Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Cream Penne

Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Cream Penne-modified from Southern Girl Cooking

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Ingredients:

1 bottle of Lawry's herb and garlic marinade

4 large spoonfuls of pesto

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; cut into one-inch strips

-Place all ingredients in a gallon size bag and marinate up to 24 hours.

Sauce:

16 ounces pasta (I used whole wheat penne)

2 Tbsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

4 spoonfuls of pesto

1 cup of chicken broth

16 ounces tomato sauce

2 cups half and half

Cooking Instructions:

1. Boil water and start cooking noodles, drain when ready.

2. Pour entire batch of chicken, marinade too, into skillet and cook chicken fully. The marinade will evaporate and cook down to about half. When complete, remove from pan.

3. In now empty pan, heat olive oil, cook garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add pesto, then chicken broth and simmer until half is cooked down. Add tomato sauce then half and half. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp flour if it needs to thicken (I thought it needed it). Stir in drained noodles and then the chicken and it's sauce until combined. Serve.

Verdict:

We loved this, even our Naomi loved it. She couldn't get enough in her mouth. It's creamy and has tons of flavor. It made so much I had enough to put a few servings in the freezer. This would easily serve 6 people when you serve it with a salad and vegetables. And the one jar of pesto I bought will make another batch of this. Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Lasagna

Recently, I told you about a lasagna I made for our neighbor who broke her leg. I decided I'd share it with you. I usually triple this recipe as it freezes great and I don't get anymore dishes dirty than I would if I were just making one lasagna. This is wonderful to pull out when I need a quick dinner and is simply delicious!

Easy Homemade Lasagna

Ingredients: (this is a single recipe)

1 pound ground beef (we like ground turkey)
1 egg, beaten
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (15 oz) container of ricotta cheese (I use cottage cheese instead)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped OR 2 Tbsp dried parsley
4-8 ounces Velvetta cheese, cubed into 1-inch pieces
1 (26 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked (we like whole wheat noodles)


Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brown meat in large skillet. In a medium size bowl beat egg, 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, velvetta cheese and parsley until well blended. Set aside.
2. Drain meat and return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce, add the 1 cup of water to the empty sauce jar, shake and dump in skillet. Stir until well blended.
3. Assembly: Spread 1 cup of meat mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 in. pan, top with 3 lasagna noodles, a third of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Then, top with 3 remaining noodles and the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Cover with greased foil.
4. Bake 45 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 15 minute before cutting.

Makes 12 servings. Serve with homemade french bread and a tossed salad.

Freezer Friendly:
If you want to freeze this, do not bake. Cover and freeze. Thaw completely before baking. Leftovers can be frozen and they're delicious!

Note:
When tripling this recipe, 2 boxes of lasagna noodles is enough.

Best Pizza Crust

I've been making my own pizza crust for close to four years. Yesterday I finally found the one I've been searching for! While it's more high maintenance than I like, it will be a pizza crust to make for special occasions or whenever I remember to make it.

Ingredients

3 cups bread flour, plus a little extra for your work surface
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/3 cups ice water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp table salt

Directions

1. FOR THE DOUGH
Pulse the flour, sugar and yeast in a food processor (fitted with the dough blade, if possible) until combined, about 5 pulses. With the food processor running, slowly add the water; process until the dough i just combined and no dry flour remains, about 10 seconds. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes.
2. Add the oil and salt to the dough and process until the dough forms a satiny, sticky ball that clears the sides of the bowl, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface and knead briefly by hand until smooth, about 1 minute. Shape the dough into a tight ball and place in a large, lightly oiled bowl; cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 3 hours.
3. TO BAKE THE PIZZA
Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position (4 to 5 inches from the broiler) and set a baking stone on the rack.
Transfer dough to a clean work surface and divide in half. With cupped hands, form each half into a smooth, tight ball. Place the balls of dough on a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart; cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.
5. Coat 1 ball of dough generously with flour and place on a well-floured work surface (keep the other ball covered). Use your fingertips to gently flatten the dough into a an 8-inch disk, leaving 1 inch of the outer edge slightly thicker than the center. Using your hands, gently stretch the disk into a 12-inch round , working along the edges and giving the disk quarter turns. Transfer the dough to a well-floured pizza peel and top with toppings of your choice.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Bake until the crust is well browned and the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown, about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pizza halfway through the baking time. Transfer pizza to a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Repeat step 5 to shape, top and baked the second pizza.

