Easy Chicken Stroganoff

Easy Chicken Stroganoff
Recipe from allrecipes.com

2 Tbsp butter
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
6 oz sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
4 cups medium egg noodles (or other noodle), cooked and drained
Chopped fresh parsley

Heat 1 Tbls butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook until its browned, stirring often.  Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.

Heat the remaining butter in the skillet.  Add the mushrooms and onion and cook until they're tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the soup and sour cream and heat to a boil.  Return the chicken to the skillet and cook until the chicken is cooked through.  Serve the chicken mixture over the noodles.  Garish with parsley, if desired.

Chicken Cacciatore

*Our Best Bites suggestion: White cooking wine is DEFINITELY better than juices but as a note, don't go cheap on cooking wines when you buy them. (I used grape juice.)

*I am going to put they way I cooked it below the real recipe. I didn't want to use the slow cooker and dirty another dish. It worked fine. I dunno, maybe if I had used the cooking wine and the slow cooker this recipe may have been higher rated.

Chicken Cacciatore

Recipe from Our Best Bites

1 lb. chicken breasts or breasts and thighs, cut up

1/4 cup white flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 onion, roughly chopped

5-6 cloves or garlic, peeled and crushed or halved

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1 cup white wine, white cooking wine, or apple or white grape juice

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp salt (omit if using wine)

1 bay leaf

1 cup sliced mushrooms (or more)

1 green bell pepper, chopped

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onions and garlic and onions and stir frequently until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to blender. Increase heat to medium-high.

In a large Ziplock bag, combine flour, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Add chicekn pieces, seal bag, and shake to coat pieces with flour. Dump the entire back into the hot pan and stir quickly to prevent pieces from sticking together. Saute until chicken is golden. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Turn off the heat under oil.

While chicken is draining, add wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram to the onions and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. When you have about 1/2 hour to go, add the mushrooms and the chopped green pepper. Cook until mushrooms and pepper are tender. Remove bay leaf and serve over pasta.

*My Cooking Instructions

In a large frying pan or wok add oil and saute onions and garlic pieces. Then transfer to blender. Increase heat to medium high.

Combine flour, salt, and pepper into a Ziploc bag. Add chicken and shake to coat pieces with flour. Dump the entire bag to the hot pan and stir quickly to prevent form sticking together. Saute until chicken is golden, but not entirely cooked through.

Add mushrooms and green pepper and continue sauteing until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are crisp/tender.

To the onions and garlic pieces in the blender add wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram. Blend until smooth. Place sauce and bay leaf into pan with chicken and veggies. Heat until sauce is heated and begins to bubble. Cover, turn down heat to simmer, and let simmer for 20 minutes (or longer). Serve over pasta.

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe from Brad Call

1 Cup Peanut butter

1 Cup Sugar

1 Egg

Mix ingredients together. Form into balls on a cookie sheet. Flatten using a fork to make criss cross shapes on top. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. (Definitely better to under-cook than over-cook. Also, if you eat them right out of the oven they will fall apart...wait a little bit until warm or cooled.)

Hawaiian Haystacks

*I didn't have chow mein noodles or celery...was still great.

Hawaiian Haystacks
Recipe from Recipezaar.com

1/4 lb butter (optional or use less if you want)
3/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cooked chicken breasts (or canned)
1/2 can sliced mushrooms
Pineapple tidbits
Chopped green onion
Grated cheddar cheese
Coconut
Slivered almonds
Chow Mein noodles
Cooked rice
Celery

Cook chicken and cut into bite sized pieces or shred. Melt butter in a large pan. Add flour, salt, and milk. Stir well. Add cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms, and chicken. Simmer. Cook rice (however much is needed for number of people serving). Layer on plate rice, chow mein noodles, cheese, soup mixture, and other toppings desired. Can also add soy sauce if desired.

Crockpot Lasagna

*This is a pretty basic lasagna recipe but done in a slow cooker. Why I like this? You don't have to pre-cook the noodles. I just don't enjoy trying to mess with the cooked noodles. I also use pre-cooked, frozen ground beef. I'll often take a whole package of ground beef, cook it all up and then split it to the amount needed. Then I'll label and freeze the rest. Makes it easy for this cause in the morning you don't have to even take out the skillet and brown the meat.

