Where are all the recipes?

If you ever see a week where I don't have seven new recipes showing on the blog, just check the "Week at a Glance" page.  I may have gone out or done something I already have on the blog.  So we did eat something that day!  I just didn't have a new recipe to put in a new blog entry.

I have to give a shout out to Olive Garden!  Last week my husband and I had a date night planned.  We like to find little gems and try new things.  But that day we were both tired and didn't want to go far.  We went to the local Olive Garden and had a great meal.  I had the spaghetti with Italian sausage.  I actually cleaned my plate!  I never, ever do that.  I guess I needed some carbs!  Of course, I felt it the next morning at my work out, but it was yummy!  Also, we ran in to friends who had frozen lemonades.  Those are refillable and I didn't know about them.  So I'm going for those next time!

Have a great week!

Melanie

Sweet Pork Burritos

I used the recipe I've already added to this blog:  Sweet Pork Burritos.

I also made Cilantro-Lime Rice adapted from ourbestbites.com:

1 cup dry white rice, cooked in 2 C water
2 T real butter
Juice from 1 large lime, or two smaller ones(taste as you go, I add a lot!)
½ – ¾ C chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice.  As soon as it’s done, toss in the butter and stir to melt.  Add lime juice, and cilantro.  Stir to combine, and then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

* You’ll want to serve this right away, if you don’t, the flavors tend to mellow a bit and you’ll probably need to add more lime juice because the rice kind of sucks it up.If you’re not quite ready to eat when your rice finishes cooking, just toss in the butter and keep a lid on it so it stays warm.Then right before you serve it, toss it all together.

We also had black beans, lettuce, tortillas, shredded cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole and white corn tortilla chips.  Some of us made burritos.  I made a salad and topped it with a creamy Ranch dressing.  Yum!  We also had a watermelon.  It's been months since I've had watermelon.  Oh I can't wait for summer!

Husband rating:  4.5 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Sauce

from Better Homes and Gardens

1 lime
2 mangoes, halved, seeded, peeled and chopped
1/4 c honey
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
snipped fresh cilantro
12 oz fresh or thawed frozen peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 c unsweetened flaked coconut (4 oz)
lime wedges (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.  Finely shred 1 tsp peel from lime and squeeze juice from line; add lime juice to blender with 1 c of the chopped mango, the honey and cayenne pepper; cover and process until smooth.  Remove 1/4 c to shallow dish.  Transfer remaining to bowl; top with lime peel and snipped fresh cilantro.  Set aside for dipping sauce.
2.  Rince shrimp; pat dry.  Sprinkle with salt.  Place coconut in shallow dish.  Dip shrimp in the 1/4 cup mango sauce and then coconut, pressing to coat.  Place on baking sheet.
3.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until coconut is golden and shrimp are cooked through.  Serve with dipping sauce, remaining chopped mango, cilantro and lime wedges.

I guess I forgot a picture of all the cute little shrimp!  I put rice and an Asian Salad with the shrimp.  Would do this shrimp as an appetizer, not meal, in the future.

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  Husband rating:  2 stars (he hates coconut!)
  Boys rating:  thumbs down 

Shake n Bake Chops

My boys love to help in the kitchen.  This is an easy way to get them involved.  I let them shake the pork chops in the Shake n Bake mix.  We added beans and a fruit salad.  The fruit salad was easy too.  I used two cans of fruit cocktail.  I added one chopped apple and a chopped banana.  It's a meal that caters to the kid's taste buds, but that's okay!

Husband rating:  3 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Chicken with Tropical BBQ Sauce

from my college roommate Robin.  Thanks Robin!

¼ cup molasses

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp prepared mustard

1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce

2 Tbsp orange juice

3 chicken breasts

Combine sauce, pour over chicken in slow cooker. Cook on low 7-9 hours. 

**When it was done cooking I poured off the sauce and chicken juices and strained it and thickened it with cornstarch in a fry pan.  Then I poured it back over the hot chicken.