Serving size: 12 inch pizza, cut into 8 pieces. This recipe makes 2 pizza crusts.

Serving Size: Make 2 12-inch pizzas, 16 slices total

Tip: Since this is a thin crust go easy on the toppings so the middle gets crispy and not soggy. I use 1/2 cup sauce, 1 cup a cheese and light on the other toppings. It works out great!

Pizza Sauce-My Quest for the perfect one!

French bread pizza-another favorite in our house!

The past few years I've experimented with so many different dough recipes until I found my favorite one. You can find the recipe here. I love it and so does Hubby. It makes a great whole wheat thin crust just the way we like it. I've been dabbling in homemade pizza's for about 4 years now and love the taste so much better than frozen, though I don't turn my nose up at frozen. If we're in the mood for one we certainly go get one but we try and make our own as much as possible.

Lately, I've been looking for our perfect pizza sauce and have yet to come up with one. I have one (recipe here) but I haven't liked it very much lately. I found another one from What Meghan's Making and tried it this past Friday but it's just okay to me. I feel like it could be our recipe but it's missing something, I'm just not sure what it is. And don't get me started on store bought. Yuck! I just don't like it; it tastes really fake to me and weird too. I can't explain it, it just does.

So, I need your help! I need a great pizza sauce recipe and I want to know your recipes. Please help!!!

BBQ Cheddar Chicken Roll-Ups

Last week I used some fresh vegetables (bell pepper and jalapenos) from my garden to help with this delicious chicken dish. I had leftover homemade tortillas in the freezer that I defrosted and was able to make this chicken dish in about 15 minutes. I like that kind of dinner night!

Because of the jalapenos the dish was a little spicier than we like, but the flavor was spot on.

Happy Cooking!

BBQ Cheddar Chicken Roll-Ups

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Ingredients:

1 each-large green and red pepper, cut into strips

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into strips*

1/3 cup bbq sauce (my homemade version)

4 whole wheat tortillas, warmed (homemade tortilla's recipe)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook veggies about 3 minutes, add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add in bbq sauce and heat through.

2. Spoon chicken mixture down center of tortillas, top with cheese. Roll up and cut in half.

3. Serve and enjoy!

*You could always use pre-cooked chicken if you're in a hurry. OR try my whole chicken in the crock pot, shred when done and somewhat cooled and freeze for later use. I do that all the time!

See wasn't that easy?? :)

Baked Chimichangas

Originally posted in August 2010.

I made these last night and decided to post them again since they are so delicious! Don't be daunted by the number of ingredients, they are really simple to put together once the chicken is cooked.

It looks like there are a lot of ingredients, but its for the chimichangas themselves and the sauce that goes with it. In three short steps, you have a delicious dinner that serves 6!

Baked Chimichangas

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2-1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast OR use this chicken recipe and measure out the 2.5 cups as directed

1 cup salsa

1 small onion, chopped (I used dried, minced onion)

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

6 flour tortillas (10 inches), warmed (or make your own, recipe found here)

3/4 cup cheddar cheese (I used mexican shredded cheese)

Sauce:

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth or make your own

2 tsp chicken bouillon granules or 2 bouillon cubes

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup half-n-half (fat free is okay)

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies

1. In a nonstick skillet, simmer first 5 ingredients until heated through and most of liquid evaporates. Place 1/2 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla; top with 2 Tbsp cheese. (Note: I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup and filled the tortillas all at the same time, making sure they were all filled evenly, then with a spoon, spread the mixture all down the middle.)