Crockpot Lasagna
Recipe from Macie Stratton

1 lb. Ground beef, cooked
4-5 Cups spaghetti sauce
8-10 Lasagna noodled, uncooked
1 Egg
24 Oz. cottage cheese
2-3 Cups mozzarella cheese or Italian blend, shredded

Combine ground beef and spaghetti sauce in bowl. Combine egg and cottage cheese in another bowl. Layer sauce, noodles, cottage cheese mixture, cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 6-8 hours.

Chicken Fajitas

*This recipe is a friendly reminder to myself that in order to "make dinner" I don't need to "make everything from scratch". I don't need to take out every spice I own just to make an original recipe. I often try to find new and exciting recipes...but sometimes I need something easy.

Chicken Fajitas

Recipe from my mom

Veggie & Chicken Mix:

2 Chicken breasts, cubed or t-strip

1 Green pepper, sliced lengthwise

1 Red pepper, sliced lengthwise

1/2 Onion, sliced lengthwise

1/2 Fajita/taco seasoning packet

1/2 Cup water

Fajita:

Tortillas

Sour cream

Salsa

Lettuce

Cheese

Can refried beans (heated through)

Any other condiments you would like

For the veggie/chicken mix: With a little oil in the bottom of a large skillet, cook chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through. Add vegetables and continue cooking until vegetables are soft (however soft you like them to be). Mix in seasoning and water. Let it come to a boil then reduce heat to low and cover with lid until ready to serve.

Lay down the tortilla and create fajita using condiments of your choice and the veggie/chicken mix.

Butternut Squash Saute

Butternut Squash Saute
Prep: 20 mins. Cook: 20 mins.

*Tip on cutting squash: Use a peeler to peel off skin first, cut in half, dig out the seeds, and then dice. Can use frozen, chopped onion as well.

4 Slices of bacon (for vegetarian, take out bacon and add a little butter instead)
1 Medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
6 Cups 1/2 inch pieces peeled butternut squash (2 small)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/8 dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 Cups firmly packed baby spinach leaves

Cook bacon in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp (or just melt butter for vegetarian style). Stire in onion. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is crisp-tender. Stir in squash, thyme and pepper. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender. Stir in spinach just until wilted.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

*I used leftover hamburger buns that were kind of small and the meatballs were large. It only took one meatball to fill the sandwich cause they were so large.

*I liked this recipe but I'm sure it would have been pretty good using any type meatball recipe....but I suppose all the extra stuff adds to it.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatball Sandwiches
Recipe from Picky-Palate.com

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
2 Tablespoons mlk
1 Tablespoon hot sauce
1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned bread crumbs (I used crushed crackers)
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil

12-15 inch Mozzarella balls, marinated in olive oil (I used shredded and formed into balls)
1 26-oz jar of favorite pasta sauce
4-6 Buns or rolls of choice
4 slices of Provolone cheese, each cut into halves

Preheat the oven to 350. Place beef, egg, milk, hot sauce, bread crumbs, parmesan, salt, pepper, oregano and basil in a large bowl. With hands or large spoon, mix until well combined. Scoop about 1/4 cup meat mixture in hands, press 1 mozzarella ball into the middle of meat and form a ball around the cheese. Do this until all the meat and cheese is used up (makes about 12-15 large meatballs. Place meatballs into a 9x13 baking dish that has 1/4 cup olive oil in the bottom. Bake for 20 minutes, flip meatballs and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Place pasta sauce into a large pot, add meatballs and simmer on low heat. Place 1/2 of the provolone cheese onto the cut sides of the rolls. Place onto tin foil or baking sheet and broil for 1-2 minutes or until rolls are toasted and cheese is melted. Place meatballs on bottom half of rolls, spoon sauce over meatballs and sprinkle with parmesan. Close with top roll and serve warm.

Banana Boats

Banana Boats
Recipe from somewhere online I can't remember

Bananas
Chocolate chips
Marshmallows
Other toppings of choice (peanut butter, coconut, candy bars, caramel, anything)
Ice cream (optional)

Cut banana open being careful to not slice all the way through the other side. Push together ends so the banana opens up (like a boat). Fill with desired toppings (technically you don't even need to use chocolate chips and marshmallows...just whatever you want inside). Cover with tin foil and put on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300 for 5-10 minutes or until toppings are melted or warm (ours took longer than that and didn't quite melt all the way but was still good). Serve with ice cream.

