Pizza Casserole

This was a Betty Crocker recipe everyone was pinning on Pinterest and it seemed just too cheap and easy not to give it a try!  Only 4 ingredients and took me 5 minutes to assemble.  And the best part was that it tasted great, so we'll definitely be having this again!  I had made a version similar to this a couple years ago, but it used Pillsbury refridgereated biscuits....and this was 10 times better!

Ingredients:
2 7.5 oz pkgs Bisquick complete mix
1 14 oz Jar Pizza Sauce (although I used part of a 2nd jar cause we like ours extra saucy!)
Pepperoni
2 cups shredded Mozzerella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.  Mix the 2 packages of bisquick with 1 cup of water.  Using about half of the dough, glob spoonfuls of it on bottom of the pan.  Don't worry that the dough is not forming an even layer or covering the entire bottom.  Next use about half the sauce and pour over the dough.  Next, layer half the pepperoni followed by half the cheese.  Repeat all layers again.  Here is what mine looked like as I put the dough on for the second layer:

Bake for 25 minutes.  Cut into squares and enjoy! 

Food finds

Here are a few items we have been enjoying... 

Walking through the grocery store last week, this Vlasic Farmer's Garden line caught my eye.  I decided to buy a jar of the Zesty Garlic Chips and give it a try....Man oh man, this is such a delicious summertime treat!  I can't wait to try more flavors!  I believe each jar has Cucumbers, Carrots, and Red Peppers, and the Zesty Garlic contains Garlic Cloves. 

We happened to stumble upon a popcorn booth at Sam's Club one Saturday morning from a company called Popcornopolis...and they had the free samples of popcorn....and we were suckered in.  This popcorn was so delicious and they had some really interesting flavors!  Check out their site here with all the flavors.








In the freezer section you can find these bags made by Yoplait for Smoothies!  I realize you are really paying for the convenience factor here, but it is so worth it!  They have a few different flavors and each bag contains frozen fruit pieces and frozen yogurt.  You place in blender with 1 cup skim milk and you have a delicious smoothie a minute later!  It makes 2 servings per bag...or if you are like me, then just 1 big serving!

Baja Lasagna Casserole

And I have yet another very easy, delicious recipe for Baja Lasagna!  We had this recently on vacation with my husband's family and I loved the fact that you can make the casserole with almost all ingredients out of your pantry, so you can buy the ingredients ahead and not worry about it expiring.  There are also so many variations you can do with this casserole to always change it up.  So....you may be wondering what's up with the goofball on the left.  Believe it or not, this recipe is actually inspired from Richard Simmons....but please don't let that deter you from trying it!

Below is how I made it--.

Ingredients:
2 Cans Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilis (30 oz. total)
1 Can Sliced Mushrooms (drained)
1 Onion chopped
1 Can Pinto Beans in Mexican Flavor
1 Can Kidney Beans (rinsed, drained)
1 T. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 Pkg Flour Tortillas (I had 10 and cut into strips)
1.5 Pkg Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Blend Cheese
1 Can Jalepenos- Use as many or few as you like
To garnish- Fresh Cilantro and Sour Cream

Alterations: 

• The original recipe calls for corn tortillas, so could substitute those. 
• Can play around with using different kinds of beans.  Would also be good with black beans.  I'd also like to try layering in some refried beans
• Can play around with using different kinds of tomatoes
• Could add fresh green, red, yellow, orange, peppers
• Could add some hamburger or chicken
• Could add a layer of mexican rice

Directions: Preheat over to 350 degrees.  In a pot on the stove, saute onions until soft. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, jalepenos, chili powder, and cumin. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. 


Sprayed 9x13 pan with non-stick butter. Place 1 layer of the tortillas on bottom of pan.  

 Next add some of the tomato/bean mixture followed by a layer of cheese. Repeat until ingredients are gone. (My final layer was just tortillas with the cheese on top). 


Bake for 30 minutes. I added fresh cilantro when I took it out of the oven. Serve with a dallop of sour cream on top of each slice.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

Here is another great recipe to use when it's too hot to cook- Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches.  This is one of the EASIEST things ever to make.  I had seen this on pinterest and so glad that I gave it a try!

