Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

This is really delicious and not very hard to make. It's a nice comforting fall meal. It's great served with sourdough bread and green salad.

Ingredients:

8 oz. angel hair pasta

8 oz. velveeta cheese

8 oz. stewed tomatoes, diced and include juice(or Rotel if you prefer it spicy)

1 small can mild diced peppers

1 can cream of chicken soup

3-4 chicken breasts

pinch of garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Boil thawed chicken breasts until no longer pink in center. Remove from broth and shred and set aside. Add pasta to broth and boil until tender. Drain. Mix all ingredients but pasta until blended. Add pasta to mixture. Place in an 8x8 baking dish and cook in 350 degree oven until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and stir and serve hot. Enjoy!

Come On Ladies!

Hey Ladies, we need to get this blog going again. I know you all eat-so post it:)

I love tacos, but get frustrated when I'm trying to eat a crunchy tortilla taco and it breaks into pieces after one bite. This casserole is basically a crunchy beef and bean taco all spread out in a casserole dish! It's such a quick and easy meal!

Beef and Bean Taco Casserole

 

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef
1 can (16 ounce) refried beans
1 jar (16 ounce) salsa
1 package (1 ounce) taco seasoning mix
2 1/2 cups coarsely broken tortilla chips
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
4 medium green onions, sliced (about 1/4 cup) left out for Chad of course:)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
1 cup shredded lettuce

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in refried beans, salsa, and taco seasoning mix. Reduce heat to medium. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.

In ungreased 2-quart casserole, place 2 cups of the broken tortilla chips. Top evenly with beef mixture. Sprinkle with bell pepper, onions, 1 cup of the tomato, the cheese, and olives.

Bake uncovered 20 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and cheese is melted. Top baked casserole with lettuce, remaining 1/2 cup tomato, and remaining 1/2 cup tortilla chips.

Few Meals I've made lately...

Hawaiin Haystacks

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
32 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons of dry Ranch Dressing seasoning packet
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
Steamed rice, enough for your family
Toppings
Chow Mein Crispy Noodles
sliced green onions
black olives
pineapple
cranberries
almonds
tomatoes
shredded cheese
1. Place butter into a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring to melt. Slowly whisk in flour, salt and pepper until smooth and thick, for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Increase heat to high whisking until thick, about 2 minutes. Add sour cream, Ranch seasoning, garlic salt, and cooked chicken breast. Stir and season accordingly. You may prefer additional, salt, pepper and garlic salt. I transferred this to my crock pot and kept it on low all day until dinner. You can either serve it immediately or crock pot it until you are ready.
2. Place rice on serving plates and top with chicken gravy. Have toppings at the table and top with whatever you like! Have fun!
Serves 4

As you can see I left out a few toppings:)

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound fresh asparagus spears
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
1 pound penne pasta
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the oil and ¼ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ of the pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
While the asparagus roasts, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the vinegar is reduced to about 3 tablespoons, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.
Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until just done, 11-13 minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Stir in the butter and vinegar mixture. Toss to combine well. Add in the asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese for serving.
Serves 4-6

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

10 soft taco shells (I used corn)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 pan
2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan, seam side down.
3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute on medium heat. Add broth (or stock) and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. (Only takes a couple of minutes)
4. Stir in sour cream and chiles until combined. Do not bring to boil.
5. Pour sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.

Macaroni and Cheese

1 (8-ounce) package elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, add the garlic and cook until the garlic is softened, about 2 minutes. Add the onion powder, then whisk in the flour and milk, then cook until slightly thickened. Add three cups of the cheddar cheese and stir until melted in the mixture. Toss the cheese mixture with the cooked pasta, salt and pepper to taste. Stir the remaining grated cheese into the pasta. Spoon into a large baking dish.

In a small bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs and melted butter. I always like to add a bunch of freshly ground pepper and a sprinkling of sea salt to this mixture. Spread over the pasta. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Baked cheese balls

Keri introduced me to this yummy snack...

Cut your sticks into balls, dip in milk, and toss in the breading (I use Panko Japanese-Style Bread Crumbs)
Bake 8 minutes or less....in the oven at 425 degrees

I dip in marinara sauce!

Pizza Casserole

Ingredients

1 Box Spiral Pasta
1 pound lean ground turkey (I used ground beef)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup pepperoni
1/2 can of olives
16 ounces pizza sauce or pasta sauce (I use Hunts tomato sauce)
1/2 cup water
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground turkey with the onion, garlic and green bell pepper. Drain excess fat.  Stir in olives and pepperoni. Pour Pasta sauce and 1/2 cup water over  mix. Serve over cooked pasta. Top with shredded Mozzarella.
Serve with a side salad or french bread.
If you don't like the taste of ground turkey you can substitute it for a pound of lean ground beef (that's what I did). You can also add Canadian bacon instead of pepperoni.