I doubled this and served it with brown rice and steamed broccoli.

Husband Rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Strawberry Shortcake

And for my last easy recipe this week-Strawberry Shortcake

Buy pound cake at Costco (can you tell I like that store?!)  Slice pound cake then top with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.  Sometimes we mash the strawberries (that's the way my husband likes them).  Other times I mix them with sugar or sprinkle powdered sugar on top.  And if you buy the canned whipping cream, don't forget to spray some in your kids mouths.  My boys always get the biggest kick out of that!

Husband rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Hash Brown Breakfast

I guess easy meals were on my mind this week!  This is another easy one.

I bought one bag of a hash brown mix with peppers and onions.  I scrambled some eggs.  I washed and chopped berries.  Easy!

Husband rating:  3 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Easy Chicken Dinner

1 roasted chicken from Costco or some other wonderful store

corn on the cob

salad

rolls

After a long week, isn't it nice to come home and get a meal on the table in 20 minutes without too much work or clean up?!  This is that meal.  You can be as fancy or as easy as you want.  Homemade rolls-good for you!  Or you can buy them at any local store.  A salad with 20 ingredients or one out of a bag-either way works!  Ease of operations-as my grandmother likes to say.  

Husband rating:  3 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Sloppy Joes

from food.com submitted by Mama T of Two

• 1 lb ground beef or 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/3 cup chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
• 1 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1/4 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 6 hamburger buns
  In a large saucepan over medium heat, brown hamburger, green pepper, and onion. Cook and drain all grease. Add the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve on toasted buns.
  
  
  
  
  We had this with the steak fries recipe already posted and a strawberry spinach salad.
  
  
  Husband rating:  3.5 stars
  Boys say:  messy thumbs up
  
  

Chicken Wraps

2 chicken breasts

lettuce, chopped

dressing of your choice (We use Ranch or Honey Mustard)

shredded cheese

tomatoes, diced
tortillas

Grill chicken breasts.  I like to cut them in half lengthwise so they cook faster.  Season with salt and pepper.

Chop chicken.  Warm tortillas.  Assemble wrap with desired ingredients.  Roll it up!

It felt so good to go outside and grill!  The snow has melted and we could play outside again.  Hooray! We paired this with a melon.

Husband rating:  3 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Desserts

It is helpful to have a menu plan to look at for the week.  But what happens when you need to take dessert to someone or you're just craving something sweet?  I have added a dessert recipe this week that our family loves.  I will try to do that off and on so this site is as helpful as possible for you.

Have a tasty day!

Graham Cracker Toffee

Graham Cracker Toffee
from my friend Lora

2 pkgs graham crackers

1 pkg milk chocolate chips

1 c butter

1 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease or spray bottom and sides of cookie sheet pan.  Place graham crackers on the bottom of the pan, covering the whole surface.  In small sauce pan bring brown sugar and butter to a boil.  Boil for one minute.  Pour over top of graham crackers, spread evenly.  Place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes.  When you take it out it will be bubbly on the top.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top.  Wait a minute for chips to melt and then spread melted chips to cover the surface.  Place in the refrigerator for an hour or two.  To cut, loosen up the edges with a knife then take a spatula and lift up around the edges, breaking the toffee into pieces.  Best if kept refrigerated.  

I have to give this dessert away when we have extra or I will eat it all!  

Husband Rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

French Toast

French Toast
from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook, with a few changes

3 eggs
3/4 c milk
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
cinnamon
about 8 slices favorite bread

Mix eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt together.  Sprinkle mixture with cinnamon.  Heat griddle to medium heat (around 375 degrees).  Dip bread in egg mixture.  Cook about 2-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  After dipping 1-2 pieces of bread in egg mixture I sprinkle more cinnamon onto the mixture.  That way all pieces have a little hint of cinnamon.

Fruit Salad

1/2-1 apple
6-10 strawberries
1 banana
2 tbsp orange juice

Chop apple, strawberries and bananas.  Gently mix together in a bowl with orange juice.  You may want more orange juice to coat all the fruit.

