Green Chili Chicken Tacos AND 10-Minute Steak and Potatoes Dinner

Chicken Tacos from Ladies' Home Journal

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced
2 4-oz cans chopped green chiles, rinsed
2 T flour
3 C (1 lb) chopped or shredded cooked chicken
1 C chicken broth
1 T fresh lime juice
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. chili powder

In a large pot, heat oil over medium high and add onion and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are soft and translucent, about 6 min.

Stir in chiles and flour.  Add chicken, broth, lime juice, cumin, salt and chili powder; stir well.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 6 min.  Serve or store, refrigerated, up to 2 days.

****
Notes:  I used low sodium chicken broth.  I also used canned chicken from Costco.

Verdict:  Everyone ate it.  I don't think anyone LOVED it though.  It was good... just not amazing.  I served it in warm flour tortillas, with rice.  Maybe I should have done something fancier with the rice... like cilantro???  Not sure.  I'll probably make this again for a Mexican food buffet.


10-Minute Steak and Potatoes Dinner
from Woman's Day Magazine

1/2 tsp each pepper, garlic powder, dried thyme and salt, mixed well
1 lb. skirt steak
oil
1 1/3 C milk
2 2/3 C frozen mashed potatoes
1/2 C shredded Cheddar cheese

Rub the seasoning mixture on the steak.  Heat a little oil in a large nonstick skillet.  Add the steak and cook two minutes on each side for medium rare.  Meanwhile, make Cheddar Mashed Potatoes by heating milk in a medium saucepan and adding frozen mashed potatoes.  Cook, stirring a few times, until hot.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese.  Thinly slice the steak against the grain.

****

Notes:  I doubled this.

Verdict:  I can see no value to cooking this inside when we have a perfectly good grill outside.  :-)  We will make this seasoning mixture again, but will grill the steaks outside!  The potatoes were yummy... my kids love mashed potatoes and enjoy mix-ins to change things up a bit.

****
Postscript:  I am not giving either of these recipes a 5-star.  They were good, and I might repeat them... but they were not amazing!

Mom's Stove-Top Hamburger Casserole

source:  Tasty Kitchen

8 whole medium sized white potatoes
2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 C onion, diced
1 can Cr. of Chicken Soup
1 can Cr. of Celery Soup

Peel, rinse and chunk potatoes into about 1-inch cubes.  Boil potatoes in a soup pot until just tender.  While the potatoes are boiling, drain and save back about a half a cup of water.  Combine the potatoes, burger, and soups in pot.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and heat on medium-low until warmed, stirring occasionally.  If the casserole seems too thick, add some of the saved water until desired consistency is reached.

****
Notes:  I used a "seasoned" pepper that also had some garlic in it.

Verdict:  The entire time I was making this I thought to myself what on earth appealed to me about this recipe to print it and put it in our untried recipe box.  It sounds so weird.

My ENTIRE FAMILY loved this dish!!!  LOVED IT!!!  I was so shocked.  So... here are my thoughts about this recipe... it is total comfort food.  It would be so perfect after a day of skiing, or sledding, or some other frigid winter activity.  I could see an entire group of teenage boys inhaling this.  Seeing as it will never be cold enough at my house for these winter activities, we'll probably try it again after a high school soccer game... when it is cold for us.  (And to be honest... we'll feel cold when the temp hits 70 degrees!!!)

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

source: allrecipes.com

2 T olive oil
2 lbs. pork tenderloin
1/2 C teriyaki sauce
1 C chicken broth
1/4 C brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 fresh red chile pepper, finely chopped
1/2 large onion, sliced
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown tenderloin on all sides, about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix together teriyaki sauce, chicken broth, and brown sugar in a bowl. Stir in garlic, red chile pepper, onion, and black pepper.

Put browned tenderloins into slow cooker, cover with the teriyaki sauce mixture.  Cook on High for about 4 hours, turning 2 - 3 times during the cooking time to ensure even doneness.