In the morning I dumped a 3lb bag of frozen chicken tenderloins into the crock pot.  Cover with a 12 oz bottle of Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce.  Sprinkle a 1 oz. packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing on top.  Close her up and let cook for 6 hours on low or until chicken is shreddable.  Take 2 forks and just shred the chicken in the pot.  I added 2 T. of margarine/butter at this point, but you could probably omit that to make it healthier.  Let cook for another hour or so.  Serve on hoagie roll and enjoy!

We topped ours with some Blue Cheese dressing and Blue Cheese crumbles.  Also would be good with some ranch dressing instead.  I was definitely worried that this was going to be very spicy based on the amount of wing sauce and what I was smelling....however, it was very mild.  Next time I may try making half of the sauce a spicier brand. 

Chicken in the Crock Pot

Delicious Sandwich

Avocado Chicken Salad

With the weather being so hot, I try not to turn on the oven or stove for our meals and it is hard to come up with new ideas.  I had pinned a recipe on Pinterest for Avocado Chicken Salad.  I like just traditional chicken salad, but this is a good variation.  It tastes very similar to guacamole- maybe a little too similar that next time I would use more mayo and less avocado.  This took about 10 minutes to throw together, so is also nice for a quick dinner!

Here were my ingredients:
2 Green Onions
Handful of Cilantro
1 Avocado (forgot to put in the picture...oops!)
2 Bags pre-cooked diced Chicken
2 Spoonfuls of Mayo
Sprinkle of lime juice (recommend using fresh lime juice)
Salt and Pepper

I started with the Avocado in the bowl so I could get that smashed up.  I then added in the Mayo and stirred until I got the desired consistency.  I added the rest of my ingredients and let refrigerate overnight so the flavors melded.  I really think this would taste good on several different things- Bread, Pita, Nacho Chips, Crackers, etc.  Enjoy!

Lipton Tea- New Find!

Usually I'm all about the free samples at the grocery store, but is only once in a blue moon that I end up buying the product.  However, last weekend they had free samples of a Lipton Green Tea- was only 5 calories, so decided to give it a whirl....and maybe I was just really thirsty running errands on a hot day, but it tasted DELICIOUS!  I had the Mango Pineapple flavor and am just as excited to try other flavors now.  They make them in single serve packets that you can add to a water bottle/glass of water or you can buy pitcher packets.  Great, refreshing summertime treat!

In other news, unfortunately I was very sick this weekend, so I've fallen behind getting Lachlan's 6 month post up....but check back soon!

Buffalo Mac-n-Cheese

While on maternity leave I've really enjoyed being able to cook some good dinners and eat a little healthier than we normally do.  It seemed lately that I kept seeing recipes for Buffalo Chicken Mac-n-Cheese...so I figured it was a sign I should make it!  I looked at many recipes on the web, but a lot were from scratch and just seemed too time consuming for me and too many ingredients to buy.  So I found this recipe on the Kraft site, but then made lots of changes...I really like how my version turned out:

Ingredients
3 boxes of the cheap Kraft Mac-n-Cheese with the powdered cheese
1 bunch of green onions
1 container of crumbled blue cheese (probably was about 1 cup)
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (use more or less depending on how spicy you want)
2 cups chicken (I used some frozen diced chicken pieces and defrosted in microwave)
1/2 block cream cheese
This will make a lot- probably 10 good serving sizes. 

Directions
I boiled my 3 boxes of pasta in a large pot.  Drain water and return to pot.  Add the powedered cheese from the mac-n-cheese box.  I also stirred in a little bit of water (maybe 1/4-1/3 of a cup) or you could use milk.  I then added about half a block of cream cheese cut into cubes.  Stir until all of the powder cheese is dissolved and cream cheese is melted.  Stir in chicken, buffalo sauce, half of the green onions, and half of the blue cheese.  Pour into a 9x13 pan (I lightly sprayed with non-stick oil).  Sprinkle remaining onions and blue cheese over the top.  I baked at 350 for about 20 minutes just to let it all come together.