2. Fold sides and ends over filling; roll up. Place seam side down in a 13-in x 9-in. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes or until browned.

3. In a saucepan, heat broth, bouillon and pepper until bouillon is dissolved. Combine flour and cream until smooth, stir into broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chiles; heat through. To serve, cut chimichangas in half; spoon sauce over top. (We measure out a 1/3 cup per serving, as the recipe states to do, instead of dumping all the sauce over all the chimichangas.)

(Note: I made the sauce right after I put chimichangas in the oven and it cooked, then sat covered until I pulled them out of the oven and it was fine.)

Yield: 6 servings

Enjoy!

BBQ Pork Stew

This is a fantastic recipe, a family favorite now. It's so good and it's quick to put together. No more talking, we'll go straight to the recipe. Enjoy! :)

BBQ Pork Stew-from Grandmama Cook

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1-3 lb pork loin

1 Tbsp Grill Mates BBQ Seasoning

1-18 oz bottle smoky mesquite bbq sauce

1-14 oz can chicken broth

1-32 oz chicken broth

2-16 oz bags vegetable soup mix

2-14.5 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes (Hunts)

2 cups frozen whole kernel corn

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rub roast with the dry seasoning and place in a foil lined 13 x9 in. pan.

Pour bbq sauce and 14 oz can of chicken broth onto roast. Cover tight with foil.

Bake 1-1.5 hours or until fork tender.

Remove roast from the pan and save the drippings.

Shred the roast after it's cooled a bit.

Pour drippings into a large pot.

Add the pork, 32 oz broth and next 3 ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

The Verdict:

Delicious and easy! It has a sweet flavor from the bbq sauce and it's just wonderful.

I used mesquite seasoning (grill mates) since I couldn't find the bbq seasoning. I also used just a Kraft mesquite bbq sauce and not smokey mesquite bbq sauce, as I couldn't find it either.

As for the vegetable soup mix I may try and and do my own next time. All the mix contains is ocra, corn, carrots, celery, potatoes, lima beans and peas. I think a bit of each would do the trick, maybe 1/2 cup to 1 cup? And the mix is expensive to me, when I have most of the other vegetables already pre-chopped in my freezer for other meals, but we'll see.

Also, the fire roasted tomatoes, Kroger has their own brand for a little cheaper than Hunt's, but that's personal preference. The ingredients list didn't have much on it that I keep in my pantry, but this soup is worth it!

I did double this recipe and needed a huge stock pot for it, but now I have some in the freezer for later, as in this week for dinner. :)

I took this to our SOUPer Bowl party a couple weeks ago and it was a hit. I know I'll be making this soup quite often in the winter!

California-Style Barbecue Chicken Pizza

We LOVE pizza in this house!

Let me rephrase... We are CRAZY about pizza in this house! We eat it for lunch or dinner at least once a week. It is pure deliciousness, in our opinion. Since we eat it so much, I'm always on the hunt for new pizza recipes. Well, I've found my new favorite one (at least for now)!

It's from Kraft foods. This is one of my favorite sites and it made me happy to see this wonderful pizza recipe. It's California-Style barbecue chicken pizza. And it's great. And easy. I'm all about easy these days!

I tweaked it suit it to our needs and will even do some different things the next time I make it, which will probably be this weekend. :)

The measurements for this recipe are personal preference. It depends on how much meat, cheese, veggies, etc you want on your pizza. Make it to your tastes. I'm not one to create recipes, but on pizza I know how much of what I like, so I feel comfortable eye-balling the ingredients.

California-Style Barbecue Chicken Pizza- modified from Kraft foods

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Ingredients:

-cooked, shredded chicken (I always have in the freezer my shredded chicken I make from crock pot chicken, so I just use that). I probably used 1/2 cup-1 cup of chicken

-red bell pepper, green bell pepper and yellow bell pepper slices, sliced or minced; I use 1/4 each of the bell peppers

-1/2-1 red onion, sliced or minced

-try our homemade bbq sauce and use 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup on the pizza, spread it just like marinara sauce

-1-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese or cheese or your choice

-pizza crust; homemade or store bought (I made my bread maker pizza dough, then my bread maker died, so I mixed it in my stand mixer and let it rise 1-2 hours, then cut it in thirds and used one of those thirds, this made a thinner crust; we're all about the thin crust in this house).