Ranch Cheddar Chicken

Ranch Cheddar Chicken
Recipe from Macie Stratton

4 (about 1 lb) chicken breast halves
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 Tablespoon flour
1/4 cup cheddar cheese (can use Colby jack), shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cooked rice

Combine dressing and flour in a bowl. Coat each chicken breast with the dressing mixture. Place in ungreased baking pan. Combine cheeses and sprinkle over chicken. Bake at 375 fro 25 minutes or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Serve over rice.

*Really good over the cilantro rice found here.

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie
Recipe from my mom

1/2 Bag of spaghetti noodles (maybe a little less)
1/2 Lb ground beef, cooked (optional)
1 Cup cottage cheese
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
Spaghetti sauce

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package and drain. Pour noodles into a pie pan, 8x8 baking dish, or similar dish. Mix in Parmesan cheese and butter to noodles until butter is melted. Mix together cottage cheese and egg, layer over noodles. If adding ground beef, add a layer on top of cheese and egg mixture. On top, put a layer of spaghetti sauce (may be about 1/2 the bottle...needs lots). Poke holes into the spaghetti noodles for the sauce to get inside. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Shepherd's Pie

*This is the very basic shepherd's pie...and I love it this way. Most people try to add more to it and make it more complex and difficult than it really needs to be. Other versions are good...but this is the quickest and easiest way to do it and I really do love it.

Shepherd's Pie
Recipe from my mom

1/2 lb ground beef (or turkey)
1 can green beans, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup or tomato soup
Mashed potatoes (I just use potato pearls, talk about easy huh?)
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Cook ground beef over the stove until browned. In a small, square baking dish, combine soup, beans, and cooked ground beef. Mix together. Make mashed potatoes. Put potatoes on top of mixture then put shredded cheese on top of that. Cook at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbling on the sides.

Salmon or Chicken Patty Sandwich Sliders

*Also good plain (not as sandwich sliders). Just serve with tarter sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, whatever kind of sauce you like with it.

Salmon or Chicken Patty Sandwich Sliders
Recipe from my mom

1 can salmon or chicken (6-7 oz)
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs (or crushed crackers)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 onion, diced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Rolls or bread (I used slices of bread cut up into fourths)
Toppings of choice for sandwiches (lettuce, mayo, cheese, etc)

Mix together all ingredients (except olive oil) with a fork and form into small patties. If not solid enough to form into patties add a few more bread crumbs. Fry on stove over medium-high heat until browned on both sides and heated through, about 10 minutes (or stick in the George Foreman until cooked through).

Put patties in bread with desired toppings and serve.

Serve

Southern Vegetable Casserole

Southern Vegetable Casserole
Recipe from Debbie Huffman (ward cookbook)

1 16-oz sour cream
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 can French style green beans (I used regular cut)
1/2 box Ritz crackers (or other similar type cracker)
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1 stick butter
1 can Shoe Peg corn (I used regular canned corn)
Salt and pepper

Mix sour cream with salt and pepper to taste. Add vegetables. Put in greased 9x12 baking dish. Crush crackers and mix with almonds. Melt stick of butter and add to cracker mix. Place topping on casserole. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

*Pictures and recipe from OurBestBites.com because quite frankly, her pictures are MUCH better than mine and have step by step instructions.

*My thoughts: Good and fun meal, especially for kids.

Stuffed Pizza Rolls
Recipe from OurBestBites.com

1 Roll refrigerated pizza dough (or options here for homemade)
Marinara/pizza sauce
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Mozzerella cheese
Pizza toppings of your choice (ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.)

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. (Usually it's 400 degrees.)

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after.)

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter, then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning, and top with Parmesan cheese. (In lieu of the Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning you could substitute any garlic bread seasoning.)

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Mexican Corn on the Cob (2 recipes)

Spicy Corn on the Cob
Recipe from Picky-Palate.com

Fresh Corn on the cob
Mayonnaise
Cholula hot sauce
Salt and Pepper

Spread the mayo on the corn on the cob. Then roll it around in the Cholula. Then sprinkle it with dashes of salt and pepper.

A Different Recipe:

Elote: Mexican Style Corn on the Cob
Recipe by Our Best Bites

4 ears corn
3 T mayo
2 T sour cream
1/4-1/2 t lime zest
1/2 t fresh lime juice
1/4 t cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 t chili powder
tiny pinch kosher salt
1 C crumbled Cotija Cheese* (use fresh parmesan or queso fresco if you can't find Cotija)

Cook corn (however you like). While cooking corn, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Grate cheese with a fine grater and put on plate. In a small bowl, mix sour cream, mayo, some zest from the lime, the lime juice from the lime, chili pepper, cayenne, and salt. When corn is cooked and hot, spread the sauce over the corn and roll in grated cheese. If desired, sprinkle with a little extra chili powder and squeeze a little extra lime juice.