Remove tenderloins from the slow cooker and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.  If desired, spoon liquid over slices when serving.

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Notes:  I didn't use the red chile pepper.  My kids are wimps.  I also did not brown the tenderloins, because I forgot.

Verdict:  Maybe a foodie could tell me why I would need to, or should, take the time to brown the sides... because baby... this meat was so tender... fall off the bone tender, but there isn't a bone for it to fall of.  Until someone tells me WHY I should do that for this recipe specifically, I will forever and ever skip that part.

This was so good!!  Everyone loved it!  No complaints.  As a matter of fact, my mom had some as leftovers and asked me to make her some for a dinner she was hosting at her house last weekend.  It was a hit with her generation as well.

I used the leftovers two nights later and made teriyaki bowls.  Very, very good!!!

Pudding Pie

from Lynn Family Cookbook

1/2 C chopped nuts
1 stick butter
1 C flour

Cut butter into the nuts and flour.  Press into a 9x13 inch pan.  Bake 15 minutes at 350.  Cool.

1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 C powdered sugar

1 C Cool Whip

1 large pkg. your favorite instant pudding

2 1/2 C milk

Whip the Cool Whip, powdered sugar and cream cheese and spread over the crust.  Mix the milk and instant pudding and spread over top of the filling.  Chill and top with Cool Whip.

*****
Notes:  I used a store-bought graham cracker crust.  The "extra-serving" size.  I made two pies... one with vanilla pudding, one with cookies and creme.

Verdict:  Very easy and well received by the kids.  I think the crust as listed in the recipe would make it even better!!!

Marinated Grilled Chicken

from Kelly Mower

1 C Sprite
1/2 C salad oil
1/2 C soy sauce
chicken strips

Marinate overnight.  Grill.  Enjoy.

*****

Notes:  1 can of Sprite works too.

Verdict:  A favorite!  We loved it!  Easy and yummy!!!

Cookie Salad

from the Lynn Family Cookbook

2 C buttermilk
1 large pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1 large can pineapple tidbits
12 oz. Cool Whip
1 can diced peaches
1 can mandarin oranges
Fudge Stripe Cookies

Mix pudding and buttermilk, then add Cool Whip.  Drain all the fruit, well.  Add to pudding mixture and then crumble as many Fudge Stripe cookies as you would like and fold in.  Decorate the top with additional cookies.

*****

Notes:  Don't fret over the size of the cans of fruit that you use.  I'm a rule follower and it concerned me that the exact sizes were not listed.  (Ok, I'm not good at following recipes as is evident in previous recipe posts...)  Anyway, I called my friend who is a member of the Lynn family... she gave me a copy of their family cookbook... and asked her.  I read her the recipe and her response was CLASSIC.  It is a conversation that I will never forget...  She said, "oh, that recipe.  It sounds disgusting.  You'll have to let me know how it is."  She said this as I was prepping the recipe for dinner THAT night!!!"

Kendall picked this recipe.  Probably because of the title of the recipe.  Ok, not probably... but definitely.

Verdict:  Don't let Kendall pick out recipes based solely on the title.

Smores Bars

Smores Bars

from See Jane in the Kitchen

1/2 cup butter, soft
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized Hershey's milk chocolate bars
1 small jar marshmallow cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is tricky, I made balls as if I was making cookies and flattened them, then arranged them on top.

4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

****

Notes:  I didn't use KING sized Hershey's bars.  Dang!  I should have.  I really need to learn to read the entire recipe before starting!!!  Arghhhhh...

but...

Verdict:  WOW!!!  So good!!!!!  And rich!!  We actually ended up with leftovers.  Ok... I did double the recipe because I'm pretty sure that a single batch would not have been enough!  And the leftovers were sooooooooo good!  I packed a bar in my kids' lunches the next day... MAJOR Mom points for me!!!!