Directions:

1. Make pizza dough, if homemade, roll out to right consistency for you. Store bought works fine too!

2. Spread bbq sauce on top of sauce just as you would marinara and sprinkle with desired amount of chicken.

3. Place veggies, chicken and cheese on pizza.

4. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-15 minutes, as every oven is different. I started mine at 8 minutes, took it OFF the pizza pan placing the pizza right on the oven rack for another 5-6 minutes, until cheese was bubbly and crust was brown and crunchy.

5. Cool a bit, cut and enjoy! It's awesome!

Freezer friendly:
Before adding toppings place crust on a cookie sheet, top with ingredients and freeze for 1 hour or overnight. Wrap in plastic wrap. When ready to eat bake just as you would a frozen pizza. Leave frozen while oven preheats and bake as directed. Depending on your oven depends on how long it will bake. We do this all the time. I'll make a batch of dough and we'll make 3 pizza's for the freezer. These are easy to pull out when you need a quick meal!

Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Bread Crumbs

Ummm... can we say delicious?

I'm not one to go all out on side dishes for dinner, I'm content with a baked potato or rice, but I saw this recipe while I was watching Food Network one day and saw how easy it was and wanted to make it. I planned on make it for Saturday night for our Sunday School Christmas party. Hubby ended up not feeling great, so we didn't go, but I still wanted to make it. Glad I did.

It's cheesy, but not overly cheesy, a little crunchy (I love a little crunch) and quick to put together. It was a hot and delicious side dish for us to enjoy, a special treat.

Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Bread Crumbs- modified from Giada de Laurentiis

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Ingredients:

nonstick cooking spray

4 pounds of russet potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 14 small to medium size potatoes)

1 cup milk (I used 2% and a little heavy cream; the recipe called for whole but I don't keep that around)

1 stick butter, melted

1.5 cups mozzarella cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese

3 Tbsp plain dry bread crumbs

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and chop potatoes and cook in a large pot of boiling salt water for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender; drain.

2. Return potatoes to pot and mash well. Mix in milk and melted butter, mozzarella cheese and 3/4 cup of the parmesan cheese (reserve 1/4 cup for topping). Season with salt and pepper.

3. Place potato mixture into greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese on top of mashed potatoes.

3. Stir bread crumbs and 1/4 cup reserved parmesan cheese and sprinkle

4. Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until topping is golden brown.

This is a great make-ahead recipe and can be refrigerated up to 6 hours.

Serves 6-10 people

The Verdict:

Um, awesome. It had that classic mashed potato taste, but with some extra cheesy goodness. We loved the topping and I upped the bread crumbs from 2 to 3 Tbsp, because we like an extra crunch. It was a great change from mashed potatoes and was warm and yummy on this chilly night.

Three-Cheese Manicotti

It feels so great to be back in the kitchen after about a month off from cooking. I didn't cook much the last couple weeks of pregnancy, my back hurt and I was tired after carrying that belly around all day. :) The only things I did cook were freezer meals to pull out the first couple weeks after Nyla was born, when I didn't feel like cooking. I did that with about 6 weeks to go. I'm glad I did because on nights that are just crazy, I've been able to pull out taco meat that's ready to go or a lasagna. I even made some breakfast breads so I'd have something different to eat, besides cereal and Daniel could take to work too.

Thankfully we've also had plenty of people bring us meals which got us through quite a while and we're still working on some of them. Daniel and I eat the leftovers for lunch.

But I've been so ready to menu plan and grocery shop (I hadn't done that in 4 weeks). I know that sounds so silly, but I really enjoy planning our meals and budgeting when I shop. I find a thrill in it for some reason. I guess I enjoy saving money.