Skinny Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt & pepper then cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups cooked broccoli
8oz rotini
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
salt & pepper
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water before draining. Set aside.
2. Heat extra virgin olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Sprinkle in flour then whisk to incorporate and cook for 1 additional minute.
3. Slowly whisk in chicken broth, then milk. Whisk in Greek yogurt, salt and pepper, then turn the heat down to low and let the mixture simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat off then stir in parmesan cheese, then chicken. Pour over cooked pasta then add broccoli and stir well. Add a little reserved pasta cooking water if sauce is too thick. Serve.

Well there you go! What we've been eating here at our house:)

More to come!

Individual Chicken Pot Pie

I just put this together to try out my mini casserole dishes,so nothing is measured to a tee. Just do what you think best suits you and your family. Servings: 3 1/4 of a 10 oz bag of frozen mixed veg. 1/2 can of cream of chicken soup 1 spoonfull of sour cream 2 c. cooked cubed chicken breasts Salt Pepper Thyme 1 box of biscuit mix. In a pan cook your frozen vegatables. In a seperate bowl add your cooked chicken, cream of chicken, and sour cream. Add your cooked veg. when they are ready.Add salt,pepper, and thyme for what is best to your taste. Prepare biscuit mix according to package. In a 10 oz size ramiken or casserole dish put the chicken, veg. mixture. add 1 biscuit on top just enough to cover the top of the bowl. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 mins. or until biscuit is cooked all the way. Top with cheese is desired.

Smore Cups

We made these for FHE this week sooo yummy! They're almost too cute to eat:)

7 whole graham crackers (1 cup finely crushed)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
4 bars (1.55 oz each) milk chocolate candy, divided
12 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place graham crackers into a large resealable plastic bag. Finely crush into crumbs. Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Place 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture in each cup of a mini muffin pan. Press crumbs to form shallow cups. Bake 4-5 minutes or until edges are bubbling. Meanwhile, break two of the candy bars into rectangles. Remove pan from oven; place one rectangle into each cup.

Cut marshmallows in half crosswise using shears dipped in cold water. Place one marshmallow half, cut-side down, into each cup. Return to oven 1-2 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly softened. Remove pans from oven to cooling rack; cool 15 minutes. Carefully remove cups from pan. Cool completely. Break remaining candy bars and place in small microwavable bowl. Microwave on high 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds. Dip the top of each marshmallow in melted chocolate. Turn top-side up and let stand until set.

Orange Creamsicle Fruit Dip Recipe

I bought a big container of strawberries at Sam's so made this dip...it is so creamy and good!

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1 (7-8 oz) jar of marshmallow creme
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (I was able to get 1/4 cup out of a medium-sized orange)
2 tsp orange zest (I used the same orange that I used for the juice)
1/4 tsp vanilla Fresh fruit for dipping (strawberries, bananas, grapes, melon, cantaloupe, pineapple, etc)

Directions: Beat cream cheese and marshmallow creme together. Add juice, vanilla, and orange peel. Mix together and chill until serving.

Chicken Fried Chicken

Chad loved this. The only gravy he'll eat is country gravy:)

4 skinned and boned chicken breasts
1 tsp salt 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
oil

Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper. Set aside. Combine cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, remaining salt and pepper. Whisk together 1 1/2 cups milk and eggs. Dredge chicken in cracker crumb mixture; dip in milk mixture, and dredge in cracker mixture again. Pour oil to a depth of 1/2 inch in a 12-inch skillet (do not use a nonstick skillet). Over medium high heat (more on the high side) fry chicken, in batches, 10 minutes, adding oil as needed. Turn and fry 4 to 5 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack in a cookie sheet. Keep chicken warm in a 225° oven.

Country Gravy
1/3 - cup flour
2 - 3 tablespoons pan drippings
3 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste

Carefully drain the hot drippings, reserving cooked bits and 2 -3 tablespoons of the drippings in skillet. Add 1/3 cup flour to the skillet with the drippings. Cook over medium high heat. Using a whisk mix the flour into the drippings until it starts to brown and become a paste. Slowly add the milk whisking constantly and blending the liquid with the flour mixture until combined. Let the gravy come to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until the gravy thickens up.