I forgot to take a picture, so had to use a generic from the internet:

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

We made a very easy casserole Sunday night, which has provided us with yummy leftovers for the week.  I seriously love Plain Chicken's blog and used another one of her recipes for Chicken and Dumpling Casserole.  This was better as leftovers than it was the original night because it thickened up a little more.  It had a great flavor and we'll be making this again!  (I'm thinking next time it could be good with some onion, mushroom, and celery thrown in here too)

Chicken & Dumpling Casserole
1 rotisserie chicken- shredded
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
1 can Campbell's cream of chicken soup

Preheat oven to 400.

Melt butter in the microwave and pour into bottom of a 9x13 pan. Shred the chicken and spread it on top of the butter.

Whisk together the milk and the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly pour over the chicken. Don't stir.

Whisk together chicken broth and cream of chicken soup. Pour soup over the flour and milk mixture. Don't stir.

Bake uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Easy Pecan Bar Recipe

I really love looking at Plain Chicken's blog and decided to try her Pecan Bars since I had almost all the ingredients at home.  They got better as they sat, so I'd actually recommend making these a few days ahead of when you plan to serve them.  I also added mini chocolate chips to half of the pan cause thought that sounded good....however, I didn't care for them near as much as the side with just nuts.

Pecan Pie Bars1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup chopped pecans (I also threw in some walnuts)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 350°F.

Unroll dough and press in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of a 9x13-inch pan. Firmly press perforations to seal.  (Tip:  It is very important to make sure the perforations are all sealed otherwise the pecan goo will seap through and make it difficult to cut your bars and possibly create a soggy mess.  Or better yet, see if your store has the sheet of crescent rolls without the perforations.)  Bake 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Pour filling over partially baked crust.

Bake 18 to 22 minutes longer or until golden brown.

Cool completely, about 1 hour, and cut into bars.

Super Easy Appetizer

I absolutely love this appetizer cause takes less than 5 minutes from the time you start until it's in your mouth!  The cold weather and football also made me in the mood for this.  It may also be good with some jalepenos or green onion on top.

Ingredients
1 pkg cream cheese (I used reduced fat)
1 can of chili (I use with beans and meat)
Half pkg of shredded cheese (I just used a colby jack combo cause that's what we had)

Spread the cream cheese in shallow dish- I use a corningware dish that is about 10-12 in. round.  Spread chili on top of that.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and microwave 3 minutes or until hot!  We eat with fritos.

Fall Stew

With the cooler weather moving in, I decided it was time to start cooking hot dinners again.  So we decided to try a new stew recipe-- and it was super easy to make.  It tasted pretty good, but will make a few modifications next time (which I'll mention below).  I also used a lot of help from the grocery store of buying items like baby carrots you can just dump in the pot, rather than chopping up.

Ingredients

• 2 cans tomato soup (undiluted)
• 2 c. red wine (I had used water, but would have been way better with the wine, trust me)
• 1c. flour
• 2 lbs. beef stew pieces
• 1 bag of small white onions (just peel and put in pot whole)
• 1 bag of small red potatoes (just clean and put in pot whole)
• 1 bag of small yellow potatoes (just clean and put in pot whole)
• 1 bag of baby carrots
• 4 stalks of celery- cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 large package of whole mushrooms (approx. 24) (just clean and put in pot whole)
• Minced Garlic (we did not use, but will add next time- probably would use half of a bulb)
• 2 T. Italian herb seasonings
• 2 Bay leaves
• Fresh ground pepper

Directions
Mix together soup, wine, and flour until smooth.  Combine with remaining ingredients in covered roasting pan (make sure you have a nice large pot for this).  Note: It appears that the sauce barely covers all of the items, but once it cooks the sauce will thin out and you'll have plenty.  Bake at 275 degrees for 4-5 hours.  We served with fresh crusty bread!

