Italian Chicken...

This is a spin of my mom's recipe for crock pot chicken that I used to LOVE. I found the recipe on pinterest, but the link is broken... So, I am NOT taking credit for it, but it was pretty good! I also think it would be delicious over rice. And Jaxon ate it, so it's definitely a kid friendly meal.

Italian Chicken

Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, 1 packet Zesty Italian dressing seasoning, 1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened), 2 cans cream of cream of chicken soup;

 Cook on low for 4 hours. If sauce is too thick, add a little milk. Serve over pasta.

Oven "Fried" Chimichangas

So, my husband and I have been working hard the last 10 days or so trying to lose weight :) He's lost 7 and I've lost 3 pounds! (Of course he's losing way quicker than me!) So, we've been eating a lot of salads, sandwiches, and whole wheat pasta. Well, we LOVE mexican food. So, I decided to make tacos. Then I thought, "Ok, I make tacos like every week, so let's mix it up!" So, I decided I'd try to make a healthier version of Chimichangas! I looked around the web, and figured out a good recipe I think. Calories per chimichanga: 359

Oven Fried Chimichanga

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts

1 T dried onion (Or you can use 1/4 of a chopped onion)

2/3 cup salsa

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

2 cloves garlic

1 can of black beans (Drained and rinsed)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup low fat cheddar cheese (shredded)

6 (8 inch) flour tortillas

2 T olive oil

Optional Toppings: Fat free sour cream, taco sauce, cheese, tomatoes, jalepenos etc. Get creative! 

What to Do:

1. In a crockpot, put chicken, salsa, onion, cumin, oregano, and garlic and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken. Add sour cream and black beans and mix well.

2. Put mixture into each flour tortilla evenly. Roll them up, and put seam side down on baking sheet.

3. Brush tops of chimichangas with olive oil

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown :)

Enjoy with any toppings you desire! Taco sauce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, cheese... the possibilities are endless!

We served them with a side salad, and it was a delicious low calorie meal!

Crisco's Peanut Butter Cookies

I have looked everywhere to find the best peanut butter cookies ever.

Crunchy on the outside...

Soft and gooey on the inside.

I finally found them. 

Crisco's recipe is the best!!! Here it is:

Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/2 stick Crisco® Baking Sticks All-Vegetable Shortening
• OR 1/2 cup Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

What to do:

1. 1.
   HEAT oven to 375°F. Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.


2. 2.
   COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2-inches apart onto greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of fork.


3. 3.
   BAKE one baking sheet at a time 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.

Homemade Queso!

No. Not Velveeta. HOMEMADE. Like milk, flour, butter, and cheese. Lots of cheese :)

Here's the recipe! The nice part is you can make this in 10 minutes (Ok more like 5), and you can experiment with different salsas to see which you like better :)

Homemade Queso

Ingredients:

4 T flour

1/4 cup of butter

salt and pepper

1 cup of chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cup cheese

1/2 cup of your favorite salsa or rotel

What to Do:

1. Melt butter over medium heat until bubbling. Whisk in flour for about 1 minute, until thick. Slowly add chicken broth, while whisking the whole time, then slowly add milk. Whisk until smooth and thick.

2. Add cheese and salsa (or rotel) and mix well. 

3. Dip chips into queso and shove them into your mouth!

SO GOOD. Not healthy, but a little queso every once in a while won't hurt anyone :)

Make Ahead Freezer Teryaki Chicken

So, a few weeks ago, I decided to prepare a bunch of meals, throw them in a ziplock bag, and store them in the freezer. This one was mighty delish. I called Greg this morning (cause I leave the house at 6:50 AM and am gone until 4:45 pm) and had him throw it in the crockpot. It was good, and easy!

Teryaki Chicken

Ingredients:

1 small bag of carrots, chopped

A cup or so of shelled edamame (I just put in enough until it looked good to me)

1 can pineapple chunks (with juice)

4 garlic cloves

1 medium onion, chopped or diced depending on how you like it (I like very small pieces) 

6 chicken tenderloins (probably about 3 big breasts)

1 cup teryaki sauce

What to Do:

1. Put above ingredients into a ziplock bag, and shake it up.

2. On bag write the date, and instructions:

Dump contents into crockpot.

Add 1/4 cup of teyaki sauce in crock pot, then cook on low for 6 hours.

Serve over brown or white rice, and tada! A MEAL! :)

Diary Free Homemade Rolls!

Ok, so I've never made rolls before. In fact, I've never used yeast before! haha. I decided I really wanted some rolls, so started doing lots of research, and figured I would try to make some dairy free rolls! (I can't eat dairy or soy right now) Well, I succeeded! They are delish! :) Also, I'm going to try to start posting recipes again... We'll see how it goes!

Dairy Free Homemade Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry (instant or quick) yeast

1 cup of hot water (I just used hot tap water...)

3 T coconut milk (or some other type of milk)

4 T canola oil

3 T sugar

What to do:

1. In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, yeast, and sugar. Mix well.

2. Add hot water, coconut milk, and oil, and start beating. (I used my kitchen aid with the dough beater attached to it.) Knead for about 6-8 minutes.

3. Let rest for 10 minutes. Grease a cookie sheet or two pyrex dishes. I couldn't grease with butter, so I poured a bit canola oil on, spread it around with a paper towel, then sprinkled with flour.

4. Take a small ball of dough, roll into a ball, and put onto pan. Let rise for 30 minutes.

5. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes!

6. Serve with some jelly, peanut butter, butter, or honey! :)

Homemade Lasagna

So, I decided I would finally try to make lasagna. I've never tried before, and honestly lasagna scares me! :) But, I looked at a few random recipes, and created in my opinion the PERFECT lasagna! :) Enjoy!

Homemade Meat Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound italian sausage
1 package lasagna noodles
1 15 oz container cottage cheese (I used lowfat)
1 15 oz container ricotta cheese (I used fat free!)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used the kind in the shaker can, it's all I had!)
2 jars favorite marinara sauce (I love RAGU roasted garlic)
2 TB parsley
1 TB basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs

What-to-do:
1. Boil pasta according to directions, but take off 2 minutes. I baked mine 8 minutes, instead of 10. Drain, and lay out on a piece of wax paper.
2. Brown ground beef and sausage, until well cooked. Add pasta sauces, and bring to a low simmer, and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Mix ricotta, parmesan, and cottage cheese in a bowl. Add two eggs, parsley, basil, and salt and pepper. Mix really well. This will be the cheese filling. DO NOT ADD THE MOZZARELLA CHEESE! :)
4. Spray a 9x13 pan with pam, and let's get layering! Lay four noodles on the bottom of the pan, then put half of the cheese mixture and spread it evenly across the noodles. Then, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese over it evenly. Then add about a third of the meat sauce and spread evenly. Add four more noodles and repeat the layering process. Finally, add another layer of noodles, and the rest of the sauce on top. Sprinkle just a little mozzarella cheese on top.

5. Put in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly and heated through!
6. Serve it up, and enjoy with some garlic bread and salad!

Tips to wanna be chefs: I knew we wouldn't have been able to eat a whole pan, so I actually did this in two small pans, and only cooked one of the two. The other pan I put straight into the freezer, and I'll get it out in a week or two, defrost, and cook!