Recipe To Try - Cheeseburger Casserole

This casserole tastes just like a cheeseburger, y'all!  I thought it was delicious.  My husband thought the pickles on the top would be weird, but I thought that's what made this dish.  And the best part is, if you used low-fat cheese and lean ground beef or turkey, this would be low fat.  Although I'm guessing if you substituted those (cheese and beef) out in any other dish it would make it low fat.  Oh, who am I to judge?  High fat, low fat, no matter what, it's yummy!

Here's the recipe from Skinnytaste:  Cheeseburger Casserole.

Recipe To Try - Pioneer Woman's Chicken Quesadillas & Pico de Gallo & Guacamole

These are Pioneer Woman's Chicken Quesadillas minus some of the bell peppers.  We're not big bell pepper eaters round these parts, so I used just one yellow bell pepper.  I usually cut PW's recipes down by half - she's got more people to feed than I do.  I'm saying this so you don't freak out when you read the recipe calls for 12 tablespoons of butter.  That's a tablespoon per tortilla.  So unless you're planning on making six huge plates of quesadillas, then you won't use that much.  These are delicious no matter how many you make.

I also made Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo.  You can find that recipe on the same page as the quesadillas.  Yummy!!!

With the Pico de Gallo, you can make the guacamole.

Everything tasted wonderful.

Now for the funny of the day:

Recipes To Try - Father's Day Edition

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen Sunday.  But that's okay, my husband, the father of my children, is worth it.  Here's some of the things I whipped up:

For lunch I made Paula Deen's chicken salad.  For some reason or another, I forgot to take a picture of it.  Believe me when I say this recipe is super simple to make and it tastes delicious.  I always wind up adding more mayonnaise though.

I also made The Pioneer Woman's Deviled Eggs.  Here's a sad little picture of a lonely deviled egg - all his little friends had already met their demise.  I thought my husband was sneaking in the fridge and eating them throughout the day - come to find out, it was my sneaky 3-year-old.

For supper we had The Pioneer Woman's Cowboy Bacon Beans:

Delicious!

Pioneer Woman's Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

Probably the best mashed potatoes I've ever eaten

And we marinaded a couple of ribeyes in this steak marinade.
 

I'm going to list the recipe for that marinade here because the link for it is all wonky on Pinterest.  And I.have.no.earthly.idea.how.I.lived.without.Pinterest.


Steak Marinade

¼  cups Olive Oil
¼  cups Balsamic Vinegar
¼  cups Worcestershire Sauce
¼  cups Soy Sauce
2  teaspoons Dijon Mustard
2  teaspoons Minced Garlic
Salt And Pepper, to taste

Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Makes enough marinade for 4 steaks - but I use it on 2 steaks - the more the merrier, right?

We had some full bellies on Father's Day.  I'll definitely be making all these things again. 

Recipe To Try - Chicken & Green Chile Enchiladas

This recipe is delicious.  It comes from Everyday Mom's Meals. 

The recipe calls for chicken tenders, but I used chicken that my husband cooked on the grill that had been marinated in olive oil and a package of zesty Italian dressing - you know, the dry stuff that's over there by the ranch dressing packets at the store.

And, yes, my husband even took leftovers of this to work the next day...and that is saying something since he's usually not a fan of "yard bird". 

Recipe To Try - Corned Beef, Cabbage, Colcannon...it's not just for St. Patrick's Day

I've made this meal the past two St. Patrick's Day.  I love it because it's all cooked in the crock pot at the same time, yet it turns in to three separate dishes. 

I found the recipe on Pinterest and here it is.  The only way I didn't follow the recipe was I didn't glaze the corned beef - only because I didn't have any apricot preserves laying around.  The corned beef turned out fabulous anyway.  I was surprised that even my pickiest eaters loved the meat.

The cabbage was all mine because nobody in this family will touch it with a ten-foot pole.  Eating all that cabbage also makes for a nice, peaceful evening alone because for some reason or another, nobody wanted to be in the same room with me.  I consider that a win/win - lol!

 

And then here's the delicious colcannon which oddly enough my husband ate even though it has cabbage in it...maybe it's because he didn't know there was cabbage in it.  I'm sneaky like that. 

Recipe To Try - Crispy Cheddar Chicken

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook last week.  I made it the night she posted it because it sounded so good.  It was really good.  My husband, who is anti-yard bird, loved it.  