Buttery Chicken

Buttery Chicken
from Real Simple Magazine

32 buttery crackers (such as Ritz), crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
12 oz. sharp Cheddar, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 TBS unsalted butter, melted

Heat oven to 350.  In a bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, garlic and 1/4 tsp. each of salt and pepper.

Dip the chicken in the butter, then in the cracker mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle any remaining cracker mixture on the chicken and drizzle with any remaining butter.  Bake until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes.

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Verdict:  Yummy for my tummy!!  It was so easy to make... so delicious.  And the leftovers were most delicious.

Crescent Chicken Rolls

I got this recipe from a good friend... click here for her posting.  She took a great picture too...

1 (8oz) package cream cheese
1/4 C butter, softened
1/4 C pecans, chopped
1/3 C mushrooms (one small can)
2 C chicken, cooked and diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 C butter, melted
1 box seasoned stuffing mix, crushed
2 C chicken gravy

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cream cheese and butter together.  Add pecans, mushrooms, salt and pepper.  Add chicken.  Place one heaping tablespoon mixture into each roll.  Roll up and seal edges.  Brush with melted butter and then roll in stuffing crumbs.  Bake on parchment lined cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes, watch them carefully... sometimes the bottoms brown fast.  Top with chicken gravy prior to serving.

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Notes:  I omitted the mushrooms.  And I did pecans in just half of the mixture.  I LOVE pecans and loved what they added to the rolls.  For leftovers, I had one that did not have the pecans and it was still very very yummy.

I used Stove-top Stuffing.  And I failed to read the instructions thoroughly prior to making these... so I didn't crush the stuffing.  Oh, that would have been a good thing, but it wasn't a deal breaker.  They were still very yummy!

Verdict:  EVERYONE, without exception, LOVED these!  They were easy to put together and a huge hit!!!

Six-Million Dollar Manicotti

Six-Million Dollar Manicotti
from the Centennial Ward Cookbook
recipe submitted by Liz Rawson (but she has never made it!!)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 C finely chopped onions
 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into small pieces
1 C each grated carrots, grated zucchini, and finely chopped mushrooms
3 T minced, fresh basil, or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried
1 T minced, fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 oz light cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 C part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
12 manicotti shells, uncooked
3 C of your favorite low-fat, tomato-based pasta sauce
1/2 cup shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese (2 ounces)
Chopped, fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

To Make Filling:

Spray a large, non-stick skillet with non-stick spray. Add garlic and onions. Cook and stir over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.

Add chicken, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until no longer pink. Add carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, basil, oregano, and pepper. Cook for 3 more minutes. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in ricotta and Parmesan cheeses. Transfer filling to a large bowl and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

While filling is chilling, cook manicotti according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

Using a teaspoon, stuff shells equally with filling. Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce over bottom of 2 baking dishes. Arrange 6 stuffed manicotti in each dish. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti and sprinkle with mozzarella.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

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Notes:  The recipe says to cut the chicken small... I didn't cut it small enough.  It has to fit easily into a manicotti tube.  I didn't have Parmesan cheese, so I used mozzarella cheese in the filling.  Oh, and I doubled the recipe!

Verdict:  This made 28 manicotti tubes (remember... I doubled it) so we invited my parents over for dinner.  We still ended up with maybe 12 as leftovers.  Kaleigh freaked when she came out and saw me stuffing the tubes.  She said... no way, no how will I eat that.  She had seconds.

Enough said!!!

We LOVED this.  It was unanimous!!!

Tuscan Rosemary Chicken and White Beans

I've had this recipe out to try for a couple of weeks.  I needed to prepare it on a night that Phil wasn't home because he doesn't care for beans.  We finally tried it this week.

Tuscan Rosemary Chicken and White Beans
from a magazine insert

1/3 c Italian dressing
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1/4 c water
2 medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
1/4 c coarsely chopped drained sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1 tsp. dried rosemary leaves, crumbled
1 can (19 oz) cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained

Heat dressing in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook chicken in dressing 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add water, carrots, celery, tomatoes and rosemary to skillet.  Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut and carrots are crisp tender.