So as August began I wanted to menu plan. Yes, it's adventurous when you have a newborn that's only about 15 days old, but I knew I could at least plan and if we had a bad day I could always go to my deep freezer and pull out the meals I made before she was born. So far, I haven't had to do that! When Hubby gets home he's able to rock and diaper Nyla while I cook. And for this I am so thankful. I love being in our kitchen and making meals for us to enjoy together.

Below is one of my latest ventures. I'd never made manicotti before this time, what a learning experience. I let the manicotti shells go too long so they were too soft to handle, some even fell apart. I made it work though, so it wasn't too much of a problem.

The verdict? Delicious! It made so much I froze the other pan of it and pulled it out tonight for dinner. It was just as good as last time. Now Hubby has lunch tomorrow and I've got 2 convenience meals (leftover meals perfectly portioned and labeled in the freezer for Hubby to take to work if there are no leftovers from the previous nights dinner) in the freezer for him for another time, he just loves those.

Here's the recipe, enjoy!

Three-Cheese Manicotti-From: Taste of Home Cookbook

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Ingredients:

20 uncooked manicotti shells

2 cartons (15 oz each) ricotta cheese--I substituted cottage cheese (they don't sell ricotta at Aldi) and it tasted great, I actually liked the taste better than ricotta

5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided--1 or 2 cups of Italian blend would be good too

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoned salt

2 jars (26 oz each) spaghetti sauce, or your own

1. Cook manicotti according to the package instructions (like I said, I overcooked them so they were too soft, so be careful). Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese), 3 cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs and seasonings.

2. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce each into two ungreased 13x9 in baking dishes. *Stuff manicotti shells with cheese mixture; arrange over sauce. Top with remaining sauce.

3. Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and manicotti is heated through.

*I put half the cheese mixture into a gallon bag and snipped a corner and piped the cheese mixture into the shells, much easier. Only do half the mixture (or less) at a time though, otherwise the bag is too heavy and you can't stuff the shells properly.

Like I said, it makes quite a lot for 2 people. 10 servings or 2 manicotti each, so I froze the extra pan. I never cut a recipe to work for just two people. We enjoy leftovers and being able to freeze extra to pull out for another dinner.

Enjoy!

Leftover Spaghetti Pie

I made this a couple of weeks ago and Hubby and I loved it!

I was afraid it wasn't going to be good but it was fantastic. I'll definitely making this again. It was simple and delicious!

Leftover Spaghetti Pie-from Kraft Foods

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Ingredients:

3 cups cooked spaghetti

4 oz Velvetta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

6 oz cooked chicken; I used a whole chicken and shredded it

1 (14 oz) jar of spaghetti sauce

2 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Place cooked spaghetti, Velvetta, chicken and sauce in re-sealable bag and toss to mix together.

3. Press mixture into 9-inch pie plate or 8-inch square baking dish, sprayed with cooking spray.

4. Sprinkle with parmesan.

5. Bake 15-20 minutes or until it's heated through.

French Bread Pizza

We have pizza in our house each Friday night. It's a great way to end a long week.

While I love pizza, I get tired of the same old thing so I try and mix it up with different the different pizza recipes I have.

Last week I made some french bread pizza. Yummy!

I started out by making french bread in the bread machine. I followed the directions through the whole thing, baked it and let it cool a bit.

Then I sliced it long wise to open it up then in the size pieces I wanted to serve. I used my pizza sauce and garlic seasoning, added my choice of cheeses and pepperoni's. Of course you can add your favorite toppings. I have a picky husband and all he wants is pepperoni's.

Heat the oven to BROIL, place pizza's on baking sheet and let broil for 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on it, it can burn quickly. This gets the bread and toppings nice and crispy and delicious!

Remove from oven, put on a plate, sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired and enjoy.

Pizza night is as easy as that. It's especially easy if you already have some french bread made and in the freezer. Thaw it out and add the sauce, etc and enjoy.