I have no idea where the recipe came from, but I'll share it with you.  Hey, that's what friends are for, right?



Crispy Cheddar Chicken

2 lbs chicken tenders or 4 large chicken breasts
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup whole milk
3 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Sauce:
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoon sour cream
2 tablespoon butter

Crush crackers. If using chicken breasts and not tenders, cut each chicken breast into 3 large pieces. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the salt and pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk and then the cheese. Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Then press the cheesy coated chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in.

Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.

In 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.

Recipe To Try - Creamy Burrito Casserole

I made this for the first time last night and it was seriously good.  My husband and daughter both took leftovers of this for their lunches today, which is, like, unheard of in this house - not the fact that we actually have leftovers, but the fact that someone is actually eating leftovers. 

Here's the recipe - Creamy Burrito Casserole.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Since we had a health scare at the beginning of the year, my husband and I have really been watching what we eat lately.  It's sometimes hard to come up with something that's lower in fat but still tastes delicious.  This soup is lower in fat and it tastes delicious so score one for me!

I found a recipe in the calendar the Southwest Dairy Farmers handed out at the stock show.  I knew I wanted to make it, but silly me, I forgot to write down what I needed to make it before I went to the store, so when I got to the store, I had to try and remember all the ingredients.  I wasn't that successful in remembering what all I needed, but the soup turned out delicious anyway.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 Tablespoons butter
2 - 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped in cubes
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 cups fat-free chicken broth (I always buy organic)
3/4 cup reduced fat milk (I always buy organic)
1 can Rotel tomatoes (I'm a wimp and buy the mild)
3/4 can creamed corn
1 (14 oz.) can diced green chiles
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 - 5 corn tortillas, torn in small pieces
1 cup colby jack cheese, shredded - or any kind of shredded cheese - can use low fat
tortilla chips
low-fat sour cream

In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt butter and cook chicken until lightly browned, about five minutes.  Add chopped onions and cook until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in flour, chili powder, garlic powder, and ground cumin.  Cook for 1 minute.

Slowly add chicken broth and milk and stir to blend well.  Bring to a simmer.  Cook for 5 minutes.  When liquid has thickened slightly, add Rotel, creamed corn, green chiles, corn tortillas, and black beans.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir in the cheese.  Continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted and soup is heated through.

Pour some in your bowl, crush some tortilla chips on top and add a dollop of low-fat sour cream and enjoy!

(My favorite commercial during the Super Bowl was the Dodge truck farmer one - love, love, love)

For other great recipes go here:

Recipe To Try - Hamburger Steaks with Brown Gravy

This recipe is South Your Mouth's Hamburger Steak with Brown Gravy.  It is delicious.  I will never, ever, never, never, ever make brown gravy using a packet of powder again.  The hamburger steaks have a great flavor, and with that homemade brown gravy slathered on top, you just can't go wrong.  This is so easy to throw together and soooo good. 

Recipe To Try - Copycat Olive Garden Pasta Alfredo

Copycat Olive Garden Pasta Alfredo

This recipe comes from Budget Savvy Diva.  It is delicious!  You might need to wear sweat pants for a week or so after you eat it, but it is worth it!

Recipe To Try - Mississippi Roast

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Mississippi Roast (I totally was just singing M-I-Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, I as I typed that!)

I found this recipe on Pinterest - where else?  The recipe comes from A Perfectly Lovely Ordinary Day.

It is delicious.  My husband has already asked me to make it again, which is, like, a total miracle because he very, very rarely requests anything, which is one of the thousands of reasons why I married him - heh, heh.

Pinterest Palooza - John Wayne Casserole

Saw this on Pinterest - John Wayne Casserole.  The recipe comes from The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife.  It's been pinned, like, 55,000 times - literally.  So I thought I'd try it out.

It turned out pretty dang good!  I halved the recipe and I think next time I make it, I'll use less jalapenos.

Had to get a few bowls and pans dirty, but I think it was worth it.

Recipe To Try

Y'all must try this recipe now.  Go out and buy the ingredients now, get it marinating, and cook it out on the grill tomorrow. 

It's Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide Carne Asada and it is DELICIOUS!

It goes great with my Quick & Easy Refried Beans.

It looks amazing, doesn't it?  Well, it tastes even better than it looks.

