Quinoa Bites

Going to try this week:

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 2 stalks green onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together quinoa, carrot, egg, green onion, garlic, cilantro, cheese, flour, salt and pepper.
3. Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top (1 heaping Tbs each).
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Chicken Crockpot Soup

Katie- I loved this so much, had to post. Here is what I did with it but please feel free to make additions to this.

Picture Coming

Ingredients:

1 can of rotel

1 can of corn

1 can of black beans

2 frozen chicken breasts

8 oz cream cheese

1 packet dry ranch dressing

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook 6-8 hours. Shred chicken

For a thicker consistency, dont add the water from corn and beans. I actually took large lime flavored tortilla chips and placed them in the bottom of my bowl, then topped with the thicker soup. I had three bowls! :)

Scalloped Potatoes- Best EVER!

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 to 3 1/4 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 8 ounces Swiss Cheese, grated

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish with the butter and set aside.

Place the cream in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper, and stir well. Add the potatoes, adding more cream if necessary to completely cover the potatoes. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are barely fork tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat.

With a large spoon, transfer 1/3 of the potatoes with some of the cream to the prepared dish, forming an even layer on the bottom. Top with 1/3 of the cheese, and continue layering the potatoes and cheese, ending with cheese on top. Place on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Parmesan Chicken with Spaghetti Sauce

Picture Coming

Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

Ingredients:

6 Chicken Breasts

2 1/2 C shredded Parmesan Cheese (for the best deal I get mine at Costco) 2 C Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs (I also buy this in bulk at Costco) Penne Pasta 1 jar Spaghetti Sauce

Directions:

1. Place your chicken breasts in a large gallon sized Ziploc bag. Pound the chicken flat with a meat mallet. If you don't have a meat mallet, never fear. Just use the end of any can from your pantry and you are good to go.

2. Cut the chicken into strips with a pair of kitchen scissors. No kitchen scissors? Round some up, guys and gals...you'll never scoff at a chicken recipe again. Your pair of kitchen scissors will save you a lot of time.

3. Roll your chicken strips around in the parmesan cheese, then in the bread crumbs. Then put them in a sprayed 9 x 13 pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for for 10 more minutes.

4. Cook your pasta according to the package directions, heat up your sauce and you are ready to rumble.

Southwest Chicken

Southwest Black Bean Chicken in the Crock Pot Time: 10 min. prep + 4 hours cooking Yield: 8 servings Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

4 chicken breasts (you may even start with frozen)

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 of a 6 oz can tomato paste

2 15 oz cans corn

2 15 oz cans black beans

2 15 oz cans kidney beans

2 14.5 oz cans Mexican Stewed Tomatoes

1 Southwest marinade packet ( enchilada or taco will work as well)

Cheddar cheese and sour cream

Tortilla Chips or Whole wheat tortillas

1. Mix all ingredients except the chicken,cheese, and sour cream and tortillas in the bottom of a large crock pot. If you want it a bit thinner to eat as a soup, then add the liquid from two of the cans. Otherwise drain the liquid from the cans.
2. Place the chicken into the crock pot and cover it up with the sauce.

3. Cook on high for 4 hours. After it has cooked for 3 hours, take the chicken out, shred it and put it back in the crock pot for the remaining hour.

Beef Enchiladas

This is a great dish- however my kids didnt like, adults did. It makes A LOT and so either half or make one for the freezer or friend. But it's good enough that I will make it again, and maybe it was just an off day for the kids.

From Jamie Cooks it up

SAUCE:

1 T canola oil

1 T flour

1 28 ounce can enchilada sauce (I used mild)

2 C chicken broth

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

MEAT and FILLING:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 4 ounce cans green chilies

1/2 t salt

12-14 white corn tortillas

3 C cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 C black olives, chopped

1 C green onions, chopped

1/2 C cilantro, chopped

1. Heat up a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Pour the oil in followed by the flour. Whisk them together.

2. Pour in your Enchilada Sauce,

chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Whisk it all together to combine.

3. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

4. Heat up a separate skillet and toss in your ground beef, onion and the salt. Brown the meat over medium high heat, stirring occasionally.

5. When your meat is brown and the onions are transparent remove your pan from the heat and pour in your green chilies.

6. Chop up your green onions, olives and cilantro.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour about 3/4 C of your red sauce into the pan.

7. Take your tortillas one at a time, dip it into your red sauce, making sure that the sauce covers both sides. dip it into your red sauce, making sure that the sauce covers both sides.

8. Lay the smothered tortilla onto a cookie sheet and cover it with meat, green onions, olives, cilantro and cheese.

9. Roll the tortillas up and lay them seam side down into the pan. Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top of the sauce.

Top with any leftover green onions and olives.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

10. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve.

Cranberry- Orange chex mix

Ingredients:
4 cups rice chex
4 cups wheat chex
4 cups honey nut or corn chex

1 1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 cup craisins

1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oj concentrate
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine cereal and almonds. Melt together butter, sugar and oj. Pour over cereal and coat. Bake for 10 minutes. stir, bake 10 more minutes. Cool and add Crasins

This will not disappoint! Its SOOO good. Great for a not so sweet treat or package up cute for a neighbor gift!

