1 cup cheddar cheese, picante sauce, and sour cream. Mix together.

Remove about 1/4 of this mixture and set aside.

Add shredded chicken to large bowl of green chile mixture. Fill flour tortillas individually. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down into casserole dish.

Using small bowl of mixure (the 1/4 you set aside), add 1/4 cup chicken broth and mix well. Scoop/Pour over enchiladas.

Top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Creamy Beef Stroganoff

I really like beef stroganoff that cooks all day in the crockpot, but I hadn't found a version of it that I really loved. I have made beef cubes in the oven which is good, but it isn't creamy like this new recipe. And, the Worcestershire sauce gives it a little extra flavor. I really think you'll like this one.

Creamy Beef Stroganoff
recipe courtesy of The Crockstar

2 pounds cubed stew meat
2 cans Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 largish onion diced
3 tablespoons of Worcestershire
1/2 water
8 oz of cream cheese 
couple of dashes of Garlic Salt (1 tsp?)
couple dashes of Hot Paprika (see I just can't believe this would be good without some sort of kick)

In the slow cooker stir in all the ingredients, except the meat AND the Cream Cheese, together. Once combined add the meat and mix together.

Cook on Low for 8 hours. Cut up the cream cheese into cubes just before serving and turn crockpot on high. Stir the cream cheese in until all combined. You might have to put the lid back on and leave for 10 minutes.

Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Keep in touch and get more recipes you'll love by following me on Facebook here. 

Chicken Fried Rice

I am not a big fan of Asian food. No sushi for me, either. However, I do like fried rice. Now that I've learned to make it, it makes an easy lunch or leftover for me to have during the week.

I have made it with chicken and without. It is better than chicken if you have it on hand. We had it without chicken and added frozen egg rolls to complete our dinner.

Easy Chicken Fried Rice

recipe from Rachel Schultz.com

4 cups rice, prepared½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked (I recommend using slow cooker teriyaki chicken)1 cup peas & carrots, frozen1 white onion, chopped2 cloves garlic, minced2 eggs3 tablespoons sesame oil (I used canola)¼ cup soy sauce

Prepare rice according to package instructions to yield 4 cups cooked rice. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, peas, and carrots. Stir fry until tender. Crack eggs into pan and scramble, mixing throughout vegetables. Add rice, chicken, and soy sauce to pan. Stir in soy sauce and remove from heat.

Spicy Sausage Pasta

This recipe has over 300,000 repins! Seriously, has everyone found this online and repinned it? How many have gone through their pins and made it? ha!

I made it and loved it! It has great flavor and everything cooks in one pot which I appreciate. It is great "man" food. Very filling and spicy! I'd recommend it for a hearty eater at your dinner table.

Check out the full recipe from Kevin and Amanda here. 

Southwestern Chicken and Rice

My Mom always made chicken and rice growing up and I hated it. The cream of mushroom soup taste was too much for me, so I have really avoided that dish as the head chef in my kitchen for 15 plus years! With this dish, I finally found a chicken and rice staple I can live with and love eating for dinner!

Southwestern Chicken
recipe from Pinterest, but with a dead link :(

Chicken tenderloins-cut into small squares
2 cups instant rice
1 taco seasoning packet
1 can rotel
Grated cheese- I used pepperjack

Cook chicken in skillet. Add 1 1/2 cups water, taco seasoning and rotel. Heat to boiling. Add 2 cups instant rice. Stir, remove from heat and cover. Once water is absorbed, stir and top with cheese. Let cheese melt and dinner is served.

We ate this as a casserole and our main dish. It would be great inside tortillas or on tortilla chips also. 

Spicy Chicken Tacos

After having great success with cakes from Mix and Match Mama, I decided to try one of her dinner recipes. Oh my- these spicy chicken tacos were so good and you would never know spinach was in there! Not a fan of the leafy green, but know how important it is. It just sneaks in under the tastes of salsa and chicken. I will make these again and again!

Here is the full recipe, courtesy of Mix and Match Mama.

1 pound cooked and shredded chicken breast 

1 jalapeno, chopped (remove the seeds)

1 package taco seasoning

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed of all the excess water

2 cups salsa

2 cups Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

5 stand and stuff taco shells 
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, add chicken, jalapeno, taco seasoning, spinach and salsa and a tablespoon or so olive oil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer about 5 minutes.

In an 8x8 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray, line up your 5 taco shells.  Place the chicken mixture inside the shells.  Top tacos with cheese and place in the oven.  Bake about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Super Simple Kid-Friendly Lunch

I had lunch with my friend Morgan last week and she made us little personal pizzas for lunch. Abby loved them and we have since made them twice. It is the easiest little lunch and great for kids.

Personal Pepperoni Pizzas

1 Rhodes roll per pizza (Abby eats 1, an adult would eat 2-4)

1 jar pizza sauce

mozzarella cheese

pepperonis

olive oil

Thaw your Rhodes rolls on a sprayed (Pam) pan for 3-5 hours. They should be covered in sprayed Saran Wrap to stay moist.

Preheat oven to 400.

Once your dough is thawed, press it flat and make into pizza crusts. Spray or drizzle with a little olive oil. It will make the crust crispy so you don't feel like you are eating a roll.