Semi-Fresh Salsa

Last night I was just hungry for something fresh tasting.  I decided to walk to the grocery store and pick up a few items-- and some salsa was just calling my name!  We love making salsas and make it differently each time, but I got this idea from my Aunt's house.  I love the cilantro-lime flavor in here.  My husband usually likes super spicy salsa, but he agreed that even this mild version is very tasty!  He doesn't like corn, but you can't even taste it in here, so a good way to sneak in some veggies!  This makes a pretty large batch:

2 cans diced tomatoes- drained (I used ones with chili's to give it a slight kick)
1 can corn- drained
1 can black beans- drained and rinsed
1 purple onion chopped/diced
1 bunch of cilantro
Juice of 1 lime

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, except for the lime.  Cut the lime in half and squeeze each half over your salsa.  Tip: to get the juices flowing first, roll the lime on the counter back and forth with some pressure or just pop in the microwave for like 10 seconds.  Mix well distributing the lime juice and serve with chips!

I bought the multigrain tostito scoops and they tasted great with this!

Microwave Caramel Corn

This is so easy and delicious that I'll be trying to make it more often.  We watch a lot of movies, so occasionally I'll go the extra step and make us a batch of salty, buttery, heavenly popcorn.  I decided last week that caramel corn was sounding better, so we gave that a try....it made WAY too much, but better too much than not enough!

I started out by popping a little over 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels.

In a microwave safe dish, combine the following ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 light karo syrup
1/2 tsp. salt

Cook until mixture starts boiling and then cook another 2 minutes.  I'm not sure, but am guessing mine was in the microwave in the neighborhood of 3 minutes.  Remove and add 1/2 tsp. baking soda and stir.  Pour over the popcorn and mix well....and enjoy!  (Although next time I will cut this all in half and we'll probably still have leftovers!)

Double-stuffed cookies

I had a night in to myself, so decided to bake a few treats.  I had seen an idea on the internet to make chocolate chip cookies, but put an Oreo in the middle.  Sounded good to me!  I had some frozed dough in the freezer, so I let that thaw out and then just patted the dough around the oreo.  They turned out REALLY BIG cause it took a lot of dough to surround that oreo...and then they melted in the oven into ugly shapes....so they didn't really look the best, but sure did taste yummy!  I baked mine at 350 degrees for about 12-13 minutes.  They were best warm....so grab a glass of milk and dunk these monster cookies in and enjoy!

My 2 ingredients:

Before baking:

Right out of the oven:

Insides:

Easy Swiss Chicken

WOWSER- this dish hit the spot tonight!  I had just read on Plain Chicken's blog about a Swiss Chicken recipe....it sounded perfect cause chicken is my most frequently cooked meat (and was on sale for $1.99/lb this week) and we LOVE swiss cheese.  She adapted it from Paula Deen and I made a hybrid between her and Paula's version.  Below is  how I made it and it turned out so good that I don't think I'd change a thing!

6 skinless boneless chicken breasts
4 Tbsp butter, melted
Salt and Pepper
4 slices Swiss cheese
Shredded Swiss- about 1 cup
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup stuffing mix, crushed
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spred melted butter in 9x13 casserole dish. Add the chicken to the casserole dish and season with salt and pepper. Layer the cheese slices on top - I broke my slices in half and covered each chicken and then I broke up my last slice to fill in the missing areas.  I used some shredded swiss to also help get the chickens thoroughly covered in cheese, which I would recommend doing cause it melted in with the sauce and gave it all a great flavor.

In a medium bowl, combine the soup and wine, season with salt and pepper, and pour over the chickens. Sprinkle the smashed stuffing mix on top and spray with cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Easy Appetizer and Casserole

Here are 2 recipes I've done in the last month that were EXTREMELY easy and tasty.  Sorry I didn't get pictures of either one :(

This first one was an appetizer/side and would be great for a party.

Feta Cheese Bake

• approx. 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
• 1 can pizza sauce
• crushed red pepper flakes
• Toasted bread

Using a shallow baking dish or pie dish, pour the pizza sauce into the dish.  Add a few shakes of crushed red pepper (or more if you like a little kick) and spread somewhat evenly around the bottom of the pan.  Crumble the cheese into the pan.  I baked about 30 minutes in 350 degree oven.  I had bought of loaf of french bread, sliced it and put in the oven to toast a bit.  Dip the bread in the cheese/sauce and enjoy! 

Note:  For a stronger cheese flavor, this would be excellent with goat cheese.