Stir in beans.  Cover and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until beans are thoroughly heated.

Makes 4 servings.

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Notes:  I used 5 chicken breast halves.  If I ever make this again I will go ahead and cut them up into bite sized pieces before cooking.

Verdict:  Not really a success.  Ok... no one liked it.  NO ONE!  I thought it was ok... but it was not amazing.  I have so many chicken recipes that we really like that I'm pretty sure we'll not make this one again.

Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp
from Daniece Crump

10 c. sliced apples
1 c. white sugar
1 T flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. water
1 c. quick-cooking oats
1 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. butter, melted

Place sliced apples in 9x13-inch pan.  Mix white sugar, 1 T flour and cinnamon together; sprinkle over apples.  Pour water evenly over all.  Combine remaining ingredients.  Crumble evenly over mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Can serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

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Notes:  I used granny smith apples.

Verdict:  Hello- one of our new favorite desserts!!!  Oh man, so very good and so easy!  Everyone loved this and asked for seconds.  As a matter of fact, one of our daughters asked for some in her sack lunch for school the next day.

Italian Sausage with Tomatoes and Penne

Italian Sausage with Tomatoes and Penne
source:  unknown

3 C uncooked penne pasta (9oz)
1 lb. uncooked Italian sausage links, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup broth
1 medium yellow summer squash, cut lengthwise in half, then cut crosswise in 1/4-inch slices
2 C grape tomatoes, cut lengthwise in half
1/4 C chopped fresh or 1 T dried basil leaves
6 green onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1/2 cup)
2 TBS olive oil

Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

While  pasta is cooking, spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat.  Cook sausage in skillet 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until brown.  Stir in broth; reduce heat to medium.  Cover and cook 5 minutes.

Stir in squash, tomatoes and 2 T of the basil.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in onions.  Simmer uncovered 1 minute.

Toss pasta, oil and remaining 2 T basil.  Divide pasta among individual bowls.  Top with sausage mixture.

*********************

Notes:  I used dried basil.  I did NOT double this recipe, and I should have at least doubled the pasta!  I read the recipe wrong the first time I read it and bought fully-cooked sausage.  So when I went back to buy uncooked sausage links, it was $5 a pound... YIKES!!!  I think it would have been fine to use the fully-cooked sausage... certainly different, but fine.

Verdict:  Phil, Keegan, Paige, Ashton and I LOVED this.  Kaleigh, Sydney and Kendall came close to crying.   I think the only reason that they ate ANY of it was because we had homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

I served this with a foccacia bread that I bought from Costco.  The bread made for a perfect combination with the dinner.

I will make this again on a Thursday night... Sydney has choir rehearsal and Kaleigh has soccer practice on Thursdays.  I'll try to convince Kendall that she likes it.  Or we'll make cookies again for dessert.

German Pancakes

German Pancakes
source:  at the bottom of this printout it says "Clear Channel Communications"  ????

3 eggs
1/2 C sifted flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 C milk
3 T melted butter

Beat eggs well.  Sift flour, salt and baking powder together in separate bowl.  Add eggs to dry ingredients.  Stir in milk and butter.

Pour into a 11x7 greased pan so that the mixture is about 1/4 inch thick.

Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

German pancakes will rise in the oven, but fall when removed.  Cut into squares and serve warm with butter and powdered sugar or syrup.

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Notes:  I doubled this.  I have a dish that is larger than a 9x13 pan... (not sure the dimensions, but I used that).  Next time I will make it in a jelly roll pan, I think? 

Verdict:  This was so yummy!  And so easy!  I made it after church while the kids were changing out of their Sunday clothes and cleaning up their before church mess.  I made some bacon to serve with it and cut up some fruit.  It was perfect!!  Everyone LOVED it!