Recipes To Try

Since my oldest daughter had her tonsils out last Thursday, my mind is kind of numb.  I've gotten up every four hours to give her pain medicine for the past six nights.  During the day, I had her set up in our bedroom with everything she needed including a bell to ring whenever she needed something.

Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that bell?  I've heard that bell ring approximately 98,764 times.  Between Maddie ringing the bell and the little one yelling Mama, mama and then handing me her sopping wet diaper and the dog barking at me to go outside, I'm a little worn out.  Mama, mama, tonsillectomy-drama.

So instead of using my brain and trying to come up with a recipe, I've cooked a couple of other amazing recipes that two other great cooks came up with.

They are South Your Mouth's Swedish Meatballs:

One word...amazeballs.

And I also cooked The Country Cook's Pizza Pasta Bake:

Delicious.


I must go now.  I think I hear the jing, jing, jingling of a **#&^@% bell! 

Easy Crock Pot Beef Tips & Noodles

Easy Crock Pot Beef Tips & Noodles
(Please see *** below)

I've always wondered if it would be possible to put uncooked noodles in the crock pot with whatever it was that I was cooking.  Is that, like, against the law or something?  Well, I experimented with it and it worked.  Hallelujah!  Trumpets roared and angels sang and I did a little happy dance.  No more will I boil my noodles separately.  Never again will I dirty up another pot.  It's all going in the crock pot, baby!

For this recipe I used one of those cute little tubs of Knorr Homestyle Stock.  Normally I probably would have used a couple of cans of beef broth or a can of beef gravy, but I had a $2 off coupon for the Knorr Homestyle Stock and I wasn't going to let that sucker go to waste.  I think the Knorr Stock really gave this recipe great flavor.

Easy Crock Pot Beef Tips & Noodles

Now:
3 cups water
1 lb. stew meat (Mine were frozen solid)
1 tub Knorr Homestyle Beef Stock
2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder

After 4 1/2 hours:
8 oz. UNCOOKED wide egg noodles (more or less)
1 cup water (more or less)

30 Minutes after that:
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
salt and pepper to taste

Spray crock pot with nonstick spray because if your crock pot is anything like mine and it cooks like two degrees hotter than the sun, you'll want to be prepared.  Pour 3 cups of water in crock pot, followed by stew meat (and mine was frozen solid), tub of Knorr Homestyle Beef Stock, minced onion and garlic powder.  Set crock pot to low.

Cook for about 4 1/2 hours.

Pour in uncooked egg noodles and add  cup of water.  You might have to add a little more than just a cup.  Just keep an eye on it.

Cook for another 30 minutes.

Add cream cheese.  Turn crock pot to warm and let sit a bit, just enough for cream cheese to melt.  Salt and pepper to taste.

**My crock pot tends to cook very, very hot even on low, so you might have to adjust your cooking times.

Let me know how it turns out.


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***12/15/12 - After making this recipe a time or two, I've realized that when you put noodles in with the meat that it tends to make the noodles sort of goopy and not-so-appetizing. So now I cook the beef tips in the crock pot using about a cup and a half of water and then I just cook my noodles separately.***

Recipe to Try - Poblanadas - (and how to roast a pepper the redneck way)

Poblanadas

I found this recipe on the Just a Pinch website.  I love that website because you can search for recipes that have received a blue ribbon and also filter the results putting the highest-rated ones first.  I think every single recipe I've found on Just A Pinch has turned out really good and this recipe was no exception.


This recipe is called Poblanadas because it's enchiladas with a poblano pepper in it.  You have to roast the pepper, which I had never done before.  I don't have a newfangled gas oven, y'all!  I have an electric Corning oven that literally is older than I am (I will be 40 this year - shhh, don't tell anyone).  So I couldn't just turn the burner on and char the pepper because my stovetop is glass, and I'm pretty sure there's like 40 years' worth of dried chemicals and stuff on the glasstop that I don't want to be putting in my belly.

Anyway, I rubbed some olive oil on the poblano pepper, after I washed it of course.  I slapped that sucker on a little pan and stuck it in my toaster oven!  Oh, lordy - I feel like that housewife of New York that has the toaster oven cookbook!  I set the toaster oven to 400 degrees and let it cook in there until it started bubbling up.  I then placed it in a glass bowl and covered it with foil.  It said to use plastic wrap, but I didn't want to pass out from fumes.  And that's how I roasted the pepper.   

Follow this link for the complete yummy recipe.