This post is linked to Blessed with Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday. Stop by and check her wonderful blog out!!!

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

This is a Weight Watchers recipe, but I don't use all the light versions, so it's not for us. :)
It's a quick and hot meal that I love making. All the cheesy goodness is wonderful.
Not much prep time is needed to make this dish which makes it a winner in my kitchen!
Enjoy!!!


Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

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16 oz dry spaghetti, cooked
1 lb (16 oz) Velvetta Light cheese (I don't use light)
12.5 oz can chicken breast, drained and flaked (I use a half of a whole chicken, shredded)
10 3/4 oz can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (I use regular)
10 3/4 oz can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup, undiluted (I use regular)
10 oz. can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (Rotel) (I use 14 oz)
1/2 cup water
1 small onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and stir to mix well.
3. Cook on LOW for 2-3 hours. Stir again just before serving.

This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday @ Blessed With Grace, The Grocery Cart Challenge, and Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup-modified from Recipelink

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2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (or 1/2 whole chicken, shredded)

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1/2 medium onion, minced

2 Tbsp garlic, minced

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes (I use Rotel here)

1 (28 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth (I use 32 oz)

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp water, divided

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles

4 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese (I use a little more, we like cheese)

1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I use dried)

2 cups tortilla chips

1 bunch green onions, sliced (optional)

1. Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a skillet large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Add chicken, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until chicken is done, about 15 minutes. Drain chicken; cut into 1/2-inch cubes. OR go here to see how to cook a whole chicken and use shredded chicken.

2. In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until soft.

3. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes and their liquid, chicken broth and 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp water.

4. Stir together cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup water; stir into stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until broth is slightly thickened.

5. Stir in chiles, cheese, cilantro and cooked chicken. Stir until cheese melts, then let simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Ladle soup into bowls; serve chips on the side (or crumble on top of each bowl of soup). Garnish with chopped green onions (optional).

Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot & Chicken Broth

Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot-from The Happy Housewife

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1. Unwrap chicken, remove bag of stuff, (chicken can be partially frozen, that is just fine).

2. Rinse the chicken.

3. Spray crock pot with non-stick spray.

4. Place chicken in crock pot, no liquid required.

5. Pour 2-3 Tbsp olive oil over top of chicken and sprinkle with choice of spices (I like salt and pepper with onion and garlic powders; and then depending on what I'm going to use the chicken for, I make it more taste specific for that dish).

6. Place lid on the crock pot, set on LOW, cook 5 hours.

7. Remove from pot, let cool, shred amount of chicken desired and serve; or add to a dish.

(I got my whole chicken for about $.79 a pound at Aldi; I'm sure you can find it for cheaper in the adds some weeks).

Note: I usually cook my whole chicken, shred it and put all the shredded chicken in a bag in the freezer. I pull out what I need for my BBQ Chicken Pizza or whatever recipe I need that calls for shredded chicken. It's a much cheaper option then using boneless/skinless chicken breasts all the time!

Homemade chicken broth:

1. Leave liquid in crock pot, shred chicken and place bones and skin back into crock pot.

2. Add 5 cups water and cook on LOW overnight.

3. Wake up to homemade chicken broth!

4. Drain well, removing all bones and skin.

5. Place in desired containers and place in refrigerator.

6. Take out of fridge and remove layer of fat.

7. Either use in a dish or place in freezer for later use, (freezes up to 6 months).

(I got about 32 oz of chicken broth but I accidentally turned the pot on "keep warm" instead of "low." Next time I'll put on LOW and I expect to get more broth.

Check back next time for Chicken Tortilla Soup, made using meat from the whole chicken and the homemade chicken broth!

Cheese-Lover's Pasta Roll-Ups

These babies are so delicious!

And surprisingly they were pretty easy to make, which surprised me.