Chicken-in-a-Skillet

Chicken-in-a-Skillet
a.k.a. - Never-judge-a-book-by-its'-cover-chicken
source:  some sort of Betty Crocker cookbook

1 - 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 bag (1 pound) frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower

Mix thyme, salt and pepper; sprinkle over chicken and set aside.

Heat butter and oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat.  Cook garlic in butter mixture 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add chicken.  Cook uncovered 8 to 12 mintues, turning once, until light golden brown.

Stir in frozen vegetables.  Cover and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are hot and crisp-tender and chicken is no longer pink.

***********************

Notes:  We used 1/2 tsp. dried thyme.  And I probably used 2 or 3 tsp of garlic... opps... but that is a good opps!  And we used chicken tenders.

Verdict:  I didn't even get my camera out because this looked nasty!  I went and got my cell phone handy in case I needed to order some pizzas.  But... I nicknamed this dinner "never-judge-a-book-by-its'-cover-chicken... remember???  (See above!)  We sat down at the table, after having serving up plates for everyone and waited for the ball to drop!!  Imagine our surprise when EVERY ONE LOVED THIS!!!  Phil and I kept looking at each other wondering how something that looked so bland could taste so good!  (Maybe it was the extra garlic???)  Anyway... we will make this again.  And soon!

I served this with red potatoes.  Great dinner!!!

Beef Tortellini Soup - Crock Pot

From our untried recipe box comes this easy, easy soup.

Beef Tortillini Soup

from... I'm not 100% sure. But the copy looks like it might have come from one of those magazine style cookbooks found at the register at the grocery store.

1 pound beef stew meat

1 large onion, chopped (3/4 c )
1 large carrot, chopped (3/4 c)
1 medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 c)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsps sugar
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (10.4 oz each) condensed beef consomme
1 tsp dried basil leaves
2 c frozen cheese-filled tortellini
1 c frozen cut green beans

Add beef, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, sugar, tomatoes and beef consomme in order listed to a large slow-cooker.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 9 hours.

About 25 minutes before serving, stir in basil, frozen tortellini and green beans. Increase heat setting to high. Cover and cook about 25 minutes or until beans are tender.

Makes 6 servings.

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Notes: I doubled this. I used double the doubled amount of fresh garlic. I used beef broth because I had it. And I served this with garlic bread.

Verdict:  Yippeeee!!!  Another easy dinner that my family LOVED!!!

Scalloped Chicken and Potatoes

Scalloped Chicken and Potatoes

from: source unknown

1 package (4.8 oz) sour cream 'n chives scalloped potato mix
2 1/4 c boiling water
3/4 c half-and-half or whole milk
3 c cubed cooked chicken
1 c frozen sweet peas
1 can (8 oz) mushroom pieces and stem, drained
1/2 c plain bread crumbs
1/4 c butter or margarine, melted
1 T chopped fresh parsley

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix potatoes, sauce mix, water, half-and-half, chicken, peas and mushrooms in ungreased 2-qt casserole.

Bake uncovered 30 - 35 minutes, stirring once, until potatoes are tender.

Mix remaining ingredients in small bowl; sprinkle over potato mixture. Bake uncovered about 5 minutes or until light golden brown.

5 servings.

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Notes: No surprise here, but I doubled this. I omitted the mushrooms. I could blame the kids for leaving out the slimy fungi but truthfully I did it for me. Blech... my skin is crawling just thinking about this dinner with mushrooms. Also, we totally forgot to do the bread crumbs on the top for the last five minutes. My guess is that they would have been a yummy addition and we'll not forget this step next time.  I also used 1% milk.

Verdict: Heck ya!!! The kids devoured this!!!! We had it for dinner on a night that Phil subbed for an elementary school - in the PE department. His throat hurt from yelling (not in anger, but to keep the kids organized and playing all manners of games...) and he called this casserole "perfect comfort food." We served it with warm french bread!