Husband rating:  4.5 stars
Boys say:  2 thumbs way up!

Apple Butter Pork Chops

Apple Butter Pork Chops

from ourbestbites.com

Ingredients
4 boneless pork chops (about 1 lb. I just got a sirloin roast, partially froze it, and cut 4 chops about ½”-3/4” thick)
¼ c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 c. high-quality apple cider
¼ c. apple butter
1 tablespoon water
1 ½ tablespoons Creole or coarsely ground mustard
1 tsp. pressed garlic
1/2 recipe of Caramelized Onions

DirectionsPreheat oven to 375.Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together in a small bowl. In a large, oven-safe skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Dredge the pork chops in the flour mixture and then brown the pork chops for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they’re brown and crispy.

While the pork chops are browning, combine the apple cider, apple butter, water, garlic, and mustard. When the pork chops are done browning, add the cider mixture to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce begins to evaporate and thicken. Remove from heat and evenly distribute the caramelized onions over the pork chops. Cover the pan with a lid and place in oven for 30 minutes. Serve with rice and veggies or salad.

I couldn't find the good apple cider and just used a smaller quantity of apple juice and a little more apple butter.  It was still great.  We served this with mashed potatoes and a green salad.  Yum!

Traditional Mashed Potatoes

• 6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

• 1/2 cup warm milk

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• Dash pepper

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minutes or until very tender. Drain well. Add milk, butter, salt and pepper; mash until light and fluffy.  I like to warm the milk and butter together before putting it in with the potatoes.  

Husband Rating:  4.5 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Tortellini Spinach Bake

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce
by ourbestbites.com

12 oz bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini (find them in the dry pasta aisle)
4 oz bacon or pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)*
3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¾ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or more if you like spicy)
1 medium lemon
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat.  Cook until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain.  Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest.  Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute.  Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth.  Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon.  Then cut lemon in half and remove juice.  Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce.  (Note:  I really love lemon so I added this to my tastes.  If you don’t want as strong of a lemon flavor, I suggest cutting it down to 1 teaspoon zest and 2 teaspoons lemon juice) .  Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture.  Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.  Add sauce and gently stir to combine.  Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

* For a vegetarian meal, omit bacon.

I probably did this wrong because none of us were crazy about it.  But the ingredients all sound good!  I couldn't find the dried tortellini so I used some in the refrigerated section.  Maybe that had something to do with it.  I have to say, the house sure smelled good from cooking that bacon!

Husband Rating:  2.5 stars
Boys say:  thumbs down

Poppy Seed Chicken and Rice

Poppy Seed Chicken
by my friend, Melanie W., with a few of my own changes

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

2 cans cream of chicken soup (98% fat free kind)

1 c light sour cream

1 sleeve Ritz crackers

1/4 c melted butter

1 tbsp poppy seeds

Place chicken in casserole dish(a 9x13 pan works well).  Mix soup, sour cream and chicken together.  Crush crackers and spread on top.  Drizzle 1/4 c melted butter over everything.  Sprinkle poppy seeds on top of casserole.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Serve over rice.

This is my second oldest son's favorite recipe.  It's really easy and it doesn't cost a fortune!

Husband Rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Buttermilk Cornmeal Pancakes

from my sister-in-law, Lorene

3 eggs

1 2/3 c buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 c. cornmeal

3/4 c. flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp vegetable oil

In your mixer beat the eggs. Add buttermilk and soda. Mix. Add cornmeal and flour. Mix. Add baking powder, salt and vegetable oil. Mix. Pour about 1/4 c of batter onto hot griddle. Heat on each side until golden brown.

These are my favorite pancakes!!! 