Cheese-Lover's Pasta Roll-Ups-from Kraft Food & Family

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Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten

1 container (15 oz) Ricotta Cheese

2 cups Italian Cheese Blend, shredded

4 green onion, chopped

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce, divided

16 lasagna noodles, cooked

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

*I add 1 pound cooked and drained ground beef

*I didn't have green onions so they weren't added and it was fine

*I used part skim milk Ricotta cheese

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Mix first 5 ingredients until well blended, (this is where I added the cooked, drained ground beef).

3. Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce onto bottom of 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread each noodle with 3 Tbsp cheese mixture (or 1/4 cup if you added ground beef); roll up. Place, seam-sides down; in dish. Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan; cover. (I had a little beef and cheese mixture left so I put it on top of the noodles).

4. Bake 40-50 minutes or until heated through; uncovering the last 10 minutes.

*This is a great make-ahead dish and it makes a ton. Next time, I'm going to use 2, 9 inch square pans and freeze the other for another meal down the road and just cook one of them for dinner since there's only 2 of us.

*If you make the day before, cover with heavy duty foil, refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

*If you freeze the roll-ups, freeze up to 1 month. When ready to serve, thaw overnight in refrigerator. Bake, covered, 1 hour 5 min. or until heated through, uncovering the last 10 minutes.

Enjoy this meal!

It seems like a lot of steps, but it really is easy, I promise. I don't like spending a whole lot of time on meals so I wouldn't tell you it was easy if it wasn't easy.

See the picture below on the roll-ups served with French Bread with Garlic Seasoning.

8 servings, 2 roll-ups each

460 calories, 16 fat grams, 740 Sodium, 54 Carbs, 4 Fiber, 25 Protein (add more protein if ground beef is added to dish)

This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Asparagus Deliciousness

I love asparagus!

Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my house that likes it.

Thankfully we have a small toaster oven that I can cook 10 or so stalks for just me. I don't like it mushy. I like it tender/crisp because I love some crunch in my food.

So this is how I prepare my asparagus...

Asparagus-from Me

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place as much asparagus as you want on a greased cookie sheet.

3. Drizzle oil (I use olive oil) on top of asparagus.

4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper or any other seasoning you like.

5. Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

6. Place immediately on a plate and eat, eat, eat.

I can scarf my asparagus in less than 3 minutes. I just love it!

Shipwreck Dinner

This recipe is from my favorite site Kraft Food and Family. I love this site (and the magazine) because it has quick and easy recipes. And most of the time the recipes contain items I already have in my pantry and freezer. If I don't have them I don't have to go to Kroger or Wal-Mart to find the food items I need, I just go to my usual place (I love shopping at Aldi).

This is a recipe I've had for over a year and have never tried it. As I've said, I'm trying to make an effort to try some different things. While this isn't the most unusual recipe, I was thrown off by the picture in the magazine. It didn't look appetizing to me at all and I'm at the point where food items need to look a little appetizing.

Since I've planned my menu for the next 3 months and have vowed to stick with it (since it saves me time and us money), I wanted to stick with this and try it. And we weren't disappointed. It actually was very delicious. But what isn't delicious about ground beef and macaroni and cheese? Here's the recipe.

Shipwreck Dinner-modified from Kraft Foods

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1 pkg. (7 1/4 oz) Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner (I used Aldi brand)

1 can (16 oz.) stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 cup frozen green peas (I didn't add these because Hubby is allergic)

1 cup milk

1 cup Mozzarella Cheese

1. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain.

2. Stir in macaroni, cheese sauce mix, tomatoes, peas and milk. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 12 minutes or until macaroni is tender.

3. Sprinkle with cheese. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings; about 1.5 cups each.

Calories 510, Fat 15g, Carbs 52g, Sugars 13g, Protein 41g

*I think next time I'll used diced tomatoes or Rotel, undrained, instead of stewed tomatoes. Hubby isn't a fan of big tomato pieces and I didn't feel like blending them a little.

*It was quick and easy and a nice warm dish on a very cold night tonight.

Happy Cooking!