Interesting note: after I noticed that everyone had eaten a good portion of their serving I went around the table and had everyone give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down. When everyone voted with an enthusiastic thumbs up, Kendall said... "you should send this recipe to Rachel Ray... she'd love you forever!!" Kendall's adoration of Rachel Ray lives on...

Teriyaki Chicken Packets

Teriyaki Chicken Packets
from a Kikkoman ad

1/2 c teriyaki sauce
1 tsp. Italian herbs
1 tsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 c chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 zucchini, sliced thin
1 yellow squash, sliced thin
1 large carrot, sliced thin
Cooked rice

Preheat grill to medium high or oven to 450ºF. Combine teriyaki marinade and sauce, oil, garlic and Italian herbs. Add chicken and vegetables; toss until evenly coated.

Center one fourth of chicken mixture on each sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

Repeat to make four packets.

Grill 12 to 14 minutes in covered grill or bake 15 to 18 minutes on a cookie sheet in oven. Serve over rice.


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Notes:  I doubled this recipe... I know, I double a lot of recipes!  Anyway, we love zucchini so I added a third zucchini.  I would add more of the teriyaki sauce next time.  I used a Honey Sesame Teriyaki sauce - we didn't think it was teriyaki-enough.  Next time I would use that super yummy teriyaki sauce from Costco.  We grilled it, which was nice.  The packets worked so well and made clean up so dang easy!  Keegan manned the grill, which he enjoyed!

Verdict:  ALL of the kids LOVED this.  LOVED it!  Phil and I were a little disappointed because we thought it was a little on the bland side.  Phil thought that maybe onions would make it better.  I definitely think it needed a stronger teriyaki sauce.  I'm not giving this a five-star rating because I think it needs to be tweaked a little before earning that rating.

One more note:  this recipe was originally called Herb Chicken Packets... and I thought that was lame.  So I renamed it.

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas
from a Campbell's ad

1 can (10 3/4 oz) Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 c sour cream
1 c picante sauce
2 tsp. chili powder
2 c chopped cooked chicken
1/2 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 flour tortillas (6"), warmed
1 small tomato, chopped
1 green onion, sliced

Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl.  Stir 1 cup picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese in large bowl.  Divide chicken mixture among tortillas.  Roll up the tortillas and place seam side up in a 2-qt shallow baking dish.  Pour remaining picante sauce mixture over filled tortillas.  Cover baking dish.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until enchiladas are hot and bubbling.  Top with tomato and onion.

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Notes:  I used 12" tortillas which were way too big.  So I cut them in half... which ended up being perfect for my family!  And I doubled this recipe.  And I used a total of 1 1/2 cups of cheese.

Verdict:  We liked this!  Didn't love it... but I may make it again because it could NOT be easier!  And we generally have all of these ingredients on hand.  My mom has a chicken enchilada recipe that does not call for Cream of Chicken soup.  I really LOVE that recipe!

Casserole Italiano

Casserole Italiano

clipped from the AZ Republic
submitted by Rose DePalma

1/2 C chopped onion

1/2 C chopped green bell pepper
1/2 C butter
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
2 T Worcestershire sauce
8-oz package elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions
1 can (3 oz) button mushrooms, drained
1 can (8.75 oz) tomato soup, undiluted
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter over medium heat until tender. Add ground beef, cooking until brown. Add salt, pepper, oregano and Worcestershire sauce. In a 2 1/2-quart casserole, combine cooked macaroni, ground beef mixture, mushrooms, soup and chopped tomato.

Cover and bake for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven, sprinkle cheese on top and bake 5 minutes more, or until cheese is melted and brown.

Makes 4-6 servings.

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Notes: I did not use mushrooms. We don't like them. Ewww... fungi!  I also did not cover this while baking... only because I didn't read the directions completely! oops. It was crunchier because of that and next time I will definitely cover it. But it did not ruin the dinner. I also used whole-grain pasta and I used a 16-oz box of pasta. Again, because I didn't follow the directions carefully! oops again. I can't imagine this meal with less pasta... I think it actually needed the extra noodles. We had enough for 8 people... with several of those having multiple servings.