Top crust with sauce, cheese and pepperonis and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

3 Ingredient Sloppy Joe Sauce

I went to make Meat Cupcakes the other night and then changed my mind mid-stream. I had browned my meat and whipped up the sauce, but realized I had buns about to go bad. So, I decided to use my meat and sauce from the meat cupcakes and put them in my buns instead of baking them inside biscuits.

photo courtesy of French's mustard

It made the best sloppy joes! Just three ingedients made the perfect sweet barbecue sauce for my sandwiches. And get this, you likely have all three just sitting in your kitchen everyday! Perfect last minute meal!

Homemade Sloppy Joe Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1T mustard

2T brown sugar

Mix it up and enjoy! It is the right mixture for about a pound of hamburger meat. You can adjust as needed to match your meat. 

Cilantro Chicken

I am on a Pinterest high right now- I have discovered some of the best meals of my life in my own home, cooked by me and found on Pinterest this past month. This chicken is so amazing- it has so much flavor and the sweet chili sauce really balances our the garlic. I loved it a lot! My daughter kept saying she wouldn't eat the green chicken and then I looked back and she had eaten her portion. 

Make it tonight- you won't regret it!

The full recipe can be found here, courtesy of Cooking Hawaiian Style.

PS- We made this again before I posted the original and it is just as good as full chicken breasts!

Chipotle Pot Roast Tacos

I made these for dinner and was so impressed by how simple they are, yet so tender and flavorful. My husband called dibs on the leftovers AT THE TABLE! Delish!

Chipotle Pot Roast Tacos
courtesy of HEB grocery store and their Cocinaware line

2-3 pounds boneless shoulder cut chuck roast
salt and pepper
2 T canola oil
16 oz. jar chipotle salsa
tortillas- white corn or flour
toppings- tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, avocado, etc.

Place oven rack on bottom 1/3. Heat oven to 325.

Season roast with salt and pepper. Heat dutch oven over high heat for 3 minutes. Pour in canola oil and add roast. Cook for 3 minutes on each side. Add 1 cup water and jar of salsa.

Place inside heated oven and cook for about 2 hours. Meat should fall apart easily. Shred meat with knife and fork. Place inside tortillas with your favorite toppings.

The Meatloaf Recipe That Made Me Love Meatloaf!

I always hated meatloaf growing up. When my Mom made it, I complained and whined my way through my required portion. I had never made it as an adult until a few weeks ago. You see, my husband really likes meatloaf and this recipe made me give it another try. I am so glad that I did!

This meatloaf is flavorful, moist and just all around delicious! We have made it twice now and I have a feeling it will be made monthly. Click here for Paula Deen's Homestyle Meatloaf. 

Chicken Lasagna Cups

In an effort to be healthier, I have tried to introduce more vegetables at dinner. I'll be honest, I don't like most veggies, but these.... these veggies I can eat!

The lasagna cups are layered with wonton skins and then filled with chicken and cheese packed with the broccoli, zucchini and carrots to get your veggies in.

I had never bought wonton cups before... that was an adventure. They weren't in the Asian section, they couldn't be found with biscuits and weren't in the freezer aisle. Finally, I found them in produce with the tofu. Look there first :)

Just before going in the oven... don't they look delicious?

Voila- Chicken Lasagna Cups!

The recipe can be found at Emily Bites. I just boiled a chicken breast, shredded it and added it into the cheese and veggie mixture. 

Delicious Chicken and Pineapple Skewers

 I am super excited that we booked a family vacation for this fall- a Disney cruise! So many parts of the trip are exciting including swimming with dolphins in the Bahamas. Checking that off the bucket list this fall. And then I realized the dread of pictures... in a swimsuit... on Facebook. Isn't that always the worst! 

So, for the next 6 months my husband and I are focusing on our weight and keeping the goal of a picture in our swimsuit that doesn't make us cringe! To that end, look for some Weight Watchers and general healthy recipes in the next few months and a few less bundt cakes :)

The part of Spring that I love the most is cooking on the grill! My husband grilling meat while I prepare our sides and Abby playing in the backyard. It is dinnertime perfection in my book! Speaking of perfection, these chicken and pineapple skewers are amazingly tasty to be so simple. We ate them all up and declared them a new regular in our dinnertime rotation.

Along with chicken breast chunks and fresh pineapple, you make your own BBQ sauce for basting and dipping that is so tasty! The recipe is from celebrity chef Tyler Florence and can be found here. 

We served ours with roasted carrots from the farmers market. They were remarkably tastier that the grocery store carrots. It was a super light and perfect springtime dinner!

Linky and Recipes from Your Little Birdie Facebook Friends

The other night was my dreaded pre-grocery store night where I have to decide what we are going to eat for the next two weeks? Decisions had to be made and I was needing ideas. I shared a plea on Your Little Birdie's Facebook page asking for recipes and Jessica and Sarah gave me two good ones!

Big Easy Shrimp from Food.com

I will be honest, I don't like shrimp unless it is fried. So, I went out on a limb with this one. My husband took the first bite, declared it to be good and "really shrimpy" and I opted for cereal for dinner. He thought this tasted fabulous, so if you like seafood or specifically shrimp, make this! We served it over rice and it made the whole house smell wonderful. Lots of different flavors in here. Marcus' only recommendation for next time, "more bacon please"

Sarah at Life with Leahy sent me to her site where I found a recipe from Semi-Homemade Mom for Crockpot Tortellini Lasagna. 

This was super easy and very tasty. With a meat sauce filled with ricotta cheese and fresh spinach, you have color, texture and lots of flavor in the sauce that the frozen cheese tortellini cooks in. It made a big batch of leftovers which I love!

Add your favorite recipe here.... we all need help the night before the grocery store!