Black Bean Chili

*Original recipe is served over baked sweet potatoes. You could do it over sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, or like I have it here as a side dish.

*For these kinds of meals, it is nice to have already chopped green peppers that I've prepared in the freezer. This saves time and then I could also make this a pre-made mix with the spices.

Black Bean Chili
Recipe from Betty Crocker

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 Small green bell pepper, chopped
1 Can stewed tomatoes (Mexican or plain)
1 Can black beans
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/16 teaspoon cayenne
1/16 teaspoon paprika
1/16 teaspoon cumin
1 Fresh jalapeno, chopped

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook bell pepper in oil 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in beans and tomatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook uncovered 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot.

Breakfast Braid Bread (and other fillings)

*I got the breakfast braid bread recipe from the website below. But my mom has long before made chili cheese braid bread which is the same but the filling inside is a can of chili and lots of cheese. When she used her breadstick recipe, it would make two braid breads. So for the second one she would make it a dessert braid bread. She would fill it with some fruit pie filling like cherry, apple, or apricot and then frost the top with homemade frosting. You can also try other things inside like pizza toppings.

Breakfast Braid Bread
Recipe from OurBestBites.com

1 Roll Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations (or use mom's breadstick recipe, which will make 2 braid breads, here)
Scrambled Eggs (3-4 eggs, milk, salt and pepper)
4-5 Strips bacon or sausage
1/2 Cup grated cheese, or more...
Hot sauce (optional)

Scramble eggs in a skillet. Since this will cook again in the oven, under cook your eggs. You want them to be cooked enough to hold together, but leave them a bit wet. Cook bacon strips and set aside. (I bake my bacon in the oven. Just lay flat on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake at 400 for about 12 minutes or until crisp)

Next, use a rolling pin and a lightly floured work surface to roll out the crescent dough to about 10 in x 12 in. Lay the eggs down the center of the rectangle, leaving room on both sides and the 2 ends, as pictured below. Top with bacon, cheese, and a couple shots of hot sauce if you want.

Use a pizza cutter to slice even slits on the sides of your rectangle:

Fold over both ends:

Now starting on one end, bring the side pieces in and overlap them. You'll want to alternate- one from the right, then one from the left and so on and so on. Does that make sense?

Keep doing it until you get all the way to the end.
When you get to the end, just tuck where you can to make it pretty!

Then you'll have this pretty little papoose. Yes I just called it a papoose. Isn't it fancy?

Bake according to package instructions. I believe it's 375 for about 15-20 minutes (but who knows, I threw away my package!) It might take a little longer than the package directs because of the way it's braided. And actually, if you want it shiny on top, give it a quick egg wash before you bake. When it's done, it should be golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Slice on a slight diagonal and eat immediately!

*I also put this in the freezable section because recipes like this make me wonder if I could make these into little individual sized ones and stash them away like Hot Pockets (but of course MUCH better than Hot Pockets). This way I don't have to make a WHOLE one of these but instead a few individual ones.

Mom's Bread Sticks (or Pizza Dough)

Mom's Bread Sticks (can also be used for Pizza Dough)

1 1/2 Cups warm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
4 Cups flour
1 teaspoon salt (heaping)
1 Tablespoon honey
Butter, melted
Parmesan cheese
Garlic salt
Other seasonings (optional)

Mix water and yeast. Add honey, salt and flour until dough forms a ball. Place on floured board. Pull and roll a small piece of dough to form breadsticks. Place on greased cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, garlic salt, or other desired seasonings. Let rise until double and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Italian Spaghetti Squash

Italian Spaghetti Squash
Recipe from the Finlinsons

1 Spaghetti squash, about 1 1/2 lbs.
1/2 Medium green pepper, chopped
1/2 Medium onion, chopped
2 Cans stewed tomatoes
2 Cloves garlic, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Prick squash with fork. Cook spaghetti squash in oven at 400 for 40 minutes. Cut open, remove insides and skin. In oil, cook green pepper, onion, garlic, and Italian seasonings until tender. Stir in tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Serve over squash. Add butter and shredded parmesan cheese on top.

*You can also put over pasta. If you don't have Italian seasoning use 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp of marjoram, thyme, and sage.