Verdict: Everyone, except for Kaleigh, gave this enthusiastic thumbs up! Sydney, who is extremely picky, had three servings!! Keegan devoured probably half of the casserole just by himself. We have a favorite dinner... called Corny Mac and Beef from our good friends in Washington... (thanks Marie!)... and we all agree this is a variation of that recipe. We like them both... so we'll just add this one to our collection of keepers!!

Sticky Buns!

Sticky Buns
from Kelly Mower

20 Rhoades Rolls - frozen
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C butter, melted
1/2 pkg. Butterscotch NON-instant pudding (small) - Can also use vanilla
1/2 C nuts
1/4 C sugar, mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon

Place frozen rolls in greased bundt pan. Sprinkle brown sugar and pudding over rolls. Pour melted butter on top. Add nuts, cinnamon mixture. Cover with foil. Let sit out overnight. The next morning, remove foil, bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Immediately invert on serving platter.

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Notes: I did not add nuts. I really wish my family liked nuts.

Verdict: Another huge hit... especially with the young girls! Ashton was so excited to try them... she bugged me for days to make them. Paige had kitchen duty the night I ended up making these. I loved that the recipe was really a good one for her to do (mostly) by herself! She had such a sense of accomplishment!!!

Homestyle Pasta

Homestyle Pasta
from a Hillshire Farm magazine ad

1 16-oz pkg. uncooked linguine
4 C fresh small broccoli florets
1 pkg. Hillshire Farms Polska Kielbasa
1/2 C chopped onion
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 7-oz pkg. refrigerated basil pesto
1 5-oz pkg. crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 green onions, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook linguine according to package directions. During the last 4 minutes of cooking, add broccoli to water. When linguine and broccoli are tender, drain; keep warm

Cut sausage into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat a 4 to 6-quart pan over medium high heat for 3 minutes. Add sausage and onion to pan; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage is browned and onion is tender.

Add hot sauce, cooked linguine and broccoli. Toss gently over medium heat for 1 minutes. Stir in pesto, Gorgonzola and green onions; heat through. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Serves 8.

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Notes: I used penne pasta instead of linguine. I don' t think that the hot sauce did a single thing for this recipe. It could very easily be omitted... in my opinion.

Verdict: This was the first time I've used Kielbasa in a recipe. And WE LOVED IT!!! This was so easy and so quick... less than thirty minutes to prepare! It smelled so good while cooking that when it was ready to serve there was not a single patient member of my family that would support me in getting my camera out to take a picture! We will definitely make this again!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

from an ad in a Current Catalog (a very long time ago)

CAKE:

1/4 C butter

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1 C sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

2 C sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

FILLING:

1/4 C brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp cocoa

3/4 C chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Fold in sour cream and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients and fold into creamed mixture. Set aside. Mix filling. Spoon half the batter into greased bundt pan. Top with half of the filling. Add the remaining batter and top with the remaining filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Cool 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool completely, then drizzle with glaze or dust with powdered sugar as desired.

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Notes: I omitted the pecans. Too many people in my family don't love pecans. I also did not frost it in any way... left it naked... so to speak! Sydney made this almost entirely by herself. It was easy and quick to put together.

Verdict: This was a very moist and yummy cake. Just enough sugary crunch, from the filling, to make it pretty close to a perfect coffee cake!

It is finding little gems like this that make me so glad for this fun little project that we are doing!! Sydney was incredibly proud of her efforts and the recipe is definitely a keeper!!!

