Garlic Herb Alfredo Bake

from ourbestbites.com

1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Garlic and Herb Alfredo Variety
1 cup cooked, diced or shredded chicken breast
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh spinach, torn into small pieces
1 6 or 7 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and diced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and sliced
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter

Prepare Macaroni and Cheese according to package directions.  Add chicken, spinach, artichoke hearts, and sun-dried tomatoes.  Stir over low heat until everything is combined and heated through.  Spoon mixture into a serving dish, or 6 individual ramekins.  Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, and butter, and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle evenly on top of pasta and place under a broiler just until crumbs are golden and toasted.  Serves: 6.

I used 1/2 c of italian seasoned bread crumbs, 1 tbsp Parmesan and 1 tbsp butter for the topping.

Husband rating:  3 stars
Boys say:  mixed reviews

Strawberry Shortcake Bars

from Six Sisters' Stuff

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Cream layer:1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (8 oz) Cool Whip (frozen whipped topping)
2-3 cups fresh strawberries, diced

Directions:Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Mix in vanilla.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased, rimmed baking sheet (I use a 13x18x1" pan/cookie sheet).  The dough will be just like cookie dough- heavy and sticky- so it’s best to spray your hands with a little nonstick spray and use them to help mold the dough into the pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in the Cool Whip and stir well. Spread cream cheese layer over cooled sugar cookie bars. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let the cream layer set up. Top with fresh strawberries, cut, and serve.
I learned that these look the best if you put the strawberries on right before serving, otherwise the juice from the strawberries can tint your cream layer pink.  Store left overs in the refrigerator.

I made these for friends and everyone who tried them loved them!  

Friends rating:  5 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Tasty Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

from allrecipes.com, submitted by chowsito

INGREDIENTS:

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix 1 cup water 3/4 cup red wine

3 tablespoons minced garlic 3 tablespoons soy sauce freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet. Pour water, wine, and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat. Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible. Sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook on low setting for 4 hours. Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus.

Thank you chowsito-whoever you are-for this tasty dinner!  I loved it.  I made it exactly as directed except for cooking it longer.  SO GOOD!

Breakfast Biscuits

I cannot remember where I saw the recipe for this.  It's really very simple and here's what I did:

1 container buttermilk biscuits (in the refrigerated section of the grocery store)
6 eggs, scrambled
colby jack cheese slices
ham slices

I cooked the biscuits according to the package instructions.  I put the eggs, cheese and ham on the biscuit.  I put some fruit with it and the boys were happy as can be!  They said it was one of their favorite breakfast meals ever!

Boys say:  thumbs up!

Apricot Chicken and Orzo

adapted from allrecipes.com, submitted by luv2cooknbake

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins, cut into bite-size pieces salt and pepper to taste 1 large onion, chopped  1 tsp minced garlic 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, or to taste

20 dried apricots 1 cup chicken stock 1/2 cup apricot preserves  1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and cook in the hot oil until golden brown around the edges, but still pink in the center, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook for about 3 minutes more. Pour in the balsamic vinegar, bring it to a simmer, and allow it to reduce for a few minutes.

2.

Cut half of the apricots in half, leaving the others whole. Place the apricots into the skillet, and pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the apricot preserves and thyme. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the apricots have softened, 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve. I used a can of apricots and just cooked it until it was heated through, not the 10-15 minutes recommended above.  I will try the dried ones next time because the canned ones were just a little too mushy for my taste. This is a delicious meal.  There is plenty of sauce for this to go over pasta or rice.  I was planning to use orzo pasta until my son tipped the box over and it spilled on to the floor.  That's why the picture looks like rice (because it is!) instead of orzo. Husband rating:  4 stars Boys say:  thumbs up

Pork Lo Mein

adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff

Skillet Pork Lo Mein 
Ingredients:
12 oz uncooked angel hair pasta (I used whole wheat pasta)
1.5 lbs pork chops, thinly sliced
1 or 2 bags fresh veggies like a stir-fry mix of broccoli, carrots and peas
1 cup teriyaki sauce (my favorite is Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:
Cook pasta as directed on package. Drain water and cover to keep warm.
Heat a large skillet pan over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove meat from pan and cover to keep warm.  Stir the vegetables, teriyaki sauce, and ginger in the pan. Continue to cook until it starts to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until veggies are almost fully cooked.  Return the meat to the pan.
Stir in the cooked pasta and gently mix until the noodles are coated in the sauce. Cook for a couple of minutes or until everything is thoroughly heated.

This is an easy meal and feeds an army.  We ended up having enough to share with a neighbor family of 5.  Add some mandarin oranges or other fruit and you have a healthy meal ready in minutes.

Husband rating:  3.5 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Dumplings and Fried Rice

My boys like to watch the show "Kung Fu Panda."  On that show Po loves to eat dumplings.  The boys kept asking me what dumplings were and if we could try them.  I looked up some recipes and knew I didn't have the time to make them from scratch last week.  So I dropped by the store and found chicken as well as pork potstickers or dumplings.  They weren't round like the show, but the boys said that was okay!  They were easy to cook and a novelty for the kids.  I've discovered any food that can be dipped in a sauce scores big points with little boys!  

I also made fried rice.  Here is the recipe for that:

Chinese Fried Rice

from Six Sisters' Stuff

3 cups cooked white rice (I used Minute Rice)
3 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated.

Husband rating:  3 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up