Stuffing Chicken

Recipe from Jamie cooks it up

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, pounded out flat
8 slices Swiss cheese (or about 3/4 C shredded cheese) I actually used pepper jack cheese to add more flavor, might be too hot for some kids but all mine ate it!
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use the 98% fat free)
1 c milk
1 Stove Top Stuffing box (usually chicken flavored)
1/4 C butter melted (I always make it with out the butter...trying to shave a bit of fat off the menu)

Directions:

1. Spray the inside of your crock pot (or casserole dish, if baking in the oven)
2. Lay the chicken out flat in the bottom of the dish.
3. Cover with the cheese.
4. Mix the soup and the milk together and pour over the top of the cheese.
5. Dump the box of stuffing over the top, and drizzle butter over it. (I usually spray it with some cooking spray instead)
6. For the Crock Pot cook on high for 4 hours. The last 1/2 an hour turn the lid sideways, so that some of the stream can escape. You don't want your stuffing to be too soggy.
7. For the Oven, cover and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Take the foil off and bake 7-10 minutes more.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Recipe from adapted from What's Cookin' Chicago

Chicken:

4 large chicken breasts

2 sleeves Ritz crackers

1/4 t salt

1/8 t pepper

1/2 C milk

3 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 t dried parsley

Sauce:

1 14 ounce can cream of chicken soup

2 T sour cream

2 T butter

1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.
2. In a small food processor grind up the ritz crackers.
3. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.
4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk then the cheese and finally the cracker crumbs.
5. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.
6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.
7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.
8. Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken.

Spaghetti Carbonara alla Amie

My kids LOVE this meal. They beg me to make. They all fight to have as many bacon pieces as they can, so I use more bacon than recipe calls for.

Found this great recipe and tweaked it a bit- it's our new family fav. - well for this week att least!

Ingredients:

8 oz. uncooked spaghetti

2 Eggs plus 2 egg yolks

8 strips of bacon or 4 strips pancetta (the cured kind, not smoked)

2 T Butter

1 Cup Milk

2 Garlic cloves

1 T Italian flat leaf parsley

Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp Salt and 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 Cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

1/2 Cup Pecorino cheese-you can just use 1 cup all parm if you don't have this

Directions:

Cook Pasta

Beat eggs, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a bowl, set aside

Cook bacon in skillet over med heat until almost done. Remove bacon leaving the bacon fat in the pan.

Add butter and garlic to pan and let cook for about 30 seconds then place bacon back in pan

When the spaghetti is done lift out of water with tongs and place in the pan with bacon, also adding the milk.

Mix spaghetti around and then turn to low heat.

Add the egg mixture and stir until egg is cooked.

Add the cheeses and as soon as it's melted pull of stove and serve!

Orange Kissed cookies

From MiraLynn

Ingredients:

1 C white sugar

1/2 butter flavored crisco

1 egg

1/2 C sour cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 C +1 T thawed orange concentrate

1 T grated orange zest

Frosting:

1 tsp grated orange zest

1/4 C thawed orange juice concentrate

1/2 C softened butter

3 C powdered sugar

2-3 drops orange food coloring- optional

preheat oven to 375

In med bowl combine dry ingredients- whisk around to combine

in large mixing bowl combine white sugar and shortening, beat until mixed.

Add egg and beat again, then stir in the sour cream, vanilla and beat another min,

Add flour mixture just until combined. Add juice concentrate and orange zest and mix well

Use cookie scoop and drop onto cookie sheet. It will be very wet yet thicker than a cake batter.

Bake 10 min- just until the bottoms turn golden brown.

Cool then frost

Chicken Marsala

Another favorite of my kids for italian night

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake)
3/4 cup Marsala- I use cooking marsala off the walmart shelf
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions:

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine- I use the cooking wine on the walmart shelf
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup chicken broth or stock
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente
Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish

Directions:

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

Mexican Beans and Rice

I love this one for a meat free night- it's filling but very easy on the budget and the belly! It also makes a decent recipe for building your three month food storage on, considering you will make your own tortillas and substitute frozen corn with canned, fresh cilantro with dried.

Ingredients:

1 lb bag pinto beans

1/4 Medium onion- un-chopped

2 whole garlic cloves

1 1/2 tsp canola oil

1 T finely chopped onion

1 C uncooked long grain rice or calrose rice(available in the Asian section)

1/2 tsp Salt

2/3 C frozen corn, thawed

1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 C tomato sauce

2 C water

12 Corn or taco size tortillas

sour cream

fresh salsa

Directions:

*Rinse beans well and soak over night. Drain and discard water

Put the drained beans in a soup pot ans add fresh water to cover pot about 2 inches. Add the whole 1/4 onion and whole garlic cloves to the pot. Bring to full boil and then reduce, simmer 3 hours. ( I have also put this in my small crock pot half the day when I know I am not going to be home to watch the stove all day long- easier

*Check to make sure beans are always covered with water through.

*Remove onion and garlic after beans are cooked, season generously with salt

*About 40 minutes until serving time, heat oil in saucepan over med heat ans cook the 1T chopped onion until soft. Add rice and stir for a min. Add the alt, corn, cilantro, tomato sauce and water and bring to a boil, decrease heat and sinner 15-20 min. or until rice is fully cooked

warm up tortillas over stove- We love the corn tortillas brushed with olive oil and fried in the pan until a little crunchy.

*Serve beans and rice in separate bowl and pass the tortillas around with the salsa and sour cream.

Hummus

This is a great fast snack. It calls for only a few basic ingredients and it makes about 4 -5cups.
In your blender place ingrediets in order listed.

2 (15 oz) cans of garbanzo beans, on can drained on with liquid
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
1TBL olive oil
1/4 C lemon juice
1 garlic clove peeled
1tsp cumin

salt to taste and pair with pita chips for dipping! Even Adyson will munch on this instead of sugar! Its so good and taste exactly like the one you buy!