Scallion Whipped Potatoes

Scallion Whipped Potatoes
from the Market Cafe in the Buttes
recipe printed in The Arizona Republic

1 pound small red potatoes, unpeeled
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 scallions, sliced thin

Quarter the potatoes and place in a large pot. Cover with water and add a little salt. Bring the potatoes to a boil, lower heat to medium and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. In a separate saucepan, combine the cream, butter, pepper, garlic powder and salt. Place over medium heat until butter is melted. Drain the water from the potatoes and return potatoes to the pot. Place the pot over medium heat, mash the potatoes and add the hot cream mixture. Adjust seasoning to taste. Sprinkle in the sliced scallions. Makes six servings.

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Notes: The Market Cafe is located at the Marriott hotel, The Buttes, in Tempe!

Verdict: Potato Heaven!!!! I'm NOT kidding! So easy and so yummy! Everyone loved them! We will definitely make these again!

Tri-Color Stuffed Peppers

Tri-Color Stuffed Peppers
recipe found in a Kraft ad

2 c frozen ground beef
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen corn
1 1/2 c salsa
1 1/2 c cooked instant rice
1 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 each; large red, yellow and green pepper, cut lengthwise in half
1/2 c water

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix beef, corn and salsa in large non-stick skillet. Cook on medium 5 min. or until heated through, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in rice and 1/2 c of cheese. Spoon into pepper halves; place in 13x9 inch baking dish. Pour water into bottom of dish; cover with foil. Bake 30 min.; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 10 min. or until cheese is melted.

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Verdict: This is a perfect family dinner! We all loved this and the kids devoured it! We will definitely make this again. We served it with rolls and a fruit salad!

Rolo Pretzel Treats

Picture from Hostess with the Mostess blog.

I was intrigued by the recipe for the Rolo Pretzel Turtles that I have seen all over blog-land this holiday season. We received a couple of plates of these tasty treats and I knew it was something I wanted to make.

The recipe:

1 bag of Rolo candies

small pretzels

pecans

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels on paper and one unwrapped Rolo candy on top of each pretzel. Place in the oven for about 4 minutes. Rolos should be just soft, not melted. Remove from oven and immediately place one pecan on each Rolo candy and press gently. Yummy!

So easy, so fast and so delicious!

Big problem: Most of my family does not really care for pecans. I had to figure out some way to make these treats more perfect for my family!

Hello M&Ms!!

And Hersey Kisses!!

Paige, Kendall and I made these one afternoon before Christmas. We used Hershey Kisses (the caramel filled ones and the candy cane flavored ones) instead of Rolos... and we used M&Ms instead pecans!

Very, very successful!! The girls loved that they were able to make these entirely on their own! And they were so yummy!

What a fun treat!!

Coca-Cola Chocolate Cake

Coca-Cola Chocolate Cake
printed in the Arizona Republic

2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 c sugar
1 c butter
8 oz Coca-Cola
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla
1/2 c buttermilk

Icing:
1/4 c butter
4 oz Coca-Cola
3 T cocoa powder
1/2 c pecans, chopped
1 tsp vanilla
1 box (16 oz) powdered sugar, about (3 1/2 c)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. Sift together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and sugar in a large bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the butter and Coca-Cola over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and mix well using a wire whisk. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and beat, until smooth using an electric mixer. The batter will be very thin.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Spread icing on cake while warm.

Icing: In a small saucepan, heat the butter and Coca-Cola over medium heat until the butter melts. Do not boil. Add the cocoa, pecan, vanilla and powdered sugar and mix well. Pour over cake.

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Notes: I did not use pecans in the icing.

Verdict: Yummy!!! This is very, very similar to Texas Sheet Cake! This is a very rich cake, so the 9x13 pan went very far! And everyone LOVED it. I will definitely make it again. Because I'm a Pepsi girl, I'll make it with Pepsi next time! :-)

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

My sister-in-law made these for Christmas Eve... man o man... these are some amazing cookies.

The recipe is from Paula Deen. Enjoy!

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

1 (8oz) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (180z) box moist chocolate cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioners' sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and gooey. Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.