Lower Calorie Potato Soup

I am a member or SparkPeople.com. And they have fabulous recipes that are lower calorie options. I am pregnant but I don't want to gain 50 pounds. I worked really hard to lose 20 pounds and just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm "eating for two." I've been reading up on all that and you only need 300-500 more calories a day to support the growing child. That's a relief! I would love to gain no more than 30 pounds in this pregnancy and I will continue to count calories and continue walking. It will help me and baby and hopefully to have an easier delivery! I'm praying for that anyways!

So here is a great soup recipe I found on Spark People. I love soups. They help stretch my grocery budget and are quick and easy to thaw out and eat during the busy season that is coming up. Enjoy.

Baked Potato Soup-from Chef Meg at sparkpeople.com

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7 large baked potatoes

3 T butter, unsalted

1 1/2 c onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup celery, diced fine

3 T flour

2 cup chicken stock, low sodium

4 cup skim or 1% milk

1/4 tsp white or black pepper

2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

3 T scallions, chopped (optional)

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Remove skin from baked potatoes and chop into 1-inch cubes; set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium until melted and frothy.

Add onions and cook for 2 minutes.

Add celery and garlic to the saucepan and continue to "sweat" the veggies for 3 minutes.

Lower the heat slightly so the veggies do not brown.

Add flour to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon and cook for 2 minutes; make sure to scrape the spoon against the bottom and edges of the saucepan to pick up any of the mixture that might of settled to the bottom of the pan.

Slowly whisk in the stock until it is all incorporated.

Add diced potatoes to the mixture.

Slowly add milk; do not boil, stirring occasionally.

Cook soup over medium to low heat for 20 minutes.

While soup is cooking, cook the bacon until crisp.

Remove and drain on a paper towel.

Crumble bacon and set aside for garnish.

(If you prefer a smooth soup, puree the mixture.)

Serve in warm bowls, garnish with chopped scallion, pinch of bacon and 3/4 Tbsp cheese.

Make 15, 1 cup servings.

Number of servings: 15

Calories: 259.3

Fat: 8.6g

Carbs: 36.2g

Protein: 10.6g

How About Some Ham?

Okay, this ham is amazing!

And just in time for the holiday season!

It is a delicious ham that my mom's best friend has been making for a few years. We usually have it on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. My Hubby is picky, but he absolutely loves this ham.

Well, I ventured out to try it. And it turned out pretty great! I honestly was VERY nervous about it. Stuff like this can be tricky to prepare, in my opinion anyways.

But there's good news. Just follow the recipe, it's so easy!

Vicki's Holiday Ham-Vicki V.

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-Mash's shank ham (smallest works) I think mine was 7 lb, on sale at Schnuck's

-small jar of honey (you'll use the whole thing)

-brown sugar (3+ cups, packed)

-heavy duty foil (3 pieces, layered together)

-large roasting pan

-crock pot

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Tear 3 sheets of heavy duty foil and layer together in the roasting pan.

3. Pour 1/4 of the bottle of honey onto foil, cover with brown sugar, about 1 cup, then place ham on top.

4. Pour rest of bottle of honey all over ham, make sure all sides are covered.

5. Dump brown sugar on top and sides, patting brown sugar into honey and ham to cover.

6. Wrap foil TIGHTLY and place in oven, 325 degrees.

7. Cook for 6 hours and NO peeking! Just leave it for the 6 full hours. LEAVE IT ALONE!

8. After 6 hours remove from oven, unwrap ham.

9. Dump juice from ham into crock pot.

10. Cut up ham if it's needed. It might fall off the bone on its own and place in crock pot.

11. Keep the crock pot on WARM if serving right away.

12. I make this the day before and keep in crock pot overnight in the fridge, then heat on LOW until the temperature is reached for serving. Then when its heated, turn to WARM.

-The ham will continue to soak up all those good juices in the crock pot. It seems like a lot of work and steps, but I promise it's worth it! And it's so EASY. I promise. I'm not one for complicated recipes.

This post is linked back to Grocery Cart Challenge.