This next recipe was one I made for dinner and we loved and seriously took less than 3 minutes to assemble- however it does take a while to cook!  It's perfect for us cause I can quickly put it together after work and throw in the oven while we are at the gym.  Then it's ready and waiting when we are home.

Hamburg-Tot Casserole

• 1 lb hamburger meat
• Tator Tots 
•  red onion
• 1 can cream mushroom soup

Using a 8x8 or 9x9 pan, press the raw meat into the bottom of the pan.  Spread the soup over the meat.  Cover with some diced onion.  Pour as many tater tots heaping onto the top as you can!  Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.

Warm cookies...at any time!

I'm not sure why I didn't think of this sooner, but thought I'd share my latest evening snack! So I had some coupons and there was a super special on Pillsbury Cookie Dough- the kind where you just gotta break apart, plop on a cookie sheet, and throw it in the oven. I think I ended up with 6 packages total! Then I got home and thought what will I do with all these cookies cause the husband does not like chocolate and just isn't a big sweets fan....and I can't eat all of this myself! Well, I could, but probably would not end well. So, I opened each package and broke apart the dough into the cookie pieces, and I rolled into a ball. Then I put them in ziploc baggies with labels and stuck in the freezer. At night, I just take out one frozen dough ball, put it in my toaster oven, let it cook, and presto- I get a warm cookie to enjoy! And I don't have to worry about over-eating. Yum, can't wait for after dinner tonight!

Cold day treats

So up until a few days ago, we've been hit with some killer cold weather in St. Louis...topped with a nice dose of snow/ice. So for several days we did not venture out and just worked from home-- so nice to just stay in my PJs, grab my laptop to do work, and have some winter treats!

I got in the habit of making myself some dynamite hot cocoa! Had some Swiss Miss packets in the pantry that I heated with water to make the hot chocolate, then topped it off with some large marshmallows....pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to start melting the marshmallows...then enjoy! So simple, yet so tasty!

I just happened to also have all the makings for a smores in the pantry also. These were heavenly!!!!! Topped a graham cracker with some chocolate chips and then 1 large marshmallow. I microwaved for just a few seconds and the marshmallow would expand HUGE! I couldn't get enough of these...once I finished off all the ingredients, got to the store and bought more!

Kitchen Tips

I'm no longer sick, so really don't have an excuse for not posting...just been lazy or busy! Once I get some pics downloaded, I have several posts that will be coming your way!

Until then, here are just a few kitchen/cooking tips to share:

1. To easily remove garlic from the skin, pop a clove in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. The skin will EASILY fall right off and then is ready to use!

2. When I have recipes that call for fresh lemon juice, don't just squeeze the lemon and throw it out. Cut the peel into several chunks and stick in the freezer. You can later take a piece out to run through the garbage disposal and it makes your kitchen smell fresh-n-clean!

3. Can't get a jar open? Grab a rubber band and put around the lid and it will surprisingly usually open up easily!

4. I re-use those plastic food containers, but if it starts to smell, fill it with newspaper to deodorize it. After a couple days, wash and will be ready to use again!

Last batch of recipe ideas

I found a few recipe ideas that could make for cute small gifts to hand out. My plan is to tackle some, if not all, of these this year.

These first 2 are from Plain Chicken's blog. First up is homemade butterfinger bars which only use 3 ingredients and is made from candy corn (yes, how strange is that?)! I'm not a huge butterfinger fan normally, but they are fairly tasty and if you can nab some leftover candy corn after halloween, this would be a really frugal xmas gift! Check out here for the recipe and pictures.

Another item super simple to do is homemade vanilla-- only 2 ingredients! Click here for pics and the recipe. Below were some cute packaging ideas I saw.

This next idea is for homemade Limoncello. I had never had limoncello until last year when some friends of ours made a bottle....and let me tell you- it was AWESOME! Now Plain Chicken does have a recipe here on her blog, but it is for a creamy limoncello. I will probably choose to attempt a more simpler recipe such as this. Following are just a few pics of cute bottling/label ideas.

And lastly, my sister had some homemade toffee that was DELICIOUS...I sadly devoured my last bite of it last night and am having an intense craving for it tonight! I'll have to get the exact recipe used, but I found this on All Recipes that has good reviews/feedback and doesn't seem to hard.