Husband rating:  5 stars

Boys say:  thumbs way up

Sweet Pork Burritos

Sweet Pork Burritos (or Tacos or Salad)
by my friend, Shari

1 onion, chopped

3 lbs pork roast

1/2 jar salsa (mild)

1 8 oz jar red taco sauce (medium)

1 small can diced green chilis

1/4 cup cola

1 c brown sugar

Put onion in crock pot.  Top with roast.  Cook on low for about 6 hours or until it is tender enough to be shredded.  Drain the liquid and shred the pork with 2 forks, then return meat to the crock pot.  Add rest of the ingredients and continue to cook on low for 3 to 6 hours.

Butter whole uncooked flour tortilla and put shredded colby jack cheese ( any cheese you like) on one half of tortilla and fold over.  Cook tortilla on skillet on both sides until butter is lightly browned and cheese is melted.  

Open tortilla and spoon on some pork.  Squeeze 1 small slice of lime onto the meat.  Then add your choice of refried (or black) beans, tomatoes, lettuce, ranch, sour cream, guacamole, maybe even some cilantro lime rice!

I didn't have red taco sauce on hand so I made one.  Here is the recipe I used: 

Taco Bell Taco Sauce
from food.com by JustaQT

• 1 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant minced onion
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
  1. Place in sauce pan and stir well, simmer at a very low temperature for 15- 20 minutes.
  2. Remove and cool.
  3. May be kept in refrigerator for several days.

Because I use the lean pork tip roasts from Costco I don't feel like I need to drain them.  So next time I'll put all the ingredients in the slow cooker at the same time.  Then I'll shred the meat an hour before serving and put it back in the slow cooker and mix it all up with the sauce.  We have family members who don't like spicy food so I omitted the green chilis and it was still great.

Husband rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwiches

Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwiches

chicken breast halves
honey mustard
provolone cheese
lettuce
tomatoes
salt and pepper
hamburger buns, rolls or wheat sandwich thins

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Grill or broil meat.  Make your sandwich according to your taste.

Husband rating:  3.5 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Butternut Squash-Parsnip Soup

Butternut Squash-Parsnip Soup
from myrecipes.com, recipe from Oxmoor House

• 2 cups chopped sweet onion (1 large)
• 2 cups chopped parsnip (3 large)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled Granny Smith apple (about 1 large)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 3 (12-ounce) packages frozen butternut squash, thawed
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup light sour cream (optional)
• 8 teaspoons chopped fresh chives (optional)

1. Combine first 8 ingredients in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.

2. Place one-fourth of squash mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture. Stir in whipping cream, paprika, and cumin. Ladle soup into bowls; top each serving with sour cream and chives, if desired.

In all honesty, if you had asked me what a parsnip was a week ago I would have said a leafy green herb!  I have since learned it looks a lot like a white carrot.  I couldn't find frozen squash anywhere but Costco came through with prepared cubed butternut squash in their produce section.  This wasn't our favorite, but not because the taste was bad, it just didn't suit our taste buds.

Husband rating:  2.5 stars

Boys say:  thumbs down

Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken Tetrazzini
from campbellskitchen.com

1 can (26 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 cups cubed cooked chicken or cooked turkey
1 jar (about 4.5 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 of a 1-pound package spaghetti, cooked according to package directions (about 4 cups)
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1.  Stir the soup, milk, Parmesan cheese, sherry, if desired and onion powder in a large bowl. Add the chicken, mushrooms and spaghetti and toss to coat. Spoon the chicken mixture into a 3-quart shallow baking dish.

2.  Stir the bread crumbs and butter in a small bowl with a fork and sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the chicken mixture.

3.  Bake at 400°F. for 25 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Here is how I changed the instructions:

Stir the soup, milk parmesan cheese and sherry together and set aside.  Get the noodles (I used bow tie instead of spaghetti because I felt like it!) cooking.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook chicken with onion (I used a tsp of dried onions).  Add zucchini (I don't love mushrooms so I used 1 zucchini instead) the last five minutes or so.  Add the noodles and mix all together with the sauce.  Transfer to a 3-quart shallow baking dish.  Then continue with steps 2 and 3.  

We paired this with a strawberry spinach salad.  Spinach, poppyseed dressing and strawberries.  Easy!

Husband rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up